Skip to content
CharGen Icon
CreatePricing
Dungeons
Castle · Medium · Level 5 · Hard

Bellward Castle

A green flame gutters over the entrance tiles, and somewhere underfoot a bell gives one slow, iron note.
Rooms
10
Foes
11, CR 1/4 to 5
Traps
3
Treasure
1,498 gp
12345678910Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Receiving Hall

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

Captain Kett, the oathbound warden, commands the remains of the lower garrison from .

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    2× Patrol RemnantsCR 1/2

    When: They appear after a loud fight or when the party spends more than 10 minutes in the corridors.A pair of skeletal sentries drag a snapped spear between them, mistaking any living figure for a deserter.
  2. 2

    Lost WatchmanCR 2

    When: It arrives when a locked door is forced or the bell tolls while the party is in the halls.A pale, mail-clad specter moves through stone as if following a patrol route that no longer exists.
  3. 3

    1 swarm× Dust BatsCR 1

    When: They scatter when bright light or open flame is raised near the bricked arrow slits.A swarm of bats, stained gray by the ward's dust, pours from a ceiling crack and clings to torchlight.

Rooms

10
1

The Receiving Hall

1 foetreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A square receiving hall opens beneath a half-collapsed stair. Four doors lead deeper into the ward: west and south doors are locked, the east archway stands open, and the north door hangs on one hinge; a cold draft issues from the eastern passage.

Features

  • Faded red-and-white tiles form a broken heraldic pattern
  • An iron lantern bracket holds a cold, green flame

What the GM knows

Monsters

Skeletal SentryCR 1/4

A skeletal sentry in corroded mail has wedged itself behind the fallen stair.Tactics. It rises when anyone crosses the tiled crest, then fights to block the archway toward .

Treasure

Ward Tolls18 gp

A waxed leather purse hidden under the reception bench contains old tolls, still acceptable as silver.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The west door leads to , east to , south to , and north to . The three locked doors can be picked with Dexterity checks; forcing one alerts nearby defenders. The skeleton's mail bears the same broken crest as the floor.

3 doors: W (locked), N (normal), S (normal)

The place

What it is

The castle's buried lower ward survives as a knot of guardrooms, sealed chambers, and a chapel built around a cracked bell shaft.

Atmosphere

Cold damp stone carries the smell of extinguished tallow and wet iron.

The threat

Captain Kett, the oathbound warden, commands the remains of the lower garrison from .

History

The lower ward was built by the castle's first lord as a refuge during a succession war.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A shepherd swears the ruined castle bell rings only when someone lies within its walls.
  2. 2The lower ward was built to hide a royal child during a war, though no record says what became of the child.
  3. 3A reeve claims the old guard still patrols underground and will let rightful heirs pass unharmed.
  4. 4Someone who entered the castle returned with a silver pin that rang whenever the churchyard dead stirred.

Plot hooks

3
RecoveryThe Missing CharterA village reeve hires the party to recover a charter from the lower ward before a neighboring lord uses its absence to seize local farms. The charter is locked in the treasure chamber, but the warden believes it bears the heir's seal.From: A tired village reeve with a cracked wax sealReward: A rare signet ring from the charter chest and legal title to a small fortified holding
InvestigationThe Midnight TollThe bell tolls at midnight from beneath the castle ruins, and each toll is followed by a fresh grave opening in the nearby churchyard. Find and silence its source before the next night.From: A grave tender who has begun sleeping in the chapelReward: A rare warding charm and the church's stored healing draughts
ExplorationThe Lord's True OrderA scholar wants proof that the original castle lord ordered a refuge built for common folk, not nobles. The evidence is likely in the shrine, but Captain Kett considers any search there an act of treason.From: A traveling historian carrying a charcoal rubbingReward: A rare spell scroll and a substantial research fee

Corridors

3

  • Passage between and

    A waist-high arrow slit opens onto a bricked-up inner court. Scratched into its sill are three tally marks, freshly cut despite the dust.

  • Passage between and

    A narrow gutter runs along the wall, carrying water that tastes faintly of salt and turns dark near the shrine passages.

  • Passage approaching

    A torn strip of crimson standard hangs from a ceiling hook. It stirs whenever the bell below tolls, even in still air.

Media

0 images

No images yet.

Visual sheet

Turn Bellward Castle into a sheet

A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.