Arena of the Undead Horde

6
8
Adventure intro
Adventure Overview
Hooks
9 The Arena
19 The Training Pit
Stats
23 Ironskull Skeleton Archer
24 Ironskull Leonite
25 Ironskull Knight
26 Ironskull Executioner
27 Ironskull Duellist
28 Ironskull Deathrider
29 Ironskull Andabata

contents
roduction
Welcome to Epic Encounters, designed to help you take your
fantasy roleplaying games to the next level.
In this booklet, you’ll find guidance on running an encounter, tips on making sure
every turn builds jeopardy and excitement, and ensuring that you keep your players
on their toes – if they have any left after this battle, of course!
3

Before you play, use this handy checklist to ensure you’ve got everything prepared
and are ready to go.

✔ You’ve read this book. Use it for inspiration as well as guidance. Choose the bits
you like or use it all—the choice is up to you.

✔ Your players all have their dice and their character sheets, and know that something
big is coming.

✔ The battle map is laid out, ready for use, and you’ve familiarised yourself with its different
areas and the variety of things that can happen over the course of the encounter.

✔ You’re ready to have fun! Above everything else, remember that this is a game. If
you forget certain rules as the Gamemaster (GM), don’t worry. As long as you and
your players are laughing and enjoying yourselves, you’re doing it right.

Before Starting
Epic Encounters are divided into three Tiers of Play, making them suitable for as
many different player groups as possible. The Damage Level and the Difficulty
Class (DC) of each check specified during the encounter is broken into three Tiers
of Play, shown in the table below. Whenever the text calls for a ‘standard DC check’,
or specifies that a creature suffers ‘standard damage’, refer to the appropriate
box below. For example, if you’re playing at the lower level, and you take standard
damage, you suffer d4 points of damage.

This encounter is designed for middle tier play. With a few tweaks, and experienced
GM should be able to make it suitable for higher or lower tier play as well.

Tier of Play Difficulty Check Damage Level

s
Lower (levels 1-4) 12 d4
Middle (levels 5-10) 14 d8
Higher (levels 10+) 18 d10
4

adven
 5

nture
adventu
6

over
You do not know what doom befell this
kingdom, what ancient grudge was held
against it by some dark sorcerer, but
the place is now ruled over by the dead.
You’ve heard the tales, of course, of the
dust on the wind. Still they stand guard.
Nations they once conquered rise, and
fall, and rise again. Still they stand guard.
Perhaps, if this is all they did, the world
would forget them entirely. But the cruel,
necropolis; guarded by the skeletons of malignant power behind them does more
its former inhabitants. You’ve heard tell of than simply preserve their bones; it drives
the Lich Empress, enthroned at the centre them to sudden sorties into the living
of a city populated only by shambling world, to wreak bloody slaughter
corpses and other, darker, things. There once more.
are stories, of course—so many stories
Many times, heroes and adventurers have
about the army once pouring forth from
sought to steal into the city, to find some
this ancient conurbation; of how it swept
means of preventing the undead hordes
the forces of its enemies from the field and
from stalking across the lands of the living.
butchered them in their thousands; of how
None have returned, though their remains
its relentless legions bore their empress’
are sometimes seen hanging from gibbets
standard into the capitals of every nation,
on the necropolis’ highest towers. All bear
and cast their monarchs to their knees in
the hideous wounds of those who died
her name. The stories don’t die. And nor,
painfully, and in battle.
it seems, did those troops. They simply…
withered. The abiding evil animating the skeletal
troops lets no one die easily. Not when
The city, once the navel of the world, is
they could be killed exquisitely slowly; not
now a ruin. But still they stand guard. Their
when their deaths could revive memories
flesh, slipped from arid bone, is the fine
of long forgotten dominance, of power
and hegemony held for millennia and
reluctantly lost. So the undead horde do
not seek to kill intruders, not immediately.
Instead, they are surrounded, captured,
and sent to the arena… to perform for the
thousands of trapped souls still lingering in
this cursed place.
ure
What drew you to this accursed place? What strange tales brought
7

rview
you to this trap, from which you'll be fortunate to escape with
either your lives or your sanity? Perhaps it was one of the rumours
below, though even these may prove to be naught but fantasy...

✔ The unliving empress who rules over this ancient place refused to let any of its
citizens pass on to the afterlife. Every one of its soldiers continues to serve in
undeath, condemned to eternal servitude, forever carrying out its increasingly
insane whims.

