The Dungeon Of Rak-Arnesh: Level 2

[Note: What follows is very much a work in progress, and is the beginning of a project to make a decently sized dungeon for use with my house rules, and old school elf games in general. I am making this for my own personal enjoyment and use, so do not expect the kind of quality that a paid product will provide.]

The second level of the subterranean vault of the Serpent-folk was refitted as a tomb for human warriors centuries ago. However, due to the foul magic that seeps into the halls, it is now home to murderous undead.

(Screenshot from Skyrim)

Level 2

1.

• Ladder leads down from 1^st level
• 8 skeletons stand stock-still until characters enter, then they attack

2.

• Open and empty coffins
• One coffin has a small leather bag containing two 500 coin gems within it

3.

• Spears extend from the walls if a pressure plate is stepped on, dealing 2d6 damage unless a saving throw is made

4.

• Tombstone in the center of the room that reads the name and birth date of anyone who reads it, along with today’s date as the day of death
• The tombstone doesn’t actually do anything, its just enchanted to scare off tomb-raiders

5.

• Statue of the grim reaper cutting down a warrior

6.

• 3 boneless hiding among some urns, waiting to strike

7.

• Non-hostile ghost named Carolyn dwells here
• Carolyn doesn’t know she is dead, and is invisible, the only sign of her presence is here muttering voice and a sense of cold
• A Lantern of Ghost Seeing lies on the ground nearby, and Carolyn becomes visible while within the radius of its ghostly light

8.

• Grave niches filled with bones line the walls
• 100 coins can be found among the bones

9.

• 1 regenerator and 2 zombies stagger about the room, aimlessly wandering
• The zombies each wear a single gold bracelet worth 75 coins

10.

• Glass coffin on a dais in the middle of the room
• Contains a perfectly preserved corpse of an ancient warrior, yet the inscription on the dais says he died 500 years ago
• Glass coffin perfectly preserves any corpse put in it

11.

• Room is full of poisonous gas, anyone who walks through must take a saving throw or breath it in, taking 2d6 damage
• A heavy bag full of 1500 coins is in the middle of the room

12.

• Human organs are preserved in jars full of salt, with runes carved into them denoting which organs are contained within

13.

• A mysterious old man in a robe meditates on the floor
• He calls himself the “Shepherd of the Dead” and claims to be hundreds of years old
• Carries with him a Rot Vial to dissolve the corpses of adventurers, lest they taint the burial grounds

14.

• The floor has 2 inch wide holes in a grid pattern
• If the holes are stepped on, a spear extends, dealing 2d6 damage to whoever stepped there
• A saving throw is required to walk across the room without stepping on the holes

15.

• 4 ecorches jitter and dance spasmodically

16.

• Funerary urns of all shapes and sizes fill the room

17.

• 2 ghouls chew on musty old bones, hungering for fresh meat (the party)
• 1 ghoul is wearing a belt with a pouch on it, the pouch contains 250 coins

18.

• A beautiful, ornate sarcophagus is the sole feature of the room
• Within the sarcophagus is the mummified corpse of an ancient warrior, covered with 5000 coins worth of jewelry

19.

• The ceiling collapses if the slightest sound is made, requiring a saving throw each turn the party is in the room from the loudest member of the group
• If the saving throw fails, everyone in the room must make a saving throw or take 2d6 damage

20.

• 1 unkillable and 3 skeletons guard the stairs leading down to level 3

d6 encounter table

1. 2d6 skeletons

2. 1d6 zombies

3. 1d3 boneless

4. 1d6 ecorches

5. 1d3 ghouls

6. 1d3 regenerators

Magic Items

Lantern of Ghost Seeing

This lantern is made from the skull of a one eyed humanoid. It constantly glows with an unearthly

green light, and any invisible creatures/spirits within the radius of the green light becomes visible.

Rot Vial

If the green liquid in this vial is poured on an organic substance, it will quickly rot away to nothingness

in the span of a few seconds.

Monster And NPC Stats

Skeletons

HD 1

AC light (12)

ATK 1 weapon

DMG 1d6

HDE 1

Zombies

HD 2

AC unarmored (10)

ATK 1 punch

DMG 1d6

HDE 2

Boneless

HD 2

AC light (12)

ATK 1 constrict

DMG 1d3

HDE 3

The Boneless are animated, undead masses of skin and muscle. Anyone hit by a Boneless must make a saving throw, otherwise the creature has wrapped itself around its victim, and begins constricting it. The victim then takes 1d6 damage each round they are being constricted, each round being given the opportunity to make a saving throw to escape the creature's clutches. Anyone who tries to attack the Boneless while it is constricting its victim deals any damage dealt to the Boneless to the victim as well.

The Boneless can easily slip under doors and hide in extremely tight spaces, such as urns, chests, and

cracks in walls.

Unkillable

HD 3

AC light (12)

ATK 1 punch

DMG 1d6

HDE 5

Unkillable resemble “normal” zombies, but their differences become obvious when they are attacked.

Whenever an Unkillable takes damage, part of its body comes off to form a smaller undead creature.

These smaller creatures have hit points equal to the damage that caused them, have light armor, and

have 1 attack that deals 1d3 damage. Similarly, the parts of the Unkillable that detach also divide when

damaged.

The only way to kill the Unkillable is to burn it, or dissolve it in acid.

Ecorche

HD 1

AC unarmored (10)

ATK 2 claws

DMG 1d6-1 each (minimum 1)

HDE 2

Ecorches are skinless humanoid undead that can move twice as fast as normal humans. If using a grid

based combat system, this means they can move twice as far as humans can.

Regenerator

HD 2

AC light (12)

ATK 1 punch

DMG 1d6

HDE 4

Regenerators appear to just be zombies, but when they take damage, they begin to mutate and gain

deformities. Regenerators regain 1d3 HP each round, even if reduced to 0 HP. Each time the

Regenerator regains HP, roll a d6 and apply the mutation from the table below:

1-2. New Limb: Gains an additional attack that deals 1d6 damage.

3. Carapace: The Regenerator's AC goes up by one category (light -> light with shield, light with shield -> medium, etc.)

4. Cancerous Mass: The Regenerator's maximum HP is increased by 1d6.

5-6. Poisonous Gas: Anyone near the Regenerator as it regenerates this round must make a saving

throw or take 1d6 damage.

Regenerators can only be killed/damaged without regenerating by burning them or dissolving them in

acid.

Ghouls

HD 2

AC light (12)

ATK 2 claws

DMG 1d6 each

HDE 4

Ghouls are emaciated humanoids with dog-like heads and claws. They feed on the flesh of the dead,

and it is rumored that one who lives with ghouls will die and become a ghoul themselves. If hit by a

ghoul’s claw, one must make a saving throw or be paralyzed for 1d6 rounds.

Carolyn

HD 5

AC light + shield (13, can only be hit by silver or magical weapons)

ATK 3 ghostly claws

DMG 1d6+1

HDE 8

Carolyn is docile, if confused and afraid, and will only attack if she feels threatened.

The Shepherd Of The Dead

HD 1

AC unarmored (10)

ATK none

DMG none

HDE n/a

If attacked, the Shepherd will not defend himself, and will die. But, the next time the party returns to the dungeon, he will be back, and will remember the events of the previous encounter. He may call forth some wandering monsters in retaliation.