Bushido - Magazine Adventures

 

'A rack o f cloud across the light o f evening As i f hev too. those distant hills. wore mournh e Tale o f Genji i n g weebs.

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(exorcism)servi (exorcism) services, ces, performed over his bones. The lord intends t o test the mettle of you, his young samurai, by sending you to the village as bodyguards bodyguardswith with Sonjo, a Buddhist monk who will perform the necessary rites.

Player's lntroduction Your lord sworried by reportsfrom an outlying demesne, in Kii province. Peasants have

Sonjo the m onk (level 3 Buddhist Gakusho)

been terrorised by a spectral figureThis on the moors north of Asamimura villaae. ahost . or unqu;t appears t o be a preta, sPlrit,&ho

Str: Dft : spd:

INIII n n l v h ~ l a ~ dn dn rest hv t h e n r n n p r

s

nnki

5

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Dam age: 1 BAP: 5 MNA: 1 H lh 17 R M I 4 ..... 20 40 W it: Power: Will: 25 Hit Points: 16 Skills: Jujutsu(l3), Sacred Dance(l6), RhetoricllG), Butsu-do(l7), Butsu-do(l7),Raja-Yoga Raja-Yoga ( l o ) , Gnana-yoga(1 ) , Tea Ceremony(l4), Meditation(l2). 10 12 .

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Sonlo i-.c liknI\r t t.....-. a k a m n c t .n f t... h e r r n d i t nr .blame result~ng result~ngrom rom the mission - th e playersare being sent along merely as bodyguards. Sonjo i s~a n nlightened (but not Enliahtened ) ellow and will see the value of enll&ng Ugestsu's [see below] aid. .

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Games Master's Introduction This scenarlo IS loosely based around a set of classical Japanese kwaidan (orghoststor~es). The games master should use h ~ swn swn udgement and bring in suitable encounters when approprlate rather than slavishly following order. Readthroughthe Readthroughthewholescenar~ocarewholescenar~ocarefully as this will provlde Ideas on how to present each encounter. Descriptionof Description of Asarnimura MonasteryIVillage The Moors As the party approach Asamimura village

they will cross a stretch of barren moors, takina 4 hours. There is a 10% chance of an encounter every tw o hours. 1. 1-3 peasants (day only) 2. The Mujina (dusk or night only) 3. The Rokuro-kubi (night only) 4. 1 viper 5. 2-12 wolves 6. Watanabe Tetsu The M ujina Spirit Rank: 2 BAP: : 12 Hit Points: 18 Arm ourclass: 1 Zanshin: M agicBCS: 11 1 Attack: Tanto, BCS 11, Damage I d 6 ethal. Spell: Traitor ground (once a day). She will lure people to her by sobblng and moaning as if i n distress. She appearsto bea normal woman, wearing a kimono made of rich material. Her face, however, is a terrifvIng blank, without eyes, ears or nose. When the party IS ranged around her she will turn and reveal the true horror of her ~dentlty. Out t o sea and over the ruined graveyard at the monastery the dreaded demon flres, or on/-bi, can be seen t o flit among the night's shadows. The squlre's manor, (11-zamura~ Watanabe Tetsu) IS now dese deserted rted and open to the elements Tetsu himself had his sanity destroyed In an encounter with the Mujina. If encountered, Watanabe Tetsu w ~ l lemand l emand money from the party, swinging his katana wildly while doing so. At other times he will shout insanely about a 'faceless woman'.

