The final encounter in H1 Keep on the Shadowfell provides a straight-up battle to defeat the villainous Kalarel and close the rift to the Shadowfell. That approach works fine, but we know that some characters might want to use other methods for saving the world. The following skill challenge is designed for just such characters.

Adding a Skill Challenge to Area 19:

The adventurers burst into the chamber where Kalarel works to complete the ritual that will open the rift to Orcus’s temple within the Shadowfell. As the battle plays out, Kalarel abandons his ritual book on its altar and teleports into the evil magic circle that stands before the partially opened Shadow Rift. While defeating Kalarel will disrupt the ritual and allow the rift to close, an enterprising adventurer or two with skill and daring might decide to reverse the process by using the ritual itself. If this happens, use the following skill challenge as part of the overall combat encounter taking place in Area 19.

Reversing the Ritual
You study the rite for a few moments, and then you begin to unravel its magic.

In this skill challenge, one or more adventurers attempt to reverse the partially completed ritual in order to close the Shadow Rift. This challenge takes place while the remainder of the adventuring party battles Kalarel, the two skeletal warriors, and the deathlock wight that occupy this vast chamber.

Setup: To close the Shadow Rift, the PCs must unravel the ceremony and perform specific procedures to reverse the effects of the uncompleted ritual.

Level: This is a 6th-level challenge.

Complexity: 3 (requires 8 successes before 4 failures).

Primary Skills: Arcana, Religion.

Arcana (DC 22): On your turn as a free action (limit 1 attempt/round), you call upon your knowledge of magical effects and rituals to study the rite and determine the next step in reversing its effects. A failed check indicates that the energy of the ritual attacks the character: +10 vs. Will; 1d6 + 4 necrotic damage.

Religion (DC 22): On your turn as a free action (limit 1 attempt/round), you utilize the religious lore at your disposal to weaken the power of Orcus within the magic already in place to hold open the Shadow Rift. A failed check indicates that the energy of the ritual attacks the character: +10 vs. Fortitude; 1d10 + 4 necrotic damage.

Endurance (DC 18): As an opportunity action, triggered when an adjacent ally has just failed an Arcana or Religion check to reverse the ritual, you can allow the necrotic energy flowing through the ritual to damage you instead of that ally. Success at this skill use aids the party, but does not count as a success toward completion of the challenge.

Heal (DC 18): As a minor action, you make a successful Heal check and spend a healing surge to send positive life energy into the necrotic ritual in order to help disrupt it. Only 2 successes can be applied from this approach to the skill challenge.

Success: If the adventurers gain 8 successes before attaining 4 failures, they reverse the progress of the ritual and close the Shadow Rift. The ritual book is consumed in a burst of black fire.

Successfully completing this skill challenge earns the adventurers a major quest reward (750 XP).

Failure: If the adventurers attain 4 failures before gaining 8 successes, the magical energy of the Shadow Rift stabilizes. Necrotic energy surges through the ritual book and the altar to strike all of the characters attempting this skill challenge. Each of these characters loses one healing surge.

The ritual isn’t complete, but the partially opened rift remains as such until either the adventurers defeat Kalarel, or Kalarel defeats the adventurers and completes the ritual as he originally planned.