The Runewild Campaign Setting
5e
Fey Lion Spirit, Fey Lion Ghostly Form, Incorporeal Fey Lion, Fey Lion Ghost, Spectral Fey Lion, Ghostly Lion: If killed through violence, the fey lion’s spirit returns the following night (and each night thereafter) to haunt the creature who killed it.
A fey lion killed through violence always returns to stalk the one who killed it.
Pyre Wraith: During their occupation of the Runewild, the Aruandans burnt witches in droves, but a hag’s spirit isn’t easily destroyed. Even when their bodies were reduced to ashes, many witches refused to pass into the afterlife and still haunt the Runewild to this day.
Wild Folk: The process by which a mortal becomes a wild folk is known as the Black Rite. During the rite, the mortal is buried alive in the raw earth, stripped of everything but a severed unicorn horn clutched its hands. When the mortal dies, the Black Rite’s magic binds their life force to the horn they hold.
Unbeknownst to Wergella, the Church of the Black Horn hides a dark secret. Some of its members have undergone a ritual to transform themselves into wild folk, undead servants of the Black Unicorn.
Edith brings anyone she captures (including the PCs) to the Black Unicorn’s grove and prepares the Black Rite to transform them into wild folk.
Using an ancient fey ritual known as the Black Rite, the Black Unicorn began transforming mortals into wild folk and gathered the undead creatures into a cult to serve him.
If Edith Teafly kidnapped another NPC (either one of the Saggers children or a villager from Ill Hollow), she and the other wild folk prepare to perform the Black Rite. Unless the PCs interrupt the ritual, Edith transforms the hostage into a wild folk within the hour.
Korthsuva, The Hag of Hours, Undead Creature Comparable to a Lich: The forest was still young when Korthsuva, the Hag of Hours, was born. As the first hag born in the Runewild, Korthsuva was destined to wield great and terrible magic. Knowing this, the fey of the forest stole Korthsuva from her cradle and used their magic to bind her life force to an enchanted clock. For as long as the clock ticks, Korthsuva is cursed to be born, grow old, and die each day.
Korthsuva’s curse prevents her from escaping the clock and makes her forget her predicament each morning. However, as the sun sets—and particularly after midnight, when she becomes an undead creature comparable to a lich—Korthsuva remembers her curse.
Inferno in the Shape of a Tormented Woman: ?
Personification of the Forest: ?
Cursed Creature: ?
Mindless Monster: ?
Wild Folk, Servant of the Black Unicorn: ?
Sam Seggers, Wild Folk: Several weeks ago, Edith Teafly, a wild folk servant of the Black Unicorn, seduced Sam Saggers, the father of the clan. Threatening to expose their affair if he refused, Edith led Sam into the Runewild and forced him to undergo the Black Rite, a magical ritual that transformed him into one of the wild folk.
Edith Teafley, Wild Folk, Servant of the Black Unicorn: ?
Undead, Undead Creature: ?
Frederick the Everliving, Undead Human: ?
Mister Switch, Devoted Undead Husband: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghazrek, Ghast: ?
Scrape, Ghast: ?
Twig-Legs, Ghast: ?
Ghost, Normal Ghost: PCs who die as a result of this exhaustion [after the moveable feast] can’t be returned to life by any means short of a wish spell. (The rest of the party may see the ghost of their lost compatriot among the elves the next time they encounter the Feast.)
Ghost of a Runish Prince: The ghost of a Runish prince who became lost in the forest centuries ago approaches the party.
Ghostly Form: ?
Ghostly Hag, Spirit of a Hag: If a cursed creature sleeps at least one watch (6 hours) while holding an ember, it can make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw when it awakens. On a successful save, the curse ends, regardless of the length of time the creature has been cursed (see the Runewild Curses optional rule on page 38). A failure releases the spirit of a hag (as a ghost), who tries to possess the cursed creature instead.
Ghost, Incorporeal Creature: ?
Witch's Ghost, Vengeful Spirit: ?
Blaedyn Mabbot, Ghost, Tormented Spirit: ?
Lover's Ghost, Ghostly Lover: Over a century ago, an Aruandan lord decapitated the lover of his unfaithful wife. He then replaced the man’s head with that of a goat and had the resulting hybrid stuffed as a gruesome trophy. The satyr decorated the lord’s front hall until his wife pushed her vengeful husband from a tower window.
Ghost of a Thrushkin Champion: The ghosts of thrushkin champions slain in the battle with Apophix inhabit the statues.
The champions died when a green dragon attacked the palace and captured the Feathered Serpent.
