TEXT: Tales of the Grotesque and 
  Dungeonesque III:
  The FINAL CHAPTER
  by Jack W. Shear
  1
  
  Table of Contents
  Introduction … 3
  Dandy Class … 4
  Spiritualist Class … 6
  New Monsters … 12
  Beings of the Dreamlands … 19
  Variant Monsters … 21
  Random Automaton Generator … 25
  Magical Murder Weapons of the World Between … 26
  Items of Sacred Power … 27
  Mercenary Companies of the World Between … 28
  Two Trees, Cold Storage, Transubstantiation … 29
  Two Traps … 30
  Random Cabaret Generator … 31
  Signs Indicating That This NPC Has Suffered Mental Trauma … 34
  Signs Indicating That This NPC is Physically Amiss … 35
  Hold Person & Paralysis Experience Effects … 36
  Search the Body? No, Search IN the Body … 37
  Phrenology … 38
  Truly Random Magic … 39
  Some Ideas for Reflavoring Magic … 41
  The Penny Dreadful Project … 42
  An Abandoned Hexcrawl … 77
  Ulverland 1666 … 84
  Carcosa Rehab … 92
  Gothic Inspiration … 102
  Beards & Beers … 105
  The Beauchamp Asylum … 108
  The Canals of Varosona … 109
  What Literary Warrior Am I Ripping-Off For This NPC? … 110
  What Literary Rogue Am I Ripping-Off For This NPC? … 111
  What Literary Villain Am I Ripping-Off For This Big Bad? … 112
  2
  
  INTRODUCTION
  Another year has passed, which means I am bringing you another volume of Tales of the Grotesque and 
  Dungeonesque.  If you're familiar with the previous books, you know what to expect: within these pages 
  are new classes, monsters, and other such sundry for adding Gothic Fantasy atmosphere to your old-
  school games.
  This volume also contains crowdsourced content that illustrates how other people have taken a bit of 
  Gothic inspiration and applied it to their gaming.  It also contains a hexcrawl map and key that I 
  started...and eventually abandoned.  I'm sure someone out there will find a use for it or perhaps even 
  complete it.  I've also included the current state of my campaign world as an appendix; I've advanced the 
  timeline to account for the past successes and failures of the last campaign and added more sketching of 
  the larger world around the main play areas.  I've taken the liberty of including some ideas on how to 
  make an infamous campaign setting more palatable (and frankly more interesting).  
  Finally, I'm rounding out this volume with some non-fiction sources you might consider turning to if you 
  want to find your own Gothic inspirations.  This last gesture is something akin to “showing your work” 
  on your maths homework—this is the stuff I turn to when I want to think along the lines of Gothic 
  adventure.  The reason why I wanted to end with a brief section meant to inspire is that this is likely the 
  last Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque volume.  I've gone as far as I need to go with it—now it's 
  up to you, Dear Reader, to take it to places I'd never imagine.
  Carry On Screaming,
  Jack W. Shear
  3
  
  Dandy class
  Requirements: CHA 13  Prime Requisite: CHA  Hit Dice: 1d6 through 9th level, +2 per level thereafter
  Maximum Level: none  Experience Chart: Thief  Attacks/Saves: Thief  
  Weapons allowed: Sword canes, bejeweled daggers, walking sticks, bladed fans, thin and elegant swords
  Armor allowed: None (see below)
  "These beings have no other status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons, of 
  satisfying their passions, of feeling and thinking .... Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to 
  believe, dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, 
  these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of his mind." – Charles Baudelaire
  Special Abilities:
  Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know—three times per day a dandy may draw upon their magnetic 
  personalities to invoke one of the following effects: Charm Person, Command, or Hypnotism.  Upon 
  reaching 3rd  level, a dandy may also use this ability to emulate the effects of a Hypnotic Pattern or 
  Suggestion spell.  At 10th level a dandy may use this ability to mimic the effects of a Mass Charm spell.
  To Burn Always With This Hard, Gemlike Flame—whenever a dandy drops a witty one-liner, a cutting 
  come-back, or succeeds in an insanely stylish action, they gain 1 Flamboyance Point.  When a dandy has 
  accumulated 5 Flamboyance Points, they gain a temporary Hit Die.  Dandies are literally protected from 
  the world's slings and arrows by the mythic power of their l'art pour l'art stance in life.
  Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion—while dandies may not wear armor in the usual sense, they gain an armor class 
  bonus when wearing bespoke clothes of great expense and taste.  If a dandy purchases clothes at a cost 
  three times that of an armor type, they benefit from the equivalent armor class.  For example, if a dandy 
  were to spend three times the cost of plate mail (1350 gp) on a suit of clothes, the dandy would 
  functionally have the armor class of plate mail while wearing that suit.  In place of shields, dandies may 
  opt to spend 30 gp (or more) for a dashing hat or pocket square that improves their armor class by one 
  point.  However, note that such fashionable attire is very vulnerable to both the depredations of the 
  adventuring life and the changing tides of fashion in high society.
  Reaching 2nd level: Piccadilly Palare—the dandy has mastered a secret slang language that allows him to 
  converse with sailors, homosexuals, prostitutes, and aesthete monsters such as demimonde medusas, 
  vampire flaneurs, and githyanki fops.
  4
  
  Reaching 3rd level: A Bright Young Thing—the dandy acquires a familiar that is adept at estimating the 
  worth of items such as gems and other treasures.  Roll on the following table to determine the familiar's 
  form:
  d8
  Familiar
  1
  Automaton dressed like a “painted woman”
  2
  Automaton dressed like a cowled monk
  3
  Automaton dressed like a valet
  4
  Gilded tortoise
  5
  Invent something new and outlandish
  6
  Kapala skull
  7
  Parrot wearing a jeweled crown
  8
  Rabbit in a brocade waistcoat
  Reaching 4th level: He dreams of scaffolds as he smokes his hookah pipe—a dandy may pick four of the 
  thief class's skills to use as a 2nd level thief.  At 5th level, those skills increase to those of a 3rd level thief, 
  etc.  Due to a dandy's wide range of experience, they also have a percentage chance equal to the 
  Find/Remove Traps ability of a thief of the same level to know something useful about any topic.  Any 
  topic (sailing, ancient history, heraldry) may be rolled for in this way; if the roll is successful, make a note 
  that the dandy knows something about that topic for future reference should the topic come up again.
  Reaching 6th level: Dandy in the Underworld—a dandy can cast spells as per a 1st level magic-user. 
  Their spellcasting ability improves every level, but dandies are limited to casting illusions and spells that 
  summon beautiful, otherworldly beings.  If an dandy willingly summons a grotesque creature, they 
  permanently lose all spellcasting ability.
  Reaching 8th level: The Breviary of Decadence—by reading from the “poisonous book” a dandy may 
  cure the soul through the senses and cast Cure Moderate Wounds, Neutralize Poison, Cure Disease, or 
  Remove Curse; this arcane process destroys the “poisonous book,” so many dandies keep a number of 
  volumes of that text on hand, each bound in a different pleasing color.  Furthermore, a dandy who reads 
  from the “poisonous book” in this manner must make a successful saving throw or suffer from ennui; 
  ennui results in the dandy losing one point from each of their ability scores.
  5
  
  Spiritualist class
  Requirements: Wis 13  Prime Requisite: Wis  Hit Dice: 1d6 through 9th level, +2 per level thereafter
  Maximum Level: none  Experience Chart: Cleric  Attacks/Saves: Thief  
  Weapons allowed: daggers, darts, and pistols   Armor allowed: Leather or padded
  Spiritualists are haunted men and women who have an uncanny connection to the spirits of the dead.  The 
  spirits of the deceased are drawn to them like moths to a flame; spiritualists learn how to harness their 
  connection to the lands of the dead in a myriad of supernatural ways.
  Spiritualist Abilities
  Sometimes a Charlatan—a spiritualist has the pick pockets, hide in shadows, and move silently abilities 
  of a thief of the same level.
  Seance—a spiritualist can hold a séance to ask questions of a departed spirit.  This ability functions as the 
  Speak with Dead spell and can be used three times per day.
  Visions of Death—a spiritualist can flood the mind of their foes with visions of decay and mortality.  At 
  2nd  level, a spiritualist can use Scare twice per day.  At 5th level, a spiritualist can use Fear twice per day. 
  At 6th level a spiritualist can use Phantasmal Killer once per day.
  Otherwordly Assistance—a spiritualist has a variety of powers that come from their contact with the lands 
  of the dead.  Roll twice (or pick if your GM allows) on the Rank 1 Abilities table below and roll once (or 
  pick if your GM allows) on the Rank 2 Abilities table below.  Each ability is gained at the level listed in 
  its description.
  Rank 1 Abilities
  d10
  Ability
  1
  Empathic
  2
  Gallow's Ghost
  3
  Ghost in Your Head
  4
  Ghostly Enlightenment
  5
  Intuit Direction
  6
  Mind Trick
  7
  Nightmarish Projection
  8
  Psychic Enhancement
  9
  Spectral Warnings
  10
  Spiritual Healing
  6
  
  Rank 2 Abilities
  d20
  Ability
  1
  Astral Travel
  2
  Catatonic Endurance
  3
  Commandeer Body
  4-5
  Door Through the Afterlife
  6
  Ectoplasmic Wall
  7
  Ectoplasmic Wall, Greater
  8
  Entropic Projection
  9
  Firewalker
  10
  Hungry Ghosts
  11
  Judge's Perception
  12-13 Omit Presence
  14
  Past Life Regression
  15
  Phantasmal Sphere
  16
  Psychic Surgery
  17
  Spectral Hands
  18
  Spiritual Levitation
  19-20 Voices in Your Head
  Astral Travel
  Rank 2
  Level 9
  Effect: By freeing his spirit from the physical body, this ability allows the user to project an astral body 
  onto another plane altogether.  The user can bring the astral forms of five other willing creatures, provided 
  all subjects are linked in a circle at the time of the casting. These fellow travelers are  dependent upon the 
  spiritualist and must accompany him at all times. If something happens to the spiritualist during the 
  journey, his companions are stranded.
  The spiritualist projects his astral self onto the astral plane, leaving the physical body behind on the 
  material plane in a state of suspended animation. The ability projects an astral copy of the user, but only 
  items that exist in the astral plane may be taken along. Since the astral plane touches upon other planes, 
  the caster can travel astrally to any of these other planes. To enter one, the user leaves the astral plane, 
  forming a new physical body on the plane of existence entered.
  While on the astral plane, the astral body is connected at all times to the physical body by a silvery cord. 
  If the cord is broken, the traveler is killed, astrally and physically. Luckily, very few things can destroy a 
  silver cord. When a second body is formed on a different plane, the incorporeal silvery cord remains 
  invisibly attached to the new body. If the second body or the astral form is slain, the cord simply returns 
  to the body where it rests on the material plane, thereby reviving it from its state of suspended animation. 
  7
  
  Although astral projections are able to function on the astral plane, their actions affect only creatures 
  existing on the astral plane; a physical body must be materialized on other planes.
  The projection lasts until the spiritualist desires it to end, or until it is terminated by some outside means.
  Catatonic Endurance
  Rank 2
  Level 5
  Effect: Once per day you can sink into a catatonic state.  While in this catatonic state guardian spirits 
  hover about your form and protect your body from harm; these spirits absorb 2d6+1d6/per level of 
  damage until you choose to leave the catatonic state.
  Commandeer Body
  Rank 2
  Level 9
  Effect: You may leave your body and invade a host creature three times per day.  The victim of this ability 
  must be within 50'.  The victim of this ability gets a saving throw to prevent having their body 
  commandeered.  If the save is unsuccessful, the user of this ability has full control over the host body. 
  However, if the host body dies, the spiritualist using this body also dies.  While commandeering a body, 
  the spiritualist's body lies in a state of catatonia.  
  Door Through the Afterlife
  Rank 2
  Level 9
  Effect: Once per day you can open a door through the afterlife.  The door appears directly in front of you. 
  By stepping through the door you may appear in any location within 20 miles.  If this location is 
  unfamiliar to you (you have spent less than twenty-four hours there) there is a 25% of taking 10d6 points 
  of damage due to the depredations of malicious spirits who will take advantage of you stepping through 
  their otherworldly realm.
  Ectoplasmic Wall
  Rank 2
  Level 7
  Effect: By calling forth spirits you can construct a wall of ectoplasm that is 20' long and 20' tall.  This 
  wall can sustain 5d6 points of damage before collapsing.
  Ectoplasmic Wall, Greater
  Rank 2
  Level 9
  Effect: By calling forth spirits you can construct a wall of ectoplasm that is 20' long and 20' tall.  This 
  wall can sustain 8d6 points of damage before collapsing.
  Empathic
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: You can accurately gauge the emotional state of 1 creature per two levels within 90'.  
  8
  
  Entropic Projection
  Rank 2
  Level 11
  Effect: By concentrating all of your hate into a weapon, you can choose one enemy to mentally attack 
  once per day.  That enemy must make a successful saving throw or be ripped apart by malicious ghosts; if 
  your enemy is destroyed by this attack, the malicious spirits also attack you and leave you with one hit 
  point.
  Firewalker
  Rank 2
  Level 1
  Effect: By focusing your mental energies you grant yourself an uncanny ability to resist elemental 
  damage, such as the kind you would sustain by walking over hot coals.  Each day you use this ability you 
  gain 3 temporary hit points per level that only count toward elemental damage; when those temporary hit 
  points are depleted any additional elemental damage is taken from your usual hit point total.
  Gallow's Ghost
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: Your body is inhabited by the ghost of a cold-blooded murderer.  This spirit lends you its 
  destructive skill will weaponry; you gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls.  This bonus becomes +2 
  at 3rd level and +3 at 5th level.
  Ghost in Your Head
  Rank 1
  Level 3
  Effect: You can speak mind-to-mind with any creature within 30' even if you do not share a language in 
  common.
  Ghostly Enlightenment
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: Your mind is haunted by several erudite spirits that whispers bits of knowledge and insight directly 
  into your consciousness.  You gain a persistent +4 bonus to your wisdom score.
  Hungry Ghosts
  Rank 2
  Level 12
  Effect: You summon a host of hungry ghosts.  For the next three rounds every creature (including friends 
  and allies) within 30' of you takes 2d4 points of damage; you gain this damage as temporary hit points. 
  This ability is usable once per day.
  Intuit Direction
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: Ghosts of departed rangers, hunters, and trackers speak to you.  You always know which direction 
  is north, you never get lost when you have a map to consult, and you can always find places you have 
  already been to.
  9
  
  Judge's Perception
  Rank 2
  Level 7
  Effect: The spirit of a deceased judge whispers to your mind, letting you know if anyone is lying to you. 
  The spectral judge cannot be fooled by non-magical means.
  Mind Trick
  Rank 1
  Level 5
  Effect: Once per day you command spirits to create illusions on your behalf.  You can create a persistent, 
  active illusion within a 20' cube.  A passive illusion will disappear if touched by a creature. However, an 
  illusionary monster may be created to attack a foe.  Observers are allowed a saving throw versus spells to 
  see through any illusion produced with this spell. If the save fails, the illusion persists and any illusionary 
  monster will seem to inflict harm when it attacks an opponent.  Illusionary monsters have an effective 
  unarmored AC, and they vanish if a foe successfully strikes them. If a foe appears to lose all hit points, he 
  falls unconscious rather than dying.  Similarly, other special effects will not be real and no damage is ever 
  real. Note that the user is not allowed to take any action while concentrating on this ability.
  Nightmarish Projection
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: You summon devilish specters to assault the mind of your foe with horrific visions.  You can use 
  this ability once per day at 1st level; at 1st level the attack does 1d6 points of damage.  This ability can be 
  used twice per day at 3rd level, and does 2d6 points of damage.  It can be used three time per day at 5th 
  level, and does 3d6 points of damage.  The victim of this ability must be within 50'.
  Omit Presence
  Rank 2
  Level 5
  Effect: You reach into the minds of any sentient creatures who can see you and omit your presence from 
  their conscious perceptions.  For all intents and purposes you are invisible for one round per level.  This 
  ability is usable three times per day.
  Past Life Regression
  Rank 2
  Level 11
  Effect: By prying into an enemy's mind you can force their mental state to regress to a less-evolved and 
  less capable state.  Your foe must make a successful saving throw or suffer a -4 (or -20%) penalty to all of 
  their actions.
  Phantasmal Sphere
  Rank 2
  Level 10
  Effect: Once per week you can summon a silvery sphere of spectral evil that unerringly strikes an enemy. 
  That enemy must make a successful saving throw or be brought to one hit point and rendered 
  unconscious.
  10
  
  Psychic Enhancement
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: Through focusing your willpower you may double one of your ability scores for 1d6 rounds.  This 
  ability is usable once per day.
  Psychic Surgery
  Rank 2
  Level 5
  Effect: Once per week your spirit can leave your physical form and perform psychic surgery on your 
  damaged body.  This process restores your body to full hit points and takes 1d4 rounds to complete.
  Spectral Warnings
  Rank 1
  Level 1
  Effect: You receive warnings from friendly ghosts split seconds before calamities are about to befall you. 
  You get a +1 bonus to all saving throws; this bonus increases by +1 at levels 3, 6, and 9.
  Spectral Hands
  Rank 2
  Level 9
  Effect: You can direct ghostly presences to move your wisdom x10 in weight within 50' of you.  If you 
  direct these presences to move a creature, that creature gets a saving throw to resist being moved in this 
  manner.
  Spiritual Healing
  Rank 1
  Level 3
  Effect: Healing spirits swirl about you and help restore your damaged flesh.  Your natural healing rate is 
  4x normal.
  Spiritual Levitation
  Rank 2
  Level 5
  Effect: You can fly at a movement rate of 120' for 2d4 turns per day.
  Voices in Your Head
  Rank 2
  Level 1
  Effect: Your mind constantly is inhabited by a number of chattering spirits.  The benefit of this is that 
  sometimes those spirits shield your mind from harmful effects.  Anytime you are required to make a 
  saving throw vs. a mental effect, roll twice and take the best result.
  11
  
  New Monsters
  Animate Cigar Store Mascot
  While cigar store mascot are generally used to advertise the wares of tobacconists, they are sometimes 
  animated by the medicine men of the Scavenger Lands to exact revenge against those who insult or rob 
  their tribes.
  Move: 90' (30')  AC: 15  HD: 5  Attacks: 1 (AB +5)  Dam: by weapon (tomahawks, bows, and knives 
  are the most common weapons)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities:  Scalp-Taker – if an Animate Cigar Store Mascot rolls a natural 20 on its attack roll 
  while wielding a bladed weapon it automatically scalps its foe and kills him or her instantly.  Construct.
  Animate Fur Stole
  The penanggalan women of the courts of Harrowfaust often array themselves in sumptuous fur stoles. 
  Some of these stoles are actually undead monstrosities that animate to defend their owners should combat 
  erupt suddenly.
  Move: 90' (30')  AC: 12  HD: 2  Attacks: 3 (AB +2)  Dam: 1d4/1d4/1d4 (claw/claw/bite)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Undead.  
  Ba-Rumphian Wig
  The Ba-Rumph are a colonizing race from the Dreamlands that plans to take political control of Scarabae. 
  Their natural form is unknown, but when they enter the World Between they take the form of well-made 
  and stylish periwigs and perukes.  While in wig form, they have their minions present them to minor 
  members of the court as gifts.  
  When a Ba-Rumph is placed upon the head, the wearer must make a successful saving throw or be unable 
  to divest themselves of the creature.  They can take the wig off for extended periods of time (such as 
  when sleeping) but they will desire to put it back on as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
  Once worn, a person knows the nature of the Ba-Rumph precisely.  A failed saving throw also means that 
  the wearer cannot speak of the Ba-Rumph's true nature.  Furthermore, once it has made a connection with 
  its wearer the Ba-Rumph can speak directly to its wearer mind-to-mind.  The Ba-Rumph has no explicit 
  powers of influence, but it slowly wears away the wearer's will by offering the wearer what he most 
  desires.  Common promises made by the Ba-Rumph are a feeling of belonging to a greater cause, 
  opportunities to be monetarily rewarded for supporting the Ba-Rumph takeover, and offers of willing 
  nubiles who will fulfill the wearer's carnal fantasies.  In truth, the Ba-Rumph have no way of granting 
  these desires, but they will use these ruses to bring their wearer into line with what the Ba-Rumph wants 
  to present to the courtly world as consensus opinion.
  The Ba-Rumph target minor members of the court because they are subtle creatures.  They do not wish to 
  be seen exerting direct control; rather, they exercise their influence on a greater number of people who 
  can control the ebb and flow of politics by warping the appearance of the majority opinion.
  If forced into combat, a Ba-Rumphian Wig will sprout four tentacles that lash about wildly.  If the wig is 
  still worn, attacking it without harming the wearer will prove difficult and require cunning to accomplish. 
  Of course, if pressed a Ba-Rumph will not hesitate to call on its wearer to defend it.  Ba-Rumph rarely 
  deign to face conflict themselves, but are more than willing to sacrifice others for their own protection.
  12
  
  Move: 30' (10')  AC: 11  HD: 1/2  Attacks: 4 (AB +1)  Dam: 1d2 (lash)  Mor: 4
  Special Abilities: Mind Bonding – see above.  Telepathy.  90% Immunity to banishing magic.
  Bloody Mary
  Bloody Maries are undead women who died apostate, but are fueled by their shame to return to the land 
  of the living to plague members of their former religion.  Despite being undead, a Bloody Mary's animate 
  corpse does not rot or decompose; however, blood continually streams from their eyes and mouths. 
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 14  HD: 4  Attacks: 1 (AB +4)  Dam: 1d6 (necrotic touch)  Mor: 10
  Special Abilities: Touch of Divine Severance – anyone touched by a Bloody Mary cannot benefit from 
  divine healing for a full day.  Undead.
  Candyman
  A Candyman is a demonic entity from the World Below sent to spread fear amongst otherwise peaceful 
  communities.  Candymen frequently lure children to isolated locations to murder them; they then arrange 
  the scene of the crime to implicate an innocent man or woman in the murder to sow dissent, discord, and 
  paranoia among the people of a village or town.  A Candyman appears as a handsome—though scarred—
  man; their bodies are covered in a glossy sheen and they always smell sickly sweet.  In place of one of 
  their hands a Candyman has a vicious hook.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 15  HD: 8  Attacks: 1 (AB +8)  Dam: 1d6 (hook)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Candy is Dandy – a Candyman can pull an infinite amount of confections from its 
  pockets; anyone who eats this candy must make a successful saving throw or suffer the effects of Charm 
  Person.  Cloud of Bees – if a Candyman is wounded, its body begins to leak a cloud of angry bees. 
  Anyone within 10' of the Candyman takes 1d4 points of damage from stings per round and takes a -2 
  penalty to all attack rolls.  Demon.
  Den Mother
  When children in the Shae Isles are particularly naughty, sometimes their parents decided to abandon 
  them.  In their place comes a Den Mother; a fey creature who attempts to corrupt them to lives of 
  amorality and punishment.  Occasionally distant relatives will hire adventurers to rescue the children from 
  the clutches of a Den Mother.  Den Mothers are mishapen things with glass eyes and wooden tails.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 16  HD: 4  Attacks: 1 (AB +4)  Dam: 1d8 (tail thump)  Mor: 7
  Special Abilities: Illusory Power – A Den Mother casts spells as a 4th level illusionist.  Fey.
  13
  
  Disease Spirit
  Disease Spirits are spectral beings called into being by the dreadful sacrifice of innocents to Sluurge, 
  Demon Lord of Plagues and Contagion.  They appear much as they did in life, but their ectoplasmic forms 
  show the degradation of disease.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 11  HD: 1-4  Attacks: 1 (AB +1-+4)  Dam: 1d6 (spectral touch)  Mor: 9
  Special Abilities: Contagious Touch – anyone reduced to 0 Hit Points by a Disease Spirit immediately 
  falls unconscious for a full day; upon awakening they are completely healed of all damage, but they now 
  suffer from a disease that causes them to lose 1 point from an ability score (depending on the kind of 
  disease spirit, see below) per day.  When the targeted ability score reaches 0 the victim dies and may 
  become a Disease Spirit themselves.  The only way to cure this disease is to be the recipient of both Cure 
  Disease and Remove Curse spells.  Ectoplasmic – a Disease Spirit only takes half damage from physical 
  attacks.  Hard to Banish – if reduced to 0 hit points, a Disease Spirit is dissipated for 1d4 days, after 
  which it reforms; the only way to permanently destroy a Disease Spirit is to pulverize the bones of its 
  former body.  Undead.  
  Disease Spirit Type
  Ability Score Targeted
  Spirit of Wasting
  Strength
  Spirit of Palsy
  Dexterity
  Spirit of Consumption
  Constitution
  Spirit of Dementia
  Intelligence
  Spirit of Addle-pate 
  Wisdom
  Spirit of Pox
  Charisma
  Dough Golem
  Dough Golems are magical constructs baked to perfection by the chef-magicians of Caligari.  They are 
  roughly-shaped into a doughy approximation of mankind's form, although they are only roughly three-to-
  four feet in height.
  Move: 60' (20')  AC: 12  HD: 2  Attacks: 2 (AB +2)  Dam: 1d4 (fist)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Doughy – if a Dough Golem hits a character they must make a saving throw or be 
  enveloped by its doughy body; thereafter, they take 1d4 points of damage from suffocation.  Crusty – any 
  fire attack that hits a Dough Golem makes its exterior harder; each hit from a fire attack improves its 
  armor class by one point.  Construct.
  14
  
  Excess Spirit
  Excess Spirits are spectral beings called into being by the dreadful sacrifice of innocents to Slithian Vor, 
  Demon Queen of Pleasure and Decadence.  They appear much as they did in life, but their ectoplasmic 
  forms show bodies contorted by an overflow of affect.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 11  HD: 1-4  Attacks: 1 (AB +1-+4)  Dam: 1d6 (spectral touch)  Mor: 9
  Special Abilities: Obsessing Touch – anyone reduced to 0 Hit Points by an Excess Spirit immediately 
  falls unconscious for a full day; upon awakening they are completely healed of all damage, but they now 
  suffer from an affliction that has the effects detailed in the chart below.  The only way to cure this 
  affliction is to be the recipient of both Cure Disease and Remove Curse spells.  Ectoplasmic – an Excess 
  Spirit only takes half damage from physical attacks.  Hard to Banish – if reduced to 0 hit points, an 
  Excess Spirit is dissipated for 1d4 days, after which it reforms; the only way to permanently destroy an 
  Excess Spirit is to pulverize the bones of its former body.  Undead.  
  Excess Spirit Type
  Effect
  Spirit of Ennui
  As a permanent Slow effect
  Spirit of Passion
  The victim will fall madly in love with (and be highly suggestible) to anyone 
  they meet who has a Charisma of 14 or higher
  Spirit of Agony
  Upon waking the victim takes 1d4 points of damage and is in constant pain
  Spirit of Ecstasy
  The victim's armor class becomes worse by 4 points
  Spirit of Madness
  The victim acquires a random madness
  Hand-Maiden
  A Hand-Maiden is a perverse creature created by the sorcerers who serve Zzorch.  The upper body of a 
  Hand-Maiden is as that of a comely, though wild-eyed, young woman; the lower body of a Hand-Maiden 
  is an enormous humanoid hand.  Hand-Maidens are also sometimes known as Lady-Fingers.
  Move: 180' (60')  AC: 12  HD: 3  Attacks: 1 (AB +3)  Dam: 2d8 (trample)  Mor: 7
  Special Abilities: Rampage – anyone trampled by a Hand-Maiden must make a successful saving throw 
  or be knocked prone.
  Origami Golem
  Origami Golems are constructs made of intricately-folded paper by the wu jens of the Island of Jade 
  Mysteries.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 11  HD: 1-1  Attacks: 1 (AB +1)  Dam: 1d4 (vicious paper-cut)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: You're Going to Need a Bandage – anyone who receives a paper-cut from an Origami 
  Golem takes an additional 1d4 points of damage the following round as the cut continues to bleed. 
  Flammable – Origami Golems take double damage from fire attacks.  Immune to Magic.  Construct.
  15
  
