Castle Rabid

Kormar Publishing
A 3rd Level OSR Adventure

Deep in the forest, a forsaken keep holds treasure

and the secrets of a crown won and lost.

Seek fortune in the dust of fallen nobility, navigating

through beastmen, a chaos cult, and bizarre sadists
from beyond this earthly realm. Beware the horrors
of CASTLE RABID!
 The History of Castle Rabid
Castle Rabid was built on blood and destroyed by blood. The barbarian
king Venik the Bear built the fortress as a monument to his conquests
and a palace to spend the rest of his days feasting, hunting, and
fornicating. And so he and his clan did until twenty years ago when
something burrowed up out of the earth. No one expected a siege to
come from inside the castle walls.

The dero, miniature sadists with paranoiac tendencies, pierced Venik’s

fort with their tunneling spire. Manipulating weird science and
psychokinetic energies, they infected the minds of the warriors and
turned them into beastmen, monstrous parodies of the creatures they
loved to hunt. Ever since, the dero and their servants have maintained
their experimentation on the descendants of the original subjects.

The Cult of Wrendat the Hunter has only arrived within the past year.
Drawn to the castle by prophecy, the cultists were quickly enthralled by
the dero and now serve as their unwitting pawns. It is a tenuous
relationship with a constant tension between dero manipulation and the
cult’s religious zealotry.

Urthur’s Lodge
Gart Urthur knew that starting a family on the outskirts of the forest was
dangerous. Everyone told ghost
stories about the massacre in the
castle, how you could still hear the
inhuman cries from its walls. But he
could use a bow, and business was
steady, and he taught his children to
fend for themselves. He didn’t think
twice about the new missionaries who
had been stopping by over the past
few months other than how awful
they stunk.

But when his eldest daughter, Bert,

went missing, he knew those freaks
had something to do with it.

Gart is a �ine hunter, but he’s getting

old. There are six other kids that need
wrangling. He offers a wagon and two
draft horses, Bert’s dowry, to anyone who can return his daughter to him
alive.

Urthur’s Lodge is an inn on the outskirts of the forest. The common area
is littered with straw dolls, wooden swords, and other children’s toys.
The walls are decorated with �inger paintings of the family.
 Factions
Name and Desire Relationships
Beastmen • Cult of Wrendat: Won’t eat
them, but uninterested in
• Feast, �ight, and make more following weak humans
beastmen
• Dero: Fears and worships them
as demonic creators

• Adventurers: Depends on
hunger, can be bribed with
fresh meat
Cult of Wrendat • Beastmen: Respects them as
Wrendat’s chosen, eager to
• Form a beastman crusading convert
army to burn towns and cities,
restoring wilderness • Dero: Sees as equal partners
but also civilized heathens

• Adventurers: Looking for new

converts but untrusting of
clerics and visible followers of
Law.
Dero • Beastmen: Test subjects,
disposable
• Experiment and catalog their
�indings of the surface dwellers • Cult of Wrendat: Stooges, weak

• Adventurers: Interesting
variable, powerful subjects
require more research
 Referee Quick Hits
Dungeon Info
Everyone knows where Castle Rabid is. Gart Urthur gives directions
through the woods for an eight mile hike there. The castle is unlit unless
described otherwise. Doors are made of wood and unstuck. Walls are
made of stone and ceilings are 10’ high.

Room Descriptions
Room descriptions are formatted as follows:

• Perceptions when approaching a door

• Creatures in the room

• Room description

• Extra (Treasure, Traps, Hidden Info)

Creatures and Monsters

Descriptions and statistics are provided in Appendix: Monsters. For all
sentient creatures (dero, cultists, bandits, beastmen, etc.), allow the
party some opportunity to parley. Use reaction rolls, give enemies the
ability to lie and deceive, offer opportunities to turn individuals against
each other.

Or kill everything.
 Abridged: What’s Going On?
• Twenty years ago, a barbarian king set up a castle in the woods.

• The dero, ultraterrestial freaks, turned the barbarians into beastmen

and have set up shop for their weird experiments.

• The barbarian king is now a ghost who wants out of this realm.

• A hunter named Gart set up a lodge on the outskirts of the woods

and had a family.

• A Chaos cult has recently arrived to the old castle and now have a
tenuous relationship with the beastmen and the dero.

