Hadestown

The Isle of the Dead

Out on the lake furthest from civilisation, there is a perpetual fog, and squatting in the centre of it is the Isle of the Dead. They say that the spirits of the departed haunt the fog and they are only partially wrong. Many of the dead transition to the underworld here, but they all must pass the Gatesman.

The approach is quiet like thunder isn't.

He lurks at the mouth of the tunnel, passed the trees, passed the other side doors down. Like a statue, draped in stone cloths, he stands in constant vigil, shepherding the souls of the dead down the tunnel. The living however, he stops, and tells that; "THE PRICE OF ENTRY, IS TWO OBOLS." If questioned about this, all he will elaborate on is that "THE LIVING ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TRULY SEE THE CITY OF THE DEAD".

If the price is paid, the Gatesman will place the coins on the eyes of the entrants, and they will affix there, the eyes on the coin opening, and they will be permitted to pass. From this point on, the entrant can see as if through a thick, misty rain; all desaturated, grainy, and colourless. When they leave, the Obols will melt into mist from their eyes, and their sight shall be restored.

If they ever remove the Obols while they remain within the threshold of the Gatesman's door, their own eyes will melt from their head, as the Obol's eyes burst into sepia flame and scream.

And how do you get Obols you may ask?
In the dungeon of course.

The Dungeon

Long ago, the King of the Dead built his town and took his queen, who took umbrage at her imprisonment over a few pomegranate seeds. She sent beast after beast to take their life of her husband, but Kerberos, the Hound of Many Heads, denied her many times. Each beast was taken above, and then below again to be left in the Dungeons under the Isle of the Dead.

Dungeon Levels

There are nine levels of the dungeon. They begin civilised enough, covered in frescoes and ornate architecture. As you get deeper the carvings become rougher, the artwork daubed by hand, and older things crawl up from the darkness.

Each level is the prison of one specific demon-beast that sort to slay the Lord of Hadestown, though various other creatures and beings have crawled into its darkness or have been imprisoned down there with them.

Its a good thing they never made another one of these.
But also this is what the dungeon looks like. Like this movie.

1 - The Labyrinth 

Form: Twisting and Writhing Halls, they never seem to stay the same for long. Prisoner: Minos, the Man-Bull

2 - The Cathedral of Bones

Form: A great holy city under one great vaulted roof. All the walls are covered and ornamented by bones. Prisoner: Tiresias, the Necromancer-Oracle

3 - The Forest of Roots

Form: A classic dungeon, only roots grow through many of the walls and choke many of the tunnels. Prisoner: The Hekatonkhieres  

4 - Scrambletown

Form: A simple, mud-brick town, but the floor is covered in shattered stone statues. Prisoner: The Gorgon. 

5 - Pandaemonium

Form: A great, many-ringed city with many gates of horn and ivory. Many things that are not real wander here. Prisoner: The Oneiroi, the Demons of Dream.

6 - The Pit

Form: A Shaft, dropping far, far away into the darkness. Worm-tunnels riddle its sides. Prisoner: Artemis, cursed to fall down the shaft over and over forever and ever.

7 - The Helix Fortress

Form: A curling, ribbed tunnel, twining deeper and deeper. Prisoner: Nautilus, the Murderer-Mariner.

8 - The Bleakling Sea

Form: A vast calcite cavern, dominated by a huge and eternally still under-sea. Prisoner: Typhon, father of Serpents. [Kerberos' loyalty extends even deeper than family it seems.]

9 - The Darkest Prison

Form: Only a black and lightless hole in the world. Prisoner: the Treacherous Queen of Hadestown. [Even the patience of the Lord of the Dead is not infinite.]

On each level, a few scant Obols can be covered, enough for your party I'm sure. Each time they return, they must venture deeper.

The Descent

Once you have paid your price and covered your eyes with the currency of the dead, you can begin your journey down into the darkness. Follow the tunnel for 3 days, eat nothing, drink nothing, ignore the scratches at your belly, they are only your body unsure about where it is. Grope through the shadows until finally you emerge in the great cavern beneath. Step onto the boat, pay as little attention to the boatman as you can, and wait for the journey to be over. Look up, step up onto the dock, and gaze upon Hadestown.

Hadestown

It is built upon a great sphere of stone, supposedly a mile in diameter, though only a thousand feet or so poke above the water, a cold dome upon which a mad jigsaw, mish-mash, building-block city constructed upon the dome.
Soft candle-light illuminates parts of the town gently, like a soft luminous mist. The buildings grow both in luxury and repair as you rise up the dome. A cancerous mass of ruined building clings ungratefully to the edge of the dome, partially eaten by the deep black sea. It is all topped with a palace, measured well with spleandour and melancholy.

This is Hadestown.

There are few views to the sky in the streets of Hadestown.
They have forgotten the Stars.

The streets are claustrophobic and layered like string, few places are open to the sky, save the forums where the diviners search endlessly and desperately for stars. Fires provide a soft light, though it is muted by the Obol-Eyes you must wear.

The water laps softly against the edges of the island, and the few edges that aren't built up are blistered with fisherman dangling fruitless lines into the black waters.

The Town is split into three districts, built one atop the others, dependant on their altitude. Some try to bring themselves into higher districts by building their houses taller and taller to breach into more prestigious heights and construct bridges to connect them to their new neighbours. Rarely are these towers not torn down.

The Three Districts are Tartarus, Asphodel, and Elysium.

Tartarus

The lowest of the Districts and the closest to the water. Here are the dead who arrived with their two Obols and little else. Sometimes inhuman things uncoil from the waters are pluck them from the wharfs and streets and pull them soundlessly under the surface. No-one cares, not even Tartarans. 

The streets are slow and dark, they reek of damp and dust. They say the cobbles were cut from the bones of titans. 

Very little of interest happens in Tartarus, which is exactly why the few illicit activities that do happen in Hadestown happen here. There are a few gangs of itinerant souls once led by five particularly sinister Souls, who now languish in the Phlegethon.

The other point of note in Tartarus is Cocytus, the purgatory slum.

Phlegethon

Of the four great houses of Hadestown, Phlegethon is the most dreaded by its people. Consisting of a wide and flat main body, much of its structure lies below the surface of the dome (more so than most buildings in Hadestown. These under-levels eventually constrict and separate into 5 anti-spires, delving deeper and deeper before terminating in the 5 prisons of the Conspirators, who led the people of Tartarus against the Lord of the Dead in the Traitor Queen's name. They are suspended by the neck in vats of boiling, burning blood. 

Their names have been forgotten, but this much is remembered:

The Prisoners

One had an eye that could see the past, and one that could see the future. [They have been plucked out and are kept pointed back at themselves, all they can see is the eternal suffering they will experience, past and future.]

One had a voice whose commands had to be obeyed. [They are gagged, but in truth, any command given must be given, no matter how it is relayed. This face has been hidden well.] 

One had hands that could not be resisted or restrained. [This one stumped the Judges of Hadestown for some time, until they created a pool whose edges could not be gripped and threw them in, so that they could never pull themselves free of the pool.]

One had feet who could carry them quicker than the wind. [They were hung by the hands in a wide pool whose edges could not be reached from the centre, but they needn't have worried. The power lies in their sandals, which are hidden in their old home on the waterfront.]

And one had much knowledge of the three Great Arts. [It is said that they have been left in their pool to suffer; but the Judges of Hadestown cut a deal with them. They can live secretly in peace in Elysium with the Judges if they copy all their knowledge into three great tomes. They accepted without hesitation.]

The Jailor of the Phlegethon is a fractal being forged from many, many overlapping souls of great commanders and expert archers, forced into one multi-faceted thing. It stalks through the hallways, thundering steps echoing from its single pair of feet, many ears listening through its single set. When intruders are discovered (which only happens rarely) many arms draw back many bowstrings, though only one arrow is loosed.

But with that many experts aiming and firing it, it never misses.
And with as many minds formulating and concocting strategies, it is all but impossible to outsmart it to.

It can out act you in almost every way, but there is only one of it.

And it still dies like a man does.

Cocytus

A festering scab of hovels and fire-pits clinging desperately onto the dome, here lurk the few that Charon didn't take across the waters. Once it was a great house of the dome, but it slid, slowly and achingly into the water, and its ancient hallways still make up the foundation of this water-logged despond. It is partially submerged into the black sea, like its inhabitants, for they are not permitted to walk upon the dome. They did not pay their price.

