TEXT: Cliffhangers Adventures
  The Tower of Lore
  By Jesse Decker
  The Tower of Lore is a short adventure for four 8th-level characters. Nearly any mix of
  characters will work, but the adventure consists of four sequential encounters, so a cleric
  or another source of recuperative magic is extremely useful. The adventure should prove
  a reasonable challenge for characters from 7th to 9th level. The adventure is set in a
  quiet area of the Duchy of Urnst in the Greyhawk campaign setting, but can be located
  almost anywhere within a day’s travel of a small village. The adventure uses "The Old
  Tower" map from the October Map-A-Week web feature.
  Adventure Background
  Two months ago, an ambitious young diviner named Stannis Moonsdale journeyed to the
  small village of Ethdar in the Duchy of Urnst. The mage came to the area looking for a
  cache of lost lore supposedly left by a powerful mage who used to live in the region. With
  the help of the villagers and his own powers, Stannis was able to locate the ruined tower.
  Accompanied by his powerful shield guardian, Stannis traveled to the ruined tower,
  forced his way past the magical traps guarding the inner chamber, and as expected,
  found a stash of loot.
  Despite diligent research and divination, Stannis did not discover the true fate of the
  tower’s original owner. The priest who constructed the tower was Nithis Callal, an elf and
  servant of Lolth whose own schemes ended in ruin. Nithis learned that he was to be
  sacrificed as part of a play for power by one of Lolth’s prominent priestesses. Refusing to
  give up his life so easily, Nithis refused the call of his deity and began the terrible
  research of the process to become a lich. Although the priestess was furious with Nithis’s
  failure to obey, punishment was a long time in coming. After her scheme failed, the
  priestess was left with one mission: to destroy the one she believed responsible for her
  failure. Calling upon Lolth’s love of revenge, the priestess cursed Nithis by transforming
  him into a drider. This didn’t stop him -- even in drider form, Nithis’s transformation into a
  lich continued.
  When Stannis arrived, the undead monstrosity that Nithis had become still lurked in the
  chambers beneath the tower. Not wanting to risk a confrontation, Nithis used his spells
  and drider abilities to hide, hoping that the trap he had laid would ensnare the new arrival.
  Rumors that Stannis had heard about the tower were mostly of Nithis’s creation. When
  he was alive, Nithis used similar rumors to lure adventurers to the region, and the rumors
  survived their creator’s transformation into undeath. The lore that Stannis discovered was
  carefully crafted by Nithis, under the guidance of his goddess, to shatter the mind of
  anyone not dedicated to the mistress of spiders.
  Aware of the dangers of such hidden lore, Stannis took precautions when exploring the
  contents of Nithis’s remaining library, but he fell victim to the trap nevertheless. The trap
  exposed his mind to the direct touch of Lolth, destroying him, and leaving his corpse in
  the twisted form of a bodak.
  The adventure consists of exploring the small tower, confronting first Stannis’s shield
  guardian, the bodak that Stannis has become, then the drider lich lurking under the
  
  tower.
  Hooking the Characters
  Because the adventure can take place almost anywhere, getting the characters to the
  Tower of Lore is relatively easy. However, simply passing by the tower might not provide
  enough motivation to explore its interior. Here’s a short list of ideas to get the characters
  into the tower.
  • 
  The players know Stannis, or know of the diviner’s abilities, and need his advice on an
  important matter. Stannis is an expert on a number of subjects, such as history, arcane
  knowledge, and geography.
  • 
  The players have heard rumors of the tower themselves. Stannis isn’t the only sage to be
  intrigued by tales of the tower’s contents. A rival of Stannis could hire the party to learn
  the tower’s secrets. The secrets would be a strong temptation for any of the party’s
  spellcasters as well.
  • 
  Stannis initiated some major projects in Ethdar, at least by the village’s standards, and
  had made plans to spend a good deal of money on them. The merchants of the village
  have finished their work and are now anxious for their payment. The smith, wainwright,
  and innkeeper need payment to recoup their expenses. The three contact the party as a
  group and ask them to check on Stannis in exchange for a considerable discount on their
  services as long as the group is in the area.
  Encounter Area 1: Outside the Tower
  The countryside around the tower consists of open, rolling hills with sparse trees. Since
  Stannis returned to the village a few times during his stay at the tower, the villagers know
  the route. Hungry for news from the outside world, the villagers warm to outsiders quickly.
  A successful Diplomacy check (DC 10) gets them to share what they know of Stannis
  and the route to the tower. The tower is about one day’s travel by horse (just over 30
  miles) from the village.
  As the players approach the tower, read or paraphrase the following text:
  As you approach the ruined tower, it becomes clear that the one-story building once rose
  higher than its current size. Piles of rock on top of the building reveal the fate of the
  tower’s upper stories. The building rests on top of a small hill, offering a good view of the
  surrounding area.
