The Bell Beneath the Reeds
The Bell Beneath the Reeds
Read aloud
At dusk, a bell tolls beneath the marsh, though the chapel tower has been empty for a century. By morning, three pale figures stand in the village shallows, repeating the names carved on the doors of Reedbed Crypt. Reeve Sella Marr offers a reward to anyone who can enter the flooded tomb and bring back its warding bell.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Enter Reedbed Crypt and locate the source of the bell's silence.
- 2Prevent the dead from spilling out of the crypt.
- 3Resolve Tovin's personal quest and learn whose names the crypt was built to hide.Optional
The clock
After each major delay, failed hazard, or extended rest, advance the flood and the dead's activity. After three advances, the pale dead reach the village shallows; after five, they enter the lowest homes unless the party has restored or replaced the ward.
Scenes
- 0:00A Toll Below the Water
- 0:20The Sunken Threshold
- 0:55The Names Beneath the Reeds
- 1:35The Crown's Promise
- 2:30What the Village Remembers
Cast
- Sella MarrQuestgiver
- Tovin ReedAlly
- Lady Orra VeyAntagonist
- Nim FenWitness
The hook
Set the scene
Sella Marr meets the party on the chapel causeway at dusk. Below, the marsh water is unnaturally still, and a single bell tolls from somewhere underground. Nim Fen, wrapped in a borrowed blanket, insists that the figures in the shallows used the voices of the dead. Sella asks the party to recover the warding bell before nightfall, while Tovin offers to guide them through the submerged entrance.
How Sella Marr asks
Sella approaches the party through the marsh reeve's office or at the chapel causeway, offers an upfront travel stipend, and asks them to bring the bell back intact.
She is brisk and practical, but becomes evasive if asked why some names on the crypt doors were chiseled away.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
20 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Toll Below the Water
The chapel causeway above the reed-choked marsh at dusk.
Establish the threat and give the party a choice of guide and entrance. Nim provides an eyewitness warning; Tovin can point out the drainage channel.
NextWhen the party chooses an approach, take them to the exposed crypt entrance or the submerged drainage channel.
0:20
35 min
exploration
2. The Sunken Threshold
The chapel's sunken undercroft and the first waterlogged passage of Reedbed Crypt.
The party navigates the flooded approach, identifies the crypt's old ward marks, and chooses whether to use the unstable stairs or clear the drainage channel.
The Flooded ProcessionalNextThe carved lineage marks and Tovin's family sign lead into the chamber of names.
0:55
40 min
skill
3. The Names Beneath the Reeds
A circular chamber where water laps against name-carved pillars and stone plinths.
Give the party a chance to avoid fighting by reading the names, locating Tovin's family mark, or offering the Keepers a respectful burial rite. This is where the party can discover evidence of erased names.
The Names Beneath the ReedsNextA hidden channel beneath the marked plinths opens toward the deepest ossuary.
1:35
55 min
social
4. The Crown's Promise
The lower ossuary beneath a cracked dome, where the bronze reed crown rests above a sealed sluice.
The party reaches the crown and confronts Orra. She explains her demand if treated as a person; violence remains possible, but the party can negotiate, restore the bell, or choose another solution.
The Crown's PromiseNextThe party's choice determines whether they return with the bell, leave a new ward in place, or face a final escape through the rising water.
2:30
25 min
social
5. What the Village Remembers
The causeway and reeve's office after dawn, with the marsh water beginning to recede.
Resolve the escape and show the immediate effects of the party's choice. Let them decide what to tell Sella and whether to carry Tovin's brother's remains home.
NextEnd on the village's response or use an open-ended hook to continue the campaign.
Behind it
What people believe
A century ago, the warding bell of Reedbed Crypt was lost when the old chapel sank into the marsh.
With the entrance newly exposed by floods, the crypt's dead have begun to stir. Reeve Sella Marr hires the party to recover the bell or find another way to restore the wards before the dead reach the village.
Background
Reedbed Crypt was built beneath a drowned chapel to hold the remains of the marshland rulers of House Vey.
Generations ago, the crypt's warding bell was removed and replaced with a bronze reed crown, whose steady vibration kept the dead asleep. Recent floods have exposed the entrance, and the bell's silence has let the old wards weaken.
The stakes
If the wards fail, the restless dead will reach the village.
If the party restores the old order without question, the names and injustice hidden in the crypt remain buried. If they expose the truth or bargain with Orra, they may prevent further harm but destabilize the village's political order.
Encounters
3The Flooded Processional
Combat or bypass
A long burial hall with knee-deep black water, toppled stone bier platforms, hanging reed roots, and narrow dry ledges. A broken funerary screen provides cover but can topple if shoved.
