New Undead Creatures

 Bloated Zombie

Image by JamesDenton, source

Name	Bloated Zombie
Armor Class	7
Hit Dice (Avg hp)	2 (9hp)
Movement	60’
No Attacks	2 claws
THAC0	19
Damage	1d4/1d4
No Enc	1d4
Save as	F2
Morale	12
Alignment	Chaotic
Treasure	nil
Size/Type	Medium Undead
Intelligence	0 (non-)
XP value	30

Bloated zombies are similar to normal zombies except for their bloated, distended tissues under their greenish skin, especially around the abdomen. While still animated they fight much like normal zombies, losing intiative and attacking last with their rotten hands. When they are slain, however, they explode in a disgusting and messy way, spraying anyone in a 10' radius (including anyone in melee range) with gangrenous acidic fluids. This causes 1d6 acid damage to each creature in range.

Bloated zombies are not immune to each others' acidic fluids, so one exploding may cause another nearby bloated zombie to explode – possibly setting off a vile chain reaction. As they are mindless and have no sense of self-preservation they will not avoid this.
Like other zombies, bloated zombies are undead, and thus immune to charm, sleep and other mind-affecting spells, as well as poison and disease. They can be turned as if they were ghouls.

Bone Warrior

image by reaper78, source 

Name	Bone Warrior
Armor Class	5
Hit Dice (Avg hp)	3 (14hp)
Movement	120’
No Attacks	1 weapon
THAC0	17
Damage	1d8+1
No Enc	1d6
Save as	F3
Morale	12
Alignment	Chaotic
Treasure	nil
Size/Type	Medium Undead
Intelligence	3-4 (semi-)
XP value	35

Bone warriors are the animated remains of experienced fighters, and some skill seems to have somehow lingered in the bones. Bone warriors are superior in combat to normal skeletons. It is unknown exactly how clerics of Chaos manage to create these variants, but even casual observation shows that they move in a more steady and purposeful way than other animated undead. Bone warriors wear armour and some sort of weapon, usually a sword. They are often found in small squads, assigned specific duties too important to be left to normal skeletons. Their modicum of intellect is used in combat for tactics that normal skeletons would not think of. Bone warriors are undead and thus immune to charm, sleep and other mind-affecting spells, as well as poison and disease. They can be turned as wights by clerics.

Skeletal Rat

source

Name	Skeletal Rat
Armor Class	7
Hit Dice (Avg hp)	1/2 (2hp)
Movement	90’
No Attacks	1 bite
THAC0	20
Damage	1d3
No Enc	2d10
Save as	NM
Morale	12
Alignment	Chaotic
Treasure	nil
Size/Type	Small Undead
Intelligence	0 (non)
XP value	5

Skeletal rats are the animated remains of giant rats, and are about the size of small dogs. Although one on its own is little threat to a party of adventurers they are nearly always found in packs up to 20 strong, and as such they may overwhelm with sheer numbers. They are created using dead giant rats and a cleric with Animate Dead spells and as such are usually found in chaotic temples or cursed crypts. They have a tendency to attack and kill any living thing, even living giant rats. 

Like other skeletons, skeletal rats are undead, and thus immune to charm, sleep and other mind-affecting spells as well as poison and disease. 

Zombie Wolf

Image by EedenArtwork, source

Name	zombie wolf
Armor Class	6
Hit Dice (Avg hp)	3+2
Movement	120’
No Attacks	1 bite
THAC0	17
Damage	1d6+1
No Enc	1d6
Save as	F3
Morale	12
Alignment	Chaotic
Treasure	nil
Size/Type	Medium Undead
Intelligence	0 (non-)
XP value	50

Zombie wolves are the animated remains of wolves, coyotes and large domestic dogs, created by chaotic and despicable spellcasters using Animate Dead spells. Although they attack slower than living wolves (like other zombies they attack last in each round), they can still lope around as fast as a human can run, and therefore are used when humanoid zombies are too slow. Zombie wolves are of course undead and thus immune to charm, sleep and other mind-affecting spells, as well as poison and disease. They can be turned by clerics as if they were ghouls.

