Acererak

Greyhawk Character

Acererak
Nickname(s):	The Eternal, the Devourer
Homeland:	Vast Swamp
Class(es):	Wizard
Gender:	Male
Race:	Half-fiend Human (undead)
Alignment:	Neutral Evil
Age:	800+

Acererak /ə-ˈsɛr-əræk/, /ə-SERR-ə-rak/, or /ah-SAIR-ak/ was a powerful wizard who became a lich, and later a demilich.

Relationships

Acererak was the son and ally of the balor Tarnhem, a worshipper of Orcus, and an apprentice of Vecna. In life, he was the enemy of a paladin of Pelor named Pentival, and the wizard-architect who designed his tomb was called Morghadam. He was revered by a group of wizards known as the Covenenticle of Acererak. The necromancers of Skull City, former followers of Acererak, went on to form a group known as the Votaries of Vecna, making a new home in the Black Spire on the Plane of Shadow.

The githyanki necromancer Kastya Zurith-Movya sought to return the true Acererak to existence as an ally against his people's lich-queen.

Home

The Tomb of Horrors was long Acererak's home in undeath. As a demilich, he moved to the demiplane of Moil to complete his grand plans.

There was a shrine of Acererak, in the form of a five-foot statue of a humanoid skull, on the second layer of Pandemonium.

History

Acererak the Devourer was described as a cambion, the result of an ancient conjurer summoning a demon, a balor named Tarnhem, far beyond his ability to control. Tarnhem devours the conjurer and takes his Flan mother by force.

Acererak when mortal, depicted in Vecna: Hand of the Revenant, illustrated by Kevin McCann.

Acererak's mother survived her son's birth, but she was killed by a torch-wielding mob ten years later. The boy was rescued by none other than Vecna, the Whispered One, who killed the advisors urging him to kill the child; instead, he took on the half-demon as an apprentice. Even then, ten-year-old Acererak loathed life, looking forward to becoming undead like his master. During Vecna's siege of Fleeth, the lich was severely wounded and rescued by Acererak. Vecna subsequently promoted the cambion.

It is unknown if Acererak was present when Vecna was betrayed by Kas the Bloody-Handed in the fourth century before the Common Year, but at some point he moved to the Vast Swamp where he constructed a lair for himself, colloquially known as the Tomb of Horrors (and described in an adventure of the same name). While still alive, Acererak built a subterranean temple complex in the name of Orcus, burying its architect and all its workers within. Eventually, Acererak succumbed to the lure of lichdom, and had himself buried in a labyrinthine tomb, where he committed himself to his studies and, eventually, demilichdom, abandoning his body for the planes beyond. Many adventurers over the years attempted to raid Acererak's tomb, but it was believed that none are able to destroy him, despite some claims.

Publication history

Acererak first appears in the original Tomb of Horrors adventure (1978) by Gary Gygax as the main adversary. One of the areas in the Tomb is a "Chapel of Evil", described as "obviously some form of temple area - there are scenes of normal life painted on the walls, but the people have rotting flesh, skeletal hands, worms eating them, etc." The adventure described him as "a human magic-user/cleric of surpassing evil" who took the steps necessary to preserve his life force as the lich, Acererak."

The boxed set adventure Return to the Tomb of Horrors (1998) by Bruce Cordell included a small booklet titled "The Journal of the Tomb", which notes that the character Desatysso discovered that Acererak "owed much of his power" to Tenebrous.

Cordell's article "Return to the Tomb of Horrors" in Dragon #249 (July 1998) mentions that "While alive, Acererak built an unholy temple to a now deceased power. When the project neared completion, he slew every worker, excavator, and consecrating priest who had assisted in the temple's construction." The article notes that the result of Acererak's work was the dungeon crawl detailed in the Tomb of Horrors module.

According to the third edition Tome of Magic, Acererak, following his destruction by adventurers completing the Tomb of Horrors, passes on to become a vestige - an ineffable, amoral entity which can be summoned and bound by characters known as Binders. Acererak grants his summoner lich-like powers, including immunity to cold and the ability to speak with the dead.

According to the adventure "Prisoner of the Castle Perilous," Acererak created a simulacrum in the Negative Energy Plane to torment Saint Pentivel, an old foe from his mortal life. This simulacrum eventually transforms itself into a complete being through the aid of an artifact known as the Soul Machine.

In the article "Open Grave" by Bart Carroll and Steve Winters for the "D&D Alumni" column in Dragon #371 (January 2009), the authors interviewed Bruce Cordell about the Return to the Tomb of Horrors adventure, where he revealed that he developed the origins of Acererak "as a persecuted tiefling child to his development as a wizard and priest of Orcus, to his creation of his tomb that was actually a test to winnow souls".

In fourth edition D&D, Acererak appears in the book Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead as a member of the Undead Hall of Infamy.

