This is something I have wanted to do for a long time; make a dungeon that is a haunted house. At least at the start, to make the project easier to write, I will use Tegel Manor as a monster guide, and Ravenscrag castle as the layout maps.
Not all the undead are hostile in this place, for they remain in "life" because of a curse on the castle by a high level Evil Cleric that none living in the castle should rest easy upon death, but instead, rise and return to the castle and resume their old position at the time the curse was laid.
The Evil Cleric Delbart worshipped Myrkul and although he surrounded himself with the dead and dying, he fell in love with a beautiful woman. He came to the castle to ask for her hand in marriage never even suspecting that he might be turned down. The maidens father knew immediately that his daughter did not want to wed the priest, but the rich and power priest tempted the father with lies about the things that would happen when the two houses were joined. After many months of courting, the priest demanded an answer without further delay, threatening the father with death and destruction if he did not answer. The manner with which this was done convinced the father that he would condemn his daughter to violence and horror if he answered yes. The priest was homicidally angry.
The priest killed the father and several knights who were nearby with powerful magic spells. He summoned demons to fight the guards of the castle to win his escape and give him time to use a wish spell the Priest had found. With the wish and the Power of Myrkul, he laid a curse on the building and those within. This curse he pronounce in the hearing of all who watched from the Battlements. They recorded his words and this will form the major clue that that party must use to solve the mystery of the Castle and make it their own.
The castle Ravenscrag gets its name from the large number of
ravens that made their home in the wooded hills surrounding it.
There are still thousands of ravens left. The rest have found new
homes where the land is not dry and rocky; where life is easier.
The river that ran by the castle has dried up. The once lush trees
that lined it are old and sickly now. Their leafless branches are
brittle and greyish.
ROADS
The marked roads here are almost imperceptible. They were never paved, and the rain and wind and scrub growth, (the only plants who thrive in this barren place) have served to hide them from all but a trained eye. A ranger or tracker needs to make the standard roll to find and follow them. They could be cleared with relative ease, as the trees have not grown back. For all purposes however, travel anywhere in this area is ROUGH terrain. If the roads are cleared (this will take 1 man hour per 10’) then travel on it is as NORMAL.
(Clearing the roads is another adventure for a druid or fighter. Many wild animals {and a few monsters} use these overgrown roads as homes and highways. Killing or removing them will take some time.)
BRIDGE
Although the river is dry now, at one time it was a deep and wide flow. Even today with the water table is very close to the surface here, but there is not enough water to flow, it is only enough to form stagnant pools which breed a particularly large breed of stinging fly. The water stopped around 150 years ago, but much silt was deposited in front of the pylons and a storm brought large sections of street stone down. The footing in the river bed is dangerously unsteady. There are areas of quicksand and pools of stagnant water are covered with thick scrub brush. Every time someone crosses the riverbed, roll off the Dry River encounter chart.
Large sections of bridge between the massive supports have fallen away. The gaps vary in size from 20 feet broken to 60’ broken. The party must find a way to deal with this if they wish to avoid the perils of the riverbed. There are several large trees around, but most will be too brittle to support the weight of even one person. Roll % per hour/per group searching. 10% or less and a suitable tree is found. During this time roll 1d6 for an encounter once per 2 hours. Use the Outside encounter chart for the type of encounter. It will require a Master of the Stonemasons guild to repair the damage to this bridge.
The entrance to the castle is defended by a great portcullis which is currently home to a Troll. This troll is adept at finding the salamanders that thrive in the riverbed, but he is afraid of the castle and will not enter. As a result he has no treasure, and wants some bad. He will bargain with the party to allow them to pass for at least 1 silver piece each. He will start by asking for 1 gp each, and come down if they seem to get nasty.
TrollRiver Encounters
(There is an adventure here if the party does decide to make this their base of operations. Something is damming the water upstream and must be removed if the castle is to house enough people to be "comfortable". Giant Beavers?)
