LostSoul
Adventurer
The Tombwood
TOMBWOOD
Overview: The Tombwood crypts were built by the wealthy of Fallcrest two centuries ago, wanting to give their dead a more dignified resting place than the catacombs in the Moonstone Caverns. They are now covered by a mass of tangling trees. Most crypts are simple one-room tombs, empty of anything living or dead; others hold dangerous creatures (living and undead) and secret passages connect them to others deeper in the ground.
The Tombwood has been twisted to evil thanks to an artifact of Vecna placed in an unmarked Tomb deep in its midst. The necrotic energies it sends out have been twisting the Tombwood for centuries, animating undead, turning the trees to evil. The Eye of Blight makes it almost impossible to navigate the Tombwood. (It has no problem with the activities of the River Rats and they find no such troubles.)
Wandering Monsters: Monsters wander the tombwood. Each time the PCs take a short rest or navigate through the tombwood, roll 1d6. On a roll of 6 (4-6 at night) the PCs encounter a wandering monster. Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the encounter.
1. Outskirts
The old cemetary is now overgrown with trees tangled together in grim embraces. The forest floor is thick with thorn-covered bushes. No paths are evident.
As the wind picks up, the trees seem to shift a moment too late, as if they had a will of their own.
DM's Notes: Navigating through the cemetary to find a location of interest is difficult (DC 19 due to the influence of the Eye of Blight). They can search for a specific location or at random. Each character must make the check. If the roll is failed, the PCs lose a healing surge as they exhaust themselves trying to find their way through the cryptwood and they arrive at a random location.
The PCs can find recent paths with a DC 15 Perception check. Those trained in Nature gain a +2 bonus to the roll. If found, these paths lead to the Open Graves (area 4.). Once found, PCs will find that the trail has disappeared and will not appear again.
2 a. Dwarven Crypt (XP 400)
This stone mausoleum has an emblem of a dwarven warrior on it. Thick weeds and briars grow in abandon around it. The stone door hangs open; beyond you can see a small room that has a set of stairs leading down.
DM's Notes: In dwarven, the words "Longbeard: Stonemasons of Moonstone Keep" can be read. A DC 20 History check (+2 if the character is dwarven) means the PC knows the name as two dwarves who helped build Fallcrest.
4 stirges lurk in the trees around this crypt. They can be spotted with a DC 18 Perception check; with a DC 13 Perception check, PCs can notice a number of small animal skeletons. With a DC 15 Heal check, it can be determined that the animals died from blood drain. The stirges do not attack until the PCs engage with the clay scout in area 1 b.; they have learned to work together with the mindless construct.
2 b. Entrance (XP 125)
This small room (20x20) is cold and dark. The shattered remains of a dwarven statue are spread across the ground. A heavy iron door, bashed in, lies open.
DM's notes: A clay scout lurks in the shattered remains (DC 18 Perception). It will attack the first creature who enters the room (its guarded area) with its mind touch. Once it attacks, the stirges from area 2 a. will swoop down.
2 c. Tomb of Durgeddin & Mordweddin Longbeard (XP 500)
This tomb (20x40) is cool and dark. Two stone coffins rest in the far end of the room. Their rune-covered lids have been shattered and stone lies on the floor. An iron statue of a dwarf wielding a warhammer stands before them. A humanoid skeleton lies on the ground.
DM's notes: The Longbeard's corpses have been animated by energies from the Shadowfell and have risen as corruption corpse zombies. These two dwarves both worked in the construction of Moonstone Keep and the complexes beneath it. They created the clay scout in area 2 b. and the iron defender (the dwarf statue) here as well.
The dwarven statue can be identified as an iron defender with a DC 15 arcana check. The iron defender guards both corruption corpses.
The skeleton on the floor is that of an orc that was killed by the iron defender when the tomb was looted. The orcs, thinking they had taken all the loot from this room, left the iron defender alone.
Treasure: Hidden under a loose tile between the two coffins (Perception DC 15 if searched) is a small pair of gems worth 100 gp each can be found in small receptacles. Removing the gems will trigger a trap (Perception DC 20); the floor tile will sink and the entire tomb will begin to collapse! Make an attack against all creatures in the tomb: +4 vs. Reflex, 3d6+3 damage. Placing something that weighs as much as the gems in the receptacles required a Theivery check (DC 20); success means that the tile will not sink. If the PCs disable the trap and gather the gems, reward them with 100xp.
When the tomb collapses, a passage to The Soldier's Ossuary (area 3 b.) is revealed.
The runes on the coffin lids once held detailed plans of Moonstone Keep and the complexes beneath them. If the room is searched, a PC will be able to notice this with a DC 25 Perception check or if the rubble is specifically searched. If put back together using the Make Whole ritual it will form a map detailing Moonstone Keep, the Markelhay Sepulchre, and the Cisterns. Award PCs a level 1 minor quest if they put the map together.
3 a. Knight's Tomb - entrance.
