1409 The Stinking Mausoleum
HexDolmenwood Campaign Book · p.352
Open source p.352Beech and hazel, the ground littered with nut husks. The stench of carrion pervades the whole hex.
Beech and hazel, the ground littered with nut husks. The stench of carrion pervades the whole hex.
- Terrain: Tangled forest (3), Aldweald
- Lost/encounters: 2-in
The Stinking Mausoleum
Travellers can follow their noses to the source of the stench: a circle of collapsed stone buildings.
Symbol: The motif of an eye ringed with thorns is carved repeatedly into the ruined stone.
Tiled courtyard: Inside the circle of the ruined walls and buildings, the ground is paved with white tile, now chipped and greying with age, and pocked with errant trees.
Stairs: A single stairway can be spied, in the middle of the courtyard, free of the rubble of the ruins. It leads down into the dark of the crypts.
The Crypts
The courtyard stairway leads down to a network of cramped, dripping tunnels, buzzing with flies.
Stench: The carrion reek intensifies. Characters who do not mask the odour somehow suffer –1 to Attack Rolls.
Echoes: Gasps and moans can be heard sporadically in the tunnels, echoing from the Central Hall.
The Central Hall
The tunnels converge on a 200′ wide circular hall with a domed roof of cracked, pink porcelain.
Treasures: A glittering mound of coins and other treasures is piled up in the centre of the hall: 2,000sp and 3,000gp stamped with the head of the King of Brackenwold, 6 bronze torcs set with a black opal (1,200gp each), a twisted ebony Staff of Darkness (p416).
The Descendant: Sprawled across the hoard, gasping and lolling, is a giant and hideous being: the Descendant. If disturbed by light or words, it rises and casts its malevolent, rotting gaze upon those who intrude upon its rest.
The Descendant
A 20′ tall, vaguely humanoid agglomeration of maggot-riddled corpses, animated by a lust for living flesh to meld with itself. Gurgles and gasps out occasional syllables in Old Woldish (“rend,” “flesh,” “bone”).
Large Undead—Mindless—Chaotic
Level 9 AC 13 HP 54 Saves R8 H9 B10 S11 Att 2 claws (, ) and maw (, ) Speed 40 Morale 9 XP 1,900
Stench: The source of the carrion stench. Characters who do not mask the odour somehow suffer a –2 penalty to Attack Rolls.
Undead: Immune to biological effects (e.g. disease, poison) and mind-affecting spells (e.g. Vapours of Dream, Paralysation, Dominate).
Regeneration: Heals 1 HP per Round, even when reduced to 0 HP or less.
Kill it with fire: Cannot regenerate fire damage.