Editing Beneath Castle Everglory: LEVEL 7: The Tomb (section)

=10.  Temple=

This round room is 10 yards in diameter the walls are bare, roughly-carved stone.  Standing in the very middle is a 15 foot high statue of a tree with a skull at the end of every branch, carved in basalt.  Some of the skulls look to be human or humanoid while others are animal skulls.  A pile of real human skulls lie a foot deep around the basalt roots.

12 naked and skeletal corpses, little more than dry skin stretched over bone, slump against the bars of cages set in the stone wall, cages just large enough to keep them standing upright.

The room is an area of Very Low Sanctity for all clerics, regardless of deity.  Consider the tree to have 1,000 DR, with 200 Hit Points for the trunk and 50 for a branch.  The tree may be damaged in accordance with the rules for Structural Damage in Campaigns p.558.  Oddly, though it is made of stone, the statue bleeds red blood.


'''Monsters'''

'''3 Remnants'''

3 of the skeletons are more than they seem.  Numbers 3, 7, and 11 (counting from left to right) are sentient and magically powerful undead, although they can no longer move their physical remains.  They remain in psychic communication, so anything one knows, all the others know as well and they are able to coordinate their efforts.

These undead are far too alien and insane to communicate or negotiate with the party.  However, they are at least as interested in playing with the PCs heads as they are in defending the room.

They will begin by gathering intelligence.  The Slave of Eternal Desire (number 3) will cast See Invisible (dropping to 38 Fatigue), The Slave of Eternal Hunger (number 7) will subject the PCs to Mage Sight (dropping to 39 Fatigue) and the Slave of Eternal Madness (number 11) will cast Know Illusion (for free).

If the characters are in the temple, but not doing any harm, they might be subjected to a Touch on the shoulder from the Slave of Eternal Desire, followed by a Tickle, and when that gets dull, Rooted Feet.  If the party is still not a threat by this point, the Slave of Eternal Hunger will cast Drunkenness.  When the dead no longer find this funny, the Slave of Eternal Hunger will cast Steal Youth (without growing any younger himself, see below).  Anyone who tries to leave while the game is still fun is likely to get Paralyze Limb cast on their leg by the Slave of Eternal Desire, perhaps followed by Roundabout.

If the PCs look like they are going to actually cause some damage, things will get more serious.  The Slave of Eternal Desire is likely to cast Strike Dumb on spell-users, Strike Blind on missile combatants and Total Paralysis on melee threats, in that order.  The Slave of Eternal Hunger is likely to cast Steal Energy on spell-users and Steal Youth on anyone else.  The Slave of Eternal Madness will tend to cast Terror followed by Madness, possibly using Mass Daze for crowd control.  All three undead will be ready to use Dispel Magic if the opportunity presents itself.  They are liable to finish the fight by using their power of telekinesis for damage.  This telekinesis may also be used just to throw a particularly annoying foe out of the room.


'''Slave of Eternal Desire'''

ST: 29 (Telekinesis only) HP: 30 Speed: 7

DX: 14 Will: 22 Move: 7

IQ: 18 Per: 22

HT: 13 FP: 40 SM: 0

Dodge: 12 Parry: 12 (Telekinetic) DR: 6

Telekenisis (15): 3d cr.  Range: Anywhere in the temple.

Traits: Combat Reflexes; Dark Vision, Detect (Supernatural); Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Eat or Drink; Doesn’t Sleep; Higher Purpose (Defend the Temple); Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Vitals).

Class: Undead.

The Slave of Eternal Desire knows the following spells at level 21 and may cast them with no gestures or incantations:  Agonize, Clumsiness, Control Limb, Debility, Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, Frailty, Hinder, Hunger, Know Illusion, Mage Sight, Pain, Paralyze Limb, Perfume, Retch, Roundabout, Recover Energy, Rooted Feet, See Invisible, Sensitize, Spasm, Strike Dumb, Strike Blind, Strike Deaf, Strike Numb, Tanglefoot, Thirst, Tickle, Total Paralysis, Touch, Ward, Weaken Blood, Wither Limb.


'''Slave of Eternal Hunger'''

ST: 29 (Telekinesis only) HP: 30 Speed: 7

DX: 14 Will: 22 Move: 7

IQ: 18 Per: 22

HT: 13 FP: 40 SM: 0

Dodge: 12 Parry: 12 (Telekinetic) DR: 6

Telekenisis (15): 3d cr. Range: Anywhere in the temple.

Traits: Combat Reflexes; Dark Vision, Detect (Supernatural); Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Eat or Drink; Doesn’t Sleep; Higher Purpose (Defend the Temple); Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Vitals).

Class: Undead.

The Slave of Eternal Hunger knows the following spells at level 21 and may cast them with no gestures or incantations:  Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, Recover Energy, Know Illusion, Mage Sight, See Invisible, Steal Attribute, Steal Beauty, Steal Energy, Steal Skill, Steal Spell, Steal Vitality, Steal Youth, Ward.  The Slave of Eternal Hunger never gains any physical benefits from Steal spells, though the subject will still lose whatever is stolen.


'''Slave of Eternal Madness'''

ST: 29 (Telekinesis only) HP: 30 Speed: 7

DX: 14 Will: 22 Move: 7

IQ: 18 Per: 22

HT: 13 FP: 40 SM: 0

Dodge: 12 Parry: 12 (Telekinetic) DR: 6

Telekenisis (15): 3d cr. Range: Anywhere in the temple.

Traits: Combat Reflexes; Dark Vision, Detect (Supernatural); Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Eat or Drink; Doesn’t Sleep; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Higher Purpose (Defend the Temple); Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Vitals).

Class: Undead.

The Slave of Eternal Madness knows the following spells at level 21 and may cast them with no gestures or incantations:  Daze, Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, Disorient, Dull (Sense), Drunkenness, Dullness, Fear, Foolishness, Forgetfulness, Know Illusion, Madness, Mage Sight, Mass Daze, Mental Stun, Panic, Recover Energy, See Invisible, Terror , Ward, Weaken Will.