This tomb has been bashed open. Its copper doors, covered in a layer of verdigris, have a bas-relief of a knight looking mournfully towards the moon. Stairs lead down into gloom.
DM's Notes: A History check of DC 15 will mean they recognize the knight as Sir Teukros, a knight of Nerath who led a campaign from Fallcrest against the cultists of Vecna; a DC 20 check means they know they story of his downfall, having taken his own life when, upon his return from Thunderspire, he was betrayed and his eladrin wife was killed. DC 25 means they know who killed his wife - the abbot Garthulmas of Gardmore Abbey.
3 b. Knight's Tomb - Soldier's Ossuary
This long room is lined with skeletal remains. There is a small shrine at the far end of the room. An inscription on the floor reads "Together Even In Death" in common. Two doors lead out of this room, one in the eastern wall and the other in the west.
DM's Notes: If the dwarven tomb (area 2.) was destroyed, an open-air passage will lead into this chamber.
3 c. Lady Eveningsong's Tomb
The walls of this tomb are carved to appear as though they were trees. A small mound of earth lines in the middle of the room, overgrown cave moss. A single white flower blooms in the darkness amid the weeds.
DM's Notes: The final resting place of the Eladrin Lady Eveningsong. She rests uneasily. If the white flower is plucked, she will rise in 1d4 days as a banshee (wailing ghost), lamenting the loss of her husband who has not come to join her on the other side.
PCs who succeed at a DC 20 Nature check recognize the flower as an Eladrin manu-lote, a spirit flower. They are planted when an Eladrin dies; as the spirit rejoins the Feywild and moves on, the flower blooms and spreads peace and beauty. This one has never bloomed.
PCs can guide Eveningsong to peace if they succeed at a level 7 skill challenge; she does not wish to leave her husband here, but cannot find him. (DMs, feel free to adjudicate however fits your vision; I suggest Nature or Religion checks to contact her - Speak With Dead considered an automatic success - and once contacted, she must be persuaded to leave her love behind.) Failure will mean that she will never find peace and rises as a wailing ghost, though not of particularly harmful intent (she will not use her spirit touch unless attacked, and any creature who is killed from psychic damage sinks into a catatonic state of despair for 1d4 weeks). A Gentle Repose ritual will prevent this from occuring, though it is only a matter of time.
3 d. Sir Teukros' Tomb (XP 575)
A deathly chill fills the air in this room. A single coffin stands in the middle of the room. The far wall holds a stained-glass window of a knight and his hauntingly beautiful eladrin wife; the window is backlit with an eerie purple glow.
DM's notes: Sir Teukros, unable to go on, has risen as a deathlock wight. He mourns for his lost love and curses Vecna. He has no sense of his surroundings and still believes he lives.
Sir Teukros knows things long since forgotten: The location of the Tower of Secrets in Thunderspire; that Gardmore Abbey was infiltrated by cultists of Vecna; that the Eye of Vecna lies deep within the dungeons beneath the Abbey, sealed off long ago; and many other things.
Sir Teukros will ignore the PCs unless they succeed on a DC 17 check or he is attacked. If he is attacked, he cries out: "Garthulmas, you cowardly swine! I can see through your disguises! To arms, my men!" At this, 2 skeletons and 4 decrepit skeletons from the ossuary will animate and rush to his aid. Sir Teukros gains regeneration 5 (radiant) while the stained-glass window stands; purple light flows into his wounds. If it is destroyed, Sir Teukros flies into a rage, gaining a +4 bonus to attacks and damage.
PCs who succeed at a DC 20 History check recognize the name Garthulmas as an abbot of Gardmore Abbey.
The PCs may be able to help Sir Teukros find peace; what is needed is that they convince him his wife is waiting for him on the other side. Run this as a level 4 skill challenge; failure means that Sir Teukros will never find peace. If he departs, his wife leaves with him and the PCs can smell the sweet blossom of the spirit flower.
A secret door behind the stained-glass window opens to reveal a passage that heads to area 7 d.
Treasure: Sir Teukros fights with a Battlecrazed Longsword +1.
4. Open Graves
These graves appear to have been freshly dug up and the contents removed.
DM's notes: The River Rats have been graverobbing; they have taken these bodies and sold them to Orest Naerumar. The tracks are reasonably fresh, and can be tracked back to The Lucky Gnome Taphouse with a DC 22 Perception check.
5. Overgrown Well
An old well is here, full of twisting vines and weeds.
DM's notes: This leads into area 5. of the cistern. PCs who succeed at a DC 18 Perception check can make out a dim light at the bottom of the well and hear faint squeaking noises. PCs who descend will also alert the chokers in the well (see the cisterns, area 5.).
6. Twisted Grove (XP 500+)
The tangle of the tombwood lets up slightly here in this small grove dominated by one large, sickly-looking tree. It sits on a small barren hill and a single grave marker lies at its roots.
