Setting and vibe: In the fringes of the realm of Elarion, a forgotten necropolis beneath the Mistbound Peaks hums with unholy intent. The ancient lich Vaelikar stirs after centuries sealed away in a phylactery hidden somewhere beyond the living’s memory. A celestial alignment—the White Moon crossing the night veil—frays the veil between life and undeath, sending Vaelikar’s specters slipping into the waking world. The campaign centers on a desperate bid to halt his ritual, and to sever his connection to the mortal realm before an undead army swarms the countryside.

Main quest: Stop Vaelikar by locating and destroying his phylactery, then sever the ritual’s anchors before the lich completes the waking. To do this, the party must first uncover three relics scattered across dangerous locales, infiltrate Vaelikar’s fortress-fortress of Ashenspire, and survive a final confrontation where cunning and sacrifice matter as much as brute force.

Key locations: the frontier town of Nettlecrest; the sunken city beneath the ruined Nethmere; the Frostgate Pass leading to the Icebound Spire; the Whispering Forest; and the necropolis of Ashenspire, carved into black obsidian and guarded by thralls and wards that twist minds. Each site yields clues, factions to bargain with, and traps that test wits as much as steel.

Relics and ritual: The relics—the Mirror of Souls, the Pendant of Whispers, and the Sigil of Convergence—must be recovered to counter Vaelikar’s mind-affecting wards and to reveal the precise phylactery’s location. They unlock the means to disrupt necromantic rites, grant advantage against undead, and provide a window of opportunity to strike the phylactery at the ritual’s core.

Campaign arc: Act I, investigators surface rumors and face lesser undead and cultists; Act II, the party retrieves relics, scales Ashenspire, and forges uneasy bargains with grim factions; Act III, a climactic assault on Vaelikar’s tower during the celestial alignment, culminating in the destruction or imprisonment of his phylactery and the lich’s final demise or mortal collapse.

Hooks and challenges: spectral whispers that reveal secrets, a merchant’s wife cursed to haunt a caravan, and moral dilemmas about using necrotic power. Dangers include warded ruins, undead swarms, soul-binding puzzles, and Vaelikar’s own deception as he attempts to turn allies against the party.

Objectives and rewards: Defeat Vaelikar and destroy the phylactery; reclaim towns from necromantic blight; gain powerful magic items (Staff of Nightfall, Cloak of Terrestrial Veil, Amulet of Phylactery Ward), allies in the faithful, and lasting influence over the region’s future. Level range: designed for heroes levels 5–12, scalable to a party’s size and strengths.