Everything is wet, and cold, and miserable. No-one wanted to be here, many did not deserve to, but they had no obols. If you could give them a pair, they could pay the ferryman and step upon the dry ground again.

But who of any actual worth would end up here?

In fact, a few important people do end up in Cocytus for various reasons, especially adventurers and warriors. It takes a good deal of effort to find any of them. Shades in Hadestown generally keep to themselves, or their social circles if they ever form them. They also look a lot alike, especially when you're wearing your obols, but they really don't like it being brought up.

In particular, there are three places in Cocytus that shades tend to congregate; the Dive, the Crush, and the Vice.

The Dive is about as miserable a bar as you could ever find. Even more dissolute that normal spirits stretch themselves thin beyond thin, and no-one is even drunk, just depressed and  pretending. Its quite obnoxious. It is run by an especially spiteful shade by the name of Ixion. He can tell you the names and sins of each of his patrons, and has a book of grudges that any particular patron has built up against him.

The Crush is what passes for a market here. Shades with nets hook and snatch up the scraps that tumble off the dome and peddle them, shouting to swap and barter for other things, like tickets to be spent in the Dive or the Vice. No-one has anything of worth, they just trade shit round and round.

The Vice is as close to a brothel as incorporeal, miserable beings can manage, mashing ghosts and writhing spectres. They are all deluded, and its the only thing that stops many of them fading away completely, such is their desperation. 

You could also descend under the water into the ruins of the old house, where it is said that many treasures still lie. You don't need to ask about much to hear many more tales of the dangers that lurk in the black sea.

Asphodel

The largest and most mediocre district of Hadestown. Grey and cold, but not so much so as Tartarus of course. The streets are not quite ruined, but they are certainly close to it. Fabrics even survive here a time, and craftsman make objects that do not succumb to the weight of years after a matter of hours. Shades wander the streets, make small talk, and even eat together. Life is somewhat normal here. Somewhat.

Here are the great houses of Lethe, and Acheron. 

Lethe

This is the house of forgetting, a bar of some notoriety in Hadestown. Here, many, many souls come to be even more dissolute than normal, sometimes to the point of fading away entirely. Its like the Dive, but classier, and set in the dusty shell, refurbished many times over the millenia, of an old and noble house. Ancient Frescoes peel away from the wall as drinks cups are manufactured from ancient jars and flower pots.

Occasionally, balls are hosted by the proprietor, Mighty Lord Eschataloc, who claims to be the best friend you will ever meet, insist on becoming the first person you meet, and is far too comfortable grabbing strangers by the shoulder as her pushes dead drinks on them. He desires to be everyone's friend and have as many links to the world as he can, so that he can delay his fading away. All his friendships are shallow and artificial, and he can't for the death of him figure out why.

Acheron

The fighting pits of Acheron are some of the best entertainment in Hadestown, if simply for the reason that here the shades which frequent it can genuinely be said to be having a good time.

There are 7 pits in all; three are for shade versus shade bouts, three for shade versus beast bouts, and one basically always empty pit. The beasts are generally abducted from the dungeon above, and the living can (sometimes) be paid handsomely for catches that will put on a good show in the pits.

The pay is in relics of older ages, so value is not always consistent, let alone guaranteed.

The final pit is almost always empty because your opponent in the final pit is the owner of the Acheron, Axis. Axis is bad news.

He stands about 12 feet tall, and is wreathed in terrible flames, and crowned with many horns, and has many arms ringed about him, at least, when he doesn't want to be civil about things. His head is also a skull most of the time. Axis organises the fights, and occasionally asks favours of those who do particularly well. Very few are not friendly with Axis (not to his face at least) and his connections make Mighty Lord Eschataloc of House Lethe quite, quite jealous. 

Elysium

As good as it gets in Hadestown. The buildings are actually cared for (often by souls from Tartarus who are bullied into doing it), and the streets are clear of rubble, even the back streets. The tea houses have comforting candle glows, and here, you might almost forget you're dead.

Almost.

In Elysium is the last of the great houses, Styx.

Styx

The final great house, it is something of a temple, something of a gathering place. One thing about it in particular stands out, while within its walls, no harm can befall you, of any kind. Knives will not cut, fires will not burn you, and even hurtful remarks gutter and die in the throat of those that would say them (if the saying would actually cause any offence to any that would hear it). It is a neutral meeting place for the dead and those that would visit them.
It is all presided over by The Dour Dowager, a woman of some startling age, beauty (considering her advancement at least) and cunning. She has little stake in the schemes and politics of her fellow dead, but she does so enjoy knowing about all about it, and is more than happy to trade secrets with those who offer. It is also she that controls the schedule of who can make use of each of the Styx's private rooms, the price often being a piece of juicy, fresh gossip.

The Lord's Palace

There are no records of it, but the Lord of the Dead was overthrown, and his corpse thrown into the black sea. In his place, 3 Judges sit in counsel of Hadestown, and continue the charade of the Lord's rule. His throne sits empty. This is very much secret.

The Three Judges

Mila - A general in life, she is stern, tactical, and imperious. This is also all a facade to ensure that none try to get too close to her. She is haunted by her old comrades.

Rhadaman - A king in life of a small but prosperous realm, brought to ruin in a single night because of a single mistake. Deeply disturbed by his past failings.

Aedriad - A mere beggar in life, long suffering and deeply empathetic, and yet also capable of startling acts of pragmatism in the name of Hadestown.

Together the three run the settlement fairly, if tersely and occasionally brutally. They are not above throwing shades into the lake and not looking back. They would do anything to continue the town's legacy, and their own standing.

The 1001 Nights of the Khilaj Alramaad

Oh the Khilaj Alramaad, the Gulf of Dusts! 

How mighty your dunes, how bright shining your oases!
1 Night is not enough for the wonders of the Desert,
10 Nights is not enough to carry away its treasures,
100 Nights you might live if you know its secrets,
1000 Nights will your bones bleach in the sun if you do not.

Many are the stories of the desert travelers. Many are the nights they have spent beneath uncountable stars, above the uncountable sands, surrounded by unending horizons. They are suffocated by infinities; thus their propensity for tales with endless variations and themes. These are their most famous, their most enduring:

1 - The Cackling Court
2 - Qut, the Wildcat-with-the-fur-studded-with-stars
3 - The Pangopolis
4 - Midrab of the Warm Breeze
5 - Nar, Burning Goat that guards the Oasis
6 - The Grand Council of the Philosopher Mice
7 - The Sand Palace of the Coyote Prince
8 - Tumbletown
9 - Sabaar, the Spiney Sea
10 - Ujuf, Mesa-Castle of the Giant-Lord
11 - The Oasis of Milk and the Trees of Honey
12 - The Glass Fortress of the Djinn King
13 - The Countless Stones
14 - The Khatia, the Mirage-Men
15 - The Ancient Tombs of Lost Theroptera
16 - The Tree of Sorrows
17 - The Tent City of the Scarab-People
18 - The Crocodile's Graveyard
19 - The Locust Knights of Sahandalar
20 - The Mayit, the Dune-Ghouls
21 - Salihafar, the-Turtle-that-grows-Dunes-on-its-back
22 - The Serpent of Bones
23 - Nasir, the Vulture of Mighty Wing-Beat
24 - The Cursed Ahmar, the Cannibal-men of the Valley-Caverns
25 - The Sand-Souled Nomads of the Desert God
26 - The Cavern of 10,000 Wonders
27 - Zerzura, City of the Pillars
28 - The Riddling Beast of the Shadowed Pass
29 - The Desert's Maw
30 - The Fountain of the Sun and the Hanging Gardens of the Moon

1 - The Cackling Court

They appear as Hyenas, first spotted dappled with heat-haze on the crest of a far-off dune. You hear the laughing and smell the rancid dog-smell. They will circle you for many hours, laughing and slobbering at the thought of you. They will scatter if approached, until it is time to strike. They are Hungry-Spirits, manifestations of the Khilaj's endless thirst. Even when they attack, they remain at a distance, and will attack and latch on to stragglers, attempting to drag them away from the group. As their prey are held, the mighty hunger of the spirits drains the life from their flesh, exhausting as if by starvation in minutes. Once two or three of a group are taken, the Court will leave, and feast on the dry and dessicated flesh of the unlucky 'til only bones remain. They will be back for the others too, eventually.

Appearing: 3d4
Special: If the roll includes a double, the pack is lead by a double HD Alpha who projects a withering aura as the Bane spell. If the roll includes a triple, the pack is lead by a triple HD Alpha who also frightens those it grapples.