  Masked Murderer
  A Masked Murderer is a normal human being who has become horribly warped after donning one of the 
  cursed masks crafted by Garleth Vohm, a notorious dark priest of Hakhan.  Anyone who wears one of 
  these enchanted masks is transmogrified into a hulking brute and the blank-faced mask becomes 
  irrevocably melded to their head.  They become a mindless killing machine devoted only to slaughter.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 13  HD: 7  Attacks: 1 (AB +7)  Dam: by weapon (sword, axes, and bludgeons are 
  favored)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Relentless – when reduced to 0 hit points, a Masked Murderer is inert for 13 turns; if 
  their body has been destroyed, it regenerates and reforms during this period.  A Masked Murderer can 
  only be killed permanently if Remove Curse has been cast on them and then they are reduced to 0 hit 
  points.  Murder-minded – a Masked Murderer gets a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. mind effecting 
  magic and is immune to fear.
  Slovenly Wanderer
  The Slovenly Wanderer is a singular fey creature driven to seek the company of men even though it finds 
  mankind to be a contemptuous and repugnant race.  The Wanderer appears as an unkempt vagabond: 
  bloated to near corpulence, shaggy haired and crazy-bearded, yet with piercing eyes that betray an 
  enormously inflated sense of self-importance.  (Somewhere on his body is a tell-tale witch's teat.)
  The Wanderer's usual modus operandi is to join with a group of human travelers, such as religious 
  pilgrims or a pioneering expedition.  As the trek progresses, each day the Slovenly Wanderer grows more 
  and more agitated by his company.  He will loudly pick out faults, openly criticize members of the group, 
  and engage in long soliloquy about the failings of man (with hints of his own assumed superiority).  The 
  bile involved in such will increase each day that the Wanderer travels with his companions.
  The Slovenly Wanderer will also help himself to whatever goods the travelers have brought with them. 
  He will eat more than his share of rations, he will assume that he has a right to a portion of any coins or 
  treasure the expedition is transporting, etc.  He will, however, do no work in return for what he takes. 
  Even if given the simplest of tasks, he will shirk his duties.  He simply assumes that because he is 
  superior to his traveling companions that they owe him for his mere presence on the trip.
  Eventually the Slovenly Wanderer's disgust at being reduced to traveling with mere men will boil over 
  into a murderous rage.  On night, usually under a full moon, he will arise and attack his companions with 
  intent to kill.  He will leave their mangled corpses on the wayside, seek out a new caravan to join, and 
  begin the process all over again.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 15  HD: 4  Attacks: 2 (AB +4)  Dam: 1d6 (cleavers)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Hatred – the Slovenly Wanderer gets +2 to hit and damage against humans. 
  Argumentative Magic – the Slovenly Wanderer can cast hold person on anyone he has had a heated 
  argument with.  Rage Fueled Fury – against anyone who has questioned the Wanderer's motives he rolls 
  two damage dice and takes the highest result.  Fey Immunities.
  16
  
  Tombstone Golem
  A Tombstone Golem is an mindless, animated construct made from tombstones and grave markers that 
  have been fused together with powerful necromantic magic.  Some of the gravestones that make up the 
  creature's body are inscribed with names and dates (representing the people the Tombstone Golem has 
  already killed), while other markers remain blank and in wait for the golem's next victims.  When a 
  Tombstone Golem kills someone, their name is magically inscribed upon one of its stones.  When all of a 
  Tombstone Golem's markers are inscribed with names, it ceases to function.
  Move: 60' (20')  AC: 16  HD: 7  Attacks: 1 (AB +7)  Dam: 2d8 (stone fist)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Immune to Magic (except Exorcise spells act as Hold Person spells when cast on a 
  Tombstone Golem and Bless spells cast upon them act as Slow spells).  Construct.
  Undead Schoolmarm
  There are those who, in life, lead lives so devoid of pleasure that the only enjoyment they find is in 
  scolding and rebuking others for failing to live up to a imagined (though deeply-believed) system of 
  ethics or morality.  These people might be actual spinster schoolmarms, but they might as easily be 
  anhedonic prelates, finger-wagging censors, or even jaded sybarites who can now only find joy in judging 
  the actions of others.
  When such an individual dies there is a fleeting chance that they will return as an undead creature bent on 
  continuing to admonish and chide the living.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 14  HD: 2  Attacks: 2 (AB +2)  Dam: 1d4 (shaking fists)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Castigate – an Undead Schoolmarm can verbally reprimand one living being per round. 
  The victim of this attack must make a successful saving throw.  If failed, a lawful character takes the 
  criticism to heart and suffers a -2 penalty on all actions until the Schoolmarm is defeated; a neutral 
  character finds themselves suffering from the effects of a slow spell as they attempt to follow the 
  Schoolmarm's emotional lecturing; a chaotic character loses their next action from laughing at the 
  Schoolmarm's silly reproach.  Undead.
  Vengeful Undead Pedestrian
  Sometimes when a pedestrian is struck down by a conveyance of some sort (such as a horse, wagon, or 
  coach) they swear to take revenge with their last dying breath and are transformed into Vengeful Undead 
  Pedestrians.  Vengeful Undead Pedestrians tend to be horribly mutilated by the accidents and walk with a 
  broken gait.  They seek to find the person who struck them down and drive them mad unto death.
  Move: 90' (30')  AC: 11  HD: 3  Attacks: 1 (AB +3)  Dam: none (grapple)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Blood-dripping Madness – if a Vengeful Undead Pedestrian hits a foe, it causes no 
  damage but has instead latched onto that person with its death-like grip.  On each proceeding round it 
  drips blood and gore onto its victim; this causes the victim to lose 1d4 points of Wisdom.  If such a 
  victim's Wisdom reaches 0 they are compelled to commandeer the nearest conveyance and drive it to their 
  doom.  (For example, a victim driven to madness by this attack might mount a horse and ride it off a cliff 
  or take a coach head-long into an ancient tree, etc.)  Unerring Tracker – a Vengeful Undead Pedestrian 
  always knows in which direction to find its killer.  Undead.
  17
  
  Vitriolic Scum
  A Vitriolic Scum is a water-dwelling, circular “pool” of black, burbling malignancy that float on the 
  surface of lakes and rivers.  A Vitriolic Scum attacks by generating slimy pseudopods to burn and digest 
  any fleshy thing it comes into contact with.  In rare instances a Vitriolic Scum may rear up and surge 
  forward to engulf a creature that mistakenly thinks it is safe on the shore.
  Move: Water: 180' (60')  AC: 11  HD: 12  Attacks: 1 (AB +12)  Dam: 3d6 (acidic touch)  Mor: 12
  Special Abilities: Acidic – if a character is struck by a Vitriolic Scum's acidic touch he or she continues to 
  take 1d6 points of damage per round as the acid eats through their skin.  If the character is wearing armor, 
  each +1 to AC that it grants gives one round of reprieve from this burning.  If a character strips off their 
  armor, the acid will continue to destroy their discarded protective gear but will leave them unscathed. 
  Vulnerable to Cold – a Vitriolic Scum takes double damage from all cold effects and must make a 
  successful saving throw or suffer from the effects of a Slow spell if hit with magical cold.
  18
  
  Beings of the Dreamlands
  Fornakarn
  Fornakarn has a massive crocodile-like body with a head not unlike that of a hooded cobra; it always 
  smells strongly of alcohol.
  Move: 180' (60')  AC: 17  HD: 7  Attacks: 1 (AB +7)  Dam: 2d8 (bite)  Mor: 11
  Special Abilities: Diseased Bite – anyone bit by Fornakarn must make a saving throw or be afflicted with 
  a random disease.
  Grimosh
  Grimosh appears as a satyr who has been skinned, leaving only the bloody musculature beneath on 
  display; furthermore, six writhing tentacles the end in barbed stingers sprout from its body.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 14  HD: 5  Attacks: 6 (AB +6)  Dam: 1d4 x3 (tentacle)  Mor: 8
  Special Abilities: Sedative – anyone hit by one of Grimosh's stinger must make a saving throw vs. poison 
  or suffer the effects of a Slow spell.
  Kaer Kur
  Kaer Kur appears as a man covered in wounds who has unholy symbols etched into his flesh; the corners 
  of his mouth permanently sad into an exaggerated frown.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 13  HD: 8 Attacks: 2 (AB +8)  Dam: 1d4/1d4 (fists)  Mor: 10
  Special Abilities: Projectile Vomit – Kaer Kur can spew flaming vomit in a 30' line; anyone within that 
  line takes 6d6 points of damage.  A successful saving throw results in half damage.
  Lamak
  Lamak appears as a hermaphroditic humanoid whose eyes and tongue have been torn from its head; thick 
  brown slime oozes from its gaping mouth cavity.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 13  HD: 4  Attacks: 1 (AB +4)  Dam: by weapon  Mor: 8
  Special Abilities: Dreamlands Magic – Lamak may cast Polymorph Other three times per day. 
  Marisette
  Marisette looks like a human woman clothed in the habit of a nun, but her lower jaw is missing and a 
  black arm protrudes from her mouth.  She smells strongly of exotic perfumes and incense.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 14  HD: 5  Attacks: 1 (AB +5)  Dam: 1d10 (mouth-arm)  Mor: 11
  Special Abilities: Breath Stealer – anyone struck by Marisette finds their chest constricting as they fight 
  for breath; on each subsequent round they automatically take 1d4 points of damage from suffocation until 
  Marisette is killed, banished, or chooses to end the effect.
  19
  
  Memgar Ligar
  Memgar Ligar wears the mask of a plague doctor and is robed in dripping skins of human flesh.  When he 
  is not speaking, Memgar Ligar hums what sounds like a lullaby.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 15  HD: 9  Attacks: 1 (AB +9)  Dam: 1d6 (syringe)  Mor: 9
  Special Abilities: Soporific – anyone struck by Memgar Ligar's syringe must make a successful saving 
  throw vs. spells or suffer the effects of a Sleep spell.
  Rethnuk 
  Rethnuk has the torso of a pink-skinned and hairless four-armed man and the lower body of a blood-red, 
  undulating grub.
  Move: 60' (20')  AC: 18  HD: 7  Attacks: 1 (AB +7)  Dam: 2d6 (bite)  Mor: 10
  Special Abilities: Vulnerable to Bright Light – Rethnuk suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls when exposed 
  to bright light.  Dreamland Magic – Rethnuk can cast both Animate Dead and Charm Person as a 10th 
  level magic-user three per day.
  Rezalian 
  Rezalian is an unholy hybrid of spider-creature and young girl; she is always clothed in a rosy pink dress. 
  Rezalian is accompanied by the smell of burning wood.
  Move: 120' (40')  AC: 14  HD: 10  Attacks: 3 (AB +10)  Dam: 1d4/1d4/1d8 (claw/claw/bite)  Mor: 10
  Special Abilities: Poisonous Bite – anyone bitten by Rezalian must make a successful saving throw vs. 
  poison or die.  Dreamland Magic – Rezalian can cast Phantasmal Force three times per day and 
  Phantasmal Killer once per day.
  Terelath
  Terelath has the form of a towering ape covered in thick fur whose head is that of a hammerhead shark.
  Move: 120' (60')  AC: 16  HD: 8  Attacks: 3 (AB +8)  Dam: 1d8/1d8/1d12 (claw/claw/bite)  Mor: 9
  Special Abilities: Swallow Whole – characters hit by Terelath's bite attack must make a successful saving 
  throw vs. death or be swallowed whole and instantly digested.
  20
  
  Variant Monsters
  Bell Tower Goblin
  Bell Tower Goblins resemble their kin, except they have a fleshy membrane that stretches from their 
  wrists to their waists.  This membrane allows them to glide down from towers at a movement rate of 120' 
  (40') and gain a surprise attack against foes who do not expect an aerial assault.
  Blood Beast of Hakhan
  Blood Beasts of Hakhan are demonic servitors who appear as wounded, bleeding minotaurs.  Stats as a 
  minotaur, but they gain back hit points equal to half the amount of damage they cause in combat.
  Bog Mummy
  Bog Mummies are the undead remains of people who were sacrificed in sacred bogs.  Stats as per a 
  Mummy, but they do not cause mummy's rot.
  Crematory Whirlwind 
  Crematory Whirlwinds are the animate remains of mortals who have been cremated according to the 
  demonic rites of Morgath.  They are violently whirling masses of ash and bone.  Stats as an Air 
  Elemental; a successful hit from a Crematory Whirlwind has a 50% of knocking its victim down.
  Crucified Cadaver
  A Crucified Cadaver is a reanimated being who was crucified as a punishment.  Stats as a Ghoul, but 
  anyone paralyzed by one stands with arms outstretched as if they had been crucified themselves.  While 
  “crucified,” a character takes an additional point of damage per round.
  Deadtree Dryad
  An undead dryad, rotting and skeletal of aspect.  Stats as a Dryad, but with undead immunities.
  Deadtree Treant
  An undead treant, skeletal and mocking of aspect.  Stats as a Treant, but with undead immunities.
  Detonating Skeleton
  A Detonating Skeleton is a animate skeleton infused with an unstable alchemical preparation by goblin 
  necromancers.  Stats as per a Skeleton, but when it reaches 0 hit points it explodes in a 30' blast of bone 
  shards for 1d6 points of damage.
  Distressed One
  The ghosts of those that died in the extremes of depression.  Stats as ghost, but they radiate an aura of 
  misery that imparts a -2 to all attack rolls and saving throws within 50'.
  Entropic Wraith
  An Entropic Wraith is a manifestation of utter annihilation.  Stats as a Wraith, but instead of draining 
  levels the touch of an Entropic Wraith causes disintegration on an unsuccessful saving throw.
  21
  
  Foul One
  Foul Ones are putrescent undead ogres who have been raised from the grave to serve the cult of Sluurge. 
  Stats are per an Ogre, but undead.  Also, the gaze of a Foul One has the effect of a Confusion spell and 
  they can summon 1d4 giant rats once per day.
  Fossilized Skeleton
  Animate fossil remains of humanoid creatures.  Stats as a Skeleton, but with an Armor Class equivalent to 
  plate armor.
  Frogman
  Frogmen are froglike humanoids.  They are brutal and revel in wanton destruction.  They frequently 
  worship Mother Lothack.  Stats as a Giant Poisonous Frog, but can use weapons.
  Ghoul's Claw
  A Ghoul's Claw is a severed hand of a ghoul that has been given independent life.  Stats as a kobold, but 
  possesses a ghoul's paralyzing ability.
  Graveyard Golem
  A stone golem made of headstones and other memorial markers.  Stats as a Stone Golem, but also causes 
  Fear.
  Hakhanite Knight
  Empowered champions of Hakhan whose black armor has fused with their brutish bodies.  Stats as a 9th 
  level paladin, but all positive abilities work in reverse.  They can also use Cone of Cold twice per day.
  Headless Horseman
  Headless Horsemen are undead creatures that are controlled by whoever possesses their skull.  Stats as 
  per a Wight wearing plate armor.  If the Headless Horseman wears a lit jack o' lantern as a replacement 
  head it may be thrown as a double-strength vial of flaming oil.
  Kappa
  Kappa are fey turtle men who guard bridges over rivers and demand tribute from anyone who wants to 
  cross.  They can be bribed with cucumbers.  Stats as a goblin, but a kappa has an indentation in its head 
  that must hold water from its river; a natural attack roll of 20 upsets the water from the kappa's head, 
  killing it instantly.
  Insectman
  Insect-like humanoid beings.  Stats as per any kind of giant insect.
  Mad Ghost
  The ghost of a person who died particularly and extremely insane.  Stats as a Ghost, but anyone who casts 
  a spell in its vicinity must make a saving throw to have the spell function normally.
  Magma Head
  Magma Heads are giant stone heads that float above the earth.  They are charged with guarding sacred 
  volcanoes.  Stats as Red Dragons, but they have no other attacks save fire breath (molten hot magnma) 
  and any spells.
  22
  
  Mutilated Mass
  A chaotic mass of mutilated and severed limbs.  Stats as a Gray Ooze, but undead.
  Necrobot
  A Necrobot is an automaton fashioned from mechanical parts and the undead remains of a giant insect by 
  the death-priests of Mord-Stavian.  Stats as any kind of giant insect, but with undead and construct 
  immunities.
  Octoman
  A octopus-like humanoid creature.  They desire solitude, but can be bargained with if presented food that 
  they covet.  Stats as a Giant Octopus.
  Plague Zombie
  Plague Zombies appear as particularly diseased specimens of undead.  Stats as a Zombie, but anyone 
  killed by one becomes a Plague Zombie within 1d4 rounds.
  Ratman
  A ratlike humanoid being prone to trickery and cowardice.  They often worship Sluurge.  Stats as a Giant 
  Rat, but can use weapons.
  Ravenman
  Ravenmen are birdlike humanoids who tend to wear monkish robes and voluminous cloaks.  They hail 
  from the Island of Jade Mysteries.  Stats as a Harpy.
  River Wretch
  A River Wretch is an undead woman who has drowned herself due to being spurned as a lover.  These fell 
  beings often gather in groups to use their Charm Person ability to find a “faithful” mate that will serve 
  them all.  Stats as a Nixie.
  Sentient Molasses Flood
  A deluge of hot, sticky molasses that has attained uncanny intelligence.  Stats as a Black Pudding.
  Silent One
  Silent Ones are the undead remnants of a knightly order that were debased by the cult of Zzorch.  They 
  appear as rotting men clad in ancient, tarnished armor.  Stats as a Wight, but they are surrounded by an 
  aura that works as a 60' area of Silence.
  Snakeman
  Snakelike humanoid beings.  They are inhuman and cruel; many are magic-users or clerics.  Stats as per 
  any kind of Giant Snake, but with arms to wield weapons.
  Tubercular Shadow
  The undead specters of those who died with a cursed sanitarium of a horrific magical disease.  Stats as a 
  Shadow, but instead of draining levels their touch causes disease.
  23
  
  Vargouille Butler
  A Vargouille Butler is a grotesque head that flies by means of bat-like wings.  From their necks hang a 
  mass of writhing tentacles and their teeth are razor-sharp.  They are brought to the World Between to 
  serve the penanggalan of Harrowfaust.  Stats as per a Giant Hawk, but undead and naturally healing will 
  not avail the wounds they cause.
  Vicar of the Deep
  A Vicar of the Deep is a priest of Mother Lothack who has been rewarded for their service by being 
  transformed into a creature that looks like a large manta ray with the claws of a scorpion.  Stats as a Giant 
  Scorpion, but they can cast spells as a 4th level cleric.
  Wormtongue Phantom
  Wormtongue Phantoms are the ghostly remnants of royal councilors who held too much sway over their 
  sovereign masters.  In undeath they seek to retain their status as the power behind the throne.  Stats as a 
  Specter, but a Wormtongue Phantom's statements have the power of a Suggestion spell.  Once per day 
  they may use either Charm Person or Charm Monster.
  24
  
  Random Automaton Generator
  d12
  Form
  Armor Class
  Hit Dice
  Mode of Locomotion (1d3 modes)
  1
  Arachnid
  15 (4)
  1d4
  Aquatic
  2
  Bird-like
  15 (4)
  1d4
  Burrowing
  3
  Dinosaur-like
  15 (4)
  1d6
  Far-leaping
  4
  Humanoid
  16 (3)
  1d6
  Fast-climbing
  5
  Humanoid
  16 (3)
  1d6
  Flight
  6
  Humanoid
  16 (3)
  1d6
  Gliding
  7
  Humanoid
  16 (3)
  1d8
  Legs
  8
  Humanoid
  17 (2)
  1d8
  Legs
  9
  Insecte-like
  17 (2)
  1d10
  Levitation
  10
  Lizard-like
  17 (2)
  1d10
  Slithering
  11
  Mammalian
  17 (2)
  1d12
  Tank treads
  12
  Serpentine
  18 (1)
  1d12
  Wheels
  d12
  Movement
  # Attacks
  Attacks
  Defense
  1
  60'
  1
  Big metal fist (1d6)
  Chromatic field (Prismatic Sphere)
  2
  60'
  1
  Chainsword (1d8)
  Cloaking device (Invisibility)
  3
  60'
  1
  Death ray (Finger of Death)
  Electric field (1d6 damage if stuck)
  4
  90'
  1
  Electric stun (Hold Person)
  Energy absorption (immune to 
  elemental damage)
  5
  90'
  1
  Electro-blade (1d12)
  Force field (+1 Armor Class)
  6
  90'
  2
  Laser blast (1d10)
  Force field (+2 Armor Class)
  7
  90'
  2
  Metal teeth (1d6)
  Force field (+3 Armor Class)
  8
  120'
  2
  Metal whip (1d4 + entangle)
  Heat-sensing vision
  9
  120'
  2
  Poisonous gas
  Nanobots (regenerate 2 HP/round)
  10
  120'
  3
  Rending claws (1d6)
  Repulsor beam (Clenched Fist)
  11
  180'
  3
  Venomous injection
  Smoke screen (Fog Cloud)
  12
  180'
  4
  Vibro-axe (1d8)
  Tractor beam (Telekinesis)
  25
  
  Magical Murder Weapons of the World Between
  Not all magical weapons are born of an enchanted forge; some acquire their supernatural powers 
  through association with notorious deeds.  
  Two items of this latter type are the silver straight razor wielded by the infamous murderer 
  Morgan Plumm and the hefty cleaver used by his accomplice Mrs. Thorne.  The Devil Doctor of 
  Blackcross Street, as Plumm was dubbed by folklore after his assassinations came to light, made 
  a ghoulish habit of killing his clients and turning over the corpses to Mrs. Thorne, who disposed 
  of the bodies by turning them into meat pies that she would sell to unwitting cannibals who 
  frequented her shop.
  Morgan Plumm's Thirsty Razor – the Thirsty Razor is a +2 weapon that inflicts 1d4 points of 
  damage on a successful attack.  Additionally, wounds received from this straight razor bleed 
  profusely; anyone struck by it takes an additional point of damage per round until action is taken 
  to staunch the wound.  Anyone of lawful alignment that attempts to shave themselves with this 
  razor must make a successful saving throw or cut themselves for 1d2 points of damage.
  Mrs. Thorne's Hungry Cleaver – the Hungry Cleaver is a +1 weapon that inflicts 1d4 points of 
  damage on a successful attack.  Additionally, anyone wounded by this meat cleaver is cursed 
  with an insatiable hunger that causes them to lose one hit point per day until steps are taken to 
  remove the curse.  A character cursed in this way will eat all food available to them, but it will 
  not avail the pangs of hunger pain that assail them.  If a cursed character commits an act of 
  cannibalism (and their dreams will now be rife with the suggestion of such) it will temporarily 
  abate the hit point loss and pain of starvation.
  Two further weapons that have been imbued with the spectral power of the crimes associated 
  with them are the knife that belonged to the infamous highwayman and assassin Hart MacFitz 
  and the pistol used in the many killings perpetrated by the flamboyant madwomen Roxana Lee. 
  MacFitz was a bandit who haunted the forests of Caligari; he was known to kill his victims to 
  avoid identification.  Lee was an adventuress full of braggadocio and a mean streak that was 
  much feared by even the lowest criminal element of the Islands of Unparallelled Liberty; she 
  shot many a man, woman, and child dead in the heat of her tremendous anger.
  MacFitz's Knife – the Knife is a +1 weapon that inflicts 1d4 points of damage on a successful 
  attack.  Additionally, if this highwayman's knife is used to backstab a victim the victim does not 
  notice that they've been wounded—even though they take damage normally.  Someone else can, 
  of course, point out that the victim has been wounded; they will simply not notice the wound or 
  feel pain from it.
  Roxana Lee's Bloodthirsty Revolver – the Bloodthirsty Revolver is a +2 weapon that inflicts 1d10 
  points of damage on a successful attack.  Additionally, when the revolver is close at hand it allows its 
  owner to make an attack before normal initiative is rolled because the gun has absorbed the power of 
  Lee's temper and is now eager to engage in bloodshed.
  26
  
  Items of Sacred Power
  The Head of Pope Alexi II
  Alexi II was a pope of the Eastern Tradition famous for personally leading a crusade against a cult known 
  as the Brothers of the Blazing Wind.  The Brothers of the Blazing Wind follow an upstart faith that 
  preached that it was their destiny to sweep across lands of the Lady's faithful and burn everything in their 
  path.  Alexi II's response was to rally the kingdoms of the Grand Continent to launch a preemptive strike 
  against the tribal holdings that adhered to this threatening faith.  The Brothers of the Blazing Wind were 
  successfully scattered to the deep desert, but this victory came at a cost—Alexi II fell in battle and was 
  beheaded by the infidel.
  Many years later, the served head of Alexi II was found for sale in a bazaar in the Martyrlands.  His head 
  had been preserved in a glass jar of spirits.  Nevertheless, even death could not rob Alexi II of his great 
  faith.  Once per day the head may be beseeched for aid by a pious follower of the Church of the White 
  Way.  When addressed thusly, the head will awaken and begin to intone a song sacred to the Lady of the 
  White Way.  To date, the head has been known to grant the following benefices: 
  The Crusader's Chant – all allies within hearing range of this chant gain a +1 bonus to attack for seven 
  rounds.  Additionally, all allies who can hear the chant are immune to fear effects during that time.
  The Benediction of Mercy – all allies within hearing range of this chant are healed of 2d4 hit points worth 
  of damage.
  The Malediction Against Infidels – all allies within hearing range of this chant gain a +1 bonus to damage 
  rolls for seven rounds.  Additionally, all allies who can hear the chant gain a +2 morale bonus when 
  fighting religious fanatics who follow a religion other than the Church of the White Way.
  Saint Margueritte's Cross
  Saint Margueritte's Cross was a weapon carried into battle against the Mircea the Foul, a vampire lord of 
  the Northlands who viciously preyed upon the people of his domain.  The Cross is a heavy, ornate, and 
  sharply-spiked weapon.  It can be used as a bludgeon equal to a +1 mace, or it may be thrown as a hand 
  axe +1.  However, the Cross also unerringly returns to the hand of the thrower and it inflicts double 
  damage upon undead creatures.
  27
  
