The Bell Beneath the Shroud
The Bell Beneath the Shroud
Read aloud
The reeve of Greyfen offers a reward for anyone who can reach the old chapel and bring back its bell-clapper. The chapel has been sealed for twelve years, but last night its bell rang once, and the fog has begun creeping toward the village. A bellmaker swears the toll sounded like his missing sister calling his name.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Cross the haunted causeway.
- 2Recover the clapper and uncover the chapel's secret.
- 3Resolve the bell's supernatural bond.
- 4Give Tomas closure.Optional
The clock
The Greyfen ward will fail by the next sunset after the adventure begins. Each major delay or failed route-finding attempt brings the fog closer to the village; use the complication table to show its advance.
Scenes
- 0:00A Toll at the Edge of Town
- 0:35The Causeway That Moves
- 1:35The Seal on the Door
- 2:25A Voice in the Bell
- 3:00The Last Toll
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Iven SornAlly
- Tomas RillWitness and wildcard
- The Hushed PriorAntagonist
The hook
Set the scene
At Greyfen's meeting hall, Mara Venn spreads a hand-drawn map across a table and points to the chapel beyond the marsh. Tomas Rill interrupts to say that the bell's toll used his sister's voice. Iven Sorn offers to guide the party to the causeway, but goes quiet when asked why the chapel was sealed.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara Venn requests a private meeting at Greyfen's hall.
She offers a clear fee for the clapper and asks the party to avoid alarming the villagers. Tomas arrives during the briefing with his own plea for help.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4.5 hours0:00
35 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Toll at the Edge of Town
Greyfen meeting hall, crowded with wardens, anxious residents, and maps of the encroaching fog.
Mara hires the party, Tomas pleads for help, and Iven volunteers to guide the route. Careful questions reveal conflicting accounts of the chapel's sealing.
NextIven leads the party to the old causeway before the fog thickens.
0:35
60 min
exploration
2. The Causeway That Moves
The broken causeway and marsh flats beyond Greyfen.
The party crosses the marsh while choosing between speed, stealth, and a safer but longer route. The fog distorts voices and landmarks.
The Causeway That MovesNextThe chapel emerges from the fog, its tower visible above the reeds.
1:35
50 min
skill
3. The Seal on the Door
The chapel nave, sacristy, and blocked stair beneath the bell tower.
The party searches the chapel for a way into the tower, finding signs that the sealing was deliberate and recent enough to have left records and personal effects.
NextEvidence and the bell's voice lead the party to the tower's upper chamber.
2:25
35 min
social
4. A Voice in the Bell
The bell tower landing, where a cracked bell hangs over a shaft filled with pale mist.
Tomas's claim is tested when the bell speaks in Elia's voice. The party can question the voice, examine the binding, or decide how to approach the Prior.
NextThe bell tolls again, bringing the Hushed Prior into the tower.
3:00
75 min
combat
5. The Last Toll
The cracked bell tower and chapel nave as the Veil pours through the structure.
The party confronts the Prior and chooses whether to restore, break, or alter the binding. Their actions determine whether the breach closes, remains contained, or spreads.
The Chapel of the Last TollNextWhen the bell falls silent, the party returns to Greyfen to face the consequences of its choice.
Behind it
What people believe
A village's old protective ward is failing after the bell of a sealed chapel rings for the first time in twelve years.
The reeve hires the party to retrieve the bell-clapper and stop the fog from reaching Greyfen. A local bellmaker believes the toll may be connected to his missing sister.
Background
The Shroudbound are people who have survived contact with the Veil, a supernatural fog that gathers around old roads and forgotten places.
Their powers and customs vary by setting; for this adventure, the Shroudbound are treated as a custom character class whose members can sense or manipulate traces of the Veil. The adventure does not assume any particular rules for those abilities.
The stakes
If the party fails to act, the Veil crosses the marsh and reaches Greyfen, endangering residents and weakening the boundary between the village and the supernatural world.
