The Haunting of Calrow Ruins: Into The Castle
1. Arming Room
Once used to store equipment used to defend against a siege, this chamber is mostly empty, filled with broken ladders, leaking barrels of oil, heavy rocks, nets, etc. The oaken double doors leading into the garrison court (Area 9) are intact.
An old but still functioning ballista (900 pounds) rests in the western end of the room with six ballista bolts stacked against the wall (40 pounds each). Aiming, loading, and firing the ballista each require one action.
Ranged Attack—Ballista Bolt: +5 to hit, range 120/ 480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
The gibberlings in the base of the armory tower (Area 2) will attack this room if they hear loud sounds or see bright lights coming from it.
2. Armory Tower
6 gibberlings await here, though these gibberlings are equipped with scraps of armor granting them an AC of 14, as well as handaxes and greatclubs.
Melee Attack—Greatclub: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
They employ slightly more advanced tactics than other gibberlings , throwing their handaxes from behind cover before charging into melee en masse. When the fighting starts, a “runner” gibberling begins scrambling up the spiral stairs (difficult terrain); if it reaches the top of the tower (90 feet of spiral stairs above), it begins screeching, alerting any gibberlings in Areas 1, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, and 16.
The armory was located at the base of this watchtower, and a few shields, handaxes, maces, and shortswords may be recoverable. Severe damage to the upper parts of the tower have scattered chunks of stone large enough for Small creatures to gain three-quarters cover behind.
Spiral stairs lead up to the top of the tower, though they are broken in two places creating 5 foot gaps; while jumping these with a running start is easy for most characters, the stone is unsteady and a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check is required to safely distribute one’s weight after landing otherwise a large chunk of the stairs falls out, dealing 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage to any creatures below, widening that gap to 10 feet, and leaving the character dangling above a precipitous drop. If the check is failed by 5 or more, the character falls.
From the top of the 40-foot high watchtower, clear lines of sight are possible across the garrison court (Area 9), inner bailey (Area 14), kitchen court (Area 16), yew tree court (Area 20), and the surrounding lands.
3. Breeding Grounds
Low steps from the cellars (Area 4), as well as a fissure in the moat, lead to this low-ceilinged root cellar. The floor is flooded with water and a thin layer of slippery pond scum, causing all of the chamber to be difficult terrain. The only natural light comes from the fissure and a solitary high window. However, it is a wholly alien place now, with strange living sacs of semi-transparent flesh and undulating fur holding humanoids in a variety of states of transformation from human (or dwarf, elf, or halfling) into gibberling. Bloody fur seems to grow from the walls like moss, and a whispering jibber-jabber sets the hairs on the back of the neck on end.
Characters who spend at least 1 minute in this room or who investigate any of the gibberling “breeding” sacs must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the confusion spell for up to 1 minute. Affected creatures jibber-jabber for the duration, quietly at first, but grow gradually louder. Crossing this room without bumping into any sacks requires agroup DC 8 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check; if any character fails, 6 newly-spawned gibberlings tear free from the fleshy sacs in a frenzy of claw and fur.
4. Cellars
Wine and ale, most soured, are stored here in large oak casks. 3 gibberlings lurk in the shadows attempting to ambush characters entering.
A life-like black onyx “statue” of an imperious young woman with a look of shock on her face staring at her hand missing its ring finger stands before an open secret door on the west wall. This statue is the body of Arista de Freh whose abuse of the powers of the onyx ring destroyed her. The fate of the onyx ring is left for the GM to decide. The secret alcove apparently once held a tapestry judging by the hooks on the wall (the grim tapestry). On the ground is a scabbard of exceptional quality (25 gp) bearing some minor noble crests on its surface; a DC 12 Intelligence (History) check recognizes the crests as belonging to Ser Paviss’ line. The scabbard fell when Arista betrayed him.
5. Undercroft
This unfinished earthen-floor room was meant to be an expansion of the crypt, however the quake toppled the keep and the resulting rubble completely cut it off from crypt (Area 6). In addition, the quake opened up a fissure to the infinite darkness below. 4 swarms of insects (gibberslugs) dwell in this room, ferociously attacking anything that enters but not pursuing creatures into Area 20 if it is daylight. A character hit by their bite must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be afflicted by gibberslugs (see the gibberling brood mother description).
