The Silent Bell-Tithe | Fantasy Hazard Generated by CharGen

The hazard

The Silent Bell-Tithe is a ritual ward woven through the floor of the chamber beneath Ravenbrook Keep. It turns the combatants' movement and pain into a measured, soundless toll that steadies the ritual above the central dais. Red lines of occult force connect three anchor marks to the ritual circle. As the hazard pulses, the floor seems to draw breath, and the people standing upon it feel their bones vibrate.

Complex
Haunt
Magical
Occult

Stealth: (trained) to notice the anchor marks and ley lines before the hazard is triggered
Trigger: The hazard rolls initiative when a creature enters the chamber and approaches within 10 feet of the central dais, or when a creature attempts to disrupt the ritual. It does not trigger if all three anchor marks have already been disabled.
Disable: Three successes are required to Disable the hazard. A character adjacent to one of the three anchor marks can attempt Thievery or Occultism to Disable it. A character can attempt Religion to disrupt the rite by reciting the names etched beneath the marks. Each anchor can be disabled only once. A critical success counts as two successes, and a critical failure triggers the hazard if it is not already active.
Initiative: Perception
Routine: On its initiative, the hazard uses Soundless Toll, then uses Drawn to the Mark against one creature within 60 feet of an anchor mark. If all three anchor marks have been disabled, the hazard has no routine.
Reset: The hazard resets after 1 hour if it has been disabled but not destroyed. If destroyed, it does not reset unless the ritualists reconstruct its anchor marks.

Damage

Immunities

critical hits, object immunities, precision damage

Resistances

physical 5, except slashing

Weaknesses

slashing 5

Effects

2

Soundless Toll
DC 29
Each creature in the chamber standing on the stone floor takes sonic damage and must attempt a Fortitude save. On a critical failure, it is also slowed 1 until the end of its next turn. Creatures that are deafened are not immune to the damage, but gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the save.
Drawn to the Mark
DC 29
One creature within 60 feet of an anchor mark is targeted by a red ley line. It must attempt a Reflex save. On a failure, it is pulled up to 10 feet toward the nearest anchor mark; on a critical failure, it is also knocked prone. The pull is forced movement and does not trigger reactions based on movement.

Special rules

Bound to the Chamber.The chamber is the hazard's area. Its routines affect only creatures within the chamber, and the hazard cannot be lured beyond its three anchor marks.

A Ward, Not the Ritual.The first time the hazard is reduced to 0 HP, the clappers fall still and its routine ends. This does not disrupt the ritual or prevent the ritualists from continuing their work.

Spotting it

Discovery

A character who Searches the chamber can attempt a Perception check to notice the anchor marks and their nearly invisible red connections.

Perception

+23

Stop it

Signs of dangerDust on the floor trembles in evenly spaced rings despite the absence of sound. · Iron filings and loose coins slide toward three small marks cut into the stone. · The heartbeat of anyone near the dais briefly falls into the same rhythm as the swinging clappers.

Countermeasures

A character adjacent to an anchor mark can use Thievery or Occultism to Disable the hazard. Each successful check counts toward the required three successes; a critical success counts as two. A critical failure triggers the hazard.
DC 30A character can use Athletics to wrench one of the iron clappers free from its invisible suspension with a check. On a success, one clapper is disabled; on a critical failure, the character takes sonic damage.
A character who deals at least 15 damage to an exposed ley line with a slashing or force effect severs it. The hazard loses one action from its next routine for each line severed, to a maximum of two actions.
Casting silence so that it covers the central sigil suppresses the hazard's routine while the spell persists. The hazard remains active and resumes when the area is no longer silenced.
Destroying the hazard or disabling all three anchor marks ends its routine. The ritual itself must still be interrupted by the encounter's other means.

In short

Break the ritual's rhythm by disabling three anchor marks, severing a red ley line, or silencing the buried bell.

Its story

What it looks like

A ring of black iron bell-clappers hangs above the ritual floor, though no bells are visible.

Why it is here

To protect the ritual beneath Ravenbrook Keep by disrupting intruders and channeling their movement and pain into the rite.

Who made it

The bellwright-priests of Ravenbrook Keep, acting under the direction of the keep's last occult regent.

Lore

The clappers once belonged to Ravenbrook's great bell, which was melted down after a siege.

Where it is found

The vaulted ritual chamber beneath Ravenbrook Keep, especially the stone floor between the entrance and the ritual dais.

Variants

For a version tied to a storm ritual, replace sonic damage with electricity damage and describe the red lines as branching veins of blue light.

For an especially dangerous battlefield, the routine's second effect can target two different creatures, but reduce Soundless Toll to 3d8 damage.

A damaged ward may toll audibly. Creatures can then use DC 28 Performance to match its rhythm and grant one ally a +1 circumstance bonus to their next check to Disable it.

Plot hooks

A missing clapper bears the crest of a neighboring noble house, suggesting that the ritual ward was commissioned before the keep fell.

One anchor mark contains a name that a character recognizes from a family memorial, implying that the ward is powered by the dead of Ravenbrook.

A captured cultist insists that the silent toll is not protecting the ritual, but keeping something beneath the chamber asleep.

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