The Sanctum of She’kar

A D&D 5e Dun geon for four 3rd Level Characters

Long ago, the evil warlock She’kar broke the pact he forged with his fiendish
patron. Now, long after shuffling off his mortal coil, he has risen as a Deathlock
bound to the service of his dark lord. From the depths of his sanctum, he plots and
schemes, seeking how best to bring his master’s plans to fruition.
The Entrance The Hall of the Hero

This room is a circular chamber 25 feet in diameter. Four stone

pillars stand in the corners of the room and a large statue of a
knight stands in a victorious pose in the center. To your left, a stone
You slowly descend into a chamber 25 feet wide by 30 feet long. door bars the way forward.
Four stone pillars stand in the corners of the room and a large
The statue is actually a petrified Knight. He is a lawful good
fountain dominates the center. At the far end, you see a large stone
human who was turned to stone centuries ago while trying to defeat
door flanked by two statues of humans, their faces twisted in agony.
she’kar. As a punishment, he was left here as part of the puzzle the
The fountain contains a petrifying agent. It appears to be water party must solve to proceed.
until someone drinks from it or touches it with their bare skin. If the
The statue has an AC of 17, 18 hit points, and a damage threshold
liquid touches their bare skin, they must succeed on a DC 14
of 5. If the statue is destroyed, the party finds a bloody human
Constitution saving throw, or they begin to turn to stone and
skeleton among the debris. Searching through the debris yields a key
are restrained until the end of their next turn, when it must repeat
that can unlock the next door.
the saving throw. The effect ends if the second save is successful;
otherwise they are petrified for 24 hours. If they drink the liquid If the party places the Ring of Gorgon’s Mercy on the statue’s
instead, the DC is 20 instead of 14. There is a snake-shaped ring at the finger, it reverses the petrification curse and the knight collapses. If
bottom of the fountain that can be found with a DC 12 healed at least 1 hit point or if someone succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom
Intelligence (Investigation) check. It is a Ring of Gorgon’s (Medicine) check, he regains consciousness. He thanks the party
Mercy and it allows a person to automatically resist the effects of a profusely for their help and offers them the key to the next room
petrification effect. Alternatively, if placed on a petrified person, it before slowly making his way out of the dungeon. Alternatively, the key
will reverse the effects. Either way, the ring only works once per day. can be found by making a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation)
check and searching the knight’s body.
The statues are Stone Cursed. They wait for someone to either
get petrified by the fountain or try to open the door. When defeated, The door itself is magical like the previous one, though less insidious.
they crumble to dust and each one leaves behind half of a key. The key If someone touches the door with their bare skin, they suddenly hear a
can be used to unlock the door and nullify the petrifying magic in it. screaming sound coming from the statue behind them. This only lasts as
long as they maintain contact with the door. Once the statue has been
The door itself is made of magical stone. Anyone who touches it
destroyed or the Knight freed, this effect no longer occurs.
with their bare skin must make the same save as if they touched the
liquid in the fountain or else suffer the same effects.
The Fool’s Library The False Door & Shrine

Beyond the doorway lies a 15 foot wide by 25 foot long room with The door at the end of the hall outside this room is false and
vaulted ceilings. The sides of the room are lined with bookcases and a locked. Opening it requires a DC 14 Dexterity (Slight of Hand)
large armoire stands at the far end of the room. Two small tables check. Thieves’ Tools grant advantage on this roll. When opened,
stand in the center of the room. anyone looking through it sees a room full of treasure. As soon as
someone passes through the door, the illusion fades and the doorway
This whole room is a giant trap. The tables are Mimics that attack
turns into a wall. The person who entered the doorway is transported
as soon as someone touches them, or once the party opens the armoire.
back to the Hall of the Hero and turned into a statue where the
The books on the walls are all inscribed with a random spell glyph. Each
Knight once stood.
time a character tries to read one, roll 1d6 and consult the table
below to see which spell is cast. The spell originates in the square the This 15 foot by 20 foot room is divided in half by thick curtains. In
person reading the book is in and targets as many characters as the center of the room, where the curtains part, you see a rug on the
possible. If it has a save, the DC is 12. stone floor that leads up to an altar with a bowl on it. Two pillars of
stone stand to either side of you.
1. Fog Cloud
2. Color Spray The rug is a Rug of Smothering. Beneath it is a 10 foot deep pit
3. Sleep with spikes at the bottom. The first person to step on the rug must
4. Magic Missile make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw with disadvantage as the
5. Thunderwave Rug of Smothering tries to force them into the pit. If the succeed, they
6. Burning Hands land in a space adjacent to the pit. If they fail, they fall in and take
2d6 piercing damage.
The armoire contains the following:
If the Rug of Smothering fails to drop someone into the pit, it will
x 2x Potions of Healing
instead try to smother them. If it succeeds in dropping someone into the
x 1x Scroll of Fog Cloud
pit, it will instead engage the rest of the party smothering whoever
x 1x Scroll of Color Spray
seems weakest.
x 1x Scroll of Sleep
x 1x Scroll of Magic Missile The bowl on the altar has an inscription in Elvish that reads
x 1x Scroll of Thunderwave “Drink and wash away your cares”. If anyone drinks from it, they must
x 1x Scroll of Burning Hands immediately make a DC 14 Charisma saving throw. If they fail, they are
x 1x Book with Explosive Runes inscribed in it. Anyone who affected by a Calm Emotions spell for the next hour. During this
reads it causes a 20 foot radius explosion. Each creature time, they feel no emotions whatsoever, roll initiative with
caught in it must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. disadvantage, and have a passive perception of 10. Every time they take
They take 5d8 lightning damage on a failed save and half as damage, they can attempt the save again.
much on a successful one.
The Undead Workshop Servants’ Quarters

