The Royal Barrows III: Barrow of the King

 While the stories of both the Temple of the Snake Cult and the Royal Barrows have been told, this is not the whole of it, and the fateful raid on the Temple was no simple matter.

King Cyneric lost many allies in his crusade against the Snake Cult.  The jovial old Korsario, Aleksandro, who inadvertently saved the Northman from the fate of a galley slave, taught him the bloody ways of the Southern Seas, and eventually made him his first mate (later his successor.)  His prodigious belly was cut from groin to stern by Xor, one of the Cult’s Champions, but the once-feared Korsario nevertheless died with a bloody smile on his lips: “Retirement was not that fun, my friend.  I had enough cheap wine and cheaper women to last me ten lifetimes!  This way is much better…”  The ferocious dwarf Stygg, who had once been a foe of Cyneric’s until stalemate after stalemate caused them to develop a grudging respect for each other, had his stubborn and stone-like head caved in by the Champion Thomgrir’s war-hammer.  The enigmatic and fey sword-sorceress Vileniiya, who joined the company more out of arcane self-interest than any genuine affection for the Northman, uttered her final spell when the lucky spear throw of an oor-man guard pierced straight through her soulstone and into her tender throat.  And the noble Templar Valios: blinded by snake’s burning venom before falling to an ignoble end down the inky fathoms of a pit – how Cyneric would miss their heated discussions on the nature of the gods by the firelight.

This left the Barbarian King and the Amazon Beltis to track down the High Priest in the cavernous depths under the Temple alone, while the remainder of their band of ex-sellswords, cutthroats, and other misfits secured the Temple above.  Beltis was already wounded on her side, while Cyneric bled from many cuts.  The High Priest had thus far eluded the band through many foul tricks and traps, and he had yet one more under his silk-and-snakeskin sleeve.  

They finally cornered the High Priest deep in the caverns, where ruins older than even the Temple existed.   However, the Priest just smiled at the pair as he pulled a bronze lever, which opened a massive, stone doorway.  From this lightless deep emerged throngs of snake-men  to assail the two.  Cyneric and Beltis were forced to fight beyond human exhaustion into the manic state of the berserk.  Time ceased to have meaning as foul, ophidian parts fell all around them like some sickly harvest.

The Temple concealed many horrors below.

At last, when no more of the misbegotten snake-things would come from those howling depths, the Barbarian King stalked toward the cowering High Priest – all his cunning means and serpent-trickery spent.  Without a word, Cyneric severed the Priest’s depraved head with the Sword of Lantika in one flashing, blue stroke, cutting cleanly through helm and neck.  Thus the Snake Cult was no more.  But as the High Priest’s head rolled away, it somehow managed to utter a final curse at the Northman, which echoed through the cavernous halls:

 “I curse thee thrice, defiler!
May your dreams in the dark hours be ever haunted!
May your bloodline drown in stagnant ichor!
May your soul become lost, forever a Fear in the night!”

 At the time, Cyneric thought this was merely the impotent babble of a defeated foe.  But soon enough, his dreams began to take on a sinister character, which became more and more frequent.  The snake-haunted nightmares took a heavy toll on his body and mind, though he refused to admit it.  His otherwise joyous union to now Queen Beltis produced no issue, and the vultures in his court began to circle.  Beltis suggested turning to the priestesses of Althea for aid, and with their intervention, and perhaps the distance away from the Cult’s shattered Temple and its foul energies, the Queen was able to conceive.  The happiness of having Prince Connel was marred only by the King’s worsening condition.

Though he did not particularly like it, the Barbarian King consulted over a hundred sages, soothsayers, and priests seeking a solution to his problem, receiving over a hundred answers to his predicament in turn; none alleviated the nightmares.  It was then that Cyneric, grimly resigned to his fate as stoically any Northman, came up with a plan: to be buried in a Barrow blessed by his gods, and for his successors to also be buried with the blessings of any other gods of the land, thus hedging his bets against whatever dark powers were behind the Cult and the High Priest’s curse.  He decided these Barrows should be both away and between the Temple and his City, so that they would form a shield against the curse.

It was almost as if Cyneric knew that his time in this world was finished, for the very next night after his Barrow had been completed, his once mighty and indomitable heart gave out.

For a time, the King’s plan worked, and Alkastra prospered under the aegis of Queen Beltis and later King Connel; even sometime after they too had passed.  But it seems as if this only delayed the inevitable.  Within a few generations, Cyneric’s descendants fell to decadence, squabbling, and disregard for what their predecessors had built.  Thus the Barbarian King’s line was broken and the Royal Barrows succumbed to the Snake Cult’s curse.

The curse of the Snake Cult endures.

Barrow of the King Encounters (2d6)

2. A gelatinous cube
3. 1d8 stray Amazon shadows
4. 3d4 humanoid zombies
5. 2d6 patches of green slime on the ceiling
6. 4d6 skeletons
7. 4d8 gobb-men (goblin) sentries
8. 1d6+1 hobb-men (hobgoblin) sergeants
9. 2d4 baern-men (bugbear) guards
10. 1d6 giant (tiger) beetles; pets of the baern-men
11. 1d3 paralyzing mucus crawlers, attracted by the smell of carrion
12. 1d3 giant (tarantula) spiders

Barrow of the King Key

Room 11: Gobb-men Watch Post 

The architecture of King Cyneric’s Barrow is a little cruder than the later Barrows.  The stone walls feature imposing reliefs with Northern runes that relay an accounting of his life and deeds for the Giant Lords to judge.  

Inside the chamber are three (3) gobb-men lazily standing watch.  If alerted, one will attempt to flee and warn the rest of the garrison in Room 13.  And additional 2d4 gobb-men and one hobb-man sergeant will arrive from the next area.  The forces in the barrow will then be on a state of alert.  Encounters have a 2-in-6 chance of occurring for the next 1d4 hours.

Gobb-men (x3): HP 2, 1, 4 

There are a number of electrum pieces scattered about, which were pocketed by the gobb-men earlier, but have fallen out of the holes in their threadbare rags; 49 in total.

 The gobb-men were also guarding a break in the walls that leads into cavernous tunnels.  One end winds down to the Barrow of the Queen, where troglodytes collapsed it during their escape (see the Barrow of the Queen, Room 6,)  The other leads to a wooded cave outside, about three miles (1 hour) from the Barrows in the direction of the Mantle Hills.

Room 12: Hobb-men Garrison

This central chamber splits off into separate galleries, forming a sort of antechamber supported by columns.  A central stone is surrounded by filthy sleeping skins scattered about a cookfire with a foul-smelling, perpetual stew in a pot.  The room is occupied by eight (8) gobb-men, two (2) hobb-men sergeants, and a baern-man heavy.  Part of the force may come to investigate Room 11, if they have been warned.

Gobb-men (goblins): HP 4, 2, 5, 7, 6, 3, 3, 1.
Hobb-men (hobgoblin) sergeants: HP 6, 9.
Baern-man (bugbear) heavy: HP 15.

 The central stone has the following carved in both Northern runes and the Common tongue:

"Here lies King Cyneric, First of His Name
The LION of Alkastra
Mighty he feasts in MOLNHEIM with LIONESS dexter and CUB sinister
Watching over his Jeweled SPEAR
To trample the SNAKES under the Earth.

May his Lords above find his saga worthy of their Hall"

In the back of the stone is a secret alcove with a small, hand-sized plaque inside.  The plaque is made of bronze and is embossed with the image of a Northern style hall in the clouds ("Cloud Hall".)  This plaque is required to solve the puzzle in Room 14.

Room 13: Haunted Memories

These six, concentric galleries depict King Cyneric’s adventures and valorous (often foolhardy) deeds along its walls.  Each of the crude reliefs and writings in runes and Common script tell a story of a pivotal moment in the King’s life with a featured artifact related to that time, resting in an alcove opposite of the central chamber (Room 12.)  Touching or holding the artifact in that room causes the character and those in a 15-ft. radius to fall unconscious, as their minds are transported to a dream-like, phantasmal memory where a portion of Cyneric’s spirit is trapped in a cycle of failure, in stark contrast to the actual tale told on the walls.  

The PCs can help the Barbarian King’s lost spirit by setting each memory right, thereby freeing him from the control of the hobb-man priest in Room 14 (see below).

The memories are illusory in nature, and any lost hit points, spells, or items are restored at the end of it.  Characters that are “killed” are removed from the memory, but continue to be unconscious from their realistic impact (treat as a sleep spell.)  Failing a memory (typically with Cyneric’s death) causes it to end, but the PCs may try again as often as they’d like.    However, a turn of game time passes each time the PCs attempt a memory, which could result in a random encounter. 

After a memory is completed successfully, there is a tangible sense of peace and serenity in that gallery from that moment onward.  Any encountered undead may not enter that particular gallery.

