The Names Beneath the Black Mound
The Names Beneath the Black Mound
Read aloud
A lantern burns at the entrance to the Black Mound Crypt, though no one in Dunmarsh admits to lighting it. Archivist Meret Vale offers payment to recover a stolen bronze nameplate before the voices beneath the hill call more people inside. Sella Rook says her brother is still down there.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Locate the stolen bronze nameplate.
- 2Discover what happened to Tovin.
- 3Resolve the crypt's disturbance.
- 4Retrieve the burial ledger.Optional
The clock
After each major delay, the black water rises another few inches and the voices grow clearer. After three delays, the lowest passage floods and the inner vault's guardian awakens, whether or not the party has reached it.
Scenes
- 0:00The Lantern at the Door
- 0:25Dust and Footsteps
- 1:10The Silent Aisle
- 2:00A Voice Through Stone
- 2:35The Nameplate's Place
Cast
- Archivist Meret ValeQuestgiver and ally
- Sella RookWitness and potential ally
- Orin PellAntagonist and wildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At dusk, Meret waits beside the crypt's entrance with a shuttered lantern and a map copied from a damaged ledger. Sella stands nearby, refusing to leave until someone agrees to search for Tovin. The entrance stones are open, and from below comes the faint sound of a bell struck once.
How Archivist Meret Vale asks
Meret posts a modest reward at the Dunmarsh archive, then waits at the crypt entrance with a hand-drawn map.
She is careful to explain that the nameplate must be handled gently, but avoids claiming she knows what it does.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
25 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Lantern at the Door
The lantern-lit entrance to the Black Mound Crypt at the edge of Dunmarsh.
Meret offers the job, Sella explains Tovin's disappearance, and the party chooses what supplies or information to secure before entering.
NextThe party descends through the open stone doors into the crypt's upper passage.
0:25
45 min
exploration
2. Dust and Footsteps
The upper crypt, a sequence of narrow halls, burial niches, and a flooded side channel.
The party follows scavenger traces through burial niches, handles unstable passages, and finds signs that someone has been reading names aloud. They may discover Tovin's dropped tool or hear his whistle.
NextA trail of fresh ash leads to the central burial aisle, where the tomb guardians block the way.
1:10
50 min
combat
3. The Silent Aisle
The central burial aisle, lined with sarcophagi and crossed by a cracked floor.
The guardians challenge the party. Players can fight, retreat, restore order through ritual or careful handling of the dead, or use what they learn about the nameplate.
The Silent AisleNextBeyond the aisle, the party finds a side passage toward the inner vault and hears Orin arguing with someone who is not there.
2:00
35 min
skill
4. A Voice Through Stone
A collapsed record chamber beside the lower passage.
The party learns that Tovin is trapped behind a stone fall in a side chamber. Freeing him requires clearing rubble or finding a hidden release, while the rising black water threatens to close off the route.
NextTovin, if rescued, points the party toward the inner vault and warns that Orin took the nameplate there.
2:35
60 min
social
5. The Nameplate's Place
The circular inner vault, where the sealed sarcophagus stands beneath the inscription of the Veyr dynasty.
Orin has the plate near the inner plinth. The party can negotiate, take it by force, or choose another way to settle the crypt. Breaking the seal risks awakening the ancestor.
The Broken SealNextThe party exits to Dunmarsh with the consequences of their decision, while the final silence or stirring from beneath the hill sets up any future adventure.
Behind it
What people believe
A bronze nameplate has been stolen from the Black Mound Crypt, and strange voices have begun to draw people toward the old tombs.
Archivist Meret Vale seeks a capable group to recover the plate, investigate the disturbance, and search for Tovin Rook, a scavenger who has gone missing inside. The crypt is unstable, its guardians may be active, and the party will have to decide how to deal with whoever took the plate.
Background
The Black Mound Crypt was built beneath a hill of slag-black stone to contain the remains of the Veyr dynasty.
Its sealed lower vaults were designed to keep the dead quiet, not to protect them from grave robbers. For generations, the nearby settlement of Dunmarsh has left a lantern burning at the mound's entrance in remembrance of the dead.
The stakes
If the nameplate remains missing, the crypt's ward weakens and the dead become increasingly active.