2 - Qut, the Wildcat-with-the-fur-of-stars

A tiny, fickle thing that loves to dance and cavort under the impossible stars of the Khilaj. To those on whom it takes a liking, it can grant stellar blessings based upon the birth-constellation of the recipient, though it does love itself to receive gifts in return for this, even if the blessing was unasked for. Against those that displease it though, tiny comets will hurtle screaming from its empyreal-furs. It loves to crunch on teeth and suck on eyeballs, and it particularly loves the teeth and eyes of those it likes very much, and those it utterly hates. It also hoards magical items and accouterments, though it avoids such base things as weapons. 

Appearing: Unique

3 - The Pangopolis

A city built into and onto a Pangolin the size of a small hill. Each scale of the Pangolin has been fashioned into a building. Slums are on the tail, waving and wild (and closest to the scent-sacs...). Taverns and Inns rest on the feet for the benefit of travelers and visitors. The Noble quarter lie on the sides of the Pangolin where they can get the most shade. No-one lives on the belly. Government can be found on the head and neck of the Pangolin, because they got there first. Much of the sustenance of the people of the city comes from the taken from the Pangolin's mighty capillaries and distilled into a crimson soup, and also edible scraps taken from the Pangolin's left-overs and leavings. This diet leaves long-term somewhat... strange. The Pangopolis is also the home of Pangolin-Plate, a really quiet excellent medium-weight armour that is wonderfully light and flexible for its hardness.
They say that the master of the Pangopolis lives not in one of the Pangolin's scales, but inside the skull of the Pangolin, and controls not just the laws of the city, but the City and the creature it is built on itself.

4 - Midrab of the Warm Breeze

Actually extremely friendly, though most take it for a monster on first blush, and they are swept away by the dust devils and tornadoes the Bat will summon up with its twirling flight and wings. It has a particular hatred of the Cackling Court, and will often help travelers stalked by them, and strike up a conversation with them once the Hungry-Spirits are driven off. Its roost is high up in a cloud, hollowed out by the Bat, where it keeps a hoard of magical Fire-Gems which it swallows to fuel its breezes and to help keep it buoyant.

Appearing: Unique

5 - Nar, Burning Goat that guards the Oasis

Cursed by the Spirits of the Desert for some ancient infraction, Nar is a Fire-Spirit in the form of a mighty goat the size of a large camel. It guards the Oasis it once defiled, and now cannot enter it on pain of death, a fate which it finds utterly abhorrent. Thusly, it will suffer no others to use the Oasis either. Its Eyes and Horns and Hooves blaze with flames, and when it gallops about in battle, it leaves glass hoof-prints in the sand. If it rears up and smashes its feet into the sand, it creates a deadly storm of broken glass. Needless to say, its charge is flaming death. Its hide is charcoal black, and it radiates such, such heat. It is said that if Nar was to be slain, you could forge metal with only the skin of the goat as your forge. This is so far unsubstantiated of course.

Appearing: Unique

6 - The Grand Council of the Philosopher-Mice

Engaged in an unending symposium in the ruined courtyard of some ancient palace, the Philosopher-Mice are determined to unknot the mysteries of the universe. Divided in roughly equal numbers between Mathematicians, Proto-Scientists, Alchemists, Physicians, Antiquarians, and Pure Philosophers, they chug away at their 'Micron Opus' which they say will lay bear every possible secret there could possibly be, by elucidating the very foundational aspects of reality, and thus by addition, literally all there can ever be. They will explain their thesis at great length to any who will listen, though at this point, few do. The Philosopher-Mice are generally genuinely friendly, though they quickly tire of those who can't "keep up". They will eagerly trade for food, particularly fine wine, but they only pay in "knowledge and gratitude". This has all resulted in them gaining a reputation as pretentious pricks. They could be persuaded to use their various skills and knowledge for you, if you can convince them your cause is "worthy" (though this is regularly supplemented, or even replaced, by decent donations).

7 - The Sand Palace of the Coyote Prince

The Coyote Prince (who is too beautiful for such a base thing as a name) is a Spirit of Beauty and Hospitality. Its mighty palace is opulent in the extreme, jewels and treasures of the desert intergrated into the sandstone walls with the uttermost taste and sense of art, and the Courtiers and Attendants of the Prince spend much of their time ensuring they and the palace are as beautiful as possible. The Coyote Prince itself will gladly receive visitors, and offer them incredible hospitality. Somewhat because of its beauty, and somewhat because of its spirit-magics, it is all but impossible to refuse the its requests, should it wish it so. Flattery however, is said to get you a long way with it, and there are many tales of those who have escaped the geas of the Coyote Prince through tactical compliments and excuses. The palace is guarded on all sides by Pack-Patrols of 2d6 Coyotes, and the Coyote Prince itself is always attended by a double-size pack.

Appearing: Unique + Coyote Guards (see description)

8 - Tumbletown

The Monks who Dwell in the Dojo of the Ever-Spinning Earth bear but 3.14 rules.
1st: He who ceases movement must die [Spiritually speaking at least].
2nd: He who cannot accept the flow of the world must die [Again, spiritually speaking].
3rd: He who by his efforts, changes the flow of the earth even but slightly, is glorious.
3.14th: You can't change the flow of the earth, the wind however is another matter.
The monk who thought up the 3.14th rule thought he was hilarious. He is not.
The Tumbletown rolls perpetually over the desert, huge, twisted, hollow. Within the titanic tumble-weed, easily 600 feet in diametre, is a spherical Dojo, endlessly jostled and carried about by the Tumble-weed that houses it. To say the day to day life of the Ascetics within is chaotic is an understatement, but one that they are relentlessly accustomed to. They follow an path of accepting enlightenment, being taken where-ever the literal and spiritual winds of their lives take them. A small community has grown up around them, all having to take on the Monk's philosophy to at least a small degree. They don't have much, but donations come in semi-regularly from people hoping to earn some small token of karmic favour from the merciless powers of chance. Some whisper, that within the very deepest heart of the Dojo, is a Pearl that allows power over the very Winds themselves, but locked within an iron trunk to prevent its use, symbolic of the giving up of control the Monk's practice every day. The monks vehemently deny such things of course.

9 - Sabaar, the Spiney Sea

The caldera of some ancient catastrophe, whatever happened left the soil supernaturally fertile, and so it has become totally, utterly overtaken by Cacti. It is a veritable ocean of Cacti, impenetrable (at least practically speaking) to animals. Some sail the surface of the sea on flat-bottomed boats propelled along on metal-shod poles. They seek out the very largest cacti to harvest their huge spines, and to pump out the water they store within. The bravest, or most foolish, seek the heart of the Spined Sea to find the storied ruins of the city, or perhaps temple, whose people caused the Sea to rise in ancient days. At least one wizard has carved their tower out of a large Cactus, and so-called Spinestown hangs the spines of a truly titanic Cactus, guarded by huge Ballistae. Though, it isn't all fun and games.
Boars the size of houses are said to roam the distant floor of the Sea in its deepest sections, unphased by the cacti's spines. They crunch on the Cacti, which spells doom for rafts that happen to be perched on them at the time.
Swarms of hand-sized Lizards, small enough to fit between the spines of the cacti, strip flesh from bone in minutes.
Many-legged monkeys throw crude spine-spears.
Slow and methodical Spider-Giants shoot ropes of webs at their prey to dash them against the spines.
Humming birds will drain the blood from your veins as readily as they drain the water from the Cacti they perch on.
And most veterans agree something worse haunts the very nadir of the Sea, though none of them can agree on what it actually is.

10 - Ujuf, Mesa-Castle of the Giant-Lord

Long ago, when the Giants fled Old Fomoria, one of their number, counted mighty among them, eventually settled in the Khilaj, and became a mighty Robber-Baron of the sands. Now though, he is dead and rotting, slain by a coalition of mighty heroes. It is said that in his might, he had two heads and four arms and three legs, though now only bones remain. The Castle is still adorned in the finery and memorabilia of the Ancient Home of the Giants, but the Castle is infested with vermin and wandering spirits. The darkest rumours suggest that the Giant-Lord has risen again, but in truth, its bones have been animate and over-taken by a hive-swarm of angry famine spirits, desperate to escape the dead and drained castle. They long for somewhere new and verdant to devour...