The galleries and their corresponding memories are as follows:

13a. Cyneric the Northman: This gallery tells the story of a young and beardless Cyneric participating in clan raids with his fellow Hillmen, culminating in his now legendary victory over the hill giant Arngrir.  Artifact: a notched, iron hand-axe.

In the haunted memory, the PCs find themselves in a snow-covered, Northern pine forest in the middle of a battle between Hillmen and vicious Picts under the leadership of the fearsome giant.  The impetuous Cyneric charges the giant, but is swatted away like an insect, his notched, iron hand axe falling just out of reach.  Arngrir then crushes the young Hillman into paste with his gnarled, bone-studded tree club.

To aid Cyneric, the PCs must get the iron axe close enough for him to reach it, but there is a group of war-maddened Picts between them and the axe.  The PCs could try killing the hill giant, but that could be beyond their abilities, plus it would rob Cyneric of his glory and rightful story (failing the memory, but the GM should feel free to grant the PCs some experience for besting a giant!)

Picts (berserkers x8): HP 5, 9, 5, 4, 5, 9, 4, 7

With axe in hand, Cyneric is able to cleave one of the giant’s leg tendons, bringing the massive creature to the ground.  The young Hillman then clambers up the giant’s back, grapples his neck, and with a straining effort, snaps it like that of a sacrificial aurochs slain to honor Corum and the other Giant Lords at harvest time.

 

HNNNNNNG!

The hallway to the next area tells of Cyneric leaving the North for the Marklands after being on the losing side of a clan dispute.  He arrives in the city-state of Alkastra, where his youthful bravado and massive frame make him an asset in the dockside gang wars of that decadent city.  His success and ill-gotten loot pays for weeks of carousing, until he wakes up hung-over and penniless on a boat sailing down the Dragon’s Tongue to kingdoms south and beyond.

13b. Cyneric the Sellsword: The walls here depict Cyneric’s days as a sellsword for the various companies of kondottieri that make war for the highest bidder to this very day in the shattered principalities of the southern continent.  Cyneric adapts well to “civilized” warfare and eventually becomes a kondottiero captain himself.  Artifact: a battered, crested helm embossed with baroque designs.

The haunted memory places the PCs in the middle of the Siege of Malatestia.  The siege tower they are in is burning down and Captain Cyneric shouts orders to leave it for the castle battlements before it falls, even though the bridge is only half deployed (Dexterity check to jump onto the battlements, or suffer 3d6 falling damage; a merciful GM may allow a save against breath to hold on to the wall.)  

However, Cyneric is caught inside as it begins to shatter.  He leaps from the burning structure, barely grasping on to the castle wall, and his crested helm falls to the ground below. Crossbowmen on the battlements aim for the climbing Northman, and unless the PCs intervene, one gets a lucky shot and drives a bolt through Cyneric’s thick skull, sending him plummeting to a nameless end.  If they PCs can stop the crossbowmen, Cyneric is able to surprise the castle defenders from behind and cut them down like sheaves of grain – a key moment in that historical victory.

The Siege of Malatestia is where Cyneric earned his reputation as a formidable mercenary captain.

 If the PCs attack the crossbowmen, half (1d2+1) will engage them while the others continue to fire at Cyneric, who has an Armor Class of 6 [13].  The Northman can suffer 30 points of damage before a shot knocks him out of the wall.  However, if a crossbowman rolls a natural “20” on his attack roll, Cyneric must save against death (10 or better) or fall to his doom regardless of hit points.

Crossbowmen (x5): AL N; AC 5 [14]; HD 1-3 (HP 8, 1, 11, 12, 16); MV60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d6 (crossbow) or 1d8 (long sword); SV F1-3; ML 12.

The Hallway to the next gallery depicts Cyneric’s band of rogue kondottieri raiding the poplar and olive-lined countryside until the Northman is betrayed by one of his own captains, the dwarf Stygg.  Cyneric is captured, tortured, and sentenced to row in a galley.

13c. Cyneric the Reaver: This gallery features Cyneric’s time as a korsario of the Southern Seas.  His ship, the Nemea, was caught in the trap of a treacherous alliance between rival korsario lords (which included the now Captain Stygg the Vicious,) and the fat, bejeweled, merchant princes which Cyneric’s raids had impoverished.  The merchants armed their vessels with expensive, imported bombards, easily disabling the Nemea.

However, the Northman-turned-pirate captain boards and captures Stygg’s ship (the Cormorant) instead and rams it (along with its cargo of blasting powder) into the merchant princes’ ship, sending all into the bloody, shark-infested waters.  Artifact: a torn, red pirate flag with the design of a black skull cleaved in twain by an axe.

This haunted memory has two segments.   In the first, Cyneric orders for the shattered and flaming Nemea to head straight for one of the korsario ships, in order to avoid any further bombard fire from the merchant’s vessel.  When the ships ram into each other, Cyneric brazenly orders his crew to board the Cormorant.  He takes down his red and black pirate’s flag from the Nemea’s mast to fool the merchant princes into thinking his ship has fallen.  It is then an all-out battle to take the Cormorant.  The GM should feel free to throw as many pirates at the PCs as they are able to handle, while Cyneric seeks out Captain Stygg for control of the ship.  The segment ends when the PCs are either dead, or victorious.

In the second segment, the PCs are at the helm of the recently-captured Cormorant, with the defeated Captain Stygg and the rest of his surviving crew bound and gagged.  They are slowly sailing towards the unsuspecting merchant princes’ vessel when Cyneric orders his pirate’s flag hoisted aloft to show the smug and plump coin-counters that their doom has come.  In the false memory however, the merchant princes quickly open fire on the Cormorant and sink it before it can become a threat.

The PCs have nine (9) rounds to reach the merchant’s vessel and ram it before their ship (with its remaining stores of powder) is destroyed in an explosion.  The merchant’s vessel fires their bombards every three rounds, starting with the first.  The volley causes 4d6 damage to the Cormorant (half on a successful save against breath; saves as the character steering the ship.)  The players have a few options in steering the Cormorant, and the GM should entertain any other ideas the players may have:

• Increase speed: reduces the time required to reach the merchant’s vessel by one round.  The ship then has a -1 penalty to save against the bombards.
• Maintain speed: no change in time or modifier to save against the bombards.
• Avoid volley: by steering hard to port or starboard.  This grants +2 to save, but adds one round to the total time required before contact. 

The Cormorant can take 50 points of hull damage before it is destroyed and the memory ends in failure.  If the PCs succeed in reaching the merchant vessel, Cyneric orders his crew to abandon ship (including a released Stygg and his men, which are unceremoniously thrown overboard) right before it rams into the shocked merchant princes in their ship, exploding into a conflagration of fiery chum.   Cyneric is knocked unconscious by the explosion's debris and plunges into the sea.

For one brief second, the merchant princes regretted their decisions.

The hallway to the next gallery depicts Cyneric’s dreamlike journey into the deep, where he somehow survives (he believed it was mermaids) to discover the Sword of Lantika within the strange ruins of that ancient and sunken kingdom.  It is evident the sculptors had a difficult time capturing the King’s descriptions of that strange quest.

13d. Cyneric the Slave-Warrior: Washing up on Far Western shores, Cyneric is captured, branded, and made to serve as a Mameluke in the unholy army of Sultan Mahzmed the Profane, whose slave-soldiers serve even after death.  Cyneric manages to rise through the ranks to attempt an ill-fated rebellion, which ends with the Northman languishing in the Sultan’s dungeons.  He escapes thanks to the help of the young wise-woman, Ziyamina; herself a slave to the profane Sultan.  She frees the Northman and leads him to the Sultan’s lotus-fumed sanctum.  

As Cyneric battles the Sultan’s undead eunuchs and fearsome, bound ifrit, Ziyamina uses the distraction to steal a scroll of holy scripture from Mahzmed’s sanctum.  With it, she is able to free the ifrit from service, who then gleefully slays Mahzmed before departing into the ethereal winds, ending the Sultan’s dark rule.   Artifact: a piece of parchment with faded scripture of the Elemental Dukes.

The haunted memory here is not so much about Cyneric, but Ziyamina attempting to sneak through the dungeons.  The PCs are not there physically, but seem to be in control of the wise-woman.  They must help her sneak to Cyneric’s cell while avoiding the guards.  Otherwise, she is captured and the haunted memory ends in failure.  There are three (3) guards patrolling the dungeon halls between her and Cyneric’s cell.  The writer recommends using miniatures or tokens to show Ziyamina’s and the guards’ positions for this encounter.

Dungeon encounter map

The guards have torches and a detection distance of 40 feet in the direction that they are facing and are considered to be in a “passive” state.  If a guard detects Ziyamina’s presence, they become “suspicious,” and will approach Ziyamina’s location at half speed.  If she is within their direct sight distance at 20 feet or less the following round, they become “hostile” and attempt to apprehend her (combat ensues.)  

