As the players reach the end of the hall they will be greeted by the horrific sight of humans, elves, dwarves, goblins, and several others, some so distorted they are unidentifiable writhing on the ceiling as the bones slip into and out of their bodies. The victims' screams are barely audible. All the bones are dragging the bodies slowly towards a shield sized, black hole in the east wall.
Hidden among the bones is the Bone Demon, Kossuth. It will watch the players waiting until all the players enter the room. It will then release a sickly yellowish fog that will fill the room. All characters must make a save or become paralyzed for 2-8 rounds. During this time 2d4 bones will each round. As in the hallway if two bones do maximum damage they will begin to drag the player towards the hole. Kossuth will not confront the players directly seeking sneak attacks, moving around to the back of the party or isolating one member as the bones continue their assault. It will take successful search roll to spot Kossuth moving among the bones. If the players reduce Kossuth to half hit points it will go through the hole and appear in room 35 later in the adventure.
The bones will continue their assault after Kossuth is gone. After twenty-five of the attacking bones have been destroyed, the bones will stop slithering and the bodies will drop from the walls and ceiling. Those that are still alive cannot be healed. Nothing short of a wish spell coupled with a remove curse and blessing will the person have any chance of survival. They will wail in agony after being release. They will not respond to anything the players say and if they suffer more damage they will die.
If a player decides to go through the portal they will need to make a save or go into shock, they will have just entered the Realm of Death. He will be unable to speak or take any actions. If the player is not removed from the realm of death 1d4 rounds the player will fall into a catatonic state. And should the player still not be removed in another 1d4 rounds the player will die. Should a player die in the Realm of Death any attempt to communicate or bring back the character will fail.
Should the player succeed his save, he can observe another portal nearby, but will be unable to move. A player that remains within the Realm of Death gains the attention of other bone demons.
The players can only destroy the portal once Kossuth is killed.
That is really scary!
ReplyDeleteI just might use something like that in the deeper levels of my megadungeon.