The Black Ring has 39 members, plus Nilgeranthrib. It is organized in a strict hierarchy of five tiers. The members of the first-tier are young apprentices. Second-tier members are senior apprentices who have achieved some mastery over the dark arts. Third-tier members are fully trained initiates who are adept in the magical arts. Fourth-tier members are extremely powerful wizards who have performed the Rite of Lichcraft on themselves and become Liches. Nilgeranthrib is the only member of the fifth tier. He is the Supreme Master of the Black Ring and the Voice of Nergal (two of his titles in the hierarchy of the ring).

NOTE-At the current time, the Black Ring has the following members:

All first-tier members are necromancers of 1st-3rd level.

The powers of the second-tier members are listed in the character description of the magician Ghavavoralan. The necromancers range from 4th-level to 8th-level in power.

See Lisan or Baris the Black for the powers of a third-tier member of the Black Ring. The necromancers range from 9th-level to 15th-level in power.

Maubar is the only fourth-tier member at the tower. See his listing. Necromancers in this tier range from 16th-level to 20th-level in power.

See Nilgeranthrib.

Nilgeranthrib's servants are the members of the Black Ring, an army of the dead, zombies, mercenaries and a corps of thralls that he has bred to serve him. Except for the Black Ring, these groups are discussed in the sections that follow.

This force is composed of all sorts of undead; mainly skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and ghasts. They are armed with a sword or a spear and are unarmored.

The zombies are the remains of character-class enemies who were defeated by Nilgeranthrib or Maubar. Their arms and armor varies as the Referee desires.

IMPORTANT-Subdual damage has no effect on zombies. They are not affected by any form of Death, Sleep, Paralysis, Disease, and Poison or by any power that operates by reducing the Energy Level.

Only things that inflict physical damage, or items that this book grants a specific power to (Life Sword and the Crown of Release), can affect a zombie. No mental power can affect a zombie. As an option, any Telepathic or Illusion Power may be cast on a zombie. If the spell succeeds, the caster may use the zombie as a conduit and affect its master with the spell that he cast (working against the controller's spell level). Only the powers specified above may be used in this way. If the attack is made, the master may counterattack through the conduit that is used to attack him if he is affected in any way by the attack, is not deluded in some way by the spell that affected him or if the spell fails.

Three companies of mercenaries serve Nilgeranthrib. They are paid about 35C a week. The total strength of these units is:

NOTE-Common guards who are encountered on the second floor of the Tower or lower are mercenaries. Roll randomly to determine which company they belong to unless the rules specify a particular unit. (These mercenaries are motivated by greed and a desire to survive. They fear the Black Ring. They will not consider betraying them for any offer less than lOgp per man. They will never do so if a member of the Black Ring is present. The only betrayal that they will consider is to allow the party to pass without raising an alarm or fighting.)

Nilgeranthrib has been conducting breeding experiments with captured humans for the last 200 years. The result has been humans of lower intellect and greater strength. His goal is to forge an army of his own people and repopulate the area. When they are encountered, they will have the following attributes:

NOTE-Males are used as guards, soldiers and servants. Females are used as servants. Both sexes are in the Lich's experiments. At the current time, there are 40 males and 15 females in the tower area. They are encountered as specified in the room descriptions of the tower. At his discretion, the Referee can create larger thralls or thralls with high levels of experience to serve as leaders of their kind.

The following characters are only a few that can be encountered in the caverns underneath Port Llast and the Tower of the Dead. They are listed in the sections that follow in alphabetical order.

GHAVAVORALAN, Master of the First-Tier, Leader of the Second-Tier.

*Ghavavoralan has supernatural will that raises the power of all spells cast by five levels when calculating area of affect and affect.

Ghavavoralan was born in Rashemen, far to the east of the tower. Among the Rashemen, women control access to magical power. He desired to learn magic but was forced, due to his sex, to master weapons instead. At the age of 17, his yearning compelled him to violate the sanctity of the women's lodge and he was forced to flee. In the years that followed, he heard tales of great magics to be learned in the west. He traveled to the Hosttower of the Arcane in Luskan and eventually to the Tower of the Dead and vowed his service in exchange for knowledge.

