The following blog post is Part 8 of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition campaign, Dreadstorms Lost. These blogs are intended for other game masters who might want to use this campaign setting and the scenarios to inspire their own role playing games. (Free for noncommercial reuse.)

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Notes:

GROUND FLOOR OF CHAMPIONS’ MANOR

The lower level of the manor has been trashed. Bandits and townfolk alike have been tearing through the house looking for treasure; broken furniture, artwork torn from the wall, holes dug with pickaxes into the stone floors and walls; books, glasses, mementos and broken and crushed the floors. Signs of bloody fights are everywhere. Both bandit and townsfolk are among the half dozen dead scattered throughout the lower level.

Hidden runes provide permanent “protection from evil and evil intent” in the private areas of second floor and the wizard tower. There may have been some looters that made it passed the wards, but the 2nd floor is in reasonable unmolested. Note, any player that has an evil alignment will not be able to go up the stairs or enter the wizard tower in the middle of the courtyard.

As trainees in the Protector program, the players would have spent some time in the the public spaces: meeting room, dining hall, library, and office. It is doubtful that they would have been in the tower, kitchen/pantry, mudroom, or stables. The stables and the other exterior backdoor are secret egress outside the city walls. When Kazel had been asked how they got outside of the city gates and with the horses, Kazel would wriggle his fingers and eyebrows and say “Magic!”

Due to the various strewn about debris, all rooms are on the lower level are Hindering Terrain (half movement). 

If your players need the occasional combat to spice things up, feel free to toss in a random encounter or two of bandits looting in the lower rooms or beating on a townfolk, demanding to be led to treasure.

A. Exterior of the Manor

• [PERCP 10] Shrubs and flowerbeds pulled
• [PERCP 12] Many holes of varying sizes dug in the
• [INV 12] The body of a townfolk (Corchel) with his throat slit has been shoved into one of the holes
• [INV 14] Signs of fighting, blood splatters, a broken shovel, arrows (d6), a rusty knife laying in the dirt

B. Entryway

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. The front door is hanging by one hinge, the lock brutishly smashed
2. Across foyer (20′) is the door to courtyard -also left open
3. To the left is entryway leading to the Meeting Hall room where Protector Meetings took place
4. To the right is the opening to a general pre-meal gathering area
5. [PERCP 10] Broken shards from shattered vases and artwork litter the floor
6. Carpet rolled up and pushed off to the side
7. Holes in the wall, large chunks chipped out of the stone floor
8. [INV 10] Muddy foot prints and dark, liquidy smears stain the floor (blood) – Some of the blood has been there for days, some is more recent
9. [INV 15] The mayor’s bowler hat lays flattened in the corner (he loved that hat!)

C. Quadrangle/Inner Courtyard/ Inner Ward

1. A round tower dominates the middle of the courtyard
2. There is a well-maintained path between the foyer door and the door to the south
3. [PERCP 10] Holes of varying depths dug in the grass. Shrubs and flowerbeds pulled up.
4. [PERCP 10] Door to on opposite side of courtyard -Library (E)- has been left open
5. Several dead bodies from recent fighting. One or two you might recognize as  One or two you recognize as townsfolk – [WIS/Medicine 10] Bodies haven’t been dead more than a day
6. [INV 15] Trail of blood leads from the library door to tower

• [WIS/Medicine/Surival 12] The blood is at least 3-4 days

D. Meeting Hall [Left of Entryway]

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Podium knocked over
2. Benches smashed
3. Artwork tossed on floor, shredded
4. Door on southwest wall to hallway
5. Hallway 20′ long, right turn 12′ to door
6. Door on east wall

E. Library, Public

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Book pulled from shelves, tossed everywhere
2. Cabinets pulled from walls, pushed over
3. Carpets shoved off to the side, smashed furniture
4. Door to courtyard left open (north wall)
5. Door on west wall
6. [PERCP 18] Book of Level 1 Illusion Spells

F. Office, Public

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Carpets rolled up and furniture knocked over
2. Desk rifled through, drawers pulled from slots; dumped out
3. [PERCP 15] Secret Door to the stable left cracked open