Foes
2 Reedbound Keepers
1 Drowned Herald
ComplicationThe water rises during the confrontation. At the end of each exchange or round, the GM can make a safe tile inaccessible or force combatants to reposition.
ScalingFor a small or inexperienced party, use one Reedbound Keeper and let the Drowned Herald withdraw when wounded. For a large or experienced party, add two Reedbound Keepers and have the water rise faster.
The Names Beneath the Reeds
Combat, social, or stealth
A round chamber with name-carved pillars, cracked tiles, and four waist-high plinths. One plinth bears Tovin's family mark; disturbing it triggers a burst of cold water from the wall.
Foes
3 Reedbound Keepers
ComplicationIf the party breaks a ward stone, the dead become harder to contain; if they repair or honor it, the Keepers pause long enough to negotiate or retreat.
ScalingFor a small party, use two Keepers and make the third a dormant guardian that can be distracted. For a large party, the Keepers coordinate to drive characters toward the flooded floor.
The Crown's Promise
Social or combat
A sunken ossuary beneath a cracked dome. A narrow central dais holds the bronze reed crown, and carved channels connect it to a sealed sluice. The party can reach the crown by wading, climbing the pillars, or opening the sluice.
Foes
Lady Orra Vey, bound spirit
ComplicationLady Orra's spirit is anchored to the crown. She cannot be permanently harmed while it remains on the altar, but each attempt to seize it intensifies the room's flood and awakens the dead.
ScalingFor a less experienced party, Orra focuses on bargaining and uses only one environmental hazard at a time. For a more experienced party, add two spectral attendants or have the chamber flood more quickly. A respectful agreement can end the confrontation without a fight.
Cast
4Sella Marr
QuestgiverQuestgiver, marsh reeve
WantsWants the warding bell recovered before the crypt's dead begin wandering into nearby homes.
“Bring back the little bell. If the crypt asks you a question, do not answer with your name.”
Tovin Reed
Ally, local guide and former crypt keeper
WantsWants to recover her brother's remains and put them to rest, even if that means defying Sella's orders.
“The water is listening. Keep your voices low, and it may let us pass.”
Lady Orra Vey
Antagonist, the crypt's bound spirit
WantsSeeks to keep the bronze reed crown in the crypt and make the village acknowledge the injustice behind House Vey's burial rites.
“The crown is not a bell. It is a promise, and the living broke it first.”
Nim Fen
Witness, shaken survivor found near the crypt entrance
WantsWants to warn the party and prove she did not abandon her missing companions.
“I heard the bell beneath the water. It was calling my name, but it used my mother's voice.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A dry-wrapped lantern taken from the chapel storehouse
One useful personal keepsake from the crypt, such as a signet ring, sealed letter, or carved reed charm, if the party earns permission to take it
On a win
The crypt's dead settle, the immediate threat to the village passes, and the party returns with a solution: the recovered bell, a repaired ward, or an agreement with Lady Orra.
The outcome of Tovin's family quest and the village's response to the crypt's history depend on what the party chose to reveal.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party leaves without recovering the warding bell or resolving the crypt's claim on the dead.
- The marsh reeve seals the entrance and forbids further expeditions. The village loses time and trust, and the party must seek another way in.
- The party destroys the crown or breaks its warding channels without replacing the bell or reaching an agreement with Orra.
- The wards fail completely. Drowned dead begin appearing on the village causeway, and Sella must evacuate the lowest homes.
- The party abandons the expedition after Tovin commits to helping them, or leaves him in danger during a rising flood.
- Tovin remains behind to hold a passage open or recover the remains, becoming trapped in the crypt until the party returns.
Complications (d6)
- 1A reed-choked drain suddenly reverses flow, raising the water in the current room by a foot. The party has a short window to lift packs and protect exposed tinder or papers.
- 2A pale voice from behind a sealed stone door calls one character by a childhood nickname. Answering gives Lady Orra a clearer sense of that character's location.
- 3A carpet of leeches clings to the lowest steps. Crossing without preparation costs time and leaves a visible trail of blood that nearby crypt guardians can follow.
- 4A rusted sluice gate drops halfway across the passage. The party must force it, find its counterweight, or crawl through a narrow gap while water surges beneath it.
- 5A burial niche opens as the floor shifts, releasing a cloud of choking grave-mold. Anyone who stays in the room must retreat, cover their face, or accept the effects chosen for the game system.
- 6The warding bell rings once from somewhere ahead, though no one has touched it. Every undead creature in the crypt moves toward the sound, including those the party has not yet encountered.
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