The Lich-Tower of Westria

Source

 On the north shore of the Great Bay of Norwold west of Barathmir is the village of Westria, part of the domain of Panteria. It is small, only 300 folks living here, mostly Alphatian human colonists and a few halfling families. The village is dominated by the massive square-based tower that looms over it, over 240ft, 15 storeys high. Built by an Alphatian mage, Dorsennos the Dour, it is a menacing structure built of dark grey basalt and minimal style or decoration. Some say he was inspired by Arvorian ruins found much further north in the desolate tundra, while others say the tower simply reflects his character. 

Dorsennos technically no longer lives here: He resides in the top of the tower but he has become a lich, an undead creature no longer requiring normal sustenance or sleep. A little like Ellaria the Studious (from the floating city of Aalthir) he still maintains some contact with living humans though usually through his junior mages who act as intermediaries.  It is believed that Dorsennos moved here from Alphatia after being confronted by powerful archmage neighbours about his unsavoury experiments in necromancy. He arrived here in Westria about 40 years ago and started the construction of his tower (mostly through magical means, with minimal human labour).  Around five years later he underwent the transformation from mortal human into undead lich.  

The ground floor includes a number of human employees including servants who live in the village and mercenary guards (human male fighters, levels 5-8) but above them the upper levels hold laboratories, libraries, store rooms and holding cells. There are very few living humans here, and most of them wish they were somewhere else. The top floors include a rooftop stable that holds a Nightmare and late at night it can be seen galloping off the rooftop into the night sky with a rider, either Dorsennos himself or Nagleth. Rellifross of course does not need a nightmare as a steed - he can fly by himself. 

There are probably dungeons below the ground floor though this has never been confirmed by those who have got out alive. The domestic servants and mercenary guards say there are no stairs going down on the ground floor but one Alphatian mage who visited Dorsennos to discuss magical matters says that on the tenth floor of the tower there is a magical portal. When he and Dorsennos stepped through they were transported underground, finding himself next to a similar portal. Stepping back through that he found himself returned to the tenth floor.  He speculated that there is a dungeon under the tower but it can only be reached via this portal. 

Dorsennos is crotchety, unpleasant and knows he is powerful enough to obliterate most foes - what might seem like arrogance is actually well-placed self-confidence. He is currently experimenting with various forms of undead and these occasionally escape to terrorise the village. He is still predominantly interested in research and experimentation, though he views political power as a useful tool in this regard - the more territory or money he controls, the easier it is to acquire the resources for his experiments. However, his influence is mostly behind the scenes - although he could simply take control of Panteria he considers it more useful to threaten and bribe the rulers there in both leaving him alone and giving him what he needs. Dorsennos is aware that there are powerful mages in Alpha across the Great Bay who could threaten and maybe destroy him, so he is careful not to overplay his hand.  

From a campaign point of view Dorsennos is predominantly a villain, a threat to be dealt with at least once the PCs are powerful enough. Dorsennos is neither interested in the political manoevrings of Thyatis and Alphatia, nor is he involved in the Arvorians, so at least for the moment he is an independent menace. However, it is possible to negotiate with him, particularly if the PCs have something he wants that he cannot take from them by force, such as information. 

Dorsennos has spent some of his time studying eldritch crystals, which he now has a basic understanding of (his Staff of Conjuring Elementals is powered by one). He is also aware of the Arvorians though not of their long-term plans. He might be willing to discuss such matters with mortals on a quid-pro-quo basis - if they retrieve the body of an unusual undead creature for him to study, he might help them out. Spellbooks with spells he has not seen before are also a big attraction though he is brutal enough to kill one who carries such a book and simply take it from their dead body, particularly if they demand a ridiculous price or are rude when negotiating.  

NPCs of Westria

Dorsennos the Dour: 29th level magic user lich (formerly human male), align Chaotic. Str 16, Int 19, Wis 14, Dex 10, Con - (undead), Cha 6

Notable equipment: Staff of Power, Staff of Conjuring Elementals (once per 8 hours), Ring of Undead Control 

Nagleth the Weird-talker: 18th level magic user, human female, align Chaotic, Str 10, Int 17, Wis 15, Dex 11, Con 12, Cha 15

Nagleth is Dorsennos’s principle protege, a powerful mage in her own right. She is also the public face of Dorsennos in the village of Westria and the town of  Panteria. Like her master she has travelled the dark path of necromancy and is considering how to achieve lichdom as well.  She occasionally hires unwitting mercenaries to perform tasks that benefit Dorsennos such as removing an irritating foe like a band of lupins or else retrieving an item from a dungeon. She may approach the PCs with such an offer. 

Master Ibbraxe: 5th level fighter, human male, align Neutral, Str 15, Int 12, Wis 14, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 13

Master Ibbraxe is the nominal head of the village of Westria, though he is well aware that his main duty is to keep Dorsennos placated. He is resigned to his situation and simply tries to keep himself and his fellow villagers alive. He can seem quite cowardly but he has seen Dorsennos and his lieutenants kill off plenty of "heroes" with impunity.

Rellifross: 14th level magic user vampire (formerly human male), align Chaotic, Str 18, Int 17, Dex 16, Con - (undead), Cha 14

Rellifross is another of Dorsennos’ apprentices, and is undead as well, although his transition was not voluntary. He was a handsome happy-go-lucky mage in Alphatia when he visited the Isle of Dawn and was seduced, drained and turned by a vampire madame in charge of a brothel. He fled here seeking advice from Dorsennos who was already an expert in the undead and has stayed here since. He only rarely feeds off villagers, and then usually as a punishment for offending him or Dorsennos, but he has preyed on elves and lupins in the nearby woods. He has also sometimes attacked adventurers who have found themselves near Westria late at night.   

Nordredd: 17th level cleric, human male, align Chaotic, Str 12, Int 15, Wis 17, Dex 9, Con 10, Cha 13

Nordredd is the lich’s undead-wrangler, creating and commanding all sorts of lesser undead. He is also adept at finding fresh corpses and has been known to lead a contingent of skeletons and ghouls on grave robbing expeditions to nearby towns and villages, sometimes sailing along the coast of the Great Bay in a pitch black longship with a skeleton crew. He has a twisted sense of humour and will often laugh at things that would horrify most folks. 

Tereellion Sureshot: 4th level Elf Ranger, elf male, align Lawful, Str 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Dex 16, Con 9, Cha 12

Tereellion is a resident of Westria who is not happy about the state of the village or the creatures that rule over it. He will try to warn visitors about the inhabitants of the tower. He ideally wants to see Dorsennos removed permanently but is aware there are very few people in the area powerful enough to actually do this. He has been compiling a report (which he keeps in a locked chest) documenting the necromantic goings-on and he hopes to pass this on to authorities in Alpha where there may be powerful wizards capable of stopping Dorsennos. However, unbeknownst to him Rellifross the vampire has already found out about these papers and is considering killing Tereellion and burning his incriminating documents.