Moving to the next room, the party finds the tomb of a dwarven duchess.
The name on the lid has been worn away with age. The dwarven runes, though, at least the occupant is a duchess in her final rest.
Underneath the sarcophagus, there is Treasure Type L.
The first of the smaller tombs appears to be for some sort of duke or lord (the lettering is wearing off) who was an uncle to one of the kings.
This (and all the ones here) tomb is smaller than those on the main tomb entrances. It also appears to be less disturbed than the others.
It's occupant still rests, undisturbed. It's treasure is gone, but a close inspection (roll of 1 on a d6; 1-2 for elves and dwarves) will find a secret door under the sarcophagus.
Inside there is a an Axe +2. In the hands of a dwarf it is an Axe +3 and a Dwarven Throwing Axe. It can be thrown for ranges 20/40/80 and return to the dwarf that threw it.
In addition to all the other stuff I do, I will have my Horror Movie Challenge as normal, this year hosted by the Halls of the Nephilim. I am also hosting the RPG Blog Carnival.
My theme for this year is Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.
I am going to post my usual batch of horror related topics, but I am also going to present my take on the Deities & Demigods II concept I have been working on.
While I have been doing a bit of work, I think the one I am ready to share is my Roman-Norse Pantheon.
I have gods, and yes, monsters to share for this project, and hoping that October will be my month to bring it all to light.
If you want to participate in the RPG Blog Carnival on this topic, just post what you want (that concerns this topic) and share your link below. Or share it on social media with the #RPGBlogCarnival hashtag, and feel free to tag me. I'll do a round-up of all the posts in November.
To bring all my topics together, I am looking to do monsters on Mondays. Currently thinking about new versions of the Alp, Earth Troll, and Trow. Need two more. I am also looking for good horror movies that could have taken place in the Black Forest during 7th Century Europe, or conform to those basic themes. I can think of a few that fit right now, but they are ones I have already seen.
In any case I hope to have some great material for you next month!
This last opening leads down to a chamber with four other exits to other smaller chambers.
There is nothing in this main chamber. The smaller chambers appear to be the tombs of lesser members of the dwarven royal family. The rooms are detailed this week.
It is the first Monday of Autumn. I spent my weekend buying Halloween decorations and playing Baldur's Gate 3. My monster today was almost the physical manifestation of Error Code 516, but this might be better. I wanted a shadowy, liminal undead figure.
Dúlachán
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 7+7** (39 hp)
Move: 240' (80')
Fly: 240' (80')
Attacks: 1 chill touch (1d8+1d6 chill, Constitution Drain) or 1 trample (1d6 x2)
Special: Constitution drain, undead, Magic +1 or better weapons to hit.
To Hit AC 0: 12 [+7]
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: Fighter 7
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)
XP: 1,250 (OSE), 1,300 (LL), 9/1,110 (S&W), 800 (BF)
Turn As: Spectre
Fairy_Legends_p0239-dullahan.jpg "Dúlachán") |
| Dullahan, the headless horseman. From Thomas Crofton Croker, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland (3rd ed., 1834) |
The Dúlachán can appear as a ghostly Headless Horseman or as a headless man or woman driving a funeral carriage. The rider/driver is headless and will carry their own severed head under their arm or in a bag tied to their saddle or belt. The horses are always of the darkest black, though their eyes burn with baelfire. In both cases, the rider/driver and horse(s) are all part of the same creature and can't be separated. The Dúlachán seeks out the death of one person but will also attack and kill anyone in their way. Behind them follows an army of wailing ghosts.
These creatures are only found riding in "liminal" or in between times. So sunset or sunrise, the equinoxes and solstices, or on Samhain, the new year. They are most commonly encountered at sunset on the Autumnal Equinox and Samhain (Halloween).
They attack with either a trample (used against victims who are not their direct targets) or a chill touch that does 1d8 hp of damage on hit and an additional 1d6 due to their bone-numbing cold. Their touch drains 1 point of constitution per hit. This is treated the same as other undead draining. Anyone drained to 0 Con dies. If they are the called-out victim, they are whisked away. If they are someone that gets in the dúlachán's way, then they join the army of ghosts that follow along behind it, doomed to wail for eternity.
Their tactic is to ride up just as the sun is setting, call out a victim's name, and then ride the others down to claim their chosen. They will only name one victim per group. There is never more than one dúlachán at a time.
Dúlachán can be turned as Spectres, but they will return the next night at sundown to make their claim again. They are incorporeal and can only be hit with magic weapons. If they are "killed" they will return on the next change of season. The only way to truly be rid of one is to Turn it or kill it and cast a Remove Curse on the character called out.
If the called-out victim gets into the coach version of the dúlachán, it is instantly killed, but the dúlachán will not attack anyone else and ride off into the nighttime sky.
Game Master's Note: These creatures should never be used as random monster encounters.
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Happy Fall!
Continuing on to the next room, this is the tomb of another dwarven prince. There is a sarcophagus and an interned body but no treasure save for a single bottle.
Inside the bottle is a Djinn.
The djinn will offer the party 3 wishes total if they don't attack it.
The djinn knows nothing about the Vampire Queen. This is because before imprisoning the djinn she wished for him to forget everything about her.
The party could choose to attack. The Djinn will turn invisible and hide. He will come back around to see if he can get the party to consent to the wishes since this is the only way he can get back to the Plane of Air.
The djinn returning to the Plane of Air will also return his memories. At this point, the djinn will return to the party and offer them any weapons they need to help them defeat the Vampire Queen. The djinn is barred from directly dealing with the Queen herself.
Moving on from the King's Chamber (where the dragon was), we get to the Queen's Chamber.
This tomb has been desecrated and robbed of all treasures. The Vampire Queen is jealous of any other queen other than herself.