Ghavavoralan is a straightforward and stoic man. Honor is of great importance to him. He will not break his word for any reason. (Were this not the case he would long ago have left the tower.) Of all the magic-users in the tower, he is the only one who is likely to deal with the party with any degree of kindness. He will not allow them to pass but he will give them a chance to surrender before he tries to kill them.

LISAN, Master of the Second-Tier, Leader of the Third-Tier

Trained wizard in the following spheres: General Skills, Illusion Powers, Earth Powers, Terror, Paralysis, Death Powers, Necromantic Powers, Silent Terror, Travel Powers, Chaining, Quarrels, Slime, Compulsion, Insanity, Darkness Powers and Hell Powers.

Forestry, Forest Survival, Mountain Survival, Fast-Talking, Axe, Long Bow, Common, Tongue of Young Chaos.

Robes, Black Ring, Cape.

Lisan was born in eastern Luskan, north of the Tower of the Dead. From his early youth he was attracted by the legends of the power to be had at the tower. At the age of 12, after a hideous incident which he caused (the drowning of two young girls), he fled into the underdark. He was captured by Nilgeranthrib's forces and was taken to the tower in chains. Eventually, by toadying to those who had power, he earned a chance to enter the Black Ring. In his 25 years as an active member, he has shown some talent but has not learned quickly.

Lisan is a weasel. He will do or say anything to preserve his life or advance his personal ambitions. He has a deathly fear of the liches and will do nothing to earn their wrath. Under no circumstances will he ever seek to join their number. He is much too cowardly and timid to risk his life for ultimate power.

MAUBAR, Leader of the Fourth-Tier, Chamberlain of Nilgeranthrib, Marshal of the Dead, Seneschal of the Tower, Master of the Third-Tier, Lich.

*He has the withered features of a middle-aged man. He was 37 years old when he became a lich, the first man to seek Nilgeranthrib after his second rebirth.

**Not counting the removed viscera.

Trained Wizard in the following spheres: General skills and Chaos Powers, Lichcraft and Necromantic Powers.

Thayvian, Unthern, Mulhorandi, Amnian, Rashemeni, Common, Tongue of Young Chaos and Tongue of the Dead, Jeweler, Persuasion, City Survival, Plains Survival, Mountain Survival, Underground Survival, Forest Survival, Sword, Short Sword.

Scalemail (fashioned of hardened human bone), Short sword, cape, pouch, black ring, Amulet of Darkness.*

Maubar was born in Thay in the year 927. His family was low-level, landless nobility. Because of their poverty, he learned the importance of power and the immense value of property and wealth. At the age of 17 (1214) he left his family to seek his fortune. His journey led him to the Tower, where he was captured and taken before Nilgeranthrib. He convinced the Lich of his earnest desire to serve and, at the age of 20, became the first Black Ring apprentice.

Maubar respects, fears and, to a degree, idolizes Nilgeranthrib. Except when he can better his condition with treachery, he is an extremely loyal and competent second-in-command. He is a brilliant, conniving and ambitious man who operates with "convenient loyalty" towards his master. Maubar is an amoral sociopath who is totally without humor. He demands total obedience from his underlings and will accept no excuse for their failure.

NOTE-There is a chance that Maubar will aid the party in destroying Nilgeranthrib. If so, his aid will be covert and hidden. He will not help them attack the Great Lich but he may help them get into position to do so, without their realizing that he is doing so. In all cases, after the party kills Nilgeranthrib, Maubar will have two priorities (in order of importance): 1) He will search for the mouse that is Nilgeranthrib to slay it and 2) He will try to kill the party by marshalling the forces of the tower against them. If the party does not flee the tower soon after their success, they will never leave it alive.

NILGERANTHRIB, the Great Lich, the Voice of Nergal, Lord of the Black Ring, Master of the Dead.

*Nilgeranthrib has the appearance of a very corpse-like, 74-year old man.

**Not counting his viscera, which are in his device.

Trained Wizard in the following spheres: General Skills and all Chaos powers, Lichcraft and Necromantic Powers.