  Before the characters explore the tower, they must deal with a pair of athach who have
  recently wandered into the area. The giant humanoids patrol areas 1 and 2 on the map.
  Had Stannis encountered the pair, he would have driven them off. Their presence should
  be a clue to the characters that the mage is unable to leave the tower.
  Athach (2): hp 133 each; see Monster Manual page 21.
  The Cliffhanger
  After dealing with the athach, the characters still need to investigate the tower.
  Continuing to follow Stannis’s final command, the mage’s shield guardian patrols the
  inside of the entry chamber. Characters have a good chance to hear the guardian’s
  ponderous footsteps. Allow the characters a Listen check (DC 10) to hear the footsteps
  echoing in the small chamber (Area 6).
  
  The Tower of Lore is a short adventure for four 8th-level characters. The first part of the
  adventure set the party on the trail of a powerful diviner, Stannis Moonsdale, who --
  unbeknownst to the party -- has fallen prey to dark magic. Episode 1 culminates with a
  brief fight outside the tower where the diviner was last known to be. Episode 2 includes a
  confrontation with the diviner’s shield guardian servant and offers the group a chance to
  learn more of the diviner’s fate.
  The adventure uses "The Old Tower" map from the October Map-A-Week web feature.
  The tower itself is mostly ruined; only the first story, including a small entry chamber,
  remains intact. The shield guardian moves slowly around the inside of the entry chamber,
  and a Listen check (DC 10) allows the characters to hear the automaton’s footsteps. Both
  doors into the tower are protected by an arcane lock (12th-level caster). These are strong
  wooden doors (hardness 5, 20hp, DC 23 to break open normally, DC 33 because of the
  arcane lock).
  Inside the Tower (Area 6)
  Ordered to prevent anyone from entering the tower, Stannis’s mightiest creation, a shield
  guardian, waits for the adventurers. Although the undead Stannis (detailed in Episode 3)
  still possesses the amulet that controls the guardian, the madness that consumed him
  during his transformation to undeath prevents him from exercising control over it. Without
  new orders, the guardian is an implacable foe to anyone trying to explore the tower.
  Characters who know something of Stannis’s background, either from talking with the
  villagers in Episode 1 or through skill use (Bardic Knowledge DC 25, Knowledge History,
  Knowledge Local [Greyhawk] DC 30) know that Stannis had a shield guardian like the
  one attacking them.
  Shield Guardian: CR 8, hp 82, see the Monster Manual, page 163.
  
  SA–Store Spell: The guardian has fire shield stored (cast at 12-level), set to be cast as
  soon as it begins combat.
  Tactics: The shield guardian fights with mindless intensity, but it is limited by its
  instructions. If the party retreats from the chamber, the guardian does not pursue. Attacks
  from outside the tower will, however, draw the guardian out.
  The entry chamber itself is full of broken masonry and the remains of wood furnishings.
  Stannis kept most of his possessions in the inner chamber, but a large chunk of masonry
  in this room served as a makeshift desk. Papers and a vial of ink rest on the stone, giving
  evidence of its use. The room is covered with a thick layer of dust, obscuring most of the
  original stonework.
  Stannis spent a fair amount of his time in the entry chamber, and its interior contains
  several items of interest to the party:
  Unsent Letter: Stannis communicated with his scholarly associates mainly by means of
  whispering wind or similar spells. When his travels took him beyond the range of such
  spells, he occasionally sent brief letters to describe his progress. One such letter is on
  Stannis’s makeshift desk. Finding the letter is easy (Search check, DC 5). The letter is
  addressed to Duran Highson of Greyhawk and states simply that Stannis found what the
  two believed to be hidden here and that he was staying to study the contents.
  Secret Notes: Stannis was a careful researcher who strove to maintain a balance
  between keeping accurate notes and concealing his discoveries from others. Two pages
  of sparse notes are concealed by secret page spells. When examined normally, the
  pages look like a simple accounting list of Stannis’s expenses. The actual contents of the
  first page reveal that Stannis uncovered whatever hidden lore he’d sought. The actual
  contents of the second page document his attempts to master a new divination he
  discovered. (The new divination is actually a trap designed by the drider lurking in the
  chambers below the tower.)
  The secret pages cannot be located by a normal search. A detect magic spell reveals a
  faint aura around the pages, but does not reveal their contents.
  Original Decor: Although it won’t tell the PCs much, anyone making a difficult Search
  check (DC 20) notices that the original stonework looks quite creepy. Relief carvings
  along the walls and ceilings show thousands of little spiders rushing up the wall. The
  carving shows the spiders coalescing into the form of a giant spider in the center of the
  ceiling.
