Need a Short Dungeon for a Ranger's Tomb

[pukunui]

Hi all,

I am running Storm King's Thunder for my home group. Last session, they decided to have their PCs escort a wagon of beer to the distant village of Mornbryn's Shield because they liked the sound of looking for and looting the eponymous ranger's legendary treasure-laden tomb.

I did warn them that Mornbryn had lived centuries ago and that no one had ever found his tomb. Their response was: "We aren't no one."

I don't want to disappoint them by saying that the tomb is just a legend and there's no hope of them ever actually finding it. Plus, one of the PCs is a ranger, so it would be a cool way to personalize the campaign.

I asked Ed Greenwood about the tomb, and he pointed me in the direction of the old 2e era Volo's Guide to the North. It has this to say about the ranger and his tomb: "Mornbryn was a ranger of some fame in the North, over 400 winters ago. Legend says that his underground tomb is somewhere under [the rocky ridge that gives the village its name]. It's said to be a complex of rooms crammed with the treasures offered by the many communities he had rescued from orcs and trolls. He would not accept these rewards in life, but they were laid to rest with him after his death."

It goes on to talk about how most people think the tomb is still hidden, while others think it was found and then built over so as to prevent it from being looted. It's also supposedly warded with some special magic-dampening stone that prevents people from locating it by searching for magical auras.

One footnote indicates that "Mornbryn's Tomb has unusual wards, details of which are only known to certain worshippers of Mielikki, and so don't appear here."

Another footnote indicates that there were two sisters who took offerings left for Mielikki at a shrine in the village and placed them in Mornbryn's Tomb. They were the only ones who held "tokens to pass its wards", which even Elminster considered scary enough to not want to discuss in detail.


That appears to be all that I've got to go on.

I've got four PCs of 7th level (one of whom is a ranger, as I mentioned above). I'd prefer something relatively short and with as much of a "ranger's tomb" theme as possible. I'm guessing that no such thing exists ready-made, so I will probably have to come up with something from scratch.

FWIW, as per SKT, there's also a contingent of Zhentarim mercenaries who have taken over the town with the intent of finding this tomb for themselves. I'm not sure if the PCs are going to let the thugs continue to bully the villagers, but I could attempt to turn it into something of a race, with the PCs trying to locate the tomb before the mercs do. If I play my cards right, I could maybe even pull off a little Raiders of the Lost Ark and have the mercs show up to take the loot after the PCs have braved the tomb's defenses to get it.

I also think it could possibly be fun to have Mornbryn's spirit show up and bequeath some kind of special ranger magic item to the ranger PC.

Any and all ideas are welcome!

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Jonathan

 

[hejtmane]

Have them go to and antiques store and find an old item and it have a hidden compartment that had a map. that leads to a secret passage on the ridge or to a building that was built over the secret passage. Could leverage a library also some obscure reference that helps find the passage is also a possibility.

If you need to build a dungeon map I would suggest this free tool

https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/

Love the Merc idea I say run with it that would be sweet

 

[Ymdar]

Here you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...n_Newgrange_tumulus_chamber_cross_section.png


I would still have them find a reference of the dungeon in an old book that references a tome that can be only found in a library of a big city such as Waterdeep. Or they could just infiltrate the Zhentarim camp for information as they seem to be knowing what they are looking for but might be missing a ranger from their party who is the only one allowed to enter...

 

[aco175]

This may work here. It was made for 5th level PCs, but you can scale it up a bit. It has an undead ghoul trapped in a stone circle that was once a Uthgart Barbarian shaman type. There are bandits that have already found the tomb and partially dug it open along with goblins and a giant. Some undead live in the tomb as well guarding the door from opening and allowing the ghoul to leave.

I made it to be played in one night and my table has a couple experienced players and one new player.

 

[Eltab]

SKT or PotA has a side quest with a halfling family who desecrated an Uthgardt ancestor's tomb. You could use that tomb, if you haven't already played the original form.

There don't have to be any wards traps &c on the tomb "up front" if trashing the place earns you a relentless overpowering pursuer seeking revenge afterwards. (A mummy, a revenant, a ghost.)

 

[pukunui]

Thanks for all the responses so far! I appreciate it.

Have them go to and antiques store and find an old item and it have a hidden compartment that had a map.

I'm thinking that if they do a bit of asking around town themselves, they might find someone who knows something.