DM's Notes: This tree was planted in memorium of the man who was buried here; it has become tainted and evil. It desires to draw the life out of anyone who approaches. Killing this tree will mean the end of the vine horrors and twig blights.
Each round, there is a 50% chance that a decrepit skeleton (1-3) or twig blight (4-6) appears and attacks.
Treasure: 35gp and a poisoned spear +1 can be found if the area is searched.
[editor's note: there should be a better way to do this. Monster or what?]
7 a. Tomb of Secrets
This tomb stands in decent repair, its outer surface only damaged from the elements. The doors to the tomb are closed fast. There are no markings to indicate who was buried here.
DM's notes: The doors to this tomb are locked (DC 20). This was the tomb of a secretive sage, a worshipper of Vecna. He was the one who first spied on Gardmore Abbey.
The doors open to reveal a set of stairs that descend down, ending in another set of doors.
7 b. Vecna's Guardians (XP 0-900)
This chamber is lined with sarcophagi, 6 on each wall, each one wearing a featureless mask. Two doors, one in the north wall and one in the south, provide exits from this area.
DM's notes: When the PCs enter to the middle of the room, the door leading to area 7 a. slams shut as if by a ghostly wind. The following round, and each round after that as long as PCs are in the area, two sarcophagi open and discharge skeletons. The skeletons attack until slain.
PCs can destroy the sarcophagi, though they are tough. The sound will attract a wandering monster and, when the sarcophagi is destroyed, the skeleton within will attack.
A DC 15 Religion check identifies the masks as symbols of Vecna.
PCs who succeed on a DC 15 Perception check notice strange runes on the floor; these trigger the skeletons. They can be lept over easily.
7 c. Tomb of Secrets (XP 0-900)
This chamber appears to be a library. The walls are lined with books and scroll cases. There is a table at the far end of the room. The table is empty save for a deep purple candle and a small silver bowl.
DM's notes: All the books and scrolls appear blank unless the candle is lit; in that case, the writings can be made out. If the candle is lit without making the appropriate gesture to Vecna, the flame explodes in a powerful burst and all those who see it suffer a curse (+7 vs. Fort; Blinded until next short rest and suffer the Curse of Vecna). This explosion attracts the attention of the skeletons in area 7 b., and they move into to attack.
PCs who make a DC 20 Religion check identify the candle as a symbol of Vecna; those who make a DC 25 check know the rite to appease the god. (This involves cutting out one's eye and placing it in the bowl! The effects of this are to lose a healing surge and a -2 penalty to Perception checks. Both are permanent until the eye is somehow restored.)
Curse of Vecna Level 4 Disease (curse) Wisdom DC 18 Maintain, 22 Improve
If someone does perform the ritual of Vecna and lights the candle, the secrets are revealed: horrible writing made to disgust and warp the mind of the reader hold countless pieces of valuable information. Characters know that studying the writing will reveal long-lost secrets, though he will be putting his mind at risk. If the character studies the scrolls and books for at least 6 hours, he gains a +2 bonus to all Int-based skill checks! In addition, reward the character with a level 4 minor quest reward, and he learns the following terrible secrets:
-He gains a +5 bonus to all skill checks related to knowledge about Vecna
-He gains a +2 bonus on checks to disable the Eye of Blight in area 7 d.
-The eye of Vecna rests in the deep levels of Gardmore Abbey
-He gains a map of the first level of Gardmore Abbey
-He learns that agents of Vecna had turned Lord Warden Tarfon Markelhay to the worship of Vecna
-He learns of the location of the Tower of Secrets in Thunderspire
However, once per day at any time, the character's mind thinks back to the foul secrets he has read of; he suffers an attack: character's level vs. Will; stunned (save ends). This can be removed with a Cure Affliction ritual, though the character will also lose any benefits as his mind is wiped clean of this tainted knowledge. (The player may retain all the information he has learned, though, as some secrets linger on.)
Once read, the scrolls turn to dust.
7 d. Eye of Blight (XP 250-1150)
This area holds a single stone coffin - featureless save for a blank mask - and, at the far end of the room, a small orb glowing with an unholy purple light. A door is recessed in the eastern wall.
DM's notes: The door leads to area 3 d.
The orb is an artifact of Vecna, created by the nameless sage and placed here when he died. He attempted the ritual to become a lich but Vecna held those secrets from him, instead using his soul to empower the Eye of Blight. The Eye of Blight is the source of the fell energies animating the undead in the area, and it is what causes the Tombwood to grow so tangled, warped, and evil.
The nameless sage has become an Enigma of Vecna. It rests in the coffin until the Eye of Blight is disturbed; if this happens, it attacks, and the skeletons in area 7 b. rise and attack.
This can possibly be a very dangerous encounter, especially if the PCs are low-level. This danger can be eased if the PCs have killed the skeletons already or if the Eye of Blight is destroyed! This can be done in two ways:
1. Any PC may cut out his own eye and place the Eye of Blight in the empty eye socket. Cutting out one's own eye is a standard action and deals damage equal to the character's bloodied value. Picking up the Eye of Blight is a minor action, as is placing it into the eye socket. If this is done, the Enigma of Vecna and skeletons immediately stop acting and come under the control of the PC. PCs who make a DC 15 Religion check will know this.