A “hostile” guard returns to a “suspicious” status in 1d6 rounds if they cannot find Ziyamina (she is either away or blocked from detection distance,) and revert back to a “passive” status 1d3 rounds after if they still cannot find her.

Roll 1d6 to determine what a guard does each round they are “passive.”  If Ziyamina is standing still (such as flat against a wall or corner) that round, add +1 to the roll.  If Ziyamina moves at half speed (30 feet), there is no modifier.  If Ziyamina is moving at full speed (60 feet,) subtract -1.  If the result is illogical (such as the guard walking into a wall or obstruction,) then have the guard follow the most logical path around the wall or obstruction.

0. Guard state changes to “hostile” and actively moves in the direction of Ziyamina to apprehend her.  If he passes other guards within 40 feet, they become “hostile” as well.

1. Guard state changes to “suspicious” and moves 60 feet in the direction of Ziyamina.  If he passes any other guards within 40 feet, they become “suspicious” as well.

2. The guard believes they heard or saw something, and moves 60 feet in the direction he is facing.  He is still considered to be in a ”passive” state, however

3.  The guard faces left or right (roll 1d6: odd=left, even=right,) moves for 60 feet, then changes direction left or right again (roll 1d6 as before.)

4. The guard turns around, and then moves in that direction for 60 feet.

5.  The guard faces left or right (roll 1d6: odd=left, even=right,) then moves for 30 feet in that direction.

6. The guard turns left or right (roll 1d6: odd=left, even=right.)

7+. The guard is distracted (scratches himself, yawns, etc.) and does not notice Ziyamina, even if she is within detection distance. +1 to the next roll.

 If a guard successfully attacks Ziyamina (fights as a 2nd-level fighter,) he is able to grab on to her.  A successful attack roll from Ziyamina in turn (fights as a 4th-level magic-user) breaks the guard’s hold and she is then able to then move to escape.  If two or more guards have successfully grabbed her, she is captured and the memory fails.

Once Ziyamina reaches Cyneric’s cell, the memory ends with the Northman subduing the guards and the two making their way towards the Sultan’s sanctum, setting the memory right.

Ziyamina (reading aloud): "In the most Holy and Unspeakable Name of the Great One and all the Dukes of the Elements: AKSUUN, ZARTUUS, KAYI'RI, QUAATIA, I release thee from service!  Go now in peace!"  Iftit: "Oh I will, kindest one, but first a debt must be repaid..."  Sultan Mahzmed: *screams cut off by gurgles*

The next hall shows Cyneric departing that strange land of white-washed walls, perfumed intrigue, and poisoned daggers back to the northeast with both his Sword and Ziyamina as companion.  

13e. Cyneric the Conqueror: Cyneric returns to Alkastra to find the city-state under the grip of Chaos-corrupted elves that swarmed from the western and northern woods to take the city in the name of restoring their lost, Fey kingdoms.  Their leader Xengar rules from a Throne of Skulls – a horrid thing fashioned from the unfortunate heads of the scions of the city-state’s nobility.  Cyneric forms a ragtag army of river pirates, smugglers, and gang members to retake the city from the elves.  Artifact: Xengar’s own slender skull.

Since we cannot have our Kingdoms back, we will rebuild them on the bones of Men!  So say the prophecies of the Four Crones and the Old Ones whom they serve.

 Cyneric uses his ragtag army to create multiple skirmishes around the city as a distraction while he leads a small force through the city’s cloaca to reach the Citadel from underneath.  This however, is a trap, and they find themselves surrounded by a contingent of Xengar’s forces beneath the stinking, maze-like tunnels.  Most of Cyneric’s force is slain in a hail of elf-arrows (save for Cyneric and the PCs themselves.)  It is then a cat-and-mouse game to help Cyneric escape the trap and reach the Citadel.  

The GM should have the players use the grossly-overpowered, yet possibly satisfying Cyneric along with their own characters to hack through the opposition, but if the Northman falls, the memory fails.

Corrupted elves (x24): AL C; AC 5 [14]; HD 1+1 (HP 4,7,6,5,7,7,7,6,9,3,6,9,5,2,9,9,7,5,2,8,8,3,5,5,7,6,8,3,4,4); MV120 ft. (40 ft.); ATK 1d6 (long bow) or 1d8 (long sword); SP spells; SV E1; ML 8 (10 while leader is alive.)

Corrupted elf leader: AL C; AC 5 [14]; HD 5 (HP 16); MV120 ft. (40 ft.); ATK 1d6 (long bow) or 1d8 (long sword); SP spells; SV E5; ML 10.

Cyneric the Northman: AL L; AC 2 [17]; HD 8+3 (HP 60); MV 60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d10+4 (Sword of Lantika); SP +4 to hit (Str 18, Sword of Lantika); SV F8; ML 12.

Sewer battle map

 If they succeed, the PCs see a vision of Cyneric reaching Xengar’s throne room, where the Fey lord sits smugly behind a field of magical Chaos around him.  Cyneric throws the Sword of Lantika like a spear, and the glowing weapon cuts through the shield and straight into Xengar’s sternum, impaling him to the throne.

The exit hallway shows Cyneric taking the crown of Alkastra for himself, becoming King along with Ziyamina as his first Queen.  This brazen act would later cause problems with the city-state’s nobility.

13f. Cyneric the King: The last gallery depicts King Cyneric’s rocky rule and triumph over a coup attempt by a cabal of disgruntled nobles.  His success is dampened by terrible grief when Queen Ziyamina passes away giving birth to their second child.  A long period of peace comes later, only to an end when Cyneric’s spoiled children are seduced by the Snake Cult, and plot to assassinate their own father.  The story ends with King Cyneric’s battle against the Snake Cult, the raid on their Temple, and beheading of the High Priest.  The alcove where an artifact from this time should be lies empty.  There is no haunted memory here.

If the High Priest’s helm (see the Temple of the Snake Cult Level 3, Room 28,)  is placed on this alcove, and all the other haunted memories of the King have been set right, the PCs witness a vision of the raid on the Temple and Cyneric’s triumphs over the snake-men and High Priest.  When the vision ends, the helm begins to heat up to a melting point, and reforms as a hand-sized, bronze plaque embossed with an image of intertwined or conjoined snakes (“Snakes”) this item is required to solve the puzzle in Room 14.

In addition, Cyneric’s restless spirit will no longer be under the control of the hobb-man priest (see Room 14 below.)

Room 14: King Cyneric’s Pyre

The center of this chamber is dominated by a stone slab carved with runes.  Within is an ancient pile of charred wood, ashes and bones from King Cyneric’s funeral pyre.  A baleful circle with six, glowing Chaos runes has been drawn around the slab by the room’s occupant: a hobb-man priest of the Snake God and his baern-men bodyguards.  King Cyneric’s suffering spirit, now a special, sword-wielding spectre, is under the control of the priest, who will unleash him against any intruders.  King Cyneric’s spectre rises like a cyclone from the pyre's remains.

Hobb-man Priest: AL C; AC 2 [17]; HD 5 (HP 21); MV 60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d6 (mace); SP spells; SV C5; ML 10.

Spells: cause (light) wounds, curse (reversed bless), protection from evil, silence (15 ft. radius)

Baern-men (bugbear) bodyguards (x2):  HP 16, 14

King Cyneric’s spectre: HP 32; ATK 1d10 + energy drain (2 levels)

Restoring any one of the six haunted memories (see Room 13) causes one of the Chaos runes around King Cyneric’s pyre to fade away.  If the PCs have restored all of the King’s memories, his spectre will be free to turn on the hobb-man priest and his bodyguards when the priest tries to command him.  

The freed spectre will not attack the PCs unless they attack him first (as he has some strange recollections of them as allies in his past.)  However, the Snake Cult’s curse persists, and King Cyneric’s spectre will attack them later if they attempt to force open the doorway to Room 15, or incorrectly place the bronze plaques (see below.)  The spectre will also return after a full turning of the moon (one month) even if the PCs manage to slay it.

Within the King's remains is a hand-sized, bronze plaque embossed with an image of a maned lion (“Lion”) this item is required to solve the puzzle door to the Treasure Vault (see below.)