✔ The empire was, in the days before it was gripped with the curse of living death,
a multicultural place. Centaurs and even giants dwelled here as full citizens. The
peace and acceptance they craved was provided by the empress, who knew that
she wanted more than simply infantry in her army of bones.

✔ The dead retain some of their previous selves; a part of the soul that never
truly dies. It clings to the bones with such intensity that they become marked,
sculpted not simply by the erosion of time, but by the true self wrapped around
their fleshless form. When the wind catches these markings in the right way, the
voice of the long-dead person can be heard, murmuring softly to themselves.

✔ It has been decades since the legions of the necropolis marched on the world,
their ancient weapons hacking through flesh. But the dead have not been idle;
their weapons may be old but they remain sharp, and not through magical
means. The dead continuously hone their steel, and some even forge new blades
for those who were not soldiers in life, but have become so in undeath.

✔ Those who fight in the arena and lose, but

lose well, are kept as trophies, their
spirits added to the endless ranks of
unquiet dead who watch the eternal
games—their voice added to the faint
whispering of approbation.
8
Your only hope of survival is to hack your way free from the
arena, escaping into the training room where the gladiators once
practiced, and from there, fleeing into the body of the necropolis.
But how did you get here? What drew you to this long fallen city?
The following hooks can be used to help weave this adventure
into an ongoing campaign, or to kick off a new one!
T
✔ The lure of the ancient treasures to be found in the necropolis draws many to the
ancient city, none of whom ever return. Do the player characters investigate the
city as a result of their own greed, or to try and retrieve a lost adventurer for their
family, or a particularly loyal guild? Whatever their reasons, the necropolis lets no
one go easily.

✔ Posters appear in every city, summoning those of spirit and fortitude to the grand
arena. Lavish prizes are promised, eternal fame assured for those who perform
well. Except it soon becomes clear that none survive the arena. Some of those who
fight are seen again, but usually only in pieces, or gibbets.

✔ The ancient city is a lure to scholars everywhere; the knowledge yet to be

retrieved from those broken buildings; those half-burned libraries. You were
paid to go in, find something interesting, and get out. You found many interesting
things; the problem was, some of those interesting things also found you.

✔ You’re going to venture into the darkness; into the old places of the world. Your
family is descended from that ancient place, and you know it is your fate, your
duty, to end the darkness that has claimed so many lives. Time to fulfil a destiny a
millennium in the making.

✔ The dead are stirring in their graves. The graveyards are no longer resting places
but masses of freshly tilled soil, ploughed up from beneath by skeletal hands.
Something has called the bones of the long forgotten, and the recently deceased,
to its side. In a grim tide, they march upon an ancient city—you must find out
where they are going, and why.

hook
✔ The image of a hideous, cackling skull is in everyone’s dreams. And with it, the
knowledge that some ending is coming, some final judgement. The dreams show
battle, a battle against dozens of foes in a vast stadium, for the approval of a great
throng of dismal spirits. What do the dreams mean? And why do you feel the urge
to find the arena, and pit yourself against the dangers you have dreamt of?
The Arena
Phantasms, limned in blue, wave and sway and shimmer in the
9

half-light of a bloated sun. Ranks of them, serried ranks, wait

in the arena, watching as they watched in life, waiting for the
entertainment to begin. The arena is a vast, open space, into
which gladiators, slaves, and animals were once flung to fight
one another for the entertainment of the crowd. The crowd
remains, its howls and jeers become an ethereal whisper; its
lust for blood and slaughter undimmed. Their entertainment
is provided more rarely these days, but their phantom forms
still lean forward as avidly as ever, desperate to witness their
skeletal heroes spill the blood of those unfortunates dragged
into the arena. None escape the arena alive. Instead, their
broken bodies are dragged from the sandy pit, and strung
from nearby towers, while the ghostly crowd susurrates its
approbation before falling, chillingly, silent.

k
10

Locations
There are a number of specific areas within the arena the player characters are
almost certain to encounter, as they attempt to try and fight their way free. The first
of these is the portcullis, preventing the player characters from escaping. The arena
is filled with a series of traps, designed to ensure that no one fighting within it is
ever truly safe. The largest of these is the tar pit, located at the south of the arena. At
the western and eastern extents of the arena are two large trap doors, from which
other threats might suddenly emerge, or into which player characters might be
plunged. Closer to the portcullis are two fire nozzles, spraying a liquid blaze onto
the flesh of anyone drawing too close. This often causes the victims to stumble
backwards to the carefully located spike pit. This particular combination of agony is
always capable of eliciting an audible trembling
of delight from the crowd.