  Mercenary Companies of the World Between
  The Komodo Tribe – the Komodo Tribe is a mercenary company comprised of associated barbarian 
  families from the Scavenger Lands.  Much feared for their ferocity and much valued because of their 
  loyalty (when paid well), the Komodo march into battle wearing helms shaped like the heads of komodo 
  dragons and their shields emblazoned with a lizard rampant.  The Komodo Tribe is particularly well-
  known as skirmishes, guerrilla fighters, and as cavalry.  Armed with khopeshes and javelins, the Komodo 
  break both enemy lines and enemy morale.  They are currently engaged on behalf of a petty prince of the 
  Iron Principalities.
  The Mourning Widows – the Mourning Widows, or Mourners as they are more commonly called, are a 
  mercenary group entirely comprised of warrior-women who have lost their husbands in war.  The 
  Mourners were originally founded by women who planned to die in battle to join their menfolk in the 
  World Above, but their success in battle quickly turned their sisterhood into a sought-after sellsword 
  force.  Based out of Scarabae, the women of the Mourners tend to wield short swords, kukris, and 
  naginatas.  (The company was trained in the art of naginata by a widowed woman from the Island of Jade 
  Mysteries who joined their ranks.)  They are renowned for their skill in skirmish warfare and as an able 
  assassination squad; they are a recognizable threat on the battlefield due to their black garb and mourning 
  veils.
  The Bowmen of Reaper's Glade – the Bowmen of Reaper's Glade are a famed group of archers from the 
  Shae Isles.  Of all the mercenary companies in the World Between, they are the most feared; their rain of 
  arrows has mowed down many an opposing army.  The Bowmen take to the field of battle arrayed in 
  tartan sashes and kilts to the strains of kettle drums, bagpipes, and violins.  The Bowman are also 
  supported by a number of war-wizards who use their occult abilities to multiply the archers' arrows as 
  they sail through the air, cause their missiles to turn into incendiary explosives, or cause their foes to be 
  enveloped in rain and fog.
  The Hungry Ones – the Hungry Ones are a mercenary company of bear pelt-clad warriors from 
  Frostreave.  They attack as a wild horde and are especially adept at causing otherwise disciplined 
  formations of soldiers to break and flee.  Many rumors follow the Hungry Ones wherever they go; some 
  say that the men and women of the Hungry Ones can are all werebears who alter their forms in the midst 
  of combat, others claim that they are cannibals who are paid in the flesh of any they fell on the battlefield, 
  and others still contend that they sold their souls to a Demon Lord in return for success in battle.  Of 
  course, the Hungry Ones cultivate all these rumors—and more—to add to their fearsome reputation.
  The Deathridge Gunners – the Deathridge Gunners are a company of mercenary riflemen from Caligari. 
  The are deadly marksmen both on foot and a harassing force on horseback.  They are recognizable by the 
  colorful plumes they were in their hats; while they are fierce riflemen, they refuse to engage in melee 
  combat unless they must fight their way out of a situation that has gone wrong.  They are currently 
  engaged on behalf of Sharla Grongatt, a penanggalan elector-countess of Harrowfaust.
  The Knight Deplorable – the Knights Deplorable are not knights in the proper sense; in fact, they are little 
  more than well-armored butchers who observe no rules of just engagement with their foes.  They are 
  known to use every dirty, unsporting trick in the book and seem to take a perverse delight in wanton 
  bloodshed.  The Knight Deplorable have such a foul reputation that many fear to face them in battle and 
  only the most desperate lord or lady will employ their rapacious services.
  28
  
  Two Trees
  Avernal Tree - it's not really a tree per se, but an earthly manifestation of the Avernal Tree--the reverse 
  image of the World Tree that extends backwards through the mythic underworld.  Those who hold the 
  right sigils can step into the tree and Charon will take them to the sigil's specified Hell.
  Vengeful Tree of Woe - the blood spilled into the tree after centuries of using it as a "tree of woe" have 
  granted it a malign sentience and a hatred of mankind's cruelty.  It will attack anyone that comes near it, 
  which is why that section of the cemetery is abandoned.  However, it is rumored that a forlorn poet buried 
  his last book of verse with his departed wife...now a disreputable publisher wants to pay you to go dig it 
  up.  (See Elizabeth Siddal/Dante Gabriel Rossetti.) 
  Cold Strorage
  Cold Storage In the middle of this circular room is a deep well.  At the bottom of the well is an ice demon 
  bound with the Chain of Deplorable Fixity.  The enchanted chain renders the ice demon powerless to 
  leave the bottom of the well.  However, the ice demon still emanates a chilling aura that helps keep any 
  perishables in the chamber preserved.
  The ice demon is, of course, furious at his imprisonment.  He will promise much if he can broker his 
  release.
  The chamber is lined with shelves along the walls that hold various anatomical specimens used by a mad 
  wizard who experiments with flesh golem creation.  A number of meathooks on chains hang from the 
  ceiling; some of these hold aloft carcasses of various types--both humanoid and inhuman. 
  The room is frigid, and one can see their breath turn to mist while inside.  The chamber smells of old 
  blood and damp. 
  Transubstantiation
  Transubstantiation
  Level: Cleric 3
  Duration: Permanent
  Range: Touch
  When this mystical prayer is uttered, the cleric's blood is temporarily changed into that of his goddess, the 
  Lady of the White Way. By choosing to suffer 1d6+1 hit points of damage, the cleric may wound 
  themselves with a bladed weapon and bleed on an ally; if the ally is a true believer of the Lady's church 
  they are immediately healed of 2d6+2 points of damage. Alternately, if the cleric inflicts 1d6+1 points of 
  damage upon themselves they may bleed upon unholy creatures; in this case, the blood acts as holy water 
  and causes 2d6+2 points of damage—as well acting as if the Turn Undead ability had been used.
  29
  
  Two Traps
  The Vayne Portrait
  This trap takes the form of an oil painting housed in an ornate gilt frame.  The painting is a portrait, but 
  the subject of the painting appears differently to each viewer.  When initially encountered, the portrait is 
  veiled by a sumptuous red curtain.  The ground immediately at the foot of the portrait acts as a pressure 
  plate; anyone stepping into that area activates a hidden mechanism that unveils the portrait.
  Once unveiled, the portrait appears to be an aesthetically-pleasing image of the viewer.  At first, they see 
  themselves in the prime of their youth; even if they never possessed physical beauty, the painting shows 
  hidden aspects of their comeliness that they never imagined possible.  
  However, the beautiful portrait soon turns foul and degenerate.  Before the viewers' eyes they see the 
  weight of their secret sins corrupt their visage.  Each round that a person is exposed to the Vayne Portrait 
  they must make a saving throw vs. poison or lose one point from an attribute.  The first round a save is 
  failed means that the viewer loses a point of constitution, on the second they lose a point of wisdom, on 
  the third they lose a point of strength, and then the cycle begins anew.  Characters who fail their initial 
  saving throw are enthralled by the painting and unable to act as it siphons-off their mortal vitality.
  If any of the viewers' attributes drop to 0 because of the portrait's effects they lose their humanity entirely 
  and become a monster under the control of the GM.  A character who passes their saving throw at any 
  point may act freely and can break the portrait's power over other viewers by veiling it, obscuring it from 
  view, or blinding the viewers.  Note that attacking the portrait is ill-advised; any attack against the canvas 
  means that the remaining enthralled viewers must make a saving throw vs. poison or die immediately—
  anyone who fails this save will have their body contorted into the wrecked visage they saw displayed on 
  the canvas as a record of their hidden sins.
  Autothysis Trap
  Wikipedia has this to say on the subject of autothysis: Autothysis (from the Greek roots autos- αὐτός 
  "self" and thysia θυσία "sacrifice") is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing 
  or explosion of an organ which ruptures the skin. It is caused by a contraction of muscles around a large 
  gland that leads to the gland wall breaking. Some termites release a sticky secretion by rupturing a gland 
  near the skin of their neck, producing a tar baby effect in defense against ants. It is a form of suicidal 
  altruism
  RPGs tells us that there are a lot of giant versions of bugs around.  Some of these bugs must be capable of 
  autothysis.  We can make a trap out of this.  Say a tribe of goblins keep giant termites chained up in their 
  dungeons as a kind of biological defense mechanism.  Anyone who doesn't smell of goblinoid who 
  approaches one of these termites (or tries to pass by one to get down a corridor) set is off; it ruptures into 
  sticky goo that roots the hapless adventurer to the spot (saving throw pending, of course).
  Perhaps the goblins assume they will discover any adventurers held in this way in due time and off them 
  them, coup de grace style.  Perhaps once an adventurer is stuck in place a secondary effect is triggered: 
  descending ceiling spikes are a favorite, as are a flood of hungry fire ants unleashed in the vicinity.
  30
  
  Random Cabaret Generator
  d12
  The Proprietor is...
  Proprietor's secret is that...
  1
  A battle-weary warrior
  Madness runs in their family
  2
  A famous, though retired, entertainer
  One of the performers is a serial killer
  3
  A member of a thieves guild
  The cabaret is a front for a smuggling operation
  4
  A member of the resistance 
  The cabaret is a front for drug-dealing
  5
  A minor noble
  The cabaret is a front for prostitution
  6
  A retired courtesan 
  Their employees are doppelgangers
  7
  A spymaster
  Their employees are hypnotized slaves
  8
  A wealthy merchant or banker
  They are a double agent
  9
  An agent of the brain lashers
  They are burdened by massive debts
  10
  An agent of the doppelganger
  They are driven to pursue an embarrassing fetish
  11
  An indolent dandy
  They have a drug addiction
  12
  Not entirely human
  They sometimes shanghai unwary customers
  d12
  The specialty of the house is...
  An odd patron of the house is...
  1
  Bare-knuckle brawling set to music
  A deadly assassin employed by a thieves guild
  2
  Bawdy songs
  A famous actor or actress and their bravos
  3
  Burlesque and strip-tease
  A famous priest of the Lady in disguise
  4
  Grand Guignol theatrics
  A high-ranking member of the court
  5
  Live sex shows 
  A lich-lord cloaked in illusion
  6
  Murder ballads
  A penanggalan ambassador from Harrowfaust
  7
  Parodic morality plays
  A priest of Slithian Vor
  8
  Performers who are horribly scarred
  A vampire ambassador from Harrowfaust
  9
  Phantasmagoria via shadow magic
  A very powerful warlock or witch
  10
  Ritualistic, magical performances
  An emissary from the fey courts
  11
  Satires on local officials
  An ennui-plagued immortal
  12
  Traditional folk songs
  An exiled prince of the Iron Principalities
  31
  
  d12
  Exotic refreshments to be had include...
  Where to go for a “private talk”
  1
  Absinthe served with full ceremony
  A corner of the bustling kitchen will suffice
  2
  Absinthe served with pyromantic flourish
  A disused dressing room backstage
  3
  Barbarian-brewed cobra-tequila 
  A foul-smelling bathroom stall is all we got
  4
  Chilled black lotus juice
  A mildewed mop closet is the best place
  5
  Ectoplasmic cocktails
  Down into the unlit cellar
  6
  Flavored Frostreaver vodka
  Into the hidden chamber beneath the trapdoor
  7
  Goblin lager
  Pay extra to go beyond the velvet curtain
  8
  Microbrewed dwarven ale
  Talk openly; no one here will rat you out
  9
  Midianese bourbon
  The cloak-room while the entertainment is on
  10
  Sake from the Island of Jade Mysteries
  The dimly-lit back stairs
  11
  Spiced rum from the pirate lands
  The proprietor rents special rooms for that
  12
  Wines retrieved from a sunken galley
  Up this ladder into the attic
  d12
  Relations with local law
  Relations with underworld
  Public Perception
  1
  Soured
  Soured
  A decent, clean sort of place
  2
  Soured
  Soured
  A den of scum and villainy
  3
  Distrustful
  Distrustful
  A real professional outfit
  4
  Distrustful
  Distrustful
  A real two-penny opera
  5
  Distrustful
  Ambivalent
  Champagne and decadence
  6
  Ambivalent
  Ambivalent
  Entertainment for discerning 
  gentlefolk
  7
  Ambivalent
  Helpful
  Home of the bright young things
  8
  Ambivalent
  Helpful
  Home of the downtrodden 
  9
  Helpful
  Mutual aid
  Low-class clientele 
  10
  Helpful
  Mutual aid
  Patronized by whores and drunks
  11
  Mutual aid
  Direct involvement
  Rough joint, watch your back
  12
  Mutual aid
  Direct involvement
  Working man's entertainment
  32
  
  d12
  Intoxicated at the cabaret mishap
  1
  A group of fops begins to loudly mock your fashion choices.  They will follow you out of the 
  cabaret to continue their assessment of your aesthetic failings.
  2
  An unpleasant man or woman has decided that you are to be their bedfellow for the evening. 
  They will be most persistent in their suggestive advances.  They might be someone it would be 
  disadvantageous to offend.
  3
  Somebody slipped something in your drink, like in that Ramones song.  Enjoy your trip, 
  psychonaut.
  4
  Someone slips you a piece of paper; thinking it is your bill for the evening, you read it out loud. 
  That was no bill, that was an incantation!
  5
  Someone you really respect is extraordinarily rude to you.  You'll never be able to enjoy that 
  guy's novels as much as you used to, etc.
  6
  The vice squad rushes in and singles you out to make an example of how disorderly conduct is 
  not going to be tolerated on this fine evening.
  7
  Two things you should never discuss at a cabaret: religion and politics.  You started talking about 
  politics to the wrong people; the threat of mob violence looms.
  8
  Two things you should never discuss at a cabaret: religion and politics.  You started talking about 
  religion to the wrong people; a fierce theological debate is going to spoil the evening.
  9
  You have been dragged on stage to participate in the cabaret troupe's performance.  Public 
  embarrassment is a distinct possibility.
  10
  You have been mistaken for someone's lover; unfortunately, that lover has jilted your interlocutor 
  and you're going to have a hell of a time extricating yourself from their harangue.  
  11
  You let your eyes glide along the curves of the wrong lady or gentleman; now their partner is 
  spoiling for a fight
  12
  You've been mistaken for a gambler who owes quite a bit of money to a crime lord of a most 
  impatient disposition.  Paying your way out of this one is the safest bet, but it will cost you 
  dearly.
  33
  
  Signs Indicating That This NPC 
  Has Suffered Mental Trauma
  d20
  Sign
  1
  Nervous tittering and laughing at inappropriate times
  2
  Sudden, spasmodic movements of the limbs
  3
  Consistently turns conversation to morbid and gruesome topics
  4
  Sudden and lasting periods of catatonia
  5
  No longer seems to derive pleasure from anything, especially the natural sublime
  6
  Driven to eat inappropriate things in place of food, such as vermin and insects
  7
  Consistently turns conversation to sexually inappropriate topics
  8
  The merest mention of a specific topic arouses profound rage
  9
  Consistently turns conversation to religious (especially apocalyptic) topics
  10
  Rendered childlike; repeats the behaviors and pleasures of their youth
  11
  Talks of self in the third-person; addresses their comments to no one in particular
  12
  Eyes are fixed on a far-off object that no one else can see
  13
  Confused emotional response; cries when happy, laughs when sad
  14
  Responds with suspicion, paranoia, and conspiracy theories to mundane statements
  15
  Speaks only to a fetish object
  16
  Extremely suggestible and lacking in willpower
  17
  Lethargic, will only take action if repeatedly prompted to do so
  18
  Claims to hear something moving within the walls
  19
  Flatly refuses to leave their home, under any circumstances
  20
  Randomly lapses into animalistic behavior and inhuman expression
  34
  
  Signs Indicting That This NPC is Physically Amiss
  d20
  Sign
  1
  Frequent and persistent nosebleeds of a prodigious quantity of blood
  2
  Something tentacle-like moves beneath their skin
  3
  Something insect-like moves beneath their skin
  4
  Ectoplasm forms and drips from their mouth and nose
  5
  Thorns randomly break the surface of their skin
  6
  Crucifixion wounds appear at their wrists and ankles
  7
  There is a birthmark shaped like an unholy number somewhere on their body
  8
  There is a birthmark shaped like an unholy symbol somewhere on their body
  9
  Their eyes reflect light in the dark, like a cat's
  10
  They seem to be greatly expanding in weight and mass
  11
  They appear to be far more ancient than humanly possible
  12
  Their feet are misshaped, perhaps resembling cloven hooves or a raptor's talons
  13
  They are struck with a severe palsy and general quivering of the flesh
  14
  Their flesh peels and sloughs off at an alarming rate
  15
  They continually lose teeth, but these are replaced by newly-grown ones—like a shark
  16
  They frequently vomit forth toads, rats, or other vermin
  17
  Their blood is all the wrong color, consistency, and smell
  18
  A undeveloped twin is still attached to their body
  19
  They give off an intense, sour odor—and their presence causes food to go rotten
  20
  They give off an intense, sweet odor—and their presence causes flies to gather
  35
  
  Hold Person & Paralysis Experience Effects Table
  Hold Person and other paralytic effects are ubiquitous in fantasy role-playing games, but they are rarely 
  described as more than a state of momentary stasis.  For situations that call for a bit more descriptive heft, 
  roll or pick a result from the table below:
  d20
  Description
  1
  A writhing tentacle (whether real or imaginary) has blossomed from the ground to constrict the 
  character. They feel the breath being squeezed from their body. 
  2
  Spectral hands have emerged from the ether to grasp the character and hold them in place. One 
  hand clamps over the character's mouth. The touch of these spectral hands is as cold as the 
  grave. 
  3
  The character feels invisible shackles and nails that pass through skin and muscle, anchoring 
  themselves to bone, pinning the body in place. (By Rafael Chandler.)
  4
  The character feels their body encased in a a straight-jacket of arcane force; as the jacket 
  becomes tighter and tighter, the character feels their grip on sanity easing from their grasp. 
  5
  The subject dispassionately sees a body, its face frozen in fear, its muscles tensed painfully, 
  unable to move. It is, of course, a vision of their own form. (By Joey Lindsay.)
  6
  The victim feels as though they are floating underwater and all they see is water in all 
  directions; they believe they are flailing about underwater and drowning. (By James Aulds.)
  7
  The victim feels the agony of being crucified; they experience the pain of nails being driven 
  through their wrists and ankles. While paralyzed they stand with their arms outstretched in a 
  martyr's pose. 
  8
  The victim is literally frozen in place—a rime of frost covers the victim's body. (By Keith J. 
  Davies.)
  9
  The victim is overcome by intense feelings of ecstasy; they can only stand and quiver with 
  pleasure.
  10
  The victim is paralyzed with anxiety, unable to decide on a course of action to take until the 
  effect ends.  (By Paolo Greco.)
  11
  The victim reels, stunned into inaction by strains of music only they can hear.
  12
  The victim stands with mouth agape as they relive a moment of past trauma while rooted to the 
  spot. 
  13
  Time around the target is shattered; they jerkily repeat their movement of the last five seconds 
  over and over again. (By Gus L.)
  14
  While the body is frozen, the mind is shunted into dreamspace where the character spends 
  minutes, hours, or even days aboard a strange rivercraft or wandering a seemingly-infinite 
  library. When the effect ends, the mind is snapped back to the original reality. (By Erik Jensen.)
  15
  You feel too weak to move, even to breathe. You panic, but you can't even flail wildly. (By Ian 
  McDougall.)
  16
  Your body doesn't move like you want it to. You're sure you're moving, but when you look you 
  haven't gone anywhere. (By Ian McDougall.)
  36
  
  17
  A dreamy lassitude overcomes you. You are reminded of summer afternoons and the scent of 
  peonies, while people hurry and buffet about you. (By Richard G.)
  18
  You are compelled to dance, frantically and invisibly.  (By Richard G.)
  19
  The victim is overcome with spiritual awe; they kneel and pray to a god not their own. (By Gus 
  L.)
  20
  The victim is turned to stone or hardened wax.  (By Gus L.)
  Search the Body?  No, Search IN the Body 
  d12
  What's in the Body?
  1
  Growing on the left lung is a hard, mutated lump of flesh that is actually a tumor key grown in the 
  corpse by priests of Zzorch.  The tumor key can open any tumor lock crafted by Zzorch's clergy.
  2
  In life the person prepared for a sneak attack by secreting an enchanted razor blade underneath 
  their tongue.  Obviously, something else got them before the ambush ever came.  If wielded in 
  combat, the razor blade does 1d4+1 damage and gives a bonus of +1 to attack rolls.
  3
  Iron spikes have been pounded into the soles of the feet.  These spikes are rusty, but otherwise 
  nondescript and non-magical.
  4
  Slivers of holy wood from a cross used in the martyrdom of a saint belonging to the church of the 
  Lady of the White Way have been driven under the corpse's fingernails.  If immersed in a vessel 
  of water for a week, these slivers will transform it into holy water.
  5
  Stuffed down the corpse's throat is a wad of paper.  If removed and smoothed flat, the paper will 
  be revealed to be a random magic-user or illusionist (50% of either) scroll penned by a wizard 
  from the Orxham School of Ulverland.
  6
  The brain is encrusted with a thing layer of gem-like crystals that can be pried off and sold for 20-
  40 gold pieces; if the brain is presented whole to the right collector in Mord-Stavian, it will be 
  worth 100-800 gold pieces.
  7
  The corpse's heart has been replaced by a mechanical construction that also functions as a locked 
  and trapped jewelry box.  It contains a ring of random value that had been crafted as a gift for a 
  noblewoman attached to the court of Scarabrae.
  8
  The gut contains a stoppered vial of an incredibly pure narcotic.  The vial also contains a 
  miniscule scrap of paper on which there is writing—presumably the address for the vial's buyer—
  that will require the use of a magnifying glass to decipher. 
  9
  The nasal cavities have been stuffed with the kind of marbles used as bowling balls by the pixies 
  of the Shae Isles.  If given to a fey creature, that creature will owe you a boon.
  10
  There are 1d6 poisoned needles embedded in the right thigh.  An experienced assassin, or perhaps 
  a thief or fighter, will know these needles to be the preferred method of execution by the Kung-
  Loon clan of the Island of Jade Mysteries.  The poison on the needles is particularly long lasting; 
  they may be re-used if handled carefully.
  11
  Tucked into the right eyelid is a coin that can be used to pay one of the ferrymen who shuttle the 
  living across the Grottheim River in the Wailing Labyrinth.
  12
  You don't even want to know how that wand got where it is.
  37
  
  Phrenology  A System for Determining a
  –
   
  Character's Mental Strengths (roll d8)
  1 – +1 to all saves vs. spells cast by evil-doers
  2 – +10% bonus to XP earned
  3 – +1 to initiative
  4 – +1 to all mind-effecting saves
  5 – +1 to notice hidden doors
  6 – +1 to reaction rolls
  7 – +1 to attack rolls
  8 – one additional language
  38
  
  Truly Random Magic
  d100
  Descriptor
  Form
  Effect
  01
  Holy
  Abjuration of
  Debilitating Weakness
  02
  Whirling
  Armor of
  Violent Rupturing
  03
  Spectral
  Arrow of
  Vanishing Teleportation
  04
  Contagious
  Aura of 
  Utter Terror
  05
  Empowered
  Ball of
  Utter Fear
  06
  Shifting
  Band of
  Unreal Monsters
  07
  Glowing
  Banishment of
  Unpleasing Irritation
  08
  Oracular
  Barrier of
  Unheralded Growth
  09
  Abyssal
  Beam of 
  Unhallowed Resurrection
  10
  Tenebrous
  Bird of 
  Undead Dominance
  11
  Painful
  Blast of
  Undead Animation
  12
  Sacred
  Blessing of
  Uncontrolled Clenching
  13
  Explosive
  Bolt of
  Uncanny Cloning
  14
  Advantageous
  Boots of
  Transformation
  15
  Quickened
  Cackle of
  Time Alteration
  16
  Arboreal
  Call of
  Tenuous Friendship
  17
  Illusory
  Casque of
  Telekinetic Moving
  18
  Chaotic
  Chain of
  Surprising Phasing
  19
  Improved
  Chariot of
  Studied Detection
  20
  Blazing
  Charm against
  Slow Melding
  21
  Radiant
  Chest of
  Wizardly Sleep
  22
  Chilling
  Circle of
  Shifting Terrain
  23
  Haunting
  Cloak of
  Shape-shifting
  24
  Phantasmal
  Cloud of
  Self-alteration
  25
  Ghostly
  Coins of
  Seductive Veiling
  26
  Protective
  Conflagration of
  Secretive Scrying
  27
  Enrapturing
  Conjuration of
  Ringing Alarms
  28
  Beguiling
  Crowns of
  Remorseless Curses
  29
  Dazzling
  Dance of
  Rapid Regeneration
  30
  Hideous
  Divination of
  Scintillating Radiance
  31
  Objectifying
  Door of
  Quick Fabrication
  32
  Tempestuous
  Evocation of
  Plaguing Demons
  33
  Advanced
  Eye of
  Convulsive Paralysis
  34
  Bestial
  Finger of
  Overpowering Enchantment
  35
  Demonic
  Fist of
  Otherworldly Contacting
  39
  
  36
  Devilish
  Fog of
  Occult Lore
  37
  Animalistic
  Force of
  Murderous Spirits
  38
  Barbaric
  Fountain of
  Monstrous Strength
  39
  Conical
  Gate of
  Misdirecting Gestures
  40
  Extensive
  Geyser of
  Mental Probing
  41
  Shadowy
  Globules of 
  Mental Confusion
  42
  Blighting
  Grasp of
  Masterful Dispelling
  43
  Instantaneous
  Guard against
  Malefic Laughter
  44
  Lingering
  Gust of
  Majestic Creation
  45
  Prolonged
  Hand of
  Leaping Lightning
  46
  Temporal
  Hooks of
  Known Secrets
  47
  Incendiary
  Hut of
  Knowledgeable Spirits
  48
  Mass
  Images of
  Irrevocable Banishment
  49
  Prismatic
  Immunity against
  Ineffable Blurriness 
  50
  Curative
  Insect of
  Impish Demons
  51
  Restorative
  Invocation of
  Hypnotic Patterns
  52
  Slippery
  Ladder of
  Heaving Earth
  53
  Sticky
  Mastery of 
  Grotesque Contagion
  54
  Adhesive
  Missile of
  Glowing Scripts
  55
  Denigrating
  Moonbeam of
  General Beneficence 
  56
  Ludicrous
  Mouth of
  Hoary Frost
  57
  Sentient
  Net of
  Forgetfulness
  58
  Ambulatory
  Neutralization of
  Forceful Water
  59
  Wandering
  Nimbus of
  Miraculous Flight
  60
  Ethereal
  Prayer of
  Brilliant Flame
  61
  Vampiric
  Rainbow of
  Ethereal Screening
  62
  Ghoulish
  Ray of
  Environmental Survival
  63
  Poisonous
  Reversal of
  Enshrouding Blindness
  64
  Spiritual
  Rod of
  Enhanced Sense
  65
  Hallucinatory
  Rope of
  Enhanced Mobility
  66
  Crystalline
  Rune of
  Enduring Resiliency
  67
  Dreadful
  Sanctuary against
  Embarrassing Clumsiness
  68
  Sublime
  Scepter of
  Elemental Spirits
  69
  Over-awing
  Servant of
  Elemental Control
  70
  Repugnant
  Shell of
  Dream Control
  71
  Stinking
  Shield of
  Draining Enervation
  72
  Woodland
  Shroud of
  Dissonant Sounds
  73
  Fairy
  Sigil of
  Difficult Locks
  40
  