 

Room 15: Treasure Vault

The stone door to this room is locked by a complex mechanism of six, hand-sized slots in a cross-like pattern, where the bronze plaques found elsewhere in the Barrows seem to fit.  The solution to the puzzle is contained in each of the inscriptions for the Prince, Queen, and King.  The correct placement is as follows:

Puzzle solution

Once the plaques are placed correctly, the stone door opens to reveal a vault filled with King Cyneric’s tomb treasures:

• 6,000 sp
• A kingly portrait of Cyneric (he hated the damn thing, but it is worth 1,400 gp to the right buyer due to the now famous and long-departed artist.)
• A woven, horsehair  tapestry of steppe nomads with semiprecious gems sewn in for colors; worth 1100 gp
• Two brass statues of mermaids on rocks with splashing waters worth 550 gp each.
• A crystal figurine of an elf with gold and gem-encrusted spear and shield, worth 1400 gp
• A gold, drinking flagon with the shape of a woman astride a dragon worth 1200 gp
• A marble bowl carved with images of ancient warriors around it worth 800 gp
• A ceremonial suit of plate with intricate, etched designs.  It is nonmagical, but worth 700 gp
• A simple gold crown with moonstone, garnets, and runestones worth 1500 gp
• A curious bronze rod, which is the lever that opens the gate to Level 4 in the Temple of the Snake Cult (see Room 28 of the Temple.)

King Cyneric’s greatest treasure hovers on an adjacent plinth: his mighty Sword of Lantika.  Talking the sword immediately causes King Cyneric’s spectre to appear and rush the character holding it.  However, the sword glows with an otherworldly blue light and strange, geometric patterns as it absorbs the spectre into it, seemingly exorcising or banishing the cursed spirit.  Regardless, the King's spirit is now a part of the sword.

Sword of Lantika

The Sword of Lantika is said to have been the symbol of the rulers of the lost Kingdom of Lantika, which once held sway from their moving island in the Southern Seas due to their possession of arcane crafts and other sorceries said to originate from the City of Humankind itself.  According to the priests of the Lords of Law, the Lantikan’s sinful  use of the Dragon Father's crafts for self-aggrandizement instead of His glory, led to their island sinking under the waves, along with all their treasures. Their surviving descendants were scattered to the four winds on their shimmering, blue-and-gold-hued ships.

The Sword of Lantika is a magical, Lawfully-aligned, two-handed sword with a +1 bonus, and a +2 against nonhuman creatures aligned with Chaos.  The sword has a minor spirit, or Ey-ai, within that has fused with a portion of King Cyneric’s spirit.  It has Intelligence of 12, Ego of 12, and can speak Common with a heavy, Northern hillman’s accent.

The sword can see invisible objects, detect sloping passages and shifting architecture, and can cast clairaudience three times per day.  Its special and all-consuming purpose is to slay snake-men and any who worship the Snake God.
 

The Sword of Lantika holds a vestige of King Cyneric's spirit (which talks!)

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

The Royal Barrows II: Barrow of the Queen

 Note: see the Barrow of the Prince for the general features of the Royal Barrows.

The Barrow of the Queen also features Northern styles with images of the Giant Lords and valkyries welcoming the brave dead to the Cloud Hall, but these eventually give way to curious architectural features and decor reminiscent of those found in the ruins of the Old Empire.  Specifically, that of the Amazons who descended from the Imperial heroine, Serpica (see hexes 0642 and 0942 on the wilderness map for more about the Amazons of the Northern Marklands.)

Queen Beltis’ origin as an Amazon was not common knowledge.  Her path crossed several times with Cyneric during her wandering years as a sellsword under her nom de guerre, the Hellcat in Auburn.  After many near-death experiences in battle together (including one in which they were on opposing sides,) the two became close, and eventually lovers.  She secretly chose the powerful Northman to be the father of her child, as is Amazon custom.  Once her quickening belly began to show, she left Cyneric without notice, and returned to her homeland to give birth to a daughter and future Amazon.

 

Beltis:“Well, I suppose consorting with the enemy does invalidate our respective contracts, though I doubt those penniless princelings were going to pay us, anyway.”  Cyneric:“To the Black Ice with them both!  By Corum’s jagged teeth, we’ll take our pay from their miserable, perfumed hides!”  Beltis: "Sounds fair to me!  Spearman!  On your right flank!"

It was not until many years later, while seeking former allies to take on the Snake Cult, that an older, temporarily deposed King Cyneric was able to track Beltis down.  He found the once-Hellcat had become a wise and respected matron to her tribe, with hair beginning to show more gray than auburn (though no less beautiful for it; perhaps even more so.)  Cyneric was also able to meet his daughter, Taera; now a fully-grown Amazon who had been blessed with the best features of both parents.  Cyneric had unwittingly earned this special and extremely rare privilege only because he had aided the warrior women during a crucial hour of need, with little knowledge that he had helped his own daughter (though her likeness was uncannily familiar.)  It was this serendipitous encounter with the Amazons that led him back to Beltis.

Beltis was surprised to find that her heart still had a place (long thought buried,) for the aging Northman, and despite her tribe’s (and daughter’s) protests, she joined the Barbarian King in his vendetta against the nefarious Snake Cult.  It was this rekindled love that led her to stay with Cyneric and become Queen after the Cult was defeated, and their puppet in Alkastra deposed.

After Cyneric’s passing, and with Prince Connel still too young to rule (as they had him later in life,) Queen Beltis became Regent.  She was beset by intrigues seeking to supplant young Connel from the very beginning, and had to be constantly wary of poisoned words from her council, outright poison in her cup, or the glint of a dagger in the shadows of both her chambers and those of her son.  She sought help from her daughter and fellow Amazons (who still held her in the highest regard,) and their response was a small contingent of the warrior women, with Beltis’ own daughter at the vanguard.  They became the Queen Regent’s personal guard and Prince Connel’s protectors.

Left: A mournful Queen Beltis and Prince Connel witness King Cyneric’s funeral pyre.  Right: Surrounded by a court of vipers, the Queen Regent places her trust in only two things - family and steel.

Once King Connel had come of age and successfully inherited the throne of Alkastra, Beltis felt comfortable enough to retire as her son’s advisor, with frequent trips to her homeland to visit.  Despite times of conflict, she lived peacefully until passing in her sleep many years later at a venerable age, and was buried honorably in her own barrow next to her beloved.  Most of her personal guard chose to be buried with her when their time came; to protect her for all time.

Alas, the corruption in the Royal Barrows has twisted the spirits of Queen Beltis and her guard, and they have become foul undead and shadows that now only seek to destroy the living.

Barrow of the Queen Encounters (2d6)

2. 1d4 mummified Amazons turned wights
3. 1d6 ghouls - the rats of the undead world
4. 2d4 humanoid zombies – victims of the Barrows
5. 1d8 troglodytes  (see Room 6)
6. A swarm of 4d6 giant rats fleeing the denizens of the Barrow
7-8. 3d6 animated skeletons of lesser Amazon guards
9. 4d6 sprites from the Shrine of Althea (see Room 7)
10. 1d3 giant, poisonous (black widow) spiders in a webbed area.
11. 1d8 poisonous (pit viper) snakes
12. 1d4+1 shadows – the spirits of Beltis’ greater Amazon guards

 

Barrow of the Queen Key

Room 6: Amazon Tombs

These chambers are catacombs where Beltis’ Amazon honor guards are buried.  The lower-ranking Amazons are buried in alcoves, while the higher-ranking ones have their own sarcophagi.  Many of the tombs have been desecrated and there are bones and grave goods scattered about.

The culprits of this desecration are seven (7) troglodytes (HP 4, 12, 7, 5, 11, 14, 8) that tunneled into this area escaping war against other humanoids (see the Barrow of the King.)  They collapsed their escape tunnel and have made themselves at home here in the meantime.  The stinking squatters are not keen on being removed from their new abode.

Treasure scattered about the area includes the following (in the order the PCs can find it, taking at least one turn for each):

1. 700 sp
2. 700 ep
3. A gold ear clasp with blue zircons worth 110 gp
4. A silver bracelet with topazes worth 110 gp
5. A golden gorget studded with jaspers and amazonites worth 130 gp
6. Copper pendants embossed with pegasii and small onyx worth 80 gp
7. A +1 spear, currently wielded by a troglodyte (the one with 14 HP,) but clearly not of their own make

A break on one part of the southwestern wall is the collapsed tunnel which the troglodytes originated from.  Clearing the collapse would require tools and several hours of work (2d6) to reveal a cavernous tunnel that leads to the Barrow of the King.

Room 7: Shrine of Althea

This is a round shrine that features caryatids of peaceful Amazons in worship along the walls.  A central, alabaster statue of a woman dominates the room, with limbs reaching out almost tree-like towards a bronze, verdigrised disc representing the moon and its phases overhead.  Small motes of light shine from holes in the ceiling like sun rays poking through the treetops, and give the statue a life-like aura.  This is Althea of the Green Moon, chief deity of the Amazons.  

 

Althea of the Green Moon

Before the statue is a reflecting pool closed off by an iron grate, with five, keyless locks at each point of a five-pointed star.  To open this grate and access Queen Beltis’ tomb (Room 9,) the player characters (PCs) must unlock each lock by completing one of five separate trials in Room 8.  A thief could also try to pick each lock at a 10% penalty, although the denizens here would try to stop such an attempt (see below.)