• Gart’s daughter, Bert, joined up with the Chaos cult and is now an
initiate trying to show her might as a great hunter. She doesn’t want
to come home.

• Gart, father of the year, is too busy with his customers and other kids
to go retrieve her. He thinks she was kidnapped.

Approaching the Castle

The castle is becoming a ruin. The cobblestone is wrought with
vegetation and the windows are boarded over and crossed with vines.
The gate entrance to room 1 was crashed open long ago. The trampled
footpaths leading in are littered with small bones. A grumbling voice can
be heard beyond the archway…
 Ground Floor

Random Encounter
Roll on this table once every half hour or if the party creates loud noises. If a
creature is killed, it will not reappear. If a creature is weakened, it may still
be weakened depending on when it is next encountered.
d6 Encounter Portent
1 1d4 beastmen going out to the forest to Hooves on stone and scent
hunt. of blood
2 The �ive bandits from room 7 returning Bickering in Common over
home with a captive (Dismas the Svelte, a whether to collect a bounty
level 2 thief wanted in the nearby barony or hand over for sacri�ice
for goat rustling).
3 1d4 cultists negotiate with 1d6 Back-and-forth howls and
beastmen distribution of captives for grunts shifting in tone
sacri�ice vs. feasting.
4 1d6 giant ants burst from the wall. Clacking and �lakes of dust
puf�ing off stone
5 Two shadows, spirits of barbarians Rapid muttered prayer and
warped by Chaos, corner a frightened smell of smoke
cultist.
6 A dero skulks behind the party, spying The feeling of being
and attempting to stay out of sight. watched
1. Ruined Trophy Hall

• Sounds of grumbling stomach and the occasional belch from doors

leading to this room.

• An ogre on watch. Supposed to eat trespassers, but has a taste for pack
animals and would love a captive audience for his terrible jokes.

• Walls strewn with torn banners, crooked elk heads, and rusted polearms.
A skeleton is impaled on one of the elk horns. Rotten smelling furs piled
in the center of the room as a bed.

2. Ransacked Smithy

• Workbench cluttered with junk lines the western wall (�irst player to
search has a 30% chance of �inding a useful piece of equipment of their
choice). Time weathered anvils and moss strewn furnaces dot the
eastern wall.

3. Guard Bunk

• Four mildewy bunk beds, two on the western wall and two on the east.
Decaying wooden trunks at the feet of the beds, the empty insides
crawling with thumb-sized ants. The ceiling drips sticky moisture at a
glacial pace.

4. Mess Room

• Sounds of tent revival style preaching from the doors leading to this
room.

• A cultist dressed in skunk furs stands atop a table preaching to four

ambivalent beastmen, claiming the furred crown he carries is a conduit
to Wrendat the Hunter, chaos god and champion of the wilderness.
(Furred Crown, see Appendix: Magic Items).

• Circular dining tables, some split in half and others covered with a
collage of raw meat and loot. Digging through the mess takes 10 minutes
for players to �ind a rune inscribed battleaxe, a foppish overcoat (worth
20 gp), and 500 sp that smells like death.

5. Forever Hallway

• Magical illusion makes it appear that the western hallway extends

inde�initely following a tasseled red carpet, the walls lined with wooden
doors with the hum of a party echoing throughout.

• Attempting to move down this hall results in the player encountering the
actual western wall, covered in jagged spikes made of rusty weapons,
cutlery, and tools (2d6 damage).
6. War Room

• A cobwebbed chandelier (worth 30 gp) hangs 20’ above a round table

canvassed with patchwork maps of ruined kingdoms, lead horse
�igurines, and a few abacuses.

7. Wine Cellar

• Sounds of dice and resultant cheering or jeering heard from doors

leading to this room.

• Five bandits employed by the cult as professional kidnappers are

gambling the valuables they’ve stolen from their victims. They each have
unique facial hair (thin mustache, full beard, mutton chops, goatee,
walrus mustache) and are cousins. Each thinks they are the leader, prone
to familial bickering when provoked.

• The pot consists of an emerald necklace (500 gp), 230 sp, and a noxious
smelling pink potion in a thumb sized glass vial. (Potion of Poison, see
Appendix: Magic Items).

