Crypt of the Devil Lich by Goodman Games isn’t your average dungeon crawl. It’s a killer. It’s built to challenge players and push their characters to the limit. If you’re looking for an adventure where mistakes mean death, and smart tactics are rewarded, this is your game. Originally conceptualized as a tournament module, it’s been made for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, and it doesn’t pull any punches.
Players looking for an experience that challenges them at every turn will enjoy Crypt of the Devil Lich. However, it may not be suitable for novice groups or those who prefer more narrative-driven adventures over tactical gameplay. The dungeon is full of surprises, with lethal traps and a variety of enemies that force players to think on their feet. The stakes feel real, and the rewards for surviving are well worth the danger.
Faced with a relentless undead enemy, the Devil Lich, you will grapple with a dungeon that is dark, dangerous, and full of surprises that keep players on edge. The Devil Lich is old, and she’s patient. And she’s smarter than you. You can smell death in the air before you even step inside. It’s the kind of place where one wrong step ends everything. There’s no hand-holding here. Success depends on your wits, your weapons, and your party’s ability to work together. This adventure is about survival and, if you’re good, victory. If you like high-stakes challenges, Crypt of the Devil Lich delivers. Learn more at Goodman Games.
Here are some highlights of our recent gameplay (with some generous GM additions). The group dove deep into the crypt, fought hard and had to be smart.
Here’s how it went:
The party arrived at the Monastery of the Dawning Sun. They came for an artifact, something old and powerful. What they found instead were dead monks—massacred—and some risen again as the undead. Death clung to the air, thick and heavy.
Before they could search long, a Drow raiding party hit them. Bone devils, Drow mages, and a priestess of Lolth—enough to tear them apart if they weren’t careful. But they fought hard and kept their heads. Afterward, they searched the ruins and found the clues they needed, clues that led them to the crypts below.
The entrance to the crypts was no easy thing. Sharp, jagged spikes—stalactites and stalagmites—stood like teeth, magically enhanced to shred anyone foolish enough to try passing through. They tried, and someone got hurt for it. Illican, the barbarian, didn’t wait for another failure. He used his power, the Travel Along the Tree ability, and teleported the whole party across. It wasn’t clean, but it worked.
They didn’t have time to rest. They were barely across when the vampire monks came for them, led by the monastery’s lore master. He was strong, and his monks fought like men already dead. The battle was long, brutal. They hit him with everything—steel and spell—and when he had nothing left, the monk turned to mist and slipped away. They weren’t unscathed. They took heavy damage, but they were still standing.
Luven, the rogue, scouted ahead. He found traps, one after another, deadly and precise. But even careful fingers sometimes fail. Two of the traps triggered, and the party paid the price. By the time they cleared the entrance to the dungeon, they were battered, bruised, and in need of rest. They had come looking for an artifact but found only pain.
Thanagar, the cleric, didn’t wait. He cast Forbiddance in one of the rooms—a wall of radiant energy that kept the undead, fiends, and aberrations at bay. Anything that entered would burn. It wasn’t much, but it gave them a moment to breathe. And sometimes, a moment is all you need.