Dame Breowen, Ghost of an Aurandan Knight, Restless Spirit of the Dead: ?
Dame Lambhorn, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Cledd Jorkins, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Father Bellan, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Evran Hughes, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Aerona Pye, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Alabaster, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Huragar, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Pearl-Eye Pete, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Torken Clood, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Brenzibar the Black, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Gwilli Wrensong, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Hooded Man, Ghost, Deck-Bound Soul, Trapped Soul, Spirit of the Dead: ?
Ghostly Presence, Ghost: ?
The Old Maid, Ghost, Vengeful Spirit, Hunched But Kindly Looking Grandmother, Ghostly Hag: The shed holds the ghost of the witch Goodie killed to obtain her deck of magic playing cards. The witch haunted Goodie after her death, so Goodie trapped the ghost inside the shed.
Goodie found her husband dead the next morning, but when the witch came to collect her debt, Goodie killed her and stole the deck of magical playing cards that gave the witch her power. Goodie’s cunning transformed her into a green hag but also saddled her with the witch’s ghost, a vengeful spirit that haunts Goodie to this day.
Lord Tergodan Maythorn, Ghost, Scowling Man: ?
Gwendolyn Maythorn, Ghost, Ghostly Form of a Woman: ?
Merrowyn Maythorn, Ghost, Ghostly Form of a Woman: ?
Brynmai Maythorn, Ghost: ?
Merfolk Ghost, Ghostly Merfolk: ?
The Siren Queen, Ghost: When the last queen of the Runewild’s merfolk died, her subjects built this enormous statue to serve as her tomb. For a time, the Aosidhe brought offerings of treasure to the tomb, but these offerings ended when the elves retreated from the Runewild. Forsaken, the Siren Queen went mad. The Queen’s ghost now prevents anyone who enters her tomb from leaving it alive.
Nevin Toombs, Ghost: Witches weren’t the only targets of the Aruandans’ wrath during their conquest of the Runewild. Anyone who practiced magic not sanctioned by the church of St. Adso or the Council Arcane was put to the sword. Nevin Toombs was a necromancer and grave-robber in the village of Ill Hollow when the Aruandans executed him for his crimes. As a kindness, the Aruandans allowed Nevin’s widow to bury her husband in Ill Hollow’s cemetery, but instead she took his body to an ancient Runish graveyard north of the village. There, she watched over Nevin for 40 nights, never straying more than a few feet from her husband’s grave.
Ghoul: ?
Meuric, Ghoul: ?
Marrow, Ghoul: ?
Lich: ?
Mummy: The Cronemarsh has transformed the corpses of 1d6 humanoids into mummies.
Nevin Toombs, Mummy: An ancient fey curse forces Old Mother Toombs to tend her husband’s grave for all eternity. So long as she does so, Nevin sleeps peacefully, but he rises as a mummy if his grave is disturbed.
Old Mother Toombs’s greatest weakness is the curse that binds her to her husband’s grave. Disturbing Nevin Toombs’s remains causes him to rise as a mummy.
Lord Verloun Cankerworm, Mummy: Lord Cankerworm’s pact with Fennysnake may have allowed him to escape true death, but his body is as decrepit as it was in life.
Lord Cankerworm ordered his Councilor Arcane, the wizard Montagne, to find a way to stave off his death. Montagne was no necromancer, but during his time in the Runewild he’d met witches who claimed power over life and death. One of these witches, a night hag named Fennysnake, agreed to cast a spell that would bind Lord Cankerworm’s spirit to his body after he died. All she required in return was a small piece of Montagne’s soul.
Reluctantly, Montagne agreed. Fennysnake cast her spell on Lord Cankerworm, but as she collected her payment, Montagne tricked the witch into gazing into his mirror of life trapping.
Shadow: To avoid engaging in melee with the characters, Amadan casts darkness using his staff of nethermancy and withdraws to the glade’s edge. From there, he continues casting darkness around the PCs until his staff has only one charge remaining. Amadan has already used 15 of the staff’s charges to create the shadows, leaving 5 charges available as the battle with the PCs begins.
Staff of Nethermancy magic item.
Foxhall room unique feature.
Skeleton, Normal Skeleton: A single candle lights the cupboard’s interior. Mother Toombs uses the candle to maintain control over the skeletons she animates with her animate dead spell.
The dead may rise as skeletons (3d4 per round) [in the Maythorn Family Crypts].
Skeletal Grandchild, Child-Size Skeleton, Skeletal Child: Six skeletal children animated by Clavia and Sterna’s foul magic share the rooms.
The hags adore small children almost as much as they do death. When no living children are available, they animate the bones of dead ones to keep them company.