Any who manage to survive the

depredations of the arena can escape
into the training pit. It was here, in the
distant past, that gladiators would practice before
venturing out to meet their brutal ends. Their
bodies, long stripped of flesh but still deadly
warriors, continue to infest the room. They
fight on, waiting for an opponent who has,
until now, never arrived.
 11

The Crowd
Adventurers are unable to forget their role as entertainers for a vast crowd. The
audience may have been dead for a millennium, but their lust for blood remains.
They still lean forward, spectral bodies poised in anticipation of slaughter. This
eagerness can pose a significant threat to the player characters. If, at any point, the
player characters move within 5 ft. of the edge of the arena, the GM should roll on
the following table—as the sprits swarm to the edge, reaching out, as they did in the
distant past, to touch their heroes, or to tear at those they detest.

D6 Spirit Response
Blood Frenzy! The spirits seize the player character and immediately begin to
try and rip them apart, wanting to gorge themselves on warm blood and a living
1
soul. The player character suffers d4 attacks at +4. Each attack deals standard
necrotic damage.

Hold Them Fast! Spectral arms twist and twine about the player character’s
form, binding them in place and making escape impossible as a skeleton
2
closes in. The player character is grappled, and cannot move from their
current position until they succeed on a standard DC strength check.

Fling Them Away! With a great surge, the crowd impel the player character
forward, sending them sprawling in the dirt, ready for their favoured gladiator
3
to deliver the death blow! The player character must succeed on a standard DC
Dexterity saving throw, or be thrown 15 ft. forward into the arena, landing prone.

Chill Of Death! The phantom touch of the ancient and forgotten audience is
enough to sap the vitality from even the most rugged of warriors. The player
4
character must succeed on a standard DC Constitution check or make all
ability checks and attacks at disadvantage during their next round.

We Love You! Long without life, but still capable of being won over by the
bravery and endeavour of a new champion, the player character is surprised
5
to hear a series of ghostly chants, urging them on. The player character gains
advantage on their next attack.

A Gift From A Fan! A strange blue light flickers along the steel of the player
character’s blade, from where a ghostly spectator reaches out to touch it.
6
For the remainder of the encounter, the player character's attacks deal an
additional d4 damage.

Should the player characters attempt to escape the arena by clambering the
walls, they do not get far. Thousands of blood-hungry ghosts descend on them in
seconds, and their fellow player characters get to witness them being devoured in a
welter of blood and viscera. Those fighting honourably in the arena are treated with
reverence; those who flee are fair game.
12
Enemies
The arena is filled with skeletal troops. Four Ironskull Duellists form a ragged
phalanx just in front of the tar pit, advancing slowly but inexorably towards the
player characters. Six Ironskull Archers stand on either side of the tar pit, in pairs,
maintaining a steady rain of arrows into the player characters, and ably supported by
the crowd favourite, the deadly Ironskull Executioner, desiccated flesh hanging from
a misshapen form. This is a lethal opponent, and picks out a single player character
to concentrate its attention on. It’s usually the character with the most formidable
armour… just to show the uselessness of armour against a warrior of its skill.

While the wall of shields gradually moves forwards, two Ironskull Deathriders
charge the player characters immediately, attempting to break up their formation,
and make them easy pickings for the duellists. The duellists seek to engage any
player character who becomes separated from the main group, especially magic
users. The duellists never become embroiled in a group fight, always moving away
from the main combat and seeking to engage player characters one-on-one. It’s
hardly a true test of skill, otherwise.

Reinforcements
The undead are legion; they’re everywhere, almost. This is their city, after all. In the
arena, however, there are no reinforcements. That would be cheating. There’s no joy
in simply sending wave after wave of foes against the gladiators until they inevitably
succumb to their wounds—that’s what the traps are for, anyway. If the gladiators defeat
their foes, they earn their reprieve. The undead cling to vestigial ideas from their former
lives, fixating on them even as the rest of their conscious selves is consumed by time.

