d20 Dreaming Merchant Press Tombs.pdf
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Y
L
UKE
J
OHNSON
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LLUSTRATED BY
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URT
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RUGEL
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ARTOGRAPHY AND
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AYOUT BY
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IM
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NUSZCZYK
d20 System’ and the ’d20 System’ logo are Trademarks owned
by Wizards of the Coast and are used according to the terms of
the d20 System License version 1. 0. A copy of this License can
be found at www. wizards. com.
Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast are Registered
Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with
Permission.
Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s
Handbook, Third Edition, published by Wizards of the
Coast
Tombs! is published under the terms of the Open Gaming
License and the d20 System Trademark License. All rules-
related material is designated as Open Game Content. This
includes game rules, statistics and mechanics. The names
and descriptive text of all monsters and traps listed in
chapter 3, all text regarding spell stones and foci in chap-
ter 4, all of Appendix A, Appendix C, and Appendix D are
also designated as Open Game Content.
2003 Dreaming Merchant Press
All Rights Reserved
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Click an entry to jump to that page.
C
HAPTER
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N
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OMBS
What Lies Within 1-1
Guardians 1-1
Traps 1-2
Rewards 1-2
Tomb Markers 1-2
Types of Tombs 1-3
The Setting 1-3
Descriptions and Distinctions 1-3
Tomb Reaving
Ickahar
3-7
Issathraelen
3-7
Jura
3-10
Nolodraer
3-11
Raivoshi
3-12
Snurakan
3-13
Spiritborn
3-14
Golems
3-15
Traps
3-15
Sentient Traps
3-17
1-4
Boom Ball
3-17
Reactions to Reaving
1-4
Flying Pit
3-18
Tombs in Your Campaign
1-4
Skittering Glyph
3-19
Adventure Hooks
1-5
Spiritstone
3-20
Tomb Features
1-5
Thought Skull
3-21
C
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T
YPES OF
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OMBS
Catacombs
C
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4
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R
EWARDS
Riches
2-1
4-1
Cryptplanes
2-3
Using the Treasure Tables
4-2
Godmourn
2-4
Gems
4-2
Necropolis
2-5
Gemstone Sizes
4-3
Planar Tomb
2-6
Gemstone Types
4-3
Pyramids
2-7
Precious Materials
4-4
Spiritstone Sepulcher
2-9
Magic
4-5
Racial Variations
2-11
Spell Stones
4-6
Foci
4-7
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UARDIANS AND
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Guardians
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PPENDIX
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EATS AND
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PELLS
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Types of Guardians
3-2
Sample Guardians
3-2
Bleak Sentinel
3-3
Doom Guardian
3-4
Garoosh
3-5
Hollow Knight
3-6
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The wealth of civilizations is buried beneath the earth.
Sometimes, the corpse itself was animated into
a bizarre mockery of life in order to defend the
treasures that now belonged to its spirit.
Guardians ranged in power from paltry to
legendary, all bent on destroying those foolish
enough to try their hand at grave robbing.
Tomb layout and appearance are as varied as
the cultures that created them. Some cultures
believed that the Celestial Kingdom could be
found in a place above the sky, and so placed
tombs in high places like mountaintops and
cliffs. Others believed that the Land of the Dead
was far beneath the earth, below the subterra-
nean tunnels of the drow and other vile
creatures, and so buried their deceased deep
beneath the ground. Tombs range from pyra-
mids to catacombs, necropolises to godmourns.
All are different. All brim with adventure.
Chapter 2, Types of Tombs,
contains details
on many possible tomb variants, and offers sug-
gestions as to how to use these in a game world.
Throughout history, various cultures have held
a belief very important to those of the adven-
turesome ilk. These cultures believed that
when a person died and their spirit passed on
to another existence, the spirit could make use
of items buried with its body. To this end, indi-
viduals were buried with riches, tools, and pow-
erful magic that could protect and preserve the
spirit.
These cultures often honored the dead more
than the living. Life was seen as merely a
journey, much less important than the
destination. The living were denigrated, the
dead were venerated. Elaborate tombs were
built for the dead, larger and more lavish for
those of greater importance. Powerful warriors
were honored with multi chambered tombs, a
scattering of wealth, their favorite suit of armor,
and, of course, their personal blade. Kings were
buried in immense crypt complexes that rivaled
their earthly dwellings. These lavish structures
were adorned with all manner of glittering rich-
es and powerful enchanted items.
Some cultures took this belief even farther.
Not only were the material possessions of a
deceased lord buried with his body, those who
served him in life were also sealed in his tomb
to continue their service. In macabre, condoned
butcheries, servants, soldiers, even entire
households were slaughtered and buried near
their lord. Over time, these mass graves evolved
into gigantic monuments, housing the final
resting places of powerful aristocrats and their
entire retinues. These became known as
necropolises, cities of the dead.
