Drasgelid

**Drasgelid** was a Mind Flayer Lich and servant of the Whispered One, who temporarily possessed the Hand of Vecna and fought the Silver Crusaders before his demise at their hands.

## Description

### Appearance

Drasgelid was described as a "dark hooded figure appears in a brief flash of purple, shimmering light before them. Hands behind his back, a dark black robe over a starry red cloak, and a white head with tentacles irritatingly wriggling." His left hand was more mummified and shriveled compared to his normal right hand, signifying his attunement to the Hand of Vecna.

### Personality

Drasgelid was manipulative and extremely intelligent. He tried to coax the Crusaders out of their service to Sylazar, telling them that they were only tools to be manipulated. He also possessed extreme tactical knowledge, evident by striking for the more dangerous members (to him), being Manfred (the primary ranged damage dealer), Seven (the primary support and healer) and Theta (the primary full caster).

## Synopsis

### Background

Not much is known about Drasgelid's upbringing. At one point, he acquired lichood and the command of the Alhoon, six other mind flayer wizards who followed Drasgelid and the Whispered One. Drasgelid also at one point created a phylactery hidden in a cave in The Shroud, a Sphere of Annihilation guarded by an illusion of one's worst fears. He made a temporary base in a ruined church in the Underdark, waiting for the Silver Crusaders to attack after the defeat of Voholth.

### Arc 1: The Remnants

A statue of Drasgelid was found next to a statue of two liches inside of the mountain church that the Forsaken traversed.

### Arc 1: Curious Beginnings

The Silver Crusaders destroyed the phylactery, then prepared to attack Drasgelid at his base. When they confonted him at last, a long and grueling fight ensued. Casting Mirror Image at the start, Drasgelid was able to evade much damage until all of his duplicated were destroyed by the third round. He carefully managed his high-level spells, commonly making the most out of his Legendary Actions. By the end of the fight, Seven was disentegrated, Theta was incinerated by his Fireball, Manfred was subject to his Power Word Kill, and the rest were close to death's door, before Drasgelid was killed by Kibble Brandt.

## Other Information

### Former Notable Items

* Hand of Vecna (disappeared at the end of the battle)
* Tome of the Stilled Tongue
* Phylactery (destroyed by the Silver Crusaders)

### Abilities

Drasgelid, being a lich, was much stronger than any mortal 20th level spellcaster, and possesses most of the immunities and resistances of a lich, with some extras.

* Immune to spells of 3rd level or lower (from the Hand) plus Magic Resistance
* Turn Resistance
* Four Legendary Resistances per day (3 used)
* Five Legendary Actions per round
* Two reactions before the start of his next turn
* Could concentrate on two spells at once, if damaged would roll separate saving throws
* 30 HP/round regeneration

### Legendary Actions (5/Round)

* (1) Cantrip/Tentacle Attack
* (2) Spell/Use the Hand
* (4) Recharge and use Mind Blast

### Lair Actions (DC 21)

* Create two Antimagic Fields around two targets of his choice
* Roll a d8 and gain a temporary spell slot of that level until next initiative count 20, or regain a spell slot of that level that is expended
* Any creature that tries to cast a spell of 5th level or lower must make a Constitution save, or take 1d6 necrotic damage per level of the spell and waste the spell and action/ bonus action to cast it
* Call forth wails of the damned to attack one creature for 15d6 necrotic damage

### Hand of Vecna

The Hand of Vecna granted Drasgelid many benefits while he was attuned to it. These included, according to the 5e Dungeon Master's Guide:

* Strength score increased to 20 (unless it was already higher than 20)
* Melee spell attacks cast with and melee weapon attacks made using the Hand of Vecna deal an extra 2d8 cold damage.
* The Hand had 8 charges that enabled Drasgelid to cast spells with it. Drasgelid only casted one Finger of Death (5 charges).

### Wizard Spells

As a lich, Drasgelid had the ability to cast high-level spells more often than any mortal wizard could ever hope to. Notably, he had two 9th-level spell slots, whereas the maximum for player characters is one.

### 1st-level

* Absorb Elements
* Command

### 5th-level

* Hold Monster
* Synaptic Static
* Wall of Force

### 7th-level

* Reverse Gravity
* Finger of Death

### 9th-level

* Power Word Kill
* Psychic Scream

## Trivia

* Drasgelid holds the record for the most deaths in a single battle, with three (Seven, Theta, and Manfred). Voholth takes the second place (only killing Manfred).
* Drasgelid had the *Contingency* spell prepared, where he would reanimate the corpses of the Alhoon servants that fought alongside him to come back and finish off the party, but Ben was running out of time that session and decided not to.