2. Disabling the Eye of Blight. This requires a level 7 complexity 1 skill challenge (DCs 15/19/23). Failure indicates that the PCs do not have the will to overcome the power of the Eye of Blight; success indicates that all undead in the Tomb of Secrets are instantly destroyed and no more will be animated in the Tombwood.
Some possible skill uses include (but are not limited to):
-Arcana (DC 19, standard action) to ward the energies of the eye
-Arcana (DC 15, minor action) to understand its powers; adds a +2 bonus to all future rolls, reveals some of the other options, but does not count as a success);
-Religion (DC 19, minor action) to recall the rites and prayers that can disable the Eye;
-Heal (DC 15, minor action, must touch the Eye) to spend 2 Healing Surges to channel your life force into the Eye
-The Eye cannot be damaged by attacks, though a successful attack (DC 19, standard action, Eye must be a target) that deals radiant damage will provide all future roll with a +2 bonus
-If 100gp worth of sanctified incense is burned, gain a +2 bonus to all future rolls (minor action)
If either option is taken, award the PCs with a major level 7 quest reward and XP for all monsters (the enigma of Vecna and the skeletons) as if they had been defeated.
Eye of Blight
Heroic Artifact
Concordance: As the Eye of Vecna
Body Slot: Head
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to Intimidate and Perception checks.
Property: You gain resist 5 necrotic.
Property: You gain vulnerable radiant 5.
Property: You take a -2 penalty to Diplomacy checks.
Power (encounter, arcane, implement, psychic): Standard action. Make an attack using your highest mental ability stat (Int, Wis, Cha) +2 vs. Will. On a hit, the target takes 2d8+your ability modifier psychic damage. If the target is reduced to 0 hit points by this attack, it will animate as an Enigma of Vecna in 1d4 days.
Pleased
Property: You gain darkvision.
Power (daily, arcane, implement): Standard action. Make an attack using your highest mental ability stat (Int, Wis, Cha) +2 vs. Will. Can only target undead. On a hit, the target is Dominated (save ends).
Satisfied
Property: The item bonus to Intimidate and Perception rises to +2.
Property: You gain low-light vision.
Special: Gain access to the Vecna's Blight ritual.
Normal
-
Unsatisfied
Special: Once per day at any time, the Eye of Blight attempts to drain your energy. The Eye makes an attack against your Fortitude defense, rolling 1d20 + your level. If the attack hits, you lose a healing surge.
Angered
Special: Once per day at any time, the Eye of Blight attempts to blind you. The Eye makes an attack against your Fortitude defense, rolling 1d20 + your level. If the attack hits, you are blinded until you take a short rest.
Special: Once per encounter, the Eye can attempt to animate a corpse within 5 squares. It rises as an Enigma of Vecna in 1d4 rounds.
Vecna's Blight
Level: 7 Component Cost: 200gp
Category: Market Price: not for sale
Time: 6 hours Key Skill: Religion
Duration: Permanent
This foul ritual creates a blighted area (100'x100'). The ritual causes the natural terrain to become overgrown and difficult to pass through for all save the caster and any one he indicates during the casting of the ritual. Any dead buried in the area will rise as free-willed undead unless precautions are taken.
Creatures who wish to move through the terrain must make an appropriate check with a DC equal to the caster's Religion check.
The caster must have the Eye of Blight implanted in his eye socket to cast the ritual.
8. Deep Stair.
An iron door, bent and rusted with time, lies on the ground nearly completely overgrown with weeds.
DM's notes: Opening the door requires a DC 20 check; it is not locked, merely stuck. Once opened, it will descend into the Tombwood Crypts.
9. Tombwood Barrow Mound.
A large hill, overgrown with brambles and thickets, rises out of the mass of tangled trees. An old stone door marks a single entry point into the ancient barrow mound.
DM's Notes: This is the above-ground entrance point into the Tombwood Barrow Mound.
Refer to the Tombwood Barrow Mound key for future exploration.
TOMBWOOD
Overview: The Tombwood crypts were built by the wealthy of Fallcrest two centuries ago, wanting to give their dead a more dignified resting place than the catacombs in the Moonstone Caverns. They are now covered by a mass of tangling trees. Most crypts are simple one-room tombs, empty of anything living or dead; others hold dangerous creatures (living and undead) and secret passages connect them to others deeper in the ground.
The Tombwood has been twisted to evil thanks to an artifact of Vecna placed in an unmarked Tomb deep in its midst. The necrotic energies it sends out have been twisting the Tombwood for centuries, animating undead, turning the trees to evil. The Eye of Blight makes it almost impossible to navigate the Tombwood. (It has no problem with the activities of the River Rats and they find no such troubles.)