Mulhorandi, Unthern, Netherese, Thayvian, Amnian, Common, Calimshan, Rashemen, Tethyrian, Tongue of the Abyss, Tongue of the Dead, Tongue of Young Chaos and Tongue of Fiery Chaos, Read and Write all languages known, Forest Survival, Plains Survival, Axe, Throwing Dagger, Husbandry (Humans), Armorer, Herbalist, Executioner, City Survival, Upper World Survival, Badlands Survival, Mountain Survival, Animal Survival*.

*Survival usable when he is forced into animal form.

Nilgeranthrib is power incarnate. Since he became a Lich, no single enemy has beaten him in a contest of magical power. He is extremely confident in his invincibility, arrogant and 'devil-may-care' in dealing with enemies who are foolish enough to confront him.

Nilgeranthrib is also a bit sadistic. He enjoys killing his enemies; with his axe. Unless his device is threatened, or magic is used against him, he will fight a normal melee against enemies who try to kill him. When his device is threatened he will use the power that he feels is necessary to stop them. When a 'mortal' dares to cast magic against him, he answers with his full power to teach him the error of his ways.

The Great Lich is a megalomaniac. He considers himself to be only slightly less than a god. He deals with men as a god deals with his followers. The faithful are rewarded, those who combat him, disobey or interfere in his plans are punished grievously.

Finally, Nilgeranthrib is a dedicated, if somewhat perverse, scholar. He has been conducting breeding experiments on humans for over one hundred years. Persons who come against him who have exceptional characteristics (any characteristic with an abilitv score over 14 or a maximum ability over 15 will be captured, if possible, for his experiments.)

IMPORTANT-This rule does not apply to magic-users. Those that attack him are destroyed or made into zombies. Others may be allowed to serve him if they are evil-oriented and they convince him of their sincere desire to join the Black Ring. If they refuse, or they are not chaos-oriented, they are killed.

NOTE-When he is in control of a situation, Nilgeranthrib has a dry, sadistic sense of humor. When his enemies pose no threat, he plays with them interminably (like a cat with a mouse). As the amount of their threat to his existence increases, so will the amount of power that he will bring to bear against them. The Referee should take pains to portray Nilgeranthrib in this way. His personality and attitude are the only real limits on his power.

Nilgeranthrib was born in Luthcheq in the year 719. His parents were slaves in that city's Temple of Set. Both of them were sacrificed to this god before his seventh birthday. Without the intercession of a High Priest, who noticed his intelligence and potential, Nilgeranthrib would have met the same fate. With the aid of the High Priest, Nilgeranthrib became an acolyte in the temple. On his 20th birthday, after 12 years of study, he was ordained as a Magician-Priest of Set. Soon after, he dedicated himself to Jergal (the Destroyer, Lord of Death) and went to serve in the great temple in the capital of Mulhorand. By the age of 28, Nilgeranthrib was Master of Ritual in this temple.

In the year 771 Nilgeranthrib came to the attention of the ruler of Luthcheq. He was dispatched to Mulhorand as a spy. On arrival, he played the part of defector and won a post on their Wizard's Council (by slaying a junior member of that group). For the next seven years, Nilgeranthrib continued to advance on the council and made regular reports to his emperor. Nothing transpired in the nation without Nilgeranthrih, or his spies, being aware of it.

At the age of 35 (754) Nilgeranthrib severed his ties to Mulhorand and betrayed the identity of his imperial contacts to the council. This earned him a position as a senior member on the Mulhorandi council and the respect of all of his fellow members. During the next 10 years, he rose further, until he was the third-ranking member of the 39-member council. In the year 765, two months after his 46th birthday. Nilgeranthrib launched a coup against the council. In the space of two hours, he, and his agents, killed every other council member. In the bloody days that followed, possible opponents and enemies were bloodily purged from the city. Four days after the coup, (a day that Mulhorand history refers to as the "Day of Blood") Nilgeranthrib was declared the Supreme Dictator and Autocrat of Skuld.

Over the next nine years Nilgeranthrib's reign fostered evil and terror in the nation. His subjects despised him and the nation of Unther and the cities of Chessenta stood as his enemy. In the year 763, a three-year civil war began which resulted in his total defeat.