This 25 foot by 20 foot room is lit by a fireplace to your right. To This 25 foot by 20 foot room is lit by a fireplace to your left. A
your left, boxes and shelving hold supplies of an alchemical nature. At table and stools lie at the far end of the room and two simple beds
the far end of the room, you see two wooden tables. Both appear to are off to your right. It appears to be some kind of living space.
have something on them, however, they are covered by dusty white sheets
This room is mostly empty. The beds each have a Skeleton in them,
so you are unable to discern precisely what they are.
and the boxes next to them are filled with four Crawling Claws
The southern table has a Ghoul on it while the northern table each. As soon as someone disturbs either the beds or the boxes, the
has a Ghast. As soon as the party enters the room, both rise up and skeletons rise up and the crawling claws pour out and attack.
attack. The Ghoul attacks mindlessly, but the Ghast fights
The fireplace in the room is not lit by a conventional fire, but by a
intelligently. It focuses on anyone not currently paralyzed by a claw
Continual Flame spell, meaning the fire itself is harmless. Anyone
attack.
who searches the fireplace can make a DC 16 Intelligence
The alchemical supplies can be searched to reveal the following: (Investigation) check to discover a pull chain in the chimney portion of
the fireplace. Tugging on it has no immediate effect in this room,
x 1x Vial of Alchemist’s Fire
however, it unlocks the second gate leading out of the next area.
x 1x Vial of Acid
x 1x Thunderstone

The fireplace in the room is not lit by a conventional fire, but by a

Continual Flame spell, meaning the fire itself is harmless. Anyone
who searches the fireplace can make a DC 16 Intelligence
(Investigation) check to discover a pull chain in the chimney portion of
the fireplace. Tugging on it has no immediate effect in this room,
however, it unlocks the first gate leading into the next area.
The Forever Room The Inner Sanctum

This 15 foot wide circular room has two entrances, both blocked off
by metal portcullises. There is a large stone pillar in the center of the
room. Looking down, you see the stone floor has been worn away as if by
countless feet. This room contains a large set of stone steps leading up to an
altar, behind which stands a statue of some demonic entity nearly 40
The gates are locked be default. In order to unlock them, the party
feet high. At the top of the steps you see a decrepit figure, cloaked in
needs to pull the hidden pull chains inside the fireplaces in the previous
flowing rotten robes, and holding a large staff of gnarled wood. It
two rooms. The floor in this room is magical. Any attempt to walk
turns to face you.
forwards results in the floor moving beneath the person to counter
whatever movements they make. In order to get through this room, a “So, you’ve made it this far I see.” It hisses at you. “Come, let us see
person needs to walk backwards. Doing so allows for free movement. if you have what it takes to see things through!”

The creature is She’kar the Deathlock. Having broken his pact

with his fiendish patron, he was raised from the dead to serve in

The Spoils of War undeath. Now, though he works to accomplish his master’s plans, he
secretly wishes for the sweet release of death. His sanctum was
designed to make sure that anyone who reached him was strong enough
to kill him once and for all.

Due to his condition, he is forced to fight with everything he has. He

opens the fight by casting either Burning Hands, Fireball, or
This small 10 foot by 15 foot room contains numerous barrels, Scorching Ray. He then uses his Eldritch Blast and Deathly
crates and chests behind a thick metal portcullis. Claw to attack the party. If things start to go badly for him, he will
cast invisibility and try to flee (despite his desire for death, his
This room is where She’kar keeps the items left behind when heroes undead enslavement forces him to try to survive.)
fail to defeat his many traps, puzzles, and minions. Inside the different
containers are the following: If the party slays him, he thanks them for freeing him with his
final breath before crumbling to dust. He leaves behind his Staff of
x 1x Silvered Melee Weapon (any type) the Corpse Talker. It is a rare magical item that requires
x 1x Shield attunement by someone who can cast arcane spells. It has 3 charges
x 1x Suit of Half Plate and regains 1d3 charges each night at sunset. The attuned wielder can
x 20d10 Gold Pieces spend 1 charge to cast Spare the Dying, 2 charges to cast Gentle
x 2d10 Platinum Pieces Repose, and 3 charges to cast Speak with Dead.
x 3x Potions of Healing
x 1x +1 Weapon (any type)