6. Crypt
When the keep above collapsed, the eastern half of the Nydaridien family crypt was buried in rubble. Several sarcophagi have been cracked, however, revealing treasures buried with the skeletons (4 art objects worth 25–50 gp each). Here, the ghost of Arista de Freh habitually berates the corpses of Nydaridien nobility for thinking themselves better than her and for giving birth to the “pompous Baron Ulrich and his simpering mule of a daughter.”
If not already hostile towards the characters, she requests they bring her Lady Nydaridien’s head so she can finally give her father justice and go to her peace. Characters conversing with the ghost may attempt a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) or Intelligence (Religion) check to realize that the ghost actually feels guilty for someone she betrayed and only repairing the effects of her betrayal will put her to rest.
Outright rejection of her offer or hostility causes the ghost to attack the offending character with her Possession trait as a 6 skeletons emerge from the crypts; once expelled from a possessed character she vanishes to let the skeletons fight for her.
7. Garderobes (toilets)
These stone toilets have narrow slightly slick shafts leading down 30 feet to outside the castle walls into the moat or lake, depending on location. They could be used as a means of escape or covert entry by particularly bold characters, though Medium-sized characters will need to squeeze. Ascending or descending without ropes requires a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check.
8. Garrison
A barricade of spiked shields encircling the postern is all that remains of the defender’s last stand during Lady Nydaridien’s flight from the keep. This is where the soldiers’ barracks once were located. A few skeletons impaled on spears are all that remain of the defenders’ last stand.
The oaken double door leading to the garrison court (Area 9) has been hewn through, along with the door to the arming room (Area 1) as if by a frenzied mob of attackers.
9. Garrison Court
8 gibberlings await here, though during the day the gibberlings are partially burrowed into the exposed earth where they sleep clumped in one or more heaps of writhing fur.
This courtyard, with its ivy-covered walls, is littered with sparring dummies of wood and straw, as well as signs of battle like broken spears, chunks of stone debris, and torn banners. Stairs to the south of the courtyard lead up to the top of the armory tower (Area 2), but were broken in the middle by large stones falling from the damaged tower.
10. Gatehouse
The old gate is jammed shut by a tangle of rotting fur and flesh from dozens of gibberlings which were caught within the gear mechanism during the castle’s evacuation. During the day, the fur and flesh seems to pulse and occasionally a blinking eye or writhing arm can be seen within it grasping out slowly in the direction of living beings. However, at night the gate becomes more dangerous, taking the form of a living wall of flesh and limbs covered with vaguely human faces.
Treat the wall as 3 gibberlings encounter with all the gibberlings ' hit points (27 total) added together into the same pool, but a speed of 0. Attacking the wall causes it to scream loudly as it fights back, alerting any gibberlings in Areas 2, 9, 10, 13, and 14. The wooden gate has AC 19, hp 30, and resists the first 15 points of damage from any source.
There are a few ways to bypass this hazard besides combat:
- The living wall of gibberlings can be charmed or tricked into lifting the gate it’s fused with using its many limbs either through magic or by characters disguised as a gibberling.
- Darkscape mushrooms are poisonous to the living wall of gibberlings as well. If killed through poisoning, the living wall dies in a bloody convulsion, but not before several human arms extend from it and turn the mechanism, opening the gate.
- The gate is shaded from direct sunlight exposure by the overhang of the gatehouse, but the living wall detests sunlight. If characters expose it to sunlight, the living wall attempts to climb up the gate into the gap in the walls where it will be shaded, and in so doing raises the gate with it.
11. Great Hall
This massive feast hall is dominated by a long table and a masonry hearth on east wall above which rests the head of a horned troll , a peryton , and a brown bear . The west passage leads into what was once the foyer but is now where the grim tapestry (Area 12) is kept; hides of dripping flesh and fur hang from the arch like a grotesque curtain.
Six life-like onyx “statues” of knights stand beside the table, protecting a life-like “statue” of the Baron who is staggering backward with a look of terror while reaching for his sword. Close examination of the Baron’s eyes reveals the trapped image of Arista de Freh in them as he saw her at the moment of his death.