 

Watanabe Tetsu (level 3 Bushi, forme r ji ji-zamurai -zamurai of Asamimura) Str : 25 Damage: +2 Dft : 18 BAP: BAP: Spd: 16 MNA: 2 Hlh: 18 BMA: 5 Wit: 18 Hit Points: 40 Armou r Clas Class: s: 1 Will: 25 Zanshin: 2 Skills: Kenju tsu(l 7) wit h Precision Precision Strike(lO), Strike(lO), Atemi-Waza(l4), Bajutsu(l51, Bajutsu(l51, laijut su(l2 ), Kyujutsu(l4),Armory(lO), Hawking(l3). Fis Fishhina(9). Trackina(l0). ~ G ip m e n t : gls h'o , few p pie iece ces s of arm armou our. r.

riedly making his way back back to the i uin ed monastery before the Jikinin ki ar arrives rives for his dinner. Scattered around the gro unds of the monastery where they are not obscured by the entangling undergrowth w ill be se seen en numerous go-rin-ishi (the five circle funerary stone of Nippon). 2. Ami daj i Te Temple mple.. Deserted or a hundred years and in some disrepair, mosses gro w upon the door posts, posts, holes are visible in the once-elegant once-ele gant sloping roof, trailers hang dow n fro m the eves. Across what once must have been an ornamental pond, the monk's quarters have all but collapsed collapsed into piles of m il-

Instruction. The only way t o reach the island Instruction. is to scale scale its verti vertical cal slopes from a boat; th is wil l be fatal in nearly all cases cases (a sheer sheer climb at -3 fro m Climbing capability) unless the player makes use of the rope bridge for the last fifty feet of the ascent. ascent. Despite its rott ed appearanc appea rance, e, the bridge is st ill mag ically imbued, and anyone making making use of it will be protected by Ugetsu. Ugetsu, Uget su, the local kami; is a Jig am i whose shrine isset on a pinnacleof rockwhich could be reached via a rope bridge fro m the cliffs. The Rokuro-kubi cut the bridge to prevent neighbouring villagers from making offer-

Since being driven insane by th e Mujina, Tetsu has wandered the moors terrorising travellers. travell ers. He isclad scantil scantily y and s extremely dirty. Iftaken oth e shrine of Ugets Ugetsu u the kami kami,, Tetsu wil l recover his his wits. He is a dilige nt martial artist but somewhat greedy and hardly of ste rling character character..

dewed boards. Approaching Approachi ng t he temple, a strong smell of incenSe incenSe pervades the air, and (i f Hoich i has not been accidentally accidentally slain or is entertaining Lord Akiyama's Akiyama's ghost i n the graveyard) the strains of an unearthly singing with accompaniment ofth e highestquality rom the biwa biwa wil l be heard. At night, no lig ht will appear in the inn er sanctuary sanctuary where the music is corn ing from. Unseen thing s will scuttle away away at their approach to hide behind statues and in crevices crevic es in the cracked floor stones. The players may be alarmed when Hoichi, presenting a spectral sight, rises up before them in the darkness; darkness; he will be naked except for a loincloth, loincl oth, his body is covered covered with tattoos of the holy sutras as as a ward against evil spirits, his unseeing eyes wil l have a glaz glazed ed and faint ly luminous quality. Sonjo wil l recognise the holiness of the tattoos immediately, immediately, but he may be too late to prevent a nervous player fro m striking ... Hoichi, the blind, rather timid, biwa (Nip-

lngs to him. Ugetsu the Kami Sp ir it Rank: 4 BAP: BAP: 10 Hit Points: 20 MNA: 2 Armou r Clas Class: s: 5 BMA: 7 Zanshin: 2 MagicBCS: 8 Powers: Instruct, Fertil ity (fields), (fields), Fertili ty (births), Control Phenomena wit hin 1.2 Ri Ri (about 5 miles) of shrine. Spells:: (fou r times a day each) darkcircl Spells darkcircle, e, master of the green green,, confusing gaz gaze, b urn ing touch. Skills: Tonfa-te 14, Nunchaku-te 14, Popular Dance 16, 16, Fish ing 16.