At this point in his life, Nilgeranthrib moved to the east (rather than try to regain his throne against the opposition of his subjects and the armed might of Unther). He was a servant of Death who had no desire to meet his master. He resolved to cheat death by seeking the fabled Tower of Nergal in the Smoking Mountains. After a nine-month search, he found this tower and began to unlock the secrets within it. After five years of study, in the year 769, he performed the Rite of Lichcraft and became an immortal.

After consolidating his reign in Mulhorand, Nilgeranthrib looked to the forest. Over the years that followed he launched an all-out assault on the forest cities and conquered them all. At its height, the assault reached the gates of the capital of Unther and the Citadel of Light. Here, after a six-day battle, he met defeat. In the last battle, he was driven from the walls and slain by, the Marshal of the Untheran Host, a mercenary wielding Life Sword. Behind him, the cities of the mountain conquered his forest realm and the armies of Unther destroyed and levelled Mulhorand.

For nine years, the Lich struggled to regain human form. As a black mouse he found a wounded rat and killed it. Becoming a black rat, he sneaked into a house and killed a newborn kitten while its mother was elsewhere. He lived as a black cat for three years. Finally, in Amn, he found a half-blind, diseased street cur and killed it. During the next five years, in the form of a black hound, he searched the world for a leopard. In the city of Calimport he found one that was chained in a cage. He snuck in while it slept and managed to kill it. Finally, a few hours later, he found a man passed out in a nearby alley and disposed of him. From that moment, he was reborn in all of his might.

After his rebirth, Nilgeranthrib fled to the Savage Frontier. He rededicated himself as a lich and rebuilt his tower underneath Port Llast. In the years that followed, he sought vengeance on those who had aided in his defeat. Through his dead forces, mercenaries and political maneuvers he destroyed the civilizations of the forest and mountains, and nearly destroyed the cities of Neverwinter and Waterdeep.

In his effort to conquer Unther, Nilgeranthrib encountered Priam Zendar, wielding Life Sword. He immediately fled. During the next six months, a mobile war was fought throughout Unther until a raiding force reached Nilgeranthrib in his tower and Priam killed him with Life Sword. After this battle Priam Zandar retired to the Port Llast area in order to keep watch over the area. During this time, the Black Ring without Nilgeranthrib began to thin out and fled the area in order to avoid persecution by Prian Zandar and the Circle of Light. In the years that followed, the Black Ring (now known as the Sons of Darkness) researched a way to bring their former master back in order to rule the Black Ring once again. After over a century, they were successful and found his phylactery. They began to restore his former body by use of arcane magics.

PRIAM ZENDAR, Death Knight and former follower of the Circle of Light Order

SHARGHET, Female Skeletal Red Dragon

SIRET, Commander of the Guard, Rober of Nilgeranthrib, member of the second tier.

Spell knowledge in the following spheres: Tongue of Young Chaos

Luskan, City Survival, Underground Survival, Throwing Dagger, Fighting dagger, Deftness, Dancing, Rhetoric.

*As specified for Ghavavoralan.

Robes, fighting dagger, two throwing daggers, jeweled necklace.

Siret was born in the slums of Luskan. Her early life was spent as a tavern girl and a thief. At the age of 16 she tried to rob one of the Pirate Kings and was caught by his guards. To avoid his dungeon, she agreed to go to the Hosttower (as a present for its master). On her arrival, she was befriended by Ghavavoralan, who helped her convince Nilgeranthrib that her magical talents should be developed (much to the chagrin of the man who sent her to her doom).

Siret is an extroverted, emotional and sensuous woman. She enjoyed her old life and only continues in the Black Ring to stay alive. She wants to escape and will aid any party that tries to do so if they will take her with them and if she thinks that they have a chance of success. She will never aid in attacking either Nilgeranthrib or Mauber, (she fears them more than any men that she has ever met).

VIERNA, Leader or Neverwinter Black Ring Cult

YURET, Rober of the Fourth Tier, Lord of the Caverns, member of the First Tier.

Spell Knowledge in the following spheres: Necromancy.

