Exemplars of Evil

ENCOUNTER 8-2
L
ICH LAIR
Encounter Level 21
SETUP
Once Kastya hears the sounds of combat from tactical
encounter 8–1, he uses dimension door to round up his
zombie mobs and send them to converge on the PCs.
Afterward, he casts death armor, which lasts for 19 rounds;
during this time, any creature that strikes Kastya with its
body or a handheld weapon takes 1d4+10 points of damage.
He follows up by casting stoneskin and protection from spells,
each of which lasts for 160 minutes.
The lich then sends Albrathax to the landing (area 1)
to cut off the intruders’ escape route. After the dragon
departs, Kastya prepares to make his stand in a chamber
that contains numerous defensive aids, including blood
rocks, negative energy, absolute darkness, and a corrupt
circle that boosts his Armor Class and caster level. For
details, see Features of the Area, below.
Iliss joins him in the chamber, and Kastya casts stoneskin
on her. The necromancer then uses greater invisibility
and casts globe of invulnerability on himself. If he still has
time, he readies an action to cast Moilian blackfire at the
first player character he sees.
Iliss uses a rebuke undead attempt to bolster her
master. She then drinks her potion of invisibility and
moves to one of the blood rock squares, making sure to
stay within 60 feet of the lich so that he gains a +4 bonus
to turn resistance and a +2 bonus on saves through his
Lifebond feat.
When the PCs reach the top of the steps leading to
this encounter, read:
About 30 feet down the corridor, a rotating
crimson sphere rises up from the floor. From the
center of the sphere, a ray of crackling black energy
streaks directly toward you.
When the PCs enter the room, read:
This large chamber has a strange, coppery scent.
Torches cast a dim blue light throughout the
area, revealing dark stone sheathed in black ice.
Here and there, ruddy outcroppings appear
through the rime. A glowing red circle is set into
the floor in the center of the room, and two 10-
foot-wide alcoves in the far wall seem to lead to
utter blackness.
Kastya Zurith-Movya CR 19
Refer to his full statistics on page 130. The changed
statistics below represent the results of protective
measures taken prior to the start of the encounter.
Resist +8 turn resistance
Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +16; +8 against spells and spell-like
effects
Melee damaging touch +13 (1d8+5 negative energy plus
paralysis)
Iliss Githom-Vaas CR 17
Refer to her full statistics on page 134. The changed
statistics below represent the results of protective
measures taken prior to the start of the encounter.
hp 166 (15 HD); DR 10/adamantine (stoneskin)
TACTICS
Kastya casts spells from the center of the corrupt circle,
which grants him a +2 bonus to Armor Class and an
effective caster level of 17th (or 19th for necromancy
spells). If the lich has readied his Moilian blackfire spell
but has not yet used it, he casts it now against a spellcasting
PC.
While still invisible, Kastya casts magic jar, sending his
essence into the crystal he carries for this purpose. Each
round thereafter, the lich attempts to possess one of the
player characters. He prefers lightly armored rogues and
similar hosts so that he can cast spells without fear of
arcane spell failure. He continues his attempts to possess
one of the PCs until he succeeds. Characters who
make a successful Will save or who are under the effect
of protection from evil or magic circle are immune to his
attempts at possession.
If the lich takes over a PC, he retains his Intelligence,
Wisdom, Charisma, classes, levels, base attack bonus, base
save bonuses, alignment, and mental abilities, but he gains
the physical attributes of the character. He casts avasculate
on the closest PC and then uses telekinesis to move a light
character into a square containing negative energy. He
continues this tactic until his host is destroyed or until
he is forced out of the body, at which point he jumps
back to the crystal as a free action and tries to possess
another character.
If Kastya’s own lifeless body is threatened by a PC, he
focuses on stopping the attacker. If he cannot, he shifts
back to his body, ending the magic jar spell, and unleashes
a barrage of attack spells, switching between rays and area
spells depending on the threat.
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