Synopsis
An undead human woman has come to the players to ask for help ending her unlife. Insight checks reveal that she means them no harm. Alignment checks/detect good and evil reveal that she is true neutral, but in a state of slow transition to evil. It can be deduced that she was once good aligned. This encounter can be resolved within minutes, turn into a quick one-shot or spark a long quest that could end in tragedy.
A Campsite Encounter
This encounter triggers if a character falls asleep while on watch, or if watch isn’t posted. Once the characters wake, the encounter begins.
Description
Read this to your players: You notice that someone new is among you. Crouched near the fire pit, which is mostly smoldering embers now, is a veiled human woman. Or so you think? A morning breeze picks up and wafts the sour scent of death to your nostrils. The dawn gives you just enough light to catch a glimpse of her face through the veil and what you see shocks you. She resembles a corpse. The creature is hunched over, making herself small. She is wringing her hands nervously. She struggles at first but her whispers finally start to sound like words. "D-don't be frightened. I know what I look like. I don't mean to be a bother, but could you t- tell me.....what I am?"
A Bit more Detail
The mysterious woman is desperate for help or even answers about her condition, and a point in the right direction. She knows she is dead yet alive. Her urgency is fueled by her fear of outliving her daughter who is now in her old age. Her husband is long past, and the mystery of how to put her to rest went to the grave with him. She has exhausted all avenues at her disposal. In her current state of decomposition, she is running out of options that would normally be accessible to her such as going to scholars, or visiting Candlekeep. She has tried ending her own life, but she keeps coming back after a few days, worse for wear.
What she knows
She knows that she was not brought back conventionally through a resurrection spell. She suspects this is the case because her husband dropped vague hints and cryptic comments. She thinks that her condition may have been made permanent on purpose and that her inability to end her own life was no mistake. She remembers being ill for months, and then sick with a fever for days, and remembers vividly the sensations of her body dying. She remembers being in the presence of her god and maker before being pulled back into her still dead body.
What she's missing
She is a half-baked lich. Her husband, the genius that he is, adapted the recipe for lichdom to preserve as much of her soul as possible. But it is not perfect. Every year, more of her soul is lost and she slips further into evil. What’s left of her soul is locked away in a phylactery and must be found and destroyed before she can finally rest.
In her words:
I know my husband did not bring me back to life. I do not breathe, I feel no pain, I feel no need to shift my weight when I stand…..I can feel my body decaying all around me. I don't mean to question my late husband's genius, but I think I am a mistake. No matter, I just need my life to end. I have lived this half life for over 70 years. I am 107 this year, and my daughter is 82. She is in the twilight of her life, and I am desperate. I cannot outlive my child. It would break me.
The time he gave me, I have cherished…..but it was stolen time and he left me to pay the price for this gift. I’m not asking for an execution, I've tried that already and I just keep coming back. I need your help understanding what was done to me, and how I can undo it. I would like to go peacefully, at home, surrounded by my family. My daughter, my grandchildren, and my great grandchildren.
My husband passed without ever revealing what he did to me, despite my begging. You look like traveled people, do you know what I am?
A Multitude of Outcomes
This encounter is versatile in it's longevity. The Widow may leave peacefully after getting the answers she seeks about the nature of her form. With that, the encounter can end with nothing more than some roleplay and a few ability checks. Alternatively, this encounter can easily turn into a side quest of indeterminate length should she ask the party for help. With some failed checks and fumbled situations, the party can even end up with a scornful Lich as their sworn enemy!
Branching Paths
| No Help | Should the party refuse to help, or fail to give her an answer, she becomes disproportionately angry and curses the party. She immediately regrets her cruel words and profusely apologizes. Saying that her outburst was out of character, she thanks them for their time and leaves. |
| Revenant (Wrong) | The party (mistakenly) informs her that she is probably a revenant. Revenants are tied to the mortal plane by an unfinished purpose. The party tells her that she must find her purpose and fulfill it before she can rest. The woman is satisfied with the answer. |
| Incomplete Lich (Correct) | The party deduces that she is a creature never seen before….an incomplete lich. The party informs her that her soul is tethered to an item and it must be destroyed before she can rest. The woman is satisfied with the answer. |
To make a long story short
In the case of option A, the woman disappears after her apology without a trace. The encounter is over. Options B and C can end with the woman thanking the party for their time and wisdom, asking them to wish her luck, and leaving quietly. Where she sat, she leaves two gifts: one magical and one mundane. (see following tables) And with that, the encounter is over.
| d4 | Lvl 1-5 |
|---|---|
| 1 | Glamerweave |
| 2 | Potion of Healing (x2) |
| 3 | Winged Boots |
| 4 | Bag of Holding |
| d4 | Lvl 5-10 |
|---|---|
| 1 | Quiver of Ehlonna |
| 2 | Mariner's Splint Armor |
| 3 | Chime of Opening |
| 4 | Gem of Brightness |
| d4 | Lvl 10-20 |
|---|---|
| 1 | Potion of Storm Giant Strength |
| 2 | Tome of the Stilled Tongue |
| 3 | Nine Lives Stealer |
| 4 | Dispelling Stone |
Want More?