Appearing: Unique

11 - The Oasis of Milk and the Trees of Honey

Once a storied and revered sanctuary for wanderers of the desert, it is now a rancid and rotten place. The milk is now a crust of  thick black foam over a thin pool of stinking rot, and the honey that once flowed from the trees is now thick, crusted, and sour. Normally, this corruption would be cleansed by the oasis by its attendant spirits, but they have been chased away by the Defiler Wasps. They are the size of a man's hand, shell-skeletons as hard as ceramic, stings that literally burn. The swarm is hypnotic in its roiling and undulating. They have overtaken the whole oasis, chewing the honey and dumping bodies into the pool of milk. They have formed a huge, cracking and creaking hive in a set of rocks and boulders near the pool. At its heart is the Queen of the Defiler Wasps, a terrible Demon that is growing fat and powerful on the honey. Eventually, she and her swarm will grow huge and numerous enough to assault and destroy the various cities and powers of the Khilaj, and rule it all.

12 - The Glass Fortress of the Djinn King

Sumptuous and Glorious, with many many powers and titles, but also cursedly miserly and paranoid. It will go to any length to avoid granting the many wishes it frequently promises as rewards for services and works it commissions. It is attended and defended by a band of Brass-Clad Fire Giant guardians, and it also has an extensive Seraglio of Water-Nymph Odalisques, who hate him in the cool, indifferent way of their kind. The Djinn King's riches are extensive, well-documented, and exceptionally well defended by magic, magical guardians, and curses. One of its most favoured excuses for not handing out rewards it has promised is that they can only pay out once the (unending and endlessly cyclical) appraisal of its vaults is completed, or that it will grant the wish once its other guest has left, who is certainly due to arrive any moment now! (it always has guests either present, or imminently arriving)

Appearing: Unique + 2d4 Fire Giant Allies + Servantry

13 - The Countless Stones

In a great caldera in the desert, surrounded by high dunes, stands a great monument of concentric and intertwining rings of standing stones, each three times the height of a man. You can see that there are many of them, but if you stop to count them, you will not be able to achieve a satisfactory answer. If you try again, your result will be different again. And again. And again. If you count and count and count, you might be impelled to count forever, and be trapped. Logic does not work here. It is the magic of the spirits that rules here, and it is in their world that you stand now. If you enter the stones and wander their spiral paths, you will find not logic to the paths, and it is only natural that you will become lost. Dreams stalk the corridors of the stones, manifesting shape and potency from your mind. These predatory spirits will seek to slake the hunger of the stones with your blood. If you do traverse the stones though, and if you can overcome the trials of the spirts, you will reach the Place of Meetings, where man and spirit may meet and speak at peace, and powerful spirits at that. At the very heart of the Place of Meetings is the stand that bears that most singular flower, the Nomad's Rose, whose nectar brings knowledge and wisdom to its imbiber. Needless to say, few have ever drunk of it.

14 - The Khatia, the Mirage-Men

They never quite mean to lead to the accidental and tragic death of those they cross paths with, but they don't really go out of their way at all to avoid it, and will happily gather up the now unused trinkets and finery their unwitting prey left behind under pretensions of necessity and expedience. These trinkets and baubles are then disguised by their mirage-magics as being being mere curios and the like. They can be somewhat friendly, (or at least polite) if you can get around their lies, but if you ever call them out on it, they will become defensive in the extreme. No one else in the Khilaj likes the Khatia, they are widely known as massive hypocrites, and rightly so.

Appearing: 2d4

15 - The Ancient Tombs of Lost Theroptera

The old God-Kings of the River-Valleys were rich from the sweat of their willing slaves, and in death, they reviled all gods and powers, and sealed themselves in fortress-tombs of stone; sealed with many guardians and magics, daring death to come and claim them. Death eventually came for them of course, coiling like smoke through the gaps in the sealed gates, slaying guardians with impunity, and unweaving spells with a bony finger like the blade of scissors through soft fabric. Today, the wards still stand, and many guardians yet live, the Pyramid Tomb-Castles of the old Valley-Kings unconquered by any other force. And if all those legends are true, there must also be a King's fortune of gold hidden within as well. Perhaps some of the Ancient Valley Kings even held off death too...

16 - The Tree of Sorrows

Out in the deepest desert, trees are a rare sight. But this one is huge, a good 100 feet tall. Its branches twist up from the thick twisted trunk in writhing spirals like flame. On the lowest branches are hanged men, their spilled guts feeding the tree with blood. Atop each mighty branch, is perched the sun-bleached skull of some untold sinner. Each skull bears a carven sigil, binding with the skull the spirit of the old sinner, forever tortured by the burning sun, and forever compelled to speak truth to those who should ask of them questions. Many bodies are caught in the knots of the trees, having fallen from above, failing to reach the skulls and the truths they can tell. There are further tales that the tree itself is hollow, and inside is the gnarled and broken body of the first sinner, around whom the whole tree has grown; though to investigate this at all and mar the tree with tool to split it apart would result in your hanging and gutting, hung from the tree to rot.

17 - The Tent City of the Scarab-People

A society of semi-sedantry, semi-nomadic farmers; they grow food in mighty balls of manure that they push around the desert from oasis to oasis to prevent the dung-balls from drying out. Mostly they are pretty friendly, at least on the fringes of their Nomad-City. The deeper into the rings of tents and shelters you go, the richer and more hostile the Scarab-People become, and patrols of Scarab-Soldiers patrol the inner circles to keep "undesirables" from getting to the Scarab-Shahs, the rules of the Tent city. There are rumours that the chief of the Shahs is the Scarab-Sultan, but no outsider has been deep enough into the city to confirm or deny this, and many scholars doubt its existance on the grounds of "just because it sounds nice doesn't mean it has to exist" (which in itself is a good insight into fantasy scholarship tbh). The Scarab-People tend mighty desert-millipedes the size of elephants as mounts and livestock, their main source of manure and physical labour, though they will never give up the opportunity to trade for a good source of manure. Some of the Scarab-People are even adventurers themselves, plundering the necropoli and ruins the City passes by for trinkets and treasures that they peddle on the outskirts of the city, where they are most likely to find the outsiders who will buy them. Some humans and other races have established a strange relationship with the Scarab-People, submitting to becoming Man-Cattle, constantly eating to provide manure for the Dung-Farms, caught in a curious state somewhere between guest-friend and farm-animal.

Appearing: Medium City

18 - The Crocodile's Graveyard

A crazy maze of old bones and tents of dried, scaled skin, skeletons between the size of your finger and the size of your house. Tended by the Graveyard's Scaled Priest, who dress themselves in old skins and build houses of memory and veneration out of rib-cages and dried scales. The angriest skeleton-spirits receive offerings of blood upon their old, dry jaws.
Only a few travelers get devoured by restless dead crocodiles each year while coming to try to gain the favour of those very spirits.
A Necromancer has moved in recently, and has been stealing the secrets of the most ancient crocodiles, and marring them with wolf-teeth wounds to prevent the spirits from seeking retribution. The Scale-Priests know of the Necromancer, but they know not where they are. Eventually the Necromancer will be able to use the secrets it takes to become a primal kind of Lich, much as many of the more powerful crocodiles have done, harnessing the power of ancient creatures and powers to live forever, carving its phylactery from a thousand thousand crocodile teeth. If the Necromancer has teeth, it can bind the spirit that once owned them, it has carved many into protective charms, and it has made a pair of ancient jaw-bones into knuckledusters. 

19 - The Locust Knights of Sahandralar

Questing nobles of the Great Democracy of the undying Lands. They only ever refer to their goals as "The Noble Quest!" which has lead to much confusion, as each group has its own different "Great Quest". They are pretty friendly and chivalrous for the most part, though they can be brutal in the extreme if they perceive you as standing between them and their destination. They are chatty and love to sing around campfires in the dimness of evening, though as allies they can be quite mercurial.

Appearing: 2d8, the higher result indicates Knights armed with Lances, the lower indicating Knights armed with Crossbows.

Special: The Lead Lancer has +d3 HD, and is a noted Hero of Sahandralar

20 - The Mayit, the Dune-Ghouls

They were men once, but the treachery of the desert caused their Yellow Humours to rise up in a great torrent, and now they are withered and dry, hungry for fluids. Damage they inflict dessicates the flesh, and the extra water the victim must consume to recover has lead many groups to their death even after their victory over the ghouls, their water supplies proving insufficient after the attack to reach safety. The Dune-Ghouls are cunning ambushers; many hide in the sand, completely buried such they they can burst forth for surprise, and others will steal the arms and armour of their victims in the night before attacking.

