GeneralFeatures.....................................................................................................................................................................
Thefollowingfeaturesarecommonthroughoutthetomb.
Somelevelsofthetombhaveadditionalfeaturesthatare
describedatthebeginningoftheirrespectivesections.
Ceilings
Unlessspecifiedotherwise,ceilingsinthetombare 8 feethigh
incorridorsand 12 feethighinrooms.
Crawlways
Certainareasofthetombareaccessibleonlybywayofnarrow
tunnels.Thesecrawlwaysare 3 feethighand 2 feetwide.
Lighting
Allareasofthetombareunlitunlessnotedotherwise.
SecretDoors
Mostsecretdoorswithinthetombslideopenonstonerunners.
Thehandlesthatunlockthemarehiddenwithinthefeatures
ofreliefcarvingsalongthewalls,includinginsidethejawsof
manygravenskulls.
Asecretdoorcanbespottedbyanycharacterwithin 5 feet
ofitwhohasapassiveWisdom(Perception)scoreof 20 or
higher,orwithasearchandasuccessfulDC 20 Wisdom
(Perception)check.
Staircases
Stairsinthetombarecarvedoutofthelivingrock,andeach
stepistoppedwithasingleslabofcutstone.Theskullsand
bonesofdeadOmuansfillnichesalongthewallsofeach
staircase.Staircasesrun 25 feetbetweeneachlevelofthe
tomb.
Tracks
Explorershavebrokenintothetombrecently,andWithers
andhistombdwarvesmakefrequentpatrols.Theirtrails
crisscrossbackandforth,makingothercreaturesinthetomb
difficulttotrack.Thefreshesttracksbelongtotheskeleton
keys(see“TombInhabitants”below).Anycharacterwhotries
tofollowaskeletonkey’strailcandosowithasuccessfulDC
12 Wisdom(Survival)check,findingthewaytothenearest
unexploredlocationmarkedwithaskullsymbolonthe
dungeonmap.
TombInhabitants....................................................................................................................................................................
Agrimpageantofmonstrousresidentslurksinthetomb,
waitingtogreetvisitors.
WithersandtheTombDwarves
Withers,Acererak’sundeadcustodian,overseestheundead
maintenancecrewthatkeepsthetomb’strapsinworking
order.Toassemblethatteam,Acererakabducteddwarf
minersandtransformedthemintowightstoexploittheir
expertiseatundergroundconstruction.Withersactsas
supervisorforthedwarvesandservesasAcererak’sadjunct
whenthearchlichvisitsthetomb.Usinghisscryingpoolat
area 25 ,WitherscancommandOmu’sgargoylesandspeakto
agentsonthesurfaceworld.
Withersandhiscrewusethestaircaseatarea 26 toroam
unseenthroughthetomb’smanylevels.Whentheirworkis
done,theyretreattotheirsecretheadquartersonlevel 2 ofthe
tomb(areas 27 and 28 ).Withersavoidscontactwiththe
characterswhenpossible,confidentthatAcererak’strapswill
defeatthem.LegendaryMonsters
TwolegendarymonstersdwellinAcererak’stomb:abeholder
guardingatreasurevault(area 44 )andanabolethlurkingin
anundergroundlake(area 65 ).Thesecreaturescan’tuselair
actionswithinthetomb,andtheregionaleffectsofeach
creature’slairarelocalizedtothelevelswheretheydwell.
Despitebeingthedungeon’screator,Acererakdoesn’t
counttheTomboftheNineGodsashislair.Consequently,no
lairactionsorregionaleffectsareascribedtothearchlichin
thisadventure.SkeletonKeys
TounlockthefinalgatetotheSoulmonger,theadventurers
mustacquirefiveskeletonkeys—eachthecarvedskullofan
animatedhumanskeletonthatroamsthetomb.Thecharacters
cancaptureandcontroltheseskeletons,orcansimplysnapa
skulloffitsspine.
Askeletonkeyhasthestatisticsofaskeleton,withthese
changes:
Theskeletonkeyisunaligned.
Ithasaclimbingspeedof 30 feetandcanclimbdifficult
surfaces,includingupsidedownonceilings,without
needingtomakeanabilitycheck.
Itwieldsapairofdaggersandcanmaketwomelee
weaponattacks(+ 4 tohit)asanaction.Eachdagger
attackdeals 4 ( 1 d 4 + 2 )piercingdamageonahit.
Whenreducedto 0 hitpoints,askeletonkeyfallsapart,
thoughitsskullandbonesremainintact.
Askeletonkeydoesnottriggeranytrapplacedinaroom
oronadoorofthetomb.
Eachskeletonkeyhasaskullthatextendsintoacarved
key-likeshape.Theseshapesmatchthekeyholesofthe
skeletongateinthelairoftheSewnSisters(area 71 ).The
SkeletonKeystablesummarizesthelocationandshapeofeach
key.
FindingaSkeletonKey.Eachofthefirstfivelevelsofthe
tombhasitsownskeletonkey.Askeletonkeycanbe
encounteredinanyofthelocationsmarkedwithaskull
symbolonthelevelmap.Youchooseaskeletonkey’slocation.
Youcanalsochangeyourmindandrelocatetheskeletonkey
tomakeiteasierorhardertofind.
Apartfromunlockingtheskeletongateinarea 71 ,the
skeletonkeysperformnofunction.Whenthecharactersenter
anareacontainingaskeletonkey,itmightbestandinginthe
middleoftheroom,standinginacorner,walkingacrossthe
ceiling,orclingingtoawall.Askeletonkey’sprimarygoalisto
avoidcaptureordestruction,soitfleesifitcan.
TombLevel KeyShape
1 Triangle
2 Square
3 Pentagon
4 Hexagon
5 Octagon