Starting Point
Some adventures offer player characters a number of ways of proceeding. This isn’t
one of those. The player characters begin standing at the portcullis, which drops behind
them with hideous finality. How they get to that point is up to you, and how the adventure
unfolds. Perhaps they are lured into the arena, or enter it for shelter, finding it empty
and deserted until they step out into the killing grounds and are suddenly trapped.
Perhaps they are captured, and quickly bundled out to face their skeletal foes. That
element is up to you to decide. But the characters’ presence can’t be disguised. They’re
immediately confronted by the skeletal hordes. The only question is: can they survive?
13
14

4 3

5 2 1

4
3

Locations
The Arena
 15
Portcullis
A huge steel gate, inscribed with
Fire Nozzles
A malignant marvel of engineering,

1 3
strange whorls and studded with these nozzles are positioned with
precious gems. While there is a skeleton extravagant care—able to engulf
still alive (you know what we mean…) several player characters in a tumult
in the arena, the portcullis cannot be of flame. The fire nozzles are triggered
opened. The designers of the arena by a player character moving directly
weren’t stupid. The portcullis is between the nozzles. There is, in effect,
enchanted and cannot be lifted while a magical tripwire connecting the
a fight continues in the arena—or at two nozzles, and any player character
least, cannot be lifted from the arena will trigger a deluge of flame. Once
side. Anyone who does try to lift the triggered, a player character must
portcullis while battle swirls around succeed on a standard Dexterity saving
them immediately suffers standard throw, or be engulfed. The flames deal
damage (with no saving throw allowed) double standard fire damage for every
and is flung 10 ft. backwards, in a round a player character is standing
straight line, landing prone (and quite in them. The fire continues to pour
possibly in the spike pit). forth for one turn, before the nozzles
cease. Every subsequent time a player
character passes directly between

Spike Pit them, however, the fire is renewed.

Player characters can avoid setting
off the fire nozzles by moving directly
A large hole, dug into the ground,
beneath them, entering a blind spot,
and filled with spikes. It’s difficult to
or by tampering with the devices
describe a spike pit in any other way.

2
themselves. The nozzles (AC14, 4 hit
Any character moving to within 5 ft.
point), once broken, emit no further
of the pit must succeed on a standard
fire. Until they’re broken, though, they
DC Dexterity saving throw, or fall
pose a constant and deadly hazard. The
into the pit (the ground immediately
Ironskull warriors all attempt to push,
surrounding the pit has been cunningly
knock, or force the characters so as to
smoothed and levelled out), suffering
set off the fire nozzles, happily suffering
double standard piercing damage.
damage themselves in order to do so. If
Clambering back out requires a
the Ironskull warriors manage to get in
standard DC Dexterity (Acrobatics)
behind the player characters, then they
or Strength (Athletics) check. The
will try to combine the fire nozzles with
Ironskull Duellists use their infantry line
the spike pit to lethal effect!
to try and force player characters close
to, or into the pit. The deathriders do
the same. Should any player character

s
a be precipitated onto the spikes, the
executioner immediately switches to
focusing his attention on them.
16
Trap Doors
Positioned to the east and west of the arena, these trap doors are entirely obvious,
and were clearly never intended to be concealed. Quite the opposite, in fact. They

4
stand out clearly against the pallid sand of the arena’s floor, almost inviting a
participant in the arena to investigate them. The trap doors are both firmly shut at
the beginning of the battle. They are designed to spring open if a player character
draws too close, or at a certain predetermined point of the combat—it’s an old trick
of the bloodsport trade; in the middle of the fight, make sure you throw something
new into the mix. If a player character moves within 5 ft. of a trap door then it
immediately opens. Alternatively, if the player characters have studiously kept their
distance, then the doors open of their own accord after 6 turns. The trap doors lead
into a shallow pit, both containing Ironskull Leonites. These vicious, undead lions
immediately charge from their enclosure, and attack the nearest player character,
tearing at them with fangs and claws.

The handles of the trap doors are exceedingly large, and beautifully wrought from single
pieces of iron. A standard DC Wisdom (Insight) check reveals them to be worth 250gp
each, if torn free from the door. Ripping the handles from the doors requires a standard DC
Strength check to achieve.