Appearing: d4 (exploding result)

21 - Salihafar, the-Turtle-that-grows-Dunes-on-its-back

A Turtle like a mountain, it drags itself slowly through the desert, and dunes grow on it when it rests to sleep, before it awakes, shakes them off like water, and continues on. At least one group of Druids dwell on its Lithic-Shell, sewing stones and nurturing boulders on its back. A group of Ascetic Monks call the Turtle their home too, espousing their vows and the virtues of poverty from the lowly and lonely crags of the shell. The Turtle crunches rock like pigs crunch conkers, though it feeds slowly on the stone. Indeed, so slowly that some might live, grow old, and die without ever knowing the true nature of that mountain beyond the horizon. Currently, it chews on the old, old ruins of some forgotten city, all traces of it slowly slipping down the gullet of the creature. Some peoples have sent men to see what lurks within the vast belly of the beast, and the prospectors that return tell of vast mineral fortunes within the walls of living stone. They also speak of the great terrors that dwell within alongside them...

22 - The Serpent of Bones

No tales speak of the Origins of the Serpent of Bones, it is cursed, and must never be given a name. It swallows its prey whole, the meat and fluids being crushed and pulverised by the shifting throat of the Serpent such that the gory mess leaks out through the stained neck of the beast, and the bones are retained within the thing's 'stomach'. These bones are used to repair damage dealt to the Serpent's osseous form. Despite the shape it takes, the Serpent is not particularly fast or flexible, and mostly relies on ambush to trap prey for swallowing, or its crushing weight to beat foes to death. It can burrow through the sand, though slowly and not without great effort, it is infinitely patient. None know of the serpents desires or intents, or if it even has thought higher than that of base animals, it is an enigma.

Appearing: Unique

23 - Nasir, the Vulture of Mighty Wing-Beat

Spirit-Brother of Midrab of the Warm Breeze, its wing-beats brush up mighty storms, but for the most part the Vulture is slothful and indolent. Mostly it circles high above the Khilaj, drifting lazily down to kill easy prey and beating up a great storm to hide its hideous form from prying eyes, which it hates. Its feaths are ragged and pale, its flesh is dry tatters, and its beak is cracked and flaking. It hates to be seen, except from far away. It is spiteful and crass, though it is mostly indifferent to man, and may even strike up a conversation with those that avoid looking at it and show it compassion and pity.

Appearing: Unique

24 - The Cursed Ahmar, the Cannibal-men of the Valley-Caverns

They are accursed and totally hateful. Any other denizen of the Khilaj will attempt to butcher them if they can, and will flee with haste and fear if they can't. They wear white, chalky masks with obsidian-black lenses. The chins of the masks are stained a hateful brown by blood. They might have been men once. They certainly aren't now if they ever were. They are utterly wicked. They will eat you if they can. Their weapons are cruel, as are they in temperament. They should not be dealt with lightly.

Appearing: In the Valley of the Ahmar: village - As an Encounter: 3d6
Special: If there are no duplicates, they are lead by a double HD Brave. If there are any duplicates, they are lead by a double HD Shaman.

25 - The Sand-Souled Nomads of the Desert God

They gave themselves over to the Desert and its gods and their Yellow Humours, so now their flesh is made of sand and their eyes are made of glass. They need no sustenance, and they need no comforts. They roam the desert on lizard-back, and commune with spirits. Their primary work is transforming the desert in accordance with the long plans of the earth; excavating oases, building high dunes, sowing stones adn boulders. They never wander from their tribe except for when their tasks demand it. They are completely dedicated to the cause. Their eyes would be the ideal material for the creation of divination tools, and also would probably be potent alchemical ingredients as well.

Appearing: d6*d10

26 - The Cavern of 10,000 Wonders

I'm going to cheat on this one a bit.
Deep in the desert, it is said, is a cave that goes down to the very core of the earth. When the world was ruled by the God-Emperor of early Man, he buried all his most brilliant and most lovely treasures in a cavern in the middle of the desert, that he might be the only one in all the world to posses such glories as he did. It was futile of course. He was neither god, nor emperor of all the earth, but he did posses wonderful things, and the cave is out there, if you could ever find it, or survive the things that dwell within:

d20 Wonders of the Caverns
1 - A trapped Djinn, tangled within a ball of star-cat fur. It offers favours from the Djinn King in exchange for its freedom.
2 - A Diamond the size of a baby, carved to resemble a baby.
3 - A Staff that morphs halfway up to resemble a snake, and eventually become a spiting, biting actual snake.
4 - A Vial of crystal that turns any liquid poured inside into pure water. Powered by a captured and otherwise powerless dryad who takes on the impurities and corruptions of the given liquids.
5 - A Statue 100 feet tall of a man wrestling a serpent with bull's horns.
6 - A clockwork guardian that receives instructions through something like morse-code, inputted on its back. There is a very comfortable leather seat attached near the control-input.
7 - A Globe representing a world absolutely nothing like the game-world, set in gems and jewels of many, many colours.
8 - A Jade Scorpion pendent. Wearing it means certain death.
9 - A beautiful and opulent rug. Meditation upon it allows instantaneous communication with any-one else who is also meditating on a rug.
10 - A Sword of polished and shining wood. Striking a target causes them to lignify in lieu of causing trauma. Those "slain" by the sword turn into tree-like corpses that grow themselves.
11 - A Single Arrow expertly carved out of glass. No other powers, just made of glass.
12 - A Turtle that talks at length about the politics of ancient powers no longer on earth as if it was the most common parlour talk in the world.
13 - A Goose that lays golden eggs that hatch into terribly venomous serpents if not boiled.
14 - A beautiful chest inlay-ed with shell. Within, curls an animate, pearl-carved tiger-cub.
15 - A curled dagger, that when drawn from its sheath, leaves behind a solid trail of ice.
16 - Like, just the best damn hookah in the world, like, you don't even know.
17 - An armband of exquisite design, covered in the promises of the protection of angels. No actual powers.
18 - A sapphire mask depicting a mighty battle-scene. Apparently once the identifying mark of an ancient hero-vigilante.
19 - A leering monkey statue holding out a great ruby as an offering. Trapped up to the bloody gills, if monkeys had gills.
20 - A Serpent statue with diamond eyes, poisoned needles for teeth, and nuggets of adamantium for scales.

d10 Guardians/Monsters of the Caverns
1 - A Djinn swordsman, whose sword is the south-wind.
2 - The spirits of the ancient dead, who always appear as those you love most.
3 - A Serpent of flame with basalt eyes; the only material part of its body.
4 - Hunger-Spirits of the Cackling Court.
5 - Animated-Sand Golems.
6 - Beautiful, filigree clock-work golems.
7 - Undead Crocodile-men, armed with ancient weapons inlayed with silver.
8 - A giant, with five eyes spread around his head, and talons like an eagle instead of hands.
9 - Scorpions with the heads of men; they throw insults that cannot be ignored.
10 - A Dragon, soft of scale and talon, without wings or eyes, but its tongue is silvered like a serpents, and its knowledge of magic is terribly formidable.

27 - Zerzura, City of the Pillars

Zerzura is sometimes dismissed from the hash-hazed tables of academics as mere myth. Those that know the desert as well as they know their wives, know that far off, on the horizon, you might see the very highest of the spires of the Lost City of Pillars scratching the skies. They do not go there. There are no streets, only wide shining plazas between the great towers. They are tall, tall staves of white rock, ringed with dark windows and rough-carven verandas. The tops of the towers are wide and flat, each topped with a fountain with clear, crystal waters. They are hundreds of feet wide, standing lonely against the sand-horizon. There are many bridges running between the inner levels of the towers amongst the lower levels, and the waters of the fountains high above are channeled down onto them, crashing onto the bridges and then finally the ground. Strangely, the bridges have not eroded away over the aeons. It is said that profound secrets and truths lurk in the waters of the Zenith-Fountains, some in the forms of fish, others in the hearts of crystals, others in carven words. Nothing moves in this quiet city. Perhaps it has guardians, though they must be well-hidden, or invisible. Some of the pillars contain strange, mechanical constructions running through them, with unknown maker or function. Most unsettlingly of all, there are no spirits here, save for the spirits of the fountains. the city is strange, cold, and dead, even by the standards of the desert.