Because Beca use of him , th e local peasants give the area a wide berth; occasionally one may be found, but it is mor e likely that he or s she he wi ll flee than stop a nd be questioned. questioned. I f a peasant is questione questioned d he or she wil l report that 'new people' have moved into the village, that i t is indeed the local i-zamurai wh o wanders about the moors and paddy fields half-naked and ma d (this with some embarrassment a as s Tetsu was once a much respectedand feared man),thata holy innocent lives in he temple oft he monastery and is fed by piousvillagers piousvillagers fr om o utlyin g area areas, s, and, that despite the ruination of the monastery, some kind spirit or person stillare seeleft sees s toinside it that the the temple dead are buried when they gate. They will als also o repo rtthattravellers have been terrorised by a ghost on the moors, particu particu-larly religious religious pilgrims and men of a pious mien; they, themselves however never venture out onto th e moors at night, so therefore cannot verify this. The Monastery Gate. Beyond th e gate stands a 1. The Tori Gate. leafy grove. grove. Just inside it there is a small offering table upon which variousvo tive candles burn.ApaIletwith a shroudedfigur shroudedfigure e lies lies before befo re the tabl table e surrounded by bowls with offerings of rice an and d fish. This This ist he corpse of an old ma n left there sometime during the day. If the party approach at nigh night, t, they m ay see see the Jikinin ki appear and devo devour ur the corpse and the offerings, offerings, but this will o nly occur when all the candleson the shrine have either burn t or blow n out. As the players inspect the pallet they m ay hear a rustling i n the und ergrowth and then the sound sounds s of someone or something making their way way,, ratherclumsily rathercl umsily,, through the bushes.Thisw ill be Hoichi who, having picked up his meagre portion of food f rom the funeral par party, ty, is hur-

ponese lute)will player who lives nights in the ruined monastery, t ell of certain when a samurai comes to fetch him and tak takes es him to play before a great lord. Hoichi is unaware that on these these nights he s playing playing forth e ghost of Akiyama, Akiyama, who finds in the beautiful music a momentary surcease surcease from his torment. Hoichi remains in the monastery precincts at all other times a nd is safe fro m the Rokuroku bi wh o dare not e enter. nter. H He e should be reated as an 'extra' (one hit kills him) with a Biwa B C S d 19 3. The Islan d o f he Kami. A small dilapidated shrine shrine m ade of stone and wood stands on top of the pinnacl pinnacle e island. island.Theshrine Theshrinewas was once connected connected to th e mainla nd by a rope bridge which hangs s sever evered ed from th e side of the ~slan d. he bud ge appears to have beeiibeeiicutfr om he mainlandwheret mainlandwherethecut-thr hecut-through ough ends of the supp orting ropes can still be seen attached to stanchions. At night o ni- bi (demon ires) can can be se seen en to flit around the island, although they are not seen in the shrine. The The good K ami Ugetsu dwells in the shrine. The Roku ro-ku biwho wishe d o dispel dispel his benign magical influence from theirstalking grounds, cut the bridge. Ugetsu will reward anyone who repairs the bridge by

Ugetsu wil l appear a as s an impressive man n silk robes robe s of green green dyed with subtle patterns of brown reminiscent reminiscent of t he paddy fields.