Swarm of Flys - The flys will swoop down on the party and sting them until all of the swarm have had a taste of their blood. Roll 1d20 for the number of flys. Each has 1 HP and is considered a 1HD monster for hitting. Each does 1 HP of damage, the flys off to digest its lunch.
Water Pool - This can be nothing more than a cold dunking, or it can be deadly. When this encounter is indicated, roll 1d30 to determine the depth of the hole. Only those in the front line will have a chance to go in. A successful roll of ½ DEX will prevent a wetting. Those with armor and no swimming skills might drown if not aided.
Mud slide/Quicksand - The mud is thick enough to hold a person up for a while, but any hesitation will allow the mud to stick to a person. Roll 1d6 for each person walking through the mud 100’. A 1 means the person has paused and will begin to sink. As others help him, they too may become stuck. While there is little chance that a party will suffer much damage from this, it could be deadly to a single player. Use the mud rules in the WSG page 82.
Poisonous Snakes - 1d6 in number, 2HD
Martinsburg
It should be arranged so that the party will arrive at the dry river just at sunset. Remember: atmosphere is everything in this dungeon. Make everything dark and dreary, if not outright frightening. There is a 1 in 6 chance of someone seeing the light made by the Hermit from Martinsville shining in the night. If they investigate, the Hermit will hear them coming 90% of the time, and he will hide. There is no way the party will find him in the dark. He will keep to his hiding place for a day and another night before resuming his nocturnal activities. In the castle’s heyday, this was a bustling village on the banks of the river. Now it is a ghost town with nothing but a few ivy grown ruins to show it was ever there. The docks are now nothing more than rotting timbers that rise from the silt of the riverbed 10’ overhead. A few worm eaten timbers still join some of the dock timbers together, but it would be treacherous walking. The only thing of value here is a diamond ring that slipped of the finger of one of the towns women to fall into the river mud. This will be found on a roll of 20% per person per hour searched. This small village was once surrounded by a wall made of upraised logs from 6 to 8 feet high. Now, most have fallen or rotted, but a few still rise like gaunt fingers from the ground. The wall was guarded by six stone guardhouses 12 feet high. Two of these have fallen, (marked with an x) but the rest still stand. They are covered with thick clinging vines that almost hide the dark gray color of the local rock they were made from.
Guard TowersCITY BUILDINGS
1) Temple of Eldath - This temple still stands due to the cunning way the river stone was fitted together. It is empty; all the religious artifacts were removed when the priests abandon this place. The door has been left closed, so there is not as much debris inside as most of the other buildings. Some murals show pictures of a waterfall plunging into a still pool, a beautiful woman smiling beckoningly from within a mountain stream, a drowning man reaching up to grab a feminine had stretched out to him from the darkness over his head.
2) Temple of ....
Just to give some motivation to the various members of the party there will be places like this one that allow the DM to fill in the necessary information. This will be a temple of the parties cleric, as long as that is not to unlikely given the bucolic nature of the village. Invent trapping as necessary, but nothing of value or significance to be found here.
3) A wooden building that has collapsed on itself. This was the "general store" and some misc. items of small value (nothing over 5 sp) can be found if the timbers are removed. It is currently the home of a pack of giant rats. These rats will not attack unless the timbers are disturbed.
4) Scribes office. Nothing of this place remains except a stone foundation.
5) Chandlers. This building burned. There is nothing but a slight depression in the ground and a few candle molds to mark is place. There is a hole filled with a brown strange smelling substance. This is the slag of impurities removed from the candle wax. It could easily be used to create candles if string is available.
6,7,8) A Inn/Saloon complex. Only the massive stone fireplace that separates 7 from 8 is still standing. The rest is rotting timbers. The second floor of the inn has fallen into the floor below. Nothing of value.
9) Communal tool storage. Only a shovel, a pick with one end intact, a scythe and a few hand trowels remain. A mole has made the earth floor of this room into a piece of Swiss cheese.
10) Blacksmith forge. The back half of this building is made of stone, and thought it is listing forward from the plumb, it is still up. The wood frame of the house is completely gone, and burn marks on the stone lead one to believe that a fire took place here. Some blacksmith tools (broken or bent) still can be found under the hard packed black soot that forms the floor.