Should you want her story to continue, she can ask the party to help her find her purpose (wrongful- revenant) or help her find her phylactery (true- Lich). She can either employ the party, or join the party as a powerful yet fragile party member. Whether she employs the party, or joins them, she is a ticking time bomb. Her main goal is to end her life before her daughter passes, which she sees as the ‘natural order’ of things. Her daughter is an elderly woman, and should she die before the task is done, the widow woman will go mad as the rest of her soul is lost to the dark powers that animate her. Upon learning that her daughter passed, she will redirect her rage at the party and either attempt to destroy them immediately, or vow to make lifelong enemies of them all.
| Party Level | Treasure |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | Box of Turquoise animal figurines |
| 6-10 | A brass mug with a Jade inlay, within the mug is a Peridot |
| 11-15 | A box containing one Opal, one Fire Opal, and one Black Opal |
| 16-20 | One Diamond and a Black Saphire |
The Happy Ending
The only way to get this outcome is firstly, for the party to have correctly deduced the true nature of her unlife. This could have happened from the start, or be discovered after an initial incorrect deduction. The party must also be helping the Widow woman with her quest to find her phylactery. This is because her husband is magically hiding it from her.
Her Phylactery
Her phylactery is her husband’s wedding band. It is buried with him back on their family plot. He ensured his wife would never be able to find it on her own with a magical veil. The nature of the spell makes her phylactery unnoticeable to her. You cant hint this to your players thusly:
- The Widow remarks that her husband stopped wearing his wedding band after she was brought back. If the players ask the villagers, they mention how her husband wore his wedding band even after his wife’s passing and was often seen lovingly rubbing it.
"I knew things had changed between us after I came back. He stopped wearing his wedding band. Whenever I mentioned or asked about it, he would look offended and annoyed. After a while, I just stopped asking. He must have thrown it away, I couldn’t even find it to bury him with it. I was hoping to finally have something my way for once."
-Widow Woman
Coming to Terms
Upon finding out the whereabouts the phylactery, the woman will insist on being there and will help dig up her late husband’s grave. In the process, she will also dig up her unresolved feelings regarding her husband’s actions. As she gets closer to her husband’s casket, she gets closer to confronting her true feelings about what was done to her. She will go through the five stages of grief. Feel free to use some or all of these stages.
Denial. She is in disbelief at the circumstance that she has found herself in. Having to dig up her husband so she can die and join him. All the while, filled with the fear that she will endure the greatest tragedy, a mother outliving her children.
Anger. Realizing that this fate was not a gift, but his last act of selfishness. The grand finale in a marriage of one sided sacrifice. She screams at her absent husband and asking him why he couldn’t just let her rest.
Bargaining. The woman will start making "what if" and "if only" statements. She is clinging to threads of hope that things could have been different.
Depression. The woman laments that she never got to do that things she dreamed of doing in her youth before she married. She also mourns that she was denied her natural death to, however briefly, live as a corpse and be forced to be an active part of her own undoing. She weeps and pities herself.
Acceptance. That this was/is her story. That this is her final page, in her final chapter. Reflection on how she made the best of her situation. She finally finds the resolve to destroy the wedding band, both the symbol of her emotionally abusive marriage, and the phylactery keeping her from the peaceful rest she deserves.
" ‘til death do us part. And it did. Now, it has parted us a second time. Let us stay that way, darling. Parted."
-Widow Woman
Widow Companion
Medium Undead, True Neutral
- Armor Class 10
- Hit Points 15
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 11 (+0) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 16 (+3)
- Saving Throws Con +10, Int +12, Wis +9
- Skills Arcana +19, History +12, Insight +9, Perception +9
- Damage Resistances cold, lightning, necrotic
- Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
- Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
- Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 19
- Languages Common plus up to five other languages
Magic Resistance. Widow Companion has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Spellcasting. Widow is an 18th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost
1st level (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, shield, thunderwave
2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, invisibility, Melf's acid arrow, mirror image
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball
4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door
5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, scrying
6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, globe of invulnerability
7th level (1 slot): finger of death, plane shift
8th level (1 slot): dominate monster, power word stun
9th level (1 slot): power word killTurn Resistance. Widow Companion has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
Actions
Paralyzing Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6) cold damage. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Widow Joins the Party
Should the players offer to help the widow, she will either hire or join the party, depending on your players' preferences. The Widow companion packs about as much of a punch as a Lich does while also being very fragile. She is missing her legendary actions and her AC and hitpoints mirror a low level character. If her hitpoints are reduced to zero, she does not go into death saves and instead dies. The glow of her eyes fades and her body succumbs to rigor mortis instantly. The glow returns and she will rise again in 1d4 days.