The ghost of Arista de Freh makes a fleeting appearance, circling the Baron with a vindictive glare before vanishing through the north wall. If the characters have been hostile with the ghost before or are in the employ of Lady Nydaridien, then the onyx “statues” animate as animated armor , two animating per round. Alternately, if it is daytime and the brood mother is trapped in the tapestry, black vapors stream from Area 12, animating two “statues” at a time.
12. Grim Tapestry
This small chamber was once the foyer to the great hall (Area 11), but the entrance from the inner bailey (Area 14) was barricaded by the Baron in an act of desperation, then further barricaded by gibberling and human corpses, cutting it off completely from the inner bailey. Any character peering into this room through one of the arrow slits in the inner bailey witnesses an illusion of unremitting horror, requiring the character to make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of the tapestry for the next three rounds and scream for the duration, alerting the gibberlings in Area 14.
The grim tapestry hangs against a wooden board erected in the center of this chamber, with withered corpses of spellcasters and psionicists the gibberling brood mother has drained, hoping to gain the power it needs to break free of the tapestry completely. The tapestry depicts a grey-cloaked hunchback with long curling claws, seething white eyes, a hideous grin, and a face that seems to shimmer and blur as one views it from different angles. It radiates abjuration and conjuration magic if viewed with detect magic.
At night, the gibberling brood mother is freed from the tapestry, and is accompanied by a 6 gibberlings encounter. A protection from evil and good cast on the tapestry compels the gibberling brood mother to return to being trapped inside it until the next night, though she may now animate it as described below.
During the day, the gibberling brood mother is unable to manifest in physical form, but she can animate the tapestry as a rug of smothering that has the following additional trait:
When reduced to fewer than half hit points, as a reaction the gibberling brood mother can turn the rug into a cloud of black vapor that streaks to the breeding grounds (Area 3) or stateroom (Area 19) at fly speed 40 ft. While in this form, the rug cannot damage others or be damaged.
13. Guard Room
A one-legged gibberling wearing a sallet helm and wielding a spear paces about in this room jibber-jabbering, occasionally stopping to gnaw on its fingers or the bloody stump of its missing leg. This gibberling , once a guardsman who colluded with Arista, is oblivious of other creatures unless they try to attack it. The northeastern wall bears an inscription as if carved hastily with a dagger:
Forgive me. She has betrayed us. My fate is—.
14. Inner Bailey
The inner bailey is filled with ruin and decay. The grass is dead and riddled with earth mounds. Debris from the collapse of the upstairs keep litters the northern section of the bailey. A layer of mist lightly obscures the bailey in the evening and early morning.
8 gibberlings await here. During the day they’re burrowed just below the earth where they sleep so that they’re not visible until a character is within 5 feet; if damaged but not killed, a gibberling screams and wakes the others. At night they’re cavorting, wailing, wrestling, digging, smashing, and scavenging.
15. Kitchen
What was once a cherished part of the keep has become a cesspit of foul concoctions and jars full of writhing gibberslugs and preserved gibberslug husks. The tables drip with oozing, pustulant grey flesh. Among the jars is a bloating floating head which awakens if charm magic is used on it; the head is left as an open-ended tool for the GM to use as they see fit; perhaps it belongs to an NPC with whom the characters are familiar!
6 gibberlings lurk in the kitchen, scouring cupboards, gazing fixedly at gibberslug jars, or fighting over scraps of food. Their preferred method of attack is improvised throwing of various things in the room, including gibberslug jars.
Gibberslug jar. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution save or be infested by gibberslugs (see the gibberling brood mother).
16. Kitchen Court
What was once a lovely courtyard replete with an herb and rose garden has been absolutely demolished by the collapse of the servants’ quarters above. Much of the stone appears to have liquefied and then re-hardened, with humanoid skeletons trapped within the stone. There are two bizarre life-like onyx “statues” of maid servants poised in horrific agony on the west side of the courtyard, servants who crossed Arista during her betrayal. Stairs to the west lead up to the top of the gatehouse (Area 10), while stairs to the east lead up to servants’ quarters which were mostly demolished by the quake.
