The
Tomb of St. Ethelred the Sober
What follows is a dungeon I wrote using inspiration from
the Dolmenwood campaign setting and the Barrowmaze adventure tome. I also
received considerable inspiration from Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade. Not to
spoil anything for those of you following my Dolmenwood campaign logs, but my
players went through this last week and suffered many deadly experiences
(though they may not have resulted in death… you’ll have to wait and see)! The
first section of this post details the dungeon, while the second provides the
backstory to the dungeon your players might unearth if they do some research
beforehand. Let me know if you run it or have any suggestions!
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| Squares are 10ft. The squiggly lines represent the carved numbers on the walls. |
1.
Offln’s Tomb:
Stone steps descend into a dusty crypt. The air hangs silent and still. Along
one wall lies a stone sarcophagus. Its lid lies open, revealing skeletal
remains inside. The numbers “2:85” are carved above it in imposing
lettering.
- Wall: One 10ft. section of the wall sounds hollow, opening into the passage beyond. Explorers may break the false wall down to access the next passage.
- Sarcophagus: Plain and unadorned white marble. Looted of all valuables.
- Skeletal Remains: A human male, obviously old. Belonged to Offln, shieldmate of Ethelred the Sober.
- Numbers: This verse from the Book of Light says, “The faithful shall crumble the walls of falsehood and reveal the truth beyond.”
2.
Test of Humility: An
eerily quiet passage, 10ft. wide. Along the far wall, the numbers
“7:41” are carved in imposing lettering.
- Passage: A thin razor wire is strung across this passage at neck height, almost invisible to the eye. It will sever the neck of those who walk into it.
- Numbers: This passage from the Book of Light says, “The humble shall kneel before holiness.”
3.
Test of Faith: An
eerily quiet passage, 10ft. wide. Along the far wall, the numbers
“8:97” are carved in imposing lettering.
- Passage: The floor here is thin enough that the weight of a person stepping on it will cause it to break. A pit 10ft. wide and 20ft. deep filled with spikes lies beneath
- Numbers: This passage from the Book of Light says, “Leap with faith, and angels shall carry you.”
4.
Test of Willpower: The
passage opens into a 30ft. square room. A heap of gold and silver coins
lies along the eastern wall. Above it, the numbers “10:12” are carved in
imposing lettering. The passage continues to the north.
- Passage: The floor between the entrances and the heap of gold is thin enough that the weight of a person stepping on it will cause it to break. A pit 10ft. wide and 20ft. deep filled with spikes lies beneath.
- Gold and silver coins: these wooden coins are painted with a veneer of gold and silver. They are worth far less than real coins.
- Numbers: This passage from the Book of Light says, “Those who give in to temptation shall fall.”
5.
Test of Charity: The
passage opens into a octagonal room 50ft. deep and 30ft. wide. A table lies
in the center. Six skeletal men and women sit around the
table, each dressed in armor and carrying weapons. On the table in front of
each lies empty wooden plates and cups. A seventh skeletal man sits at
the head of the table, dressed in a paladin’s armor and clenching his hand
around a silver chalice. Behind him on the wall, the numbers “5:46”
are carved in imposing lettering.
- Skeletal men and women: these are the shieldmates of Ethelred the Sober, while the man at the head of the table is Ethelred himself. If the heroes defile a skeleton, take the chalice before serving each skeleton, or attempt to take back the food and drink they offer, the skeletons rise and attack.
- Empty wooden plates and cups: if each plate and cup is filled with food and drink, the skeleton at the head of the table releases the chalice.
- Silver chalice: This is the Everflowing Chalice of Ethelred the Sober, which never runs out of drink and always pours the perfect drink for the occasion.
- Numbers: This passage from the Book of Light says, “Blessed are those who serve others before themselves.