Widow Companion
Though once beautiful in life, the Widow who has come for help is now unmistakably decaying. Her sunken eyes that were once brown, have begun to faintly glow a deep red. Her nose is shriveled and her lips have begun to curl. Her skin is drying and now clings to her collarbones, around her hands, and every joint. Her hair has all turned white and has begun to thin. She looks more corpse than human. She wears a veil to conceal her ghastly appearance but, nothing can conceal the scent of death on her. She will sometimes cast disguise self when she needs to.
Personality
-
Traits: soft spoken, protective, calculating, impatient, quick to anger
-
Ideals: I am free to act as I please for the first time, and I will exercise that freedom.
-
Bonds: My family is my world.
-
Flaws: I am singly focused on finding a way to die before my daughter passes. I do not care who I have to step on to reach my goal.
The Lich Ending
As detailed on pg3, The Widow is a ticking time bomb. Her daughter is an old woman now, and will pass in 1d100 days or 1d6 years. (Choice is up to what would work best for your table.) If the players gave her an answer at the campsite and never helped her, The Widow never had a chance. Her daughter will pass while the Widow still "lives" and the woman will become a full Lich. If the characters go off on another quest after agreeing to help, time continues to march towards the same end. Once she becomes a full Lich, The Widow is cold, cruel, selfish, hateful, expressive, and constantly weeping. She is the emotional embodiment of raw grief, so play it up!
No Place Like Home
Upon completing her transformation, if she has not chosen to destroy the party immediately, Widow Lich will return home to make it her lair. She will begin by slaughtering the entire village and raising them. Her village of undead now serve has her protectors, as well as her own personal fantasy. She raises her husband as well, and reenacts the worst parts of her marriage with him. Should players come across the town within days of the massacre, nothing seems to out of place at first. The Lich has her undead going about routines that were familar to them in life. Though they do not speak, unless they have obvious wounds, players could mistake them for a normal townsperson for a few minutes until the grimm reveal.
A Friendlier Version
If your table doesn't like violence against children (like mine), consider this version: During the slaughter, the Widow's granddaughter tried to intervene and begged her grandmother to stop. This touched the last remaining sliver of her humanity she had left. The Widow responded: "You may take the children." and continued the massacre. The Widow's granddaughter was horrified, but began to gather the young ones amidst all the chaos. She stayed in the town for another day, searching every home for any forgotten or hiding babes, and then set out to the nearest town. During this time, the undead villagers didn't so much as look in their direction.
A Plot Hook
The children's exodus lead by an old woman could be a fun plot hook to use for your game should you just want your players to find themselves in an undead village housing a formidable Lich to destroy. Your players can come across the children fleeing, they themselves in need of supplies and direction. Or perhaps your players are already be on a mission to eradicate the Lich and clear the village of undead by the neighboring town that took in the refugees. Or maybe it has been years, and someone, once one of those children, has hired the party to retrieve something left behind.
Widow Lich
Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil
- Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 140 (18d8 + 54)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 11 (+0) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 16 (+3)
- Saving Throws Con +10, Int +12, Wis +9
- Skills Arcana +19, History +12, Insight +9, Perception +9
- Damage Resistances cold, lightning, necrotic
- Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
- Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
- Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 19
- Languages Common plus up to five other languages
- Challenge 21 (33,000 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Rejuvenation. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed lich gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery.
Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). The lich has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost
1st level (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, shield, thunderwave
2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, invisibility, Melf's acid arrow, mirror image
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball
4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door
5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, scrying
6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, globe of invulnerability
7th level (1 slot): finger of death, plane shift
8th level (1 slot): dominate monster, power word stun
9th level (1 slot): power word killTurn Resistance. Widow lich has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
Actions
Paralyzing Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6) cold damage. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Legendary Actions
Widow lich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. She regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Cantrip. The lich casts a cantrip.
Paralyzing Touch (Costs 2 Actions). The lich uses its Paralyzing Touch.
Frightening Gaze (Costs 2 Actions). The lich fixes its gaze on one creature it can see within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened for 1 minute. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the lich's gaze for the next 24 hours.
Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each living creature within 20 feet of the lich must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20, Widow lich can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; she can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Widow lich rolls a d8 and regains a spell slot of that level or lower. If she has no spent spell slots of that level or lower, nothing happens.
- Widow lich targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of her. A crackling cord of negative energy tethers her to the target. Whenever she takes damage, the target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, Widow lich takes half the damage (rounded down), and the target takes the remaining damage. This tether lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round or until Widow lich or the target is no longer in the lich’s lair.
- Widow lich calls forth the spirits of her townspeople that died when she created her lair. These apparitions materialize and attack one creature that the lich can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 52 (15d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. The apparitions then disappear.