  74
  Lush
  Sphere of
  Desiccated Shriveling
  75
  Skeletal
  Spike of
  Deceptive Invisibility
  76
  Gilded
  Spray of
  Deathly Appearance
  77
  Smoking
  Staff of
  Impenetrable Darkness
  78
  Transparent
  Stars of
  Daring Falsehood
  79
  Noisome 
  Steed of
  Curative Healing
  80
  Multi-hued
  Stone of
  Creeping Doom
  81
  Glittering
  Summoning of
  Comprehensive Understanding
  82
  Chilling
  Sunray of
  Commanding Presence
  83
  Compendious
  Sword of
  Willful Charming
  84
  Sodden
  Symbol of
  Changeable Countenance
  85
  Voluptuous
  Tentacles of
  Canting Exorcism
  86
  Imaginary
  Touch of
  Spreading Calcification
  87
  Morbid
  Transmutation of
  Serrated Blades
  88
  Macabre
  Trap of
  Black Storms
  89
  Mechanical
  Umbrella of 
  Rusted Barbs
  90
  Dapper
  Vestment of
  Awkward Dancing
  91
  Mirrored 
  Vomit of
  Avenging Angels
  92
  Echoing
  Wall of
  Audible Illusions
  93
  Enveloping
  Wand of
  Atonal Disruption
  94
  Misdirecting
  Ward Against
  Astral Travel
  95
  Cushioning
  Wind of
  Applied Avoidance 
  96
  Hardened 
  Window of
  Annihilating Disintegration
  97
  Shining
  Wings of
  Animal Control
  99
  Variegated 
  Word of
  Caustic Acid
  100
  Velvet
  Wreath of
  Wrongful Imprisonment
  Some Ideas for Reflavoring Magic
  Foetid Breath (Sleep) – you exhale a breath of dank mist that has a soporific effect
  Blood Brothers (Charm Person) – by pricking your thumb and forcing it into the person's mouth, 
  you cause their sympathies to align with your schemes
  Nature is the Devil's Church (Jump) – your legs transmogrify into those of a satyr, giving you 
  remarkable jumping abilities
  Hypodermic Nail (Amnesia) – your fingernail grows long and thin like a hypodermic needle; it now 
  drips a fluid that smells like ammonia.  Anyone pricked will suffer memory loss.
  Meet Jekyll (Strength) – your form elongates and grows both more powerful and more brutish.  
  Photostrobic Defense (Blink) – you fade into and out of existence like the picture on a broken 
  television.
  Visions of Death (Hold Person) – you whisper to a being one way that they might meet their demise; this 
  revelation holds them in a state of catatonic shock.
  Wandering Eye (Arcane Eye) – one of your eyes detaches and floats where you will it to go.
  41
  
  THE PENNY DREADFUL PROJECT
  I ran a contest, these are the results.
  The Seven Horrible Secrets of Winter, or, Blood on the Driven Snow!
  A Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque penny dreadful by a host of murder-minded 
  rogues
  To the Entrant: What follows is a fragmentary chapter outline of a penny dreadful circulated in 
  serialized form throughout that fell realm known only as the World Between.  Pick a chapter and 
  edit this document so that it states your name next to the chapter; you have now claimed that 
  chapter as one you will write on.
  By the contest's concluding date you must submit the following related to the chapter you have 
  claimed:
  1) A short fictional vignette relating something that happens within that chapter. 
  Favor the short and evocative over the long and tedious.  A vignette in four lines 
  that hints at the awful happenings in that issue of The Seven Horrible Secrets of 
  Winter is preferable to a fifty page fanfic novella.  No Jander, please.
  2) A piece of original, gameable content that would be featured in the chapter you 
  have claimed.  This content might be a new monster, a map, a spell, an item 
  (magical or otherwise), an NPC, an adventure sketch, a random table, etc.
  Entries will be judged according to three criteria: the degree of aesthetic wonderment your entry 
  causes in me as I read, the immediate interest provoked by your element of gameable content, 
  and your ability to encapsulate the oft-nebulous conventions of Gothic Fantasy in your entry.
  Entries will be due on midnight of December 28th—should this wearied world of ours last that 
  long.  Please send all entries to totgad@gmail.com.  Please restrain your enthusiasm and observe 
  a sense of mournful decorum; limit yourself to claiming two chapters as your own.  (If there are 
  a remarkable number of entrants, further chapter titles of the penny dreadful will be unearthed.)
  The winning entrant will receive a package of Gothic texts so that they might whittle away their 
  remaining years in quiet contemplation and study before a flickering candle-flame.  
  Good luck to you all and may the spirits keep you close in these more trying of times.
  Known Dramatis Personae 
  (feel free to use them, use them not, or add additional characters in your vignettes)
  Magnoth – a barbaric Eternal Wanderer who brings sorrow and heartbreak wherever his 
  immortal travels take him
  Cassandra Fennimore – a beautiful young woman who is said to be more properly thought of as 
  the creation of her father than his natural daughter
  Count Mircea – a pale, haunted young man whose bloodline harbors a horrid secret
  Annabelle Lewis-Stratmore – a widowed heiress prone to fits of glossolalia 
  42
  
  Pikes McGowen – a dishonored soldier fallen into drink and the study of occult sciences
  Sora of the Veil – a cursed priestess of Mord-Stavian prone to phantasmal dreams
  Table of Contents:
  Chapter I: The Hungry Eyes of the Veiled Woman
  Chapter II: A Dagger Under Horrible Moonlight
  Chapter III: No Comfort within the Walls of Castle Trayemaine
  Chapter VII: Invocations to the Unclean Messenger
  Chapter VIII: An Experiment in Exsanguination 
  Chapter IX: A Fragment on the Fate of the Doll-Rag Girl
  Chapter X: Sermons Delivered to the Devils of the Mind
  Chapter XIII: The Asylum at Gorngard, and What Happened There
  Chapter XIV: Pit of the Slave God's Tears
  Chapter XV: A Chance Meeting at the Clock-tower of Dr. Fidelis
  Chapter XX: A Murder Ballad to Those Drunk on Sorrow
  Chapter XXI: Within the Fecund Garden of a Thousand Nightmares
  Chapter XXII: Strange Incidents Amidst the Broken Ossuary
  Chapter XXIV: Crushed by the Sublime Music of the Spheres
  Chapter XXV: The Fatal Pangs of an Abandoned Son
  Chapter XXVIII: Hark!  A Precipice Overlooking the Infinite Wastes of a Dead Soul!
  Chapter XXIV: The Grinning Devil and Why He Grinned That Night
  Chapter XXV: What Dark Heart Beat within the Cabinet of Curiosities?
  Chapter XX: The Hunt for Red John
  Chapter XXI: Alone in the Woods on the Night of Many Reapers
  Chapter XXII: A Hearse for the Dancer in Yellow
  43
  
  The Hungry Eyes of the Veiled Woman  by Joey Lindsey
  –
  "The cursed wanderer Magnoth arrives in Darklane, clutching a letter pleading with him to interrupt the 
  wedding of one Cassandra Fennimore lest disaster befall all involved. To raise money for his awful 
  experiments, her father has promised her hand to melancholy old Pikes McGowen, who has pledged his secret, 
  stolen fortune to the Fennimores if Cassandra can assuage his loneliness. 
  Simultaneously scheming to prevent the marriage while also attempting to ascertain who his employer might 
  be, Magnoth manufactures evidence of a dalliance between Cassandra and young Count Mircea, and draw 
  suspicion on Pikes for the pregnancy of Annabelle Lewis-Stratmore. 
  When the real reason for Annabelle's sudden trip to London is discovered, along with Magnoth's interference, 
  usually cold and stoic personages will stir to dire violence to exact revenge. Visions of blood and shouted 
  recriminations dancing through her dreams, at whom does Sora of the Veil smile? Is she the author of 
  Magnoth's letter, and his undoing?
  FIND OUT, dear reader - this and other thrills for only a penny!"
  Heartwine of the Mind's Shadow—A full bottle of this rare alchemical wine must be drank in an evening, 
  after which the drinker will fall into a deep sleep lasting a week or more. During this sleep the drinker's body 
  does not need to eat or use the toilet, but may toss, moan and display heightened facial expressions.
  The consciousness of the drinker is freed from their body, and may be in as many places at once as points of 
  the drinker's Charisma over 15. This disembodied consciousness may not affect the world physically, but can 
  see 360 degrees and "hear" with heightened ability. 
  They may also attempt to influence those around them, making a contested roll of the drinker's Charisma VS 
  the target's Wisdom to plant suggestions in a target's mind that they will feel a strong compulsion to follow. 
  The target is at a penalty if they are lower in Hit Dice equal to the difference. 
  The drinker may also possess a victim for d100 minutes if successful in a contest of the drinker's Charisma VS 
  the target's Wisdom or Charisma, whichever is higher. Repeated attempts are at penalties for previous failures 
  to possess, and bonuses for previous successes. 
  Letter of Insinuation—the first person to read this letter will be compelled to carry out any requests or 
  commands in it unto completion. These letters can be created by a Priest of higher than 7th level in a ritual that 
  involves a week long trance and the Priest's own blood as ink. This ritual attracts the enmity of powerful 
  spirits, however, and often leads to ruin for the Priest.
  44
  
  A Dagger Under Horrible Moonlight  by J. Carr
  –
  The slick cobbles gleamed and echoed with the sound of the carriage as it rounded the corner and left the 
  seamstress alone on the avenue. She continued on her way home, pulling her worn shawl tight as the mists of 
  her breath drifted away on the wind. The windows of the wealthy leered at her with a dim, suggestive light 
  where they peeked above high brick walls flanking her path. She paused; a feeling of dread coming up from 
  the depths of her gut told her that she was not alone. Her ears pricked, but there was no sound to be heard. 
  Another blast of wind barreled over her, conspicuously absent of howling.
  The seamstress turned to see the cloaked gentleman behind her, awash in the brilliance of the full moon. 
  Beneath his high-topped hat, naught was visible save the hint of a sinister smile. His black-gloved hand held a 
  stiletto, gleaming like a guiding star.
  She tried to scream; in her lungs, in her jaw, in her bones she felt the scream rattle and rip its way free of her 
  with the all of the desperate desire for life a cornered prey can muster. But the street was silent.
  Ripper Blade—This +1 dagger allows the wielder to cast Silence, 15' Radius once a week. While the spell is 
  in effect, the wielder's features are also obscured by dark and shifting shadows, making the wielder extremely 
  difficult to identify.
  When the dagger is wielded outdoors under a full moon, the Silence and obscured features automatically come 
  into effect and remain so for the duration of the night. This does not count as the weekly use of the power, and 
  will occur even if it has already been used within a week. Any humanoid creature struck by the dagger on such 
  a night must save versus death or suffer a fatal wound, such as a slit throat. Even if the save throw succeeds, 
  the target still takes damage as normal.
  Once the owner of the dagger uses it to kill on the night of a full moon, the item's curse takes hold. Beginning 
  on the next full moon, the owner feels a deep compulsion to kill a helpless victim (a 0-level human or the 
  equivalent) -- monsters and capable combatants will not satisfy this need. If the owner attempts to resist this 
  urge, it will grow steadily and maddeningly, causing the character's Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma to be 
  lowered by one point a day until the bloodlust is sated; the following morning the attributes return to the 
  original values.
  Furthermore, the dagger's owner is compelled to take some sort of "calling card" action 1d6-1 days after the 
  killing (a result of 0 means the calling card is left at the scene). This can take various forms, such as a letter to 
  a popular publication or a particular mutilation to the victim.
  The method of escaping the curse, if any exists, is left to the DM to decide.
  45
  
  No Comfort Within the Walls of Castle Trayemaine 
   By Jeremy Duncan
  –
  Cassandra Fennimore, en route to meet her betrothed (a mysterious associate of her “father’s” named Doctor 
  Parabolus) is waylaid by a gang of brigands, who, having slaughtered the coachman and his assistant, spirit 
  the struggling Cassandra back to their lair, where they at once make attempt on her virtue.  She is spared this 
  ruinous fate by the sudden arrival and intervention of Magnoth, a dour and ageless wanderer.  Unbeknownst 
  to Cassandra, Magnoth has been following her trail for some time, to some purpose as yet unknown.  The 
  Eternal Vagabond dispatches the villains handily, and pledges to deliver the grateful maiden safely to her 
  fiancé.  Claiming to know a more direct route to their destination, Magnoth leads her across a lonely and 
  doleful landscape, until at last they stand before a crumbling, magnificently decayed edifice whose very stones 
  seem to coalesce from the pale green miasma rising from the fetid moat.
  “What is this place?” asked the girl, and her voice quivered as she spoke, though whether this arose from the 
  chill of the coming night which the setting sun heralded with unwelcome haste, or from the sight of the lonely 
  turrets and decaying barbicans of the fortress itself, she could not say with certainty.  “I own there is 
  something in its aspect which drives away all thoughts of reason and wholesomeness.”
  “It is the Castle Trayemaine.” said her companion, his pale blue eyes surveying the scene with little emotion. 
   “It has a vile reputation, and has borne such for centuries ere my grandfather’s grandfather was a boy.  Its 
  stones were mortared with innocent blood, and its foundation is the charnel pit.  Behold!  Even now, its moat 
  roils and seethes as if in a cauldron licked by the cooking-fires of hell.”  
  “And must we sojourn in such a place?  Even for one night?  I have yet some little strength, and if there is 
  some inn or rude farmhouse—“
  “There is naught else for miles in any direction, and soon the sun shall gutter and fail, and we shall be in 
  darkness entire.  Even the walls of Castle Trayemaine may offer some haven from such as make this their 
  dwelling-place.  There is no light to be seen from within, and mayhap the gods yet smile on us, and we find 
  Trayemaine untenanted. But come!  Daylight’s crimson bleeds away with every moment we tarry.”
  And so at length, the travelers made their way past decrepit gatehouse and rust-red portcullis, to stand in the 
  great hall of the Castle Trayemaine, where from the walls hung the cobwebbed rags of once-rich tapestries, in 
  which Cassandra could discern by the flickering light of Magnoth’s lantern the capering of obscene figures 
  and the blighted forms of grotesques at their liberty.  All at once, the flambeaux on each side of the hall roared 
  to life, and any ambiguity the shadows had mercifully lent to the embroidered figures was now stripped away.  
   A woman’s voice, low and with strange accents, addressed them from an archway in the western wall.
  “I dreamed of a jackal with the face of a man, his lips red with the blood of a ewe lamb, and it was then I knew 
  you had returned to me, my love.  And not empty-handed, I see.”  With these words, the speaker stepped into 
  the hall, her form tall and gaunt, swathed in robes of barbaric splendor—night-black fustian and the feathers 
  of a screech-owl, worked throughout with glittering opal and ornaments of black iron, and bronze, and copper. 
   Rings of the same glinted on her fingers.  Her hair was left unbound, and fell almost to the floor in a mass of 
  black coils.  Of her features, little could be perceived through a veil the color of ash which depended in folds 
  from a headdress of copper bands worked to resemble writhing serpents.
  “I am no love of yours, witch,” answered Magnoth hoarsely.  “But here I am to fulfill my part of our compact. 
  46
  
   I have scoured this world for seven years, and have had no small pains on my part, but here she is – take her-- 
  a child of no father and no mother---“
  “And is she yet a virgin?”
  “Aye, though it was a near thing.  Had I been delayed but another minute---“
  “But you were not.  O!  She is exquisite!  See how the firelight dances in her eyes!  The maiden’s blush at her 
  cheeks!”
  The girl stared in wonderment at these words, and her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked into the face of 
  her betrayer.  “O monstrous!  What compact is this, in which I am the promised chattel?  Speak, if honor holds 
  yet some sway in your chancred soul!”
  “I have done what I have done, and would do a thousand times over if by so doing I should gain my heart’s 
  desire.”
  “For pity’s sake!  For the sake of all my sex—think to your mother or your sisters—“
  “All have been picked clean by worms when your great-grandsire was in swaddling clothes.”
  “And what of your oaths and promises – what of my betrothed?”
  At these words laughter echoed forth from behind the veil.  “O my dear, my dear!  You must give thanks that I 
  have spared you thus from a dreary fate!  I take you from one husband to help you to a better one!  To think 
  you were to be wed to a man of base clay, who must diminish and die as all men must—you who are now to be 
  united with a God Undying!”
  “And what of my recompense?” said Magnoth.  “You held out to me the promise of death, and I would have it 
  without delay.”
  “Alas, my champion, but your death is not within my keeping, though I may yet be the instrument.  There are 
  great spells and bindings, invocations of great power lost to my sisterhood these many centuries, and among 
  these, it is said, was the song which brings death to all—even to the gods themselves should they give 
  audience.”
  “And where are these spells now?”
  “The impious wretch that bore them away was a Count of Mircea, and no doubt the scrolls lie there still in the 
  vaults of his descendants.  They are written in the ancient tongue of Mord-Stavian—words whispered to dying 
  stars before the days of men.  Bring them to me and you shall have your death.”
  “Very well.  I will hie me to Mircea, and from their vaults seek out my death, though I must slay and forswear 
  myself all the while.  But I caution you, witch-- if these are false dealings I shall strike off your head myself, 
  and what I leave of you, even your corpse-gods will turn from embracing.”
  Without another word, Magnoth departed, leaving Cassandra alone with her captor.
  “All men seek immortality, yet the fool desires only an end.  Well, that is of no matter to us, at present.  Come, 
  my dear—your bridegroom awaits!  We must prepare you for the marriage-bed.”
  47
  
  The Tenant of Castle Trayemaine
  Castle  Trayemaine can be freely inserted into any campaign setting, its baleful influence blighting the area 
  around it for a distance of some five miles.  In the absence of its original masters, it has come to be occupied 
  and re-occupied many times over its history.  It has changed hands a thousand times, and knows no one master 
  for very long.  Roll on the following table to determine the castle’s current occupant(s).
  1. The ghosts of the Castle’s Master Builder, along with carpenters, stonemasons, etc.—who were all walled 
  within the building soon after its construction.  
  2. A mad doctor, who has made use of the castle’s forbidding appearance and the infrequency of travelers to 
  carry out his bizarre experiments in peaceful seclusion.
  3.  A troupe of actors, acrobats, jugglers, etc.  Compelled by the malign influence of the castle, they will act out 
  bloody tableaux from the centuries of atrocity that have taken place within its walls, their identities subsumed 
  by those for inhabitants long dead.
  4.  An aristocratic diabolist and his rakehell friends.  Attracted by the splendid ruin, they have decided that 
  Castle Trayemaine is the perfect location for a week of orgies, black masses, and novel entertainments.  
  5.  A vicious gang of bandits, who have made the castle into a hideout and a base from which to launch raids 
  into the surrounding areas.  Within a month, each man will have betrayed his fellow, and all will lie dead.
  6.     A party of adventurers, exploring the ruins in search of the treasure rumored to lie within its ancient 
  vaults.     
  48
  
  An Experiment in Exsanguination  by J. Brady White
  –
  I am very much a modern thinker.
  Any man in my profession should be as such.
  And when my wife became ill, I afforded her the best doctors.
  I do so love my wife, you see?
  I do so love her.
  These doctors, these needlemen, so-called healers.
  They said nothing could be done! Nothing!
  They would wring their hands behind their backs and shake their heads and offer me words of consolation as 
  my wife lay dying not twenty paces away! I love my wife!
  I do so love her.
  I would not let the opinions of such men doom my beloved. Not when I could still think and act.
  As I have told you, I am a thinker. As any thinking man should, I have collected a handsome library. Therein 
  contained are books and manuscripts from far reaches, plucked from forgotten tombs and haunted 
  depositories.
  Among these is a grimoire bound in the flesh of an unknown beast. It is written in the dead tongue of a people 
  long forgotten (a second text is needed merely to translate!). Described in its pages are maladies of the soul, 
  curses they are called, and remedies both foul and fair.
  I am a learned man, and a modern thinker, as I have said.
  So why should I mention such an obvious work of savage superstition?
  I do love my wife.
  My friend, if one has eliminated all mundane solutions, should he not then look elsewhere? If there is but a 
  chance for success, should I not endeavor to discern by what machinations my wife would be saved even if it 
  may cost me my soul or you your life?
  Ah, and there we have come to it.
  You have by now come to realize how securely you are bound and have not doubt began to wonder at the 
  contraption on which you are laid.
  I love my wife, and it is the blood she needs.
  For weeks I have fed her. How tenderly she drank.
  But as you can see, her condition has continued to deteriorate. Even now she looks as a corpse.
  I have hypothesized that freshness must be a key element. By the time I have drained a man and return with the 
  pail, the blood is often beginning to congeal. Surely this is the cause of my wife's further deterioration.
  And now you understand, don't you? With this method I have devised and these apparatus so cleverly 
  designed, your own sweet heart will pump its lifeblood out to my wife.
  You shall see, indeed you shall see, how tenderly she laps it, how gently she accepts the cure.
  I am sorry that this has to happen, my friend. I do not hate you, nor bear you any ill will.
  But,
  I do so love my wife.
  Dr. Fenias Philmon is a professor of natural philosophy who believes his wife to be a vampire. (Though he 
  would never openly acknowledge it, or use that term.) For the love of his wife, he has killed men, women, and 
  children and drained them of blood which was then fed to his wife. Unsurprisingly, his wife's health continued 
  to deteriorate and she is now very much a corpse. This hasn't stopped Dr. Philmon, however. Believing that 
  fresher blood will bring his bride back to life, he now kidnap folks and drains them at home, directly into his 
  wife's mouth.  And here's the turn: Dr. Philmon's wife is indeed a vampire.  She directs his actions using 
  Suggestions.  As a young vampire, Ligeia Philmon could not bring herself to hunt the innocent. She had less 
  problems with her husband doing it for her. However, the blood he brings her is not fresh enough, and her 
  physical condition has deteriorated to the point where she is indistinguishable from a corpse.
  49
  
  A Fragment on the Fate of the Doll-Rag Girl
    by Trey Causey
  –
  In which Annabella (between fits of uncontrolled glossolalia worsened by the terrors she has witnessed) 
  relates as she can a partial accounting of what befell, Lilly, the seamstress resurrected in a rag-doll body by 
  the art of the elder Fennimore. There is a glimpse of the horror of the doorless playroom of the Children with 
  Black Eyes, where all mortals are playthings for the ageless Children’s dark amusements, and a rag-doll girl 
  (or “doll-rag” as the Children would have it) even more so.
  DREAD SCRAP
  Those few lucky enough to escape the nightmare realm of the Children with Black Eyes on occasion return to 
  the mortal realm with a scrap of the peeling wallpapers that decorates the walls of that place. The geometric 
  design is imprecise and seems to writhe when viewed out the corner of the eye. The background might have 
  been yellow once (when the earth was covered with boiling mist and flows of lava), but now it cannot be called 
  anything credibly but gray. A dread scrap will cause nightmares (leading to poor sleep and a -1 on all rolls the 
  following day, cumulative) if it is left in someone’s bedclothes. If burned it causes anyway in a 10’ radius to 
  suffer fear (as per the spell) if they fail a save vs. spell, which lasts 1d4 rounds. At the same time a Shadow is 
  loosed into the world.
  50
  
  DEATHLESS STARE OF THE SERPENTINE CHILDREN  by Erik
  –
   
  Jensen
  The children - perhaps a dozen - were huddled in the corner of the cellar, cloaked in a velvety pool of 
  shadow which was broken only by the weak light offered by Annabelle’s rapidly-retreating candle. They were 
  but hollows of dry skin, cracked as porcelain, their eyes empty gapes; here and there small tears in the skin 
  fluttered as the breeze meandered in from the cellar door.
  “Are they...moving?” gasped Annabelle.
  “So it would seem,” Doctor Thibideaux offered. “It is not merely innocence which has been left 
  behind, but youth. Unfettered, youth is immortal.”
  Slowly, the desiccated heads turned and, as a mass, focused their absent eyes plaintively on 
  Annabelle, sending an otherworldly chill through her from top to bottom and back again. Their movements 
  produced a sussurus like that of autumn leaves tumbling, heralding the coming winter, and while their chapped 
  little mouths first moved noiselessly, presently a sweet chorus lilted forth --
  Forsake us not again
  Return now to us, sweet Mother
  Long have we awaited you
  A heart to love, a mouth to smother
  Annabelle dropped the candle, and all went dark.
  Husk-Moppets
  Slowly creeping forth from dark corners, the husk-moppets appear as the dried, hollow skins of children. 
  Flakes of skin rub and chip off of them as they rub against walls and people, yet a husk-moppet somehow 
  maintains its integrity. They are eyeless in any traditional sense, yet can see perfectly well in both light and 
  dark, their stubby fingers ever-groping for human contact - which is inevitably fatal.
  A Husk-Moppet, also known as a serpent-child, is a spontaneous construct of shed skin animated by the lost 
  innocence of the child who created it. Just as in adults a traumatic incident might lead to a whitening of the 
  hair (often in a dramatic stripe) or seemingly-instant aging, with some children, abject terror causes the 
  epidermis to loosen, then later shed and wander off. The child, left behind, is typically none the wiser, although 
  they may wake from a nightmare a more ‘adult’ young person - growing cynical and jaded over time and 
  becoming “a proper grown-up”.
  This event is limited to children whose illusions have been suddenly, violently dashed. Simply growing up is 
  an insufficient trauma to generate a husk-moppet; only bearing witness to unspeakable terror can do so. 
  Typically these manifestations have as their origin an event which unites not only terror but a personal trauma, 
  such as the loss of one or both parents to something ghastly and incomprehensible. Note that the things which 
  terrify children are not necessarily the same things which terrify adults; and it might take a strange occurrence 
  indeed to generate more than one in a single incident.
  Although easily smashed or cast aside by the heartless or pragmatic, the husk-moppets can be terribly 
  dangerous to those stunned by their begging faces and the horror of their very existence. Given the opportunity, 
  a husk-moppet will attempt to embrace, cuddle, and squeeze the life out of its target. Husk-moppets are not 
  undead - they are constructs animated by lost innocence, and do not need to feed. A fell sorceror treading a 
  bleak path may have all manner of uses for a child’s lost innocence, including grinding the skin-construct into 
  a fine powder which, if taken as a snuff, makes the user’s lies seem true to all mundane and magical tests for 
  ten minutes.  Husk-Moppets Number appearing 1 or 2d6; AC9, HD 1-1  transfixing stare (save vs paralysis; 
  The paralysis lasts only so long as the husk-moppet is looking directly into the victim’s eyes); asphyxiating 
  touch (save or die)
  51
  
  Love Song of the Broken Witch Girl
    by Stelios Vasilis Perdios
  –
  “My dear Cecilia, I’m afraid that you’ve put a spell on me.”
  “My lord, my husband,” Cecilia said. “Your words are too kind.”
  His name was Pikes McGowen, a wealthy mercenary captain. Her father, the duke, had married her to 
  McGowen that afternoon and now it was their wedding night. McGowen resembled an aged devil standing 
  near the fireplace, wearing a thick red robe. The firelight danced across one half of his weathered face, goatee, 
  and forked beard. The other side was in shadow. Even his hair seemed to have horns in it, the way it was 
  combed. His dark eyes looked her over, not out of lust, but of mischief.
  Cecilia looked away, glancing around the room. The painted portraits of family members, the busts 
  and statuettes of saints, looked back at her like an audience watching a comedy unfold. Cecilia shifted to a 
  more provactive pose beneath the four-post bed’s silk sheets, perhaps to conceal her fear.
  Did he somehow see me in the courtyard last night? she thought. She had dropped a key down the 
  chateau’s well, and buried the key’s lock nearby, before sneaking back to her room.  Had the spell worked? She 
  was terrified to marry such a brute, and an old one at that. He wasn’t even of noble blood.
  “Your father wants to be rid of you,” McGowen said. “And so he passes you on to me, luring me with 
  your fine dowry. A pity your first husband died before enjoying it.”
  “He was a pig,” Cecilia said. “You are more of man than he ever was. My loyalty belongs to you.” It 
  was true. She was married to her first husband for only a month. He often brutalized her. Thus, she turned to 
  the old wise woman in the woods for help. She taught Cecilia the Hex of the Rusty Key and later the poison 
  Cecilia used to kill him. “I am truly yours.”
  “Oh my dear Cecilia, ” McGowen sighed and then smirked. “Give up the sharade. Your spell worked, 
  sort of.  I shall not bed with you. Those sores peaking through the paint and powders on your cheeks and chest 
  are most hideous. And I sensed your curse in the courtyard. I’ve traveled too far and learned too much to be 
  hexed by a spoiled little rich witch.”
  Seized with panic, she knelt on the bed as if uttering a prayer.
  “It won’t work,” he said.
  Cecilia kept concentrating on the spell, another curse.  She felt him grab her by the wrists and push 
  her over. “I said it won’t work!”
  Then she saw why. His robes had parted at his chest and there hung a golden medallion with three 
  well-cut diamonds engraved next to the runes etched on its surface.
  “We all have secrets we desire to remain hidden,” he said. “Shall we make other arrangements?”
  The Amulet of Pikes McGowen bestows upon its wearer a +1 to all saving throws.  Furthermore, it dispels 
  curses and hexes cast against the wearer via spell or ritual of 3rd level or below, with a 25% chance of 
  reversing the spell or ritual back on the caster. Furthermore, the wearer gets a wisdom check (done secretly by 
  the GM) to see if the he or she senses the hex being cast.
  52
  
