Characters of Tomb of the Lich Lord

In this post, I'm looking at the characters of the Tomb of the Lich Lord set for the Dungeoneer game by Thomas Denmark. Dungeoneer is sold as card decks, and I own all of them, so I'm reviewing them each.

For background about the world of Tomb of the Lich Lord, read my setting of Tomb of the Lich Lord post.

Non-player characters

There are a few named non-player characters in this set.

Ala Hazad

Ala Hazad is presumably an adventurer whose boot a hero delving into the tomb of the Lich Lord can find. The Boot of Ala Hazad card says:

This boot is all that remains of Ala Hazad.

We learn a little more about Ala Hazad in Call of the Lich Lord. The Boots of Undead Crushing card identifies Ala Hazad as a notorious master thief who wanted better boots.

In context, the story of Ala Hazad seems to be that a master thief entered an apparently abandoned tomb to acquire some legendary boots (the Boots of Undead Crushing) and encountered an unexpected monster or trap and perished. If this is the correct tale of Ala Hazad, then the setting of Tomb of the Lich Lord and Call of the Lich Lord are indeed the same crypt.

Caedman

An unwilling inhabitant of the tomb, Caedman is an undead captive of the Lich Lord. The Free Caedman's Soul quest card says:

Caedman has suffered a thousand years under the curse of the Lich.

Draky

A young dragon dwelling in the Inner Sanctum of the tomb.

Lich Lord

The Lich Lord in this set is a necromancer with strong mental powers. He is never referred to as an "Arch Lich Lord," a title which he apparently earns only upon his second [and probably his first divine] resurrection.

He is obviously a necromancer, because he has raised a variety of monsters within his tomb, including skeletons, ghosts, and zombies. The Undead Awakening card describes it well:

The sound of crackling bones and the rotting smell of the Lich Lord's allies permeates the ancient tomb.

There is no evidence that the Lich Lord has gained his allies through any other means aside from his own.

While his tomb has all the usual traps and safeguards, his personal specialty seems to be mental. The Forgotten card causes severe amnesia, and the Misplace card causes martial carelessness. They both cost Peril, so it's safe to assume that they are influences that come from the set's villain.

Rigg

An evil spirit that haunts the Well of Healing, revealed by the Rigg's Curse quest card:

Beware! For the Well of Healing is haunted by the evil spirit of Rigg.

There's no reason to believe that Rigg is a captive of the Lich Lord, so it must be assumed that Rigg is a willing ally.

Nard

A giant rat or other vermin, Nard lurks in the Barracks. The art on the quest card Slay Nard depicts a rodent pawing at a human skull that's about the size of the creature's eyeball, so Nard is definitely very large. The barracks must be huge.

Serak the Assassin

Serak the Assassin is probably a fellow intruder in the tomb, but also a direct threat to the heroes. The quest card Serak the Assassin requires a hero to defeat its titular character.

If Serak is an ally of the Lich Lord, then it's unlikely an alliance that the Lich Lord knows about. The Unholy Anger card describes how the undead react to living creatures:

The unliving are angered by the presence of the living.

Smoov

From the art on the Smoovs Riddle quest card, Smoov appears to be a spirit or a sprite or a goblin dwelling in the Mirror Chamber. The lack of an apostrophe in the title "Smoovs Riddle" is likely a typo, because the flavour text suggests a riddle (although not a good one):

How many heroes does it take to light a torch?

Thorn Axereaver

An esteemed relative of the player character Kron Axereaver. His soul was consumed by the Lich Lord, as revealed in the Lich Lord card's flavour text:

I've eaten the mighty Thorn Axereaver's soul, what makes you think you will fare any better?

Vladimir

An undead ally of the Lich Lord. Given that the quest to destroy Vladimir is titled Impale Vladimir, and the stereotypically Eastern European name, it's highly probable that Vladimir is a vampire.

The Vampire card in Call of the Lich Lord confirms that vampires exist in the Dungeoneer universe, and strengthens the theory that this tomb is the setting for both sets.

Zum

A scientist who was attempted, with the aid of his apprentice, to transplant his brain into another body. The results of this effort are described by the Brain of Zum card:

Zum's apprentice died before the transplant was complete.

Gods

There's not much cosmology in this set, but we get a few glimpses of the divine.

Nakari

Called the Queen of the Night on this set's Create Darkness card, and the Queen of Darkness on the Blessings of Nakari card, Nakari is the goddess of literal darkness. She may also be the goddess of death and magic mentioned on the back of the Call of the Lich Lord box.

In the time before the world was created, Nakari defied the will of Omnisus and created guardian manticores to watch over her children. She is considered the "dark mother" of harpies, she is allied with serpents and Naga, and possibly some demons.

Nepiron

The god of luck, Nepiron is not mentioned in this set, even on the Ring of Luck card.

Oriella

Oriella is Queen of Dimensions and ruler of the Ethereal Void. She is protective of her realm and, as the Dimensional Shift card says, "does not approve of those who tamper with time and space."