Unarmed Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Bird, Bird Skeleton: ?
Flying Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Snake, Skeleton of an Enormous Snake, Snake Skeleton, Animated Skeleton of a Giant Constrictor Snake: ?
Undead Giant Constrictor Snake: ?
Skeleton, Skeletal Thrushkin: ?
Skeleton, Skeletal Servant: To help Sir Morley operate the Tavern on the Marsh, Camadaithe has animated the skeletons of four humans who died in the Cronemarsh.
Sir Morley, Talking Skull: While he lived, Sir Morley was an Aruandan knight renowned for his bravery and good humor. When the Witch Wars ended, Morley laid aside his sword and shield to build the Tavern on the Marsh. Morley wanted the tavern to serve as a haven for travelers, as well as a poke in the eye of Griselda, whom he and his fellow knights had routed only months before.
It was this boldness that brought about Sir Morley’s ruin. Though Griselda’s forces had been scattered, the Hag Queen herself was far from beaten. Unwilling to suffer an insult like the tavern in her domain, Griselda slew Sir Morley and bound his spirit to his severed head.
Warhorse Skeleton, Normal Warhorse Skeleton: ?
Advanced Skeleton, Skeletal Knight, Illspire Guard: The Illspire Guard, as the skeletal knights are commonly known, were once flesh and blood. During the Aruandan Conquest, the knights patrolled the trail from Wexmore Abbey to the Illspire, an area which had become a hotbed of Runish resistance. One night, while the knights camped near the Illspire, a witch named Old Mother Toombs visited and offered the knights a skin of mulled mead as thanks for their service on the cold night. The knights thanked the woman for her gift, but moments after they’d emptied the skin, they toppled to the ground, dead from the witch’s poison.
Not finished with her mischief, Mother Toombs reanimated the knights so she could watch their bodies rot for all eternity.
Skeleton, Animated Skeleton: There are 60 graves in all. Mundane human remains fill most of them, but 24 contain skeletons animated and controlled by Mother Toombs.
When the PCs first arrive, the skeletons are simply bones. However, if the PCs free the Red Rose Prince and Lord Maythorn’s ghost hasn’t already been destroyed, the skeletons animate as undead to prevent the Prince from escaping.
Uncontrolled Skeleton: A single candle lights the cupboard’s interior. Mother Toombs uses the candle to maintain control over the skeletons she animates with her animate dead spell. The candle never burns down but can be extinguished like a normal candle. If it is extinguished, Mother Toombs loses control over any skeletons she’s animated. Uncontrolled skeletons attack the nearest living creature, including Mother Toombs.
Skeleton, Undead Aurandan Knight, Skeletal Warrior, Skeletal Knight: ?
Specter, Aoshidhe Specter, Undead Spirit, Aosidhe Youth, Elf, Spirit of an Elven Youth: ?
Thrushkin Specter, Restless Soul: ?
Specter: ?
Dame Briar, Sleeping Vampire: ?
Dame Briar's Spawn, Vampire Spawn: Dame Briar wanders the forest, killing mortals who cross her path and raising them as vampire spawn.
Wight, Runish Warrior: ?
Wight: Over the centuries, many have undertaken the trial of the Goodwife Tree, but only a handful have survived. To complete the trial, a mortal must first climb the steps carved into the tree and press their hand against its trunk. As they do, the bark crumbles away, revealing a hollow too large to be contained within the tree itself. Inside the hollow, a black-scaled wyvern guards an enchanted wedding band. Killing the wyvern allows the mortal to claim the ring. Returning the ring to the tree’s mistress completes the trial and forges a magical union between the witch and the mortal. Thereafter, the witch can scry on the mortal and share the ring’s magic with them over any distance. A mortal who dies while “married” to the witch rises as a wight under the witch’s control.
Gray-Skinned Wight: ?
Will-o'-Wisp: ?
Will-o'-Wisp, Cackling Skull: ?
Will-o'-Wisp, Cat Made of Moonlight: ?
Will-o'-Wisp, Elven Maiden: ?
Wraith, Normal Wraith: ?
Galthyr Lionfell, The Broken King, Wraith, Mysterious Figure, Living Statue: Flesh and blood once, a curse transformed the Broken King into a creature of living stone.
Galthyr Lionfell was the chief architect of the alliance between the Aosidhe and Aruandan forces during the Witch Wars. A knight of unmatched prowess and impeccable honor, he led the mortal armies against Griselda and her minions, and personally cut down more than a dozen witches with his enchanted longsword, Truth Teller. When the Witch Wars ended and the Aosidhe retreated from the forest, it seemed only natural that Lionfell serve as steward of the elves’ principal stronghold in the Runewild.