• Empty casks of wine line the western wall and the air smells pungently
sweet. Anything that touches the �loor comes away with a soft pop from
the stickiness.

8. Statue Hall

• Marble benches encircle the room and a 10’ tall statue of a barbarian
king wrestling a bear is erected in the center. The king’s head and the
bear’s head have been broken off and crudely switched. The walls are
graf�itied with the phrase, “King Venik is the greatest king since King
Venik is the greatest king since King Venik…” looping back on itself
forever.

9. Prison to Lower Level

• Seven cages hang on chains from the ceiling 15’ up, a few empty but
most full of human bones and scraps of clothing. An iron lever points up
out of the eastern wall nearest the door. Pushing it down causes the
cages to descend with a loud clank when they hit the ground, causing a
roll on the random encounter table. A creaky wooden staircase
surrounded by an iron guardrail descends into darkness.

• The stairs are trapped halfway down. If any weight is applied to the
middle step, the stairs �latten into a slide and a 10’ pit opens at the
bottom. Those caught by surprise fall into the pit and take 1d6 damage.
10. Portrait Spectre to Upper Floor

• A framed portrait of a barbarian king hangs on the northern wall �lanked

by two sconces with unlit torches. The portrait’s subject is a hulking red-
headed man cloaked in furs and sporting a �inely braided beard. He
wears a furred crown upon his head. When players �irst enter the room,
the torches spark and the painting is possessed by the restless spirit of
the corpse king in room 35. A wooden staircase ascends to the upper
level.

• The spirit is emaciated and stinks of spectral sweat under a heaping robe
of mangy furs. Its voice is raspy as it explains the downfall of the castle.
Melodramatic. Begs for release from this realm, can offer some of his
ectoplasmic juices to imbue in a weapon to anyone who successfully
frees him [turns mundane weapon into +1 that leaks ectoplasm when
within 50’ of ghosts].

◦ “I had it all. Women! Gold! Women painted gold!”

◦ “The whispers in the walls were the start of this madness. My
thanes turned on each other like rats trying to gnaw out of a
bucket, paranoid that their brother would strike them down and
take their wives. It was only after the bloody feast that the cult
came, worshiping the Chaos that keeps me trapped here.”
◦ “Save me from my fate or �ind your doom!”
11. Library

• Slanted bookshelves sinking into themselves line every wall and the �loor
is covered with scraps of parchment that have been torn and trampled.
The ceiling has been graf�itied with etchings of robed �igures being eaten
by beastmen and roasted over �laming piles of books.

12. Pantry

• Smells of blood from doors leading to this room.

• The pantry is a maze of barrels and sacks with hunks of meat and
vegetables hanging from chains overhead. Searching any random
container has a 50% chance of �inding a human foodstuff (bread, jerky,
dried fruit) and 50% chance of carrying a beastman foodstuff (human
feet, arms, torsos). Investigating the northeast corner, players �ind a
barrel of �ingers and toes covering a rope ladder leading down to room
26.

13. Beastman Shrine

• Sounds of guttural psalms from the doors leading to this room.

• A beastman priest howls the guttural psalms while two beastmen

dance about the center altar.
• Acrid smoke clouds the air, rising from tallow candles haphazardly
placed across the �loor. A mound of skulls, animal, human, and things
in-between, piled in the center of the room forming a crude altar. Ink
decorated hides and skin are nailed to the walls, depicting the
beastman creation story.

• Creation Story: A court of feasting barbarians. A diminutive creature

with a swollen head and goggles reaching for a crown. A graven man
growing hooves and fur. The feast becoming a bloodbath of
transformed beastmen devouring the unchanged

14. Beastman Den

• Sounds of cracking skulls and snarling from the doors leading to this
room.

• 1d6 beastmen sleeping at any given time, two beastmen engaged in

a headbutt competition.

• Matted furs compose makeshift beds and gnawed bones hang from
the ceiling like perverse dream catchers. A spiked chandelier 5’
across hangs above the center of the room, barely hanging on a
rusted chain strung to the northern wall. A crumbling �ireplace sits
against the eastern wall and an elk head is mounted above it, a �lagon
stuck on one of its horns.

15. Explosive Privy

• Light smell of sulfur from the door leading to this room.