The Lost Treasure of Captain Grigorivic

 Captain Grigorivic was one of the great pirates of the Sea of Dread a hundred years ago. From AC 891 to AC 920 he was the scourge of the seas, raiding Karameikos, Thyatis, Minrothrad and the Five Shires in his ship the Bloodied Rose. He and his crew accumulated a king's ransom in treasure - some say worth half a million gold pieces. 

In 919 he buried a large amount on an island off the Serpent Peninsula - not just some simple pit, but a carefully constructed vault built into a repurposed native temple. There were certain puzzles and traps set with specific solutions by his most trusted crewmen. Once they had set all the traps, Grigorivic killed them to keep them silent. He was the only one who knew how to circumvent the traps. 

Flint's Treasure, Jul 13, 2018 by OliverInk

He and the rest of his crew sailed away, with Grigorivic creating his own map to find the same island and native temple. Grigorivic continued his reign of piracy on the high seas in the Bloodied Rose for another year until AC 930 when his luck ran out. While trying to reach the port of Vlaad the Bloodied Rose ran into the reefs northeast of Fletcher Island and was wrecked. Captain Grigorivic went down with the ship along with with his map to the island and the native temple. 

The wreck of the Bloodied Rose is dangerous to anyone venturing inside. First of all it is under 50 feet of seawater, with only the top of the mast sticking above the waves at low tide. Anyone going down to the wreck had either be able to breathe underwater or be really good at holding their breath. Captain Grigorivic is still in charge, this time as a wight, commanding a quite literal skeleton crew with the bo'sun' and first mate as ghouls. The local wildlife is not too friendly either, with bull and mako sharks patrolling the area. However, should adventurers find their way into the captain's cabin they will find his chest which contains a decent amount of treasure in itself (acquired in the year after burying his main hoard). More importantly they will find the map that leads to the island. 

The wreck of the Bloodied Rose has been discovered by local fishermen who in turn alerted Darionus Astor, a merchant of Darokin based in Athenos who specialises in salvaging from wrecks. His team, based on the ship The Valiant Porpoise, used their Helmets of Water Breathing to dive down. They managed to confirm the identity of the ship but were then attacked by the undead crew. One diver was killed, another was injured and had to be pulled back to the Valiant Porpoise by the other two surviving divers while being chased by sharks who sensed blood in the water. 

After retreating back to Athenos for resupply and academic research, Darionus has decided the Bloodied Rose is worth another attempt, this time with adventurers who can fend off any monstrous threats. Darionus is willing to split the treasure but as a classic Darokinian he will try to negotiate the best deal, although he will refuse to help the adventurers if his cut is less than 30%. Given the treasure map could lead to much greater riches, the PCs could accept this split. 

The Town of Barathmir

 

based on original by sixinchnails, source

This is a small town on the north coast of the Great Bay of Norwold, situated between the dominions of Panteria and Latela.  Interestingly it is not ruled as a dominion by some powerful warlord or former adventurer with pretensions of nobility. It is mostly self-governing though with obvious fealty to the King in Alpha. 

Barathmir has a population of 660, mostly human but with some hin (halflings) and elves. There are also sometimes visitors including local tribal elves and lupins. 

The town economy relies on a combination of fishing, forestry and hunting for meat, fur and leather but is always looking out for new resources to exploit. As the map above shows, the town has a substantial wooden palisade studded with watchtowers, and a decent port complete with harbour wall. 

Significant buildings numbered on the map are:

1. The Mayor's Residence. 
2. The Chapel of Law
3. Farnath's Forge (local blacksmith)
4. The Town Well (principle source of fresh water)
5. The Iron Halberd Inn
6. The Gatehouses
7. The Bay Watchtower
8. The Merchant-Traders' Guild
9. The Warehouse

History: Barathmir was founded about 60 years ago as a trading outpost and has slowly developed since then. It suffered near-catastrophe several times in its history, including the dread winter of 955AC when half the population died of starvation or cold but the residents could not flee because the bay had frozen. The giant attack of 979AC saw  a band of 7 hill giants rampage through the town, killing the then governor and anyone who opposed them, destroying the local barracks and seizing dozens of sheep and cows. Ulquolor the Usurper was a mage exiled from Glantri for various crimes who arrived in 981AC (the townsfolk were still rebuilding from the giant attack) and took over the town as his own private fief for several weeks. Several fishermen escaped across the bay to Alpha and returned with an elderly couple who turned out to be Alphatian mages on a retirement cruise around the Alphatian Empire. One Feeblemind spell later and order was restored.