4: The Graveyard. Here h ere is a 20 chance of an encounter every every tw o hours. 1. The ghost of Tadafune Akiyama (nigh ts of the new moon only). 2. The Mujina (dusk or ni ght only). Two To riigates (NW and E ead nto the enclosed areas areas which is now extremely over- . grown wi th ferns and bramble. bramble. Around the walls stand the moss-covered moss-covered go-rin-ish i (five-stone (fivestone tomb s) commemorating Lord Akiyama's Akiyama' s men. In the graveyard, graveyard, teetering upon he edge of the eroded cliff-f cliff-face, ace, stands a larger go-ri n-lsh j which covers Ak Akiyama's iyama's grave. An lnscrlptlon on one of t he stones bears the lord's name although this is totally obscured by m oss and lichen. Underneath are lines commemorating th e sea sea ba ttle that took place off Asamimura in which Akiyama perished. Players Players wit h a good memo ry for music may recognise in them parts of the songs recited recited by Hoichi n he temple (that s, ifthe y have heardthem). heardthem). In ront of thelarger tomb and right atth e edge of of the cliff, cliff, there is an area of flattened grass and brackenwhere ~t ~tappears appears someone has been sitting. Hoichi wil l be seento sit here as he recites recites in ront of the tomb at night; Aki Akiyama yama who leads him down to the cliff's edge from the temple, temple, fades into the five stone tomb at the beginning of th e recital. The The tomb co uld be said to resemble a seated man. Akiyama's Akiyama's treasure will be found buried under underneat neath h his tomb next to his funerary u rn. [see stats.] stats.] The oni-bifre quen t the graveyard graveyard at all times of the night, and many can be seen seen whirli ng around Hoichi's head durin g his performance. O ni-bia re harmless s supernatural upernatural manifestations. At the edge of the eroded cliff parts of the graveyard's graveyard 's wall and the lesser tomb s hang over emp ty space. space. Lookin g dow n one can see see human bones protuding from the cliff-f cliff-face ace where Akiyama's men are about to return to the watery grave a hundred feet feet below fro m whence they were pulled. On rough stormy nights a dreadful wailin g can be heard to come fro m o ut at sea. sea. The waters aresaid aresaid to be haunted haunted by the ghost of a noble warrior, Tadafune Akiyama, Akiyama, w ho 200 years ago, ago, died wit h several of his men i n a sea-battle against a band of pirates. Their bodies were brough t in and buried up on the cliffs and Amidaji Temple, Temple, a small Bu ddhist foundation, was then set set up o commemorate theirdeaths. The sea sea has since since eroded the cliff so that half the original graveyard hascollapsed away away,, spilling the m ortal remains into D

 

JI ZAMURAI'S ZAMURAI'S MANOR HOUSE

Jo, BCS 14, 14, Damage ld 6+ 3 subdual. Spells: Three uses per day of s hadow cloak, as cast by leve l 2 Shugenja. Powers: Bewil der (treat a as s Awe but victims never pass out and the effect vanishes when Jikininki departs). departs). M inor Invulnerability Invulnerability (takes (take s ha half lf damage fro m non-magical weapons). The Jikin inki is a kin d of Gaki. This one was called Hobei, an ex-Buddhist monk. He usually appearsas appearsas a normal man,dwelling man,dwelling in his anjitsu (priest's he rmitage) . He feeds on corpses ses left at the temple gate. This takes takes five rounds, and if Hobei is wounded he recovers

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KEY

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Secret door

giZ

Stairs up

im

Gravel Roofed terrace

all Dth e waters waters below - or sometimes onto the beach, where the Rokuro- kubicom e to feast beach, on the rott ed corpses. The spirit of Akiyama grows ~ncreas~ ngly estless as his ow n grave wi ll soon be breached by the erosion. His ghost roamson roamson nightsofth e new moon-for on such such a nigh twas heslain-seeking a pr priest iest who w ill rebury him and perform the Se Segaki gaki service to quieten his spirit. The Ghost of Lord Akiya Akiyama ma Spir it Rank: 5 BAP BAP:: 10 Hit Points: 45 MNA: 2 Arm our Class: Class: 10 BMA: 5 Zanshin: 2 Atta ck: Kat Katana ana,, BCS BCS 19, 19, Damage 1 d 6 f 3 ethal. Treasure: In grave, a netsuke of a ki-rin (The Steed of Heaven from the Bushido rul rules, es, 3 charges). The ghost is a Shura, Shura, gaunt an d wild-eyed but much as Akiyama looked when alive. He speaks spe aks in a ho llow tormented voice, commanding those before him to retrieve his body from its graveon thecliffsan thecliffsand d togi ve t proper burial elsewhere. 5. Th The e Anjitsu. Here stands a simple stone tom b covered by moss and and lichen. Below it lie the mor tal remains of the bad Buddhist priest Hobei, now a Jikininki . Players pa passing ssing near the grove whilst Hobei is still i n human for m m ay hear a faint m oaning sound, and, and, approaching nearer, nearer, even the sound of grating teeth. teeth. Ins Instead tead ofthetomb,th e playersw ill see see an anjitsu or hermitage, i n the form of a small cottage constructed of stone, with a sloping, gabled roo f made of wood. This will disappear once Hobei has made his confession and segaki rites are performe d over his body, or when in gaki form . The Jikin inki (corpse (corpse eating Gaki) Str: 30 Spir it Rank: 3 ft 20 Hi t Points: 25 Spd: 20 Arm our Class Class:: 5 Hlh: 3 Damage: +3 Wi t: 5 BAP: 10 Will: 33 MNA: 2 Zanshin: 2 BMA: 7 MagicBCS: 8 Attack: 2 talons, BCS BCS 12 12, Damage I d 6 ethal