A character proficient in Arcana, Nature, or the herbalism kit who searches this area will discover a cluster of 3 darkscape mushrooms.
A gibbering mouther lurks at the bottom of the 20 foot well and is responsible for the destruction above. When it senses creatures within 60 feet, it comes to the surface just out of sight and begins gibbering, sounding as if a soft voice is speaking unintelligibly from the well. Once creatures are subjected to its Gibbering Mouths trait, the gibbering mouther emerges to use Blinding Bile and attempts to grab a weak character and drag them down the well, the walls of the well liquefying into a horrific scene of blinking eyes that make climbing impossible.
17. Oratory
This quiet prayer room echoes with unintelligible ghostly voices. Clerics and paladins intuitively understand that they can use Channel Divinity to make the voices louder and intelligible, revealing a cryptic warning:
“Beware the betrayer who begets betrayer. The undying mother will truly end once her child is redeemed by the darkscape.”
This refers to Arista betraying Ser Paviss, hinting that Ser Paviss can be freed from the sentient gibberslug (allowing him to truly die) by feeding him a darkscape mushroom, an event which also releases Arista’s spirit.
18. Oubliette
A tiny prison cell with a single 5-foot wide grate on the floor echoes with piteous moans. Light cast down the grate reveals an old man in tatters who shields his face at the bottom of the oubliette. He identifies himself as Dellard ( commoner ), former castellan of the keep. His mind is mostly gone; he suffers memory gaps and violent fits of jibberjabbering like the gibberlings. Closer examination of the man in bright light reveals his eyes are black, his hands crooked, his forearms covered in gruesome scars, his facial features slightly squished, and he has a wild black mane of hair and beard uncharacteristic for a man of his age.
The Baron imprisoned Dellard when he criticized him for refusing Arista as his wife. Arista secretly offered to free him, but when he refused, she threw a jar of gibberslugs down on him to “make use of him one way or another.” Multiple gibberslugs infested Dellard but he tore them out with his bare teeth, and is now immune to the gibberslugs. Dellard can prove a helpful guide if rescued; however, if Dellard succumbs to a gibberling’s Gibber trait, instead of becoming frightened he is affected by the confusion spell for 1 minute.
19. Stateroom
Lavishly decorated with oil paintings, statues, and smashed ivory figurines (five pieces each worth 30 gp are salvageable), this room was meant to impress visiting aristocrats. The room now impresses adventurers with a grizzly scene: dozens of shattered skeletons, covered with dried gore, as well as three life-like onyx “statues” poised in the middle of terrified combat. Where the person they were protecting should be is a pile of onyx dust (50 gp) that was once the Baron’s cousin. The onyx statues include the Baron’s brother and two knights who were betrayed by Arista.
A detect magic spell cast on one of the two intact oil paintings (200 gp each) or one of the three whole statues (500 gp each) in this room reveals they are each enchanted by abjuration and necromantic magic—a glyph of warding that triggers black tentacles if a creature tries to remove or tamper with an oil painting or statue. The ghost of Arista de Freh appears fleetingly in this room, necrotic energy crackling from her as she broodingly floats through the south wall to the center of the room and vanishes into the floor.
Stairs from here lead up to the ramparts.
20. Yew Tree Court
This once-beautiful courtyard was built around an old sacred yew tree. The tree is now sickly, and pestilent black sludge bubbles and gurgles around its base. Dozens of withered gibberslug husks lie scattered about the courtyard, their decomposition forming the odiferous black tar.
A DC 20 Intelligence (Nature) check or a detect poison or disease spell cast on the yew tree reveals the gibberslugs are corrupting into some form of aberration, and if not saved or destroyed within 5 days, will become a roper.
The black sludge is effectively a black pudding with 42 hit points, without a climb speed, and without the ability to Split as a reaction. It does not attack unless a character attacks it first or steps in it.
The collapse of the keep littered rubble around the courtyard’s north end, where a staircase climbs to nowhere (where the noble family’s quarters once were). The damage also caused a gap in the northeast wall to drop into an old unfinished section of the castle’s undercroft (Area 5); a trail of black slime leading down into the darkness.
A character proficient in Arcana, Nature, or the herbalism kit who searches this Area will discover a cluster of 3 darkscape mushrooms.