If the party mishandles the plate or breaks the inner seal, the Veyr founder may begin reaching beyond the crypt. Tovin's life and Dunmarsh's trust are also at risk.
Encounters
2The Silent Aisle
Combat or avoidable confrontation
A narrow stone aisle runs between rows of sarcophagi. Loose lids provide cover, while a cracked floor over a burial pit can give way under heavy movement.
Foes
2 to 4 Ashbound Wardens
1 Mourning Bell Sentinel
ComplicationThe tomb guardians attack anyone who crosses the central burial aisle while the bronze nameplate is absent. Returning the plate to its plinth or speaking the names of the dead aloud can pause the assault long enough to negotiate or withdraw.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use 2 Wardens and omit the Sentinel. For a larger or more capable party, add 2 Wardens and let the Sentinel ring the bell once each round to draw another Warden from an adjoining tomb.
The Broken Seal
Social confrontation with optional combat
The inner vault is a circular chamber with a waist-high plinth, a sealed sarcophagus, and a narrow ledge above a dark sump. The bronze nameplate fits into a slot in the plinth.
Foes
Orin Pell
1 Griefbound Ancestor, if the inner seal is broken
ComplicationIf the party attacks Orin, he knocks over a lantern, starting a fire among old funeral wrappings. If they bargain with him, he reveals the mechanism that seals the inner vault, but demands safe passage and a share of the recovered treasure.
ScalingOrin is a dangerous but ordinary opponent, not a major combatant. For a low-threat resolution, the ancestor remains dormant unless the party disturbs its sarcophagus. For a higher-threat climax, the ancestor rises as the fire spreads.
Cast
3Archivist Meret Vale
QuestgiverQuestgiver and ally
WantsRecover the crypt's stolen nameplate before the dead are disturbed further, and preserve the burial records entrusted to her care.
“Bring the bronze nameplate back intact. The names matter more than the metal.”
Sella Rook
Witness and potential ally
WantsFind her missing brother, Tovin, who entered the crypt with a group of scavengers and has not returned.
“I heard the stone breathe. Then I heard my brother answer from below.”
Orin Pell
Antagonist and wildcard
WantsEscape the crypt with the stolen nameplate and conceal that he knowingly opened the lower vault.
“I only took what was already buried. The voices started after I read the names aloud.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Meret's hand-drawn map of the upper crypt
A silvered funeral lantern that stays lit in ordinary wind
Optional: the recovered burial ledger, which can reveal a secret passage or a future expedition lead
On a win
The party recovers or deliberately resolves the fate of the bronze nameplate, learns what became of Tovin, and returns from the crypt with enough evidence to calm Dunmarsh.
If the plate is restored, the guardians fall silent and the entrance lantern burns steadily again. Meret pays the agreed reward, though the crypt's deeper secret remains a threat if the ward is disturbed again.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot restore the nameplate or settle the guardians before withdrawing.
- The crypt's guardians awaken fully and begin to leave the mound at night, forcing Dunmarsh to organize a defense and making future access much harder.
- The party fails to locate or rescue Tovin before the lower passages flood or collapse.
- Tovin is lost beneath the crypt, and Sella blames the party. She may still provide information later, but will not willingly assist them.
- The party allows Orin to leave the crypt with the stolen nameplate.
- Orin escapes with the nameplate and sells it to an unknown collector, leaving the crypt unstable and creating a future rival or pursuit.
Complications (d6)
- 1A wave of cold air snuffs all unshielded flames. Until the party relights a light source, moving through the crypt requires careful navigation.
- 2A cracked ceiling drops a slab across the easiest passage, forcing the party to clear rubble or take a narrow, less familiar route.
- 3A dead voice calls one character by a childhood name and asks them to open a sealed tomb. The voice grows louder if ignored, but opening it releases a swarm of grave moths.
- 4Sella recognizes Tovin's whistle from beyond a sealed wall. Reaching him requires finding the wall's hidden release before the sound stops.
- 5A black-water channel rises suddenly, separating the party and carrying loose gear toward a flooded shaft.
- 6Orin's dropped satchel spills a page bearing one character's name among the crypt's burial records, though that character is alive.
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