The PCs are not alone here.  There are 11 sprites (HP 4, 4, 2, 2, 1, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2) that dwell in the vicinity of the statue and are watching their every move.  When the Queen’s Barrow was consecrated by Amazon priestesses, it opened a small connection with the realm of Faerie.  However, the corruption of the Barrows has closed off that connection and the sprites are now stranded.  They have been in survival mode for a long time, ducking shadow Amazons, troglodytes, and others, and they have developed a mean streak as a result (-1 to reactions.)

If the PCs can survive their mean-spirited practical jokes and parley with them, they will relay their plight.  They also know about the adjoining areas (Room 8,) and how they open the way to Queen Beltis’ tomb.  This is crucial, because if the characters do not develop a rapport with the sprites, they will try to sabotage their success in each of the trials.

Once the grate to the reflecting pool is unlocked, they must dive inside a flooded hallway below and swim to reach Queen Beltis’ tomb (Room 9.)  This is, in effect, a final trial.  There is also a small pot of gold hidden under a flagstone in the floor of the pool (60 gp.)

Reconsecrating the shrine can be done by any Neutral cleric (druid) of Althea, Haerne the Hunter, or Daenica the Forest Maiden.  Doing this will make the sprites immediately grateful, and they will be forthcoming with information on how to pass the trials and unlock the grate.  They will also tell them about the hidden pot with gold inside the reflecting pool.

Making the shrine holy again will partly weaken the corruption in this Barrow, resulting in an easier encounter with the shadows of Queen Beltis and her Amazon guards in Room 9.  No encountered undead or shadows can enter the shrine’s area from this point on.

Room 8: Amazon Trials

These are five, separate areas connected to the Shrine of Althea (Room 7.)  Each one of these is a separate trial, inspired by those a young Amazon must go through to earn her place among her warrior sisters.  Completing one of these unlocks one of five locks in the reflecting pool in Room 7.  The trials are as follows:

8a. Trial of the Swift Hare: When PCs step 10 feet ahead in this hallway, blades and spears will begin to strike out out from the walls sequentially in 10-foot increments.  Unless they sprint at twice their movement speed or more, they will need to save against breath or suffer 1d6 damage from the blades.  To sprint, a character must succeed at a Constitution check or become unable to keep up the speed (normal movement speed.)  In addition, character is exhausted as if they had not stopped to rest after an hour of exploration.

 If the sprites are hostile to the PCs, they will try to swarm and delay their progress (as they can easily dodge the blades; -2 to the check.)

At the end of a hall is a plinth with a stone carved in the likeness of an Amazon’s face.  Pressing it stops the blades and opens one of the five locks in Room 7.  

8b. Trial of the Leaping Doe: This area is separated by a 10-ft. long pit.  PCs must make a running jump to try to reach the other side.  This requires a Strength check which, if successful, allows the player to leap 2d6 feet plus their character level.

Failing the check, or not clearing the required distance results in having to make a saving throw against breath to hold on to a ledge: if the PC failed the Strength check, it is the closest ledge; if they made it, it is the farthest ledge.  Otherwise, they fall into the 10-ft. deep pit (1d6 damage) with a spike-filled, iron grate at the bottom (1d8+2 damage.)  Below the grate is the watery tunnel that leads to Beltis' Tomb (Room 9.)

If the sprites are hostile to the PCs, they will try to trip them with string or otherwise attempt to disrupt their way across (+2 penalty to the check.)

Once a PC has made it past the pit, they can push a stone carved in the likeness of an Amazon’s face on the wall.  It closes the pit with a second grate and unlocks one of the five locks in Room 7.

8c. Trial of the Graceful Crane: the way to the next area is separated by a longer pit with jutting stone columns about foot or less wide.  To make their way across, PCs must balance on the tops of the columns as if they were stepping stones, albeit with the added danger of a deadly fall.  This requires a Dexterity check.  If unsuccessful, the PC must save against breath to hold on to the column they fell from.  Otherwise, they fall into the 20-ft. deep pit for 2d6 damage.

Any hostile sprites will try to disrupt the PC’s balance to cause them to drop into the pit (+2 penalty to the Dexterity check.)

Once a PC has made it past they, they can push a stone carved in the likeness of an Amazon’s face on a plinth.  It causes more columns to come up from the pit, forming a bridge through, and unlocks one of the five locks in Room 7.

d. Trial of the Hawk’s Eye: The way to the door on the next side is separated by a stone wall with three, small holes, about a fist wide each.  There is also a door without any knob, handle, or lock next to them.  Beyond the wall are three, bronze targets at different distances (30 ft., 80 ft., and 120 ft.)  There are racks of short bows, arrows, and spears on the wall, covered in cobwebs.

PCs must hit each of the three targets through the small holes in the wall, which requires a to-hit roll at -4 against armor class (AC) 9 [10.]  Once all three targets are hit, the door on the wall opens.  Inside is a plinth with a stone carved in the likeness of an Amazon’s face.  Pressing it opens one of the five locks in Room 7.

Hostile sprites will try to disrupt the character’s aim (additional -2 to hit,) snap/cut bow strings, or the like.

A magic-user could feasibly hit any one of the targets with a magic missile, and the game master (GM) should feel free to grudgingly give the stink eye to that crafty player.

8e. Trial of the Bear Mother: This area features a stone circle with about a 15-ft. radius.  There are racks with various one-handed melee weapons, spears, and shields on the wall, covered in cobwebs.

Inside the circle is a statue of husky and muscular Amazon woman.  Entering the circle causes the statue to come to life, take up her sword and shield (which are real,) and fight the PC.  If the PC enters unarmed, the statue will instead drop its sword and shield and wrestle the character.  To wrestle, a successful hit allows a hold, while a successful hit from the opponent breaks it.  After a successful hold, the character can deal 1d3 plus Strength bonus damage the following round, and every round they are able to maintain the hold thereafter.  The statue deals 1d3+2 damage due to its strength.

Amazon Statue: AL N; AC 2 [17]; HD 3 (HP 16); MV 90 ft. (30 ft.); ATK 1d6+2 (short sword) or 1d3+2 (wrestling); SP: +1 or better weapons to destroy; SV: F3; ML 12.

If more than one PC steps into the circle, additional, Amazon shadows (one per PC) will emerge to even the odds a bit for the unsporting party.

Although the statue cannot actually be harmed by normal weapons, reducing it to 0 HP with normal weapons results in the PC gaining the upper hand such as a deadly hit to what would otherwise be a vital area, or pinning the statue in a wrestling hold.  The statue then ceases the attack, bows to the PC and steps into the center of the circle, becoming still once again.  The statue’s weight on the central area causes one of the five locks in Room 7 to unlock.  Alternatively, if the PCs mange to destroy the statue, the weight of its parts can also activate the central area.

Hostile sprites will try to sabotage the PC duelist with everything from cruel jeers, to attacking at their flanks, or turning any normal weapons into useless and hilarious things, like bananas, for example.
 

Room 9: Queen Beltis’ Tomb

The watery tunnel below the Shrine of Althea (Room 7) surfaces at a second reflecting pool above, which is at the entrance of Queen Beltis’ tomb chamber.  Amazon warrior caryatids guard the way to a stairway that rises to the Queen’s sarcophagus above.

As PCs approach the dais, the shadows of the Queen and her guards will emerge and attack.  They are silhouettes of the caryatids, including the outlines of spears and shields, while the Queen herself wields two, shadowy swords.  They attempt to surprise the characters, say nothing, and give no quarter.

Queen Beltis’ Shadow: AL C; AC 6 [13]; HD 4+2 (HP 24); MV 90 ft. (30 ft.); ATK 1d4+2/1d4+2; SP: Strength drain, 5-in-6 surprise; SV: F4; ML 12.

Amazon Shadows (x8): HP 13, 8, 15, 6, 14, 9, 7, 13

If the PCs have reconsecrated the Shrine of Althea (Room 7,) they will receive divine aid against the shadows.  Random beams of green light will emerge from the ceiling every round - one in a cardinal direction from each PC (roll 1d8.)  The shadows will try to avoid the green light if they’re able, and if struck with it, it will reveal their corporeal (albeit rotted) forms.  While exposed to the light, they are vulnerable to normal weapons and suffer a -1 to hit rolls.

The Queen awaits.

 Even if the shadows are defeated, they will return by the next turning of the moon unless the Shrine to Althea is reconsecrated.

