The party of commoners has packs filled with general supplies, including bandages, dry rations, waterskins, spikes, and rope.

The party will find various stairs throughout the keep. Many of them lead deeper into the dungeon, though a few only lead to self-contained chambers.

Outside the tower, flanked by crumbling stone walls, the moss-covered tower stands proud despite the ravages of time. A tall, rust-bound portal bars the tower’s sole entrance, watched over by a leering demonic gargoyle. Rings of deep arrow slits pierce the thick walls, and overarching battlements loom high above.

Inside the tower: The hot stench of rot rolls from the tower, raising bile in the back of your throat. The floor of the wide tower is covered in rotting hides of cattle, sheep and men. A narrow staircase spirals around the tower wall. Dark forms hang from chains spiked through the wall—surely these are your fellow countrymen! A pack of snarling beast-men slowly emerges from the shadows, bloody spears clutched in their gnarled hands!

The dark, moss-eaten gatehouse towers above you, grim and forbidding. Murder holes, fashioned in the likeness of looming toads, threaten to gout forth flaming oil and tar. Black arrow slits pierce the high stone walls. You can hear the flap of the heretical banner above, hidden from sight by the vine-draped battlements. The ancient drawbridge has long since fallen away into ruin, leaving only a few rotting planks placed across the ditch. The heavy iron portcullis stands half-raised, the rusty spikes a mere four feet above slots cut into the stone floor.

Deep within the underground of the keep is the Starless Sea. The wide stone steps run down

to the dark-sand beach of a vast underground sea. Far out across the water, you can make out a golden glow through the gloom. An enormous menhir stands at the water’s edge, dark waves lapping at its intricately carved faces. Past the towering standing stone, a dragon-prowed longship emerges from the darkness, its hull scrawled with forbidding sigils and runes that glow a sickly green in the dim light. The ship draws to a stop some 50 feet offshore. The beat of distant drums and far-off wails of terror mixes with the quiet lapping of the waves. A narrow series of steps wind up the surface of the menhir. Those climbing to the peak of the standing stone discover that the top of the stone has been fashioned into a platform. A shallow bowl has been cut into the center of the platform. The bowl is partially filled with hardened wax, and the stub of a red candle sits atop the mounds of wax.

The inside of the keep has a low level of ambient light. It is dark and difficult to see without the use of a torch or some other light source. Shadows dance across the wall, filling the party with dread. A few rooms may have lit torches, placed there by beastmen.

The party of commoners uses crude weapons, mostly farm equipment such as shovels, pitchforks, clubs, and axes. The beastmen are equipped with swords, spears, javelins, and daggers. A few magical weapons can be pillaged from within the keep off of corpses or treasure chests.

The keep has various treasures, including jewels and coins spread about. There are also chests, some locked, that contain valuable treasures such as magical items, armor, and weapons.

The courtyard is overgrown with sickly weeds and thick brambles. A deathly silence hangs in the air as if even the frogs and insects are afraid to draw attention to themselves. The smell of rotting vegetation is pervasive, and the ground sucks at your boots with every tentative step. Nearly all of the courtyard’s buildings have fallen into ruin. A single burnt-out shell set against the keep’s east wall is the only remaining structure. Set near the heart of the courtyard is a well, framed with a crude pulley system. To the east is the keep’s sole standing tower.

There is a muddy trail leading to the gatehouse with beastmen footprints in the mud.

Name: Vine Horrors

Size: Medium

Movement: crawling, climbing

Size: 5 ft 11 in

Diet: carnivore, humanoids

Appearance: Rotting corpse of a human with vines growing around it.

Mental: Aggressive

Vine Horrors are dead bodies animated by the planet that now grows through them. They attack viciously and can entangle their victims.

Name: Chaos Lord

Size: Huge

Upon the Starless Sea, the Chaos Lord lives on top of a small tower surrounded by several devoted worshipers. Through his corruption, he has been harassing the village and planning on building an army of beastmen.

There are many ancient doors within the keep. The doors are shut, with many of them locked or trapped. Opening the doors requires forceful action, lock picking, or other means. a few doors are even trapped with poison arrows, falling blocks, or pit traps that open in front of it.

The cyclopean ruins loom high above your village and are fashioned into the mountain. The ruins are of an ancient keep has long been a source of fearsome tales and terrible legends. The locals are steeped in superstitious lore surrounding the keep. Tales of danger and evil that hides within such as the Chaos Lord. The keep is home to many evils, such as Beastmen, vine horrors, as well as devious traps.

Name: Beastmen

Size: Medium

Appearance: monstrous, beast-like, thick fur, hunched back, feathers, horns, various animal features

Mental: Violent

The beastmen lurking within the keep are all villagers corrupted by the lure of the Chaos Lord. The pain of the transformation has driven them insane. Most beastmen resemble their namesake: a hunched, feral cross between a man and a beast. Some wear identifying clothing of their former life.

The party consists of you and dozens of your fellow villagers. The party has both men and women, as well as a few children who act as torchbearers. The villagers are simple commoners, including farmers, hunters, fishermen, craftsmen, and various other tradesmen. The party has joined together to explore the ruins in hopes of conquering whatever evil lies within. The party is weak and unskilled at dungeon exploration.