TEXT: Return of the Lichemaster! 
    
  An adventure for Savage Words, designed to follow on from the events of “The Red Swamp”, available 
  from Pinnacle’s Savage Worlds Website. 
    
  In the quiet hamlet of Orwell, things are stirring beneath the graves of a long forgotten battlefield. A long 
  time ago, a band of brave adventurer’s defeated the evil necromancer Rorsach, destroying his undead army, 
  and killing the mage before he could release his plans for conquest.  
  Or so they thought… In fact, Rorsach had made preparations in case of his death, pacts with unholy powers, 
  rituals of the blackest kind. When he was slain, his spirit was contained in his body by his dark sorceries, 
  and slowly, over time, he has rebuilt his strength. Now, with his powers returning, he has used them to 
  reanimate the dead around the battlefield he was slain in, and sent them out to find more troops, and to kill 
  anyone they find. With each death, the Lichemaster’s powers will grow, until he can raise an army of the 
  dead and resume his plans for conquest. For now, though, he has only a few zombies he has managed to 
  reanimate, and he needs more corpses to build his army. Fortunately his powers are not back to full strength, 
  and he has only managed to animate a few undead. That will change over time, though, unless he is stopped. 
    
  The party is returning from the Red Swamp, where they were sent by Lord Redstone to recover his sword. 
  I’ve assumed that Janus is accompanying the heroes (whether to ensure the return of the sword, or because 
  she is smitten with one of them is up to you), but it doesn’t affect the adventure one way or the other, apart 
  from having another sword in the battle! New characters can be introduced at this point, resting at the inn. 
    
  Read the following to the players; 
    
  “You have stopped for the night in the sleepy hamlet of Orwell, at its 
  only inn, the Chequers. Its good food, the inn is warm and clean, and 
  you are relaxing in front of the fire, when suddenly the door bursts 
  open and a wild eyed man bursts in screaming “They’re coming! Bar the 
  doors!”, slamming the door behind him, and leaning against it. Before 
  anyone can ask who “they” are, the door is bashed heavily, knocking the 
  man backwards and onto the floor. Another blow, and the hastily fastened 
  door bursts open, and strange figures loom over the terrified man.” 
    
  The unfortunate villager, Peter, encountered the zombies as he was returning to his hovel, and ran for help. 
  Unfortunately, while he can easily outpace them, there are several zombies, all directed by the Lichemaster, 
  who worked to cut him off. He only just made it to the Inn ahead of the undead, and they have followed him 
  in to prevent him from warning the hamlet. The players may not get a good glimpse of the zombies when 
  they originally arrive, as it is dark outside, and only fitfully lit in the bar. When they do get a good look, get 
  them to make a guts test at –2. These undead have only recently clawed their way out of the ground, after 
  all. There should be as many zombies as players in this encounter. 
   
  When the players have defeated the zombies, they will probably want to find out what’s going on. Peter will 
  only be able to tell them that he first saw them at the entrance to the Glebe Field, which backs on to the 
  Church, and graveyard. An aged gaffer called Toby will remember that the field was the place of a battle. A 
  little more investigation and questioning of the patrons of the pub will get them the tale of the Necromancer 
  Rorsach, and how his plans were foiled by brave adventurers (most of the patrons, including Janus, will look 
  at the heroes expectantly at this point). 
   
  Before the heroes can do any more, people start running into the inn, shouting about the figures in the 
  mist. The Chequers is the only vaguely fortifiable building in the hamlet, and provides a decent place to 
  defend against the 20 or so zombies heading through the village, and concentrating on the largest group of 
  people – the Inn. 
   
  
  At this point the adventure can go several ways. The players may want to help defend the inn, or head out to 
  rescue villagers from the undead, and bring them back, where the greater numbers have a better chance of 
  defeating the zombies. They may also want to head straight out and confront the Lichemaster. Of course, 
  they may want to flee and leave the villagers to their fate. Have Janus, if she is there, or the town headsman, 
  let them know how dimly Lord Redspar would view this abandonment, or if that isn’t working, mention how 
  likely he is to reward them (which is true – when he hears of this he will pay the adventurers 20 silvers each 
  for helping the village, and be inclined to hire the adventurers for any further work he might have) for their 
  help. 
    