Wandering Monsters: Monsters wander the tombwood. Each time the PCs take a short rest or navigate through the tombwood, roll 1d6. On a roll of 6 (4-6 at night) the PCs encounter a wandering monster. Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the encounter.
Code:
Roll
1 The very trees attack! (1 vine horror, 8 twig blights, 1 zombie); XP 525.
2 Rats swarm from out of the well (3 rat swarms, 2 dire rats); XP 575.
3 Zombies lurch out of their graves (2 zombies, 1 deathlock wight, 1 corruption corpse); XP 600.
4 3 guard drakes and 2 goblin sharpshooters stumble upon the PCs; XP 625.
5 Skeletons rise out of the ground and attack (2 skeletons, 8 decrepit skeletons); XP 500.
6 River Rats (4 human bandits, 2 human berserkers) come to rob graves; XP 850.1. Outskirts
The old cemetary is now overgrown with trees tangled together in grim embraces. The forest floor is thick with thorn-covered bushes. No paths are evident.
As the wind picks up, the trees seem to shift a moment too late, as if they had a will of their own.
DM's Notes: Navigating through the cemetary to find a location of interest is difficult (DC 19 due to the influence of the Eye of Blight). They can search for a specific location or at random. Each character must make the check. If the roll is failed, the PCs lose a healing surge as they exhaust themselves trying to find their way through the cryptwood and they arrive at a random location.
The PCs can find recent paths with a DC 15 Perception check. Those trained in Nature gain a +2 bonus to the roll. If found, these paths lead to the Open Graves (area 4.). Once found, PCs will find that the trail has disappeared and will not appear again.
2 a. Dwarven Crypt (XP 400)
This stone mausoleum has an emblem of a dwarven warrior on it. Thick weeds and briars grow in abandon around it. The stone door hangs open; beyond you can see a small room that has a set of stairs leading down.
DM's Notes: In dwarven, the words "Longbeard: Stonemasons of Moonstone Keep" can be read. A DC 20 History check (+2 if the character is dwarven) means the PC knows the name as two dwarves who helped build Fallcrest.
4 stirges lurk in the trees around this crypt. They can be spotted with a DC 18 Perception check; with a DC 13 Perception check, PCs can notice a number of small animal skeletons. With a DC 15 Heal check, it can be determined that the animals died from blood drain. The stirges do not attack until the PCs engage with the clay scout in area 1 b.; they have learned to work together with the mindless construct.
2 b. Entrance (XP 125)
This small room (20x20) is cold and dark. The shattered remains of a dwarven statue are spread across the ground. A heavy iron door, bashed in, lies open.
DM's notes: A clay scout lurks in the shattered remains (DC 18 Perception). It will attack the first creature who enters the room (its guarded area) with its mind touch. Once it attacks, the stirges from area 2 a. will swoop down.
2 c. Tomb of Durgeddin & Mordweddin Longbeard (XP 500)
This tomb (20x40) is cool and dark. Two stone coffins rest in the far end of the room. Their rune-covered lids have been shattered and stone lies on the floor. An iron statue of a dwarf wielding a warhammer stands before them. A humanoid skeleton lies on the ground.
DM's notes: The Longbeard's corpses have been animated by energies from the Shadowfell and have risen as corruption corpse zombies. These two dwarves both worked in the construction of Moonstone Keep and the complexes beneath it. They created the clay scout in area 2 b. and the iron defender (the dwarf statue) here as well.
The dwarven statue can be identified as an iron defender with a DC 15 arcana check. The iron defender guards both corruption corpses.
The skeleton on the floor is that of an orc that was killed by the iron defender when the tomb was looted. The orcs, thinking they had taken all the loot from this room, left the iron defender alone.
Treasure: Hidden under a loose tile between the two coffins (Perception DC 15 if searched) is a small pair of gems worth 100 gp each can be found in small receptacles. Removing the gems will trigger a trap (Perception DC 20); the floor tile will sink and the entire tomb will begin to collapse! Make an attack against all creatures in the tomb: +4 vs. Reflex, 3d6+3 damage. Placing something that weighs as much as the gems in the receptacles required a Theivery check (DC 20); success means that the tile will not sink. If the PCs disable the trap and gather the gems, reward them with 100xp.
When the tomb collapses, a passage to The Soldier's Ossuary (area 3 b.) is revealed.
The runes on the coffin lids once held detailed plans of Moonstone Keep and the complexes beneath them. If the room is searched, a PC will be able to notice this with a DC 25 Perception check or if the rubble is specifically searched. If put back together using the Make Whole ritual it will form a map detailing Moonstone Keep, the Markelhay Sepulchre, and the Cisterns. Award PCs a level 1 minor quest if they put the map together.
3 a. Knight's Tomb - entrance.
This tomb has been bashed open. Its copper doors, covered in a layer of verdigris, have a bas-relief of a knight looking mournfully towards the moon. Stairs lead down into gloom.
