Overview

The Game Master is a powerful lich with an obsession for games. To while away eternity, he creates twisted games to play with unwitting opponents. He offers great power and wisdom to those who can best him, but they must first be willing to wager their souls.

Whoever the Game Master once was has been lost to history, and even the lich himself does not fully recall his existence before undeath. It is impossible to separate fact from fiction when discussing the origins of the Game Master, and many contradictory legends tell of various origins. All that can be said for certain is that he is an ancient being, holding no regard for the lives of others as he devises twisted games to keep himself entertained.

Description

The Game Master is a little over 6 foot tall, although he appears shorter from his hunched posture. He leans on a shimmering golden cane with a large red ruby encrusted in the top. Sickly grey skin stretches tightly across his boney figure, mostly hidden beneath a deep purple suit. On his head he wears a large top hat which casts a dark shadow across his face, and where his eyes should be are instead two points of glowing green light.

Attitude

The Game Master views mortals with disdain, he has lived for so long now that even the life of an elf is but a moment to him. He shows no regard for the lives of others, and will happily kill as a part of his games. This perspective means he is prone to underestimate his opponents, although none have so far been able to make it through the deadly games with which he has filled his lair.

Reputation

The Game Master is considered as little more than a myth to most, although many gamblers claim to know someone who lost a bet to him. Different legends describe him in many different ways, sometimes he is said to be a devil, a fiend, or even a god. The Game Master moves from place to place, and might remain in one place from a few years to a few centuries. The longer ago the Game Master visited a place, the less accurate the local legends tend to be.

The Game Master’s Phylactery

The Game Master always carries his jewel encrusted staff, and it has become so well known as a part of his appearance that many theorise that this is his phylactery. Those people would be wrong. Instead, the Game Master used a puzzle box as his phylactery, enchanted with powerful magic that renders it almost indestructible until solved. The puzzle box itself is hidden deep within his lair, almost always behind some kind of devious puzzle.

The Puzzle Box

Roughly six inches on each side, the box is carved from dragon bone. On each of the boxes six sides are three mosaic tiles: One shows a letter, one a number, and one a creature. The sides are as follows:

• Side 1: D, 15, Shark
• Side 2: G, 1, Crow
• Side 3: O, 14, Cyclops
• Side 4: R, 18, Badger
• Side 5: N, 4, Dog
• Side 6: A, 7, Goblin

In order to unlock the box, the tiles must be pressed in the correct order. The letters on the sides can be rearranged to spell out the word DRAGON. The numbers each correspond to a letter (i.e 1 = a, 4 = d), which also spell out the word DRAGON. Finally each of the animals has one letter in the same position as it would be in the word DRAGON (i.e Dog/Dragon, badGer/draGon). In order to unlock the box the tiles must be pressed in the order to spell dragon, going letter, number, creature. The correct order is listed below:

D, 4, Dog, R, 18, cRow, A, 1, shArk, G, 7, badGer, O, 15, cyclOps, N, 14, gobliN.

As tiles are pressed in the correct order they click into place and begin to glow. If an incorrect tile is pressed, all tiles will pop back out and the puzzle must be restarted. Pressing an incorrect tile will also cause the puzzle’s holder to take 4d10 force damage.

Hints

Rolling intelligence checks or similar could reveal the following clues:

• You notice that R and 18 are both on the same side, and that R is the 18th letter of the alphabet.
• All of the letters listed seem to be contained within at least one of the creatures’ names. Perhaps this might be significant?
• (If the anagram has been solved) Goblin has the same number of letters as Dragon, and they both end in an N, maybe this means something?

If the players do not wish to solve the puzzle, it may be solved by spending an hour studying it and succeeding on a DC23 Intelligence check. If the check is failed the hour is wasted, and the character attempting the puzzle takes 4d10 force damage.

Gambler

The Game Master is in need of a constant supply of souls to feed his phylactery. While he could take them by force, and does when the need arises, he prefers to earn them in wagers. The Game Master will seek out mortals with which to play games with cards, dice, counters, or whatever else might be gambled on. He will offer wealth, knowledge, or power as a wager against a person’s soul. Although he almost always wins fairly, if it seems as though The Game Master might lose then he will rig the game in his favour to ensure he comes out on top. 

Once a mortal has lost a wager, one of two things will happen to them. Either The Game Master will feed their souls to phylactery immediately, or if they appear useful he may compel them to serve him instead. The Game Master’s lair is filled with those who have lost their souls to him, and are now forced to serve him in whatever capacity he wishes.

Master of Disguise

The legend of the Game Master is well known, a man dressed in purple with glowing green eyes is fairly recognisable, and there are not many foolish enough to willingly enter a wager with him. To continue harvesting souls, The Game Master has turned to illusion magic to disguise himself and trick unwary souls into playing his games. He might disguise himself as an old man, a handsome prince, or a shady trickster, but he will always reveal his true form after he has won so that people know that it was he who beat them.

Stats