11) The Well. This is perhaps the most important feature of this place.
It is still running and providing sweet clean water year round. A half circle of shops used to surround it, but only the rear wall they all shared remains. Still this wall forms a wind break that has prevented the stones lining the well to become covered up with debris.
12,13) Dock Master and Stables. Sawdust and splinters remain of the most seen buildings of the town. Nothing of use, nothing of interest. Dung remains reveal that the stables held cows as well as horses.
14) Unknown rubble and wood pulp.
15,16) Money Changers, Jewelers. These two buildings have been even more completely destroyed by time than the rest. They were a money changers flowing Black River has undercut the bank and in this area, the wall has slid into the water and the buildings have followed. The river widens here and forms a small pool. A giant crayfish makes its home here.
It is a recent arrival and has no treasure, but it will taste delicious! It
will not attack unless one of the party members gets into the water. Giant
Crayfish - HD 3 HP 15 AC 4 Move 4/16" 2 Attacks 1d6/1d6
17) Sheriff’s office. The sheriff was the tax master and justice of the peace. Attached to this building are a couple of cells used to house prisoners. As all are made of stone they are still standing, but the ceilings have collapsed. The stout door and heavy stone make this the most secure building left. Although it is empty, it’s strength will make fighters and tacticians see it as a secure refuge. It will take 20 man hours to clear the rubble out, and 30 man hours to replace the fallen ceilings with river rushes.
18) Inn and Tavern. Completely destroyed by time and rot. Only mounds of wood pulp and support timbers outline the original dimensions of these buildings.
19) Residence of the Sheriff. This is a stone building with a river stone fireplace. The ceiling has collapsed, and there is a slight tilt to the wooden floor which is much rotted and dangerous. This is where the hermit lives. He has nothing of value (intentionally). All that can be found are a handmade clay bowl, a piece of sharpened sword blade mounted in a piece of drift wood, and a gold piece covered in strange runes. The runes were carved by a madman and mean nothing to any sane person, but they are finely drawn deep into the gold. Of all the places in the village, this one looks the most homey. There is no logical reason for this, but it is so. If no party member remarks on it then an NPC will mention what a nice place
this would be if it were fixed up a bit. There is nothing of value here.
The Mound
The Black river forks just before it flows into the river bed of
the Great River. The place where it forks has been reinforced with
stone piled up high. The stone was then covered with a layer of
river mud dredged from the area of the docks. On top of this mound
is a ruined fort. The fort was made of thick timbers of wood
pounded into the earth like the wall that surrounds the town.
These supports would have made fine thick masts so fine is the
quality of the wood and a Spell of Stone was cast on them. These
cross bars that form the framework still remain, although the
enclosing woodwork has fallen away. It is a gaunt, haunting
skeleton with mounds of debris underneath. The only exciting thing
inside is the remains of two ballista. While the wood supports are
turned to flakes, the steel bar that throws the spear, while
rusted, retains it’s temper.
This island is formed from a gigantic piece of granite left here by the glacier that formed the river valley. It is large enough to split the stream of the Black river around it. This forms a depression from erosion and has widened the banks of the river considerably. Although now it is bleak and forbidding, at one time this was a garden of grass and wild flowers. Even the banks were maintained by the invisible servant of the mage who made his home here. In the middle of the isle stands a three story tower. The ceiling, and the floors inside have come crashing to the ground. Anything of value that might have been inside has been destroyed. Markings around the doors and windows indicate that this was once a home to a mage of some power. It stands now a lonely finger of gray granite rising from the midst of the river. Under the rubble of the fallen floors there is a trap door in the stone floor. This leads to a small dungeon area used by the mage for his most dangerous experiments an spells.
There is a cistern passage running from the castle to the dungeon under this tower. The passage is almost blocked with silt from the river, but it can be opened from either side.
