TEXT: shadow of the demon lord
  Stumbling, shuffling figures emerge from the wheat fields 
  to attack the people of Asylum. Zombies, these horrors 
  were set loose on the community, but by whom and why? In 
  this adventure, the player characters form a group to stop a 
  deranged cultist from awakening the Ruiner, the darkness 
  responsible for the zombies’ creation.
   In Need of Killing is an adventure designed for starting 
  characters. It’s an adaptation of one of the first I wrote for 
  Shadow of the Demon Lord. Originally, it was a haunted 
  house story, one confined to an old shack in the middle of 
  a field and the darkness underneath it. Through dozens of 
  demos, the story evolved into what you have here, a bizarre 
  romp through a macabre and unholy place. I hope you 
  enjoy running it as much as I did.  
  ~Credits~
  WRITING AND DESIGN: robert j. schwalb
  EDITING: ray vallese
  ART DIRECTION: robert j. schwalb
  GRAPHIC DESIGN: hal mangold and kara hamilton
  LAYOUT: kara hamilton
  ILLUSTRATIONS: britt martin, ivan dixon
  CARTOGRAPHY: cecil howe
  Survival of the Fittest is ©2015 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.  
  All rights reserved.
  Shadow of the Demon Lord, Survival of the Fittest, Schwalb Entertainment, 
  and their associated logos are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
  Schwalb EntErtainmEnt, llc
  PO Box #12548
  Murfreesboro, TN 37129
  info@schwalbentertainment.com       www.schwalbentertainment.com
  
  shadow of the demon lord
  Asylum
  The community known as Asylum stands at a crossroads 
  of the Emperor’s Road and the River Path, a few days north 
  of Sixton, capital of the Northern Reach. Established as a 
  trade hub for the farming families that hold the lands for 
  miles around it, Asylum is quite small, home to a few dozen 
  people who make their living tending to travelers passing 
  through, who are growing less and less common. Wheat 
  fields surround the community for miles.
   Twenty buildings make up Asylum and include a 
  blacksmith, a carpenter, the Weary Traveler (an inn 
  with a taproom), a marketplace, a general store, a stable, 
  and a shrine dedicated to the New God. The rest of the 
  structures are small homes of the residents. Other than the 
  blacksmith’s shop, the buildings have stone foundations, 
  wood walls, and slate-shingled roofs. The smith’s shop is a 
  forge with a roof but no walls. Behind it stands the smith’s 
  small home.
   Where the two roads meet there stands an old statue of 
  a man on a horse. The nameplate was stolen from it years 
  ago, and no one remembers who he was or what he did to 
  deserve a statue.
   Asylum’s people are all human, though they are no 
  strangers to the other ancestries, as clockworks, dwarfs, 
  orcs, and goblins drift into town en route to other places. 
  The community leader and owner of the Weary Traveler 
  is Samyra, a woman in her mid forties with brown hair, an 
  easy smile, and an infectious laugh. The blacksmith, Peter, 
  has her affections for now, though the lone watchman, 
  Saul, has made attempts at catching her eye. Finally, Anise, 
  a young acolyte of the New God with red hair and plain 
  looks, tends to the shrine. 
  Getting Started
  Ask the players to come up with reasons for why they 
  are in Asylum, using their professions and background 
  information as guides. Also, you and the players should 
  decide whether or not the characters know one another. 
  Allow the players to add whatever details they like to the 
  community, and provide additional information if you 
  wish.
  The Dead Walk
  A few hours after sunset, a band of 8 zombies emerges 
  from the fields. They spread out singly or in groups of two 
  and attack the locals. Not long after the fighting begins, a 
  fire starts in one of the houses and unless put out, it will 
  spread through the town. For each zombie the PCs kill, the 
  townsfolk kill two zombies. The PCs should not fight more 
  than 1 zombie at a time. Give Fortune to the first character 
  who takes action to protect the community.
  Aftermath
  Anyone local to the community recognizes that six of the 
  zombies are farmhands employed at the Randolf farm a 
  few miles out of town. The other two are strangers. 
   Samyra asks for volunteers to check in on the Randolf 
  family, looking to the PCs if they helped protect the town. 
  If the PCs agree, the blacksmith gives a sword to a strong 
  character, and Samyra gives a bow with a quiver of 10 
  arrows to an agile character. She also gives the smartest 
  character in the group an incantation of the arcane sight 
  Arcana spell. Finally, Anise gives each other character a 
  healing potion.