28 - The Riddling Beast of the Shadowed Pass

A great Sphinx, with the head of a Man, the belly of a Lion, the legs of a Locust, the Wings of an Eagle, and the tail of a Scorpion. It guards a lonely pass through a great mountain range into and out of the Khilaj, and it takes great pleasure in offering travelers a way out of their impending devouring; a contest of riddles. To begin with, it really wasn't all that good, and was often hungry, but in recent years it has improved vastly, and news is slow to spread of this fact. The venom of its tale induces cancers in bone, its breath is intoxicating, and its bite is savagely damaging. In spite of all that, it is also something of a coward, and will flee any battle that doesn't go immediately its way. If cornered, and clearly outmatched, it will beg for its life, and offer the secrets of those it has devoured, for its belly digests the mind as well as the body. This last bit is a lie. It is just that desperate not to die.

Appearing: Unique 

29 - The Desert's Maw

Three rivers feed the Maw after their long, winding journies through the desert. Many tribes and peoples offer their sacrifices and criminals to it to assuage the anger of the Earth, or the Beast, or God, or whatever it is. What it definitely is, is a vast, vast pit in the earth. Half a mile in diameter, miles and miles in depth. And it is ringed at all depths and levels with vast, vast teeth. Tunnels and caverns stud its sides too, and while none have ever been satisfactorily mapped or explored in their entirety, there are peoples and groups that have built their homes within them. Much is paid for Maw-Ivory carved out from the great teeth of the Maw, and such there will always be those willing to risk the wrath of the Maw for riches. They do not dwell too deep though, down there the walls are meaty and raw, and the air is filled with the stench of rot. Of course, there are all kinds of myths and legends of the origins of the Maw. Perhaps it is the slowly fossilising corpse of an ancient titan, or the earthly remains of a slain god sinking into the earth, or the sleeping form of a mighty spirit. Who can say.

30 - The Fountain of the Sun and the Hanging Gardens of the Moon

A great Garden-Complex, built about 2 opposite and opposing shrines; An almight Pagoda for the Sun, guarded by a Spider that has caught it in its web; and A great Pillared Promenade for the Moon, caught by a Serpent that constricts it.
The Garden is composed of many hanging galleries from which dangle all sorts of ivies and other such plants, haunted by Spiderous-Monkeys who building crude villages spun from the plants, and who drop from above to ambush rival tribes or adventuring bands. They flee though at the passing of the Gardeners, which are something like Jelly-fish floating serenely in the air, their body-sacs filled with starry voids and nebulas, which pour forth waters to nourish the garden. They fight a losing battle against the loss of the Garden's Sun and Moon. Soon it will all wither away. Silver-Feathered birds meander lazily through the trees and prey on chalky-white lizards the size of tigers, pecking off hand-sized scales before fluttering away.
The Serpent is purple with jagged bands of black, and has three great frills upon its head. It squeezes the Moon in its Promenade, eternally trying to crack it open for the golden yolk that it thinks lies inside. It speaks in a low, sonorous whisper, cooing and singing to the Moon, trying to tempt it into breaking. Its gaze causes immortality; your eyes calcify into shining white moons, and your life slowly drifts away from you. Unless you can be shown the light of the sun, and quickly, you will become trapped in the garden forever, unable to find your way out, and there are more than one group of unfortunate adventurer-undead who have met this sorry fate wandering the gardens.
The Pagoda of the Sun is a large, but squat building at the opposite end of the Gardens to the Promenade of the Moon, and inside it is something like and arena with four great statues at each corner. The statues hold burning braziers that pour forth a glowing golden water that flows down into carven channels in the floor, following strange geometric routes through further small pagodas and gazebos within the greater structure before reaching the centre, and then rising up into a beautiful shining fountain, at the apex of which floats the Sun. Currently though, it is obvious it does not flow up as high as it wishes, and a great web constrains the waters and the sun with it. The Spider of the Fountain drinks the glowing waters, which causes it to glow from within through the cracks and joins of its exoskeleton. It will suffer no-one to touch its great treasure, and it crouches and stalks from above, using the Gazebos and Lesser Pagodas as stepping stones to chase men through the furrows that the light-water channels follow.
If the Sun and the Moon were to be freed, the Garden would begin to blossom again. This would call back the True Elves that planted it in aeons long ago. The Elves, the Serpent, and the Spider would war for control of the Lights of the Garden, striking from the Dark Corners of the buildings.

The Barrow Kings

In the oldest days of man, we were in tune with the earth. We communed with spirits, and spoke to animals. We requested favours of the earth, and performed it favours in kind. The Barrow Kings are not from those most ancient of ages, yet were alive yet to see and remember the last few dying embers of it. Their spirit-magics were strong, their wills indefatigable. When death came to grasp them, they went no unscreaming, and the Barrows they leave have trapped their spirits with their old and mouldering bones. There they remain to these modern days, awaiting, awatching, disgusted at the weaknesses shown by their distant, distant descendants. Still they jealously clutch their treasures, powers, and glories, and dream in death of days when they may yet reclaim them.

The Barrow-King's Mode of War

The Barrow Kings do not all fight in the same manner, they do not all fight with the same weapons. These are the main categories of their armaments and tactics though, and they should be equipped appropriately for such, even in death.

1 - Weapon Master - Even then, the blade had been mastered, and in an art you will not know
2 - Hexblade - Many curses were wrought in their blade, in the flesh, on their heart
3 - Sorcerer King - Mightier Magics were wrought then by Mightier People
4 - Juggernaut - Armour of Stone, Shield of Bone, Blade of Iron, Might like the Lion
5 - Nightmare Master - Not even your blackest dreams match what he sees in sleep
6 - Necromancer - Bone and Flesh, Answer the Call of their Word!
7 - Animist - A Friend of the Earth becomes mighty indeed
8 - Ravager - Axes and War-cries, bloom of flame on the Horizon and a long, long Night.
9 - Proto-Paladin - The Blessings of Ancient Gods hold strong even now
10 - Shackled - Beaten, Battered, Broken, Chained; a mouthful of sand and sand and sand

Guardians

The guardians of the Barrow King attend to them personally, or await close by their gates. They are the last line of defence between defilers and the sacred bones of Barrow King. Each Barrow King has one set of Guardians.

1 - Locus Genii
2 - Ancestor Spirits [An amorphous host]
3 - Grave-Guard [3d6]
4 - Black Knights [2d8]
5 - Guardian Familiar
6 - Animated Sentinel
7 - Curse-Bond Revenant
8 - Divine Figment
9 - Plant-Ally
10 - Avatar of the Earth

Locus Genii
The Spirit of a place, a guardian spirit against defilers and a watchful nurturer for honest seekers of truth. It cannot leave this place, but while here it has incredible power and influence. All the other spirits in the Barrow are its friends, and will serve it for a time in defence of the Barrow.
Ancestor Spirits
Not all the souls of the Departed truly depart. Some remain for any number of reasons. These ones remain in service to their lord. They will endure as long as the Lord does.
Grave-Guard
Armoured Bones and Wicked Weapons; they were the elite in their day, and though the sun has long since set on them, their skill is not diminished, and their blades still bite with power.
Black Knights
Old and Mouldering bones wrapped all about in the Black Thoughts of the Barrow King, become physical by the Strange Magicks of this place. They fight as furiously as the Barrow King imagines they should, but they are subtly shapeless and unformed, terrifying nightmare-figments given existance.
Guardian Familiar
In life, this spirit-beast never left the side of its master, and it remains here still. The long weight of ages has twisted it, and it has grown huge and fat on the energies of the place, a veritable beast fanatically determined to guard the body of its old, old friend.
Animated Sentinel
Made in semblance of man, once it might have been a mere statue, or suit of armour, but now it is an unfailing guardian, immune to the burdens of sleep and weariness.
Curse-Bond Revenent
Not all who rest dead in the Barrow do so of their own accord. These are the bodies of those slain upon the crest of the barrow, whose necks were slit open that their blood could flow down and inundate the earth of the Grave. These are those powerful in their wrath, unable to leave, unable to rest, their powerful rage granting power that can't be taken out on anyone anymore.
Divine Figment
Some say that Gods are nothing more than spirits of the World grown fat on faith and reverence. Perhaps its true of all Gods, but it is certainly true of this Spirit. It has been diminished by the march of ages and a lack of offerings, but it still blazes with power beyond a mere man.
Lignic-Ally
In the elder days of man, many were closer friends of the earth and its peoples that they are in these modern days. Some of these friendships still hold strong, even after all these years, and this Plant-Person will not suffer desecration to befall the one that was its friend in elder days.
Avatar of the Earth
The mightiest of the Spirits of the World that can wander in bodies of stone and mud, some few have been bound into service, or sometimes are motivated to repay ancient debts. In either case, they are mighty guardians indeed, to whom the earth is a willing ally, and the plants a faithful soldiery.

