This is the first of a series of articles about graveyards, interment, crypts, coffins and similar issues, for role-playing games. It employs 4E Dungeons and Dragons rules.
Encounter Level 4
Undead recently overran this small church cemetery. The adventurers’ challenge is to destroy the monsters and save the lives of the monster’s intended victims.
Setup
- 1 Deathlock Wight
- 4 Skeletons
- 7 Decrepit Skeletons
When the adventurers approach the grounds, read the following outloud:
A small cemetery, surrounded by stone walls, spreads from the street corner. An aging chapel stands at the center of the cemetery while numerous gravestones and small tombs crowd the grounds on a hill. Lights flicker inside the chapel, visible through windows placed high on the walls. Clouds roll across the night sky, so the moon illuminates with pale silver intermittently. The only entrance to the grounds is at a sagging iron gate, currently closed.
What People Know
A character knows the following about the chapel and cemetery with a successful History or Streetwise skill check.
- DC 15: The chapel is dedicated to (a deity of light appropriate to the campaign) and while it is not staffed constantly, it is periodically served by clerics who travel in a regular circuit through the region.
- DC 17: The church also owns and maintains the cemetery grounds, which is about 50 years old. There are several cemeteries and temples around the city. The priest is scheduled to return in two weeks.
Few know, that several weeks ago a wandering necromantic monster created the deathlock wight out of spite and a corpse. Left to its own devices, the deathlock wight smashed its way into a pair of mausoleums to gain access to bodies, which it animated.
Trapped inside the chapel are three people. The undead emerged from the graves at twilight, surprised and attacked the living, who fled to the chapel for protection.
It is night and the grounds are poorly lit by moon light – during the battle the graveyard is assumed to have dim lighting. As the adventurers approach the chapel, they are attacked by the skeletons.
Perception Check
Players should make perception check rolls if they approach the cemetery grounds.
- DC 15: You hear panicked shouting from inside the old chapel.
- DC 18: You hear sounds of metal striking stone coming from the chapel and a disturbing piping music.
- DC 20: Someone has written “LWWH” on a side of the cemetery wall.
Entering the Grounds
The adventurers’ first challenge is to enter the grounds. This may be done by opening the gate or climbing the walls surrounding the cemetery. Neither is difficult – getting out is harder than getting in.
Battles with the Undead
Trapped inside the cemetery walls, but outside of the chapel, are 13 undead: a deathlock wight, four skeletons and seven decrepit skeletons.
Inside the chapel three living people are trapped: Miss Vespillo – a 3rd level gnome skulk – and three adolescent human males (refer to “human rabble” in the MONSTER MANUAL for the appropriate stats for them).
Miss Vespillo throws lit torches out of the chapel windows during the fight to provide illumination and provides supporting fire for the adventurers with her crossbow. She is unwilling to open the doors, which she has barred from the inside, until the destruction of the monsters.
Deathlock Wight (Level 4 Controller)
Medium natural humanoid (undead) XP 175
Initiative +4
Senses: Perception +1
HP 54; Bloodied 27
AC 18; Fortitude 15; Reflex 16; Will 17
Immune disease, poison; Resist 10 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 6
Action Points 1
Standard Actions
[MW] Claw (weapon • necrotic) • At Will
Attack: +9 vs. AC;
Hit: 1d6 necrotic damage and the target loses 1 healing surge.
[R] Grave Bolt (necrotic) • At Will
Attack: Ranged 20; +6 vs. Reflex;
Hit: 1d6 + 4 necrotic damage and the target is immobilized (save ends).
[C] Horrific Visage (fear • recharge on 4, 5 or 6) • At Will
Attack: Close blast 5; +7 vs. Will;
Hit: 1d6 damage and the target is pushed 3 squares.
Minor Actions
[R] Reanimate (encounter • necrotic) • At Will
Ranged 10; affects a destroyed undead creature of a level no higher than the Death lock wight’s level + 2; the target stands as a free action with a number of hit points equal to one half its bloodied value. This power does not affect minions.
Alignment Evil
Languages Common
Skills Arcana +10, Religion +10
Str 10 (+2) Dex 14 (+4) Wis 9 (+1)
Con 14 (+4) Int 16 (+5) Cha 18 (+6)
.
Decrepit Skeleton Level 1 Minion
Medium natural humanoid (undead) XP 25
Initiative +3
Senses: Perception +1
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 16; Fortitude 13; Reflex 14; Will 13
Immune disease, poison
Speed 6
Standard Actions
[MW] Longsword (weapon) • At Will
Attack: +6 vs. AC;
Hit: 4 damage
[RW] Shortbow (weapon) • At Will
Attack: Ranged 15/30; +6 vs. Reflex;
Hit: 3 damage
Alignment Unaligned
Languages -
Skills Arcana +10, Religion +10
Str 15 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 14 (+2)
Con 13 (+1) Int 3 (-4) Cha 3 (-3)
.