5 points fr byom eating a corpse. corp Hobei wilonce l fight if hit thwarted reaching reach ing ase. corpse corp se but he s glutted he wi ll depa depart. rt. In his human form, form, Hobei issur ly and irascible but basically contrit e about his condition. He was an avaricious priestwh othought only only ofth e paymentwhen he performed burial rites, and this dish onour has cause caused d hi m to become a Jikininki . If the party somehow find out the truth about him and confront confront him with it hewil l breakdown n shame and ask to be given Segaki rites. After the rites have been performed he and his hut wi ll vanish, leavi ng the players beside Hobei's moss-covered tomb . Burni ng the body is not necessary. necessary. The Village of Asamimura Consists of a small i-zamu rai m ansion and a dozen or so peasant huts. By night Asamimu ra is stalked by such grisly nightmaresas the undead Jikininkiand the faceless faceless Mujin a. The village of Asamimura is in fact quite desolatethough i t appears appears toare be actua inhabited inhabit by a few hardy peasants hese actually llyed Rokuro-kubi. By nigh tthey hunt, with a 15 chance cha nce ev every ery two hours of returning t o the village. The Rokuro-kubi Sp iri t Rank: 2 BAP: BAP: 12 Arm our Class: 6 MNA: 2 Zanshin: 2 BMA: 5 Atta ck: Bite, BCS: BCS: 12 12,, Damage I d 3 ethal. Hit Points: Headman 15, Strongman: 18, Others10 11 6 8 9 10 6 4. Treasure: 2 silver, 40 40 copper on their persons and hidden i n their huts. The Rokuro-kubi all act as classic 'Average Men' by day. The Headman is crafty and Strongm an is slowwitted; all the others (three women and tw o children plus men) are of average average intelligence. They appear by day as as humblefish ermen/far mers of the village. They wi ll be hospitable hospitable and put up the the party in he dilapidated manor where the squire Tetsu lived. At nigh t they reverttotyp e and and will attemptto devour devour numbers of the party. If the p arty approaches Asamimura Asami mura at ni ght they they wi ll fin d the vill village age apparently deserted with several headless bodies, in a state of perfect preservation, lyin g in some of the houses houses.. Moreover the necks of the bodies wil l not appear seve severed, red, but look as a stalk does when a leaf has been plucked pluck ed from it. The Rokuro-kubidislike Hobei he Jiki nink i- he devours corpsesth ey wou ld like for thems themselve elves. s. They will te ll the players that a gaki stalks the monastery grounds and it is probably this that has been been terrorising travellers on the moors. 6. The Village Offeri ng Table. Table. Closer observation w ill reveal that the stone shrine at the centre of the village dedicated to the local kami, Ugetsu, has had some of i ts stones dislodged, perhaps in a gale. This damage has not been repaired, and further disrespect has been shown to the ka mi n that the fallen fallen stones now serve as as moor ing stones for the fishing boats tlrawn up on the beach. The fishing nets laid out as if to dry next to the boats will also be seen to be in some state of disrepair i f looked at closely. 7 Beach ofSk ulls . On the northern edge of the beach, beach, underneath the cliffs, players may spot what appear to be small boulders and bits of white driftw ood strewn about. On

closer inspection they w ill be seen seen to be skulls and bones bones of Akiy Akiyama's ama's men eroded fro m he cliff aboveand washed washed upo nt he beach beach byth e tide. These These relics relics wil l be brown in colour; colour; scattered amongst amongst the m are the far far whi ter bones of the Rokuro-kubi's latest victims. 8. The Ji-zam urai's Mansion . There is a 15 chance chan ce of an encounter for every tw o hour s spent in Tetsu's dilapidated house. 1. The Mujina (dusk or night only)