1) Forge Room - It seems the mage who built this place (Rabeltom) was a glass worker and made all his own glass apparatus. He must have dabbled in potion making as well to judge from the types of glass found and the frequency with which potions are found in the lower area. The western wall has a large fire pit with a flue that led through the rock and outside. The chimney is clogged now. There are 5 empty bottles for potions found, along with some glass wear that only a potion maker could use. Though this room is partially filled with mud leaking from the flue, with work it could be made into a laboratory again.
2) Animal Cages - There is no clue other than scratches in the rotting wood to tell what was in these cages. One cage held giant rats, one held a huge bird of some sort, and the other two have no scratches. Only regular
rats make their home here now.
3) Torture Chamber - Crumbling wooden
doors with large iron hinges cover both entrances, and the heavy locks on both are still functional. Rabeltom was not a good mage. This is proved by this room which is fitted with manacles on the wall and a brass brazier which still contains rods with wooden handles. There is a platform in the center of the room which has iron cuffs and chains mounted at wrist and ankle positions. A open link of chain allows the length to be adjusted to stretch a person out. A heavy sledge hammer leans ominously against the wall nearby. Blood stains can be seen if the platform is closely examined. These stains are at the positions were the wrist and knees would be.
4) An empty store room with deteriorated shelves. Empty.
5) Sleeping room of the mages apprentice. This room has a bed, table, oil lamp, chair desk, trunk and bench inside. The trunk is locked and has a magic mouth spell cast on it that says "If you value life, open not this chest". Other than this, the trunk is unprotected. Inside are moldering clothes and a leather sling shot. A cracked leather bag holds a dozen lead sling stones. This room contains nothing more.
6) Entrance to Dungeon - A ten foot high tunnel leads to a trap door in the floor of the ground level tower. This door is impassable unless the debris that blocks the upper floor is cleared. This will take some time as the upper 2 floors and ceiling have crashed down here. There are no footprints in this area at all. It has remained intact.
7) A Common Room - The south east corner of the room is a huge fireplace, large enough to heat the rest of the complex. A 3’ thick chimney leads outside, but is blocked with the body of a wolf that long ago, fell in the hole while chasing a rabbit who also fell in. The remains of the rabbit still lie in the NW corner. There are two disintegrating chairs near the fireplace, and a scroll case along the north wall holds illegible personal correspondence. A small dining table is in the center of the room and three high backed wooden chairs stand around it. None of the furniture is usable; they will fall apart if weight is placed on them.
8) This is the study. Most of the walls are lined with scroll tubes of leather, and so most are rotten. Only a few of the scrolls survive and of them only 2 have any value. The first is a scroll of Detect Magic which was mistakenly placed among the mundane scrolls, and a map showing the connection between the tower dungeon and the Castle. It includes enough of the first level of the Castle dungeon to get them to the surface there with the least distance traveled. It will take lots of time to look in all the scroll tubes to find these. If a detect magic is cast, it will reveal the scroll but not the map. Roll 10% per hour per person to find one or the other.
9) This room leads to the cistern connecting the castle to this tower.
This room has a circular table in the center of the room with four chairs around it. The table is made of heavy walnut and the chairs match it. They have purple cushions. In the south part of the room visible only after entering it. On the western wall is a staircase leading to the rooms above. There is an iron banister along the stair. Two rounds after the party enters the room a winged being will fly down the stairway and hover for a while watching them. If they give it no instructions, it will fly to the fireplace and perch on the mantle. It will not make any threatening actions.
There is nothing of much interest in this room. A bed is in the mddle of the room, a chest of drawers with a mirror is on the north wall and a wardrobe on the south wall. They are all empty; awaiting the next occupant. A spell has been cast on the mirror that will enhance the appearance of anyone looking into it. It will hide any scars, deepen the color of a person eyes, put a rosy glow in the cheeks ect. It has no effect other than this illusion.
This room is similar to the one below. There is a bed, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe here. The difference is the shuttered window that faces the setting sun. On the bottom of the wardrobe (no doubt forgotten by the last tenant) is a Mink bola. Other than these things, the room is empty.
RAVENSCRAG CASTLE GROUND LEVEL
In a sense, this is a castle operating on automatic. Many of the inhabitants finding themselves here after they died, went crazy and think that they are back where they were before. Like automatons, they do the same things in death that they did in life whether it has a purpose or not. The exceptions to this are the insane (who are very unpredictable) or those of the Court who bear the greatest brunt of the curse. These wander around aimlessly and are completely wrapped up in their misery. Some are oblivious to visitors, others are helpful while some are deadly.
If the castle is watched by day, no outward activity can be seen. The only clue that the place is not abandon is that occasionally birds (usually ravens) will suddenly be flushed from within the main courtyard. This is done by the phantom dogs.
General Condition of the Castle.
The castle has lain empty for over 500 years. Therefore, there is little value in things made of organic material. Wood, paper, cloth, and leather have all deteriorated so badly the they are useless to living creatures. Despite their age things like armor and weapons are functional enough for the few encounters they will have with the party. However, anytime a creature is weilding a mundane weapon and a 1 is rolled to hit, that weapon shatters and becomes useless.
G1 - Entry Road
This road slopes up from the riverbank. It averages 25’ wide and comes in from the NE. It leads to the first of three gates leading into the castle. The way is bared by a heavy wooden portcullis which is bound with iron rivets and bands. On the wall near the portcullis is a sign that has a skull that walks on skeletal legs. This is a common symbol that means the area is unsafe due to walking dead. It is often seen outside old graveyards. Below this sign is written in Thorass "Beware, for those within these walls are cursed to walk forever after death. Madness and evil lie within. Cross not this Portal!" It is raised normally by a windlass in Tower G2, but the mechanism is rusted solid and can not be freed without repairs. The gate itself may be lifted by the party if they muster more than 150 lift points. Add their lift gate score to their roll for more than 150. If the gate is raised, roll for "Hear Noise". If the party is successful, a sigh of regret will be heard comming from one of the windows that looks down onto the courtyard from the tower.
G2 - First Guard Tower
This gate house is 30’ in diameter with six small windows spaced about it. A short flight of stairs leads to a wooden door. The door opens into a room which is empth except for ladders leading to the battlements and the second floor at S4. The spot D markes a trap door in the floor that leads to B22. There are torch holders on the walls and remains of a small controled fire in the center of the room. A zombie and a poltergeist make their home here. The zombie will attack with it’s long sword, and the P. will throw iron spikes that do 1d3 damage each. It will Keep throwing the spikes until they are all taken away by party members. Needs a exorcise to remove.
G3 - Outer Gate Yard
Between the first and second inner gates is a courtyard. It is 95’ long and 55’ wide. The NE wall has 5 arrow slits in it. The second gate is in he SE wall, and leads to G4. Beyond the gate is G6. This area is open to the sky. The outer wall here is 25’ high and 15’ thick. The gate at the end of the yard is raised with the windlass in S7. The floor here and in the other court is hard packed weathered earth. A phantom cat still prowels here. It cannot be seen, but its mewing can be heard, and if the reactio roll for the party is above 70%, it will rub against the shins of a chosen party member, which will be startling to say the least!
G4 - Middle Gate Yard
This irregularly shaped room leads from the second to the third gate. It is 110’ long and about 70’ wide then narrows to 8’. The gate is in the narrowest part. The porticullis is operated from S4. Beyond this is G6. This area is abandon in the day, but at night a faint breathy voice will warn any entering the castle away. If the party continues despite the warning, the phantom will become briefly visible as a glowing man sized moving vapor with glowing red eyes. It will rush at the party from the next gate at G5. If the party is leaving the castle at night, it will laugh at them and warn them never to return.
G5 - Middle Gate House
This is little more than a set of steps that leads to a wide place in the wall with 5’ battlements overlooking the outer wall and the inner courtyard. A raven’s nest is nestled in between the stones of the battlements. In the nest is a silver ring belonging to a child of the castle. It is magical, but it’s only magic is to glow pale pink in the dark. A quiver of warped arrows lies propped against a wall.
G6 - Inner Gateyard
The Cobblestone path is 20’ wide and 230’ long. At the center is a semicircular widening with a radius of 15’. The area forms the outer defense of the castle on the west side. The bulge is to provide fire points along the length of the wall. The left end of this area opens into G31 and opposite the bulge is the entrance to the inner courtyard. This is protected by two proticullis with a pair of thick, iron banded wooden doors. Faint sounds of sniffing animals comes from the right made by the death dogs in the stables.
G7 - Main Courtyard
This is a large area open to the air. It is 270’ long and 85 to 110’ wide. Opposite the door, at the opposite end of the wall is a tower that juts into the courtyard. A smaller tower can be seen to the left near the entry gate. There are several doors leading off this area and there are many windows looking onto it. As the party enters, they will hear loud barking coming from the four phantom dogs that haunt the courtyard. These dogs are invisible, but can make a hell of a racket. Then a human voice can be heard saying "Bart, Naric down now. Karl sit; no sit. Good girl Lizzie.
Good day(evening) gentle persons. Have you horses with you?" Without
waiting for an answer the voice says "Very good and who is your business
with if I may ask?". Again without waiting for an answer continues with
"Thank you gentle sir I will attend to your horses and you may go through
the door just over there." Of course, since the page is invisible the party
has no clue to where they are to go. If a p
ember can see invisible
roll 1d6. There are five doors off this court and the roll will tell which the phantom is pointing to. If a 6 is rolled he is pointing off into space somewhere. Those who see invisible Notice that the person speaking is dressed in the costume of a court page. His name is Puck, but it is possible to get him to reply and tell his story only if you know his name.
G8 - Guard Captains Quaters
This room is at the base of a low tower, and was the sleeping quaters of the captain of the Guard. To the left of the door is a desk and chair. On the right is a bed with a small wooden box beside it. A dry oil lamp sits on the box. There are holes in the stone wall directly opposite the door with the remains of wood inside. These were once pegs for hanging clothes. From outside, a murmering voice can be heard is listened for. If the room is entered, a voice that comes from the area of the bed is heard to say "I am the captain of the guard. I AM the captain of the guard. I am the CAPTAIN of the guard." Once all the variations of emphasis have been used, the phantom will begin laughing insanely.
G9 - Main Barracks
This is the first of four barracks rooms. They all contain two rows of double bunks, allowng each wall. The room is 70’ long and 30’ wide. It is guarded by 12 skeletons. Each has chainmail, a small helm and a shield with a raven painted on it. They are armed with longswords and pikes which are becide each bed. They will only use the swords.
HD 1 AC 5 1 Attack 1d8 Damage (longsword) Move 6"
1-8 2-8 3-3 4-7 5-8 6-3
7-6 8-6 9-7 10-8 11-5 12-2
The armor worn by the guards is of a type that is very old and is almost rusted through in many cases. The swords are also rusted but they retain their temper. No self respecting person would use any of this stuff. If the room is searched, (and a see hidden roll is made) a bunk will be found that has a broken support to the upper bed. On close examination, it can be seen that a portion of the support in the back has been carved away making a small compartment. This hole has a oiled canvas bag containing a ruby ring with many small gems mounted in silver and shaped like a rose. It is worth 100gp.
A ladder in the corner leads up to S3. A regular door leads to G8 and G11. There is a secret door that leads to G10. When a stone in the floor near the door is stepped on the door will slide down revealing G10. All of the skeletons knows this but they don’t talk much.
G10 - NW Tower Base
This is a 30’ diameter round room with no windows. There is a ladder that leads up to S4 near the secret door entrance. At the bottom of the ladder lies a skeleton with a broken skull. It fell through the hole above one night because the guard got to drunk. It’s body was left where is was as a grisly reminder to the rest of the troops. This was toward the end of Count Restnik’s reign when things were getting generally grisly around the castle.
G11 - Guard Room
This is a day room for the castle guard. It is 30’ wide and 70’ long. Two tables and a half dozen chairs are here. A slight sound may be heard coming from the table to the north. It comes from a pair of dice that are rolling themselves! They are made of ivory and have been worn down until they are almost round. The numbers are still legible. If the dice are taken, the poltergeist that occupies this room will begin throwing the pikes that are stacked against the wall to the east. If the pikes are taken or broken, a great wailing will be heard, and this spirit will be disconsolate. The groaning will continue until the curse is dispelled.
G12 - Audience Room
The Party members will be guided into this room by the fake Phantoms who will lead the party past the curtains and right in front of the Kings thrown which is in the center of the room. As they walk in, the thing on the throne looks like a dead body. It is obvious that it is a king by its crown and scepter. The party will be positioned so the closest to the thrown are standing directly on the trap door that opens down to B18.
Once inside, the doors will slam shut trapping the party in the room.
At that moment, the King will move with startling quickness and step on the
stone that opens the trapdoor. He will then jump across the pit to attack
the rest of the party. At the same instant the "phantom" guards become
Shadows and the battle for the audience room begins
King Redolph - Wight
HD 4+3 HP 24 AC 5 1 Attack 1d4+Energy Drain Move 12"
Zombie Guards
HD 2 HP A-12, B-14 AC6 1 Attack (Pike) 1d6 Damage Move 6"
The King still wears his crown, and wields a royal septre, but his robes are worm and moth eaten. Around the neck of this fiend is the royal amulet of Ravenscrag. This is a huge amber with a remarkable detailed inner flaw in the shape of a rampant raven. The Crown is worth 100gp, the scepter 540gp and the gem 300gp. He lusts for the life of living creatures as he feels that stealing life makes him more "human" and less undead. This is totally wrong of course.
The room is surrounded by curtains to form a room within a room. They are hung between pillars that are standing free in the middle of the room.
G13 - The Waiting Room
This room was once warm and comfortable, but now the benches and overstuffed chairs have fallen into ruin, and the fireplace contains cold ashes. When the party enters, two phantom like shapes will appear in the dress armor of the castle complete with an embossed shield depicting a raven. They will ask if they have come for an audience with the King. They may reply to some questions the party asks, and will lie profusely about what awaits the party in the Audience Hall. They will graciously escort the party through the doors and curtins, then attack along with the King.
Behind the fireplace in this room is a secret door. Any one searching the fireplace has a chance of finding this door, and a Elf passing by may notice ill fitting stones in the back. When opened this leads to room G15. It is one of the less used entrances to the basement. The door is opened by pushing on a stone that protrudes slightly from the left side of the fireplace. It must be pushed twice in succession or it will lock itself automatically when it swings closed. There is a latch on the inside of room G15, but it will not work if the outer stone is only pushed once.
Over the door leading to the courtyard is a Carving of a Raven with wings spread out 20’. In its right claw he holds a battle axe, and in the left a pitch fork. This is the Royal Arms of Ravenscrag, and is seen on most of the shields carried by guards and nobles. Banners bearing this design may be seen as tatters of cloth on the western wall. Below the carved raven is a portrait of Martin the founder of Ravenscrag. It depicts him as he appeared at his coronation. The scepter, crown and gem shown in the painting are the same as those worn by the Kings spirit in room G12.
The central pillar on the S side contains a secret chamber. This will not be casually noticed, but if the room is being searched, roll as for a secret door. This chamber contains a sword left by a guest who fled during the battle between Arturious and Delbart. It is a magical +1 longsword.
G14 - Passage way between Waiting Room and Audience Hall
At the west end of this passage is a finely worked shield with a embossed raven worked in jet and silver. This is worth 50gp, but the phantom guards will not allow the party to take it unchallenged. They will turn into zombies to prevent this.
G15 - Hidden Passage
This room is a passage way down to the prison area, and
incidentally to one of the towers. The stairs descend to B10. A
Green slime has worked its way up here from the lower levels, and
now clings to the ceiling above the stairway. It is hungry!
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