OA2 Night of the Seven Swords (1e)
1e
Sanai, Ghost: ?
Ghost: Aside from a few creatures that have wandered in, most of the spirits here are bound by the ancient curse on the castle. The ghosts can be defeated by various means, but unless they are permanently laid to rest by specified means, they return to haunt the castle the following night. The spirits of any slain characters whose bodies are abandoned on the island join the ghosts and may be encountered in later adventures.
Tagamaling Buso: ?
Tigbanua Buso: ?
Phantasm: ?
Bushi Zombie: ?
Ninja Spirit Shadow: ?
Giant Crab Ghost: ?
Spirit Samurai: ?
Flying Spirit: ?
Nin-Chu-Ju-Gaki, Starving Spirit: ?
Ghost: This lost spirit cannot know final rest until he possesses his prayer beads. He was overcome by the Porter at 15, who threw his body down the well (9) after stripping it of all its symbols of faith. The body was swallowed by the giant carp.
A kindly maiden haunts the willow. She grieved at the clan’s loss of honor when they slew a messenger from the Sun Temple. Her spirit can not rest until the body of the messenger is given a proper burial.
Goburu Ichi, Kuei Shukenja 5: This is Goburu Ichi, a late priest of the Sun Temple. He died of the wasting disease of Lady Murasame (area 28), but strangely, he cannot recall the cause of his demise.
Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki: ?
Hengeyokai Mantis Monk 6 Spirit: ?
Yushi, Spirit: ?
Ito Murasame, Shikki-Gaki: ?
Shinen-Gaki: ?
Ghostly Matter, Supernatural Phenomena, Ghostly Phenomena: Most these phenomena are of evil nature and are generated from the forces present in the caverns. Some, however, emanate from sources which are not strictly evil. Laying tortured spirits to rest stops the phenomena associated with them.
Vision: ?
Crawling Spectre: ?
Zombie: ?
Juju Zombie: ?
Otomo Tahiro, Permanent Haunt, Ghost: The old man is Otomo Tahiro, a 3d level shukenja who entered the caverns two months ago intending to rid the area of its evil forces. Although his intentions were noble, Tahiro’s mission was hopeless; the forces in the caverns were much too powerful.
He was ultimately captured by the wu jen who resides in area 26. The wu jen cruelly used a burning paint to inscribe the fates of other clan members on the shukenja’s body. Not only can the damage not be cured, but it proves fatal in a short time.
Tahiro has been kept prisoner in this pit, subsisting on the insects and vermin that find their way in. For the first three months, Tahiro was regularly brought back to the wu jen, but as his physical condition worsened, the wu jen lost interest, and Tahiro has been left alone since then. His mind is virtually gone and he is near death.
As long as the characters remain outside the pit, Tahiro believes he is about to be tortured again and continues to babble,
“Not again! Please! Just kill me!” regardless of what the characters say.
If any of the party members enters the pit and comes within five feet of him, Tahiro stops babbling and stares at the character. As he recognizes that the characters are not his tormentors, he babbles, “You must leave! This is an evil place! You must leave!”
If the PCs attempt to question him, they find that he is all but incoherent. He knows his name but little else and to most questions he shakes his head slowly from side to side and mutters, “I don’t know....” If asked what happened to him or how he got there, he babbles, “Not again! Please! Just kill me!”
If asked about the relics, an expression of sheer terror crosses his face, and he gasps, “The creature...the creature...”
Tahiro raises his arm and gestures, causing an image of shimmering pink light to appear in the pit. It is an octopoid apparition with seven wriggling tentacles. Each tentacle holds a razor-edged katana. The creature is hovering in a cloud of red mist which gradually envelops it. The creature begins to cackle as it is swallowed in the mist, and the image fades.
This final effort proves to be too much for the old man who dies immediately. Attempts to prevent his death (or to raise him after his death) fail; his Constitution is reduced to zero.
(If the players insist on taking Tahiro with them, the DM should remind them that he is unlikely to get far in this condition.)
If his body is abandoned here, Tahiro becomes a permanent haunt and remains in this area until struck by a silver weapon (a fact his ghost does not know).
Haunted Arm: This is the arm of a ninja, a former clan member who tried to escape the caverns by passing through the wall but didn’t make it. The ninja is dead, but his haunted arm lives on and guards the passage.