  The Laughter in the Music Hall Turned to Screams 
   by Stelios Vasilis Perdios
  –
  “Gentlemen, I shall keep you in the dark no longer if you would cease your natterings. Yes, thank you.
  “First, let us rap knuckles to the doxies on stage for their jigs and keening. And, of course, 
  congratulate the barman who kept our tongues sluiced tonight. My ladies and gentleman, thank you. You all 
  may go now. Erm…somebody make sure the doors are locked after they’ve left. Now on to the main business of 
  our Order…
  “All of you must have seen the Sign and the Code hidden on the pages of the penny dreadful I 
  circulated throughout the city. Thus, you have come here. I rap my knuckles and raise my glass to you for 
  braving the chill, damp, and snow on this dark winter solstice!
  “Furthermore, I’ve deduced from all your wigwagging that you’ve come to nearly figuring it all out, 
  but not quite. Yes, quite right. This is a most important meeting of the Order. The likes of which haven’t 
  occurred in seven years. And, what you possess are short chapters in a book, serialized for your consumption. 
  And some of you have begun arranging the chapters in order, knowing that they are thirty-nine chapters. Yes, 
  excellent!
  “Yet alas, I am not the one who penned those little gothic tales. I merely copied them from the original 
  source, a grimoire that came into the hands of the Order early in the Order’s history, perhaps at the beginning. 
   I reveal it to you now from beneath this veil…”
  “Behold, The Seven Horrible Secrets of Winter or Blood on the Driven Snow. Why two titles? Because 
  two books are sequestered between these covers of crocodile skin. I can only assume that the first book was 
  sussed from the desert sands of Mord-Stavian and combined with the second book. The pages of the first book 
  seem to be… well, cured human flesh. From what I can divulge from its esoteric dialect, it’s about burial rites, 
  reincarnation, and the nature of apotheosis.
  “The second book is scrawled on fine paper in at least a dozen or so different styles of handwriting. 
  There are thirty-nine short chapters, each a story in its own right, but certain characters may reappear in 
  certain stories, perhaps signifying reincarnation. The book ends several pages short, with a heading titled 
  ‘Chapter XXXX’
  “The number forty has significant meaning. It’s the number of years a generation must pass through 
  to go from slavery to freedom. It’s the number of days the priests and prophets of the bygone age petitioned 
  their gods for blessings. Forty symbolizes, trial, probation, and testing. In certain occult schools here in 
  Ulverland, one must be forty to receive the wisdom of the elders. Most importantly, our order was founded 
  forty years ago, tonight. Also, I feel it is no coincidence that my fortieth birthday lands on this very special 
  day, the Winter Solstice!  Ha! You laugh now. But tonight, we will write the final chapter of this grimoire, and 
  achieve the Enlightenment this Order has long sought, whether by fire or by blood…”
  The Seven Horrible Secrets of Winter or Blood on the Driven Snow is a grimoire that originated in Mord-
  Stavian. In its current form, it actually two books combined into one, a dark omnibus of Mord-Stavian death 
  rites and rituals of attaining apotheosis, titled The Seven Horrible Secrets of Winter, and about forty chapters of 
  handwritten gothic tales, titled Blood on the Driven Snow. The author of each is unknown, though it appears 
  there is at least a dozen or more authors in the second section.  Examining the grimoire takes 1d10+1 weeks 
  and requires an initial horror or insanity check (depending on whether you are adapting rules from Tales of the 
  Grotesque and Dungeonesque/Ravenloft or Call of Cthulhu). Should the check fail, the Game Master is 
  encouraged to have something creepy happen to the character. The character must start again. At the end of the 
  examination period, he must make another check (at a higher difficulty). If he does, he’s learned all of the 
  secrets of the grimoire and automatically gains a form of insanity. The book contains 4d6 spells/rituals, 
  appropriate to the Game Master’s campaign. Supposedly, one ritual enables a person to achieve superhuman 
  powers, perhaps even apotheosis, via a mass sacrifice of about forty individuals.
  53
  
  Sermons Delivered to the Devils of the Mind 
   by Alec Semicognito
  –
  Even before Pikes McGowen was stripped of his Guardsman’s commission, he had been known for his leer. 
  What he intended as a smile was instead both lewd and predatory. Most found it repulsive.
  After years of drink and freelance demonology this leer had acquired a tic, a lopsided twitch accompanied 
  by a faint hnh of involuntary breath. McGowen’s familiar malice now seemed complicated with “nerves,” or 
  possibly disease. The twitch was very much in evidence as he regarded Sora of the Veil across a plain wooden table. 
  He wiped his lips along his sleeve and spoke.
  “So, bad dreams in Mord-Stavian. From a curse you picked up, too bad, hnh. Was there no help there for 
  you? No balm from your death-gods for their Handmaiden?”
  As the Mechpriestess turned her head to regard him directly, McGowen heard a faint jingle and realized 
  that the lace of her veil was a mesh of fine black wire. No hint of her face showed through.
  “The steel lords of Mord-Stavian know nothing of dreams,” she said, “and the Necropolitan is concerned 
  with my obedience, not my suffering. I seek not protective spells, but speech with the phantoms that plague me. Can 
  you deliver it?”  
  Her voice was deep and liquid. For a moment McGowen felt an odd longing, but it turned in his mouth to a 
  thirst for whiskey burn. He coughed, feeling suddenly queasy.
  “Aye, I can, for the price I named. By means of this Astral Mask.”
  With both hands McGowen lifted up a bundle and pulled aside its wrap of purple velvet, displaying for the 
  Mechpriestess a mask of smooth brass plate—a blank and simple face, neither male nor female. Its lips puckered to 
  a round hole, which held the stem of a brass key.
  After a moment McGowen turned the mask around to show the inside, which presented a surprisingly dense 
  array of mechanical apparatus. He fingered each of the nodules and described it in turn.
  “Fit each of these cups to an eye --- see here, they slide a bit to match your face. Each of these plugs goes 
  into an ear. Then open your mouth as wide as you can and fit this ball into it. Then I’ll turn the key that the mask is 
  sucking, hnh.
  “The plugs and cups will push down hard, but they shouldn’t mark you permanently. The ball will open in 
  your mouth, which will hurt your tongue and palate—it’s like the device torturers call ‘the Steel Pear,’ but it won’t 
  quite, hnh, break your jaw.”
  “How, then, will I be able to speak?” The Mechpriestess sounded arch and unimpressed. McGowen’s leer 
  fell flat for a moment.
  “When your face has pushed through into the Astral Plane, the metal won’t seem to be there. Your tongue 
  will be, hnh, free, and you’ll be heard.” McGowen set the mask down on the table, and his mouth again twisted and 
  twitched. “But what will you say to your bad dreams, Handmaiden? Will you ask them for mercy?”
  “I will tell them of the Carrion Marquis whom I serve, and that he demands their worship. I will tell them 
  of the vorpal blades of his Handmaidens, which can surely cut even such wisps as they are. I will say that if they will 
  not obey him, they shall only feed the fires of his Forges, which can burn even matter as foul as their own.”
  “I hope they’re impressed,” McGowen chuckled, without affectation. “All authorities agree that dreams 
  are astral, but some, hnh, a few say that we send our dreams to that Plane, rather than receiving them from an 
  astral origin—that they come from us, you see. And if these, hnh, phantoms come from you they may not fear your 
  threats.”
  “Then they shall learn to. I shall turn the key myself,” said Sora, and lifted her veil.
  Astral Mask—A brass mask with eye cups, ear tubes, and a bit that locks in place between the wearer’s teeth, 
  allowing them to see, hear, and speak into the astral plane without actually traveling there. The wearer undergoes the 
  unpleasant sensation that his face is submerged in lukewarm water, but he can breathe normally.
  The wearer will not be able to move about on the Astral Plane but must concentrate when donning the mask on the 
  being or beings he wishes to speak with. If the being’s name is known, the correct being will always be contacted. If 
  only a description (“the beings that plague my dreams”) is offered, the DM should judge the clarity of the 
  description and adjust results accordingly at his discretion. The mask does not increase the wearer’s ability to 
  influence beings he contacts, but only allows communication. The effect lasts for 10 minutes.
  54
  
  Alone in the Woods on the Night of Many Reapers 
   by G.S. Smith
  –
  Alone, two emptied bottles of cheap wine at his side, Pikes grasped the broken crystal skull and stared into it 
  one last time before smashing it into pieces on the ground. All for naught!
  The body of his friend, Chulk, a few feet away, dead because of him. Dead because he wanted one last chance 
  to claim what should have been his at birth.  Dead because his plans failed. The Gray Hounds that appeared 
  from nowhere this night. Yes, they had carefully planned for the reapers, Chulk the bait for him to capture 
  using the crystal skull. And if he could have captured one the reapers, he could have claim his prize, his 
  promised nobility, along with all that comes with it.
  Now, he had a moment to say farewell. His hand reached into the pouch at his side, to pull out some of the 
  dark clumpy sand, "sorry" he whispered and dropped some down. The few grains dropped from his hand 
  multiplied endlessly, until mere seconds later fully covered the body in a burial mound, Pikes swallowed his 
  tears and said nothing walking away. He did not need to see the mound, swallowed by the land itself, a final 
  and safe resting place before the reapers emerged to claim what was theirs.
  Holy Sand is a minor magic item created by the faithful to assist in interning the dead. A few grains or one 
  portion, will be enough to bury a human,
  two portions for a larger creature. If outside or on soil, the body and mound will fall settle the earth leaving no 
  trace. If on any other surface the
  burial mound will remain. Most pouches will have enough for 11-20 instant burials. It is created by taking sand 
  from a consecrated spot, casting the
  appropriate rituals on it for at least six hours. It sells and is available at the same frequency and rates as holy 
  water in any given area.
  55
  
  THE HUNT FOR RED JOHN  by Ben Djarum
  –
  When you're a child, adults are quite fond of telling you about the will o wisps, or the wicked whispers in the 
  larch grove, or Posey Mathers who stole naughty children from their beds and sold them to trolls for soup. I 
  knew such stories were only told as a way to goad my sisters and I into drinking our beet tea and making tidy 
  Mother's parlor.
  However, my half-mad Uncle Vincent's tales were something else altogether. His stories weren't cautionary 
  fables for us to abide, they were tales of the wondrous and horrible things he had seen and heard during his 
  wanderings.
  When he would come to stay with us, Uncle Vincent would drink half a kilderkin of father's strong ale with 
  supper and sit before the fire. The thick clouds of his cinnamon-scented pipe smoke would bring my sisters and 
  I from all corners of the house. He regaled us into the night with stories of gypsies and wizards and blind  
  women who could fly like birds.
  But it was after my sisters were made to go to bed, that my uncle would tell me great bloody tales of the mad 
  kings of Rictus or the Thing in the Vault of Caronos, or the terrible story of Red John.
  Red John was a young man who lived in a village called Sparrow's Point. John was wrongly accused of a 
  terrible crime. He was hung by his wrists in a dungeon for years and years, and in the darkness, John cursed  
  his accusers and wished for revenge.
  Finally, a demon heard John's wish and released him from his prison. John's arms had been stretched 
  grotesquely long and his body was nothing more than bone under a thin sheath of pale yellow skin. His hair 
  had fallen from his head. And most horrifying of all, his eyes had become blood red and glowed like hot coals 
  in the dark.
  In return for his freedom and his chance at vengeance, Red John agreed to serve the demon for the rest of 
  eternity.
  Red John strangled the life out of every last man, woman and child in Sparrow's Point, and the ones who 
  managed to escape his bony clutch, were stricken dead by the very sight of his nightmarish visage.
  When there was nothing left alive in Sparrow's Point, Red John told the demon that his vengeance was not 
  complete, for there was one family who had escaped.
  So Red John roamed the land, searching for anyone related to the missing family from Sparrow's Point. 
  Pulling them from their beds, choking the life out of them and then finally, devouring their warm spleens.
  The demon followed, waiting for the day when he could finally take possession of Red John's soul. But his 
  lonesome demon fears too, fears that somehow he himself will wind up facing Red John's wrath.
  56
  
  RED JOHN
  Movement: 40'
  Armor Class: 2
  Hit Dice: 8 (68 hp)
  No. of Attacks: 2 claws/bite
  Damage: 1d6 / 1d6
  Morale: n/a
  Special Abilities:
  Players must make a saving throw vs. paralysis when first seeing Red John or be frozen in fear for 1d4 rounds.
  Strangle: if Red John successfully attacks with his claws he can strangle for 1d6 damage per round until a 
  successful attack is made against him.
  Red John is between 7 and 8 feet tall. His arms are long and his knuckles rest on the ground. His movements 
  make no sound and he is extremely quick.  He is extremely vulnerable to light and only appears after dark. 
  Anyone holding a lantern or torch will be the first to be attacked.
  Whenever Red John is near, the Lonesome Demon will be found drinking in a local bar room. He appears as a 
  tall man in a long black coat, hat, and gloves. As soon as Red John's task is complete, the Lonesome Demon 
  will settle his bill and quietly vanish into the night.
  If the Lonesome Demon is offered a bottle of whiskey, he will gladly offer Red John's fate for another soul that 
  he deems suitable. If a bargain is struck, Red John will then return to his shackles in the dungeon beneath 
  Sparrow’s Point. 
  57
  
  Strange Incidents Amidst the Broken Ossuary 
   by Billy Billerson
  –
  At last they had arrived.  A compact stone vault with a heavy portal marked the entrance to the Mircea Family 
  Mausoleum. The main body of the structure could be seen stretching out into the dark, protruding but a couple 
  feet from the ground, like the hulk of some great reptile sprawled out across these funereal grounds.  In places 
  the roof had collapsed, its slow but definitive decay mirroring that of its occupants' line. After a minute's work 
  with the heavy prybar, Ludovico had the door open and the lantern lit.
  The portal quickly swallowed the thin form of Count Mircea as he descended the stairs into the main body of 
  the mausoleum, leaving his servant to await his return.  He soon found himself treading a path between the 
  silent biers, working his way back further and further amidst his family's generations.  His father had not been 
  buried here.  He had been an optimist, hoping to overcome the family's lot through pure will of character. 
   Well, for all his energetic enthusiasm, the inauguration of the new family burial plot had been the only change 
  to leave any lasting mark.  The young Count was much more the pragmatist than his father.  You cannot 
  change where you come from--best to reconcile yourself to it.  But then that's why he was here now, wasn't it? 
   Pragmatism.
  Passing under a pointed archway, Count Mircea found himself staring down into the final vault of the 
  mausoleum, into the Ossuary where the oldest of his ancestors lay.  The descending stair was in a bad way, 
  and one side of the room had collapsed, but the center of the room was untouched, and there she sat.  Like the 
  lich of some predatory bird, perched on a throne of granite, surrounded by the bones of her husbands and 
  sons.  Countess Hippolita Mircea.  The Woman, or so she was called, who had both made and doomed the line 
  of Mircea.
  Making his way down proudly into the chamber, the young Count looked up at his family Matriarch.  Despite 
  the great decay, this shrunken mummy didn't quite look right.  The Count had learned basic anatomy at the 
  Academy--her bone structure, it wasn't exactly...Human.  As he surveyed her, the corpse's empty eye sockets 
  seemed to stare back at her issue with a malignant evil that the grave could not quench.
  "Countess!" he began with a tone of command.
  "You no doubt know why I, Count Jander Mircea, am here and what information I need from you.  As your 
  heir, you certainly would like to see my interests furthered.  Therefore I request that you activate your 
  renowned ability as a provider of otherwise unattainable information."
  Silence.
  The Count began again "Countess Hippolita, you are reputed among the superstition peasants for your ability 
  to reveal the Unknown, from beyond the grave, to those who seek you out.  The tales are as abundant as they 
  are fanciful, such that I cannot help but take them seriously enough to appear here and appeal for your help."
  More silence.  The Count looked again at the parched skin, tight against the skull of the lich, its expression 
  almost mocking--No. Definitely mocking.  She was mocking him!  Her own flesh and blood and she would 
  leave him helpless in the clutches of those vicious mongrels!
  "Mother Hippolita!" He ejaculated, addressing her by the name by which her household had known her when 
  she was still alive, his voice cracking with desperation.  "I beseech you!" he cried, falling to his knees.  "I'd do 
  anything, give anything, to know who..."
  58
  
  He stopped.  Had her expression changed?  To one of smug victory?  On an impulse, he reached into his 
  pocket and pulled out...a ticket stub...for the train to Liverpool...dated November 3rd.  Reading it, the color 
  returned to his face.  "Of course. It must be Fredrick!  I should have squelched that insolent whelp when he 
  was but a puppy!"
  Then his face paled again.  His Right hand--it was changing before his eyes!  What was happening?  Oh no! 
   Anything but that!
  The Count awoke lying on the cold stone floor of the ossuary.  After a minute's groping he managed to find his 
  overturned lantern and light it.  Glancing at his hand, or what had taken its place, he turned, looking up in 
  both horror and gratitude at the grinning visage of the Countess.  Her skin was dry, but not quite as parched 
  as before, and her teeth shone like the polished ivory crown of some Sorcerer-King from far-off Zimbabwe.
  Mother Hippolita
  Mother Hippolita's withered corpse sits in her Ancestral Tomb.  It is known for its ability to reveal secrets to 
  those who beseech it.  The revealing can be quite cryptic in its own right, as the Mummy never talks or moves. 
   Nevertheless, Mother Hippolita's secrets come with a price, and those who receive her aid are inevitably 
  stricken with some unnatural malady or affliction.  As such, it is only the most desperate or most foolish who 
  seek her advice.
  Mutant: Random limb mutation 1d6 to determine which
  1. Not So Special Now- Prime Requisite reduced by 1d6
  2. Blank Slate: all skills forgotten except for 1 language chosen randomly 
  3. Unlucky: -1 to all skill checks/ability checks/luck checks
  4. Unlucky Partner: 10' aura effect of Curse
  5. Aura of the Grave: Smell of Cadaver follows him around perpetually
  6. Energy Drained: Total HP is reduced to 1HP per HD 
  7. Rotting Sickness: Body is perpetually covered in leprous sores(-4 CHR, -3 CON, -2 STR)
  8. Lost Soul: all of character's acquaintances don't remember him, relate to him as a total stranger
  9. Not the Man I Used to Know- swap highest ability score with lowest, 2nd highest with 2nd lowest, etc. 
    
  59
  
  A Curious Incident in a Nightmarish Mountain Pass 
   by Kevin Wright
  –
  “Damn it all, Chadi…hurry up! I’m chilling my plums off out here,” Jarl said through gritted teeth 
  and blue-tinged lips. The wind whipped snow and icy sleet around the three men. It had been many days since 
  they had felt any warmth.
  Jarl blew into his cupped hands and bounced from foot to foot.
  “It’s just a dog after all. Probably got caught by a pack of wolves. We’ve got to get to the town before 
  our blood freezes to sludge!”
  Chadi’s dark eyes never looked up from the corpse. Though the animal couldn’t have been dead for 
  more than a few hours, it was half-covered in snow and frozen solid. The savage traced the lines of a half-
  dozen wounds on the canine body, any one of them lethal. After a silent consideration, Chadi stood and 
  brushed the clinging snow from his body.
  “It’s not a dog. It’s a wolf,” he said evenly. “And those teeth marks – there, on the bones – aren’t from 
  wolves, neither. They were left by men.”
  Nesphebius shook the ice out of his beard and shivered, but not from the cold.
  Twin disasters have fallen upon Garu’s Pass. Primus: an unseasonably early blizzard has fallen on the pass, 
  crushing the town in tons of ice and snow. Segundus: the Skeen brothers – a violent and misanthropic pair of 
  trappers – have chosen this inopportune time to vent their warped hatred on the small village. Following the 
  tracks of a large wolf, the pair came upon a naked and unconscious man ensnared in one of their traps. Though 
  slow of wit, the brothers have a certain animal cunning to them; they realized that they had captured a 
  werewolf.
  They brought the man to the secret dungeons beneath their house, bound him with thick chains, and proceeded 
  to torture him, their many hounds licking up the blood spilled on the floor. Soon, the brothers noticed a change 
  in their dogs. Though always savage, the hounds now grew quietly vicious as foam slavered from their jaws 
  and yellow ichor dripped from their eyes.
  Confused and a bit fearful, the Skeen boys ran the dogs outside and into town just as the blizzard hit. Seeing 
  the destruction and confusion caused in town by the dogs and the storm, the brothers saw an opportunity. When 
  the storm died down, they sneaked out to murder those against whom they held grudges, plundered the houses 
  and kidnapped women whom they found particularly attractive. Having glimpsed a fur-covered Dub and seen 
  his wolf-like prints, and having been attacked by strange and vicious hounds, the villagers think that a pack of 
  werewolves has descended upon them.
  The PCs arrive three days after this all began…
  Keep in mind that the Rabid and the Skeens are only part of the danger in Garu’s Pass. The weather itself could 
  kill the PCs. Every hour they expose themselves to the snowy cold, they must save vs. Death. A failed roll 
  results in a loss of 1-3 points of Constitution. A successful roll cuts that in half (minimum 1). Heavy, winter 
  clothing gives +2 to the roll. An hour in shelter restores 1 point of Constitution. Throw a fire or a hot meal in 
  there and 3 points of Constitution are restored.
  60
  
  61
  
  62
  
  63
  
  A Blizzard White as a Stricken Man's Flesh 
   by Ian McDougall
  –
  Lucinda ran breathlessly from the man in the red mask as he uncannily crept sideways along the alley walls, 
  leaping from building to building. She stumbled on a wet cobblestone, turned and saw him, his mouth twisted 
  into an inhuman grin. But as he leapt closer, he landed on the wall of a cathedral and froze in place, as a 
  stone. While Lucinda survived, she never quite recovered, and when questioned about anything in her past she 
  broke down, screaming only about the man’s hideous grin, which still leers today from his roost with the 
  gargoyles.
  The chapter is actually a coded message between two cells of the Thrice-Forsaken Lodge of St. Coraline. It 
  communicates the location of a relic sacred to Kumo-Thlis, and also its guardian—a basilisk.
  The Thrice-Forsaken Lodge of St. Coraline
  A loose-knit network of converts to the faith of the Lady of the White Way, they return to their old faiths in 
  order to subvert them. More fanatical than those who merely expect to be rewarded, they believe that there can 
  be no reward for their life of idolatry and so care not for their own souls.
  The Tongue of Kumo-Thlis
  This noxious dagger always appears slick, though it is dry to the touch. Those struck by it suffer a much more 
  insidious poison than any mortal tincture, for they will forever after hear the whispers of Kumo-Thlis himself 
  (or at least so they believe). The whispers cannot impart any information the sufferer does not know, but may 
  direct him or her towards unconsidered courses of action, often of questionable advisability. A Remove Curse 
  spell can lift this grim affliction but a successful Save vs. Poison will prevent it. Untreated, a sufferer will 
  eventually either go mad or fall to worship of the snake god.
  The Tongue is currently in a cave outside a small farming village. It is guarded by four cultists, three 
  “converts” (formerly of the Lodge, but all now afflicted), and a basilisk. Additionally, on any day there are 
  1d4-1 locals paying their respects. The leader of the cult is a Daughter of the Grave named Mixolydia. Her 
  regenerative abilities, serpentine form, and immunity to the basilisk’s gaze make her a natural snake-priestess 
  of great influence.
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  Love Song of the Broken Witch Girl  by Dag Syrdal
  –
  The old cabinet creaked open, and Cassandra let her gaze wander across the dusty contents. Springs 
  and cogs and pickled creatures from beyond the sea. The apple caught her attention almost immediately. 
  Secured under the glass bell, perfectly preserved, it was still looking as juicy as the day it had been picked. 
  “But,” she thought, “it never had been picked, had it?” Cassandra drew in her breath, tasting its promise of 
  sweet tartness as it drifted up through the musty air. She regarded her strange sibling-after-a-fashion with keen 
  interest, “One bite couldn’t hurt, surely?”
  Fennimore’s Apple:
  A relic of Dr. Fennimore’s past as court physician. The apple is infused by the hate of the old for the young. It 
  appears as a freshly picked apple, ripe and juicy. If a character touches it or bends in close to examine it, the 
  luscious smell of the apple will compel the character to take a bite. At this point, an appropriate saving throw is 
  in order, if failed, the character will try to eat it. If the mouth of a character closes around the apple, it will 
  reveal its true, rotten, mold-covered nature. Strands of moldy fungal matter is forced into the characters mouth 
  and pushes down into their throat esophagus. At this point, the character will have to make an appropriate 
  saving throw every round or pass out. It is possible to attempt to remove the apple and its strands by forcibly 
  ripping them out. If the character is trying to do it themselves, they make an appropriate saving throw at -4, 
  success means that they tear the tendrils of mold out of their body. The character will then take damage 
  depending on how entrenched the mold is (See table below). One other character can attempt to tear it out, this 
  allows an additional saving throw at -2 only.
  If the character has not gotten rid of the apple by 6 rounds, the mold blocks up their throat, and asphyxiation 
  starts (as per asphyxiation rules in your campaign. If the character dies, the mold will continue to spread 
  through the body of the character, eventually animating the body.
  R1: 1-2 hp
  R2 1-4 hp
  R3 1-8hp
  R4 2d6 hp
  R5+ 4D4
  An animated body will be possessed by an intelligence equal to that of the original character, and have most of 
  their original knowledge. The mold has also subtly altered the body so that the apparent age of the body is that 
  of someone in their early twenties. It will try to approach other humans, and excretes a pheromone that will 
  make anyone slightly disposed to kiss the character feel compelled to kiss them when close (Appropriate Save 
  applies). As well as a possible breach of decorum, this will have the same effect as biting the original apple on 
  the person kissed.
  This time however, the original victim stays intact and can move on to kiss more.
  It is rumoured that the fire at the Empress’ summer lodge was related to some of Dr. Fennimore’s experiments.
  65
  
