Ghostly Rumors.pdf

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons ® Player’s Handbook

Athenaeum Arcane:

Ghostly Rumors

I NTRODUCTION

I love a good ghost story. There’s a

certain spine-chilling atmosphere, a sense

of timeless tragedy, and an aura of mys-

tery about them that I find seductive. I

frequently try to work ghost stories into

my gaming sessions, and the results are

usually memorable.

Athenaeum Arcane: Ghostly Rumors

has been designed to help DMs introduce

ghost stories into their games. As spring-

boards to adventure or merely as back-

ground rumors that help make the cam-

paign world feel more alive, these rumors

can be a valuable aid to hard pressed

DMs.

U SING THE

R UMORS

This PDF is intended solely for the

DM. Players who suspect that their DM

may have a copy of this PDF would do

best to close this file now and find some-

thing else to peruse.

The rumors in this PDF may be sprin-

kled liberally in a campaign either as

written or modified by the DM. DMs

should always be prepared for the situa-

tions, characters, and locations discussed

in any rumor to leap to the forefront of the

game session; you never know what bit of

information the players will grab and run

with.

When in any tavern, inn, coffeehouse,

or similar establishment where men and

women gather, select a rumor (or two or

three) from this PDF and have each play-

er make a Gather Information check and

then check the roll against the chosen

rumor(s).

These rumors work especially well if,

after the Gather Information check is

rolled, you give the PCs first the failed

result (if they made their roll) and then,

shortly after, give them the successful

result. This adds some roleplaying oppor-

tunities and encourages the PCs to talk

over the false rumor before discovering

the truth.

Each rumor follows the format:

About the Author

Andrew Hind has been working as a

professional in the roleplaying industry

since 2000. In that time, he’s written for

Wizards of the Coast, Pinnacle

Entertainment, Mystic Eye Games,

Bastion Press, and many other gaming

companies.

In addition to his roleplaying credits,

he’s written extensively in mainstream

media, specializing in history and folk-

lore. His work for Fate magazine and

Mysteries magazine, for example, help

lend an air of authenticity to the ghostly

rumors in this PDF. In fact, observant

readers may recognize the real-world

hauntings that some of the entries are

based upon.

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Rumor Heading (Gather

Information DC)

Failed Gather Information Check: If

the check is failed this is what the PCs

hear. A section of this entry is to be read

aloud to the players though many DMs

will choose to paraphrase the information

(especially if any of it needs to be

tweaked to better fit the campaign). This

entry also discloses the source of the

rumor.

Successful Gather Information

Check: If the check succeeds this is what

the PCs hear. Again, this entry is intended

to be read aloud and gives the source of

the rumor.

Follow Up: If the PCs choose to

investigate the rumor this information

will help the DM to prepare for what

could happen.

T HE R UMORS

T HE R IVER W ITCH

(DC 10)

Failed Gather Information Check:

“A hag with skin as black as pitch stalks

the hills near Brungerly. She feeds on all

manner of creatures, but every year on the

anniversary of the day in which the Abyss

spat her out and deposited her in our

world she always takes a human life.”

Source: Graystock (Dwarf Male Exp

2, 5 hp) , an old scruffy dwarf with thick

graying beard. A herbalist by trade, he

spends most of his time alone in the

woods and doesn’t have much time for

“town folk.” He’s often drunker than a

skunk from indulging too heavily in his

own moonshine.

Successful Gather Information

Check: “You been listening to Old Man

Graystock, I take it. That old coot’s been

drinking too much of that swill he con-

cocts in the shed out back of his property.

Take a load off while I straighten things

out for you. Folks in Brungerly claim

they’re hamlet is haunted by the ghost of

a water hag who lives under the bridge.

Every year on the 12 th day of the 12 th

month she takes the life of a farm beast,

either a cow or pony. Every 12 th year, she

claims a human life on her anniversary.

The rest of the time, they say she sleeps or

otherwise makes herself scarce.”

Source: Arthur Ingeld (Human Male,

Wiz 1, 2 hp). Arthur is a mage and teach-

es in the village’s one-room school house.

A short, thin and authoritative man, he

deals in facts and has no use for supersti-

tion and folklore. Illiterates such as

Graystock are treated with contempt, as

are those who blindly belief unsubstanti-

ated rumor.

Following Up: All of the lives taken,

man or beast, are the result of rituals con-

ducted by the villagers of Brungerley

designed to appease the hag. While they

generally sacrifice their own stock, every

twelve years they abduct a traveler or

denizen of a nearby community. If

pressed, no of the villagers can remember

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Athenaeum Arcane:

Ghostly Rumors

the last time the hag actually appeared,

and in truth there is no spirit (unless, of

course, you as the GM deem otherwise).

The whole story is mere superstition,

though one with a bloody bent to it.

its founder, a old-time gent by the name of

Johan Swords. The soil just wasn’t worth a

damn, so after a while the settlers just up

and left. That’s the long and short of it all.”