  The Cliffhanger
  During the battle and subsequent exploration of the room, the lich in area 10 casts
  clairvoyance on the chamber. A successful Scrying skill check (DC 20) reveals the
  magical sensor created by the spell, alerting the party members to the fact that they are
  being watched.
  The Tower of Lore is a short adventure for four 8th-level characters. The first part of the
  adventure set the party members on the trail of a powerful diviner, Stannis Moonsdale
  who, unbeknownst to them, has fallen prey to dark magic. Episode 1 culminated with a
  brief fight outside the tower where the diviner was last known to be. (This location uses
  "The Old Tower" map from the October Map-A-Week web feature.) Episode 2 detailed
  the confrontation with Stannis’s shield guardian construct, and provided some hints about
  the diviner’s fate. Now we continue the adventure, bringing the adventurers face to face
  
  with the undead monster that Stannis has become.
  The Inner Chamber (Area 7)
  When Stannis discovered it, the inner chamber was relatively intact. Nithis, the lich hiding
  beneath the tower, destroyed or drove off all adventuring groups to that date. However,
  when confronted with more powerful opponents, like Stannis, the lich resorted to trickery,
  planting a tome of its own creation in the ruins of the tower. The tome, now destroyed,
  held instructions to a powerful divination ritual. In actuality, the ritual was designed to
  draw the attention of Lolth, the evil deity of the drow.
  Stannis, although a careful researcher, was taken in by the ruse. As a result of his
  exposure to the deity’s dark power, he was slain, only to rise again in the twisted form of
  a bodak. The bodak’s tormented mind bears little resemblance to that of the mage it once
  was. It its madness, the bodak has destroyed most of the contents of the room, including
  Stannis’s spellbook and the tome containing the lich’s trap.
  The room itself is filled with fragments of fallen masonry, tatters of Stannis’s possessions,
  and little else. The bodak, although intelligent, is plagued by madness and has not yet
  ventured out of the room. The creature has no coherent attack strategy, other than to
  stay away from attackers and focus its deadly gaze upon them.
  Bodak: hp 58, see the Monster Manual, page 27.
  Possessions: ring of jumping, bracers of armor +2.
  Notes: Although bodaks usually have no possessions, Stannis was transformed so
  recently that the monster still retains a few items of the mage’s equipment. Adjust the
  statistics in the Monster Manual accordingly.
  Treasure: Pearl of Power (2nd level). Although bodaks typically possess no treasure, this
  tiny pearl has rolled into the corner of the room, unnoticed by the insane, undead Stannis.
  Other than this pearl and the possessions noted above, the bodak has destroyed all
  Stannis’s equipment, including his spellbook and the tome that led to his transformation.
  The Return of Stannis
  Although there is little direct evidence beyond the possessions the bodak carries, most
  PCs will realize that the creature was once Stannis. The characters are unlikely to know
  much about Stannis’s background or friends (Bardic Knowledge or Knowledge Local
  [Greyhawk] DC 30), but the letter found in Episode 2 gives them a possible clue. Should
  the characters resurrect Stannis or take his remains to Duran Highson in Greyhawk (a
  13th-level cleric of Heironious who will resurrect his old friend), the party will have earned
  the gratitude of one (or more) powerful members of the Greyhawk community.
  The Cliffhanger
  Although Stannis did not discover them, a few chambers beneath the tower remain intact
  (areas 8-11 on the map). The trap door leading underground is hidden in the center of the
  floor (Search check, DC 20). The lich in area 10 observes the party through a
  clairvoyance spell. Once the party has dealt with the bodak, the lich launches a surprise
  attack by first casting darkness on the trapdoor, opening the door, casting fireball into the
  room, then closing the door. If the party tries to interfere (an unlikely event over two
  rounds of combat), the room is suddenly covered in darkness then filled with flames. The
  
  lich then retreats to area 10 and begins preparing for the group’s attack (see Episode 4).
  The Tower of Lore is a short adventure for four 8th-level characters. The first part of the
  adventure set the party on the trail of a powerful diviner, Stannis Moonsdale who,
  unbeknownst to them, has fallen prey to dark magic. Episode 1 culminated with a brief
  fight outside the tower where the diviner was last known to be. (This location uses "The
  Old Tower" map from the October Map-A-Week web feature.) Episode 2 detailed the
  confrontation with Stannis’s shield guardian construct, and provided some hints about the
  diviner’s fate. Episode 3 brought the adventurers face to face with the undead monster
  that Stannis has become. In this, the final portion of The Tower of Lore, the PCs have a
  chance to confront the twisted creature behind Stannis’s downfall.
