Castle Blackmire (5e Quest)
Castle Blackmire
They say that Castle Blackmire was once the lair of a fearsome vampire, and that the place has been defiled forever by his cursed presence. In truth, the vampire was destroyed centuries ago, and his rickety castle is now only frequented by the children of a nearby village, who treat spending the night there on the night of a full moon as a coming-of-age ceremony, and the one that stays the longest is declared the bravest. The characters might be participating in this event, or they might be help hired by a group of worried parents to protect their children.
Each hour the characters spend in the castle, 1d4 zombies rise in Areas 6 and 13, and when 6 hours have passed, a ghost awakens in Area 16.
A creature that isn't undead that removes anything from the castle is cursed. A creature under the effects of this curse has disadvantage on attack rolls against undead, and undead creatures are magically made aware of the creature's presence if they are within 30 feet of the creature. The curse lasts until all items removed by the creature are returned to the castle or the item is subjected to a remove curse spell or similar magic. The curse is suppressed in an area affected by the hallow spell or when the creature is in an area of sunlight.
Areas
1. Entrance (Empty)
The doors to the castle are made from thick oak wood with bands of black iron to reinforce them. The entrance is a large room that has been worn away by time, covered in dust. When the characters enter, a number of rats scurry away, scattering some rotten timbers.
2. Corridor 1 (Treasure)
Concealed within a table is a small, cracked gem worth 10 gp. The secret compartment can be found with a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check.
3. Great Hall (Empty)
The great hall is barren and numerous holes allow natural light to peer through the ceiling. Undead creatures instinctively avoid this area, but Wogg might be found here if he isn't in the kitchen.
4. Corridor 2 (Combat)
1d4 crawling claws lurk in the corridor, attacking any living creature they can find, but they move to Area 8 if the ghost has awakened.
5. Chapel
The chapel is a small and mostly featureless room, save for the squat stone altar at the opposite end of the oak wood doors. A continual flame spell burns in a small iron lantern that hangs above the altar, filling the room with light. The lantern can be removed from the wall by succeeding on a DC 14 Strength check to break the chain that it hangs from.
6. Crypt 1
This crypt contains 14d6 simple wooden coffins. 3d4 of the coffins have been broken open and are empty, while the rest are sealed. A character with a crowbar or similar piece of equipment can pry the lid of a coffin with a DC 19 Strength check. The first three coffins contain 1d4 - 1 burial treasures that weigh 5 pounds and are worth 10 gp each, while the rest are empty.
7. Servant's Quarters
These quarters contain 4d12 + 20 beds, each with a name carved on the head. A creature that sleeps in one of these beds has its name magically replace the name that was previously carved into the bed.
8. Kitchen
The kitchen is full of rusty tools and fungus-covered food. A character that succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Nature) check can recognise one of the fungi to be a dead shrieker with a few bite marks in it.
Wogg might be in the kitchen, but he flees to the great hall if the crawling claws from Area 4 have moved. He attempts to hide, but if the characters approach him nonviolently, he might tell them that the undead avoid the great hall, but he doesn't know why. He only fights to defend himself, but might be moved by the characters to accompany them during their stay in the castle. He defends any of his new friends by any means. However, if the duke is threatened, he fights savagely to defend him. He wears a silver amulet worth 100 gp (a gift from Walter), but the duke's ghost attacks any creature who wears it if he doesn't know that Wogg has given it up willingly.
9. Study
Sturdy bookshelves line the walls of this room, with countless books within them. Most of the books break quickly when handled, but some are significantly sturdier than others. Most of the books are tomes of strategy and history, though some are novels and books detailing myths.
Hidden within a book titled "The Fall of House Highwall" is a cursed ring. Until this ring is removed and thrown into the ocean, Walter (the ghost in Area 16) cannot pass on.
10. Barracks
The barracks contain numerous mannequins suited in scale mail and wielding spears. While most of the weapons and suits of armour in this room have degraded to the point of near uselessness, a character than spends 1 hour searching can find 1d4 useable spears, a suit of scale mail and a longsword. Once twelve spears, five suits of scale mail and three longswords have been found, no more can be found in useable condition.
11. Secret Room 1
Concealed within this room are 3d6 unarmed and unarmoured skeletons chained to the furthest wall, and numerous other mundane skeletons are scattered throughout the room. They claw menacingly at living creatures that enter the room, but the chains prevent them from moving more than 5 feet away from the wall. Many of the bones are engraved with odd symbols, and a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that they are magical in nature, and that they are likely what roused the skeletons into undeath. An unarmed skeleton can only strike with its fists, which have a +2 bonus to hit and deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage.
12. Corridor 4
This corridor is littered with bones, originating from both humanoids and animals. Amid the bones are odd metal fragments and small blades that feel unnaturally cold.
13. Crypt 2
This crypt contains 2d4 ornately carved stone coffins, each inlaid with 1d4 gems worth 10 gp. It takes a DC 17 Strength check to remove a gem, though use of a crowbar or similar tool grants advantage on the check.
14. Lord's Quarters
Walter has given Wogg permission to lair in his old bedchambers. The ogre has kept the place in relatively good condition, considering that he's a tad clumsy and prone to violent outbursts. The majestic bed fits the burly Wogg perfectly, though most of the furnishings are battered, and it could use a good cleaning. Wogg keeps his most prized possessions in a chest poorly hidden under a blanket in the corner of the room. Within the chest is a sack of assorted bones, a few dead rats, and a pouch containing 1d10 gp and a tiny marble figurine carved in the likeness of a gold dragon.
One of the chairs is actually a mimic that follows Wogg around like a puppy. The mimic attacks any creature that isn't accompanied by Wogg that tries to open the chest. Otherwise, it attacks only in self defence.
15. Secret Room 2
Concealed within this secret room is a stone statue with eyes and teeth made from glass with an odd red colour. Dried blood coats the statue, and if the statue is touched or takes any damage, it animates, using the the animated armour statistics. It fights until destroyed, at which point it crumbles to dust, leaving behind a silver rod that weighs 3 pounds and is worth 50 gp.
16. Burial Chamber
The burial chamber holds the corpse of Duke Walter Highwall III, the former owner of the castle. He is doomed to haunt the castle as a ghost until the cursed ring hidden in his old study is removed and thrown into the ocean, but he cannot leave the walls of the castle, so asks the characters if they can do it for him. He doesn't know the ring's exact location, but he knows it is in the study. He also warns of the curse placed on his old castle, and that it will haunt whoever carries the ring. If Wogg is present, he asks the ogre to aid the adventurers in locating the ring.
NPCs
Wogg. Wogg is a chaotic good ogre. He speaks more Common than most ogres, but he was cast out from his tribe when he was a child for his relatively puny size for an ogre. He fled, and after days of walking, he found himself in the castle, where he was welcomed in by the ghost of the duke. The two have since become good friends.
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