2 The Rokuro-kubi (appearing (appearing as normal

peasants peas ants if du ring the day)

On close inspection, inspection, a few things wi ll appear to be amiss: i) he floorboards of many of the room s and also that of the teahouse appear to have been prised prised up and then roughly hammered down again. The garden appears o have been dug over thoroughly in a number of places places and the earth thrown bac back k loosely to cover the holes. This damage was caused by the Rokuro- kubi oo king for Tetsu's Tetsu's hidden gold. (ii)One One of the bedrooms (no 3) appears appears to be not as dusty as the others. A few spots o f brown, dried blood may be o und on the underside of one of the tatarni mats; the Rokurokubi's last victim was devoured here. A pilgrim staff staff wil l be found to have been thro wn into the undergrow th of the garden. (iii ) A bow w ith a rotted string and a mildewed quiver of arr ows will be found amongst the weeds on the southern porch (B). A target butt, partially obscured by climbing plants, stands against the southern garden wall (C); one one or t wo arrow-headsare still stuck into it. Two burnt-out torch stubs stubs stand to either side of it, set toarchery the ground. wi th any knowled geinof may Anyone make their BCS BCS role o discover discover thatt he bow shows signs of fine workman ship (a 3 Man-Rating dai-kyu, wo rth 50 silver when refurbished). Tetsu, was practising archery one night by the lig ht of thetorches; suddenly he heard heard the sound of sobbing coming from the bushes near the butt. Fearing he had accidentally accidentally wounded someone hi ding in the undergrowth, he left his bow on the terrace and approached the bushes. In the l ight of the torches he saw a young wo man kneeling on the gra ss wi th averted face. face. As he neared neared her she turned to reveal the terrible featureless face of the Muj ina. Tetsu has been mad ever sinceand has never returned to the mansion. Asui t of armour stands stands in he living room (A), antique-looking antique-lookin g with fin e embossing. embossing. A no w extinct clan crest crest is set into the helmet (the crest is of a wysteria blossom and is made of enamel). A character must make his heraldry BC BCS S to id entify asth eTadafune clan emblem. The armour belonged to Lor d Tadafune. Tadafune. Its value s90 gold pieces. pieces. It s reputedly haunted, haunted, and this has deterr deterred ed the Roku ro-kubifro m pilferrin g it. This rumou r has basis n act; on moonlit nighta low ghostly moaning moaning may be heard coming from it. A player approaching approaching closer wi ll hear Lord Akiyama's holl ow voice commanding him o find a Buddhist Buddhist priest so that his body may be reburied with proper rites. A chest (lock complex ity 6) stands stands in the storage room of Tetsu's Tetsu's m anor. Thechamber is carefully carefully concealed behind sliding panels which resemb resemble le the woodwork of the outer walls.. (Wi t S walls Saving aving Throw to se see e a Hidden Thing). Inside the chest are scrolls representing the deeds of the estate. estate. There is also one with Tetsu'sfamily name (Wat (Watanab anabe) e)set set asa seal into wax. Anyone opening i t wi ll be confronted with the following poem: In he pla place ce o f cha no yu Look westward to the setting sun, sun, Brig ht beneath beneath the water Brighter fish than goldfish swim. (This refers refers to an urn sunk by Tetsu in the middle of the pond, in it wil l be found 9 gold pieces). Such accessorie s as ttorches, orches, ropes, linen, will be found found in the kitchen.0 kitchen.0

 