DM's Notes: A History check of DC 15 will mean they recognize the knight as Sir Teukros, a knight of Nerath who led a campaign from Fallcrest against the cultists of Vecna; a DC 20 check means they know they story of his downfall, having taken his own life when, upon his return from Thunderspire, he was betrayed and his eladrin wife was killed. DC 25 means they know who killed his wife - the abbot Garthulmas of Gardmore Abbey.
3 b. Knight's Tomb - Soldier's Ossuary
This long room is lined with skeletal remains. There is a small shrine at the far end of the room. An inscription on the floor reads "Together Even In Death" in common. Two doors lead out of this room, one in the eastern wall and the other in the west.
DM's Notes: If the dwarven tomb (area 2.) was destroyed, an open-air passage will lead into this chamber.
3 c. Lady Eveningsong's Tomb
The walls of this tomb are carved to appear as though they were trees. A small mound of earth lines in the middle of the room, overgrown cave moss. A single white flower blooms in the darkness amid the weeds.
DM's Notes: The final resting place of the Eladrin Lady Eveningsong. She rests uneasily. If the white flower is plucked, she will rise in 1d4 days as a banshee (wailing ghost), lamenting the loss of her husband who has not come to join her on the other side.
PCs who succeed at a DC 20 Nature check recognize the flower as an Eladrin manu-lote, a spirit flower. They are planted when an Eladrin dies; as the spirit rejoins the Feywild and moves on, the flower blooms and spreads peace and beauty. This one has never bloomed.
PCs can guide Eveningsong to peace if they succeed at a level 7 skill challenge; she does not wish to leave her husband here, but cannot find him. (DMs, feel free to adjudicate however fits your vision; I suggest Nature or Religion checks to contact her - Speak With Dead considered an automatic success - and once contacted, she must be persuaded to leave her love behind.) Failure will mean that she will never find peace and rises as a wailing ghost, though not of particularly harmful intent (she will not use her spirit touch unless attacked, and any creature who is killed from psychic damage sinks into a catatonic state of despair for 1d4 weeks). A Gentle Repose ritual will prevent this from occuring, though it is only a matter of time.
3 d. Sir Teukros' Tomb (XP 575)
A deathly chill fills the air in this room. A single coffin stands in the middle of the room. The far wall holds a stained-glass window of a knight and his hauntingly beautiful eladrin wife; the window is backlit with an eerie purple glow.
DM's notes: Sir Teukros, unable to go on, has risen as a deathlock wight. He mourns for his lost love and curses Vecna. He has no sense of his surroundings and still believes he lives.
Sir Teukros knows things long since forgotten: The location of the Tower of Secrets in Thunderspire; that Gardmore Abbey was infiltrated by cultists of Vecna; that the Eye of Vecna lies deep within the dungeons beneath the Abbey, sealed off long ago; and many other things.
Sir Teukros will ignore the PCs unless they succeed on a DC 17 check or he is attacked. If he is attacked, he cries out: "Garthulmas, you cowardly swine! I can see through your disguises! To arms, my men!" At this, 2 skeletons and 4 decrepit skeletons from the ossuary will animate and rush to his aid. Sir Teukros gains regeneration 5 (radiant) while the stained-glass window stands; purple light flows into his wounds. If it is destroyed, Sir Teukros flies into a rage, gaining a +4 bonus to attacks and damage.
PCs who succeed at a DC 20 History check recognize the name Garthulmas as an abbot of Gardmore Abbey.
The PCs may be able to help Sir Teukros find peace; what is needed is that they convince him his wife is waiting for him on the other side. Run this as a level 4 skill challenge; failure means that Sir Teukros will never find peace. If he departs, his wife leaves with him and the PCs can smell the sweet blossom of the spirit flower.
A secret door behind the stained-glass window opens to reveal a passage that heads to area 7 d.
Treasure: Sir Teukros fights with a Battlecrazed Longsword +1.
4. Open Graves
These graves appear to have been freshly dug up and the contents removed.
DM's notes: The River Rats have been graverobbing; they have taken these bodies and sold them to Orest Naerumar. The tracks are reasonably fresh, and can be tracked back to The Lucky Gnome Taphouse with a DC 22 Perception check.
5. Overgrown Well
An old well is here, full of twisting vines and weeds.
DM's notes: This leads into area 5. of the cistern. PCs who succeed at a DC 18 Perception check can make out a dim light at the bottom of the well and hear faint squeaking noises. PCs who descend will also alert the chokers in the well (see the cisterns, area 5.).
6. Twisted Grove (XP 500+)
The tangle of the tombwood lets up slightly here in this small grove dominated by one large, sickly-looking tree. It sits on a small barren hill and a single grave marker lies at its roots.
DM's Notes: This tree was planted in memorium of the man who was buried here; it has become tainted and evil. It desires to draw the life out of anyone who approaches. Killing this tree will mean the end of the vine horrors and twig blights.
Each round, there is a 50% chance that a decrepit skeleton (1-3) or twig blight (4-6) appears and attacks.