  Descent into the Purgatorial Pool of Kalem-Ra 
   by Billy Billerson
  –
  CRACK!
  As Count Mircea fired-off his final pistol, the last of the creatures fell down sputtering blood, a fist-sized hole 
  in its bony back.  The Count looked to his other companions.
  Ludovico stood, languid as ever, near Cassandra's prone and lifeless body.  In his hand, the servant held a 
  rather intricately inscribed war-axe, evidently borrowed from the Trophy Room.  He delicately extracted a 
  handkerchief to clean the gore from the family heirloom.  A few days ago the man may have wiped it so to 
  clean it of the accumulated dust of generations, the Count mused.
  As for the two yokels hired as guides, the older was tending to his grandson's wound.  One of the monsters had 
  apparently gotten past the youth's prodigious pitchfork and given him a nasty gash in the shoulder.
  The Count sheathed his blade and began to reload his pistols one brace at a time.
  "Tis but a wee bit further." stated the elder yokel, having finished, stuffing the leftover bandage into his pack.
  And indeed it was.  Another minute's windings and the curious party entered a high-ceilinged cave with a pool 
  at the center.  Encompassing the pool was a short stone border, an imperfect rectangle a bit larger than a 
  coffin, and from its murky waters emanated a strange light which illuminated the whole cavern dimly.
  "This is it, then?" asked the Count dubiously, examining the strange hieroglyphs along the pool's border.
  "Aye.  What are ye waiting for?" said the old man, impatiently.  With that, the Count and Ludovico lowered 
  sweet Cassandra's body, beautiful even in death, into the waters.  It sunk slowly into the cloudy depths, 
  disappearing almost immediately.
  "What now?" asked the Count, it being his turn for impatience.
  "Now we must wait." replied the old man.  "But be on your guard.  Those who return from the pool are rarely 
  unchanged, and rarely for the good."
  "Yes, yes.  You have already warned me so.  I will welcome my dear Cassandra back in any guise." said the 
  Count edgily.
  To this the old man did not reply, though he tapped nervously with his shillelagh.
  And so they waited.
  Suddenly, the water stirred.  As the four stepped closer for a better look, a brow broke the surface, then a 
  dripping head, and then Cassandra stepped silently from the pool.
  "Changed indeed!" though the Count.  "If anything, she is more beautiful now than before her untimely death!" 
  he thought.
  He approached her cautiously as she stood there, as still as a statue.  But when she turned and smiled at him 
  he couldn't hold back any more, moving to embrace her, a smile of joy on his face.  But, as their eyes met he 
  66
  
  stopped dead, as if struck by a thunderbolt!  No!  Something wasn't right!  This was NOT HIS CASSANDRA!
  "Who or WHAT are you?" the Count asked warily, backing away, his voice trembling slightly.
  She continued to smile, that same classic smile, worn of old by the Sphinx having just asked her riddle.
  The Pool of Kalem-Ra
  The Pool of Kalem-Ra is rumored to exist within the maze-like cave complex under Mount Takoho.  The pool 
  is know for its ability to return the dead to life.  If the tales are true, many a bereaved loved one has sought out 
  the pool.  Few have found it, fewer still have been happy they did.
  Roll 1d10 to determine the effect of the pool on a body.
  1. As Good as New- Character returns to life as they were before dying
  2. Something Different- Alignment changed(determine randomly)
  3. Not the Man I Used to Be- Lose 1d6 from random ability score
  4. A Shade of His Former Self- lose 1d3 from all ability scores 
  5. Wisdom from Beyond the Grave- character returns  with Wisdom 20, but is emotionally detached from 
  these "frail mortals".  Alignment true neutral.   No longer gains XP from acquired treasure, instead by 
  acquiring esoteric knowledge. 
  6. Reincarnated- Character returns in another body(1-Invertebrate, 2-Fish, 3-Bird, 4-Reptile, 5-
  Amphibian, 6-Mammal, 7-Random Humanoid, 8-Random Monster)
  7. Mix-Up at the Soul Factory- a different soul comes back in the body(roll-up random character 
  characteristics or pick someone funny) 
  8. Walking Corpse- Character returns to life but their body is just as decomposed as before.  For every 
  week they were dead, CON is reduced by 1d3-1, CHR by 1d4(to a minimum of 1).  Body continues to 
  decompose at same rate until CON reaches 0, when character dies.  When CON drops below 3, can no 
  longer talk, can only make a wet slurping noise.  Normal healing and healing magic does not stop this 
  decomposition.  On the plus-side, they are immune to pain and cannot bleed to death, so they can 
  fight-on until -10HP.
  9. Pet Sematary- Character returns possessed by the spirit of a homicidal Wendigo
  10.Undead- Character returns as random type of undead(powerful characters should roll for powerful 
  undead, weak characters should roll for weaker undead types) 
  67
  
  Within the Fecund Garden of a Thousand Nightmares  by
  –
   
  James A.
  What waits in the darkness of the walled garden for our young heroine Lehrling Blume?
  Who walks among the rain soaked leaves and the storm-lit paths?
  How has our petite Lehrling Blume gotten herself in this peril and what will she do to survive?
  Why is the garden walled off from the world, with such a sweet scent on the night air, it should be paradise?
  Deep within the abandoned sunken city there is a walled garden sealed from the outside with only a 
  windowless tower seen above the wall. The environment around is lush swamp formed from years of decay. 
  Lerhrling Blume is in desperate need of a special item from within the walled garden and has hired or charmed 
  your group of adventures to help her.  She has gotten herself in a desperate pact with a Demon and needs your 
  help (see NPC for details).
  Rumours about the Garden that either Lehrling Blume will know or can be given out by locals.
  (random table)
  1. Strange flying creatures have been seen fluttering about and over the wall at night
  2. The garden smells of sweet flowers after a rainfall, the smell is said to make a man mad
  3. Red roses used to grow over the walls, now they are only white
  4. It is said a gorgon was imprisoned there at one time
  5. Strange walking crocodiles with glowing white scales guard the walls (false)
  6. There are great riches buried in the garden (true sorta)
  7. There are flowers in the garden that will make a human's heart race  (sorta)
  8. A thief once climbed over the wall never to be heard from again
  9. Only at night do the flowers bloom
  10. The tower is a crypt of a powerful vampire (false)
  11. The stars are different around the garden, they shine oddly (false)
  12. The Mist around the tops of the garden walls is poisonous (false)
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  Lehrling started life as a street urchin working her way into petty crime and scam jobs. Several years ago she 
  was working with a roof gang doing break-ins. One night a few years ago and an ill-fated night for Lehrling 
  Blume she broke into the wrong house on the wrong night.
  The Summoner Silak was at the end of a long and hard fought ritual to summon the Demon Assparaz`gal, 
  bender of shadows and giver of gloom.  The summoning was almost complete as she slipped in the tower 
  window, distracting Silak at just the wrong moment as disrupting the binding part of the ritual. Assparaz`gal 
  quickly killed the summoner and inhabited his body while Lehrling Blume watched in horror. 
  He has kept her as his plaything and pseudo-apprentice for several years now while he has gone on in the 
  assumed form of the old summoner. Since Assparaz`gal can not go out in sunlight as it would  corrupt his 
  illusionary guise, he has found it useful to teach her some magic as he sends her out to do his bidding.
  Our little Lehrling hasn't just been learning magic and doing the bidding of a demon all these years, she has 
  been actively researching how to rid herself of this unintended problem, and she seems to have found it.  Her 
  research has given a glimmer of hope in her world of shadow, it seems that deep in the swampy sunken city 
  there are some shards of a magical mirror which could banish her demon. Inside the windowless tower of the 
  walled garden is where she must go, she has assembled a team of adventures in desperation, and she has been 
  on the run for three days.
  Lehrling Blume
  Thief 3 Illusionist 3
  STR 9 DEX 16 INT 15 CON 9 WIS 10 CHR 13
  Dark haired and alabaster complexion, dressed in green velvet dress with matching hooded overcloak.
  Spell book with darkness globe, refraction, detect magic.
  Silvered Throwing Dagger X 7, 50ft silk rope, grappling hook, rabbits foot, mirror, parchments, quill, ink, 
  black velvet bag with partial Deck of mystical wounding  (stolen, though she knows the ritual and will teach it 
  to those that help her, she has assisted in creating this deck by doing shovel work for the demon).
  69
  
  Deck of Mystical Wounding  (magic item)
  A Deck of Projections is a normal deck of playing cards that has been infused with magic during a ritual 
  (following) so that when a card is drawn and flipped, thrown at a target a random (depending on card) type of 
  damage is dealt on a hit along with that cards value in damage
  Using a deck is fairly simple, the player will use a normal deck of cards and shuffle them each game, they will 
  then roll to hit as normal with a missile weapon (range 50 feet) if they hit they will take the card off the top of 
  the deck, if they miss they will take a card off the bottom and discard it
  Spades 2-10 necrotic damage by card value, J 1d8 Q 2d10 K 3d12 ACE summon 1d6 skeletons
  Clubs  2-10 subdual damage J blindness temporary Q deafness temporary K paralyzation temporary  ACE stun 
  explosion centered on target 40 feet, all need to save (flashbang)
  Diamonds 2-10 cold damage J 1d8 Q 2d10 K 3d12 ACE target frozen in large block of ice
  Hearts 2-10 mental/psychic damage J charm target Q sleep target  K confusion ACE teleports target to 
  somewhere else (gm discretion )
  A deck is never complete when found or created, only 5d10 cards will survive the creation of a deck
  Creation of a Deck of Mystical Wounding
  (ritual, spell)
  Ingredients needed 
  One corpse of a freshly hanged criminal
  One  dug up coffin or sarcophagus of a Noble, petty or high matters not
  One  newly lightning struck tree that is dying but not dead
  knowledge to cast the spells colorspray or psychic based attack, magic missile or any non elemental attack 
  spell, chill touch or other cold based attack spell  and lightning bolt or another electrical based attack of some 
  kind and the spell animate dead
  One finely crafted deck of cards (at least 150gp worth)
  a cats whisker, a bat's wing, a serpent's tooth, a rabbits foot
  a diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, a onyx  (of any value)
  A ritual dagger
  the spell create deck of mystical wounding (3rd level spell)
  On a moonless night the corpse of the criminal must be buried in the Nobles coffin at the base of the lightning 
  struck tree, the whisker, wing, foot, tooth, and gems must be sewn into the chest cavity of the corpse along 
  with the deck of cards.   on the next moonless night the coffin must be 
  dug up and one of the attack spells, electric, cold, psychic, normal damage, must be cast into the opened coffin 
  into the corpse, the coffin must then be reburied at another compass point of the tree. this is repeated for a total 
  of four times and compass points at each moonless night. The fifth burying will be at the original compass 
  point of the tree and on the fifth moonless night animate dead will be cast on the corpse and the corpse killed 
  with the ritual dagger and what cards of the deck remain will be a deck of projections 5d10 cards. the deck can 
  be cut four ways and the cards go to different people but each cut will have a cumulative 20% chance of not 
  working negating any magic held in those cards.
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  Moth Myrmidon of the Walled Garden (New Monster)
  The moth myrmidon inhabit the inside of the tower in the garden except at night when they flutter about in 
  search of warm blooded prey to feed the vampiric roses
  No Enc 2d12
  Alignment Chaotic 
  Movement 60’ Fly 120’ clumsy erratic 
  AC 5
  HD 2+ 4  ( 6-20 hps)
  Atks 2, 1d6 sword 1d4shield bash and special
  Save T3
  Morale 10
  Treasure, always a random gem or 10% chance random magic item, no coins
  XP 55
  Special attacks
  if in melee will fight with sword and shield and second attack will be shield bash ,  will always attempt to 
  grapple and fly off to drop less armoured PC’s into vampiric roses on a swoop attack or knock off walls
  Vampiric Roses (trap/monster)
  Vampiric roses are a jumble of overgrown roses that will attempt to grab any warm blooded creature near them 
  and prick them with their thorns. they have white flowers which will turn red when they feed. they will be any 
  of 4 sizes (HD) small, med, large, lush. they will be withered and weak in daylight 
  No Enc . as planted but always at least two next to each other
  Alignment Chaotic
  Movement none but 10 foot reach
  AC 9
  Hit dice 1d4 as size of bush
  Attacks 1d4 as per HD grap each round, 1d6 thorny blood letting, half of damage dealt will heal vampiric rose 
  or provide temporary hit points for bush
  Save W1d4 as HD
  Treasure random mixed coins buried in roots
  XP 10, 15, 20, 25 as per HD
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  Maps and Adventure Sketch
  The Garden can be approached through the Sunken City from any direction, there are no doors into the garden 
  for ease of map use in the south is the statue garden (1)  to the east is the rose garden  (2, 3 , 6)  to the west is 
  the towers section (6, 7)  to the north is the observation garden (4, 5).
  Approaching the garden from any side requires wading in the waters of the Sunken City or a flat bottom boat.
  Random encounters--roll as needed
  Day
  1. snakes small and poisonous drop from above structure or trees 1d4
  2. stirges 1d12
  3. scavenging thieves 50% chance friendly
  4. giant vulture looking for a meal
  5. lizardmen hunting party 1d6
  6. lost pilgrims  50% chance chaos cultists in disguise 
  Night
  1. swamp zombies with spore attack from the lichens growing on them 1d12
  2. shadow hound pack 1d4
  3. thieves 1d6 returning to hideout elsewhere
  4. giant bats hunting flying moth myrmidon 1d4
  5. 1d6 moth myrmidon
  6. necromancer with 1d4 gravediggers assistants looking for dead to animate
  The adventures will be hired or charmed to help our heroine Lehrling Blume and she will lead them to the 
  walled garden however  they wish to go, she will request that they go at night as the magic is strongest in the 
  mirror shards she seeks, but if they insist going in the day she says they can just wait till nighttime once they 
  arrive.
  The walls are 30 feet high and are of smooth white stone, no vegetation grows on the walls and it is slick and 
  cold to the touch. either day or night there will be a thick fog coming from over the walls, describe this like the 
  fog from dry ice in water, it will obscure the view from above of the garden.
  If it is night, moth myrmidon will swoop attack any characters attempting to climb , fly or levitate over the 
  walls 1d4.
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  Areas
  1. this is a walled in garden area separated from the main garden with a set of brass doors that are simply 
  locked.  Inside there is a large nook in the wall in which a purple leaved tree grows and seven statues. 
   from the door side there are 3 statues of guardsmen two with spears and one with a short sword frozen 
  in a terrifying battle pose as though they are attacking something on the other side of the door. beside 
  them is a statue of a bricklayer working on the wall from the inside. the south western statue is of a 
  young nobleman holding what looks to be flowers, and huddled in the corner is what looks to be a 
  priest reading from a great stone book in his hands with a young boy in robes frozen in mid swing 
  with a censor of some kind. All have frightened looks on their faces and look to have been moved here 
  in some form of memorial. There is a small brass plaque on the wall near the tree (search to find) that 
  says “To those that imprisoned the beast Maderia.”
  2. This area looks to be overgrown with rose bushes long in need of a pruning  (vampiric roses, separate 
  bushes for what you need for party level) they will attack any warm blooded creature approaching 
  them, digging them up will find their treasure, crafty players could dig them up live and sell them to 
  others.
  3. This is a fountain with a small statue of a blue winged demon “pissing” into the water that makes the 
  obscuring fog that rises above the wall, characters touching the water will take damage as chill touch, 
  crafty players could bottle the water somehow for a freezing water attack like holy water.
  4. This is a large brass telescope on a revolving stone disk, it has dials for adjusting the lens arrangement 
  and elevation, if a character looks into the eyepiece and it is night have them make a save for madness 
  random, as they have seen the unseen. If characters try to move the telescope there is a 4 in 6 chance it 
  will fall apart, it does radiate magic if detected . The flowerbeds are normal but contain some valuable 
  random herbs if searched.
  5. Around the corner in this nook is a guardian prayer tree of the very chaotic kind, careful players will 
  notice it is chained to the wall with a great silver chain 150gp worth and it is old and has grown into 
  the chain. (TotGaD vol 1 page 70) It is angry and will attack any creature in its range with the branch 
  attack and any attacking creatures with a magic scroll attack. The flower beds here are normal but 
  contain valuable poisonous herbs if searched .
  6. The doors to tower. the tower is 90 feet high and smooth and featureless like the walls, the roof is 
  slightly curved. the doors are not locked and there is a 4 in 6 chance of moth myrmidon  exiting them 
  if at night. during the day they will be closed securely and characters listening will hear fluttering of 
  the moth wings.
  7. There is a rotted rope ladder hanging over wall in this area from the outside. at the bottom is a rotted 
  leather bag with rusty thieves tools and random bottle.
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  Inside the Tower
  Day 2d12 moth Myrmidon flutter around the Mirrored Spheres. Night 1d12 inside as the other Moth 
  Myrmidons will be out hunting for the roses  (see special effect of room).
  upon opening the doors a blinding (save negates) flashing light will be seen (perhaps) from 4 mirrored spheres 
  floating about the room. The Moth Myrmidon will be flying around them and surprised as no one has ever 
  entered their lair.  
  (Special Effect for room) The walls, ceiling and floor are also covered in mirrored tiles so that anyone entering 
  or in the room has the effect of mirror image 1d4 on them, moths and players.
  In the north west corner is a very large statue obscured by the husks of old man sized cocoons from the moths 
  and some filled with larva. Once the room is cleared if they are removed the players will find that the statute is 
  that of winged snake tailed gorgon like creature shielding her eyes from the spheres and cowering in the 
  corner. She has been stone for a very long time there are stairs in the south alcove that lead up to a rotten 
  wooden scaffolding that was not taken down after construction (chance of falling if more than one character 
  walks on them) It is obvious that the tower was a repurposed structure mirrored for imprisoning the gorgon and 
  that they Moth Myrmidon worshiped the statue and the light balls after they made it their lair.
  The Mirrored Spheres 
  These 4 differently sized spheres float around the room giving off and refracting light from there center. Detect 
  magic will discover that each has one shard of a magical mirror on the ball, these are the pieces that Lehrling 
  Blume needs. A thief or other might discover that they are trapped, any trying to pry off the magical pieces or 
  random damage to them in a fight with the moths will set off a color spray spell like effect in a full circle 
  radius possibly causing them to fall off the stairs or scaffolding or become magically blind (gm discretion) . 
  They are VERY fragile so keep that in mind for random missile misses and fighting around them. magic users 
  will find the equivalent spells light, levitation, and color spray scribed on the inside of the spheres if they take 
  them apart . the smaller two spheres could be taken out of the doors intact as a curiosity item 300 gp worth, 
  Lehrling Blume needs only one shard of the magical mirror to complete her spell of imprisonment. 
  Imprisoning the demon, well that's another adventure waiting to be told.
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  75
  
  76
  
  AN ABANDONED HEXCRAWL
  Hex Crawl
  00/00 – 1d12 Uplifted Red Crocodiles lurk amidst the swampy water
  –
  The Mad Hermit of Gal-Thoth (former cleric of Morgaht) lives within a house on 
  stilts
  00/02 – Fortean weather phenomenon: constant hail of misshapen skulls
  00/03 – 2d10 Flesh Golems have been sent to find a child and it to the witches in 00/05
  –
  the corpse of a kraken rots on the shoreline
  77
  
  00/05 – Skeletal Citadel of 5d10 Water Witches
  –
  The Forest of Famished Dreams (home to undead treants)
  00/06 – Rainbow bridge to the World Above
  –
  Underground lair of 4d8 renegade Djinni from 02/10
  00/07 – Village of 300 Doppelgangers ruled by the Celestial Empress of Unvarnished Truth
  –
  Wandering Diseased Mammoth
  00/08 – 1d4 Lizardmen Ronin looking for warriors to duel (originally part of the mercenary 
  company in 01/02)
  –
  The Gilded Mirror of Maratha Khane (inhabited by a Mirror Fiend)
  00/09 – 1d6 Minotaur Warlords guarding a portal to the World Below
  – A manufactory for Retrievers (mechanized spiders); the manufactory is operated by 
  Zzorch cultists from 01/11
  00/10 –  Ransacked tomb (home to 1d8 huecuva)
  –
  Village of 120 Frostreaver immigrants ruled by Parsimonious Gerd, a berzerker lord; 
  the people live under heavy taxation; Gerd will pay to have the fortifications in 01/02 
  and 01/13 scouted out
  00/13 – Castle shaped like an enormous deathmask; guarded by 4d6 cultish Malcarna and ruled 
  by a tiefling demonologist named Ferand D'alargo.
  –
  1d4 Hungry Komodo Dragon-Behir hybrids.
  00/14 – Castle shaped like a giant stone fist; guarded by 4d4 Wolf-Bear Folk and ruled by a 
  tiefling necromancer named Yarando D'alargo.
  –
  1d6 Triceratops in a stampede
  01/02 – A village of 1000 men ruled by Prince Armistrade; he has 4d20 lizardmen samurai in his 
  honor guard
  –
  An ancient burial mound whose inner chambers are filled with both treasure and 
  hallucinogenic gases
  01/03 – Wreckage of an alien city made of twisted, copper-colored metal; 1d10 Skarusoi (insect 
  men) scavenge in the ruins for lost technology
  01/06 – A ramshackle village of 350 men ruled by a Goblin enchantress known as Ravishina 
  Twistoak (she will pay a fortune in gold for any captive Skarusoi brought to her alive 
  from 01/03 or 01/08 to be interrogated about the location of her kidnapped daughter)
  –
  A great metal trapdoor leads down into the earth to a Goblin fortress
  78
  
  01/07 – An ever-burning funeral pyre litters the sky with smoke and ash; one corpse within the 
  pyre refuses to burn—this corpse clutches a rune-etched crystal ball; only Ravishina 
  Twistoak knows how to activate this magical item
  01/08 – A hive of 1d20 Skarusoi make their lair in the low mountain pass; Ravishina Twistoak's 
  (01/06) daughter is held captive here—she is being transformed into a Skarusoi 
  Broodqueen
  01/09 – 1d10 Fire Lizards are hitched to abandoned chariots (their Skarusoi riders were killed by 
  the raiders from 02/11)
  –
  A lone Brain in a Jar (with robotic limbs) is working to construct a vessel capable of 
  traveling through space; it will trade magic items for the alien technology to be found 
  in the ruins in 01/03
  01/10 – A strange, broken library stands midst the wastes; the books within as infested by Tome 
  Ghouls, but the wizard in 3/06 will pay ready money for them (the books or the ghouls)
  01/11 – Temple of Zzorch (formerly the home of the Brain in a Jar in 01/09); the temple shows 
  signs of being used as a laboratory, but has not been used in some time.  The temple is 
  guarded by 1d6 Shadows 
  01/13 – Hidden citadel of 2d100 men under the leadership of Sulot Feem, a fallen paladin.  Feem 
  will sponsor expeditions to explore 01/11 and 02/13 in hopes of gaining foul magical 
  weapons he can use to conquer the village in 01/02
  – An ancient Treant hexbreaker makes his isolated home in the woods
  01/14 – A blasted village, sacrificed to Zzorch by the cultists in 01/11, is still home to a fountain 
  of youth.
  – A half-built iron golem (to be used against the Zzorchian cultists in 01/11 lies 
  abandoned; it can be finished using technology found in 01/03
  02/02 – High-perched barbarian village (3d20 villagers) ruled by Radiana Aranaf, a shaman who 
  serves the water spirits.
  02/04 – Castle Darenstein, ruled by Marcuse the Incompetent and manned by d100 badly trained 
  men-at-arms.  Those who escaped from the blasted village in 01/14 have taken shelter 
  here.  The residents of the castle do not know that there is a vampire slumbering in the 
  fortification's dungeon.
  79
  
  02/06 – Tower of the Succu-fiend, home to a powerful succubus who plans to wage war against 
  the wizard in 03/06 (he once kept her as a summoned captive).  To this end she is slowing 
  calling forth a hellish army; she will handsomely pay anyone who brings her summoning 
  rituals or demonic pacts.
  –
  A coven of Sothack-worshiping Deep Ones planning to raid the village in 03/05 for 
  sacrifices to their Demon Queen
  02/07 – An abandoned shrine to Sothack (formerly the home of the Deep Ones now in 02/06); 
  amongst the hideous idols is hidden a water-proof book on golem creation
  –
  A dragon graveyard (a dying dragon might be spotted in its final throes of mortal 
  agony; savvy adventures might be able to weasel-out the location of the dragon's 
  hoard)
  02/10 – Forest kingdom of the Djinn—fantastic spires and otherworldly delights await within; 
  the Ruling Council of Ethereal Wonders will pay to learn the location of the renegade 
  Djinni in 00/06 with granted wishes if the characters promise to lead them to that 
  underground lair
  02/11 – A village of 4d10 bloodthirsty barbarian raiders; these barbarians use ankylosauruses as 
  mounts and are led by Vargin the Scrourge.  These barbarians greatly fear magic; any 
  magic usage will cause them to make a moral check.
  02/12 – An massive and overgrown garden that is actually the botanic laboratory of a scientist-
  mage named Doctor Herrgalbus; he is experimenting with creating poisonous, mobile 
  plant-creatures that he hopes to sell as beasts of war to the Zzorchian faction in 01/11 or 
  to the Succu-fiend in 02/06
  –
  The forests are haunted by 1d10 Ettercaps that have amongst their treasure a map to 
  04/09
  02/13 – A weird ebony obelisk dominates the landscape; at the base of the obelisk is a door set 
  into the earth that leads down into an ancient dungeon rife with necromantic energies.  
  Many items useful for raising the dead are found within, but they are guarded by specters
  –
  a warband of fell Wights led by Sir Terman D'Vaux patrols the area to stop any 
  interlopers from entering the dungeon at the foot of the obelisk; this band cannot 
  venture into 02/14, but will offer rewards they cannot actually pay to any who will go 
  to 02/14 to slay Terman's vile brother.
  02/14 – The creator of the obelisk in 02/13, a lich named Morlan D'Vaux lies in stasis within a 
  fluid-filled glass tube within a cave.  If the tube is approached he will psychically beg to 
  be released.  He will offer any of the treasure with in the dungeon in 02/13 if the 
  characters agree to slay his brother in that hex.
  80
  
  03/04 – At night the sky above this area is filled with countless Janni who engage in nocturnal 
  gladiatorial games.  They can be convinced to attack the Djinn in 02/10 or 00/06 simply 
  because they like to make war (but find any non-genies to be beneath their martial 
  interest)
  03/05 – The Village of Congrave, famous for its silk weavers.  The village has 2d100 residents 
  and is led by an elder named Lacan the Signifier.  An ancient monastery exists at the 
  outskirts.  The villagers will pay to have the raiders in 03/05 dealt with.
  – A lone hydra haunts the mountain passes.
  03/06 – Rhamtaime the Damp, master of mold-magic, makes his home within an encrusted 
  castle; he is served by 2d10 Guardian Nagas.
  –
  A large, but lazy, encampment of gnolls (4d10) can't decide whether to attack 
  Rhamtaime's keep, the Tower of the Succu-fiend in 02/06 or 05/07.
  03/07 – A grotto of oddly-shaped rock formations and wooden totem poles.  Detailed searching 
  will uncover steps leading down into the Punitive Chambers of the Fossil Kings.
  –
  1d4 Night Hags live in a hut-complex; they are content to sell love potions and philters to 
  the villagers in 03/05.
  03/08 – A large flying helmet is frequently spotted in the skies above this area.  It is, in fact, a 
  prototype flying machine constructed by the dwarves in 03/09—they use this area as their 
  test field.
  –
  a herd of tamable Nightmares sweeps across the grassland (but will be driven into a panic 
  by the appearance of the flying helmet detailed above).
  03/09 – A round keep that is home to d50 dwarf inventors led by Magni Comelately.  If it is 
  discovered that the characters carry any alien technology from 01/03 they will face 
  execution for “treason against reason”
  –
  The dwarf keep is occasionally harried by a Sycorex.
  03/10 – An ooze pit containing a writhing mass of foul mauve goo.  Any magic cast at the edge 
  of the pit will cause an ooze or slime to emerge from the pit.  While initially hostile, this 
  ooze or slime can be trained like a wild animal.
  03/11 – A ruined village.  At night the village's street ring out with the cries of the damned.
  –
  1d6 Giant Poisonous Toads lurk near the coastline.
  04/00 – Remote village of 6d20 gray-faced, morbid souls who are ruled by Derrida the 
  Unspeakable, a spectral presence .
  –
  a fanatic of Zzorch wanders the land, desperately trying to learn the location of the 
  temple in 01/11.  He carries a bramble-whip capable of causing madness.
  81
  
