Acererak Fan Tomb

His efforts to thwart his plans can be seen in the second chapter of “The Infernal Machine: Rebuild”, but evident by the 4e adventure “Prisoner of Castle Perilous” it was not successful.

Acererak is many things, and spiteful is most certainly one of them. Imprisoning the paladin in one of his towers, Acererak created a simulacrum tasked with torturing the hero for all eternity, leaving to pursue his other dark endevours.

But as years passed, the torture dragging on, something odd happened. The simulacrum got a spark of autonomy. A spark that bloomed into a flame of discontentment. So much that it was able to resist its task, and seek ways to escape the confines of the tower by granting itself a soul, attempting to do so via reverse engineering his creators first attempts at the SOUL MONGER, a name you may recognize.

Despite the player party thwarting the copy in the adventure, and potentially saving Sir Pentival from further misery, it’s evident that the simulacrum was eventually successful, given his appearance as “Acererak” in 5e’s Tomb of Annihilation!

Yeah, Manshoon isn’t the only wizard without duplicates to start a labor union.

Most appearances of Acererak the eternal are in fact fakes. The Demilich at the end of TOH was retconned into being just the same as the previous two fakes in that same dungeon, just having… more bite.

Acererak’s simulacrums though are more than your average. They are advanced and hyper augmented, to the point that he eventually made False Liches, like Rerak in Vecna: Eve of Ruin. Powerful undead constructs that are mirrored foes for any would be invaders.

But in that same adventure, the players can discover that the simulacrums can become sentient and develop personalities beyond their design. And that just tickled the old Lich pink. The universes ultimate joke. That his tomb guardians became prisoners themselves. Adding to the misery caused by his machinations.

But there is one more. And he deserves his own dedicated post. Next time, we’re talking-

The Tomb of Annihilation!

He first appeared as a Demilich in his debut adventure, The Tomb of Horrors, designed by Gygax to be more of a death trap than a character.

But as time passed and his popularity grew, his character being revisited, Gygax and future writers would add more information bit by bit.

A cambion born of a non-consensual demonic union with a Balor, his mother was burned alive by fearful villagers once his demonic features became more evident. It turned him against humanity and into the arms of Vecna, becoming a pupil of his.

And after Vecna’s first death and following ascent… the rest is grim history. But the what and who hardly matters. Because Acererak is multiple. His own consciousness as a vestige in the multiverses, his copies and duplicates becoming sentient and taking up the mantle, and you may have very well met one.

Tomb of Horrors

Return to the Tomb of Horrors

Prisoner of Castle Perilous

Tomb of Annihilation

and Vecna, Eve of Ruin

But the old bastard isn’t limited to just dnd! His notoriety earned him a place in the novel, Ready Player One! Though sadly he was not adapted for the film. Acererak also inspired many an antagonist! The Black Cauldron’s Horned King [the movie version at least], Adventure Time’s Lich, whom both reinspired his own 5e depiction!