As the new lord of the Broken Keep, Lionfell’s role of crusader became that of governor. With a wisdom that surpassed even his skill on the battlefield, Lionfell acted as an envoy between the Aruandans, the Ruasidhe elves, and the Runewild’s fey inhabitants. Under Lionfell’s rule, all creatures of the forest prospered.
But the ogre hag Griselda hadn’t forgotten Lord Lionfell. As punishment for killing so many of her kin, Griselda cast a terrible curse upon Lionfell. So long as he remained lord of the Broken Keep, Lionfell would be barren. Lord Lionfell despaired, for he knew he couldn’t break his oath to the Aosidhe. And yet, not doing so would risk the happiness of his young wife, a Runish maiden named Brinwain.
Ultimately, Lord Lionfell refused to abandon his duty. He searched for a way to break Griselda’s curse and, when those efforts failed, dispatched his knights to the Cronemarsh to slay the Hag Queen herself. The few knights who survived these desperate expeditions came home empty-handed. As Lionfell’s failures eroded his once legendary virtue, he became prone to fits of melancholy, paranoia, and rage.
With no end to Griselda’s curse in sight and her husband growing ever more distant, Brinwain fell into despair. As if sensing the young woman’s troubles, a mysterious figure visited Brinwain one night. The figure, its face hidden beneath the shadows of its cloak, introduced herself as Medusa and promised an end to Brinwain’s troubles. The magic of the fey, Medusa claimed, could give Brinwain the child she and her husband wanted. All Medusa asked in return was that Brinwain never reveal the child’s true origin to Lord Lionfell.
Desperate to ease her sorrow, Brinwain agreed to Medusa’s bargain. Medusa gave Brinwain a tiny river-stone and ordered her to swallow it. Once this was done, Medusa departed the keep, leaving Brinwain with a final reminder that Lord Lionfell must never learn of their agreement.
Weeks passed, and soon Brinwain found herself with child. The news banished Lord Lionfell’s dark moods, and for a time happiness returned to the keep. But as the baby’s birth approached, Brinwain’s resolution faltered. Certain Lord Lionfell would love their child regardless of how it came to be, Brinwain told her husband of the baby’s true origins.
As Brinwain revealed her secret, the darkness that had plagued Lord Lionfell returned. He became furious, insisting Brinwain’s pact with Medusa was nothing short of a betrayal. In a fit of madness, he drew Truth Teller and held its edge to Brinwain’s stomach. When Brinwain refused to repent for what she’d done, Lionfell carved the unborn baby from her womb.
What the child might have been if it had been allowed to come to term isn’t known. The thing Lionfell ripped from Brinwain’s body instead was a nightmarish beast: a bull with skin like iron and nostrils that spewed clouds of poison smoke. Lionfell dropped to his knees before the bull, but as the newborn monster lowered its horns to gore him, Medusa intervened. “As punishment for what you’ve done,” she told Lionfell, “you will rule this keep forever.” Medusa then revealed her face—that of a beautiful woman with snakes for hair—and turned Lord Lionfell to stone.
Medusa named Brinwain’s monstrous child Gorgon, claiming both it and the Broken Keep as her own. As her first act as the keep’s new ruler, Medusa ordered Gorgon to trample Lord Lionfell’s petrified body. She then used ancient fey magic to bind Lionfell’s spirit to his shattered remains, so the knight would live on forever as a statue animated by his tortured soul.
Medusa petrifies Galthyr Lionfell, transforming him into the Broken King.
The Broken King, a human knight whom a fey curse transformed into a living statue, marshals the goblins of the forest deep within the Runewild.
Green-Guts, Pyre Wraith, Spirit, Ghost: The wraiths cackle as the PCs enter the room. Speaking in turns, they pose the following riddle: “We are Green-Guts, Blue-Tongue, and Yellow-Eye. Ancient magic binds us here, and long has been our torment. Speak the name of the blade that slew her, and you end that sister’s misery. You have three guesses. Use them wisely and surely one of us will be destroyed. The lucky may escape our wrath completely. Fools must face us all.”
The pyre wraiths are the spirits of three hags Dame Breighwen, Dame Hastrid, and Sir Lornas killed with the Highvale Blades before sealing their swords inside the vault. The Aosidhe bound the hags here to protect the weapons that slew them.