  04/01 – Amidst the hills is a permanent area of perpetual winter storms that has been created by 
  Zzorchian magic.
  –
  1d10 Urrslumbers lie in wait across the landscape
  04/05 – A village known as Harm's Heap is home to 6d20 men; they led by Negri the Neglible.  
  The village protects the Pool of Multiple Blessings from the intentions of evil-doers; if a 
  hard-hearted man baths in the waters of the pool, its healing powers are nullified.
  –
  An inert and rusty Dragolem sits unattended.  It can be repaired using parts scavenged 
  from 01/03.
  04/06 – Greveton Abbey, a village high in the mountains, is given over to the worship of 
  Matakhan.  Any assassins who make their profession known within the village will be 
  given a hero's welcome.
  –
  An unguarded pool here is the Pool of Multivariate Sorrows; anyone who drinks from it 
  is sure to have their family members die within a year.  If Prime Armistrade in 01/02 is 
  told of this pool he will desire to be escorted there so that he might drink deeply and 
  succeed to his father's throne.
  04/07 – A totem pole depicting the feathered demons of the northlands will answer any question 
  put to it, but it has a spotty portfolio of knowledge.
  04/08 – Darlia Herrgalbus (daughter of the Doctor in 02/12) runs a fungoid garden that produces 
  Mushroom Men.
  –
  Hetha, a village of 5d100 people, is ruled by Porto the Damned—a monk who has sold 
  his soul to devils in return for protection from the X in 07/09
  04/09 – A cache of treasure (including a few wondrous items) is kept within the underground lair 
  of a family of 3d12 feral Ghouls.  The Ghouls will trade items for particularly tasteless 
  jokes.
  –
  A heart-broken Hill Giant weeps within his Keep.  He can only be cheered if someone 
  brings him the mirror from 00/08
  04/10 – A company of knights known as The Brave Brothers of Zizek stand guard over an 
  enormous, rune-inscribed sword.  They wait “for the coming of one who is destined to 
  smite the world in its wickedness.”
  –
  A Great Lantern Worm rampages across the countryside.
  82
  
  04/11 – A cathedral dedicated to the Lady of the White Way stands amidst the ruins of a long-
  dead city.  The inhabitants of the cathedral (5d12 priests with a few true clerics among 
  their number) all have amnesia and do not remember the cause of the catastrophe.  Their 
  memories can be returned if they are brought water from 09/04.
  – A sorcerer devoted to Zzorch prays before a large crystal sphere; the sphere is an egg 
  from the World Below that will hatch into a demon if it is bathed in the waters from 
  04/06, but the sorcerer does not know this.  However, the wizard in 03/06 does know this.
  09/04 – water
  Hex Crawl Monster Ideas
  Animate Shroud – a death-shroud animated by a malicious spirit.  Stats as a trapper, but with 
  undead immunities.
  Ant Men – they want to take you back to their mound and feed you to their queen.  Stats as 
  kobolds.
  Crocodile Men – vicious and primitive marauders of the bayous.  Stats as per lizardfolk, but no 
  weapon use—all biting all the time.
  Hot Head – giant, flying stone-like heads whose mouths and eyes sockets ooze magma; they 
  guard sacred volcanoes.  Stats as per flame salamanders, but the damage is heat eye beams and 
  flame breath.
  Kappa – turtle men with indentations in their heads that hold water (this water is the source of 
  their power); they demand payment to cross the bridges that span over the ponds and rivers in 
  which they lair.  Stats as per goblins, but a natural 20 rolled to hit one upsets the water in its head
  —killing it instantly.
  Locust Men – insect men who are the scourge of the farmlands.  Stats as per subterranean 
  locusts.
  Mechanical Spider – robotic infiltrators used by Zzorch cultists as spies and assassins.  Stats as 
  per giant spiders, but with construct immunities.
  Penitent Penanggalan – by day they appear to be nuns attached to the Church of the Lady of the 
  White Way, but at night their heads detach from their bodies to fly about their their venomous 
  entrails trailing below them.  Stats as per vampires, but unaffected by sunlight if their heads are 
  attached to their bodies.  If they get caught out in the sunlight before reattaching to their bodies 
  they are helpless.
  Squid Men – Schemers from the city below the lake.  Stats as per giant octopuses, but with a 
  blinding ink attack.
  83
  
  Current State of the Campaign World
  Ulverland 1666
  A Gothic Fantasy Campaign 
  “My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of 
  the catacombs that made it so.”
  - Edgar Allan Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado”
  What is it? Ulverland is an island kingdom of 
  decaying castles, foreboding forests, haunted 
  moors, defiled graveyards, and gloomy ancestral 
  estates. 
  What lies beneath the surface? The conventions 
  of Gothic literature: mad monks, ghosts, villainous 
  aristocrats, monstrosities, and long-buried secrets 
  that can no longer be repressed; typical characters 
  for this campaign include duelists and monster 
  hunters, highwaymen and assassins, witch hunters 
  and pagan cultists, demonologists and mesmerists 
  in search of arcane knowledge; the influence of 
  Hammer horror films, fin de siècle Victorian 
  anxieties, dark fantasy, decadent 70s occultism, 
  haunting & brutal music, and morbid moments 
  from real-world history.
  What does it feel like? A cold wind that chills you 
  to the bone, the taste of coppery blood in your 
  mouth, a shrill scream breaks the death-like silence 
  of the witching hour.
  84
  
  A Rough Guide to Ulverland
  Ulverland can be roughly divided into four districts: 
  Suthenbrook is the most civilized region of 
  Ulverland, and is home to the kingdom's largest 
  city—Lowedon—which sits on the shore of the 
  River Albin. Lowedon is a sprawling, foggy, 
  fortified city that was established by colonizing 
  invaders from an ancient empire in the distant past. 
  Lowedon is the seat of governance; Queen 
  Erzebeta II rules from her palace at Minister's Rest. 
  The people of Lowedon are currently aghast at the 
  outrages of a serial murderer known only as the 
  Slow Gardener, so called because he cuts the 
  bloom of youth short for the women he catches at 
  night on the streets of the Madchapel district. 
  Castorbury houses the Stained Cathedral, the 
  spiritual center of the Way of the White Lady 
  where Pope Julianna VI holds sway. The Stained 
  Cathedral also serves as the barracks for the 
  Knights of the White Raven, a religious order 
  comprised of templars, inquisitors, and runesmiths 
  led by Sir Robert Aubrey. The countryside of 
  Suthenbrook is mostly farmland and light 
  woodlands; these areas are menaced by spectral 
  wolves. It is rumored that twin necromancers, 
  Arion and Arianna, are raising an army of the dead 
  from Suthenbrook's many neglected cemeteries. 
  The Orxham Academy of Occult Science is also 
  located in Suthenbrook.
  Westenbrook is a region of farmlands and deep 
  woods. The people are hardy and mix their belief 
  in the Way of the White Lady with superstitions 
  and folk magic; this has earned them a reputation 
  as a witch-blooded people. It is not uncommon for 
  the folk of Westenbrook to leave gifts on their 
  doorsteps at night to appease the fey. The people 
  live in fear of were-beasts, banshees, will o' wisps, 
  and dire wolves. Once a year, all of Westenbrook 
  engages in the regional Festival of the Blood 
  Moon, which culminates in a stoic hunt for 
  werewolves in the wild-lands. While gypsies travel 
  all of Ulverland, the “gypsy king” Bela Drachen 
  maintains a permanent camp in Westenbrook. The 
  countryside is dotted with rings of standing stones, 
  barrow mounds, and tenebrous fissures in the earth 
  that are said to lead down into hell itself.
  Estenbrook is a land of rolling hills, cold 
  beaches, port towns, and seaside cities. The 
  shipyards of Estenbrook are famous for the 
  seaworthiness of their vessels. It is rumored that 
  resurrectionists and mad inventors ply their 
  diabolic trades under the cover of night in this 
  region of Ulverland. Estenbrook is also home to 
  the headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Yew, a 
  secret society dedicated to hunting and slaying 
  undead abominations. The people of Estenbrook 
  are said to be a bloodthirsty lot; their favored form 
  of entertainment is vicious pit-fighting. Louisa de 
  Grace, a renowned sculptor residing in the city of 
  Ilwich, is equally famed for her charm as she is for 
  the vices attributed to her nocturnal rambles. 
  Estenbrook is also known as the “hauntlands,” as it 
  suffers from the presences of ghouls, tidal 
  zombies, and specters. Dracoliches have even been 
  spotted off the coasts. The lonely Stormkirk Tower 
  is perpetually shrouded in a violent gale—none 
  who have ventured inside have ever returned. 
  Roadside shrines are not uncommon throughout 
  the country and wilderness.
  The Northlands is a fog-shrouded area of moors, 
  bogs, and the treacherous Penitent Mountains. 
  Separated from the rest of Ulverland by the 
  Northwall, the Northlands are not ruled by the 
  sovereign of Ulverland; rather, the people are 
  pagan barbarians. These clans are ruled by 
  vampiric families who originally hail from 
  Frostreave and Harrowfaust. The vampire families 
  tend to leave the people to their own clan rulership
  —they simply require a blood-tithe from the 
  populace. Two of the undead royal families in the 
  Northlands are currently at war with each other: 
  Count Sebastian von Karlok, who rules his domain 
  from Castle Mortheim, wages a protracted intrigue 
  against Lady Madeline Lochstein (the Sanguinary 
  Duchess), who controls the territory surrounding 
  Mandershire Manor. The wilds are home to undead 
  vultures and monstrous bats.
  85
  
  Religion—The dominant religion in Ulverland is 
  the Church of the White Way. In ages long past, the 
  Church managed to convert many people of 
  Ulverland and largely eradicate the pagan religions 
  that existed before its spread. However, despite its 
  dominance, heretical sects and cults devoted to 
  pagan deities or the Lady’s demonic foes (the 
  Church sees little distinction between them) still 
  persist and are occasionally the targets of the 
  Church’s crusades, inquisitions, and witch hunters. 
  The Lady of the White Way revered by the Church 
  is a fierce, but nurturing, warrior-mother goddess, 
  something akin to a cross between Mother Mary 
  and Joan d’Arc. Her holy symbol is a cross 
  composed of perpendicular swords. The Church 
  also accords near demigod status to a number of 
  saints—particularly those who were martyred. The 
  structure of the Church is much like that of the 
  Catholic Church of our own medieval past, save 
  for the fact that it preaches the gospel of a feminine 
  divinity rather than a male god. Due to the Church 
  of the Lady’s matriarchal traditions, women are 
  able to attain rank and power within its hierarchy. 
  Pagans in Ulverland (and throughout the World 
  Between) worship nature spirits and deities 
  associated with the natural cycle of life, death, and 
  rebirth. Their spiritual leaders are druids and 
  shamans. Some turn to the worship of darker 
  entities, such as devils. These cultists pay homage 
  to their demonic masters in return for occult power.
  A new religion, the Children of the New Fire, has 
  arisen in the Martyrlands; the fanatics of this new 
  faith wish to purify all other religions through 
  conquest, flame, and the sword.
  The World
  Across the Ice Sea to the north is the Frostreave; it 
  is home to clans of bloodthirsty raiders who live in 
  a land of perpetual winter. Across the Sea of Kells 
  to the west lies the Shae Isle, a forbidding land of 
  woad-painted savages, hags, and redcaps. Across 
  the Channel of Blue Tears to the south is the hated 
  kingdom of Morgundy, ruled by Mad King Dagon; 
  Morgundy is the eternal enemy of Ulverland, and it 
  is well-known that the royalty of Morgundy are 
  horribly interbred with the demonic Deep Ones. 
  Other nations on the continent include Midian 
  (ruled by Queen Angelica II), the Empire of 
  Caligari (ruled by Emperor Olaf IV), Harrowfaust 
  (ruled by King Maximilian I of the vampiric von 
  Karlok family), the Iron Principalities (ruled by 
  petty princes and warlords), and the Relmeenos 
  Empire (ruled by Cassandra VII). 
  To the east are the Martyrlands—currently ruled by 
  Sultan Sulaman—where the faithful of the White 
  Lady (particularly the Knights of the White Raven) 
  go to do battle against the infidel Children of the 
  New Fire. Further east are the strange kingdoms of 
  the Spicelands. 
  South of the Grand Continent is Gond, a land of 
  unexplored jungles and deserts; the northernmost 
  kingdom of that land is the death-obsessed Mord-
  Stavian, which is ruled by a lich-lord known as the 
  Necropolitan. 
  In the far east is the Kathai Empire, ruled by the 
  Celestial Empress, with whom Ulverland has 
  distant trade relations. South of Kathai are the 
  Scavenger Lands, which are home to warlike 
  nomadic tribes. Even farther east is Bastillia, an 
  island to which Ulverland transports its worst 
  criminals. Above Bastillia is the isolationist and 
  kappa-plagued Island of Jade Mysteries, which is 
  ruled by the shogun Takojo Gura. 
  To the far west are the Discovered Countries, two 
  continents currently being colonized by Ulverland, 
  Morgundy, Frostreave, and Midian.  
  86
  
  House Rules
  Ability Score Requirements
  Ignore all ability score requirements for character classes.
  Hit Points
  All characters begin with maximum hit points at 1st level. Thereafter, roll for hit points as normal when a 
  level is gained.
  Alignment
  We won't be using alignment or alignment languages in this campaign. Spells and magical abilities that 
  detect alignment instead detect intent and possibly demonic malevolence.
  Races
  Instead of the usual fantasy races, pick a bloodline from the following. 
  Pure—whether a member of the unwashed peasantry or the blue-blooded nobility, your lineage is 
  untainted by corruption. You get +1 to all saving throws vs. petrification and paralysis effects.
  Caliban—you were born under a witch's hex or in a vicinity where rites of black magic were 
  practiced. You were born stunted, gnarled, bestial, or deformed in some way. You get +1 to all 
  saving throws vs. magic.
  Changeling—you are not truly human at all; rather, the fey stole a human baby from its crib and 
  left you in its place. The tell-tale signs of your inhuman lineage might be pointed ears or 
  unnaturally red hair. You can cast one 1st level druid or illusionist spell per day in addition to 
  whatever spells granted by your class.
  Created—you were not truly born at all; rather, you were created alchemically or galvanically by 
  a rogue experimenter.  Your body may bear the marks of having been stitched together or there 
  might be inorganic material assimilated to your physiognomy. You get +1 to all saving throws vs. 
  breath effects.
  Demon-Blooded—somewhere in your ancestry is a progenitor who fornicated with devils. This 
  corruption manifests in horns, a forked tongue, cloven hooves, or a witch's teat. You can cast one 
  1st level magic-user spell per day in addition to whatever spells granted by your class.
  Dhampir—one of your ancestors was a vampire. This taint manifests as extreme pallor, an aura of 
  morbidity, or fang-like teeth. You get +1 to all saving throws vs. the effects of the undead.
  Nephilim—the celestial seed of a traitorous angel begot your bloodline. This taint makes you 
  seem otherworldly or perhaps it has imbued you with a terrifying beauty. You can cast one 1st 
  level cleric spell per day in addition to whatever spells granted by your class.
  Sea-Blooded—somewhere in your lineage lurks an ancestor who was a sahaugin. This taint 
  manifests itself in a somewhat frog- or fish-like aspect to your appearance. You get +1 to all 
  saving throws vs. poison and death effects.
  87
  
  Class-specific Changes
  These changes modify the character classes as they are presented in the Advanced Edition Companion.
  Assassins: Use the Hear Noise column on the thief ability chart to determine the base chance of 
  success for all thief abilities; until 3rd level an assassin has a 1 in 6 chance to successful use one of 
  these abilities under normal circumstances. An assassin with an Intelligence of 16 gains an extra 
  language, and Intelligence of 18 gains a further language; these additional languages are in place 
  of alignment languages.
  Fighters: A fighter gets +1 to all attack rolls and +2 to damage with all weapons. Fighters get two 
  melee attacks on all odd rounds of combat. At 7th level a fighter can attack twice per round in 
  melee. At 13th level a fighter gets three melee attacks on odd rounds and two melee attacks on 
  even rounds. 
  Rangers: Instead of bonuses against goblinoids, a ranger chooses an enemy type that they receive 
  their combat bonuses against from the following: undead, dragons, were-creatures, automatons, 
  demons, fey, or chaos beasts. A ranger can move silently, hide in shadows, and find and remove 
  traps as a thief, but only in wilderness environments. 
  Thieves: Use the Hear Noise column on the thief ability chart to determine the base chance of 
  success for all thief abilities. 
  Stealth and Skullduggery
  All classes have a 1 in 6 chance to hide in shadows, move silently, etc. unless they possess thief abilities 
  that supersede this base chance.
  Weapon Restrictions
  A character may use any weapon, regardless of the usual class restrictions. However, the damage dice a 
  character rolls is determined by their class—as shown below in the chart that follows. Small weapons 
  (such as daggers) always do 1d4 points of damage no matter who wields them. Any additional damage 
  (such as magic or a ranger's special ability) is added to the class-based weapon dice.
  Class
  One-handed Weapon
  Two-handed Weapon
  Cleric1
  1d6
  1d8
  Fighter2
  1d8
  1d10
  Magic-User3
  1d4
  1d6
  Thief4
  1d8
  1d10
  1 – includes druids
  2 – includes rangers and paladins
  3 – includes illusionists
  4 – includes assassins
  88
  
  Armor Restrictions
  A character may wear any type of armor and use a shield, regardless of the usual class restrictions. 
  However, certain activities or abilities (such as thief abilities and the casting of magic-user or illusionist 
  spells) is penalized in armor, as per the following chart. Other penalties, such as attempting to swim in 
  plate armor, are left to the DM's discretion.
  Armor
  Thief Abilities Penalty
  Arcane Spell Failure Chance
  Light1
  none
  1 in 6
  Medium2
  +1 to d6 roll
  2 in 6
  Heavy3
  +2 to d6 roll
  3 in 6
  1 – includes padded, leather, and studded leather armors2 – includes scale mail and chain mail 
  armors 3 – includes banded mail, splint mail, and plate mail armors
  Firearms
  Black powder pistols, arquebuses, and blunderbusses are rare, but available in the setting. In terms of 
  range, pistols are equivalent to short bows and arquebuses are equivalent to heavy crossbows.  Each costs 
  double the amount of their comparable ranged weapon. Similarly, the shot and powder for these weapons 
  costs twice as much as arrows or quarrels. A blunderbuss costs 40 gp, and has the range of a short bow; it 
  does one-handed damage at medium and long ranges, and two-handed damage at short range.
  The damage from firearms is also figured from a character's class. For example, a ranger firing an 
  arquebus (a two-handed weapon) would do 1d10 points of damage, while a cleric firing a pistol (a one-
  handed weapon) would cause 1d6 points of damage.
  Reloading
  Any missile weapon may be fired once per round.
  Equipment Price Changes
  Hand axes cost 3 gp, clubs cost 1 gp, 10 light quarrels cost 10 gp, ladders cost 5 sp. 
  Encumbrance
  Encumbrance will not be strictly checked as it slows down the game. It will be ruled on an ad hoc basis.
  Experience Points
  Characters do not gain XP by defeating monsters or stealing treasure necessarily. Rather, it is the DM's 
  discretion to award XP based on the characters interacting with the world in a way that changes both it 
  and them as the game progresses.
  Level Limits
  Level limits do no exist for any character class, but it is rare for any mortal to attain higher than 10th level. 
  Consider characters of levels 1-3 to be reasonably novice, characters of  levels 4-6 to be hardened and 
  experienced, and characters of levels 7-10 to be amongst the most powerful in the known world.
  Death and Dying
  What happens when you reach zero hit points? It is at the DM's discretion. You might die, or maybe 
  Things Get Worse.
  89
  
  Map of Ulverland
  90
  
  Map of the World Between
  Inspirations
  Fiction: Walpole, The Castle of Otranto; Brown, Wieland; Poe, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque; 
  Machen, The Great God Pan; Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; Moore, From Hell; Newman, Anno 
  Dracula; Lewis, The Monk; Radcliffe, The Italian; Shelley, Frankenstein; Le Fanu, Through a Glass 
  Darkly; Lee, Hauntings; Stoker, Dracula; Howard, the Solomon Kane stories; Maturin, Melmoth the 
  Wanderer.
  Music: Cradle of Filth; King Diamond; Sopor Aeternus; Thinguma*jigSaw; Blood Ceremony; The 
  Parlor Trick; Electric Wizard; The Black Dahlia Murder; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; Ghost; Black 
  Magician; Jess and the Ancient Ones.
  Film & Television: Sleepy Hollow; Black Sunday; Masque of the Red Death; Brotherhood of the Wolf; 
  Black Death; The Wicker Man; Nosferatu;  Sweeney Todd;  Dark Shadows; Vampire Hunter D; Ripper 
  Street; The Vampire Lovers; Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde; The Others; Twins of Evil; Romasanta; The 
  Prestige; Countess Dracula; The Woman in Black; Queen Margot; The Company of Wolves.
  91
  
  CARCOSA REHAB
  Races of Carcosa
  The Garuush
  –
  the garuush are roach-men who value survival above all else
  –
  the garuush are adept at repairing advanced technology
  –
  the garuush accept books as legal tender
  The Omtrek
  –
  the omtrek favor missile weapons such as spears, slings, and boomerangs
  –
  the omtrek worship animal-headed pleasure gods
  –
  an omtrek must pay his debts in order to enter the afterlife
  The Bassangeer
  –
  the basangeer are blue-skinned, three-eyed men addicted to mysticism
  –
  the basangeer are driven into a frenzy by thunder
  –
  the basangeer are adept at riding dinosaurs
  The Voidanate
  –
  the voidanate are duckmen who believe that all deities are just alien entities in disguise
  –
  the voidanate tell jokes before battle
  –
  the voidanate believe that a global apocalypse is coming
  The Karlbarg
  –
  the karlbarg are gaunt, mutant scavengers and nomads
  –
  all karlbarg possess at least a small degree of sorcerous potential
  –
  the karlbarg tend to worship a being they call He Who Sifts the Wastelands
  The Muurghal
  –
  the muurghal are squat-bodied and unreasonably heavy
  –
  the muurghal believe that work is sacred; to die in the midst of a task is a blessed event
  –
  the muurghal believe that ritual tattoos bring them great luck and prosperity
  The Tormateo
  –
  a tormateo decorates his clothing with rocks, seashells, and animal teeth
  –
  the tormateo are adept at predicting the weather and finding water
  –
  the tormateo believe that Carcosa is a spiritual purgatory
  The Magphear
  –
  the magphear worship volcanic spirits and practice ritual cannibalism
  –
  a magphear believes that cutting his or her hair brings weakness; they are all red-heads
  –
  the magphear stride proudly into battle wielding axes and greatswords and wearing mininal armor
  92
  
  The Tookbhar
  –
  the tookbhar are adept at riding giant worms
  –
  a tookbhar may follow any religion, but they are always fanatics
  –
  the tookbhar find scars to be beautiful
  The Gashfeen
  –
  the gashfeen are albinos because they prefer to live underground
  –
  the gashfeen worship ghosts
  –
  the gashfeen are notoriously cheap and tight-fisted with their money
  The Xephites
  –
  the xephites believe that protecting nature is the highest good, but their understanding of good is 
  skewed
  –
  the xephites favor armor shaped molded with decorative tentacles
  –
  all xephites await a mythical savior
  The Pellanate
  –
  the pellanate are mantis-men
  –
  solitary pellanate are often bounty hunters and are to be feared
  –
  the pellanate are prone to alcoholism
  The Jing-Leer
  –
  the jing-leer are schemers, tricksters, and bandits
  –
  the jing-leer enjoy psychedelic drugs 
  –
  a jing-leer always honors his oaths
  93
  
  Weapons & Armor 
  Weapon damage in this Carcosa campaign is not random, nor is it tied to the shape and form of the 
  weapon.  Rather, damage is determined based on what the weapon is made of:
  Material
  Damage
  Damage When Broken
  Wood or chitin
  1d4
  1d2
  Horn or stone
  1d6
  1d3
  Bone or obsidian
  1d8
  1d4
  Metal
  1d10
  1d5
  In this version of Carcosa, metal (and the ability to forge it) is rare.  Any monkey-man can pick up a 
  heavy piece of wood and use it as a cudgel, any primitive can shape a stone into an axe-head, but if you 
  want a sweeeeeet bonesword you're going to have to seek out a talented bonecrafter in a large town or 
  city.
  Two-handed Weapons: Two-handed weapons roll twice and take the higher result.
  Weapon Breakage: If you roll a 1 on your attack roll, your weapon breaks.  You can still use the broken 
  weapon, but it now only does half damage.  Any further breakage renders the weapon useless.
  Armor provides protection based on how spiky it is:
  Armor Spikiness
  Descending Armor Class
  Ascending Armor Class
  A few noteworthy spikes here and there
  8
  +1
  A respectable level of spikitude
  7
  +2
  Be careful in crowded hallways
  6
  +3
  You could be in a black metal band
  5
  +4
  You are the envy of porcupines 
  4
  +5
  None more spiky
  3
  +6
  94
  
  Random Psychic Powers
  How many psychic powers does this character have?  Roll 1d4.  Then roll a number of times equal to that 
  result on the following table.  (Duplicate results on the following table “eat” one of the character's 
  potential psychic powers.)
  d20
  Psychic Ability
  Mimics Spell
  1
  Ego Impression 
  Allure
  2
  Mind Control
  Charm Person
  3
  Mind Link
  Message
  4
  Mind Wipe
  Amnesia
  5
  Project Sound
  Auditory Illusion
  6
  ESP
  ESP
  7
  Project Anxiety
  Scare
  8
  Clairaudience
  Clairaudience
  9
  Clairvoyance
  Clairvoyance
  10
  Thought Insinuation
  Suggestion
  11
  Remote Viewing
  Arcane Eye
  12
  Monstrous Mind Control
  Charm Monster
  13
  Manipulate Emotions
  Confusion
  14
  Mind Blast
  Feeblemind
  15
  Telekinesis
  Telekinesis
  16
  Pyrokinesis
  Pyrotechnics
  17
  Hypnotism
  Hypnotism
  18
  Hypnotic Pattern
  Hypnotic Pattern
  19
  Project Fear
  Fear
  20
  Project Nightmare
  Phantasmal Killer
  How many times can a character use their Psychic Powers?  The GM should roll the appropriate dice 
  based on the character's level:
  Level
  Daily Power Uses
  1-3
  1d4
  4-6
  1d6
  7-9
  1d8
  10-12
  1d10
  13-14
  1d12
  95
  
  Note the number of psychic usages that character has per day.  Whenever a character uses their Psychic 
  Powers reduce that score appropriately; if the character attempts to use their Psychic Powers above their 
  daily allotment, roll on the following table to determine the result:
  d10
  Psychic Overload
  1-2
  Character takes 1d8 points of damage
  3-4
  Character is stunned for 1d4 rounds
  5
  Character loses all psychic powers for the next day
  6-7
  Ability works, but the character is weakened and makes all saves at -2 for a day
  8-9
  A random ability manifests instead
  10
  Character's head explodes
  96
  