TRE SURE CHEST

DMs Introduction The Necromancer Necromancer [WD3 [WD35], 5], Malmo rtwa s recently recen tly forced to leave the to wn o f Arkand, Arkan d, as hisv ile and evil practices had got out of hand. H He e es escaped capedwit h his'life' (badlywounde (badly wounde d) and af ew meagr meagre e possessions, including his Dorianic Portrait [see below]. He move d into an ancient bur ial barro w near the village o f Coldbro Coldbrook, ok, itself about 50 miles fro m Arkand. Here Here,, he is cont inui ng his depraved research and has already already grab bed several victims

T r e a s u r e C h e s t is a regular D D

department. This issue we present a short shor t mini-scenario based around some reader readers s magic items for a lo w level party, by Jamie Thomson.

The

from the village to manuf manufactur acture e a few ghouls before returning to Arkand Arkand to have his revenge. Dorianic Portrait By M braharns A necromancer necromancer can us use e this to forestall the effects of age, physical evidence of evil, h it po int damage and diseases. The portrait allows the necromancer necromancer to live in society without seeming obviously vile. To create a Dorianic Portrait a top quality full-size portrait must be obtained (at suitable expense). This must be presented sente d to the necrom necromancer ancer's 's god during a ceremony ceremony at which the 'm inim um annual sacrifice' sac rifice' [see WD WD35 351 1 mu must st be made. m ade. If his god grants the necromanc necromancer's er's wish (60%cha (60% chance nce,, on ly att empted once a lifetime) the portrait will absor absorb b the visibl visible e effects effe cts of evil into itse itself, lf, so the picture ages whil st t he necromancer looks as young, healthy and 'good 'good'' as the day of the ceremony. The loss of charisma due to level rises is negat negated ed and the necromancer seems a reasonably ordinary man (assuming he was no t too corrupt when he c create reated d the portra it). If a saving roll vs death magic is made it will heal combat damage- up to ld4.a week, and diseases may be tran transsferred to the portrait. Keep a note of all damagea nd di disea seases ses transferred in his way. i f the portrait is destroyed then all the evil and stored years are transfer transferred red back bac k to the necromancer, wherev wherever er he is. This also happens when the canvas rots of its ow n accord. The necromancer's charisma chari sma wil l drop to zer zero o and he may well be killed by the loss of h it points1 diseases. The canvas asts d20 x 25 years.

Malmort , 6th level Necromancer [WD35] Str: 18.00, Wis: Wi s: 7, Int Int:: 16 16,, Dex: 12, Con Con:: 15,Cha:: 10 (5). 15,Cha (5).Abilities: Abilities: EvilEye, Speak wi th Dead Dead,, An Anima ima te Dea Dead, d, Gr Grave ave N Noises oises,, Manufacture Ghoul, Sense Life, Create Skull Guar Guard, d, Unholy Strength of he EterEternally Damned (performed on himsel himself). f). AC: 10. Dagger, sho short rt sword, E Ebony bony Horn. Hit Points: 24. Having realised realised he has'guests' Mal mort (looking fairly norma normal), l), will do some quick thinki ng and announce himself as a messenger fro m the village ('the headman wants to see see youf), to gain a few moments momen ts time. Players Players may notice a cercertain similar ity between Malmort and the portrait i f they make a saving roll against intelligence. intellige nce. As soon as he c can an Mal Malmor mortt wil l b low his Ebony Horn, ordering the undead to attack the players. Ebony Horn by Mark Byng This ornate black horn does no t require a command command wor d to operat operate e but only clerics, fighters, thieves and ne cromancers can can use it . Onc Once e per week it can be used to summon undea undead. d. Whe When n the horn is blown roll ld1 0:

Die Roll 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number & Ty Type pe o f Undeadsummoned Undeadsummoned 1-20 Skeleton Skeletons s I-1OZombies I-1OGhouls 1-6 Shadows 1-4 Wights 1-4 Ghasts 1-3 Wraiths 1-2 Mummies 1-2 Spectres 1 Vampire11 Vampire11 Ghos Ghostt