I would still have them find a reference of the dungeon in an old book that references a tome that can be only found in a library of a big city such as Waterdeep.

I'm not sure it's worth having them go all the way back to Waterdeep and then back to this little village again. They'd probably not want to do that.

Or they could just infiltrate the Zhentarim camp for information as they seem to be knowing what they are looking for but might be missing a ranger from their party who is the only one allowed to enter...

The way it's written, the Zhents are bullying the villagers because they *don't* know where the tomb is but they think one of the villagers must know.

I made it to be played in one night and my table has a couple experienced players and one new player.

Thanks. Not really what I'm after but may have something of use in it.

SKT or PotA has a side quest with a halfling family who desecrated an Uthgardt ancestor's tomb. You could use that tomb, if you haven't already played the original form.

Unfortunately I used a modified version of that side quest in my previous campaign for this group. However, you've reminded me that there are some other cool side quests in that adventure. Maybe one of them will suit my purposes.

There don't have to be any wards traps &c on the tomb "up front" if trashing the place earns you a relentless overpowering pursuer seeking revenge afterwards. (A mummy, a revenant, a ghost.)

I don't think I want to have Mornbryn's ghost be vengeful. I think it would be cooler if he appeared to the ranger PC and bequeathed her with some heirloom magic item or something. She's a half-elf, so perhaps she could even be a descendant of his via her human side. [Although I did something similar - using the above PotA side quest - for this same player's PC in the previous campaign too, so maybe not ... ?]

 

[Quartz]

If your PCs are Good, this doesn't sound like a very Good activity. So how about reversing it? They get there too late. The Zhents are in the tomb. So it becomes a race to stop the Zhents desecrating and ransacking the tomb. Then, assuming success, have the spirit reward them.

 

[pukunui]

I've given this some more thought, and I think that I'm going to mostly go along with [MENTION=40552]Quartz[/MENTION]'s suggestion. Finding and looting Mornbryn's tomb doesn't really strike me as something the majority of the PCs would do. However, stopping the Zhents from finding and looting it does! I think I'll play up the idea that the tomb is why the Zhents are there and make it clear they're not being kind to the villagers.

If the PCs succeed in stopping the mercs, then a wizened old villager will thank them for protecting the secret of the tomb and give them a magic item or something (maybe even a supernatural charm) for their troubles.

Also, I'll wait and see just how the PCs deal with the Zhents. If the leader gets away, he'll tell on them and they won't get their reward for escorting the beer wagon. If they kill or otherwise prevent him from telling his Zhent associates about them, then they'll still get the reward. (If some of the minions get away, that's fine; I'll just make success be contingent on how they deal with the group's leader.)

 

[Prakriti]

My players used Talk to Animals to locate Mornbryn's Tomb. When they arrived, I had a short encounter ready for them.

Mornbryn’s Tomb. A cairn with twelve sarcophagi spread around the perimeter of its interior. The spirit of Mornbryn appears when the cairn is entered, identifying the ranger in the group. Mornbryn demands that the ranger pass three tests before taking his treasures. “If you fail, you cannot repeat the test until 100 moons have passed, and you have felt both snow and the crackle of dry leaves under your feet.”

Dexterity. The cairn is suddenly overgrown with illusory foliage. Mornbryn: “In the wild, the hunter is often hunted. Your reflexes determine your fate.” A spectral arrow shoots out of the foliage, which the ranger must dodge.
DC 10 Dexterity saving throw

Nature. The foliage thins, until only six tree trunks remain. An illusory leaf appears hovering on the ground. Mornbryn: “A ranger must recognize the flora and fauna of his world. Match the leaf you see before you to the correct tree.”
DC 10 Nature check

Survival. A flurry of motion erupts at your feet as countless spectral hares and jackrabbits appear out of thin air, running about the cairn in all directions. When they fade, you see that the ground is covered in tiny paw-prints. Mornbryn: “To hunt, you must track. One of the spectral hares you saw had five toes on its feet. Follow its tracks to the correct tomb, and claim your prize.”
DC 10 Survival check

Treasure: Mornbryn's Bow (Longbow +1), Qual’s Feather Token (Tree), 2 vials of Antitoxin

 

[LordEntrails]

For a map, I would consider one of these;
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?34949-Cavern-map-with-a-gruesome-twist

Or #2 from here;
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/foru...2-new-Caverns-maps-Grid-amp-Gridless-Versions