  Rituals
  Do you have a game that includes rituals that feature human sacrifice and violation?  Do you find that 
  oogie?  I'm here to help.  When you come across something you aren't down with in the ritual's 
  description, roll on this table and replace the offending article with the result.
  d100
  Instead of Violation & Murder, the Ritual Requires...
  01-02
  You must gather ten teeth from gladiators who died in an arena fight; these teeth must be ground 
  into a paste along with certain herbs and natural pigments.  This paste must be used to draw the 
  unholy symbols required by the ritual.
  03-04
  You must melt the sacred wax of Mehl-Yung in a copper bowl inscribed with profane sigils. 
  When the wax is liquid it must be smeared across your body in the proscribed motions; once the 
  wax has hardened, you must engage in the Dance of Darkened View until every piece of wax 
  has fallen away from your body.
  05-06
  You must acquire the relics from four saints.  These relics must be broken while you intone 
  various profanities and blasphemies.  You must then take the broken remnants of the relics and 
  bake them into wafers which you will consume at the ritual's conclusion.
  07-08
  To prepare for the ritual beforehand you must find an ancient skull that has been in the earth for 
  no less than a hundred years.  The skull must be studded with precious jewels and silver.  The 
  skull must be presented and held aloft at the culmination of the ritual.
  09-10
  You must build a pyre from the wood of a desecrated confessional booth.  As the pyre burns you 
  must cast a symbolic effigy into the fire as you read from the Feverish Book of Wrathful 
  Thoughts.
  11-12
  You must have a kimono fashioned from fabric that has been stained by the blood of a religious 
  martyr.  To finish the ritual you must engage in the Dance of Meht-Sahrnoth, a forbidden dance 
  that requires you to shed the garment at its last step.
  13-14
  You must bring a golden mirror of great value to the site of the ritual.  You will black the 
  mirror's surface with black pigment.  As you recite the ritual's incantation you must scrape a bit 
  of the black paint from the surface of the mirror.  Take care to remove the last bit of pigment 
  from the mirror as you utter the last word of the incantation.
  15-16
  You must fashion a mask from the combined skins of a mammal, an amphibian, and a bird.  The 
  mask will be worn only during the first part of the ritual; after this the mask must be consumed 
  by the sorcerer before the ritual can continue.
  17-18
  To proceed with the ritual you must read from the Tome of Vile Inclinations.  After each page is 
  read you must tear it from the book and let the page be consumed in the flames of a torch 
  fashioned from ghostwood.
  19-20
  You must have a idol carved from stone brought from the Quarry of a Million Tragedies.  While 
  the ritual is completed you must prostrate yourself in front of the idol and then act like an 
  animal, bleating and mewling as you run about on all fours.
  21-22
  You must prepare a canvass by stretching it by hand.  You must then paint the portraits of three 
  women on the canvas with paint into which they have each willingly contributed drops of their 
  blood.
  97
  
  23-24
  You must acquire a rope used to hang a condemned criminal.  As part of the ritual you must 
  offer the Fourty-Two Prayers of Baleful Recurrence as a chant over the rope.  At the final stages 
  of the ritual you must practice self-strangulation with the rope until it chokes the concluding 
  words of the rite in your throat.
  25-26
  The ritual must be performed as you stand atop of mound of stones stolen from a king's funeral 
  barrow.  While performing the ritual you must sing the Imprecations Against the Dead Sun in a 
  fluttering falsetto.
  27-28
  You must craft a drum from the skin of a mutant beast.  You will play the drum as you chant the 
  ritual's incantation.  As the ritual moves to fruition the drum will animate and begin to play itself 
  in a fearful tattoo.
  29-30
  You must prepare face paint from the rare flowers that grow in the Devourer's Grove.  You will 
  paint your face with the prescribed patterns as you coldly read the protective incantations found 
  in the Book of Absolute Harrowing.
  31-32
  Collect enough corn husks to fashion thirteen dolls.  These dolls must be bathed in a succession 
  of liquids: sour milk, watered-down honey, grain alcohol, animal urine.  At the ritual's 
  conclusion the dolls will animate and engage in ritual combat with the sorcerer.
  33-34
  Salvage wood from a shipwreck and fashion the timber into a crucifix.  You must have a masked 
  assistant nail you to this cross while the disparage you with a litany of your earthly failings.  The 
  ritual incantation may then begin.
  35-36
  Erect yourself a throne made from the bones of dogs long dead.  You must sit upon this throne 
  as you complete the rest of the ritual's requirements.  When sitting upon the throne you may 
  only speak in a high-pitched, child-like voice.
  37-38
  You must prepare a perfume from the sweat of three brothers.  Adorn yourself with both this 
  perfume and costly jewelry.  Perform the ritual while wearing clothes that belong to the opposite 
  gender.
  39-40
  You must create a candle from fat gathered from the hollows of a grave.  As the candle burns 
  you must verbally recall the content of all your worst nightmares.  These nightmares will be 
  replayed in your mind.  As the candle gutters out the ritual may be completed.
  41-42
  You must stitch together two used funeral shrouds into a hooded garment.  Don the garment and 
  perform the rest of the ritual in a graveyard.  At the conclusion of the ritual you must dig a fresh 
  grave, bury the garment, and perform the last rites for it as if it were a living man.  To do 
  otherwise invites a dreadful curse.
  43-44
  Recruit twelve thespians to enact the play The Yellow King's Triumph.  At the conclusion of the 
  play, you may read the ritual's incantation and fulfill any other requirements it might demand.
  45-46
  Dose yourself in the sweet fumes of burning death's head poppy and utter the words of astral 
  transmission.  Once upon the astral plane, seek out your animus-ganger and murder it.  When 
  you have returned to your body you may complete the ritual.
  47-48
  You must carve a flute from the bone of a dinosaur.  You will then play the tuneless Song of 
  Blood Abjectness while solemnly dancing erratically.  You may then proceed with the rest of the 
  ritual.
  49-50
  As part of the ritual you must prepare yourself by taking a purifying bath in the holy mud of 
  Tam-Zhuul.  You must keep this mud upon your body for a week before the ritual is performed.
  98
  
  51-52
  You must locate an Ebony Shard of Pish-Katelle and gaze into its murky depths while 
  whispering the words of power.  A demonic servant will appear within the Shard; the demon will 
  require you to sacrifice one of the memories of your childhood to proceed with the ritual.
  53-54
  You must cleanse your physical form in the the Waters of Tenebrous Baptism.  After your 
  baptism you must howl to the moon until your throat becomes raw.  Only then can you recite the 
  concluding incantation.
  55-56
  Imbibe the intoxicating Powder of Gozitt Rhen until the veil that separates the worlds falls away. 
  While your mind is on the brink of drifting into the ether, quickly perform the ritual before you 
  fall into unconsciousness.  Ignore the chirping of the demonic mantises you see on the edges of 
  your vision at all cost.
  57-58
  You must order the construction of a princely crystalline sculpture that you will fill with various 
  liquors of rarity and delicacy.  As you read the incantation aloud the crystalline sculpture will 
  begin to ring with the music of the spheres.  It is vitally important to stopper your ears and finish 
  the ritual quickly.
  59-60
  In the week leading up to the ritual you must subsist on a diet of locusts, flies, and larva.  If you 
  become sick from this diet you must not perform the ritual; instead, begin the diet again when 
  you are healthy.
  61-62
  Before beginning the ritual you must bathe your hands in the tears of thirteen virgins.  Your 
  hands will become dirty in the magical workings of the ritual; you must again bathe your hands 
  in the tears of thirteen virgins at the conclusion of the ritual.
  63-64
  In the ten days leading up to the ritual you may only eat foods prepared from the recipes found 
  in the Book of Edible Mysteries.  If you become sick from this diet you must not perform the 
  ritual; instead, begin the diet again when you are healthy.
  65-66
  You must become catastrophically drunk on alcohol consumed from clay pottery made by the 
  People of Zhemin-Kafar.  In the morning after, while you suffer from the after effects of you 
  imbibing, perform the incantation and the ritual's requirements; interspersed throughout the 
  ritual you must beg forgiveness of the spirits that govern drunkenness. 
  67-68
  You must offer up blood split from your wrists into a chalice of silver or gold; half of this blood 
  must be poured out onto the ritual diagrams that accomplish the magical working, the other half 
  you must drink in between reciting the words of the rite.
  69-70
  During the course of the ritual you must summon the spirits of your ancestors according to the 
  instructions provided in the Scroll of Elder Scorn.  You must listen to your ancestors list both 
  your failings and your accomplishments before proceeding with the ritual.
  71-72
  In the three days leading up to the ritual you must fast, drinking neither water nor eating of any 
  food.  During the ritual itself you must rend your clothes and loudly proclaim your existential 
  insignificance.    When you are in a state of abjection you may finish the ritual's incantation.
  73-74
  Purchase a splendid white horse.  Anoint the horse with the cinnamon-scented Oil of Derlak 
  Dugarh.  At the conclusion of this ritual you must free this horse to flee in whatever directions It 
  wishes.
  75-76
  As the ritual proceeds you must handle venomous snakes and present them to the Guardians of 
  the Cardinal Directions.  If you are bitten by the snakes, cease the ritual instantly or face a dire 
  doom.
  99
  
  77-78
  You must etch the runes the ritual requires into a tree of the sacred type known as Queen of the 
  Darkling Wald.  These runes will bleed as if cut into the flesh of man.  Drink deeply of this 
  blood-sap and continue with the ritual's incantations and gestures.
  79-80
  Craft a large effigy of an owl from wicker.  Debase yourself shamelessly before the owl; even 
  when the owl begins to move, so not cease your debasements.  Only when the owl's mouth 
  opens may you safely stop; now feed the owl on carrion until it is sated.  Once the owl refuses 
  further food you may proceed with the rest of the ritual.
  81-82
  You must eat of the hallucinogenic Worms of Nethren-Vhaal until the world wheels and spins 
  around you.  Address your visions—be they monsters or angels—as “Master.”  Do as they bid 
  you.  When the world returns to its normal function, complete the ritual.
  83-84
  Mortify your flesh with a whip of thorns.  Display your wounds proudly to the demons and 
  entities brought forth by the ritual's workings.  Let them admire your dedication and handle your 
  abused flesh.  Once you have met their approval you may proceed with the ritual's other 
  requirements.
  85-86
  As you burn the incense of Zalamphel a demonic servitor will appear and demand that you 
  sacrifice one of your senses for a year.  When you have named the sense to be stripped away, the 
  demon will vanish and you may complete the ritual.
  87-88
  Within the month before the attempt the ritual you must reconcile two foes and end their enmity. 
  However, during the ritual itself you will bind their names upon a parchment with a curse of 
  eternal hatred.  Once this has been accomplished the ritual may proceed.  
  89-90
  You must sculpt tablets out of clay, powdered lead, and rosemary leaves by your own hand and 
  let them dry in the heat of a blue flame before you scribe the needed runes on them with the 
  thorn of a bromelihag plant harvested during the monsoon.  Only this will open the gates the 
  ritual requires.
  91-92
  The ritual must feed of love's strife.  In the ritual's preparatory stages, you will receive a vision 
  of a friend or associate who is smitten. You must prevent their love from being 
  reciprocated/consummated.  To do otherwise invites personal ruin.  
  93-94
  Utter your lamentations before a candle sculpted into the shape of Princess Nar.  When your 
  lamentations are complete, wash your hands in a iced water held in a basin of bronze.  At last 
  you may begin your ritual work in earnest.
  95-96
  Place a crown of starmetal upon your brown and array yourself in robes of brilliantly-colored 
  silk.  No matter what the beings summoned onto our plane by the ritual threaten you with, 
  remain imperious and commanding.  They will eventually relent and grant you the key to the 
  ritual's completion.
  97-98
  Bottle the water of a mountain stream; at the ritual site mix the water with the ashes of a slain 
  monster.  Drink this mixture while making noises that correspond to the type of slain beast 
  within the elixer.  Once imbibed the way is clear to complete the ritual.
  99-
  100
  Stitch a doll out of the finest leather and stuff it with broken shells.  Live with it in your house 
  for three days and nights.  At midnight on the last night, bury the doll in desecrated ground.  The 
  site is now prepared properly for the ritual incantation.
  100
  
  Carcosan Intoxicants 
  "We can't stop here, this is Carcosa country! 
  . . .
  We had two bags of black lotus powder, seventy-five opiate tentacles, five sheets of hallucinogenic runes, 
  an urn half-full of acid mummy dust, and a whole galaxy of howlers, bawlers, cacklers, and pukers...also, 
  a quart of heroin dinosaur piss, a carton of shanga, a case of elder ale, a pint of raw mi-go ichor, and two 
  dozen wormwood herbs."
  Intoxicant
  Passed Save
  Failed Save
  Black Lotus Powder
  Euphoria; ignore all pain for 1d10 hours
  Euphoric death
  Opiate Tentacles
  Euphoria; ignore all pain for 1d8 hours
  As a Sleep spell (save again vs. 
  addiction at -2)
  Hallucinogenic Runes
  Consciousness expanding; Contact Outer 
  Planes—answers are truthful
  Horrific visions; as Confusion 
  spell
  Acid Mummy Dust
  Increased consciousness of the connections 
  between people; ESP for 2d10 turns
  Everyone can hear your thoughts; 
  feelings of intense paranoia.
  Heroin Dinosaur Piss
  Euphoria; ignore all pain for 1d6 hours
  Slow descent into narcotic hell; as 
  a Slow spell (save again vs. 
  addiction)
  Shanga
  Regression to a more primitive mental state; 
  gain +1 to hit and damage for 1d3 hours
  Regression to a more primitive 
  mental state, as a Feeblemind 
  spell (save vs. addiction)
  Elder Ale
  An eldritch drunkenness; immune to fear for 
  1d6 hours
  An eldritch drunkenness; random 
  permanent insanity
  Mi-Go Ichor
  Syrupy drunkenness; gain perfect darkvision 
  for 1d4 hours
  Syrupy drunkenness; go blind for 
  1d4 hours
  Cacklers
  Jovial good spirits
  As per Hideous Laughter spell
  Bawlers
  Downer; soft weeping for 1d10 rounds
  Uncontrollable melancholia for 
  2d10 rounds
  Howlers
  Amphetamine rush; +1 to initiative for 1d2 
  hours
  Self-harm with whatever is at 
  hand
  Pukers
  Pleasurable vomiting for 1d4 rounds
  Unpleasant vomiting for 1d12 
  rounds
  Wormwood
  Mystical drunkenness and artistic inspiration Driven to suicide
  101
  
  GOTHIC INSPIRATION
  I'm still convinced that reading good literature is more invaluable as a source of inspiration than 
  reading "good" gaming products. To this end, if you want to really nail the conventions and 
  atmosphere of the Gothic I recommend seeking out The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales, Horace 
  Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, Matthew Lewis's 
  The Monk, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Oxford Book of Late Victorian Gothic Tales, Oscar 
  Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Bram Stoker's Dracula as a broad overview of Gothic 
  literature.
  If you want to supplement the above with some approachable scholarship, the best introduction to the 
  topic is Fred Botting's Gothic. Botting gestures toward the overarching concerns that a first-time reader 
  might miss; this is the most useful thing a literary critic can do: he exposes the beauty of the texts while 
  disappearing into the background. The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction will take you further, in a 
  myriad of different perspectives should you need them.
  102
  
  Where the Gothic is concerned, history, pseudo-history, and folklore is your friend. The Dover 
  Occult reprints, for example, are absolutely chock full of adventure hooks and bizarre ideas ripe 
  for the taking that fit Gothic conventions perfectly. 
  If you're running a Gothic game, you're probably going to be using and abusing the undead. 
   The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires has more than enough variations on that theme to see 
  you through several campaigns.
  103
  
  Actual historical writing, as opposed to the whacked-out stuff mentioned above, is also brimming 
  with ideas to steal.  Consider, as examples, reading up on the Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition, 
  or the Templars as points of inspiration. After all, real-world history was the genesis point for 
  many of the authors of Gothic fiction.
  104
  
   Beards & beers
  Clan Name
  d10
  First syllable
  Second syllable
  Third syllable
  1
  Drem
  dra
  din
  2
  Dun
  duir
  dune
  3
  Dward
  kar
  gor
  4
  Gald
  lara
  gune
  5
  Gar
  lor
  ia
  6
  Gord
  man
  ian
  7
  Mor
  mar
  iar
  8
  Murd
  mur
  kun
  9
  Thrak
  rak
  ran
  10
  Thrim
  ral
  run
  Clan Symbol
  d10
  First Bit
  Second Bit
  Legend
  1
  A crown
  Above a goblin skull
  “A Hearth Ever Lit”
  2
  A dragon's head
  Above smoking ruins
  “Cleave or Be Cloven”
  3
  A flagon
  Imposed over a keep
  “Drink, then Death”
  4
  A hammer
  Imposed over a massive gemstone
  “Forge Forever”
  5
  A helm
  Imposed over a mountain
  “Honor Thy Ancestors”
  6
  A horn
  Imposed over a series of hills
  “Live Hearty, Live Free”
  7
  A mailed fist
  On a blazing, fiery field
  “Purge the Mountains”
  8
  A shield
  On a field of metalwork
  “The Hammer Sings”
  9
  An anvil
  On a field of runes
  “The Purest Metal”
  10
  An axe
  On a field of stonework
  “Under the Hill, Over All”
  House Rule #1: For each pint of beer (or other liquor) consumed, a dwarf regains 1 hit point.
  105
  
  Clan Culture I
  d10
  Dwarf Type
  Clan Industry
  1
  Accursed dwarf
  Armorsmithing
  2
  Dark dwarf
  Brewing
  3
  Deep dwarf
  Carpentry
  4
  Degenerate dwarf
  Forging
  5
  Fire dwarf
  Fungus tending
  6
  Frost dwarf
  Gem-cutting
  7
  Hill dwarf
  Gunpowder and explosives
  8
  Iron dwarf
  Mining
  9
  Mountain dwarf
  Rune-etching
  10
  Night dwarf
  Weaponsmithing
  Clan Culture II
  d10
  Clan Beard Style
  Clan Beer Style
  1
  Long, brass bells braided within
  Bitter red ale
  2
  Long, decadently perfumed
  Caramel altbier
  3
  Long, oiled into sculpted flourishes
  Extra-strong brown ale
  4
  Long, precious gems braided within
  Extra-thick stout
  5
  Long, precious metals braided within
  Fruit-laden lambic
  6
  Long, unkempt, a symbol of wildness
  Hoppy pale ale
  7
  Shaved clean as a sign of disgrace
  Invigorating ice beer
  8
  Short, a sore point never to be brought up
  Refreshing bock
  9
  Short, neatly trimmed with military precision
  Syrupy lager
  10
  Wild and mangy, the bones of foes braided in
  Tongue-loosening porter
  House Rule #2: Before combat begins, each dwarf must swear an oath. Whichever player spouts 
  the most dwarfy oath gains a +1 to hit and +2 bonus to their character's damage for the entirety of 
  that combat.
  106
  
  Clan Culture III
  d12
  Clan Recreation
  Sacred Clan Item
  1
  Arm-wrestling
  Ancestral Armor
  2
  Boasting contests
  Anvil of Mighty Creation
  3
  Competitive eating
  Bloodied Battle Standard
  4
  Competitive head-butting
  Deep-Earth Craft
  5
  Drinking contests
  Hammer of Head Smiting
  6
  Goblin-skull bowling
  Library of Heroic Deeds
  7
  Hammer-swinging
  Runic Axe of the Bearded Champion
  8
  Kobold tossing
  Scepter (made from the head on an orc king)
  9
  Rock throwing
  Shield of the Dwarven Vanguard
  10
  Storytelling
  Tankards of Endless Filling
  11
  Underdark relay races
  Tun of Powerful Brewing
  12
  Wrestling
  War Golem
  Clan Problems
  d12
  The Clan Needs to...
  1
  ...compete against the giants in the ancient struggle for control of the mountain passes
  2
  ...compete for gold and honor in this year's Inter-Clan Invitational Games
  3
  ...devise a plan that will allow them to gain the treasure hoard of a sleeping dragon without 
  waking it
  4
  ...discover who among them is attempting to sell the clan's beer recipe to a rival dwarf clan
  5
  ...either make peace with the neighboring elves or make war against them
  6
  ...exterminate their degenerate cousins below who sully the honor of all proper dwarves
  7
  ...figure out by which route the goblins are planning their next attack
  8
  ...recover an ancestral weapon from the clutches of an orc chieftain
  9
  ...retrieve an ancient heirloom from a lost fortress
  10
  ...right the wrongs of the past to regain the clan's now-tarnished honor
  11
  ...safeguard a newly-discovered mine and bring it under the auspices of the clan's stead
  12
  ..sanctify a burial place of the clan's ancestors
  House Rule #3: Characters gain double XP for defeating kobolds, goblinoids, orcs, giants, elves, 
  and dragons.
  107
  
  108
  
  The Canals of Varosona
  109
  
  Which Literary Warrior am I Ripping-Off for this NPC?
  d20
  Which Literary Warrior am I Ripping-Off for this NPC?
  01
  A barbarian at heart, this wanderer adopts the roles of pirate, mercenary, and thief as he attempts to win 
  fortune and power.  He is particularly adept at slaying wizards.
  02
  A hardened foe of the undead, this warrior sports a demonic talking hand.
  03
  Although he has a peasant's appearance, this warrior fights with princely skill when pressed in combat.  He 
  instinctively does the right thing, which those around him find a bit cloying.
  04
  Blessed by a goddess with incredible skill with the sword, this warrior woman is likewise cursed to never 
  lay with a man without being bested by him in combat.
  05
  Clad in red silk, this warrior is a younger member of a clan of outcast robbers; his swordplay is unequaled 
  within his gang.
  06
  Cursed with immortality, this warrior's eyes belie the fact that he is proficient butcher of men.
  07
  Formerly a knight of renown, this warrior was forced to flee his lord's service because of his liaison with 
  the queen.
  08
  Formerly known as the murderous “Destroyer of Nations,” this warrior has turned her back on her evil 
  ways and now seeks redemption as the people's leather-clad champion.
  09
  Formerly the vassal of a powerful warlord, this warrior found herself enchanted by an evil wizard; now that 
  she is free from his control, she seeks to regain her lost honor.
  10
  Having slain his lord for some unmentionable accusation, this distinctive warrior wanders the world in 
  shame, looking to find the peace of death in battle against overwhelming odds.
  11
  Horrifically-scarred by a fire in his youth, this brutal warrior has served as bodyguard for princes and as a 
  soldier guided by his own askew moral compass. 
  12
  Outcast from his homeland, this warrior is famed for his ability to wield two weapons at once and for his 
  plentiful magical trinkets.  He is not adverse to stealing his best friend's woman.
  13
  Raised as a feral warrior by a tribe of inhuman aborigines, this dark-skinned man of frightening skill is an 
  outlaw who often aids those fighting against colonial injustice.
  14
  This child is a would-be assassin looking to avenge her family's deaths; despite her size and age, she is an 
  agile and deadly foe.
  15
  This knight hails from a decadent court; despite his moral sense, he will play amorous games in return for 
  magical baubles.
  16
  This warlord has the ability to astrally travel between worlds; he is both a fierce combatant and a statesman 
  capable of united disparate peoples to a common cause.
  17
  Though formerly a poet guilty of killing a fellow student in a duel, this warrior is now ageless and bears the 
  sword of an ancient dragonslayer.
  18
  Though he is said to possess fervent religious beliefs, this warrior takes a demonic glee in hunting down 
  malevolent foes and dispatching them with rapier and pistol.
  19
  Unnaturally strong due to his divine parentage, this warrior is famed due to the vast number of great feats 
  he has accomplished.
  20
  While his outward appearance marks him as a filthy wanderer of the north, this warrior claims to be a 
  dispossessed king.  It seems he has something of a fetish for elves.
  110
  
  What Literary Rogue am I Ripping-Off for This NPC?
  d20
  What Literary Rogue am I Ripping-Off for This NPC?
  01
  A dandy highwayman who has a way with the ladies, this robber seems impossible to hold within the walls 
  of a prison.
  02
  A diminutive burglar who insists he isn't a thief, yet possesses a magic item that makes larceny all too easy.
  03
  A highly-educated man at the center of a vast web of criminal enterprises; it is said that most thieves pay 
  him some sort of tribute and owe him obedience.
  04
  A knight turned outlaw robber, this flame-haired man has been resurrected many times over; each new 
  lease on life means giving up some essential part of his identity.
  05
  A massive barbarian rogue whose strength is equaled by his romantic view of the world.
  06
  A murderous, cudgel-wielding ruffian who is followed everywhere by a pet dog and an equally-obedient 
  prostitute.
  07
  A ruthless master thief who steals from other thieves; he uses intricate, lifelike masks to assume other 
  identities as he perpetrates his crimes.
  08
  A slim, cynical rogue prone to bouts of drinking and carousing; he has trouble holding on to the profits of 
  his endeavors.
  09
  A youthful pickpocket who considers himself to be a victim of unfair social circumstances.
  10
  An altruistic bandit who has radical ideas about wealth distribution; leads a gang of like-minded woodland 
  poachers and outcasts.
  11
  Considering himself a “monstrous clever fellow,” this rogue has bedded an astounding number of great and 
  powerful women in his journeys. 
  12
  For this slim, annoying thief, criminality is less an occupation as it is a genetic inclination toward 
  whimsical kleptomania.
  13
  Forced to kill his mother to end her suffering, this thief finds himself unable to leave his gang despite the 
  fact that his criminal allegiances are costing him the love of a young priestess.
  14
  This beautiful and enigmatic thief steals no common goods; rather, she can enter the slumber of others and 
  steal their dreams.
  15
  This impoverished ne'er-do-well specializes in the retrieval of magical items that bind powerful entities.
  16
  This inhuman thief steals more than coin or goods; he steals the very power of the gods.
  17
  This minstrel turned to outlawry when his beloved was on the verge of being married to another man.
  18
  This spear-wielding assassin has saved the life of a great emperor; rumors abound about him: is he a master 
  swordsmith, trained in mystical arts, or else?
  19
  Though she poses as prostitute, this assassin is actually the agent of a powerful religious organization.
  20
  Using his barber-surgeon business as a cover, this notorious assassin has sent many men to an early grave.
  111
  
  What Literary Villain am I Ripping-Off 
  for this Big Bad?
  d20
  What Literary Villain am I Ripping-Off for this Big Bad?
  01
  A boy king who delights in sadism; he is said to be of uncertain parentage.
  02
  A cold and elegant sophisticate, this woman uses the might of her religion to enforce the tyrannical 
  status qua.
  03
  A devil lord with a particular hatred for unicorns.
  04
  A grotesquely obese mercantile Baron who manipulates others through his understanding of 
  human failings.
  05
  A incorporeal spiritual evil that seeks an artifact that will allow him to rule all within the scope of 
  his burning gaze.
  06
  A master of undeath with plans to colonize a foreign nation.
  07
  A mother of monsters out to wreak violence upon humanity as revenge for the death of her son.
  08
  A powerfully-built necromancer who is seemingly invulnerable; he claims his demise will only 
  allow him to pass on to some other plane of existence.
  09
  A ruthless, sarcastic, and otherwordly prince who commands a pack of destructive hellhounds.
  10
  A sorceress-queen served by her warlord daughter and a skull-faced knight; she plans to imprison 
  all pregnant women so that a prophesied child cannot bring about her downfall.
  11
  A vindictive witch obsessed with being the most beautiful woman in the land; she receives advice 
  from an enchanted scrying mirror.
  12
  An assassin god who kills with dagger and rope.
  13
  An undead knight cursed to never win the love of the women he becomes infatuated with.
  14
  An undead pirate captain who lusts after accursed gold.
  15
  Awoken from an enchanted sleep, this wizardress commands formidable frost magic.
  16
  Once a mere man, this accursed undead witch-lord leads a coven of black riders.
  17
  Part man and part machine, this sorcerous knight rules with an iron fist enclosed within a gauntlet 
  of black.
  18
  This lich is a would-be king who seemk a magical sword so that he might claim an ancient castle.
  19
  This mad scientist has created an artificial form of life bent on the extermination of all other living 
  things.
  20
  Within the psyche of this brilliant tactician co-mingle the souls of history's greatest and most 
  ruthless military dictators.
  112
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque (osr)/Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque 3.pdf