He also features in a side-quest in the adventure Revenge of the Giants and in the fourth edition remake of Tomb of Horrors as central antagonist.

The fourth edition adventure also titled Tomb of Horrors (2010) by Ari Marmell and Scott Fitzgerald Gray mentions in the introduction that "Acererak resurfaced as a worshiper of Orcus, using the cult's resources to construct a number of lairs and tombs - the most infamous of which would become known as the Tomb of Horrors. Some sources claim that Acererak was using Orcus's worshipers to complete his own schemes, and that he felt no true loyalty to the demon prince." The introduction goes on to say that "Once he attained lichdom, Acererak ceased paying homage to Orcus, lending credence to the notion that his worship had never been more than a means to an end."

The sequel module Return to the Tomb of Horrors retconned and expanded on the setting. At some point, a group of necromancers settled the area outside the tomb, creating a community of sorts known as Skull City. Acererak's tomb was revealed to be a mere antechamber to the demilich's true dwelling, the lost city of Moil on the border of the Negative Energy Plane, where he had spent thousands of years working on a process to fuse his essence with the plane and gain control over all undead throughout the multiverse.

Other Media

Acererak is referenced in a piece of Omega Tech in a Gamma World adventure, Factory of Misfit Omega Tech, specifically the Hunting Knife of Acererak. Its hilt is studded with green and red soul gems.

Acererak is also referenced in the novel Hero written by R.A. Salvatore, released in 2016. The reference is made when talking about Malcanthet, the Queen of the Succubi, and the deal she had made with Acererak involving a demonic mirror that traps souls. Acererak uses those souls to feed his undeath.

Acererak is featured in the novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Gallery

• 

  Tomb of Annihilation, 5e, (2017), art by Ben Oliver

• 

  Acererak the Eternal, art by Jeff Easley (1994)

References

Bibliography

• Gygax, Gary. Tomb of Horrors. TSR, 1978
• Cordell, Bruce R.. Return to the Tomb of Horrors. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998
• Cordell, Bruce. "Return to the Tomb of Horrors." Dragon #249. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, July 1998
• Sernett, Matthew, Dave Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb. Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)
• Greer, Stephen S. "Prisoner of the Castle Perilous." Dungeon #153. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008. Available online: [2]
• Carroll, Bart, and Steve Winters. "Open Grave: D&D Alumni." Wizards of the Coast. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2009
• Bruce R. Cordell, Eytan Bernstein, Brian R. James, Robin Laws & John Snead. Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead. Wizards of the Coast, 2009.
• Marmell, Ari. Tomb of Horrors. Wizards of the Coast, 2010.
• Cordell, Bruce R. Return to the Tomb of Horrors'. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Index is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, and his work as continued and updated by Eric Johnson, Richard DiIoia, Jason "PupickDad" Jacobson, a French fan group, and numerous other fans over the years. The wiki page for the EGI has a list of sources, full product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	LT2 Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad	29
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Dragon magazine #225	49, 53, 54
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Dragon magazine #241	75, 79
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Dragon magazine #249	38, 39, 41, 43
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Dragon magazine #256	46
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Dragon magazine #258	47
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Into The Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook, D&D 4e	107, 108, 109
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess	61
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e	5
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Living Greyhawk Gazetteer	154
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Monster Manual 1, D&D 5e	48
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Player's Guide to Greyhawk	18, 27
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Return to the Tomb of Horrors	3, 5, 6, 10-12, 17, 22, 24-27, 30, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 43, 45, 48, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 73, 78, 79, 90, 92-94, 96, 97, 103, 106, 108, 110, 115-120, 122-124, 126-128, 131-133, 135-141, 143, 144, 146-150, 154, 155, 157, 158
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	S1 Tomb of Horrors	2, 3, 6-10
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	S1-4 Realms of Horror, Adventure Booklet	4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	S1-4 Realms of Horror, Illustration Booklet	#1-33a, #1-33b
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	S1-4 Realms of Horror, Inscription and Map Booklet	1
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Tomb of Horrors (Revised), D&D 3.5e	2, 6, 8, 10, 13, 21, 22, 23, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	Tome of Magic, D&D 3.5e	19, 20
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	The Scarlet Brotherhood	4, 31
Acererak {Devourer}	Non-player character	Male, Lich,	World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983)	51
Acererak's Blackstone (LVL9)	Spell	Spell (Magic User),	Return to the Tomb of Horrors	152-153
Acererak's Haphazard Wheel	Item		Return to the Tomb of Horrors	69, 154
Acererak's Libram	Item	Book,	Dragon magazine #225	53, 54
Acererak's Libram	Item	Book,	Dragon magazine #241	75
Acererak's Libram	Item	Book,	Return to the Tomb of Horrors	140
Acererak, Conventicle of	People Group		Dragon magazine #258	47