A fresh-faced group of adventurers have traveled to the river town of Oak Meadow seeking adventure and fortune. The PCs are offered a quest to explore and clean out a vacant yuan-ti lair from the shambling undead that haunts its halls. With a daunting journey and a myriad of rooms to explore, will the PCs survive The Black Gauntlet of Zeiram the Lich?
This is a one-shot adventure for four level 1 PCs.
Six W’s
Who are the enemies in this One-Shot?
Skeletons, Ogre Zombies, Zombies, Skeleton Warhorse, Traps
What has happened to cause the PCs to fight?
The PCs have recently arrived at the riverside town of Oak Meadow seeking fame and fortune amongst its active adventurer community. When they arrive they are made aware of Guard Captain Bierman being in charge of issuing permits to new arrived adventurers. Here, the PCs will find out about a quest to clear out an intelligent skeleton brigand calling themselves Zeiram the Lich. Zeiram has become a nuisance as of late attacking lone travelers and small scout patrols. Zeiram’s last score was a lost caravan using an unlisted shortcut. Though the caravan repelled Zeiram’s forces they still lost 5 lives and two carts of valuable merchandise.
Zeiram has taken over an old underground dungeon with snake motifs and has turned it into his new base of operations
If the PCs want to know about the secret history of this dungeon they would need to make a DC 12 History Check.
Where is this encounter happening?
This encounter starts off in the mid-sized river town of Oak Meadow. It is here where the PCs can pick up supplies, talk to the various shop owners and learn about the history of the old underground keep to the west. From there the PCs will travel west for a day until they reach a sparsely forested plain surrounded by marsh. It is here where a moss-covered cavern leads down into an underground cavern. Once inside the cavern it winds 100 feet in until it opens up into a proper underground keep.
The entrance to the dungeon is on the western side of the map to the left of Room 8. It is here where they will make their way through a fortified portcullis to get into the dungeon proper.
When did this happen?
The PCs find out about this dungeon on the first day in Oak Meadow. Zeiram has been a thumb in the eye for Oak Meadow’s commerce for the past month. Zeiram took over the empty keep two months ago and cleared out a small goblin nuisance to claim this dungeon as his own.
Why are the PCs here?
The PCs are here to clear out the dungeon from Zeiram the Lich and his undead minions. The permits that have been given to the PCs give them the right to act as independent salvage operators. They are allowed to keep any spoils they find in the dungeon. The keep itself will go to the town as it now comes under Oak Meadow’s protection.
How will the PCs deal with this problem?
Once the PCs decide to enter the dungeon, they will fight their way through the massive complex. Zeiram the Lich is currently brewing a potion that will turn the corpses at his feet into more of his servants in Room 3. Zeiram’s warhorse, called Marshal, is also in the room as well. Room 15 is where Zeiram keeps his treasure guarded by Zit the Ogre Zombie and Zot the human zombie.
NPCs of Note
Zeiram the Lich- A former rogue and alchemist that lost his business due to burrowing too much from shady debt collectors and not paying them back. He fled west and snuck into the yuan-ti underground keep looking for quick gold coins. What he found was a dungeon with goblins, traps, and a dusty potion hidden in a secret room. The potion turned Zeriam into an intelligent skeleton. He started to slowly take out the goblins and using trial and error was able to create his first zombie using an inferior version of the undead potion. He then began to strike out from the keep, attacking lone travelers on the highways before attacking caravans and scouts. He has lost a large group of his zombies so he attacked the latest caravan and brought as many of the bodies as they could back to the keep in order to rebuild his undead army.
Guard Captain Biermann- A middle-aged human male of fiery red hair with a ruddy face and green eyes all framed by a dense set of mutton chops. He has been captain of the guard for the better part of five years but has witnessed a lot during his tenure. It is his hope to eventually be made a sheriff and set up in a much slower part of the kingdom. He is fair but gruff with everyone and is willing to do what he can to aid any adventurer since he used to be one himself.
Maps
The Black Gauntlet of Zeiram the Lich (DM Map)
The Black Gauntlet of Zeiram the Lich (PC Map)
Oak Meadow
Encounters & Treasure
Listed in the PDF
Epilogue
With the defeat of the Zeiram the Lich and his band of undead cronies, the PCs will have the spoils of the Lich’s stolen goods. They will also have the fame of defeating an undead menace as well as 300 GP per PC. The town of Oak Meadow has a new group of adventurers to cheer at the local tavern.
Shoutouts as always to https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/ and https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator for being excellent resources in creating this one-shot adventure!