  Merius Clay
  Merius Clay, a cultist, came to the Randolf farm earlier 
  in the day with four other cultists, believing, rightly, that 
  the house stood atop an ancient tomb. They killed the 
  farmhands and sacrificed the family members to their dark 
  master. This act caused the dead to rise as zombies. Clay 
  and his lackeys have since descended into the cellar, dug a 
  pit, and through it entered the tomb.
   Merius Clay is a twisted monster. He snarls when he 
  speaks, and his eyes glow like embers. He wears stained 
  and soiled vestments, and the symbol of the New God 
  hanging from a chain around his neck has been bent and 
  twisted into a lump of metal. If Clay sits in one place for 
  more than an hour, all ordinary plants within a few yards of 
  him wither and die.
  MERIUS CLAY 
  DIFFICULTY 5
  Size 1 human
  Perception 13 (+3); darksight
  Defense 15 (mail); Health 20
  Strength 12 (+2), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 13 (+3), Will 9 (–1)
  Speed 10; Corruption 3
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Sword (melee) +2 with 1 boon (1d6 + 2)
  MAGIC (POWER 1) 
  Necromancy spectral grasp (2), animate corpse (1), grave 
  grasp (1)
  The Farm
  Walking from Asylum to the Randolf farm takes an hour. 
  The farm consists of a house atop a rounded hill, an 
  oak tree, a silo, a barn, a shed, an outhouse, tents for the 
  farmhands, and about twenty acres of grain fields. 
  Tree: A dead oak tree stands next to the house. Blue 
  bottles hang from strings tied to its branches. A zombie 
  also hangs by the neck from a stout branch. It’s missing its 
  legs, and odd symbols have been carved into what’s left of 
  its naked body.
  The Fields: Wheat covers the land within a half-mile of 
  the farm. Characters exploring the fields may encounter a 
  2
  
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  pack of 1d3 + 1 wild dogs (as small animals with the Pack 
  Fighting talent) worrying the corpse of a dead child. The 
  child grips a bloodstained doll in her hands.
  Barn: Characters within a few yards of the barn hear 
  screams coming from inside. Edward, one of the Randolf 
  sons, hid in the barn, but 2 zombies found him. The 
  zombies kill Edward 1 minute after the group hears the 
  scream. If rescued, Edward reveals what happened to the 
  family. 
  House: The house is a fine structure made of wood that 
  stands atop an oddly rounded hill. It features a wraparound 
  porch, numerous windows, a second story, and an attic. The 
  interior is broken up into several rooms, including a parlor, 
  a dining room, a hall, four bedrooms, and a kitchen. All 
  have modest furnishings that have been strewn about and 
  splashed with blood. 
  In the kitchen, an open trapdoor leads to the cellar. 
  Listening characters can hear voices coming from below.
  The attic holds trunks, manikins, a baby crib, a mirror, 
  and a poltergeist. The spirit may try to scare off the 
  characters or communicate with them by writing in the 
  dust on the floor. If it communicates, it tells the characters 
  that bad men tortured and murdered the family. 
  The spirits of the dead family linger in the house. At 
  night, they manifest and replay the final moments of their 
  lives. A character must make a Will challenge roll the 
  first time she sees an apparition. On a failure, she gains 1 
  Insanity.
  Cellar: The cellar is a bit smaller than the house, roughly 
  6 yards wide and 8 yards long, with the ceiling 2 yards 
  overhead. The floor and walls are dirt, and wooden posts 
  support the ceiling. Shelves loaded with canned goods 
  cover the walls.
  Here, 2 cultists stand guard; one wears a porcelain mask 
  of a grinning baby and the other a mask of a surprised baby. 
  In addition, an animated corpse of a toddler is chained to 
  a post. The cultists wear black clothing with metal bands 
  cinched around their arms and legs. The bands only 
  tighten and cannot be removed without cutting them free. 
  Two shovels and a lantern lie on the ground near a hole 
  dug at the center of the cellar floor. A rope has been tied 
  around one of the posts and hangs down into the hole, 
  dropping 6 yards through the ceiling of the chamber below 
  and ends at the dirt- and debris-covered floor of Area 1.
  The Tomb of the 
  Ruiner
  The hill on which the house stands conceals the dome 
  of an ancient tomb built nearly one thousand years ago. 
  Locations within the tomb are dark. Paintings depicting 
  horrific acts of violence and torture cover the plastered 
  walls. The air is redolent with the stench of old blood. 