Treasure: 35gp and a poisoned spear +1 can be found if the area is searched.
[editor's note: there should be a better way to do this. Monster or what?]
7 a. Tomb of Secrets
This tomb stands in decent repair, its outer surface only damaged from the elements. The doors to the tomb are closed fast. There are no markings to indicate who was buried here.
DM's notes: The doors to this tomb are locked (DC 20). This was the tomb of a secretive sage, a worshipper of Vecna. He was the one who first spied on Gardmore Abbey.
The doors open to reveal a set of stairs that descend down, ending in another set of doors.
7 b. Vecna's Guardians (XP 0-900)
This chamber is lined with sarcophagi, 6 on each wall, each one wearing a featureless mask. Two doors, one in the north wall and one in the south, provide exits from this area.
DM's notes: When the PCs enter to the middle of the room, the door leading to area 7 a. slams shut as if by a ghostly wind. The following round, and each round after that as long as PCs are in the area, two sarcophagi open and discharge skeletons. The skeletons attack until slain.
PCs can destroy the sarcophagi, though they are tough. The sound will attract a wandering monster and, when the sarcophagi is destroyed, the skeleton within will attack.
A DC 15 Religion check identifies the masks as symbols of Vecna.
PCs who succeed on a DC 15 Perception check notice strange runes on the floor; these trigger the skeletons. They can be lept over easily.
7 c. Tomb of Secrets (XP 0-900)
This chamber appears to be a library. The walls are lined with books and scroll cases. There is a table at the far end of the room. The table is empty save for a deep purple candle and a small silver bowl.
DM's notes: All the books and scrolls appear blank unless the candle is lit; in that case, the writings can be made out. If the candle is lit without making the appropriate gesture to Vecna, the flame explodes in a powerful burst and all those who see it suffer a curse (+7 vs. Fort; Blinded until next short rest and suffer the Curse of Vecna). This explosion attracts the attention of the skeletons in area 7 b., and they move into to attack.
PCs who make a DC 20 Religion check identify the candle as a symbol of Vecna; those who make a DC 25 check know the rite to appease the god. (This involves cutting out one's eye and placing it in the bowl! The effects of this are to lose a healing surge and a -2 penalty to Perception checks. Both are permanent until the eye is somehow restored.)
Curse of Vecna Level 4 Disease (curse) Wisdom DC 18 Maintain, 22 Improve
Code:
The target is < Initial Effect: <> Worsen: > Final State:
cured The character cannot Memories are slowly The character falls into a
focus and has trouble eaten away; take a catatonic stupor, unable to
remembering; -5 penalty penalty to all rolls and take actions.
to all Int-based skill defenses equal to 1/2
checks & the character the character's level.
becomes illiterate.
Special: Heal may not be used to treat this disease. Substitute Religion instead. If rites of Ioun are used, gain a +2 bonus to the check.If someone does perform the ritual of Vecna and lights the candle, the secrets are revealed: horrible writing made to disgust and warp the mind of the reader hold countless pieces of valuable information. Characters know that studying the writing will reveal long-lost secrets, though he will be putting his mind at risk. If the character studies the scrolls and books for at least 6 hours, he gains a +2 bonus to all Int-based skill checks! In addition, reward the character with a level 4 minor quest reward, and he learns the following terrible secrets:
-He gains a +5 bonus to all skill checks related to knowledge about Vecna
-He gains a +2 bonus on checks to disable the Eye of Blight in area 7 d.
-The eye of Vecna rests in the deep levels of Gardmore Abbey
-He gains a map of the first level of Gardmore Abbey
-He learns that agents of Vecna had turned Lord Warden Tarfon Markelhay to the worship of Vecna
-He learns of the location of the Tower of Secrets in Thunderspire
However, once per day at any time, the character's mind thinks back to the foul secrets he has read of; he suffers an attack: character's level vs. Will; stunned (save ends). This can be removed with a Cure Affliction ritual, though the character will also lose any benefits as his mind is wiped clean of this tainted knowledge. (The player may retain all the information he has learned, though, as some secrets linger on.)
Once read, the scrolls turn to dust.
7 d. Eye of Blight (XP 250-1150)
This area holds a single stone coffin - featureless save for a blank mask - and, at the far end of the room, a small orb glowing with an unholy purple light. A door is recessed in the eastern wall.
DM's notes: The door leads to area 3 d.
The orb is an artifact of Vecna, created by the nameless sage and placed here when he died. He attempted the ritual to become a lich but Vecna held those secrets from him, instead using his soul to empower the Eye of Blight. The Eye of Blight is the source of the fell energies animating the undead in the area, and it is what causes the Tombwood to grow so tangled, warped, and evil.
The nameless sage has become an Enigma of Vecna. It rests in the coffin until the Eye of Blight is disturbed; if this happens, it attacks, and the skeletons in area 7 b. rise and attack.
