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An abandoned · Medium · Medium

Drowned Bell Monastery

The drowned monks still listen for the bell that keeps their buried spirit asleep.
Rooms
10
Foes
16, CR 1/4 to 6
Traps
9
Treasure
1,830 gp
12345678910Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. Cracked Stairwell

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

The bound spirit, called Veyr Below, dominates the bell crypt from within the cracked bronze bell.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    Orren the Flooded GuardianCR 2

    When: The party makes loud noise, disturbs evacuation remains, or crosses deep water in the central corridors．He may also stalk the party after they leave or 。A former guardian twisted by the seal's failure, with barnacle-covered armor and a hooked polearm.
  2. 2

    1d4× Silt SkulksCR 1

    When: The party disturbs floating debris, drains a flooded chamber, or pauses beside a submerged corpse.A cluster of pale scavengers with lamprey mouths and translucent fins.
  3. 3

    1d3 swarms× Knotted Reliquary SwarmCR 1

    When: A ward pulse passes through the corridor or a character breaks a monastery seal.Loose prayer cords wrapped around bones and animated by the failing wards.

Rooms

10
1

Cracked Stairwell

1 foe1 traptreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A cracked stairwell descends from a sealed chapel above into ankle-deep water. Fallen statues block part of the landing, and a carved warning reads, "Enter only while the bell sleeps."

Features

  • Collapsed upper steps provide partial cover
  • A broken saint statue points toward the flooded antechamber
  • Cold water drips constantly from the ceiling

What the GM knows

Monsters

Drowned AcolyteCR 1

A half-drowned acolyte corpse rises from beneath the lowest step, still clutching a prayer cord.Tactics. It pretends to be a corpse until someone passes, then grapples the nearest character and tries to drag them into the deeper water before calling for help in a child's voice.

Traps

False LandingDC 13 bludgeoning damage and restrained until freed

The cracked landing collapses when weight is placed on three adjacent stones, dropping a creature into a narrow drainage shaft.Disarm. Spot the hairline cracks and wedge the stones with iron or wooden supports before crossing.

Treasure

Bellwarden Key25 gp

A tarnished brass monastery key with three teeth, useful on the reliquary door in .
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

This is the entry point. Characters who search the warning receive an early clue that the bell is a prison, not a treasure. Noise here carries clearly into .

4 doors: N (normal), W (normal), E (normal), E (secret)

The place

What it is

The Drowned Bell Monastery is an abandoned sanctuary carved around a sacred bronze bell and now half-submerged by black groundwater.

Atmosphere

Cold mineral water laps against stone, carrying the smell of rust, wet ash, and old incense.

The threat

The bound spirit, called Veyr Below, dominates the bell crypt from within the cracked bronze bell.

History

The monastery was built by the Bellwardens, ascetics who believed a bronze bell could give form to dangerous subterranean spirits and bind them without destroying them.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A bell rings beneath the village whenever someone dies in the old mine.
  2. 2The monks of the drowned monastery vanished after sealing a demon inside their holy bell.
  3. 3A guardian still patrols the flooded halls, but it only attacks those who carry stolen silver.
  4. 4The old temple wants its lost counterweight relic returned before the next spring flood.

Plot hooks

3
InvestigationThe Bell Beneath the FloodA village's old chapel bell rings underwater every night, and three villagers who investigated have vanished. The characters are asked to find the source before the next toll.From: Sister Halwen, a frightened village priestReward: A blessed traveling bell that grants advantage against fear once per day, plus 150 gp
RetrievalThe Last EvacuationA scholar wants the monastery's evacuation ledger, believing it contains the name of a lost saint whose relic can bind spirits. The ledger lies in the collapsed scriptorium, but the pages are being guarded by restless dead.From: Archivist Pell from a nearby templeReward: A favor from the temple and a scroll of protection from evil and good
Moral ChoiceThe Deepening ShaftThe characters discover that the spirit beneath the monastery is tied to a mining operation that still continues nearby. Stopping the excavation may be the only way to prevent the seal from failing again.From: Mara Venn, a guilt-ridden mine foremanReward: A mine deed worth 300 gp and access to rare ore

Corridors

4

  • Between and

    Waterlogged murals depict robed monks lowering chains around a bell, but the painted faces have been scratched away. Several figures appear to be fleeing toward the upper stairs.

  • Central corridor between , , and

    Rusty portcullises divide the central passage, each marked with a faded warning sigil. Raising one causes the bell crypt to answer with a single muffled toll.

  • Lower corridor outside and

    Thin streams of luminous water seep from cracks and flow toward the bell crypt. Touching the water produces a faint chime and briefly reveals ward-runes beneath the stone.

  • Side passages throughout the dungeon

    Bundles of abandoned prayer cords hang from iron hooks, their knots tied around fragments of bone. Some cords twitch when the submerged predator is nearby.

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