• Three holes in the ground drop 10’ into a 5’ by 5’ tunnel that used to
run south but has been bricked up. The whole room smells of rotten
eggs, but it grows stronger closer to the holes. If there is any light
near the holes, characters can see a shimmering dagger at the
bottom.

• Bringing any �ire inside the hole causes the pent up gas to combust.
Anyone inside the hole takes 3d6 �ire damage, anyone outside the
hole but in the room takes 1d6 �ire damage.

• The dagger was an assassin’s blade lost during a failed contract. It

functions as a +1 dagger, is possessed by the spirit of the dead
assassin, and is inscribed with the word “Kingmaker.” See Appendix:
Magic Items.
16. Sparring Grounds

• Wooden benches on the southern wall, eight �limsy quarterstaffs

mounted above them. Five straw stuffed training dummies droop
forward and to the side in the center of the room. One training
dummy to the northwest is a pincushion of arrows. Getting within 5’
of the eastern wall causes a character’s hair to stand on end.

17. Dero Observation Spike

• The entrance to this room is inaccessible to those without electro-

tablets. Some can be found in room 27 and room 35.

• Three dero and a hulking mutant conduct surveillance here. The

dero take detailed notes on electro-tablets that erase when shaken
and the hulking mutant stares at its re�lection remembering what it
once was.

• Sleek chromatic walls create a disorienting re�lection for all non-

deros (roll with disadvantage when in this room). Seven surveillance
devices resembling alien dental equipment emit violet sparks as they
�loat around the room, moving out of the way of obstructions.
Everything smells of ozone.

• The three electro-tablets are worth 30 gp each. The seven

surveillance devices can be sold as a package for 300 gp. Separately,
they are worthless.

• The observation spike has been dormant for decades, but with some
ingenuity and magical assistance it could be hacked to serve as a
subterranean exploration vessel.

18. Court Wizard’s Chamber

• A moth-eaten silk bed hugs the western wall and the rest of the room
is �illed with knee high bookshelves, dry stone basins resembling
bird baths, and mirrors placed at varying heights. The mirror
hanging over the bed, a 4’ wide circle, has been shattered. From
north-to-east-to-south, the words “THEY ARE WATCHING,” have been
panic scrawled on the blank wall space in a smeary dark brown.
 Lower Floor

Random Encounter
Roll on this table once every half hour or if the party creates loud noises.
If a creature is killed, it will not reappear. If a creature is weakened, it
may still be weakened depending on when it is next encountered.

d6 Encounter Portent
1 1d4 rogue iron dwarves looking for Grinding of gears and
material to tinker with. stench of oil
2 A dero instructing 1d6 beastmen in High pitched
the �iner points of genetic modi�ication. incomprehensible
They aren’t following. lecturing and low growls
3 Two chain gangs brutalizing each Thrashing of chains and
other. cries of damned
4 A hulking mutant chasing 1d4 cultists Desperate panting and
to capture for experimentation. thumps on stone
5 The ooze from room 26 looking for Thick squelching and
food. smell of battery acid
6 A dead dero being inspected by 1d4 Hushed grunting and
curious beastmen scratching of fur
19. Dero Mind�ield

• Two dozen viscous brains �loat about aimlessly. The dero harvested
them indiscriminately from beastmen, cultists, and wild animals.
Communication can only be achieved by making a physical
connection with the brain stem that whistles as it passes by.
• The walls are speckled with broken manacles and chains. The air
chills with each step deeper into the dungeon.

• Connecting with a brain stem gives a �lash of knowledge. Only �ive

brains can be connected with before they get spooked and �lee up the
stairs and out of the castle.
d12 Knowledge Knowledge
“The new girl is a “Gotta keep the shrine
1 7
sharpshooter!” �ilthy.”
“Statues face to face,
2 “Moo?” 8 you’re in the right place.”
“Getting through plate
3 armor is worth it for the 9 Vicious growling
meat inside.”
“They’re hide in plain sight
4 “Beware the pickle room.” 10 upstairs.”
“I knew I should have
5 11 “Baa!”
joined that pleasure cult…”
“How many more of them
6 “Run run run run run…” 12 are there?”
20. Prison

• Door to this room is a locked wall of bars. Provides a clear view

described below.