The party's choice also determines the fate of Tomas's sister and whether the Hushed Prior remains bound.
Encounters
2The Causeway That Moves
Combat or avoidable hazard
A narrow stone causeway crossing marsh water, with broken pillars, patches of sucking mud, and fog that obscures sight beyond a few paces.
Foes
Veil-wisps
Drowned Waykeeper
ComplicationWhen the bell rings, the causeway stones shift and any exposed flame gutters out. Characters can steady the route, shelter the flame, or press on at added risk.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused party, use only the Veil-wisps and let the Waykeeper be bargained with or avoided. For a larger or tougher party, add a second Waykeeper or make the wisps return after each bell toll.
The Chapel of the Last Toll
Combat, negotiation, or ritual challenge
A ruined chapel with a cracked bell tower, collapsed pews, hanging ropes, and a central aisle split by a widening veil of mist.
Foes
The Hushed Prior
Bell-Riven Shades
ComplicationThe bell's sound briefly gives the Hushed Prior control of the chapel's doors. The party can interrupt the toll, protect the bell, or use its resonance to weaken the spirit.
ScalingFor a gentler finale, use the Prior alone and make the shades a nonlethal obstacle. For a harder finale, add shades or have the Prior change position whenever the bell rings. Shroudbound abilities may reveal or disrupt the spirit's connection, as appropriate to the character's custom rules.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, village reeve
WantsRecover the chapel's bell-clapper before the village's protective ward fails, while keeping the frightened villagers from fleeing.
“The bell rang once from the sealed chapel. Nothing inside should be able to ring it.”
Iven Sorn
Ally, retired trail guide
WantsHelp the party cross the Veil safely, but conceal that she once guided a Shroudbound expedition to the chapel.
“The fog remembers every name spoken near it. Best not give it yours.”
Tomas Rill
Witness and wildcard, local bellmaker
WantsFree his sister, whose voice is bound inside the chapel bell, even if doing so releases the presence haunting the place.
“I did not steal the bell. I answered it. There is a difference.”
The Hushed Prior
Antagonist, Veil-bound spirit
WantsUse the bell's resonant power to escape its confinement and spread the Veil beyond the chapel.
“A promise is a door. You opened this one. Now let me through.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A veilglass shard that clouds one small reflective surface when held; its exact game effect is for the GM to define.
The chapel bell-clapper, which can serve as a focus for custom Shroudbound features or as evidence of the binding.
On a win
The party resolves the chapel's immediate threat and returns with the clapper, a credible account of what happened, or another means of protecting Greyfen.
The village ward steadies, though the consequences depend on whether the Prior was released, renewed, or defeated.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The bell-clapper is not recovered in time.
- If the party cannot reach the chapel before the ward expires, the Veil spreads into the village outskirts. The villagers evacuate, and future travel nearby becomes hazardous.
- The party breaks the bell or collapses the tower without first addressing the voice bound within it.
- If the party destroys the bell without resolving the spirit's bond, the Hushed Prior escapes as a weaker but mobile presence. Tomas's sister remains missing.
- Tomas's request for help is rejected or ignored.
- If the party abandons Tomas or leaves his sister bound, he steals the clapper after the adventure and attempts the release alone, creating a new crisis.
Complications (d6)
- 1A low fog bank divides the group; each separated character hears a trusted companion calling from a different direction.
- 2The chapel bell rings once without being touched, and every nearby light goes out for one minute.
- 3A frightened villager arrives at the trailhead and insists on accompanying the party, carrying a lantern that attracts Veil-wisps.
- 4The old causeway shifts beneath the fog. The party must find a new route or spend time securing a safe crossing.
- 5Tomas recognizes a mark on the chapel door and reveals that Mara ordered it sealed years ago.
- 6A character's shadow briefly moves on its own, pointing toward the bell tower and repeating a phrase that character has not yet spoken.
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