Blue-Tongue, Pyre Wraith, Spirit, Ghost: The wraiths cackle as the PCs enter the room. Speaking in turns, they pose the following riddle: “We are Green-Guts, Blue-Tongue, and Yellow-Eye. Ancient magic binds us here, and long has been our torment. Speak the name of the blade that slew her, and you end that sister’s misery. You have three guesses. Use them wisely and surely one of us will be destroyed. The lucky may escape our wrath completely. Fools must face us all.”
The pyre wraiths are the spirits of three hags Dame Breighwen, Dame Hastrid, and Sir Lornas killed with the Highvale Blades before sealing their swords inside the vault. The Aosidhe bound the hags here to protect the weapons that slew them.
Yellow-Eye, Pyre Wraith, Spirit, Ghost: The wraiths cackle as the PCs enter the room. Speaking in turns, they pose the following riddle: “We are Green-Guts, Blue-Tongue, and Yellow-Eye. Ancient magic binds us here, and long has been our torment. Speak the name of the blade that slew her, and you end that sister’s misery. You have three guesses. Use them wisely and surely one of us will be destroyed. The lucky may escape our wrath completely. Fools must face us all.”
The pyre wraiths are the spirits of three hags Dame Breighwen, Dame Hastrid, and Sir Lornas killed with the Highvale Blades before sealing their swords inside the vault. The Aosidhe bound the hags here to protect the weapons that slew them.
Wraith, Black Butterflies, Unquiet Soul, Wraith-Like Form: While the lord and his wife were on a nighttime ride, the Black Unicorn chased down the carriage and ran it off the road. Both the lord and his wife died in the crash.
PCs capable of detecting undead (such as a paladin using Divine Sense) feel the presence of the couple’s unquiet souls. Specifically, their spirits have manifested as the black butterflies that gather around the carriage. If the PCs disturb the remains of either of the nobles, the butterflies coalesce into wraith-like forms and attack.
Shambling Husk, Zombie: ?
Zombie: A target killed by [the Golden Bodach's Siphon Beauty] attack rises as a zombie at the start of its next turn.
Zombie, Runish Warrior: ?
Ogre Zombie, Figure: Griselda animated the ogre’s body (as a zombie) and stored it here for safekeeping.
Restless Spirit: ?
Staff of Nethermancy
Staff, very rare (requires attunement)
This blackwood staff is shod with orichalcum bands and topped by a sphere of flawless crystal. A doppelganger disguised as the staff’s creator, a wizard of the Council Arcane named Amadan, currently possesses the staff (see location 132).
The staff of nethermancy can be wielded as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. While attuned to the staff, you can see through normal and magical darkness to a range of 120 feet.
Nethermancy. The staff has 20 charges, and it regains 2d8 + 4 charges daily at sunset. If you expend the staff’s last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, you must make a successful DC 12 Charisma saving throw or become trapped inside the staff’s crystal prison (see below). While attuned to the staff, you can use an action to produce one of the following magical effects:
• Call to Darkness. You expend one of the staff’s charges to cast darkness.
• Shadow Play: You expend three of the staff’s charges to cast any 3rd-level or lower illusion spell you know without spending a spell slot to do so. If you prepare spells, you must have the spell prepared in order to cast it this way.
• Summon Shadow: You expend five of the staff’s charges to summon a shadow. A shadow created by the staff looks like a real humanoid with features you choose. The shadow understands any languages you know, but it can’t speak. A physical inspection reveals the shadow’s true nature, as does a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check. When the shadow is created, it appears in an unoccupied space you choose within 60 feet of you. The shadow follows your spoken commands. The shadow remains for 10 minutes or until either you or the shadow dies. You can also dismiss any shadows under your control as an action.
Crystal Prison. When you attempt to attune to the staff, you must make a DC 12 Charisma saving throw. On a success, you attune to the staff as normal. On a failure, you and any equipment you are wearing or carrying become trapped inside the crystal sphere that tops the staff. While trapped in the sphere, you wander a shadowy labyrinth from which there is no escape. Characters who gaze into the sphere see tiny versions of the creatures trapped inside it. A wish spell frees all creatures trapped inside the sphere, as does destroying the staff’s crystal.
Destroying the Crystal. A creature in possession of the staff can use an action to smash the crystal sphere. Any creatures trapped inside the sphere when it’s smashed reappear in unoccupied spaces nearest the staff. Once the crystal sphere is smashed, the staff becomes a normal +2 quarterstaff.
Foxhall Room 12
Roll again, but the chamber has a unique feature. Roll 1d6: 1—strange gravity, 2—shadows animate and attack (one shadow per PC), 3—draped in spider webs, 4—animated murals, 5—secret door (DC 12 to spot), 6—pit trap (20 ft. deep, DC 12 Dexterity saving throw to avoid).