G. Private stable

Protection from Evil/Evil Intent

1. Via Secret door from Office-Looks like storage for horse feed & riding
2. Smells like a stable – hay and horse shit; There’s a couple bales of hay and dried horse shit here
3. [PERCP 12: (+2 bonus if already spotted trail in courtyard] trail to pool of dried blood; possibly a heavily bleeding body had rested here
   [WIS/Medicine/Surival 12] The blood is at least 3-4 days
4. [PERCP 13]: Wards over doorway on stable [INT/Arcana/Religion DC 12] to identify as Protection from Evil/Evil Intent permanency spell; bloody hand print on the back of the door (stable side)
5. [PERCP 15]: Barn door to outside-hidden; pops back and slides to the side, blends into the wall
6. [PERCP 20]: A well-hidden small door blends into the wall to the rear stairwell; there’s a spot to push to trigger the door to swing open (into the stables)

H. Mudroom/Stairs

Protection from Evil/Evil Intent

1. Door to the outside (and outside the city wall) next to stairs – Not visible from outside; no outside [PERCP 22] from the exterior there is a hidden latch to open door
2. You feel a slight resistance/tingle as you move up the stairs; evil alignment/bad guys are not able to go up stairs
3. Door/exterior wall: There are a few trees are within 20′ of the The dense forest starts about 100′ from the door.

• [PERCP 12] Outside along the tree-line, to the North, you spot a body slumped against a tree. It’s hard to immediately identify who it is. Up close, you recognize Clemens, Foreshot’s apprentice. Based on the huge gaping hole in his chest, you’d say he’s very dead.
• [WIS/Medicine 12] He’s been dead at least 3 Some of the bruising on his face seems older than that.
• [INT/Arcana 15] Cause of death was a close- range explosion.
• [PERCP 20] Wards on walls leading up stairs. [INT/Arcana/Religion DC 12] to identify as Protection from Evil/Evil Intent permanency spell

I. Kitchen

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Broken jars, plates, glasses
2. [PERCP 15] Trap door to cellar
   • Cellar is mostly undisturbed, though obviously not used in a while. It’s dusty and smells of damp mildew.
     [INVG 20 will find a mechanism in the ceiling that reveals a well-hidden trap door on the floor that lifts up and out. Revealing stairs down into dark, dark tunnels. Note this is the entrance to and the beginning of a dungeon crawl. If the players report back to the mayor before heading down, he’ll give them a map of the Berlstrum Underbelly, lanterns, and some possibly some minor healing potions. More on this in a future installment!]
3. [INVG 16] 2 bottles of wine, unbroken
4. [INVG 20] Bottle of expensive rum hidden under the cutting block

J. Apprentice Clemens’ Bedroom

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Mattress shoved over against the wall, stuffing ripped out
2. Papers crumbled up on the floor (notes on different animal tracks; how to identify scat; which berries to eat on the trail, list of items to pack for trail)
3. Broken long bow
4. Some random male garments of low quality
5. [PERCP 15] +4 bonus if actively looking out window; You spot a body slumped against a tree. It’s hard to identify the body from this angle and distance.
6.  [INVG 15] Moving the shredded mattress, you find a loose stone hiding a small nook carved into the floor. Inside is a 5 gold and a thin, ratty book worn with age and bearing the rather grim title of “Gratimortus”.
   • Skimming through the book reveals many disturbing sketches, arcane symbols, and neat, cramped elaborate script in a confusing mix of Common and Draconic. It will take time to decipher the book (couple of hours with Arcane proficiency).
   • Upon closer inspection, you suspect this is only the front half of the book.
   • Images from the pages and the text will be provided in blog post #10 – The Gratimortus – Dreadstorms Lost [not yet posted]

K. Pantry

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Shelves ripped off of the walls
2. A few sacks of grain ripped open
3. Some nice table lines tossed to the side
4. [PERCP 16] Mixed in with a pile of grain on the floor is a Ring of Protection +1

L. Dining Hall

Space is hindering terrain due to debris hazards.