  If the adventurers help defend the Inn; 
  12 zombies will attack the inn from all sides. Make it a pitched battle, with zombies bashing in windows, 
  adventurers firing from upper story windows at the milling horde of undead below. Just like “The Red 
  Swamp”, give adventurer’s 5 semi-capable fighters (D6 in all stats, Parry 5, Toughness 6 armed with a short 
  sword or club equivalent weapons (Str+2)) to aid in the defense. 
    
  If the adventurers go out in search of stragglers; 
  It’s dark, and a mist is descending on the area. Let them make hurried checks of the hamlet, dodging 
  wandering zombies and persuading terrified villagers to come with them to the Inn. Once they’ve had a few 
  encounters with some zombies (say, d4 a group), let them have found all the villagers (alive, anyway) they 
  can, and head back to the inn to help defend it, as, above. 
    
  If the adventures want to go straight after the Lichemaster 
  Stress how undefended the people of the town are. Most have clubs, and some farm weaponry such as 
  scythes, but most can’t really defend themselves properly. For the village to survive, the adventures need to 
  help in their desperate last stand! 
  Once they’ve beaten the zombies, they will need to take the fight to the Lichemaster himself, in the remains 
  of a tomb at the graveyard. 
    
  The Reckoning with the Lichemaster 
  Eventually, the characters are going to have to go after the source of the problems. If one of the characters is 
  a Ranger, or has the Woodsman edge, they can easily follow the zombies shuffling trail all the way back to 
  the churchyard, where the Lichemaster has setup temporary command in the crumbling mausoleum of a 
  once proud dignitary (in fact, if the characters check up, they will find it is the tomb of the hero that led the 
  original party to destroy Rorsach in the first place. He knows this, and rather enjoys the irony. 
  The mausoleum is fitfully lit by flickering torches, and seated at the back is the Lichemaster, who has been 
  monitoring the battle via his Clairvoyance spell (see below), and is ready for the characters. In between him 
  and the heroes stand two skeleton guards he has resurrected from the crypt. Faster than zombies, and armed 
  with the old hero’s weapons, they are there to delay the characters while Rorsach finishes them off with his 
  magic. The Liche isn’t at full power fortunately, his efforts to raise the zombies and skeletons, plus his 
  recent return from the grave, has depleted his power somewhat. 
  Have the players make a guts check when they first see him. Zombies are one thing, but this is a man who is 
  not only self aware, but has done this to himself. Being able to see his organs through tears in his robes don’t 
  help much, either! 
    
  Once defeated, the villager’s will thanks the heroes profusely, and refuse to let them pay for their room and 
  board. Mitch, the innkeeper of The Chequers, will provide them with free beer all evening. The next 
  morning, Peter, the villager that burst into the inn originally (unless he died, in which case, pick another 
  villager), will offer to drive them to Lord Redstone’s Mansion in his wagon, allowing them to arrive a day 
  early and much rested. If the heroes expect some kind of reward for their actions above and beyond this (as 
  above, Lord Redstone will reward them, but they don’t know that yet), remind them that they were just 
  caught up in events, and these people have done the best they can by them in paying for their 
  accommodation and food bills. 
    
  
  Cast of characters 
    
  Skeletons 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6 
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Shooting d6 
  Pace: 6   Parry: 6 (8)   Toughness: 7 
  Gear: Longsword (Str+2) Small Shield (Parry +2) 
  Special Abilities: Fearless, Undead 
    
  Rorsach the Lichemaster 
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d4 
  Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Arcane) d10, Spellcasting d12 
  Pace: 6   Parry: 4   Toughness: 4   Power points: 25 (currently 15) 
  Special Abilities: Arcane background (Necromancy), Extra Power Points x3, Spell Mastery, Undead, 
  Fearless, Hard to Kill, Rapid Recharge, Delusional (megalomania) 
  Gear: tattered, once resplendent robes, staff (Str +2) 
  Spells: Animate Dead, Armour, Bolt, Blast, Clairvoyance 
    
  Arcane Background – Necromancer 
  Allows a character to cast spells, as a normal arcane background. Also allows the character to gain 1 power 
  point for every death he causes through his magic, or through any undead he animates. Not recommended 
  for Players.. 
    
  New Spells 
  Animate Dead – create zombies or skeletons. 2 power point for each to create, and them 1 point per day per 
  zombie to maintain them. 
    
  Clairvoyance – trappings, see through the eyes of anything dead, whether animated or not. 1 point to cast, 
  1/round to maintain. 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds/Fantasy/Wizards & Warriors/Savage Worlds - Wizards & Warriors - Adv - Return of the Lichemaster.pdf