• Five skeletons, their bones encrusted with moss, are shackled

upside down by their ankles on the north and south walls. A dark
green puddle stains the �loor under each cracked skull.

• Entering the room causes the skeletons to reanimate. Their ankles

snap off and they rush on their hands at any intruders, attempting to
stab them with sharpened leg bones.

21. Torture Room

• Three sets of manacles are bolted to the �loor stretching across the
middle of the room. The edges of the room are 5’ deep pits littered
with bones of mice and rats, most gnawed to oblivion. A wooden
lever sticks out of the northern wall pointing up.

• Pulling on the lever triggers three scythes to fall from the ceiling and
arc from west to east. Years of misuse have deteriorated the
machinery, and the blades collapse after two cycles with a crash. Roll
on the random encounter table.
22. Mushroom Farm

• Sound of chittering can be heard through the doors.

• Two dero and a hulking mutant are gathering fungus for

sustenance and psychotropic experimentation. The dero search
cracks in the walls while the hulking mutant stands watch.

• Large cracks in the walls, �loor, and ceilings of this room burst with
mushrooms of various sizes, shapes, and colors. The air is wet and
earthy.

• Roll 3d8 when gathering mushrooms to generate unique fungi.

Replenishes quickly.
d8 Color Shape Ingestion Effect
1 Red Spiral Tasty when charred
2 Green Convex Brutalizes digestive tract
3 Brown Conical Heals 1d4 damage
Connects with nature spirit plane.
Ask one question: 30% chance of a
4 Blue Bell-shaped helpful answer, 50% chance of
cryptic answer, 20% chance of lie.
Gives ability to climb walls for 24
5 Yellow Tendrils hours.
Connects with Chaos plane. 20%
chance of possession, 30% chance
6 White Flat of losing 1 Wisdom, 50% chance of
garnering attention of Chaos
monsters.
7 Black Cylindrical Silences voice for 24 hours.
8 Octarine Knobbed Instant death

23. Ruined Vault

• Sounds of jangling chains and soft moaning are heard through the
doors.

• A chain gang stands guard of the treasure in this room. It has been
programmed to guard it with its life, even bringing down the rafters
to destroy the room if need be.

• Fine art pieces are shredded to bits, statues crushed to dust, and
gems smashed into crystallized nothingness. An armor stand has
been knocked over to the north-east and the rafters look ready to
collapse. A lockbox lies unharmed in the rubble to the east.

• Lockbox contains following (total 5,100 gp)

▪ Complete set of gold teeth, sharpened (700gp)

 ▪ Tiara engraved with Dwarven runes (800gp)

▪ Gold necklace, gem encrusted (900gp)

▪ Gold codpiece shaped like a rhino (1300 gp)

▪ Diamond studded wristband (1400gp)

24. Portrait Puzzle

• Four iron chests sit against the southern wall, each under a painting.
A series of needle sized holes dot the wall opposite each chest.
Opening the chests in the incorrect order triggers the needle trap for
that chest (1d6 damage, 4 charges per trap).

• Paintings ordered from west to east:

▪ A bear catching salmon from a stream

◦ Chest contains: 600 sp and 60 gp

▪ A fox sneaking into a chicken coop

◦ Chest contains: 200 sp

▪ A hunter striking a doe with an arrow

◦ Chest contains: 500 sp

▪ A wolf tearing apart a sheep

◦ Chest contains: 400 sp and 40 gp

▪ Correct order: Fox, wolf, bear, hunter

25. Engineer Quarters

• Sounds of scraping metal and stone carving can be heard through the
doors.

• Three iron dwarfs are �ixated on their engineering programming

and are stuck in this room. Biological life disgusts and enrages them,
but they cannot leave here.

• Stone bunks are dug into the south wall while the rest are inscribed
with Dwarven runes and plans for imagined war machines. Older
carvings include a three-armed catapult, a �ire propelled wagon
covered in spikes, and a goblin strapped to an explosive bucket. More
recent carvings are nonsensical scribbles and swirling patterns.
26. Pickling Storage

• Smell of vinegar through doors leading to room.

• An ooze lives in one of the mason jars and will emerge if the shelves
are disturbed.