5
Tar Pit
The south side of the arena is occupied by a large pit of bubbling, noxious tarry stuff.
The Ironskull Archers, standing alongside the pit, dip their arrows into it before
loosing, enabling them to do an extra d4 poison damage on every successful hit. Any
player character that moves within 5 ft. of the tar pit must succeed on a standard DC
Dexterity saving throw or stumble into the pit, becoming stuck fast in the sucking,
grasping ooze. The ooze itself does no damage (it’s poisonous, but it’s not going to
eat through armour) but the player character cannot move until they succeed on a
standard DC Strength (Athletics) check, made at disadvantage. Each turn a player
character is stuck in the pit, they must succeed on a standard DC Constitution saving
throw or suffer standard poison damage, as the fumes from the ooze assail their
senses, leaving them disoriented and confused.

Once the last Ironskull warrior in the arena has fallen, the player characters can
heave the portcullis open, requiring a standard DC Strength (Athletics) check. The
arena is utterly silent as they leave, the spectral audience simply watching them go.
Thousands of anguished, desolate faces turn slowly as the player characters hurry
beneath the portcullis.
17
18
T

1 2 1

3
4

Locations
The Training Pit
 Training Pit
the
19

The arena may be behind them, but death still waits to claim
the player characters. The chamber they find themselves in is
large and dimly lit torches gutter on the walls (who lit them,
no one can say, for the dead do not need them), and the ancient
gladiatorial training pit is revealed.
In the centre of the training pit, vast maces at their sides, and eyeless faces fixed
on the player characters, are two Ironskull Andabatae, and their accompanying
Leonites. A clatter of hooves reveals the two Ironskull Deathriders on either
side, seeking to flank the player characters. Behind the Andabatae is a line of two
Ironskull Executioners and two Ironskull Knights with the Ironskull Knights in
their centre. At the far side of the room, two Ironskull Archers wait, maintaining a
withering rate of fire.

The Andabatae initially spend the fight, or as much as they can, controlling the
centre of the room. They try not to move, focusing the player characters' attention
on them, and allowing the Ironskull Deathriders and Leonites to flank. The
executioners and knights are there to mop up stragglers, engaging any player
characters who attempt to keep to the peripheries. This is a dangerous, and difficult
battle for even the most experienced of warriors.

Reinforcements
Things are different in the training pit. Here, notions of honour and fairness are
long-forgotten. In the training pit, any Ironskull Archers, Knights and Executioners
killed by the player characters return as reinforcements at the end of the following
turn—emerging through the doorway leading to the arena.

1
Columns
Two parallel lines of columns are located on either side of the room. The columns are
clearly weak, and poorly made—a standard DC Wisdom (Insight) check reveals as
much—and in danger of collapse. A standard DC Strength (Athletics) check is enough to
send one crashing down, dealing double standard bludgeoning damage to any creature
standing within 5 ft. A player character can also use the columns as extra cover, gaining
+2 to AC if standing adjacent to one. The Ironskull warriors do not attack the pillars.
Even in death, they fear disrespecting the arena, and what the two Ironskull Andabatae

s
t might do to them. If the player characters bring down more than half of the columns,
then the ceiling begins to sag. After d3 turns, it collapses in, dealing triple standard
bludgeoning damage to every creature in the training pit.
20
Training Dummies

2
The ancient gladiators couldn’t always practice their murderous arts on each
other. Instead, they had these training dummies. The dummies are old and broken,
but still in regular use. The undead gladiators continue to perform their training
regimens; old bones endlessly repeating the grim tasks of life. The training
dummies were something more than simply lumps of cloth, clay, and wool,
however. In order to ensure her champions were always at their best, the Lich
Empress wrapped the dummies in many spells. These enchantments made the
dummies respond to the attacks of the practicing gladiators, often in unexpected
ways. The dummies may be broken, but the spells are most decidedly not. The first
time a player character is within 5 ft. of one of the training dummies, the GM should
roll a D6 on the following table:

D6 Dummy's Reaction
Sit Up And Strike! The dummy suddenly rears up from the floor, striking out
1 at the player character, and delivering an attack at +4, dealing double standard
slashing damage.

Tripped Neatly! With a twist of its ruined form, the training dummy throws the
player character’s balance off, sending them stumbling. The player character
2
must succeed on a standard DC Dexterity saving throw, or sprawl over the
dummy, being left prone.

That Was Unexpected! Just as the player character attempts to act, the dummy
shifts ever so slightly. Never enough to injure the player character, just enough
3
to distract them at the wrong moment. The player character makes their next
ability check at disadvantage.