  Passages are 2 yards wide and tall. Chambers are variously 
  sized, and their ceilings are generally 3 yards above the 
  floor.
   Merius Clay and one cultist explore the tomb. The group 
  may encounter them whenever you want.
  Key Locations
  All locations correspond to the numbered places on the 
  map.
  1. Domed Chamber: A mural depicting lewd and profane 
  acts covers the ceiling in this 10-yard-diameter chamber. 
  Four statues carved from granite to look like naked men 
  sporting grisly wounds hold up the dome. One of the 
  statues is a medium construct. It attacks any living creature 
  that moves within 2 yards of it. 
  A corpse lies splattered on the floor. The black clothing 
  and shattered mask suggest it was once a cultist.
  Each door leading out from the chamber opens inward 
  and, once opened, closes slowly. 
  2. Slick Passage: Thin, clear oil covers the sloping 
  tunnel’s floor. A character moving at more than half his 
  Speed down the tunnel must make an Agility challenge 
  roll. A failure indicates that he slips, falls prone, and slides 
  to Area 3, where he must make a Strength challenge roll 
  with 1 bane. On a failure, the character slides over the edge, 
  falls into the pit, and takes 1d6 damage upon landing in the 
  muck at the bottom.
  3. The Pit: Two ledges connected by an old, rotting 
  rope bridge overlook a pit. A reeking pool of bright green 
  fluid covers the bottom. On the north and south walls are 
  monstrous faces painted in yellow chalk. 
  When a Size 1 or larger creature moves across the bridge 
  and reaches the middle, roll a d6. On a 1, the bridge breaks 
  and drops the creature into the pool. The creature takes 1d6 
  damage upon landing.
  The surface of the water is 5 yards below the ledges and 
  the water is 2 yards deep. A swarm of albino crabs (as an 
  animal swarm with the aquatic trait) infests the water. An 
  old iron grate, rusted and covered in slime, rises partly from 
  the water on the north wall. The bars are brittle and easily 
  broken.  
  To climb out of the pit, a character must get a success on 
  a Strength challenge roll made with 1 bane.
  3
  
  shadow of the demon lord
  4. Tunnel: The tunnel floor slopes downward. The walls 
  show scenes of human sacrifice and animation into undead. 
  The tunnel ends at a stone door that is carved to look like 
  an armored skeleton. Stubs of candles sit in its eye sockets.
  5. Guard Room: Webs stretch from floor to ceiling in 
  this square chamber. Mummified rats hang from the webs. 
  Behind the webs stand two high-backed chairs. In each one 
  sits a skeleton (as an animated corpse). Small plaques hang 
  around their necks. On one of the plaques is an incantation 
  of the spectral grasp Necromancy spell. A large spider hides 
  near the ceiling in the northeast corner.
  The animated corpses attack anyone entering the room. 
  The spider joins the fight on the third round.
  6. Stairs: A staircase leads down to the tomb. Skulls line 
  either side of the steps, and an unlit fat wax candle crowns 
  each one.
  7. Antechamber: Four iron statues stand in the corners 
  and depict nude, corpulent women straining to have bowel 
  movements. A wide pit commands the room’s center. The 
  pit’s floor, littered with bones, lies 20 yards down from the 
  room. 
  Double doors made of iron stand closed. Chains looped 
  through the handles and padlocked keep the doors sealed. 
  The lock can be smashed or picked. A character attempting 
  to pick the lock makes the Agility challenge rolls with 1 
  bane. 
  When a creature touches the chains or the lock, four 
  enormous centipedes (as small monsters) wriggle free from 
  the statues’ bottoms and attack.
  8. Tomb: An iron sarcophagus lies on the floor at the 
  room’s center. Its lid shows a nude man with an expression 
  of obvious pleasure. A pedestal made from porphyry stands 
  behind the sarcophagus, and on it is a tiny clay statue of a 
  humanoid figure with horns sprouting from its body.
  A tiny demon is bound to the statue. If the statue is 
  broken, the demon escapes and attempts to kill its liberator.
  The sarcophagus holds the remains of the Ruiner. 
  Unless its heart is destroyed (see Area 13), removing the 
  lid awakens the remains as a barrow wight. Around the 
  Ruiner’s neck is the Amulet of Shadows.
  9. Gas-Filled Tunnel: An old iron grate covers the 
  southern entrance to this area, and a secret door blocks 
  access from the east. From within the tunnel, the secret 
  door is obvious and can be opened by pushing on it.