• Three rows of disintegrating wooden shelves line the walls holding

lines of mason jars �illed with vinegar, pickled vegetables, and
solidi�ied mystery liquids. Everything is covered in a membrane of
slime that glints off light. A hole in the ceiling that looks like acid
burned through stone leads to room 12.

27. Dero Laboratory

• Smell of ozone and sound of electricity come through the doors.

• Head Scientist Iz and three other dero scuttle about two operating
tables, a cultist restrained on one and a beastman restrained on the
other. They are fully occupied by their experiments. An electro-tablet
lies nearby with research notes.

• Casks and crates have been broken and pushed to the perimeter to
make room in the center of this room for dero equipment. Four Tesla
coils spark purple energy around two steel operating tables. Floating
steel tablets carry inhumane surgical equipment for gouging,
smashing, and revitalizing. A pulsing orb of pink �lesh hovers
between the two operating tables, a tendril jutting out from both
sides to connect with the subjects on the slabs.

• The pulsing �lesh orb is an audio-

vibratory-physio-molecular
transport device that allows the
swapping of consciousness. Any
living thing that makes �lesh-to-
�lesh connection with the orb’s
tendril swaps consciousness with
the paired tendril. Carries a 10%
chance of losing personal identity
and becoming a dero mind slave,
disappearing beneath the earth to
serve as an agent of the vast
subterranean conspiracy.
 Upper Floor

Random Encounter
Roll on this table once every half hour or if the party creates loud noises.
If a creature is killed, it will not reappear. If a creature is weakened, it
may still be weakened depending on when it is next encountered.
d6 Encounter Portent
1 Three cultists debating exactly how Screaming match over
Wrendat hunts (bow, blade, or claws). inconsequential theology
2 Two hulking mutants in a meditative Low mechanical hum and
trance. soft whirring
3 1d6 cultists praying around a Measured chanting and
sacri�iced beastman. smell of blood
4 1d4+1 dero comparing notes on Excited chattering and
beastmen and cultist interaction. clicking of electro-tablets
5 Restless spirit of King Venik, offers 2d8 Dense humidity and
healing to anyone who needs it distant moaning
6 Bert, garbed in cult furs. Pretends to be Gentle humming and light
a captive but tries to lead to room 35. footsteps

Secret Doors
The secret doors leading to room 34 are statues of barbarian warriors
facing east into their respective hallways. They are on rotating platforms
and can be pushed aside if both statues are facing one another, granting
access from the dead end hallway to room 34.
28. Novice Cultist Outpost

• Wafting incense and soft recitations of prayer (“Patience is the blood

of the hunter”/“Wrendat’s truth is shrouded”/incomprehensible
chaos muttering)

• Four novice cultists guard these stairs from intruders. They are
open to new converts, but each wants to be the one to do the
converting.

• Stairs lead up to a shoddily forti�ied hall, overturned tables serving

as a barricade at the top of the steps. Drooping candles scattered
across the �loor provide dim light and the air reeks of skunky
incense.

• Dim candlelight occasionally passes by at the end of the hall (room

34).

29. Concubine Chamber

• One canopy bed each is set up on the western, northern, and eastern
wall, their purple and red curtains torn to shreds. An empty armoire
stands to the left of each of the beds and a smudged mirror is framed
to the right. Bedding and once �ine garments litter the �loor. The
walls are decorated with sensual carvings of Dwarven women. At
least, they’re sensual to a Dwarf.

• A concubine hid a gift underneath the mattress of the eastern bed.

Anyone who searches there �inds a gold bracelet inscribed with a
Dwarven sonnet worth 120 gp.

30. Servant Quarters

• A slipshod wooden loft separates this room into two levels. The
bottom level reaches eight feet up and only serves as a hallway. An
alcove is carved into the eastern wall holding a rusted bell on a rope
that jingles softly every few minutes. A retractable ladder, currently
pulled up, allows access to the loft in the south-west corner.

• The upper level only has two feet of head room. Three bedrolls are
laid out, one occupied by two spooning skeletons. The stone wall
next to them is scarred with tally marks that get shallower and
shallower as they tick on.
31. Pain Theatre

• Shrieks of pain and the sound of whipping can be heard through the
door.

• Three shirtless cultists practice self-�lagellation for the amusement

of a bored dero lounging on a recliner. The cultists wield whips (1d4
damage, Dex save or be restrained) and the dero wields a Pneumatic
Exsanguinator. See Appendix: Magic Items.