  Under the Tower (Area 10)
  Nithis first built the chambers beneath the tower as an escape route, but when the tower
  was mostly ruined (by the same drow attack that drained his level, see below), he fled to
  these hidden chambers and made them his permanent lair. Dry, stale air fills the
  chambers, which contain the decayed furnishings of the lich. In life, Nithis maintained the
  large chamber (area 10) as his work room, but now even the shattered tables have
  mostly rotted away. If the players locate the trapdoor and make their way into the
  underground chambers, Nithis doesn’t hesitate to attack.
  Nithis Callal 7th-level Drider Lich Sorcerer: CR 10; Large Undead; HD 7d12; hp 46;
  Init +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft., climb 15 ft.; AC 19 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +6
  natural, +1 ring, +1 amulet); Atk +6 touch (1d8+5, Will save DC 14 for 1/2 damage), SA
  fear aura, paralyzing touch, poison, spells; SQ turn resistance, damage reduction 15/+1,
  immunities, spell resistance, undead; AL CE; SV Fort —, Ref +6, Wil +12; Str 15, Dex 15,
  Con —, Int 17, Wis 18, Cha 18.
  Skills: Concentration +10, Spellcraft +14, Spot +9, Listen +9, Hide +8 (Nithis’s skill point
  total reflects a 15 Int, the +2 Int for becoming a lich has not granted him extra skill points.)
  Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Craft Wondrous Item.
  SA–Poison (Ex): Bite, Fort save DC 16, 1d6 temporary Strength initial and secondary
  damage.
  SA–Spell-like Abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, darkness, detect chaos, detect evil, detect
  good, detect law, detect magic, faerie fire, levitate. Save DC 14+ spell level.
  SA–Fear Aura (Su): 60’ radius. Creatures of less than 5 hit dice must make Will save (DC
  18) to avoid effects of fear spell.
  SA–Paralyzing Touch (Su): Creatures touching the lich must make a Will save (DC 18) or
  be permanently paralyzed.
  SQ -- Turn Resistance (Ex): +4 turn resistance.
  SQ -- Immunities (Ex): Immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, and mind-affecting attacks.
  Sorcerer Spells Known: 0 -- detect magic, resistance, light, read magic, ghost sound,
  daze, mage hand, open/close; 1st -- charm person, endure elements, expeditious retreat,
  magic missile, shield; 2nd -- darkvision, see invisibility, web; 3rd --
  clairaudience/clairvoyance, fireball; 4th -- improved invisibility.
  
  Spells per day: 0: 7, 1st: 7, 2nd: 7, 3rd: 6, 4th: 5.
  Possessions: Ring of protection +1, amulet of natural armor +1, cloak of resistance +2,
  potion of bull’s strength, potion of jump.
  Note: Nithis was 11th level when he created the phylactery to become a lich. However,
  during his transformation, he was attacked by loyal servants of Lolth, a pair of clerics
  commanding a group of wights. Although he fought off the attack, he lost four levels as a
  result of the battle. Because he’d already completed the phylactery, Nithis was able to
  finish his transformation to a lich despite his reduced level.
  Tactics: Nithis begins the adventure with darkvision cast on himself. He also casts
  clairvoyance twice to watch the characters face the encounters described in Episode 2
  and Episode 3. Nithis is a cunning and ruthless opponent. After launching the surprise
  attack in the last installment (during which he uses more spells, see Episode 3 for a
  complete description), he retreats to his underground chamber (area 10) and prepares to
  face the PCs in earnest. He casts endure elements on himself one or more times,
  selecting energy types based on the attacks the PCs used in earlier encounters. He also
  casts see invisibility on himself if the PCs have any obvious spellcasters in their group.
  He then climbs onto the ceiling and casts improved invisibility on himself. During the
  battle, Nithis concentrates his offensive spells on those who seem able to see him. He is
  careful to always cast a spell and then move (using his Move Silently skill), attempting to
  prevent opponents who can’t see him from using the origin point of his spells as a way to
  locate him.
  If the battle turns against him, Nithis casts expeditious retreat on himself and retreats
  down the underground passageway leading away from the tower. If he has time, he’ll
  cast silent image (of a plain wall) on the door to prevent the characters from following
  him.
  Continuing the Adventure
  The destination of the underground passageway (area 12) remains to be determined.
  Here are some ideas:
  • 
  The Underdark: There are many entrances to the vast Underdark. This could be the
  where Nithis hunts.
  • 
  Another Ruin: Nithis was attacked by drow during his transformation to a lich, so there
  must be some dark elves nearby.
  • 
  An Escape Plan: A hidden exit onto the surface is the simplest end to the passageway.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/D&D 3rd Edition/3.0 Adventures/Tower of Lore.pdf