Omnisus

A major god of Tarnys, with high priests and high priestesses who grant healing to those in need.

The first and only split between divine magic and arcane magic is revealed on the Minor Healing card:

It is difficult for those who study the arcane arts to call on Omnisus for the ability to heal.

It's not clear whether it's "difficult" because of pride, or because Omnisus disapproves of the arcane. However, the Omnisus' Favour card from Realm of the Ice Witch pointedly says that Omnisus blesses those in need who serve him, suggesting that Omnisus does not bless those who do not serve him. It may well be that blessings from Omnisus are especially hard to earn for anyone who studies the arcane because Omnisus doesn't view that study as a form of divine service.

Player characters

There are 6 heroes included with the Tomb of the Lich Lord set, and none of their cards have flavour text.

Kron Axereaver, Dwarf Avenger

Kron has come to the tomb to avenge Thorn Axereaver, whose soul was eaten by the Lich Lord. Kron is a dwarf with excellent Melee stats, reaching 6 by level 4. He can spent 2 Glory for a free Melee return attack with a +1 bonus.

Lorel Alanus, Elf Sorceress

Lorel is an elven sorceress. She's got high Magic, reaching 6 at Level 4. For just 1 Glory, she can re-roll her Magic combat roll.

She's remarkably bad at Melee (0 at every level).

She returns in the Call of the Lich Lord set.

Raka, Necrowarrior

Raka is a mostly martial fighter with a steady progression from 1 to 4 Melee. His greatest power is resurrection. For 5 Glory (and a discarded hand of cards), Raka can return to the game as a Level 1 Undead.

Raka appears human, so was probably born human but has become recognised, willingly or otherwise, as necromantic.

Roderik Talus, Human Paladin

A human Paladin, Roderik is a knight in full plate armour. He is steady in Melee stats (progressing from 1 to 4). His Healing Hands ability allows him to pay 3 Glory and 1 Move to recover 1 wound.

Siboth, Necromancer

Siboth is a magic user, with a steady progression from 1 to 4 Magic. No lineage is provided for Siboth, so it must be assumed that Necromancer counts as both a lineage and a character class in the Dungeoneer universe. Siboth appears again as a player character in Call of the Lich Lord, having levelled up to a Necro Death Delver.

Unlike Raka, Siboth does not have the power of resurrection. Instead, Siboth has Control Undead, which causes Undead monsters to attack another hero or monster.

Tanin Shadefoot, Darkling Rogue

Tanin is a Darkling (presumably a halfling in Dungeoneer terminology) Rogue. He's good at Melee (1 to 4 in steady progression) but also has a little Magic (2 at Level 4.)

His Quicken special ability allows him to pay 2 Glory for +1 Move, once each turn.

Eldritch Lords

The Eldritch Lords are mentioned in every Dungeoneer set, but there's no unique information provided about them in this one.

Monsters

There are a lot of classic monsters in Tomb of the Lich Lord, some undead and others just well-known tropes of dungeon crawls. Appropriately, there's a strong presence of Undead of every variety.

• Bedfaggon: A rat-like vermin of unknown size. If Nard is a bedfaggon, then they at least have the ability to grow to 10 times the size of a human. However, the flavour text suggests that bedfaggen are small enough to have earned a nursery rhyme: "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedfaggon bite."
• Bug-a-Bear: A hulking ogre-like creature known, according to the Belt of Brawn, for its great strength.
• Crypt Bat: A partly magical bat ("The arcane screech of crypt bats resonates through the cursed tomb.")
• Crypt Ghost: A ghost that can physically consume a living creature.
• Dark Kitty: Actually a familiar that boosts a hero's Magic stat.
• Dark Templar: An undead, and probably formerly holy, knight.
• Death Shadow: A literal shadow that brings death, or at least tries to.
• Demonic Adder: A flaming demonic serpent.
• Ghoul: A flesh-eating Undead humanoid.
• Hag, Cackling: A witch, commonly riding a broomstick and trying to trick heroes into accepting deadly gifts.
• Legion: An actual demon ("The abyss is so infested with Legion that they are being pushed into our world.")
• Poltergeist: A ghost.
• Skeleton, Crouching: An animated skeleton that at least believes it can eat living creatures.
• Winker: Essentially an eyeball with tentacles (each tentacle has an eyeball, too.) This is an obvious and appreciated (but legally-distinct!) reference to the classic D&D Beholder.
• Wraith: An animated skeleton with a high Magic stat and powers of mind control.
• Zombie: A walking corpse that feeds on brains (and livers, it seems.)

Visit the Lich Lord

Tomb of the Lich Lord is a fun dungeon packed with Undead opponents. If you're looking for a classic dungeon crawl with no Dungeon Master required, then this is easily the Dungeoneer set for you. It's packed with hints of deep lore, classic monsters and gear, and some tough quests.