• Recliners, divans, and raised seats are arranged in an arc in the

south-west corner for an audience to watch the show in the north-
west. Matted furs serve as a rug in the north-west and an intricate
series of chains drape from the ceiling. Manacles and leather straps
hang off the chains and a rack on the north wall holds various chisels,
cudgels, and hand-crank drills.

32. Desecrated Shrine

• Whoever opens the door hears a young woman’s whisper in their

mind: “Please, help me smile again.”

• Stone pews encircle a smashed statue of the Smiling Goddess

(distant cousin and one time lover of Wrendat the Hunter). Only a
torso remains, the neck and head crushed and scattered across the
�loor. Four human skulls are impaled on a spike where the head
should be and the torso is plastered with �ilth �laked pages torn from
the sacred writ.

• Cleaning the shrine (removing the trash from the torso and the
impaled spike) causes an avatar of the goddess to appear. An ethereal
smiling woman’s head grows out of the statue’s neck and she thanks
the party for their assistance. She is weak after years of no worship,
but offers each party member her blessing (+1 to attack and damage
rolls for 24 hours). Looking for new converts.

33. Guest House

• A dozen beds are set in rows across the room. Skeletons are tucked
under the moth-eaten covers. All of their legs have been snapped off
at the knee. The walls are decorated with grimy war banners looted
over years of raiding.

34. Cult Procession

• Dim light can be seen by those approaching down the hall.

• Four cultists maintain a procession, circling around the outside of

the room holding dripping candles made from tallow. One of the
cultists carries a gold candelabra encrusted with jewels (worth 80
gp).
• Three thick stone columns line the center of the room. The walls bear
looted battle �lags, lopsided paintings of the barbarian king and his
dwarven concubines, and grotesque carvings of a goat-headed man
towering over his �lock of human worshipers.

35. Throne Room

• Sound of grunting and the smell of sweat comes through the door.

• Five cultists mash against each other on the �loor in a ritualistic

wrestling ceremony. Bert is one of them (see Abridged: What’s Going
On?). Two dero observe the proceedings and record notes on
electro-tablets.

• A simple wooden throne stands against the eastern wall, a massive

human skeleton covered in furs sagging atop it. Mounds of animal
hide, tapestries, and garments serve as scattered bedding across the
�loor. The north and south walls are mounted with stuffed troll
heads.

• The two electro-tablets are worth 30 gp each. The two troll heads are
worth 50 gp each.