Tongue of Young Chaos, Common Calimshan, Luskan, Read and Write Common, City Survival, Underground Survival, Mountain Survival, Jeweler, Seaman, Fighting Dagger, Rhetoric.

Robes, black ring, fighting dagger.

Yuret was impressed into the Luskan fleet at the age of 12. After 8 years at sea, he jumped ship and made his way to Waterdeep. There he became the apprentice of a minor magic-user.

During the years that he served this man, he learned little. When he heard of the Tower of the Dead, his thirst for knowledge and his ambition drove him north. He has been a student in the tower ever since.

Yuret's life goals are to be a wealthy powerful and immortal wizard with eventual control over the Hosttower. He is a dedicated magician who will do almost anything for the right price. The more dangerous the action, the more he will demand. He will never sell his services for an attack on an initiated member of the Black Ring. He has no doubt that they would slaughter him. (In all cases where his services are bought, payment must be immediate and in advance.)

1. Allows the wearer to see in any darkness.

 

2. The wearer can always communicate with any undead creature or the demon, including the Kuggi.

If the wearer is not evil-aligned the amulet will begin to drain 1 point of Constitution per turn until 0 points is reached. At that point, the wearer is controlled by the amulet, which then seeks out the most powerful necromancer it can find.

The Black Ring looks like an ordinary bloodstone ring wrought of ordinary materials. The Black Ring grants the following powers to the wearer:

1. Invisibility to mindless undead (unless they are attacked, in which case the spell is broken.
2. All undead will react favorably to the wearer of the ring unless provoked or there is an obvious threat (a Paladin wearing this ring will not get a good reaction.).
3. The wearer receives a +2 vs. all necromancy spells.
4. Nilgeranthrib and Maubar can detect the wearers of the Black Rings if they are within five miles of them.

The Life Sword is a holy broadsword (+4 to-hit and damage) that is modified for both hit chance and damage plus. It is dedicated to the destruction of Liches. Against these enemies, it acts as a +5 Holy Avenger. In addition, the sword has the following powers:

1. The sword grants the bearer +3 on saves vs. necromancy spells.
2. It can cast Healing, Regeneration and Resurrection on any person that it touches (up to a total of 3 times per day).
3. With a successful roll, it will negate the effects of Curse or Animate Dead spells, from Necromantic Powers, for any dead or zombie within two hexes of the wielder. To use this power, the wielder may do nothing else during the phase that it is used. If he is attacked the modifiers for surprise will always apply.
4. The bearer will never be attacked by a good-aligned creature.
5. It can locate the creator of any animate dead that it uses its dispelling affect against if the creature is within 5 miles of the wielder.

The sword has intellect and is capable of telepathically communicating with its master when it is out of its scabbard. Its communication will only be in areas that pertain to its powers and are relative to improving its chance to slay or free its enemies (Liches, Dead and Zombies).

LIMITATIONS-The bearer of this sword must dedicate himself to good action, especially the destruction of Liches. He may not use or carry any other weapon while he bears Life Sword. He may not use the sword to seek personal wealth and may not amass a fortune (no more than 20Ogp in property is allowed) while he is its master. If any of the terms above are violated, the sword will warn the bearer to desist. If he does not do so, the sword will go inert and will be useless for that bearer forever after. It has no truck with base or greedy men.

NOTE-Life Sword is currently located in the burned-out ruins that are located on Zendar Farm. It is in the basement of the ruin.

The Rod of Nergal

The Rod of Nergal is a Special Item with the following attributes:

2. The bearer has +2 vs. all fire-, water, and ice-based spells and all damage is halved.

 

3. The bearer can see through the eyes of any of the undead that are under his command and can cast Spiritwrack with no chance that the summoned spirit will not come.

The rod can only be used by a Lich. If his ego is not higher than that of the rod, the rod drains 1D6 Constitution from him each time that it is used. If his Constitution reaches zero, he becomes the rod's zombie and must do as it wills.

The Circle of Light is a religious order of Osiris whose sole purpose is to seek out and destroy and evil undead. Their origins reach back to Mulhorand and have only a few members, having been depleted by time and war.