Skeleton Level 3 Soldier
Medium natural humanoid (undead) XP 150
Initiative +6
Senses: Perception +3, darkvision
HP 45; Bloodied 22
AC 18; Fortitude 15; Reflex 16; Will 15
Immune disease, poison Resist 10 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 6
Standard Actions
[MW] Longsword (weapon) • At Will
Attack: +10 vs. AC;
Hit: 1d6 damage
Triggered Actions
Speed of the Dead • At Will
Trigger: The skeliton is presented with an attack of opportunity against a foe.
Effect: (immeadeate reaction) The skeleton gains a +2 bonus to the attack roll and deals an extra 1d6 damage.
Alignment Unaligned
Languages -
Skills Arcana +10, Religion +10
Str 15 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 14 (+2)
Con 13 (+1) Int 3 (-4) Cha 3 (-3)
Tactics and Strategies
The deathlock wight intends to capture one of the living people trapped in the chapel and force them to open the gate so that it may escape the cemetery. When the PCs arrive on the scene, it turns its attention on them and attempts the same.
The skeletons make direct melee attacks, and use speed of the dead on enemies who try to slip past its guard. At the same time the decrepit skeletons attack from range, using the tombstones for partial cover. When enemies come into melee striking range they draw their swords and attack. The deathlock wight dances across the top of the gravestones, playing a panpipe, its method of controlling the other undead and uses grave bolt to immobilize enemies and horrific visage to keep them at a distance. When its most powerful ally or bodyguard falls in battle, it uses reanimate to put it back in play.
Features of the Area
The graveyard covers about four acres, is home to a couple hundred burial plots and is centered a small chapel at the top of a hill. The south side of the hill is steep and bare earth, the north side drops slowly and covered in grass.
1. Walls: Surrounding the cemetery are stone walls, eight feet in height and five-feet thick (one-square across). Climbing the wall requires a DC 15 Athletics check. The face of the walls inside the graveyard contains hundreds of notches for urns and ossuaries.
2. Gate: The gate is heavy wrought iron and drifts closed if not braced open. It has a latch, but no lock.
3. Graveyard’s Northside: North, along the smooth and grassy slope, are elaborate markers, small tombs and mausoleums, the gravesites of the wealthy merchants, nobles and adventurers.
4. Central Graveyard: Clustered around the chapel itself are plots of middle class merchants, tradesmen and craftsmen who mark their sites with polished gravestones.
5. Graveyard’s Southside: Crowded together across the steep and muddy south slope are the graves of peasants and the poor, with river rocks or wooden signs marking sites.
6. Chapel: The chapel is dedicated to a deity of light and is periodically served by clerics who travel in a regular circuit through the region.
7. Sanctuary: This is where services to the deity are conducted. The floor of the chapel serves as an ossuary, with the bones of the faithful interred beneath flagstones bearing names of the deceased.
8. Chapel Storeroom: The gnome barricaded the human’s in this room, which normally only contains stacked chairs and a few other supplies.
After the Battle
Once the combat is concluded, the gnome and the humans exit the chapel, speak with the party and alert the local authorities. Civic leaders reward the party 50 gp for each undead destroyed and ask for party assistance in determining who or what created the undead in the first place.
The Survivors’ Story
The gnome ranger remains animate, though cool and focused during and following the crisis. The human males are nearly hysterical, though once they calm down they reveal they intended to vandalize the grounds out of boredom.
Who are you and what are you doing here?
I’m Miss Vespillo, an employ of the gravediggers’ guild and I came here to assess the state of the cemetery grounds. Someone has been robbing graves lately. I needed to see if it has happened here.
What were those things?
A bunch of skeletons animated and controlled by a creature called a deathlock wight. It created the skeletons from remains interred in the graveyard. I don’t know what created the deathlock wight.
What did it want?
Owing to an enchantment on the walls surrounding the graveyard, undead cannot walk or fly out of the cemetery, unless the gate is open. The same enchantment prevents the undead from opening the gate. It probably wanted to capture someone and force them to open the gate, so it could escape the cemetery.
What does “LWWH” mean?
I don’t know.
Edited by Cassey Toi
Two things: First, under Setup the number of decrepit skeletons is four, but in the text under Battles with the Undead it is five.
Second, I’m thinking it should be 4 skeletons and 7 decrepit skeletons. As it stands, the total XP for the encounter is 1,325, which is about a 6th-level encounter for a party of five PCs. Switching the numbers listed makes it 950 XP, which is only slightly higher than a strictly by-the-numbers 4th-level encounter.
That out of the way, I think it’s a pretty good encounter. I’d run it in my game. The graffiti is a good hook for future encounters (don’t know if you intend to explore that in your other Gravesite columns). I like the idea of a Gravediggers’ Guild, and I’m sure their free agents must see a lot of awful things in their service. Good work.
Are there any aspects of the environment the PCs can use to their advantage, or any hazards they face?
Thank you for the comments – they are on the money, so to speak and have been in included. It does bother me when things like that slip past me. There are no particular hazards, though the PCs could use the tombstone and similar structures for cover and need to be aware of them if they go running around the cemetery in darkness. This was the first chapter in a book I’ve written and LWWH does get played out and answered. The second installment in the series is actually from the same chapter and including it in this post would have made the single post too long.