Source: Valenso Bellaghy (Human

Male Ftr 2/Ari 1, 19 hp), the rotund and

jovial landholder who owns most of the

farms in the area. A former roadwarden

and adventurer, he’s more at home throw-

ing them back in a bawdy tavern than

among the courtiers of even a rural manor

such as his own. As a result, he takes every

opportunity to engage in conversation with

travelers. He’s never had the inclination to

explore Swords and urges PCs not to as

well—-“that town represents peoples’ bro-

ken dreams, and it ain’t right to add insult

to injury by plundering it.” Suspicious

players may think he’s hiding something.

He’s not; Bellaghy has a strong moral core,

that’s all.

Follow Up: The village of Swords is

covered in a ghostly shroud, its farms and

businesses silent and encroached upon by

the regenerating forest, but there are no

ghosts to be found. Though the shells of

numerous buildings remain, collapsing

under the combined assault of elements

and time, five buildings remain in surpris-

ingly good shape: the former general store,

a church, and three small cabins.

Exploring these buildings can be the

source of adventure, as they might now be

inhabited by monstrous vermin and other

forms of low-level threats. But it’s possi-

ble that their intrusion will disturb the dead

and that when they complete their explo-

ration the PCs will leave behind a real

ghost town. A return visit to set things

right might be required.

G HOST T OWN OF

S WORDS (DC 10)

Failed Gather Information Check:

“Hey mister, I wouldn’t go up that road if

I was you. It leads to the ghost town of

Swords. You know why they calls it that,

mister? It’s ‘cause everyone in the village

was put to the sword. That means they was

all killed. The whole town is haunted now,

and no one dares go there. ‘Cept me, cause

I ain’t scared. Only, don’t tell my Mom.

She’d be mad that I went up there by

myself.”

Source: Fish (halfling male Com 1, 1

hp), a small child with a distinctive guppy-

like look about him, hence his nickname,

which he loathes but can’t shake. Fish is

surely a bard in the making; an entertain-

ing storyteller with enough conviction to

be believable. Characters who make a

Sense Motive roll (opposed by Fish’s Bluff

+2 skill roll) will determine that he’s lying

about having been there, but truthfully

believes the town to be haunted.

Successful Gather Information

Check : “Har, har, har! You believed that

load of swill Fish fed you. Thing is, that

boy is a born storyteller with an overactive

imagination. I don’t think he even knows if

the things he says are real anymore. I reck-

on talking to him is like threshing corn. If

you sift out all the chaff, a kernel of truth

remains. There is an abandoned village up

yonder road a ways, but it was named after

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B LUE L ADY ’ S

G RIP OF THE D EEP

(DC 12)

Failed Gather Information Check:

“On nights of the full moon, a beautiful

woman wearing a blue dress walks across

the water down in the bay. And you know

what? She don’t even get the hems wet.

You know she died years ago, drowned

right there, off that point. After she’s seen,

no ship or boat can take to the water. Oars

or sails, it don’t matter….all matter of

watercraft stop dead in the water.”

Source: Caleb RigWalker (male

Human Com 2, 5 hp), an embittered for-

mer sailor who was once known for being

the fastest rigger anyone had ever seen

hereabouts. He now seeks solace for the

loss of his leg in the bottle and spends

most of his time drunk or hung-over.

Successful Gather Information

Check: “Old Caleb has spent too much

time in that damned tavern to even think

straight anymore. Aye, it’s true enough

that the waters of the bay are dead calm

after the full moon, but there is no woman

in blue. That’s just an old legend. Pay it

no mind.”

Source: Any dock hand, fisherman, or

sailor in town.

Follow Up: The blue lady is just a

local legend, though the phenomenon

attributed to her is in fact real. No ship,

whether sail-powered or rowed, can move

within the bay on days after a full moon.

Vessels entering the bay are ground to a

sudden stop, unable to move. It’s an obvi-

ous inconvenience, and hinders trade and

fishing. As a result, the town will offer a

1,000gp reward for anyone who can lift

the curse.

Interestingly, a woman did in fact

drown in the bay years before, and her

body never recovered. Perhaps there is

some connection after all?

M OONSHINE

T OWER (DC 12)

Failed Gather Information Check:

“Moonlight seems to reflect off the rocks

of that old tower, casting it in a pale blue

glow. It’s so pretty and tranquil, a place

truly at peace. The gods have made it

sanctuary from the evils that lurk in the

dark of night, and so we have nothing to

fear from it.”

Source: Colin Crofter (Human Male

Clr 2, 10 hp), a farmer and local agrarian

priest. He’s well meaning, but is not as

worldly as he lets on and has little under-

standing of matters beyond farming. He

has no idea that his ignorance may get

people dead, and would be aghast if that

should come about.

Successful Gather Information

Check: “Some people consider

Moonshine Tower beautiful. I think oth-

erwise. There’s something oddly unset-

tling about it, almost as if it has hidden

itself away from civilization and resents

our intrusion. The last lord went off to

war about 100 years ago and never

returned. Or did he? Some believe his

spirit has returned to the only home he

ever knew and haunts the tower to this

day. All I know is that it’s bricked up for

good reason, and we should leave well

enough alone.”

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