Minions

Minions are the various beasts and terrors of the Barrow, induced to unconscious service by the undying will of the Barrow king. Each Barrow king has a set of Minions for every 2 HD they have.

1 - Votive Dead [5d6]
2 - Skeletons [3d8]
3 - Unclean Spirits [3d4]
4 - Guardian Statues [3d4]
5 - Animated Murals [d4]
6 - Earthen-Men [3d6]
7 - Spirits of Rites [2d4]
8 - Vengeful Beasts [3d6]
9 - Elemental Motelings [3d6]
10 - Dream Figments [d4]

Votive Dead
Much like the Curse-Bonded, the Votive Dead let their blood flow for the Honour of the Barrow King. Their anger was not as potent as the rage of the Curse-Bonded, and thus they remain as more docile and impotent beings, though the presence of defilers still rouses them to anger.
Skeletons
The soldiers of the Barrow King in life, they remain in devoted service in death as well, clad in tattered armour and wielded ruined weapons. Their forms hold together as their morale does, the more the battle turns against them, the quicker they crumble as their spirits abandon the battle; but should they find smaller victories in the struggle, they will surge through wounds and blows to deadlier and deadlier effect.
Unclean Spirits
Not all Spirits are the wholesome personages of stones and earth. These Spirits are rife with muck and rot, possessing deplorable hungers and loathsome forms. They lurk in the dark corners of the earth, out of sight; and thus many will congregate in the Barrows of the Ancient Kings. They are known to bring sickness and curses, and have a particular hatred of humans, who represent everything the spirits find hateful in the world.
Guardian Statues
Coming in all manner of shapes and forms, these animated idols are purpose-built to defend the sanctity of the tomb, and their durable forms and powerful blows for their size makes them ideal sentinels. Their relative slowness and the simplicity of the spirits animating them (or at least, their lack of effort) mean that they are often-times able to be outsmarted, or outmaneuvered. The long marches of years have not been kind to them.
Animated Murals
Many Barrows contain murals of the great deeds and feats of the Barrow Kings. A few even have them enchanted to come to life in defence of those they depict. Creatures of myth clamber down from the walls, armies of tiny men flood from the pictures, glowing blades and the warriors that hold them finding new life in their enchantments.
Earthen-Men
Tiny spirits of the earth given vessel in mud-moulded forms like that of men. They have been taught that they are the defenders of the King in death, and that they will tolerate no defilers. Their bodies mold as their needs dictate, though unconsciously, and they fight unyieldingly, unaware that there is even such a thing as surrender.
Spirits of Rites
Some of the sacrifices that occur during the funerals of Barrow Kings aren't solely for the glory of the dead. Some bring new spirits into being; or rather, reshape present spirits into new and horrendous forms. They are bound to the implements of ritual, the bloody knife, the stained altar, the drenched pit. They animate them in anger when defilers approach, but they are confused and lost, unaware. They will destroy what they don't understand, and back down against nothing, they are more akin to animals than most spirits. 
Vengeful Beasts
All sorts are sacrificed at the funerals of Barrow Kings, not least of all animals. Oxen, horses, serpents, wolves, dogs, fish, cats, all kinds meet the blade throat-on in honour of the departed. Their spirits remain in their bodies, and their ragged, undead forms are another line of defence between the glorious bones of the Barrow King and those who would defile them.
Elemental Motelings
Just tiny, cute little elementals. Be careful though, in swarms, they have all the capabilities of their greater cousins, a fact of which they are well aware.
Dream Figments
The dead do not rest undreaming in barrows. Sometimes, fragments and shards of dreams slip from their hollow skulls, manifesting as amorphous, indistinct mists, shapes forming and solidifying then dissipating in an instant within the mist. They prey on men, hoping that by taking the spirits of the living, they might make themselves more real. They take on the aspects of what they slay, yet they will never really attain life, and this makes the mightiest of them angry and wrathful.

How Shall Ye Know the Barrow?

Great heaps of earth they may be, yet they do not necessarily stand the tests of time, nor the march of water and wind. Even in elder days, they realised this would be true, and so made arrangements that even after uncountable ages, all would know the place where the Kings of Old still rested.

1 - By the Ring of Standing Stones upon its brow
2 - By the Lonely Dolemn crowning it
3 - By the Bolts of Lightning it calls down from the full moon
4 - By the Guardian Spirit that prowls the grounds by Night
5 - By the Shrine to the many Spirits of the Dead at its peak
6 - By the Extensive Earthworks that surround it
7 - By the Words writ in Bronze upon the Door
8 - By the Mighty Construction of Earth and Stone, it is unmistakable
9 - By the Weald-Tree that crests it
10 - By the many, many Satellite-Tombs that ring it
11 - By the Tales that still speak the Dead King's Ancient Name
12 - By the Clearly Audible Whispers of the Dead, beckoning you
13 - By the Crows that still feed on the small bones
14 - By the Will-O-the-Wisps that dance and cavort about it
15 - By the Incredible and Improbable Stench
16 - By the River that pours forth from it
17 - By the Frosts that cling to it, even in the Light of the Sun
18 - By the Howling of the Spirits at the Witching Hour
19 - By the Bones that stud it like Weeds
20 - By the Lack of anything Living within a hundred feet of it

Aspects of the Barrow

These are additional affects of the Barrow, intentional or not. Most Barrows should have one or two, maybe three for particularly powerful Barrow Kings. 

1 - It is lost in an Artificial Forest
2 - Within the Barrow are strange Moats of Mercury
3 - It is partially hidden in the Mirror-World
4 - A Preserved and Animated Guardian Beast still watches its ancient master
5 - There are many Magicked Water Features within
6 - Many Wandering Spirits take respite here
7 - The Barrow has its own spirit, soaked in magic
8 - It is mightily overtaken by Roots and Thorns
9 - It is riddled with many Primitive Traps and Contraptions
10 - The Barrow is Improbably Frozen
11 - There is a floor made of a multitude of Grasping Hands
12 -There is an Oracle dwelling in the Barrow's Walls
13 - The Air is overtaken with a Hallucinogenic Gas
14 - Within is a stained, Sacrificial Pit, and a stained, Hungry Knife
15 - The Barrow is shrouded in a Hateful Crystal's Curse
16 - It is haunted by the Ghosts of Ancient and Extinct Beasts
17 - The walls of the Barrow are decorated with Uncountable Bones
18 - There are a number of Hot Springs contained within the Barrow
19 - Much of the Barrow is Flooded with Filthy Water
20 - The Locks on the Doors are sealed with Curses
21 - The Tunnels of the Barrow form an Extra-Spatial Labyrinth
22 - The Barrow is slowly, painfully collapsing in many places
23 - There is a Shrine within, overgrown with a multitude of beautiful flowers
24 - Within the Barrow is contained a Primitive Observatory for watching Ancient and Lost Stars
25 - The Barrow is connected to a Cave used by Shamans on Vision Quests
26 - The Barrow is infested with great, man-eating Worms
27 - Many of the Walls contain Spirit-Urns, binding the Ancient Soldiers to their lord still
28 - In a dark nook there is a Curse-Nail Idol, still it seethes with Ancient Hates
29 - The earthen floors are overtaken with Plants that hunger for flesh and blood
30 - The Walls are adorned with Antikythera-esque mechanisms, with inscrutable purposes

Where is the Body of the Barrow King?

All manner of rituals are employed for the dead. Now, nothing can be said of them, save for what we might infer from where the body now rests...

1 - Still sitting in its long-mouldering Throne
2 - Laid down in a grand stone Sarcophagus
3 - Standing in their tarnished and dusty Chariot
4 - Laid out in a rotten and ragged boat
5 - Bundled with their belongings in a mere pit
6 - Resting Serenely in a Crystal-clear pool
7 - Buried Shallowly in the Earth
8 - Dashed to pieces upon an Altar
9 - Suspended in a pillar of Amber
10 - Held up in a Cascade of Roots and Branches
11 - Lying upon the charred ribs of a Funeral Pyre
12 - Cradled by some Inhuman Statue
13 - Arrayed in full Regalia with their Body-Guards
14 - Surrounded by their family in the very picture of the perfect household
15 - Sat about a table with their closest advisors
16 - Laid down in a bed, as if only asleep
17 - Spread carelessly across the room
18 - Held in the jaws of some ancient and monstrous skull
19 - Contained tightly in a patterned and decorated Urn
20 - Hanging from the neck

What is the Form of the Barrow's Interior?