1. Tables and benches pilled against one of the windows;
2. Sideboard tables shoved to the middle of the room
3. More attempts to put holes in the walls and flooring

M. Gallery – Wide hallway/gathering area [Right of Entryway]

1. Open space used for indoor combat practice. Some broken vases.

WIZARD TOWER

Protection from Evil/Evil Intent

Ground Level of Tower

1. You feel a slight tingle through the doorway, bad guys are not able to enter [INT/Arcana/Religion DC 12] Protection form Evil ruins around the door
2. A high ceiling space (12′) with stairs on the spiraling up wall to the right up to the next Barrels and crates stored under the stairs.
3. [Arcana 5] Seems mostly storage for magic components
4. [PERCP 12; (+4 bonus if already spotted blood)] Some blood smears on the hand rail going up the stairs

Second Floor of Tower

1. Shelves reaching 14′ high cover every available wall space and are filled with books
2. A ritual circle is permanently etched into the floor of the
3. A couple of comfortable reading chairs
4. A trunk with some smelly, grubby robes
5. It’s messy, things moved around, but not carelessly
6. A few sheets of paper with hastily scrawled notes; handwriting is
7. Sample books in library if searched:
8. Identifying aquatic creatures,
9. guide for spell uses of herbs,
10. how to harvest basilic blood;
11. [PERCP 15] *A small book smeared with bloody fingerprints, Gratismortus-Book of the Iredeemevile; back pages ripped off – Difficult to read, will take hours to translate the scrawled notes.
12. [PERCP 18] Book of Ritual Spells: TBD
13. ladder leads up to trapdoor

Top Tower Level

1. Parapet (a narrow wall built along the outer edge) with crenelations (like a crown)
2. Can see most of the town of Burlstrum and the city wall from

SECOND FLOOR OF CHAMPIONS’ MANOR

N. Solar

1. an open landing at the top of the stairs with long narow windows on the western wall; single large window to the north, southwest, and
2. Open, quiet conversation area.
3. Cozy conversation knook in the southwest corner.
4. Door northeast corner and southeast corner

O. Guest bedroom

1. Tidy, neatly made bed, dresser (empty), wardrobe (empty), some random knick-nacks on shelves.
2. Door on east wall

P. Private library

1. Personal interest books/animal studies/fiction/erotica- books not intended for public use
2. Papers on the desk organized in neat piles: various trainee reviews, notes on schedules, journal with dates and times of sightings of animal and monsters in the outlining area – handwriting is small, neatly written

Q. Hallway

1. one window on north (see courtyard) and 2 windows along the south; 35′ long

R. Private dining

1. A nice table with seating for six

S. Private indoor practice area

1.  Door to balcony on the east wall

T. Balcony

1. Overhangs the front entrance of the manor

U. Hallway

1. Two doors on the north wall, a window directly across from the second door

V. Baby room

1. A room beautifuly set up for a baby with nappies stacked on the dresser, toys sitting neatly on shelves, basinet at the foot of the perfectly made cradle
2. A door in the northwest corner leads to the master bedroom next door
3. [INT 10] As far as you know, Foreshot and Kazel have no child. Nor have you heard of Foreshot being pregnant. How could they have kept this a secret? Why?
4. [PERCP 12] There is no smell you’d associate with a baby

W. Master Bedroom

A large, unmade bed dominates the On side of the room is tidy, with the pants, shirts, et all put away inside a dresser. On the other side robes looks like they were half-heartedly tossed in the direction of the wardrobe.

X. Alchemist room, potion making

1. Door in northwest corner leads to the solar (with the stairs)
2. Empty vials, shelves full of unidentifiable ingredients in unlabled jars
3. [PERCP 12] Based on the un-dusty spots, several containers have recently been removed
4. [PERCP 15] Amidst all the random jars and vials, you recognize 3 Healing Potions (2d4+2)

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Next Up: What was really happening while the players were guarding the tower up next! #9 – The Mystery of the Missing Champions – Dreadstorms Lost

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