Chanceo f Chance Control 100% looO o 95% 90% 85% 85% 80% 75% 75% 70%165O/o

He wi ll of fer 150gp (all th the e village can spare) to the 'warrior adven spare) adventurer turers' s' if they'll help the village, discover what's going on, and p ut a stop to it. The players players should vis it Glamis in the morning. All they wil l be a able ble to gather, amid his delirious burblings, are the repeated phrase phrases, s, 'winged skull', 'how ling of the dead' dead' and 'the old barrow on the hill' hill'.. Glamis is plainly terrified out of his his wits with fear The headma headman n wil l

On the round after blowi ng the horn the summoner must conc concentra entrate te on control ling he undead (+5% for necromancers). Check Chec k ea each ch summo ned creature in dividually, those undead which which are controlled are completely at the summoner's command, those whi ch aren't m ay do a as s the DM wishes wishes.. If the character activating the ho rn is good then helshe wil l be unable unabl e to control any of the summon ed

Players Player s Introduction The players players are passin passing g through the village of Coldbrook Coldbrook (or any vil village lage the DM wou ld like to use this for). No t unnaturally,, they decide to spend the night i n he ally village inn. Immedia tely apparent is an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. Nobody is foun d going outdoors at ni night, ght, windows and doors are securely locked and boarded etc. The village headman wil l approach the play players, ers, offe offerr them a drink and tell them this story: 'There have been several disappear-

explain burial that the that barrow on the h ill an ancient mound, hundreds of is years old. Obviously,the players players should pay it a visit. The players players will be di directe rected d to the barrow and wi ll fin d the entra entrance nce s set et into the side of the hill, flanked by 3 la large rge Stonehenge-type stone blocks. smell of decay,foet decay,foetid id and da dark rk,, waf tsfr om the portal. Inside, is a single cavern -abo ut 30' x 30 30'. '. Im mediately , Malmort's Skull Guard [see WD35for statsl will attack the players. Malmort himself is nowhere to be s see een. n. After dealing with the Skull Guard the players wi ll see a large slab with the body of a re recent cent victim o n it, in some sort of state of preparation for some diabolical necromancy. In a corner of the tom b stands the portra it of an extremely degenerate and evil looking man. What's What's more the paintin g depicts

undead and attackon the sum mon erwi ll be automatic. The summon ing lasts unti l he undead are slain or u nti l 2d4 Turns have el elapsed apsed;; whichever occurs first. S houl d there be any additional undead (victims of vampires, pire s, wraiths etc) they wi ll disappear along with their 'masters'. If the players see seem m to be def defeating eating h is undead und ead Malmort wi ll Animate the corpse corps e on the sl slab ab but will only enter the combat if he has to. He won't try to escape esc ape unless things are going very badly and he has his portrait. M almort's main concern concern will be to keepthe players away from the portrait, or to separate them fr om it. H He e will order his undead to this end. He wil l become very agitated agitated if anyone goes near it. Destroying the portrait w ~ l laus lause e Malmo rt to lose 2 22 2 h it points immediately and he wil l fall to the

ances recently. Search parties have been completely unsuccessfuI no tracks have been found, no clues nothing. The shepherd-boy, Glamis, returned last night from his d day's ay's work completely insaneand babbling. He is now at home in his bed, raving.'

him assever asseverely ely woun ded -in fact barel barely y alive. A wooden des alive. desk k (next to a straw pallet) has various items items on it dead rats, heads heads,, bott les of blood, Books of the Dead etc, of course. Atth is point Malmort himself will ent enter er the barrow. (He was out getting food.)

ground, tem porarily incapacitated-any ground, undead undea d wil l stand motionless while contro l wavers (unle ss he's already wounded, wounde d, in whic which h cas case e he he'll 'll die - no chance to curse). The playe players rs wi ll have one free free round in which to finish him off (if hey've any brains ).O

If the necro necromancer mancer dies combat the canva canvas s wi ll crumb le in and inflict then its burden on the corps corpse. e. Consequently, Malmort is n ow looking relatively normal.