THE
TALE OF SAINT ETHELRED THE SOBER
from
Parables of the Angel Ecanus
penned
by Scribe Modestus at the Priory of Syner
The Woldish did not always know Saint
Ethelred the Sober as Ethelred “the Sober.” In fact, the Woldish once knew him
as “Ethelred the Staggered,” due to his propensity for drink. Ethelred once
challenged a dwarf Meister to a drinking contest; the contest ended in a tie
because the Halls of Havenhome ran out of ale. When raiding the stores of the
frost giant jarl Scravensbjane, Ethelred dove into an open barrel of mead the
size of a bedroom and drink his way to the bottom. When he fought in battle,
Ethelred’s smell intoxicated his enemies and rendered them defenseless. Woldish
men even said Ethelred defeated a vampire by letting the creature drink his
blood and die from catastrophe of the liver.
Ethelred fought in the Wold’s wars
against Lord Fragglehorn’s hordes of wild goat-men. Ethelred esteemed himself
in the eyes of heaven by valiantly defending the priory of Syner from a band of
goat-men vandals. Just as today, the Angel Ecanus watched over the priory.
The night after the battle, Ethelred
reveled himself to sleep. As Ethelred dozed in a drunken stupor, the Angel
appeared before him in a dream. The Angel promised to reward Ethelred with
anything the Divine could bestow. Ethelred asked the Angel to give him a tankard
that would never empty.
When Ethelred awoke the next
morning, he found a silver tankard at his bedside. It remained full of drink,
no matter how much he swallowed. When he poured it upon the ground, it splashed
indefinitely. Its taste and temperature changed with the seasons, always manifesting
as the perfect beverage for the time an occasion: mulled wine in the winter
months, blonde beer in the summer. He always kept it close by his side. It was his
most prized possession.
Ethelred used his ever-flowing
tankard to reach new heights of depravity. Late one night, after Ethelred had
spent himself cavorting, goat-men attacked his camp. Ethelred’s banner-men
raised the alarm, but Ethelred remained asleep in a drunken stupor.
Ethelred’s banner-men fought bravely
and repelled the goat-men, but at heavy cost. When Ethelred awoke the next
morning, he surveyed the corpses and wept. He fell to his knees, distraught,
and pleaded to the Angel to take the ever-flowing tankard back.
“Curse all drink!” Ethelred cried.
“Were it not for my drunkenness, these men might still be alive. Please, Angel
– take this temptation from me. When I claimed it as my reward, I knew not what
I asked for.”
The Angel appeared before Ethelred.
The Angel told him, “CAST IRON IS COLD AND BRITTLE, YET GROWS STRONG BY BATHING
IN FLAME AND FEELING THE HAMMER. DESTITUTE MEN CLAIM THEY DO NOT HOARD WEALTH. EUNUCHS CLAIM THEY DO NOT FEEL LUST. YET, THEY
DO NOT HAVE TRUE STRENGTH OF WILL, AS WILL GROWS STRONG FROM RESISTING
TEMPTATION. YOU HAVE DRANK FROM THE BOTTOMLESS CUP AND TURNED FROM IT. I WILL
NOT TAKE THIS CUP FROM YOU. KEEP IT AS A MIRACLE OF GOD. LET THESE WORDS BE
KNOWN, SO THAT ALL MAY BE ENLIGHTENED.”
Ethelred the Staggered then rose to
his feet as Saint Ethelred the Sober. He kept his tankard by his side until the
end of his days. He never thirsted again, not even for water. He built an
honorable tomb for his shield-mates who died. Ethelred preached the words of
the Angel Ecanus until the end of his days and, when he passed, asked his
steward Offlin to bury him with his dead shield-mates and cursed tankard. Saint
Ethelred asked Offlin to ensure only a pious man who knew the Words of Light
could one day claim his tankard, as such an artifact in the wrong hands could
cause unbridled destruction. Offlin did as Ethelred commanded.
LET THESE WORDS BE KNOWN, SO THAT
ALL MAY BE ENLIGHTENED.