This can possibly be a very dangerous encounter, especially if the PCs are low-level. This danger can be eased if the PCs have killed the skeletons already or if the Eye of Blight is destroyed! This can be done in two ways:
1. Any PC may cut out his own eye and place the Eye of Blight in the empty eye socket. Cutting out one's own eye is a standard action and deals damage equal to the character's bloodied value. Picking up the Eye of Blight is a minor action, as is placing it into the eye socket. If this is done, the Enigma of Vecna and skeletons immediately stop acting and come under the control of the PC. PCs who make a DC 15 Religion check will know this.
2. Disabling the Eye of Blight. This requires a level 7 complexity 1 skill challenge (DCs 15/19/23). Failure indicates that the PCs do not have the will to overcome the power of the Eye of Blight; success indicates that all undead in the Tomb of Secrets are instantly destroyed and no more will be animated in the Tombwood.
Some possible skill uses include (but are not limited to):
-Arcana (DC 19, standard action) to ward the energies of the eye
-Arcana (DC 15, minor action) to understand its powers; adds a +2 bonus to all future rolls, reveals some of the other options, but does not count as a success);
-Religion (DC 19, minor action) to recall the rites and prayers that can disable the Eye;
-Heal (DC 15, minor action, must touch the Eye) to spend 2 Healing Surges to channel your life force into the Eye
-The Eye cannot be damaged by attacks, though a successful attack (DC 19, standard action, Eye must be a target) that deals radiant damage will provide all future roll with a +2 bonus
-If 100gp worth of sanctified incense is burned, gain a +2 bonus to all future rolls (minor action)
If either option is taken, award the PCs with a major level 7 quest reward and XP for all monsters (the enigma of Vecna and the skeletons) as if they had been defeated.
Eye of Blight
Heroic Artifact
Concordance: As the Eye of Vecna
Body Slot: Head
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to Intimidate and Perception checks.
Property: You gain resist 5 necrotic.
Property: You gain vulnerable radiant 5.
Property: You take a -2 penalty to Diplomacy checks.
Power (encounter, arcane, implement, psychic): Standard action. Make an attack using your highest mental ability stat (Int, Wis, Cha) +2 vs. Will. On a hit, the target takes 2d8+your ability modifier psychic damage. If the target is reduced to 0 hit points by this attack, it will animate as an Enigma of Vecna in 1d4 days.
Pleased
Property: You gain darkvision.
Power (daily, arcane, implement): Standard action. Make an attack using your highest mental ability stat (Int, Wis, Cha) +2 vs. Will. Can only target undead. On a hit, the target is Dominated (save ends).
Satisfied
Property: The item bonus to Intimidate and Perception rises to +2.
Property: You gain low-light vision.
Special: Gain access to the Vecna's Blight ritual.
Normal
-
Unsatisfied
Special: Once per day at any time, the Eye of Blight attempts to drain your energy. The Eye makes an attack against your Fortitude defense, rolling 1d20 + your level. If the attack hits, you lose a healing surge.
Angered
Special: Once per day at any time, the Eye of Blight attempts to blind you. The Eye makes an attack against your Fortitude defense, rolling 1d20 + your level. If the attack hits, you are blinded until you take a short rest.
Special: Once per encounter, the Eye can attempt to animate a corpse within 5 squares. It rises as an Enigma of Vecna in 1d4 rounds.
Vecna's Blight
Level: 7 Component Cost: 200gp
Category: Market Price: not for sale
Time: 6 hours Key Skill: Religion
Duration: Permanent
This foul ritual creates a blighted area (100'x100'). The ritual causes the natural terrain to become overgrown and difficult to pass through for all save the caster and any one he indicates during the casting of the ritual. Any dead buried in the area will rise as free-willed undead unless precautions are taken.
Creatures who wish to move through the terrain must make an appropriate check with a DC equal to the caster's Religion check.
The caster must have the Eye of Blight implanted in his eye socket to cast the ritual.
8. Deep Stair.
An iron door, bent and rusted with time, lies on the ground nearly completely overgrown with weeds.
DM's notes: Opening the door requires a DC 20 check; it is not locked, merely stuck. Once opened, it will descend into the Tombwood Crypts.
9. Tombwood Barrow Mound.
A large hill, overgrown with brambles and thickets, rises out of the mass of tangled trees. An old stone door marks a single entry point into the ancient barrow mound.
DM's Notes: This is the above-ground entrance point into the Tombwood Barrow Mound.
Refer to the Tombwood Barrow Mound key for future exploration.
tile smash; +8 v AC; 1d6+3 and prone.
whirlwind; close burst 3; recharge 5, 6; +6 v F; 1d6+3, push 3.
spout of tiles; ranged 10; +6 v R; 1d10+3 and difficult terrain in square.
uppercut, +2 v F, 1d10+3 and slowed (sv). 1st failed save: dazed. 2nd failed save: unconcious (end of encounter).
keg smash, requires keg, burst 1 within 5, recharge with move if adj to keg, 3d6+4, booze sprayed, prone.