Vicious Mockery! With a rasp, the dummy’s mouth opens, and an ugly, childlike
voice begins to mock everything the player character does, or attempts to do.
4
While the player character is within 5 ft. of the training dummy, they make all
attacks at disadvantage.

Close Embrace! The dummy wraps itself around the player character, holding
5 them close against its ugly, rubbery form. The player character counts as
grappled, until they succeed on a standard DC Strength (Athletics) check.

A Helping Hand! As it rears up, brought hideously to life, the dummy provides
6 a little extra cover for the player character. The player character adjacent to the
dummy gains +2 AC against the next attack it suffers.
Weapons Main 21
Rack Door

3 4
The door is the player character’s
The weapons racks themselves are
way out of this nightmare. It is a vast
surprisingly well-preserved, for
hunk of wood and metal, built to
something made of wood in a damp,
prevent the escape of ogres, ettins and
mildew-ridden pit like this. Concealed
chimerae. Built, in fact, to prevent the
behind the weapons rack, detectable
escape of the hundreds of thousands
on a standard DC Wisdom (Perception)
of creatures herded into the arena to
check, is a small aperture in which an
die for the enjoyment of the audience;
enterprising gladiator hid a handful
the audience that never left. Opening
of bronze figurines; perhaps of their
the door is a labour, in and of itself.
long-lost family. If taken, and sold, these
The lock—an enormous rusted iron
would be worth approximately 500gp.
portal in the wood—must be picked,
necessitating a standard DC Dexterity
(Sleight of Hand) check. Once the door
is unlocked, it must be opened. This
requires two successful standard DC
Strength (Athletics) checks, though the
door takes three turns to open. Once
the door begins to open, any surviving
Ironskull warriors fling themselves at
the player characters with renewed
vigour, somehow conscious of their
imminent failure. As soon as the player
characters manage to exit the Training
Pit, the adventure is over: they have
survived. For now.

Stumbling onto the gloom-shrouded

streets of the ancient city, clutching at
their wounds, the adventurers might
believe they’ve survived the necropolis.
Ahead of them, a light begins to grow
ever more brightly from a nearby tower
window. Laughter begins to echo in
heads still ringing from battle. ‘You are
not free yet, little ones,’ says a voice, as soft
and inescapable as death itself. The Lich
Empress awaits…
22

stats
 23
Ironskull Challenge
1/4
Skeleton Archer
Medium undead, neutral
(50 XP)

AC: 13 (armour scraps) STR: 10 (+0)

Hit Points: 13 (2d8 + 4) DEX: 14 (+2)
CON: 15 (+2)
Speed: 30 ft.
INT: 6 (-2) nskull Sk
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.,
WIS: 8 (-1)
Iro e
Passive Perception 9

let
CHA: 5 (-3)
Languages: understands all languages

on Archer
it spoke in life, but can't speak
Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned

Actions
Short Sword
Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Short Bow
Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
range 80/320 ft., one target.
Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

s
24
Challenge
1 Ironskull
(200 XP)

Leonite
Large undead beast, unaligned

AC: 12 STR: 17 (+3)

Hit Points: 26 (4d10 + 4) DEX: 15 (+2)
CON: 13 (+1)
Speed: 45 ft.
INT: 3 (-4)
Senses: Passive Perception 13
WIS: 12 (+1)
Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +6
CHA: 8 (-1)
Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned

Special Abilities
Pack Tactics
The leonite has advantage on an attack roll against a
creature if at least one of the leonite's allies is within 5
ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Pounce
If the leonite moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a
creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the
same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13
Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the
target is prone, the leonite can make one bite attack
against it as a bonus action.

Running Leap
With a 10 ft. running start, the leonite can make a long
jump of up to 25 ft.

Actions
Bite
nskull Leo
Iro Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
ni

Hit: (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

te

Claw
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
 25
Ironskull Challenge
3
Knight
Medium undead, neutral
(700 XP)

AC: 18 (plate) STR: 16 (+3)

Hit Points: 52 (8d8 + 16) DEX: 11 (+0)
CON: 14 (+2)
Speed: 30 ft.
INT: 11 (+0)
Senses: Passive Perception 10
WIS: 11 (+0)
Languages: understands all
CHA: 15 (+2)
languages it spoke in life, but can't
speak Saving Throws:
CON +4, WIS +2
Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned

Actions
Multiattack
The knight makes two Great Mace attacks.
Great Mace
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft.,
one target. Hit: (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage.