Within Queen Beltis’ sarcophagus are her remains, along with her treasures.  Taking any of these after defeating the shadows would not be considered a desecration, as it is custom for Amazons who are defeated honorably in battle to give up their arms or some other valuable trophy to their victor.  It includes the following:

• Urns full of coins: 1,700 gp, 2,500 sp, 2,500 pp
• A gold signet ring etched with a lioness rampant within the Seal of Alakstra and inlaid with gems (700 gp)
• Gold and silver pendant earrings with aquamarines and pearls surrounded by Northern runes (330 gp,) along with matching necklace (600 gp)
• Golden arm torcs with emerald and ruby dragons (525 gp each)
• A gold wedding band etched with intricate knotting and small diamonds (1300 gp)  
• Golden arm bracelets inlaid with mithral images of Amazons and their goddess, along with jade moons (700 gp each)
• A silver, gem encrusted diadem (1500 gp)
• Beltis’ two short swords: Diamond which is a +2 short sword, and Echo, a +1 short sword that allows or an additional attack roll on a natural roll of 20.
• A hand-sized bronze plaque, like others found in the Barrows, embossed with the image of a lioness rampant (“Lioness.”)  This plaque is required to solve the puzzle in Room 14.

Room 10: To the Final Barrow

Beyond Beltis’ tomb is the entrance to the Barrow of the King.  There are a number of dead humanoids (mostly gobb-men and baern-men) near it, with twisted expressions of horror still present on their deformed faces.  The entrance seems to have been broken, but then barricaded from the opposite side.  These humanoids originated from the Temple of the Snake Cult and have tunneled to the Barrows.  They beat a hasty retreat after encountering Beltis’ shadow, and then barred the way.  The barricade can be easily destroyed with tools within 1d6 turns.

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

The Royal Barrows I: Barrow of the Prince

 The Royal Barrows is a mini-dungeon for Original or Basic character levels 1-3.  Parties with clerics and/or druids will have an easier time within in the Barrows.  The history of the Barrows is described in the entry for hex 1815 of the Northern Marklands wilderness map (here.) 

The Barrows include the following features:

Light: There is no light in the Barrows.  Sconces and/or torches, if available, are noted in the individual room’s description

Walls: The walls of the barrow are cobbled stone, with some enhancements by Alkastran engineers, especially in the later barrows.  Passages are 10 ft. high, while individual rooms may vault up to 15 ft. high.

Doors: Doors are solid oak with iron and bronze banding unless otherwise noted.  All doors are stuck.

Barrow of the Prince Encounters (2d6)

2. The possessed leader of the tomb robbers (wight,) wandering the structure (see Room 4.)

3. 1d4 tomb robber zombies – recent victims of King Connel’s shade.

4. 1d8 1st level clerics (acolytes.)  50/50 chance they are Templars of Law seeking to prove themselves by cleansing the Barrows, or followers of Chaos drawn to the evil energies within.

5. 2d6 skeletons – eternal guards of the Barrows, or ancient victims that have joined them in death.

6-8. 1d8 tomb robbers (bandits.)  If nine or more have been slain, defeated, or otherwise driven off, there is no encounter thereafter.

 9.  2d10 rats, initially attracted by food offerings in the entrance shrine left by the local, superstitious country folk.  2-in-6 chance they’re 3d6 of the giant type instead.

10. 1d10 stirges nesting between the stones above.

11. 1d8 fire beetles.  Their glow may appear as eyes staring from the darkness.

12. 1d3 ghouls drawn to the necromantic energies of this place.

 

 

Barrow of the Prince Key

 Room 1: Entrance and Shrine

Inside the entrance are the remains of a domed room that acts as a shrine.  Barbaric elements along the walls are juxtaposed with the high art of sculptors from the southern continent.  Images of the Lords of Law: the Dragon Father, the Merciful Mother and the Faithful Son, Mythras, exist side-by-side with Northern runes and symbols that denote the resting place of a brave warrior who has earned their seat in the Cloud Hall among the Giant Lords.

Filthy bedrolls, a small cook fire, and various tools such as shovels, picks, and prybars, are strewn around a small fire with a giant rat on a spit.  Its owners are lunging around, alert for any interlopers who might witness their desecration (or disturb their lunch.)  This is only a portion of the larger band of tomb robbers (bandits, HP 8, 1, 3, 5, 8) which have ventured into the tomb below.  They fight with simple weapons or tools (1d6 damage.)

At the far end of the shrine are the remains of the stone doorway that sealed the entrance to the burial place.  The following words can still be read on the remains of the stone seal:

“Here lies King Connel, First of His Name
CUB of the LION
Wise guardian of Alkastra the Jeweled SPEAR
He sits by the side of the LION in MOLNHEIM
To watch for the SNAKES under the Earth”

Room 2: The Wise King’s Works

The walls of this room are carved with bas-reliefs of of King Connel's reign. 

There are currently four (4) tomb robbers (bandits, HP 6, 6, 6, 5,) hiding here after their companions met a gruesome end in Room 4.  One of them has a bandaged leg from the trap in Room 3.  The bandits are frightened and avoid conflict (+1 to reactions.)  However, they are still treacherous, and will try to take advantage of the player characters (PCs) if they are able (use them as shields from monsters, steal from/kill weak PCs, etc.)

The three walls of the room, from northeast to southwest, tell the events of King Connel’s life: his miraculous birth to King Cyneric and Queen Beltis after they had lost all hope, followed by his youthful years as a warrior king defending Alkastra from various threats (northwest wall,) his middle years were devoted to the Lords of Law, charitable and public works, and wise rule (northeast wall,) and finally, his expansion of the Cathedral in Alkastra, old age, and eventual passing, ending with the Wise King's funeral pyre (this is a clue to the false tomb in Room 3.)

Cyneric's heir became very devout in his mid to later years.  He was then known as the Wise King.

  Before the center of each story wall is a flagstone markedly different from the others.  Standing on it depresses it with an audible click.  A character that circumambulates the room in a clockwise fashion, and steps on the flagstones in the correct order: youth > middle age > old age, causes a panel to open on the relief of King Connel's throne on the northeast wall.  Inside is a rotting leather satchel with 300 sp and a bronze plaque, about hand sized, with the embossed image of a spear head with bright rays radiating from it.  This plaque (Jeweled Spear) is part of the solution to the puzzle in Room 14 in the Barrow of the King.

Room 3: False Tomb

A basalt sarcophagus carved with the image of a resting King Connel dominates the center of this room.  An honor guard of ten (10) skeletons in rusted arms and armor, covered in thick cobwebs, stand in alcoves on the northwestern and southeastern walls in five, human-sized alcoves each.  None of these skeletons come to life, unless the game master (GM) rolls a random encounter for one or more skeletons while the PCs are in this room.  If any skeletons are disturbed or destroyed, and the PCs return to this room a day or more later, they will find the skeletons intact and in their alcoves once again.  This effect ends if the PCs save the spirit of King Connel (see Room 4.)

The sarcophagus is trapped.  A small, dried blood stain on one side serves as a clue. Attempting to pry open the lid causes small spears to thrust out in all four directions.  PCs in the way must save against magic wands or suffer 1d6+1 damage.  The sarcophagus is filled with nothing but plain sand and the trap’s mechanism beneath it, covered by a weight-sensitive panel.  The mechanism resets by itself.

Two of the skeleton's alcoves on the southeastern wall have secret doors behind them.  One leads to a hallway, while the other leads to the actual tomb (Room 4.)

Room 4: King Connel’s Tomb

The secret door to this hallway prior to this room closes behind the PCs unless they hold or spike it in place.  This chamber is mostly plain save for a central plinth with a stone urn at the center and a faded fresco on the southeastern wall.  

Around the plinth are the bodies of three (3) of the tomb robbers.  A robed figure kneels before the fresco muttering as in prayer.   When player characters (PCs) arrive, the figure rises and turns to reveal a sallow face crisscrossed with black veins and staring with white, pupilless eyes that burn with hatred for the living.  The bodies of the tomb robbers also rise as zombies (HP 11, 6, 2.)

The robed figure was a sorcerer and leader of the tomb robbers, who is now possessed by the corrupted shade of King Connel.  This has turned him into a wight (HP 14.) 

The tomb robbers encountered more than they bargained for.  Now they belong to the Barrows.

Killing the leader-turned-wight causes King Connel’s shade to visibly return to the urn, but anyone opening it later must save against spells or lose a level of experience as if struck by a wight.  This process continues every round the victim holds the urn until the individual succeeds at their save or is killed.  If killed, the character then becomes possessed by King Connel’s shade as a wight.

The shade can also be returned to the urn by a cleric who successfully turns the wight followed by a short ritual of exorcism, which takes one turn (a cleric would know this, but the GM should allow for the player come up with the idea first.)  This saves the life of the possessed individual (but any draining of levels remains.)

 To permanently undo the corruption of King Connel's shade, a cleric must reconsecrate both the urn and chamber (again, the GM should allow for a cleric player to come up with the idea.)

Inside the urn are King Connel’s ashes.  He chose to honor his father by being burned in a pyre in the manner of Northmen instead of buried whole (as shown on the relief wall in Room 2.)  Within the ashes is a hand-sized, bronze plaque with the embossed image of a small lion’s head with a halo instead of a mane (Lion Cub.)  This plaque is required to solve the puzzle in Room 14 of the Barrow of the King.