  Noxious gas fills the tunnel. Bringing flame into the area 
  causes it to explode, dealing 1d6 damage to everything in 
  the tunnel and within 2 yards of either entrance. A creature 
  may make an Agility resistance roll. On a success, the 
  creature takes half damage.
  10. Garrison: Eight tombs, each 1 yard wide, 1 yard deep, 
  and 2 yards tall, are arranged in two rows of four. Seven of 
  4
  
  shadow of the demon lord
  the tombs hold animated corpses, each with half Health. 
  They wear masks of human faces nailed to their skulls that 
  twitch and sneer as if alive. When one tomb door opens, 
  the other tombs containing animated corpses also open. 
  Opening the door to the empty tomb causes the secret 
  door to Area 9 to swing open. 
  The corpses wear funerary linens and bronze plaques 
  around their necks on which their names are inscribed. 
  Each plaque is worth 3 cp.
  Amulet of Shadows
  The amulet looks like a tiny iron cage and is 2 inches tall,  
  1 inch wide, and 1 inch deep. A human finger sits inside the 
  cage. A creature wearing the amulet may use an action 
  to turn light within 5 yards to shadows while the creature 
  concentrates. The area of shadows moves with the amulet.
  11. Trapped Corridor: When a Size ½ or larger creature 
  steps on a pressure plate in the north-south corridor, it 
  activates a pit trap in the east-west corridor. Once that 
  happens, the first creature to step on the plate in the east-
  west passage triggers the trap, causing a panel to open in 
  the floor. The creature must make an Agility challenge 
  roll with 1 bane. On a failure, the creature falls into the pit 
  and takes 1d6 damage upon landing at the bottom, 5 yards 
  down.  
  Triggering the pit trap also activates a trap in the north-
  south passage. Once that happens, the first creature to step 
  on the pressure plate in that passage causes a heavy scythe 
  to sweep down from above and then lock into the ceiling. 
  Any creature in the indicated space when the scythe trap is 
  triggered must make an Agility challenge roll with 1 bane. 
  On a failure, the creature takes 1d6 + 3 damage. Once the 
  scythe trap triggers, the pit trap in the other passage resets.
  Due to the way the pressure plates work, PCs who enter 
  the corridor from Area 1 might activate both traps, whereas 
  characters who enter from Area 10 might not trigger either 
  one.
  Finding either pressure plate requires a success on a 
  Perception challenge roll made with 2 banes. The pressure 
  plates, once discovered, can be avoided easily or disarmed 
  using a toolkit by getting a success on an Intellect challenge 
  roll with 2 banes.
  12. Ritual Chamber: A crimson pentagram inscribed on 
  the floor fills this room with murky shadows. Black curtains 
  covered with gold script hang from the walls. Four unlit 
  bronze braziers stand in the corners and contain ashes and 
  burnt bone fragments. A bloody altar stands before the 
  pentagram.
  Inside the symbol is a small demon. It has bright orange 
  skin, a great slobbering mouth, and stocky limbs ending 
  in thick, clawed fingers. The demon wants to be free but 
  speaks only in Dark Speech and High Archaic. If anyone 
  crosses the pentagram’s area, the magic sustaining it fails 
  and the demon is free to rip the characters to pieces. 
  13. Killing Floor: A balcony looks out over a pit 10 yards 
  deep. Bones stained black with old blood cover the pit floor 
  to a depth of a few feet. Chains hang from loops screwed 
  into the ceiling 3 yards overhead, and at the end of the 
  chains are thick hooks that hold 8 animated corpses about 
  1 yard from the top of the bones. At the center of the room, 
  a black, pulsing heart hangs pierced on a hook. This is the 
  Ruiner’s heart. While it remains intact, the Ruiner can rise 
  as a barrow wight. The heart has Defense 10 and Health 10, 
  and it counts as an object.
  14. Plundered Vault: This room once held the Ruiner’s 
  treasures, but now it holds empty racks, opened chests, and 
  cracked urns. A break in the southern wall shows where 
  enterprising gnomes breached the chamber to remove the 
  valuables. Characters sifting through the rubbish find 13 
  copper pennies, 4 silver shillings, and 1 gold crown. Also, 
  they find an enchanted lantern that emits light without 
  needing oil, a pick, a graven skull, and a sacrificial knife.
  If you want to extend this adventure, the tunnel leads to 
  wherever you like. If not, it comes to a dead end at the edge 
  of the map.
  5
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Shadow of the Demon Lord/Adventures/Starting/SotDL - In Need of Killing (starting).pdf