Reaction
Parry
The knight gains +2 to AC against one
melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the knight
must be able to see its attacker and be wielding a
melee weapon.

skull Knigh
on
Ir

t
26
Challenge
2 Ironskull
(450 XP)

Executioner
Medium undead, neutral
AC: 15 (rusted plate armour) STR: 16 (+3)
Hit Points: 67 (9d8 + 27) DEX: 12 (+1)
Speed: 30 ft. CON: 17 (+3)
nskull Exe Senses: Passive Perception 9 INT: 9 (-1)
Iro Languages: understands all WIS: 11 (+0)
cu

languages it spoke in life, but CHA: 9 (-1)

tion

can't speak
er

Skills: Stealth +6
Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned

Special Abilities
Reckless
At the start of its turn, the executioner can gain advantage
on all melee weapon attack rolls during that turn, but
attack rolls against it have advantage until the start of its
next turn.

Actions
Great Axe
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d12 + 3) slashing damage.
 27
Ironskull Challenge
3
Duellist
Medium undead, neutral
(700 XP)

AC: 17 (Splint) STR: 16 (+3)

Hit Points: 58 (9d8 + 18) DEX: 13 (+1)
CON: 14 (+2)
Speed: 30 ft.
INT: 10 (+0)
Senses: Passive Perception 12 ist
Languages: understands all
WIS: 11 (+0) ell

u
CHA: 10 (+0)

nskull D
languages it spoke in life, but
can't speak
Skills: Athletics +5, Perception +2

Iro
Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned

Actions
Multiattack
The duellist makes two Longsword attacks.

Longsword
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d10 + 3) slashing damage. Two-handed.

Reactions
Riposte
When a creature misses a melee attack against the
duellist, it may make a free attack against its opponent
as a reaction.
28
Challenge
2 Ironskull
(450 XP)

Deathrider
Large undead monstrosity, neutral

AC: 12 STR: 18 (+4)

Hit Points: 45 (6D10 + 12) DEX: 14 (+2)
CON: 14 (+2)
Speed: 45 ft.
INT: 9 (-1)
nskull De Senses: Passive Perception 13
Iro a WIS: 8 (-1)
Languages: Understands all
th

CHA: 5 (-3)
ride

languages it spoke in life, but

can’t speak
r

Skills: Athletics +6,

Perception +3, Survival +3

Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned

Special Abilities
Charge
If the deathrider moves at least 30 ft. straight
toward a target and then hits it with a Scythe attack
on the same turn, the target takes an extra 10 (3d6)
piercing damage.

Actions
Multiattack
The deathrider makes one Scythe attack and one
Hooves attack.
Scythe
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (1d12 + 4) piercing damage.
Hooves
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
 29
Ironskull Challenge
7
Andabata
Large undead construct, neutral
(2,900 XP)

AC: 17 (armour scraps) STR: 18 (+4)

Hit Points: 142 (17d10 + 60) DEX: 10 (+0)
CON: 18 (+4)
Speed: 30 ft.
INT: 7 (-2)
Senses: Passive Perception 10
WIS: 8 (-1)
Languages: Understands all
CHA: 5 (-3)
languages it spoke in life, but
can’t speak
Damage Resistances: Poison, Fire
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion,
Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned

Special Abilities
Guardian Leonite
The andabata is always accompanied by a leonite.
Turn Resistance
The andabata has advantage on saving throws
against any effect that turns undead.
Regeneration
The andabata regains 10 hit points at the start
of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point remaining.

Actions Reactions
Multiattack Devoted Master
The andabata makes three When a creature makes an attack
Skull mace attacks. against the andabata’s leonite guardian,
if the andabata is within 10 ft. of the
Skull Mace
leonite it may choose to take the
Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach nskull An
5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4)
damage instead. Iro d
ab

bludgeoning damage.
ata
credit
30

Epic Encounters
Team
Game Design Writer Art Graphic Design
Mat Hart Richard August Doug Telford & Layout
Michael Ruocco
Game Editing Sculpting Dale Nicholson
Development Ead Brown Ben Charles Abby Thornton
Richard August Matthew Elliott Russ Charles
Tom Lishman Playtesting
Project Holly Woolford External playtest
Management groups
Matthew Elliott
ts 31

