Description

Lady Illmarrow is a legend—an ancient lich said to dwell in a castle of bone and ice in the coldest regions of the Lhazaar Principalities. Some stories say that she is served by a legion of undead and that she maintains a court of vampires and ghosts in her palace of ice. Other tales claim that when anyone dies in Lhazaar, Illmarrow chooses whether to take their soul before it passes on to the Keeper and Dolurrh. But Lady Illmarrow is no folk tale. She is the greatest necromancer in Eberron, and after centuries of silence, she is setting ancient plots into motion at last. She is the power behind the Order of the Emerald Claw, but her motives for founding the order are buried in her past. Lady Illmarrow has no interest in ruling the living. Rather, she seeks to become Queen of the Dead.   The Mark of Death. Illmarrow is a fiefdom on the isle of Farlnen—home to a community of elves exiled from Aerenal, who have practiced necromancy for centuries. But Lady Illmarrow’s roots extend far beyond her island domain.   Long ago, it was revealed that the elven line of Vol—a house that practiced the art of necromancy and bore the Dragonmark of Death—was engaged in secret blood rites with a clan of dragons. The discovery of this pact triggered an unprecedented alliance between the Sibling Kings of Aerenal and the dragons of Argonnessen. The Sibling Kings proclaimed that House Vol would be exterminated to the last member, and the Mark of Death would be eliminated from the world.   The line of Vol had long been rivals of the Undying Court, and many whisper even today that the attack on House Vol was nothing more than an excuse to eliminate a political rival. But others believe that what the Undying Court truly feared was a path shown in the Draconic Prophecy—that a child born of dragon and elf could become a godlike avatar of death.   Illmarrow Rises. Even as dragons and elves fought to destroy the line of Vol, a child was born to the house: Erandis. A scion of elf and dragon, Erandis bore a Mark of Death unlike any other. In time, it might have been her gateway to immortality and unrivaled power, but she was hunted down and killed long before she could master the mark’s magic. Her mother, Minara Vol, escaped with her daughter’s body to the icy reaches of Farlnen, far from the conflict. There, Minara unleashed all her necromantic power to raise Erandis as a lich.   As an undead being, Erandis lost the use of her dragonmark. Thus, when the diviners of Aerenal asked if the line of Vol had been exterminated and the Mark of Death destroyed, they received a vision affirming that the bloodline of Vol was no more. To the world, the last survivor of that bloodline is known as Lady Illmarrow. But in truth, she is Erandis Vol, heir to the Mark of Death.   Trapped in Undeath. When Minara restored Erandis as a lich, she hid her daughter’s phylactery, weaving enchantments into it that cause Erandis to be reborn in a random safe haven after she is destroyed. Thus, even Erandis herself doesn’t know the location or form of her phylactery.   Restoring the Mark. Though she takes great pleasure in fighting the dragons and elves who destroyed her ancestors, Lady Illmarrow has a more important goal: restoring her dragonmark and unlocking godlike powers. The agents of the Emerald Claw who serve her fight either for the good of Karrnath or for personal gain, but Illmarrow cares for nothing except increasing her necromantic knowledge and finding a way to restore her lost mark.

Spellcasting. Illmarrow is a 20th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 23, +15 to hit with spell attacks). Illmarrow has the following wizard spells prepared: Cantrips (at will): chill touch (see “Actions” below), fire bolt, mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost   1st level (4 slots): magic missile, shield, sleep   2nd level (3 slots): blur, detect thoughts, mirror image   3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, fireball, fly, lightning bolt   4th level (3 slots): blight, confusion, polymorph   5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, cone of cold, hold monster, scrying   6th level (2 slots): chain lightning, circle of death, create undead   7th level (2 slots): finger of death, forcecage, prismatic spray   8th level (1 slot): incendiary cloud, maze   9th level (1 slot): power word kill, time stop