• Placing the Furred Crown atop the skeleton head frees the spirit
from room 10, who offers his reward to any one member of the
party. Once complete, he evaporates into a puddle on the �loor and
the skeleton and the Furred Crown crumble to dust.
 Appendix: Monsters
Bandit
Stats: as bandit
Appearance: slick, tan, unique facial hair to a man
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 1
Damage: short sword (d6) or dagger (d4, thrown)
Beastman
Stats: as bugbear
Appearance: goat/wolf/elk/fox head, matted fur, dried leather
loincloths
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 2
Damage: 2 x hand axe (d6) or claw (d4+Poison)
Poison: Beastmen don’t wash their hands. Save against Poison or
develop an infection, taking 1 damage per day until cleaned and
healed.
Beastman Priest
Stats: as bugbear
Appearance: half human face, half wolf face, sheep skull helm, robe
of tattooed leather
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 3
Damage: hand axe (d6) or wild magic (see below)
Wild Magic: The priest calls on Chaos. If a Target fails against the
spell, roll a d4 for the effect.
1. Target goes berserk for d4 rounds, unable to tell friend
from foe.
2. Target drops what they are holding as fur sprouts from
their palms.
3. Target collapses for d4 rounds, deafened cacophony of
animal screams
4. Target grows a ridge of antlers down their arm(d8
damage).
Chain Gang
Stats: as gargoyle
Appearance: pulsing mass of �lesh and teeth, tendrils wrapped
with rusted chains, moans of suffering prisoners
Armor: as chainmail
Hit Dice: 4
Damage: 2x chain whip (d6) and slam (d4)
Cultist
Stats: as bandit
Appearance: fur robes, bone piercings, wild and unkempt
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 1
Damage: jagged club (d6+2)
Dero
Stats: as gnome
Appearance: albino knee high freaks, black saucer goggles, totally
hairless
Armor: shimmering positron belt (as plate)
Hit Dice: 2
Damage: eradication ray blaster (2d8) or mind scrambling ray (see
below)
Mind Scrambling Ray: Wis save or be enthralled by the dero for d6
rounds. Referee takes control of character. Taking any damage
gives opportunity for another Wis save to break control early.
Giant Ant
Stats: as driver ant
Appearance: 6’ long, black ant, dripping mandible
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 4
Damage: bite (2d6)
Hulking Abomination
Stats: as ghoul
Appearance: 7’ tall, disgustingly muscular, patchwork man-thing
Armor: as chainmail
Hit Dice: 4
Damage: 2 x claw (d3+paralysis) and 1 x bite (d6)
Paralysis: For 2d4 rounds (Con save)
Iron Dwarves
Stats: as dwarf
Appearance: whirring and smoking, jutting metal bits, pockets of
rough skin and beard hair
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 2
Damage: shock punch (d4+shocking)
Shocking: Extra d4 damage to anyone in metal armor. Str save or
drop any metal item being held.
Ooze
Stats: as ooze
Appearance: amorphous, grayish green blob, stinks of vinegar
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 3
Damage: touch (2d8+Acid)
Acid: Sticks to victim, destroying armor immediately and in�licting
2d8 damage per turn until washed off.
Restless Spirit
Stats: as ghost
Appearance: emaciated geezer, heaping robe of mangy furs,
desperate eyes
Armor: as chainmail and immune to non-magical attacks
Hit Dice: 6
Damage: touch (d8+energy drain)
Energy Drain: A successfully hit target permanently loses the
number of health equal to damage taken from the attack.
Shadow
Stats: as shadow
Appearance: two-dimensional, black void, shifting like smoke
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 2
Damage: touch (d4+strength drain)
Strength Drain: A successfully hit target loses 1 Str per hit.
Recovers after 8 turns. If reduced to 0 Str, the victim becomes a
shadow.
Immune to Mundane Damage: Can only be harmed by magical
attacks.
Skeleton
Stats: as skeleton
Appearance: moss encrusted, shard legged, cracked skulls
Armor: as leather
Hit Dice: 1
Damage: leg shards (d6)

Appendix: Magic Items

Furred Crown
The symbol of a mighty hunter and warlord. Wearing the crown
grants the ability once a day to cast Speak With Animals and
bestows supernatural marksmanship (+1 attack with bows).
Kingmaker
+1 dagger, possessed by the spirit of the failed assassin, Utaum the
Shadow. Utaum communicates telepathically with the wielder of
the dagger and yearns to continue pursuing his craft, taking
pleasure in his art. When in towns and cities, there is a 50%
chance Utaum senses a possible contract nearby. Roll 5d10 on the
table below to generate a job.
d10 Client/Target Bonus
Complication Pay
(Roll twice) (x2 pay)
Target has d4 guards at
1 Socialite 10 Pin the blame on
all times.
Target is trained in gold another target.
2 Gambler magic (as elf).
Target is on the run in
3 Beggar 50 Make it look like
the countryside.
Target is friendly with gold an accident.
4 Bartender the party.
Target has forti�ied
5 Working Girl themselves 100 Do it in public.
with traps.
Target has sent gold Send a message.
6 Student assassins to kill client.
Target has friends in Use magic to
7 Farmer 200
high places. �inish off the
Target will return as gold
8 Soldier target.
ghost to haunt killers.
Government Client will try to skip
300 toFeed
9 the target
clerk town to avoid paying. a monster in a
It’s a sting operation by gold
10 Monk dungeon.
an order of paladins.
Pneumatic Exsanguinator
An air ri�le that �ires a blood sucking needle, drying up the target.
Functions as a +1 crossbow. In addition to damage, organic targets
must make a Con save or pass out due to blood loss. 20 needles.
Potion of Poison
Noxious smelling pink liquid. Save against Poison or die. Just a
taste is enough to kill.

Credits
Maps made on dungeonscrawl.com via the Pro feature

Images from the British Library

Inspired by Warhammer Fantasy, David Cronenberg, and the mythos of

Gray aliens