 Should the PCs save the possessed sorcerer, he is somewhat grateful and introduces himself as Drauzhim of Khargas.   Because he has lost much of his power (previously a 4th-level magic-user, now 1st,) he will be cautious and helpful with the PCs, until he finds a chance to get the upper hand on them, and take any treasures found in the Barrows (especially magical ones.)

The fresco itself depicts King Connel sitting in what is recognizable to Northmen as the Giant Lord’s Cloud Hall, but the Giant Lords above him are depicted like the Lords of Law in what would be considered heresy to clerics of both cultures: Woaden as Bhaal’mut the Dragon Father (with a draconic head,) Dorna as the Merciful Mother, and Thyrn as Mythras the Faithful Son.  

King Connel tried to reconcile his faith in the Lords of Law with the religion of his Northern heritage, and theorized that the Giant Lords were in truth aspects of the Lords of Law.  This small, heretical sect disappeared after the Wise King's passing, but it may have planted the seed for the small, but growing number of conversions among the Northmen many years later.  

The fresco wall, which can be recognized by a dwarf as a newer construction from the rest of the barrow (though still old,) is easily destroyed with appropriate tools within one turn, revealing a passageway beyond.

Room 5: Treasure Room and Entrance to the Barrow of the Queen

 This room is a rotund shrine much like the one at the entrance, but dedicated to Queen Beltis instead.  Painted images on the walls depict both valkyries on one side and amazons astride pegasii on the other in silent vigil of this sacred place.  Alcoves contain melted candles and various treasures - old offerings and grave goods: 4,000 cp, two azurites (10 gp each,) a garnet (100 gp,) two yellow topazes (500 gp each),  a copper necklace with blue topaz beads and a central onyx (500 gp) and long, gold tassel earrings with small moonstones and inlaid, lapiz lazuli runes (800 gp.)

A sealed, stone doorway opposite the entrance is carved with the following words:

“Here lies Queen Beltis
Fierce LIONESS to the LION
She sits with her CUB and LION in MOLNHEIM
Protective Mother of the Jeweled SPEAR
Warding against the SNAKES under the Earth”

The stone doorway can be broken open with tools in 1d4+1 turns.  A set of stone stairs leads to the Barrow of the Queen beyond.

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Lessons from the OSR – Part II: The Classic Modes of Old School Play

 In my first installment, I provided the reader with two keys to better understanding old school rules.  In the second key, I named what I consider to be the three, classic modes of play for these games: the Dungeon, the Wilderness, and the Domain.

While roleplaying games (RPGs) like (A)D&D are considered to be freeform in general, they do have some structure, and not just in the form of rules, but also these modes of play.

All of the old school (A)D&D rulesets describe the three modes in some fashion, but in my opinion, Moldvay/Cook’s Basic and Expert sets, as well as Frank Mentzer’s revisions and expansions of these, which adds Companion, Master, and Immortals sets (colloquially known as BECMI and later compiled in the Rules Cyclopedia,) probably did the best job at distilling them for the inexperienced newcomer.  I am aware the Original and Advanced games also do this, but they tend to not be as clear, in my opinion (but still worth reading.)

Even if the Basic/Expert+  rulesets are not your favorites, they make great reference points for not just the classic modes of play, but also for their general play procedures, which are outlined (also in simulacra like Old School Essentials.)  

I’ll cover each of the three game modes in depth in future installments, but for now I want to give them give them a basic overview for the reader.

 

The Dungeon

Thanks to modern media and video games, the concept of a fantasy dungeon is so well-known that I would be wasting words (and the reader’s time) describing it.

Therefore, it is better to describe what an old school dungeon is not.  A video game “dungeon,” with a semi-linear, haunted house-like structure and convenient exit right after a main boss battle (I’m looking at you, Skyrim,) is not really a proper dungeon in the old school sense.   Similarly, modern RPG adventures with relatively linear “dungeons” of a few rooms are not a good examples of these, either.  Lastly, a small location with few rooms and not much variety in monsters and situations is not an old school dungeon, (but it could be a lair.  See below.)

Old school dungeons (described in the Original game as the Underworld) are what are known today as megadungeons.  There is typically only one (at least at the beginning of a campaign,) and it is the main location where most adventures in the campaign are likely to take place.

The original dungeons, Blackmoor and Greyhawk, had that color-plus-noun nomenclature because they were considered variants on the freeform wargame campaign, Braunstein, which co-creator Dave Arneson was a player in.  Blackmoor’s dungeon existed under an active castle that dominates the player's home town, while Greyhawk existed under the ruins of a mad wizard’s castle some miles away from a city by the same name.  Of course, your old school dungeon could take any form and evocative name.  I named my Dungeon23 entry last year Temple of the Snake Cult, inspired by the Mountain of Power from the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian.

Castle Grayskull was already taken, unfortunately.

Given these details, and according to descriptions in the classic rulesets, an old school dungeon is typically (but not necessarily) an underground complex of sprawling rooms and passages.  These are mapped over one (or more!) pages of graph paper, which essentially forms a flow chart, as imagined by a mad genius (or mad wizard.)  It has a beginning entrance (and likely some hidden ones,) but not necessarily an end.  Each room or chamber may contain treasures (hidden or guarded,) monsters (with or without treasure,) traps, and basically anything the GM’s devious mind can imagine, but most will contain nothing more than some litter and the remains of unlucky adventurers.  Empty rooms are important too, as they provide pacing and spatial options for player (and monster) tactics.

In turn, each of these maps form individual, but connected levels of increasing difficulty that track roughly to the character’s level in sequential order.  Old school games tend to follow an organic, rather than absolute idea of balance; the deeper one goes, the tougher things tend to get.  To track the connections between each level, most of the classic rulesets recommend drawing a cross-section of the complex.

These maps are kept hidden from the players, and the GM has notes, or a “key” which detail the contents of each dungeon room.  The players make their own maps and notes as they explore the place with the aid of the GM’s verbal descriptions.

A rare peek at Gary Gygax running what is likely one of the OG dungeons (Greyhawk.)  Note how the map covers the whole of one page, while the key on the opposite page is made up of short, easy-to-reference notes.

It is worth noting that the dungeon is not a static location to be used once and thrown away (although you could do that, I guess.)  It is meant to be used multiple times and possibly with multiple play groups.  One group of players who "clear out" rooms may come back later (in game time) to find new, monstrous squatters, or evidence that other players have also been there.

Once characters have a) survived and b) become more powerful (generally at least 4th level) they can explore more difficult dungeon levels below, or decide to challenge the dangerous Wilderness.

The Wilderness

Today, this is typically known as a “hexcrawl” or “sandbox.”  Personally, I prefer the first term over the second, as I feel the term “sandbox” conflates both wilderness adventures and the campaign as a whole (a topic for a later time.)  It also evokes video game features that don’t necessarily apply to old school campaigns.  Specifically, a constrained world map with a narrative “main quest” and “side quests.”  This may confuse the newcomer, and could lead to frustration, disappointment, and even bitter, salty tears when campaign expectation doesn't meet reality at the table.  However, I grudgingly use the term because I acknowledge it is both recognizable and widely-used.   You win this time, internet!

So what is the wilderness?  Like a dungeon, it is a map on a page of hexed (or squared, or triangled, or whatever) paper with geographic terrain features and marked locations, including the main dungeon and home base settlement.  

A closeup of my Dungeon23 wilderness, the Northern Marklands.  The home base of Alkastra is on the middle right and the  main dungeon is to the west in hex 1614.  A location of interest (hex 1815) lies between them.

 

Like dungeons, each hex represents a distance (in miles; anywhere from about one to twelve, with five being the Original standard.)  The map is also kept hidden from players as they explore (and possibly become lost) making their own map along the way.  Unlike a dungeon, there are no passages or rooms, and the players can pretty much go anywhere.  There are also no levels per se, so the players can encounter practically anything on their adventures via random encounters.  This is why they should have some levels of power and a small, military force behind them, funded with that gold they found in the dungeon, of course.  Wilderness adventures are for leveled and wealthy Chads and Chaddettes; not the faint of heart or dungeon poors.

 

The wilderness adventure is in my opinion, among the least understood (and therefore the most mysterious and enticing) of the classic game modes.  The authors of Original game recommended using the board from the obscure game, Outdoor Survival.  While they describe using this map for “off-hand” wilderness adventures, they indicate that “Exploratory journeys, such as expeditions to find land suitable for a castle or in search of some legendary treasure are handled in an entirely different manner.” Unfortunately, they don’t really go into detail as to how they are different.  So it goes.  Various recreations of this map are available online.  Here's one by Rob Conley from the Bat in the Attic blog - a master of the wilderness sandbox concept.

