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The Ring of Lost Souls | 3rd-Level Fifth Edition Adventure

Added 2021-11-29 02:59:28 +0000 UTC

tracking stolen goods leads to bandits who fell victim to the cursed ring of a murderous wizard

The Ring of Lost Souls

The Ring of Lost Souls is a Fifth Edition adventure intended for three to five characters of 3rd to 4th level and optimized for four characters with an average party level (APL) of 3. A group of bandits ambushed a prominent merchant’s caravan and stole a wagon full of valuable goods, including a special birthday gift for his young daughter. After taking their ill-gotten loot back to their hideout, the bandits find a cursed magic item hidden among the trade goods. The merchant is unaware of the cursed item when he tasks the adventurers with retrieving his stolen merchandise. They are taken by surprise when they find the bandits transformed into undead under the control of their possessed chief.

This adventure is setting agnostic and fits into any existing campaign with only a few modifications and name changes.

Backstory

Avolazar the Fleshrender was a feared necromancer who delighted in stripping his victims’ skin before raising their bones as skeletal minions. A band of heroic adventurers defeated the vile wizard long ago but did not realize the crafty villain’s soul was transferred to a magic ring he was wearing. Along with the necromancer’s spellbook and other accouterments, that ring was unwittingly sold to Readoc, a merchant specializing in exotic wares. Bandits attacked Readoc’s caravan and captured the wagon holding the cursed ring along with a birthday gift the merchant was bringing home to his daughter.

The bandits arrogantly call themselves the Legion of the Golden Hammer when, in fact, they are little more than a ragtag collection of thugs led by a dragonborn military deserter named Four Fingered Jack. They recently began operations along the trade route after making their hideout in an abandoned underground outpost in the nearby Lorgan Wood. Four Fingered Jack quickly took possession of the necromancer’s ring after divvying up the loot back at the hideout. He soon found himself in a battle with Avolazar’s soul for dominance over his mind—and he lost. Avolazar began right where he left off with his new body and began carving his way through the bandits to make new minions from their remains. One bandit managed to escape and barricade herself in a room, but it’s only a matter of time before she runs out of supplies or the undead manage to find her.

Adventure Summary

A wealthy merchant named Readoc hires the characters to retrieve stolen merchandise after highway bandits attacked his caravan. The characters quickly follow the bandits’ trail leading from the ambush site to their hideout in the nearby woods, where they discover the stolen wagon and a hidden staircase leading underground. Inside they find evidence of a battle and undead wandering the passageways and guarding a barricaded room with a bandit named Eliza hiding inside. The terrified bandit explains what happened and points them to where they can find the possessed bandit chief and the stolen loot. After fighting their way through the undead bandits, the party must confront the necromancer Avolazar possessing Jack’s body and defeat him.

Two New Monsters: Avolazar the Fleshrender and Lesser Flesh Golem