Page 187 - Tomb of Annihilation

If the atropal has not been destroyed, it shrieks as the
Acererak (see appendix D) rolls initiative and attacks
souls of the dead escape from the wreckage of the with all his power, hoping to slay the intruders and
Soul monger. reap their souls. The archlich carries the Staff of the
Forgotten One (see appendix C) and is accompanied
LAVA PIT
by a sphere of annihilation, which he controls using a
The lava pit is 30 feet below the floor of the room and
talisman of the sphere worn about bis neck. Because the
100 feet deep. Any creature that falls into the lava or
Tomb of the Nine Gods is not Acererak's home, he bas
starts its turn there takes 55 (lOdlO) fire damage. Any
no access to lair actions during this battle.
object that falls into the lava takes damage on initial
Acererak speaks to the adventurers in condescending
contact and once per round thereafter until it is removed
tones, referring lo them as "puny mortals" as he sets out
from the lava or destroyed.
to destroy them.
Wrath of the Trickster Gods. When Acererak ap-
PHYLACTERIES
pears, any character inhabited by the spirit of a trickster
Along the east and west walls of the chamber, two balco-
god hears that spirit cry out for vengeance. In addition to
nies stand 30 feet above the lava pit.
the power granted by his or her trickster god, the char-
acter gains the following benefits while he or she can
Two facing balconies halfway along the room are littered see Acererak:
by ornate glass bottles, fluted silver urns, ivory caskets, The character gains 50 temporary hit points at the
and other vessels- all of them inscribed with bale- start of each of his or her turns.
ful slgils. • When the character makes an attack roll against
Acererak and hits, the attack deals an extra 3d6 psy-
chic damage.
Acererak has disciples scattered throughout the mul-
tiverse, including many Hches that seek to become as A CERERAK.'S DEFEAT
powerful as him. He keeps their phylacteries here. If Acererak drops below 100 hit points, he casts teleport
Each balcony has 2d6 + 5 lich phylacteries on it. Any on his next turn and flees. As be departs, read:
character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Ar-
cana) check recognizes the phylacteries for what they
"We'll meet again, fools!" says the lich. "And on that day,
are. Destroying a phylactery is no simple task and often
you will die!" With that, Acererak raises his staff, utters
requires a special ritual, item, or weapon. The phylac-
teries here are all unique, and discovering the key to some arcane syllables, and is gone.
each one's destruction will require time and expensive
research. There's a 10 percent chance that any one
If the characters succeed in killing Acererak before he
of these phylacteries would be destroyed by hurling it
has a chance to escape, read:
into the lava.
MIST GATE
A look of horror passes over the lich's face as his body
The balcony at the south end of the room holds the gate-
turns to dust. His tattered robes fall to the ground, as do
way to the final chambers of the Tomb of the Nine Gods. l
his staff and talisman.
An ornate archway looms over this balcony. Grinning
Acererak's body reforms near his phylactery, which is
skulls are molded into its frame, and glowing mist
hidden in some far-flung demiplane, but his possessions
swirls within.
are left behind for the characters to pilfer. The sphere
of annihilation remains stationary until someone takes
control of it using the talisman. Because it's not a crea-
A detect magic spell or similar effect reveals an aura of
ture, the sphere is not teleported if it enters the mist gate
conjuration magic around the gate. Any creature that
(see "Mist Gate" above).
steps into the archway emerges from a similar archway
in area 78, along with anything it is wearing or carrying.
78. C HAPEL OF HATE
A CERERAK'S REVENGE
Any creature that passes through the mist gate in area
U the characters kill the atropal, read:
77 emerges from a similar arch set into the south wall of
this room. The gate also allows travel back to area 77.
A skeletal figure wrapped in moldering robes and clutch·
ing a skull·tipped staff appears on the south balcony.
Hateful pinpricks of white light burn in its eye sockets,
and a two-foot-diameter sphere of utter darkness floats
in the air beside it.