SEPTEMBER 2026 / GODS OF DEATH
The Ledger of
the Last Breath
Yama and Mictlantecuhtli stand at the threshold of a broken afterlife. A stolen ledger has trapped seven souls between their courts. The party has one night to restore the names and reopen the road home.
Original 5e-style homebrew · Four characters of level 10–12 · 2–3 hours · Negotiation, exploration and an optional boss battle. Challenge ratings are estimates pending playtesting. These adversaries are fictional echoes inspired by the sculptures; the adventure is an invented crossover, separate from the religious traditions.
Miniatures: 75 mm height scale with approximately 50 mm round bases. On a 1-inch grid, use a 2 × 2-square footprint for each Large echo. Physical height does not set a creature’s game size. Yama and his buffalo are one game piece, with one turn and one hit-point pool.
Yama stats · Mictlantecuhtli stats · Run the encounter
Who are these characters?
Yama is a god of death in South Asian traditions, with Buddhist forms found throughout Asia. The buffalo is a recurring feature in his iconography. The studio’s crowned, staff-bearing interpretation emphasizes solemn authority. Explore a historical depiction at Wellcome Collection.
Mictlantecuhtli is the Aztec god of death and lord of Mictlan. Historical representations often emphasize a skeletal body. The studio sculpt adds a dramatic ceremonial blade and curling spirits. Explore a historical sculpture at the British Museum.
Run the encounter
1. The seventh empty chair
Seven chairs surround a table of black stone. Six hold pale strangers. The seventh bears your companion’s name. Beyond the table, a crowned figure rests one hand upon a buffalo. Across a bridge of bone, a skeletal sovereign raises a flame that makes no heat. “One name has been taken,” says the judge. “Which of you will bring it back?”
A gravedigger named Izel stole the ledger to rescue her brother, unaware that erasing his death also trapped six strangers. She now hides beneath the central bridge, clutching the missing page. The party can learn this from the six seated spirits without a roll by asking what each remembers. A DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check notices that the empty chair’s name changes to whoever looks at it; no character has actually died.
2. Set the table
Use a 60 × 80-foot courtyard. Put the party at the south gate. Yama’s dais occupies the northwest corner; Mictlantecuhtli’s is northeast. A 10-foot-wide bridge crosses an east–west spirit channel at the center. Place three name-stones at the southwest corner, center bridge and southeast corner, each at least 20 feet apart. Broken pillars provide half cover. The channel is difficult terrain; entering it for the first time on a turn deals 7 (2d6) cold damage, at most once per turn. State this danger when frost gathers around the first crossing.
3. Hear both courts
Yama’s echo asks for an honest account of the theft. Mictlantecuhtli’s echo asks that the seven names be returned to their proper places. Neither requires a living sacrifice. An honest explanation grants access to the bridge; no Charisma check is needed. A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check at the bridge locates Izel quickly; otherwise her lantern and sobbing reveal her after ten minutes.
Izel gives up the page if the party promises to carry her brother’s last words to his daughter. If threatened, she flees 30 feet but drops the page. Give the party the three names needed for the stones directly from the page. Do not make progress depend on guessing unfamiliar religious lore.
4. Return the names
At each stone, a character within 5 feet can use an action to read the matching name and attempt a DC 15 Intelligence (Religion), Wisdom (Insight), or Charisma (Persuasion) check. A success restores that stone permanently. On a failure, the character takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage and can try again on a later turn. Another character may use Help if they read from the recovered page. Outside combat, ten uninterrupted minutes of careful ceremony restores a stone without a roll.
Peaceful resolution: Return the page and restore all three stones. Both echoes open the gate. The seven spirits leave, Izel survives, and the party can return home. There is no mandatory fight.
5. If the party chooses battle
Attacking an echo or deliberately destroying the ledger animates one guardian. Let the players choose which court they confront; use only that echo’s stat block. The other remains a neutral witness and takes no combat actions. Run one boss, with no extra monsters or damaging lair actions. Stop combat immediately if the party restores all three stones and surrenders the ledger. An echo reduced to 0 HP dissolves and releases its claim; it is not the death of a deity.
On initiative count 20, after tied turns, mark one unoccupied 10-foot square with spectral light. Until the next count 20, a creature ending its turn there gains 5 temporary HP. Move the mark each round. This provides a visible reason to reposition without adding hidden damage.