According to anecdote, and perhaps gaming legend, the wilderness adventure came about when Dave Arneson’s players, distracted by dungeoneering (which was understandably the “new hotness,”) failed to participate in a scenario to defend the castle and town of Blackmoor from invaders.  As a result, the town was taken by the “baddies,” and the players were subsequently exiled into the wilds south of the main map, which was represented by the Outdoor Survival map.   It is my understanding that the players also built their own domains (see below) on this map.  Perhaps Gygax’s campaign did things differently, but lacking information, I’ve decided to err on the idea that wilderness adventures and the “exploratory journeys” indicated above are so similar as to be nearly indistinguishable in the practical sense.

The Cook/Marsh Expert set sheds some light on how to create one’s own wilderness map, with the additional example of the adventure module, X1 Isle of Dread (included in the Expert set.)  While the island bears little similarity to the example of the Outdoor Survival map, it covers the general ideas behind wilderness adventures, and it’s a great adventure module; because dinosaurs.

It is worth noting that one of (if not the first) company that made supporting products for D&D early on, Judges Guild led the way on the wilderness adventure concept early on with their Wilderlands series of products (sadly unavailable at the moment due to controversy.)  Among other things, the Wilderlands products included maps with numbered hexes for easier reference, and a key that included the features described in the Original game’s wilderness example.  It also had randomized system for creating ruins that the players could discover, which could range from some burnt embers, to an ancient (and possibly functional) space ship!

Going off of the Original wilderness example, combined with the examples of the Wilderlands, and the Expert set/Isle of Dread, we can conclude that wilderness hexcrawls tend to include the following:

 Settlements 

These can be safe havens or “home bases” of various sizes for the characters to rest and resupply (as they do before and after dungeon adventures.)  Alas, the Original game’s authors mention, but give little guidance on urban adventures, save for encounter tables, which to be fair, could become adventures unto themselves.  Therefore, I feel it is safe to say that urban adventures are a component of the wilderness game mode.

Judges Guild took a successful crack at the concept with their first product, the City State of the Invincible Overlord, which is a city within their first Wilderlands map, mapped and keyed in a dungeon-like manner.  

Mentzer’s Expert set fleshes out a home base (the town of Threshold) and includes some adventure ideas “in town,” but not much additional guidance on running these.

For my Dungeon23 home base, the City of Alkastra, I took a combined approach with some keyed entries and adventure ideas sprinkled within, along with an encounter table.

Monster Lairs

These are essentially mini-dungeons or set-piece battles (remember, wargamers) featuring one kind of monster’s home plus any associated pets or allies, along with treasure, the details of which tend to be under each monster’s entry.  The authors of the Expert set recommend creating some of these lairs in advance to have on hand (and I concur.)  It is easy to find free maps online these days to use for lairs.  

It is also worth noting that the Original and Advanced games feature a percentage chance for each monster to be found “in lair” but this is for random encounters and not lairs the GM has deliberately placed on their wilderness map.

Castles

These are the strongholds of high-level adventurers, their hirelings, henchmen, and/or pets.  They function as both examples of what the players could accomplish themselves, or individual little “Blackmoors” players could invade.  Why pay to build a castle when you could just capture one and refurbish it?  Easier said than done, though.  The players are in somebody else’s turf now, and they don't have the home field advantage!

In the Original rules, these castles can become the source of adventures themselves.  Fighters may duel players for their stuff, and both wizards and clerics may send the players quests to find stuff (typically via magical coercion.)

Ruins

These could be the “upper works” above dungeons, or remnants of places and even objects, if you go by the Judges Guild Wilderlands tables.  They may also end up being monster lairs onto themselves.

 

These features are really only a starting point.  Like dungeons, the contents of a wilderness hexcrawl are only limited by the GM’s imagination. Another tip:  those treasure maps you rolled in the dungeon treasure?  The wilderness map is where you can place them, providing an incentive for players to explore.

So what’s the point of wilderness adventures?  Like dungeons, the brutal (but lucrative) environment can prepare the characters for the next classic game mode: the Domain.

The Domain

So you’ve survived the dungeon, fielded a military force, battled your way through the wilds, and built (or captured) your very own castle.  What’s next?  Rulership!  Game of Thrones time, baby!

Dun, dun…Duh-duh-dun, dun…(c’mon, you know it!)

This is pretty much the end stage of the classic game, but it is worth noting that the original campaigns, being considered wargame variants, had features of this game mode from the beginning (see Blackmoor's wilderness anecdote above.)

At this point (about levels 9+, but really as early as they can afford to build strongholds,) characters enter a state of semi-retirement as play can slow down (in game time) to months and years, and the campaign takes on the character of a strategic wargame.  These settled adventurers may even become the patrons of new player characters, because clearing out a goblin lair is for Basic bitches.

In a nutshell, the character(s) clear an area (about 24-30 miles) of any monster lairs and other threats and build a castle or some other stronghold, like a wizard’s tower, fortified temple, craft beer hall, or whatever.  This causes settlers to flock to its safety (that wilderness is harsh, man!)  The happy or oppressed villagers (depending on the character’s alignment) then work the local resources and pay taxes to the character as their lord and liege.  The character in turn, needs to protect their new charges and domain from any new, encroaching monsters or other invading forces (which could include other players!)  Over time, and with many victories, a character could carve a vast kingdom of their own.

It’s almost as if the Original game's authors were fans of a certain literary character

The classic rulesets tend to cover a little more details, with costs for building the stronghold and hiring mercenary soldiers and professional staff, but little else.  I suspect that again, the authors of the Original game assumed the reader knew (and perhaps had rules for) handling such a wargame campaign.  Dave Arneson’s The First Fantasy Campaign (also by Judges Guild and also sadly unavailable,) does elucidate further on this game mode, including things only hinted at in the Original game, such as players having investments in the game world: trade, businesses, public works, and even tourism!

“…and here in this spot is where the Sir Deuces vanquished the Hobgoblin King Snarg and is said to have tea-bagged his corpse.” (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator)

In Mentzer’s Companion and Master sets (also the Rules Cyclopedia,) the author includes systems for this mode of play, including a mass combat and sieges, and expands the endgame further into potential apotheosis (“immortality”,) which goes beyond the scope of the Original game (and that Immortals set is more than a little whacky.) 

Another key feature of Domain play is events (random or otherwise) that occur during the course of the campaign year, which players may have to react to.   These typically involve anything from incursions, to full-blown invasions, but could also include natural disasters, rebellious peasants, plotting nobles, and other burdens of rulership.

Conclusion

These modes are not absolutes and you’ll find that there are nearly unlimited, creative avenues one can take for each, but it is worth learning their basic structures, just like one learns to walk before they can run (or crawl before that.)

Are the three game modes the only ways to play?  Far from it, but I've come to feel old school (A)D&D games work best when structured in this manner, even considering the games’ amazing level of flexibility.  Other RPGs have their own implied modes of play.  Traveller is about misfits-on-a-spaceship free-tradin’ and trouble-makin’ across a hexcrawl universe like the show Firefly, while Call of Cthulhu’s main game mode is investigation-based, with the player characters slowly discovering Lovecraftian things (often tentacled) that humankind was never meant to know (and go insane while doing it!)

Pretty much

There is nothing saying one can’t invent new ways to play these games.  You could argue that the entire, now 50-year history of D&D and RPGs has been experimental, and different editions of the game have taken it in various directions (some better than others.)  The casualty of this has been the old school play style, which like in a game of Telephone, its message has been distorted through the years.

If the reader will allow a self-indulgent rant, I feel newer versions of D&D, or at least as popular culture would depict them, favor amateurish acting, power fantasy fulfillment, and pre-ordained narratives over actual, emergent game play.  This is not necessarily a new thing.  Even in my youth, there were arguments about ROLE-playing versus ROLL-playing, with the "ROLE” part being considered superior to “ROLL” in the way wine snobs like to poo-poo on boxed wine, (which is obviously the frugal, practical, and just-as-delicious choice.)

In this economy, I’m not paying more than $3-5 per bottle of Jesus juice!  (Adapted from AI images courtesy of Bing Image creator.)

 In my opinion, it takes both of these in balance, like Yin and Yang, to have a good game.  “Role” without “roll” is just playing simple make-believe and “roll” without “role” is a board game.  (Not that there is anything wrong with board games.  Mrs. Weregrognard and I love board games!)  But you know, Golden Rule and all that.  Playing soap opera with miniatures is just not for me anymore.  Been there, done that.

 

This is not to say that epic stories don’t happen in old school (A)D&D, but the difference is that these stories emerge organically through play, and are not pre-determined or imposed by either the GM, players, or a published adventure.  Understanding the basic modes of old school play can get you there, but you’ll also need to understand the difference between the terms adventure, session, module, and campaign in the old school sense, which is coincidentally my next post in this series.

See you next week!