Steamforged Games Team

Founder & CEO Development Production Marketing & Fulfilment
Rich Loxam Jamie Perkins Emma Benfield Community Mike Appleton
Steve Margetson Matthew Elliott Management John Hockey
Founder & CCO Fraser McFeteridge Ben Clapperton Derek Baker Alex Black
Mat Hart Richard August Tom Rochford Jamie Giblin
Nicolas Lu Charlotte Cloud Sales
Chairman Sculpting & Art Chynna-Blue Haycastle Toby Davies
Simon Spalding Ben Charles Finance Ben Taylor Firoz Rana
Russ Charles John Higham Nicole HDW Sinclair Jo Turner
Non-Executive Tom Lishman Vanessa O’Brien
Director Doug Telford Matthew Colgrave Human Resources
Ian Livingstone CBE Holly Woolford Gareth Reid
Ron Ashtiani IT
Graphic Design & Adam King Operations
Product Owners Layout Judy Guan
Alex Hall Abigail Thornton Richard Jennings
Sherwin Matthews Dale Nicholson Susanna Ngai
32

Licensing
Agreement
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

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All Rights Reserved.

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create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any
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2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game
Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game 12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply
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3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All
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4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing 14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be
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5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are

contributing original material as Open Game Content, You
represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation
and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed
by this License.
 33

15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the

Coast, LLC.

System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of

the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris
Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J.
Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend,
based on original material by E. Gary Gygax
and Dave Arneson.

Epic Encounters: Copyright © 2021 Steamforged Games Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information retrieval system without our prior written
permission.

PRODUCT IDENTITY

The following items are designated Product Identity, as

defined in Section 1(e) of the Open Game Licence Version
1.0a (OGL), and are subject to the conditions set forth
in Section 7 of the OGL, and are not Open Content: All
registered and unregistered trademarks, service marks,
business names and designs belonging to, referring to,
or otherwise associated with Steamforged Games Ltd,
together with all proper names (including all those set out in
the “Epic Encounters Names” section below), dialogue, plots,
storylines, locations, character, artworks and trade dress
contained within or referred to in the Epic Encounters game
and/or any documentation or other materials associated with
it (including this Rules Companion Document) (“Materials”).
No portions of any Materials may be reproduced in any form
without written permission, unless such reproduction is
permitted in accordance with the OGL.

Epic Encounters Names: Ironskull Skeleton Archer;

Ironskull Leonite; Ironskull Knight; Ironskull Executioner;
Ironskull Duellist; Ironskull Deathrider; Ironskull Andabata;
Lich Baroness; Lich Queen; Lich Empress.
34

Tower of the Lich Empress

It does not die. Despite skin that long ago turned translucent,
revealing the atrophied muscle beneath. It does not die. Despite
a mind that exists only to ingest forbidden lore of forgotten
civilisations. It does not die. Despite dried-out eyes and lips
shrivelled a thousand years hence; despite fingers that shed
dust from shrunken joints with every twitch. It does not die. It
watches. It waits. And, slowly, its plans begin to take hold.

PREPARE FOR THE N

 N
R GA NTUA IDE!
GA URE IN S
M INIAT

For illustration purposes only, Miniature is supplied unpainted.

E NEXT ADVENTURE!
[Link]
 2x Ironskull Leonite A2 Double-sided Mat

2x Ironskull Andabata
2x Ironskull Executioner 2x Ironskull Deathrider

4x Ironskull Duellist 2x Ironskull Knight 6x Ironskull

Skeleton Archers
Copyright © 2021 Steamforged Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Bosses Warbands
Lair of the Caverns of the Shrine of the Kobold Hall of the Village of the Goblin
Red Dragon Frost Giant Queen Orc King Chief

Swamp of Temple of
the Hydra the Snake God

Chambers of the Labryinth of Arena of the

Serpent Folk the Goblin Tsar Undead Horde

Web of the Tower of the

Spider Tyrant Lich Empress

COLLECT THEM ALL

• 5E compatible
• Each Boss and accompanying
themed Warband can be used
standalone or together.
• Use as a one-shot or incorperate
Barrow of the Cove of the Hive of the Island of the into one long campaign
Corpse Crawler Dragon Turtle Ghoul-Kin Crab Archon

Copyright © 2022 Steamforged Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2022 Steamforged Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved