The Tomb of Torment
The Tomb of Torment
A lone fighter is drawn to a crumbling tomb on the outskirts of the Karanas where whispers of dark magic have corrupted the undead guardians within. The fighter must navigate the tomb's cursed chambers, confront the skeletal remains of a fallen hero, and decide whether to desecrate sacred ground to end the curse that plagues the region.
Read Aloud
The Karanas stretch before you in fading twilight, the grass trampled and withered in a perfect circle a quarter-mile across. Livestock bones litter the perimeter—cattle, goats, and one or two larger creatures you cannot identify in the dim light. A voice reaches your ears, thin and pleading, neither male nor female, originating from beneath the earth itself. Through the gloom ahead rises a stone structure, barely more than a mound now, its weathered blocks mortared with earth and creeping moss. A single archway yawns open, and from it emanates an unnatural chill despite the warm evening air. Deep within that darkness, you glimpse a faint blue radiance that pulses like a dying heartbeat.
Description
The party discovers a corruption zone centered on an ancient tomb. The dead grass and animal bones are signs of necrotic magic leaching into the surrounding land. The whispers are the confused, anguished voices of tortured spirits trapped within the tomb's cursed chambers. The blue light is a manifestation of dark magical energy anchoring the curse. Environmental storytelling: deep gouges on the tomb's threshold stones suggest recent desperate clawing from within.
DM Notes
Allow the player to approach cautiously. The whispers should evoke unease but not yet hostility. A DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals livestock deaths within the past 3-5 days, and a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check notices humanoid footprints leading away from the tomb toward the nearest settlement, Qeynos. Set the tone: this is a place of suffering, not just undead mindlessness. If the player enters immediately, proceed to Scene 2. If the player retreats to Qeynos first, use Scene 1b (dialogue with a concerned official or survivor) before returning.
Read Aloud
Your eyes adjust slowly to the dark as you cross the threshold. The archway opens into a wide chamber perhaps thirty feet across, with a vaulted stone ceiling risen to a height of fifteen feet at its apex. Moisture drips from cracks in the mortar, each droplet echoing in the silence before the next one falls. Along the left wall, you see the faded remnants of murals—heroic figures in plate armor, weapons raised, faces worn smooth by centuries of slow decay. The air tastes of copper and chalk. In the center of the chamber stands a collapsed stone throne, its cushion rotted to powder. Behind it, a doorway leads deeper, and it is from this passage that the blue radiance originates, casting sharp shadows that seem to move independently of any light source.
Description
This is the tomb's outer chamber, likely a place where mourners once gathered. The murals depict the honored dead—heroes of a forgotten age. The collapsed throne suggests violence or desperation. The blue light draws from a magical source further within. Environmental storytelling: the throne's collapse is recent (within the past month), broken stone still sharp and clean-edged. Scratch marks on the floor near the throne suggest something large was dragged into the deeper passages.
DM Notes
The player can make a DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana) check to sense that the blue light is necromantic in nature and that it is actively feeding on something within the tomb. A DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals a faint sound of chains rattling somewhere beyond the second doorway. The throne's age (based on the murals) appears to predate the Kingdom of Qeynos by centuries. This is a good moment to build dread. The player may attempt to identify the mural figures with a DC 14 Intelligence (History) check—if successful, reveal that the tomb appears to be at least 500 years old and dedicated to warriors whose names have been lost to time. Proceed to the next chamber when the player moves deeper or investigates the doorway.
Read Aloud
The corridor opens into a second, larger chamber lined with alcoves on both sides. Each alcove once held a stone sarcophagus—many still do, though their lids have been cast aside or crushed inward. In the alcoves where the sarcophagi remain intact, symbols are carved into the stone—a warrior's mark, perhaps, or a family crest. The air here grows colder as you advance, and your breath mists before your face. The blue glow intensifies, now bright enough to read by, and you see the source: wisps of ethereal light coiling around a central pillar of blackened stone that rises from the floor through a hole cut in the chamber's ceiling. Arranged in a rough circle around this pillar lie the scattered bones of perhaps twenty warriors, arranged as if they had fallen in a final stand. Among them lies a longsword, still intact, its blade unmarred by rust or age, and its hilt wrapped in leather so dark it might be black or merely stained with generations of dried blood.
Description
This is a warrior's tomb—a burial chamber for the honored dead, possibly spanning generations. The desecrated sarcophagi reveal that something emerged from them, or was forcibly extracted. The blackened pillar is the curse's anchor point, a focus of dark magic. The bones arranged in a final formation suggest a last stand, which speaks to a larger narrative: these warriors were not merely entombed; they were sealed to contain something. The sword is pristine, magically preserved. Environmental storytelling: scorch marks radiate outward from the central pillar, and the sarcophagus lids nearest to it are melted or warped, not merely crushed.
DM Notes
A DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the bones are arranged deliberately, not scattered randomly—they form a pattern meant to contain something. A DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check identifies the blue wisps as corrupted soul essence, suffering. A DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check reveals that the chamber's original purpose was likely as a seal or prison, not merely a tomb. The sword radiates a faint aura of protection magic (detect magic would confirm this). The player can lift the sword (no curse attached; it is a mundane longsword with magical preservation), but doing so might attract the attention of the tomb's guardians. This is an excellent moment to introduce the first encounter as the player's actions disturb the magical equilibrium. If the player has not yet encountered combat, this is the trigger.
Monsters
Tactics
The two skeletons emerge from alcoves flanking the party (left and right), drawn by the disturbance of the pillar's magic. They move with jerky, deliberate motions—not mindless stumbling, but a grim choreography of purpose. They attack with their shortswords and ranged attacks in tandem, attempting to flank the fighter and separate them from the center pillar. The warhorse skeleton shambles from deeper within the tomb (from the passage beyond), moving to block the fighter's retreat. The skeletons do not speak, but the sound of their movement—grinding bone, the whisper of desiccated sinews—fills the chamber with an unholy chorus. They fight until destroyed, showing no fear or pain.
Terrain
The chamber is roughly 40 feet by 50 feet, with alcoves along both walls providing partial cover. The central pillar radiates the blue light and is difficult terrain (entangled vines of spiritual energy; moving through it costs an extra 5 feet of movement and requires a DC 13 Strength save or the creature is restrained until the end of its next turn). Sarcophagus lids are scattered across the floor, providing half-cover and uneven footing (difficult terrain in a 10-foot radius around each lid).
Read Aloud
As the last skeleton crumbles to dust, the blue light flares violently, then dims to a steady glow. From the depths of the pillar comes a voice—not one voice, but many layered atop one another, a cacophony of anguished whispers suddenly coalesced into speech. "Why... why do you persist in our torment?" it asks in a tone between rage and despair. "The seal holds us here, prisoner and jailer both. The darkness feeds upon our anguish, and each year, it grows stronger. The guardians you have just slain were once our brothers-in-arms, forced to their feet by the curse's hunger." A figure materializes within the blue radiance—a warrior clad in spectral plate armor, one eye socket dark and empty, the other burning with a sickly blue flame. "I am Daldarion, last captain of the Keepers of the Seal. I have watched over this tomb for three hundred years, and I cannot bear it longer. Will you end this? Will you destroy the pillar and free us from our prison, even if such freedom means oblivion?"
Description
Daldarion is the spiritual anchor of the tomb, bound by oath and dark magic to guard what lies beneath. He is simultaneously jailer and prisoner, his consciousness split between the need to protect what was sealed and the agony of being unable to rest. The pillar is not the curse's source—it is the seal itself, corrupted by centuries of dark magic feeding upon the trapped spirits. Destroying it will release not only Daldarion and his companions but potentially whatever they originally sealed away. Environmental storytelling: cracks in Daldarion's spectral form reveal glimpses of armor underneath—he is literally being consumed by the magic he is bound to maintain.
DM Notes
This is a social encounter and a moral choice point. Daldarion is not hostile, though he is in pain. Allow the player to ask questions and gather information via dialogue (no skill checks required; Daldarion will answer honestly, desperate for aid). Key points to convey if asked: (1) The seal was placed 300 years ago to contain something "not of this world." (2) The warriors willing bound themselves as guardians, but the magic has corrupted, turning them into instruments of torment. (3) Destroying the pillar will either free the spirits (if the sealed thing is truly gone) or release it (if it yet lives). (4) There is a deeper chamber below, accessible via a stone staircase hidden behind the central pillar. Daldarion does not know what lies within—his oath prevents him from entering. The player must make a moral choice: attempt to understand what was sealed before destroying it, or grant Daldarion's request and destroy the pillar at once. If the player chooses investigation, proceed to Scene 5. If destruction, skip to Scene 6.
Read Aloud
You descend a narrow stone staircase carved into the earth beneath the pillar. The temperature drops with each step, and the blue light grows so intense that you must shield your eyes. At the base of the stairs lies a chamber perhaps twenty feet across, its walls inscribed entirely with runes of binding and containment—layer upon layer of magical script, some in languages you cannot fathom. In the center of the chamber lies a stone sarcophagus, far larger and more ornate than those above. Unlike the others, this one is sealed with bands of iron and covered in a web of glowing chains that pulse in sync with the blue radiance above. The sarcophagus itself bears a single inscription in Common: "Here lies Nethys the Unbound, Enemy of the Realm, Sealed in Fire and Oath by the Keepers of the Seal, in the Year 1472 of the Kingdom's Founding. May the Light hold him eternal."
Description
This is the true purpose of the tomb—a magical prison designed to hold something that the ancient Keepers deemed too dangerous to merely kill. Nethys is a being of significant power, sealed by cooperative effort of multiple warriors. The runes are not ancient, however; they show signs of strain and deterioration, suggesting the seal weakens over centuries. Environmental storytelling: the chains were added more recently (within the past 50 years), an attempt to reinforce a failing seal. Scorch marks on the sarcophagus suggest Nethys has attempted escape, testing the bonds. A thin crack runs along one edge of the sarcophagus—the seal is failing.
DM Notes
A DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that the seal is failing and will likely break within the next few months. A DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check identifies Nethys as potentially a fiend or aberration, not a mortal creature. A DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check, applied to what Daldarion said earlier, suggests that destroying the pillar above will cause this sarcophagus to rupture. The player now faces a true dilemma: allow the seal to fail naturally (risking Nethys' escape at an unpredictable moment), destroy the pillar and force the seal to break (releasing Nethys, but in a controlled manner where the fighter is present and armed), or attempt to reinforce the seal (a long-term task requiring resources beyond this session's scope, but a valid moral choice). Reveal one additional detail: a journal entry or parchment tucked into a stone alcove, authored by the most recent Keeper, reads: "The pain of Daldarion and his brethren weighs upon my conscience. I have reinforced the seal one final time, but I cannot strengthen it further. Forgive us, spirits of the tomb. I take my own life this night, that the burden might pass to another."
Monsters
Tactics
If the player decides to destroy the pillar without investigating further, or if they damage the sarcophagus in an attempt to "finish" the seal themselves, Daldarion manifests fully in the chamber and becomes hostile. He is no longer a trapped spirit seeking aid—he is a guardian transformed by desperation into a weapon. He attacks with his spectral greatsword (treat as a standard greatsword, +3 to hit, 1d10+3 slashing damage, with necrotic energy causing an additional 1d6 necrotic damage on hit). He moves to intercept the player before they can reach the pillar or sarcophagus again. His tactics focus on pushing the player away from the magical artifacts using his reach and strength. He does not flee or surrender—he fights until he is destroyed or the player retreats.
Terrain
The Gallery of Sorrow is used for this encounter (if Daldarion manifests in response to player actions during Scene 4). The central pillar, sarcophagi, and scattered bones provide cover and difficult terrain as described in Encounter 1. If the encounter takes place in the Chamber of Binding (Scene 5), the space is more confined (20 feet across), and the chains radiating from the sarcophagus create difficult terrain around it. The rune-inscribed walls glow with retaliatory magic if touched: a creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of the walls must make a DC 13 Dexterity save or take 2d6 force damage.
Read Aloud
You strike the final blow against the blackened pillar, and it shatters like glass struck by lightning. The blue radiance explodes outward in a wave of spectral energy that knocks you prone but leaves no lasting harm. As the light fades, the tomb grows deathly silent. The chains binding the sarcophagus below glow once more, then crumble to dust. Around you, the scattered bones of the fallen warriors begin to glow with a gentle, golden light. One by one, they rise into the air, swirling in a vortex above the ruined pillar. Daldarion's spectral form, no longer twisted in agony, appears one final time. His empty socket now shines with a gentle luminescence, and his voice, when he speaks, carries the peace of release: "Thank you, warrior. We are freed. The curse is broken. Go now—bear word that the Keepers have passed into rest, and that Nethys remains sealed. The bonds may yet hold, if fortune favors the realm." With a final, grateful nod, his form dissolves into the golden light, which rises through the ceiling and vanishes like smoke into the evening sky above.
Description
The destruction of the pillar breaks the magical cycle that was torturing the guardian spirits. The golden light represents the spirits' liberation—they were not evil, merely bound and suffering. The sarcophagus remains sealed (its original enchantments, now freed from the pillar's corrupting influence, reassert themselves and solidify). Environmental storytelling: the walls of the chamber, once slick with necrotic moisture, now dry quickly as the curse's influence recedes. New cracks appear in the oldest sarcophagi—the weight of centuries finally catches up with the stone.
DM Notes
This is the climactic scene of redemption and moral resolution. The player has freed the spirits and stabilized (rather than broken) the seal. The sarcophagus remains sealed, stronger now for the loss of the corrupting pillar. Daldarion explicitly notes that Nethys remains bound, which is the truth—the ancient seals, no longer fighting the dark magic of the pillar, can now hold for centuries more. Allow the player a moment to explore the tomb safely and collect any treasures (see Treasure card). The floor beneath the central pillar reveals a vault where the Keepers stored relics. The player feels the weight of having made a meaningful choice—not the "easy" choice of destruction, but the "right" choice of understanding.
A magical blade preserved by centuries of protective enchantment. This is a longsword with a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. Its hilt is wrapped in black leather stained with the dried blood of its last wielder. The blade is perfectly straight and unmarred by rust or age. When drawn, it hums faintly, as if in recognition of a fallen warrior. The sword grants the wielder advantage on saving throws against necrotic damage.
Hidden within the ruined pillar's base, the fighter discovers a stone vault sealed with copper bands. Within: 250 gold pieces in mixed coin, a leather journal written in a neat hand (detailing the last Keeper's doubts and final act of devotion), three vials of silvered ash (used in cleansing rituals), and a signet ring bearing the symbol of the Keepers. The journal serves as proof of what transpired and can be used to claim Larthas' reward (if the player opts to seek him out in Qeynos).
Fine ash mixed with powdered silver, used in consecration rituals. Each vial contains enough ash to bless a 10-foot-radius circle once. This material is valuable to temples and scholars of the divine and can be sold for 25 gold pieces per vial to the right buyer, or used in future encounters to turn undead or cleanse cursed ground.
A heavy iron ring bearing the engraved symbol of the Keepers—a sword crossed with chains. The ring is not cursed and carries no magical properties, but it is a historical artifact of significant value. It could be sold to a collector or scholar for 100 gold pieces, or kept as a memento of the fallen guardians. If shown to any member of a military order or temple in the region, it grants the fighter advantage on Charisma checks when dealing with those institutions (as it demonstrates connection to a legendary order of the past).
Story Hooks
The journal mentions three other Keeper seals scattered throughout the region, each potentially failing. The Keepers' Signet Ring could be the key to accessing hidden vaults or gaining audience with powerful figures who remember or venerate the old order. Larthas, if rewarded and befriended, becomes a valuable contact in Qeynos who can provide information about local threats or opportunities. The Keepers' Longsword itself may bear a curse or blessing that becomes apparent only later, when the fighter faces specific foes. The vials of silvered ash are resources for future encounters with undead or fiendish threats.
Conclusion
Wrap Up
You emerge from the tomb as the sun dips below the horizon, casting long shadows across the Karanas. The corrupted circle of dead grass has begun to show signs of life—small shoots of green pushing through the earth where only withered brown remained hours before. The whispers that haunted the air are gone, replaced by the normal sounds of evening: cricket song, the gentle wind through recovering grass, the distant lowing of livestock now safe to graze again. You carry the Keepers' Longsword, their signet ring, and their final journal. The seal beneath the tomb holds firm, strengthened by the removal of the corrupting pillar, and the spirits of the guardians have finally found peace after three centuries of torment. As you make your way back toward Qeynos or onward to other destinations, you know that you have not simply destroyed a threat—you have honored the fallen and made a choice that valued understanding over expedience.
Cliffhanger
But as you crest a hill on your journey, you notice the sky to the north flickering with an unnatural purple light—distant, but visible. It rises from somewhere beyond the Karanas, from the direction of the Commonlands, and pulses with a rhythm eerily similar to the blue radiance you saw in the tomb. Whatever magic cursed the Keepers' tomb may have tendrils reaching far beyond what you have just encountered. The true scope of the corruption remains unknown.
Next Session Hooks
- Investigate the source of the purple light in the Commonlands—is it connected to the Keepers' curse, or a separate threat entirely?
- Seek out the other two Keeper seals mentioned in the journal and determine their current state. Are they failing as well?
- Return to Qeynos and present the journal and signet ring to the local authorities or temples. What secrets about the Keepers do the scholars and priests possess, and what responsibilities do these artifacts carry?
- Track down any other survivors or descendants of the Keepers' order. The journal mentions a school or brotherhood—where did they go, and can they help reinforce the remaining seals?
Want to create your own?
Create your own session