Such cultures were not foolish. They under-
stood that the treasures buried with their dead
would draw plunderers and grave robbers like
moths to a flame. To protect the entombed
treasures, their wizards and shaman created or
summoned guardians, obedient beings of magi-
cal might and power that could live forever
without food or air. These guardians were
placed in the tombs to watch over the departed.
What Lies Within
To adventurers, what lies within these
ancient tombs holds more importance than
their appearance or the reason for their
creation. Unless a tomb has already been
ransacked, everything within will be very, very
old, perhaps older than any kingdom now in
existence. The original makers of the tombs,
ages ago, placed these objects within. The older
a tomb is, the more likely that it contains both
great riches and powerful guardians. For a
tomb to survive intact for so long, the guardians
must have been puissant enough to crush all
comers.
Guardians
Undoubtedly, one will encounter guardians
within a tomb, set to defend the treasures of the
dead. Guardians are fearsome, strange, and
archaic creatures. They must be able to survive
forever without food, water, or air. Thus, magi-
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cal creations such as undead and constructs
often make up the majority of a tombs
protectors. Outsiders, such as fiends and
elementals, can be bound in place with powerful
magic. The ancients who raised, summoned, or
created these guardians took great pride in their
work, and were able to call upon a much larger
range of creatures than present-day wizards and
priests. A full description of guardians, includ-
ing a listing of original creatures and sugges-
tions on creating your own, is the subject of
Chapter 3 Guardians and Traps.
rare to find identical items in two separate
tombs, as the cultures often carried the belief
that unique items were of special import to the
deceased' s spirit.
Chapter 4 Rewards
includes details on the
treasures to be found in tombs, as well as a
massive series of tables that produce a unique
item every time.
Material riches are not the only reward that
can be found in tombs. One may discover some-
thing of immense value that the original makers
didn t consider to be treasure at all. Pictograms
on the walls may reveal an ancient mystery.
Simple tomes may bear the knowledge of forgot-
ten spells and magical items. It is rumored that
some cultures had great wizards and clerics,
who could combine their powers to create por-
tals to the Land of the Dead. It is whispered
that they placed such portals within the tombs
of their most beloved rulers, in order that their
souls might easily pass from this world to the
next. Whether or not this is true is a matter of
some debate. To be sure, no explorer has ever
found such a portal, at least not one willing to
divulge such information.
Traps
In addition to living guardians, the tomb cre-
ators had an infinite variety of mechanical and
magical traps at their disposal. Through the
ages, the making of such traps grew into an art
form. Its practitioners were greatly respected.
They became adept at concealing the traps and
would often compete with one other to see who
could produce the most original, the most
painful, and the most deadly trap. Tomb guard-
ians were given specific instructions to avoid the
traps, but invaders are subject to them all.
Legends tell of a tomb raider who fell prey to
a trap but managed to survive the experience.
After this, he would grow psychotically nervous
every time he entered a tomb, knowing, he said,
that each step he took could well be his last.
The anxiety drove him mad, and, according to
the tales, he was last seen charging screaming
down an ancient stone corridor, his cries cut off
abruptly as an enormous granite block dropped
onto his head.
Some scholars speculate that there may be a
kind of trap far more sinister than any currently
being made. These devices cross the boundary
separating objects and creatures. They are
traps that can think for themselves, that can
alter their strategies and devise new ones.
Adventurers shudder at the mention of these
sentient killing machines.
Chapter 3 Guardians and Traps
includes a
host of new traps, both mechanical and magical.
Sentient traps are also discussed at length.
Tomb Markers
The death worshipping peoples sealed their
tombs well, much as many cultures bury their
dead or secure them in caskets. After being
sealed, a crypt was adorned with a tomb
marker, an inscription in a simple code, explain-
ing various details about the individual interred
within. At the least, the marker displayed the
title, and hence the rank, of the deceased, such
as "warrior", "commander", "priest", or
"chieftain ".
More elaborate markers also include the indi-
viduals name. Some describe in great detail the
deceased s life and death, heirs,
accomplishments, and even the nature of the
treasure and guardians within. Descriptions of
the treasure may be included to show how much
the deceased was honored, and details of the
guardians were included to frighten away those
who would despoil the tomb. Traps, however,
are never mentioned on tomb markers.
Tomb markers range from simple carvings to
complicated pictograms. Many cultures have
borrowed from this practice; "modern" tomb
markers are called headstones.
The exact nature of the inscription on the
marker depends upon the culture that created
it. All had different written languages and dif-
ferent codes to depict the descriptions on the
markers. One culture might use a simple com-
bination of shapes, another, humanoid figures.
These markings are esoteric and nearly
Rewards
Tombs contain treasure. This can be any-
thing that the culture valued, from fine weapons
and armor to elaborate jewelry or earthenware
pots. The inclusion of coinage and loose gems
in a tomb was considered an insult to the dead.
To an adventurers delight, the riches found
within tombs tend to be works of great crafts-
manship and magic, unique creations with their
own individual histories and appearances. It is
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