Scaling: For four level-10 characters, use 150 HP, reduce each listed attack’s flat damage bonus by 2 and give the echo only one legendary action per round. At level 11, use the printed profile. For four level-12 characters, use 210 HP and keep all other numbers unchanged. If the party is depleted, offer the peaceful route and a short rest before any challenge. These are starting adjustments, not a guarantee of difficulty.
Ending and rewards
A peaceful resolution and a combat victory grant the same story reward: each hero receives a one-use Token of the Last Breath. As a reaction when they or an ally within 30 feet fails a death saving throw, the bearer can expend the token to turn that failure into a success. It cannot reverse death or undo damage. The recovered ledger also identifies the patron who paid Izel to steal it, creating the next adventure hook.
COMPLETE ADVERSARY PROFILE
Yama’s Echo
Large celestial, lawful neutral · Estimated CR 11 (7,200 XP) · PB +4
AC 18 · HP 180 (19d10 + 76) · Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 (+6) | 12 (+1) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 20 (+5) | 18 (+4) |
Saves Con +8, Wis +9, Cha +8. Skills Insight +9, Perception +9. Resistances necrotic, radiant. Condition immunities frightened. Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 19. Languages Common, Celestial.
Traits
Shared Manifestation. Yama and the buffalo are one creature. The buffalo has no separate initiative, attacks or HP.
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). If the echo fails a saving throw, it may choose to succeed.
Actions
Multiattack. Make two Judgment Staff attacks.
Judgment Staff. Melee weapon attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) bludgeoning plus 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
Noose of Reckoning (Recharge 5–6). One creature the echo can see within 60 feet makes a DC 17 Strength saving throw. On a failure, it takes 27 (6d8) radiant damage and is restrained for up to 1 minute; on a success, half damage and no restraint. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending restraint on success. A creature within 5 feet of the target can use an action to make a DC 17 Strength (Athletics) check, ending it on success. Restraint also ends when the echo dies.
Reaction
Measured Mercy. When the echo takes damage, reduce that instance by 10. It can use this once before the start of its next turn.
Legendary actions
The echo has 2 legendary actions, regained at the start of its turn. It can use one option at the end of another creature’s turn while not incapacitated.
Procession (1 action). Move up to 15 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
Staff Strike (2 actions). Make one Judgment Staff attack.
Tactics. Guard the central bridge, use the noose to delay a mobile character and let other heroes free them. Never attack an unconscious target. State that returning the names ends the challenge.
COMPLETE ADVERSARY PROFILE
Mictlantecuhtli’s Echo
Large undead, neutral · Estimated CR 11 (7,200 XP) · PB +4
AC 17 · HP 180 (19d10 + 76) · Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 (+5) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 20 (+5) |
Saves Con +8, Wis +8, Cha +9. Skills Perception +8, Religion +8. Resistances cold, necrotic. Damage immunity poison. Condition immunities poisoned. Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 18. Languages Common, Celestial.
Traits
Keeper of Names. The echo knows when a name-stone is restored, regardless of distance within the courtyard. It cannot erase a restored name.
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). If the echo fails a saving throw, it may choose to succeed.
Actions
Multiattack. Make two Obsidian Edge attacks.
Obsidian Edge. Melee weapon attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) slashing plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.
Procession of the Forgotten (Recharge 5–6). Creatures of the echo’s choice in a 30-foot cone make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 27 (6d8) necrotic damage and is frightened of the echo until the end of its next turn. On a success, it takes half damage and is not frightened. Announce the gathering spirits before resolving the cone.
Bonus action
Step Between Graves (Recharge 4–6). Teleport up to 20 feet to an unoccupied space the echo can see beside a pillar or name-stone.
Legendary actions
The echo has 2 legendary actions, regained at the start of its turn. It can use one option at the end of another creature’s turn while not incapacitated.
Drifting Soul (1 action). Move up to 15 feet. This movement can provoke opportunity attacks.
Soul-Flame (2 actions). One creature the echo can see within 60 feet makes a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) necrotic damage on failure or half on success.
Tactics. Shift between stones and use the cone against clustered enemies. Do not teleport onto a hero or block every route. Restored stones remain safe objectives, and surrendering the ledger remains possible.
Inspect the sculpt details
September 2026 models: 75 mm height scale, approximately 50 mm round bases. Supported and unsupported STL files plus Lychee projects are included. Eligible patrons can find the release in their September MMF library.