Diplomacy & Relations: The leaders of Barathmir try to maintain a good relationship with Alpha and will regularly pay taxes but otherwise they try to stay neutral in matters of Thyatis vs Alphatia. 

Trade with the local elves ensures some goodwill and communication. Although the elves are unlikely to risk themselves if Barathmir is under attack, they will at least try to warn the town. In return the townsfolk try to be restrained and respectful around lumber and forestry.  

Similarly there is a local tribe of Malamute lupins who are usually friendly but do warn the townsfolk about overhunting.  

The town is aware that it is between Panteria and Latela, both of which are described in Vaults of Pandius. With Panteria firmly loyal to Alpha and Latela being an outpost of Thyatian subversion and greed, the leaders of Barathmir fear the town may be the focus of a subtle but dangerous power struggle between agents of the great empires. 

Defences: As a rugged frontier town, Barathmir has a militia system where every man between 18 and 40 is expected to train with weapons every week. This has produced a pool of 120 1st level fighters, no standard equipment but usually spear, shortbow and maybe leather armour. In addition, the mayor has a professional bodyguard of 20 swordsmen (human F3). Finally there are various NPCs with levels in adventuring classes, including clerics in the Chapel of Law and a maybe a wizard visiting from Alphatia. 

Notable residents include:

• Mayor Osquith (human male MU3, neutral, Str 8, Int 14, Wis 7, Dex 12, Con 10, Cha 10) is not a very effective ruler - he seems perpetually out of his depth with almost any significant decision. He relies heavily on those around him. He is the third son of a mage and minor aristocrat in Alpha who basically asked the king to give the job to his rather useless son. 
• Captain Gunningham (human female, F5, lawful, Str 14, Int 12, Wis 11, Dex 10, Con 14, Cha 13) is in charge of defence and policing. Although technically subordinate to the mayor, she really has free reign. Fortunately she takes her responsibility seriously and wants to protect the town and keep it safe. 
• Mellissa Wazzak (human female, MU4, chaotic, Str 7, Int 16, Wis 13, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 13) is one of the principle merchants in town and organises a lot of the trade with other settlements along the bay, including Alpha. She is self-serving and greedy. She is also a part-time agent for the rulers in Latela, but only when they pay her enough.  
• Sandrina the Surfwatcher (human female, C3, neutral, Str 10, Int 12, Wis 16, Dex 8, Con 13, Cha 10) is a cleric of a neutral Exalted patron of the seas and sailors. She has taken up residence in the Bay Watchtower and has built up a small congregation among the fishermen and caravel sailors.
• Sorsoni the Mysterious (elf male, elf spellsword 5, neutral, Str 8, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 10, Con 9,  Cha 14) is considered the most knowledgeable of the townsfolk. In matters of lore, magic, legend and monsters he is almost a sage.  
• Father Rythorn (human male, C4, lawful, Str 10, Int 11, Wis 15, Dex 7, Con 16, Cha 11) is the chief cleric in the Chapel of Law. He sees his two main duties as firstly protecting and helping the community of Barathmir, and secondly detecting and investigating the forces of Chaos that may lurk in the region. 
• Ribbari Buttonjacket (halfling male, H3, neutral, Str 9, Int 10, Wis 12, Dex 13, Con 14, Cha 15) is the landlord of the Iron Halberd Inn, the only place in town that offers accommodation to strangers. Ribbari is generally easy-going and friendly, but he does expect payment and can get very angry if he thinks customers are taking his hospitality for free.