Not a single Barrow is like another in its entirety. These are the patterns they follow, though each be shaped by the mind and lingering will of the dead within them. 

1 - A Long Passage into the Earth
2 - A Grand Hall of Pillars
3 - Muddy and Twisting Tunnels
4 - A Prim and Proper Tomb
5 - An Inverted Tower, sinking down into the Earth
6 - A Grand Arena
7 - It is all contained within a Great, Buried Ship
8 - A maze-like Hive of Tunnels and Chambers
9 - An almighty pit, criss-crossed with bridges
10 - A subterranean field of Sepulchers

Treasures of the Barrow King

All Barrow Kings are richly adorned with treasures and adornments. Many are even magical, as the powers of the earth flowed more freely then.

To create the treasures of the Barrow, roll twice on the Mundane Treasures table for the majority of the riches of the Barrow. Then, for every Hit Die of the Barrow King beyond the first, roll for a Magical Treasure from the Weapons, Tools, Devices, or Wondrous Objects tables either at your discretion, or the discretion of a d4. 

Mundane

1 - Beautiful ceramic arts

2 - Coins of precious metals

3 - Rough cut and set jewels and gems

4 - Shaped amber and shells

5 - Finely wrought metal weapons

6 - Tapestries of great skill

7 - Carven Bones

8 - Old vehicles, boats and chariots

Weapons
1 - Dagger of Sacrifices - The Knife that pierces the heart and dredges up all the power of its spirit
2 - Beheading Blade - Many lives has it taken, all helpless and weeping
3 - Mammoth-Hunters Spear - Fly fast, Strike True, Feed my People
4 - Megalith Maul - Built of the Stone of Earth-Pacts, bears all the weight of the world
5 - Ancient Ivory Armour - Stands at the precipice of collapse, but withstands like metal
6 - Sigil Shield - Old Signs borne on Old Wood, turns aside the magics of witches and hexers
7 - Blood-of-the-Earth Blade - Rust that sets the blood ablaze within you, sets you hard like granite
8 - Axe of Ancient Forests - Cut down a tree, and then plant it in a stump, and the tree will be returned unto you.

Tools
1 - Bone Soul-Pins - Bind the persons spirit to this place, let them know no peace, no rest
2 - Amber Inlaid Casket - What lies here will never feel the weight of ages or the passing of time
3 - Beast-King Belt - The wearer of this most high trophy will be granted the strength of the beast
4 - Char-Brass Pins - Blackened Bright like coals, they draw in heat
5 - Megalith Ropes - Make weightless the weighty
6 - Azure Adz - Blue like the sky, plant it in wrath and the sky will answer it with thunder
7 - Silver Pendent - Turn aside the attentions of Evil Eye, keep safe thine spirit
8 - Spirit-Ward Jar - Place within the ashes of the dead, and they will never know the touch of evil

Magical Devices
1 - Rune Stone Shards - Stone holds the old dreams of mighty magics, they crackle with power
2 - Stone-Wood Staff - A conduit for magics, plant it in the earth and your words are amplified
3 - Mammoth Scrimshaw - Run all about with old, old runes, they offer protection from spirits
4 - Stone-Glass Wands - They obey any command you give them that they can perform
5 - Pact of Bronze - A promise wrought in incorruptible metal, never shall it be broken
6 - A Brass Mirror - It shows you not as you are, but as they without eyes see you
7 - A Ceramic Promise - Break it and the words writ upon it are no longer words, merely shapes
8 - Amber Bond-Beads - Wear it with one that you love, they suffer as you do, prosper as you do

Wondrous Items
1 - Tree of Binding - In its roots is a prison whose bars cannot be bent, where there are no keys
2 - Rune-Stone Spire - Pin it through the Earth, Pierce the Ley-Lines, Shape them as you Will
3 - Sealed-Wind Urn - Within it lies a sleeping wind, open it and it will issue forth in Strength
4 - Blood-Bronze Manacles - Seal them tight, not even thoughts can escape them
5 - Iron Idol - Annoint it in Oil and Blood, and the Spirit shall hear your Prayers
6 - Char-Brass Brazier - Feed it blood, and quench your blades in its coals, see how they sparkle?
7 - Bloody Altar - Your sacrifices of blood and wine are received all the more favourably
8 - Vessel of Rites - It holds liquids for your rituals, and is built to receive powerful magics in return

Inconvenient Locations

Sometimes, you just really need to put something out of the way, like really out of the way, where reaching it takes some sort of actual investment of the party's resources beyond just time. Some of these are actually quite hard to reach (like the past) so be a bit careful, but otherwise, go wild!

Magic Item Sellers, and what the Heck is up with them

This series of tables are supposedly to help make a Magic Item salesman, though unfortunately, not their stock. That's a bit much to ask. In general, I'm all for making magic stuff a bit more weird than perhaps it really should be, and if buying magic items in your world is as simple as popping down to Tesco on a Sunday afternoon, cool, whatever. I'd rather buy/commission my Magic Items from an ancient Earth-God sequestered away in his sunken Temple-Forge. I dunno, adds a bit of a story I guess.

[As an addendum, when there's italic text in the tables, that means its a nested sub-table. As in, roll on the main table, then roll on the sub-table you just rolled. Perhaps I should have learned to format better, but perhaps you should have learned to read better.]

d20 Magic Item Smith Quirks

1 - This Smith can only forge/enchant items that have never been made before.

2 - This Smith is actually a Lich, who only accepts the bones of legendary beasts as payment for their services.

3 - This Smith is actually a Demon or perhaps a Devil who sells the belongings of the departed-for-hell.

4 - This Smith creates only sentient items, which are:
(d4 roll) 1 -  also secretly polymorphed sentient beings. They have been enchanted to forget this,
2 - powered by the bound spirits of the Smith’s ancestors. They may or may not be okay with this,
3 - binds the vestiges of ancient deities into items. They are usually not particularly bothered by this, but can be very willful or petty, and withhold power at the least convenient times,
4 - powered by the energies of the Asphodel fields. This is unknown even to the Smith, but if such an item is used, agents of the field will hunt down its bearer to recover their stolen power.

5 - This Smith enchants items by engraving Runes upon them, but they are blind. They are skilled enough to be able to carve the Runes perfectly without sight, but they don’t know every Rune that can bind magic into objects.

6 - This Smith specialises in potions, but has a reputation for selling potions cut with other, less beneficial substances.

7 - This Smith demands extremely abstract payments for their services.

8 - This Smith always creates two items at a time, which are each the exact opposite of the other. They charge for them to tell you which is which. To purchase both is exponentially more expensive than buying one.

9 - This Smith crafts items that must be refueled or refreshed periodically for their power to be maintained.

10 - This Smith lives/works in an extremely inconvenient location.

11 - Will only work when:
(d4 roll) 1 - when certain stars are in the ascendent,
2 - when a certain race is in (coin flip) [heads - decline, tails - ascendency],
3 - they are on the: (d4 roll) [1 - a wild and untamed reality, 2 - a dark and subdued reality, 3 - the astral sea that binds all reality together, 4 - a plane of purest form and element],
4 - the leylines converge on their place of work

12 - This Smith forges their items of/heavily featuring amber, which as you use the item, seems to twist and mold to more and more resemble you. Maybe it will even one day think for itself.

13 - This Smith is a being of elemental earth, and carves their items from the fossils of ancient beasts. You need to provide the fossil, and the aspects of the magic item come from the aspects of the fossil it was carved from.

14 - This Smith is a Druid, and grows plants in their grove into magic items. You may not have complete control over what they can nurture into being, and though it takes much less time than mundane plants, you’ll still need to wait for it to grow.

15 - This Smith must dedicate each item that it makes at the foot of an idol of a deity that it has never dedicated an item to.

16 - This Smith is secretly an old, retired god, and asks only that while they work on the item, you recover old relics of their religion and bring them to them. The relics of course, are all buried deep in dungeons across a remote region.

17 - This Smith doesn’t create items, he tattoos you, and the tattoos have power.

18 - This Smith is an old, nearly feral druid. If you ask him for something, he will craft a charm from the parts of various beasts. Each component adds an aspect of the item’s power. You may be asked to retrieve something for the charm.

19 - This Smith creates items that have no initial power, but become more powerful the more they are used. Certain acts using the item might make it more powerful. Some might diminish it.

20 - This Smith is incalculably ancient. His magic draws power from the spirits of the world to fuel the item’s power over the course of a ritual that can last many days. The spirits of the world will be less than pleased while this happens.

d20 Abstract Payments

1 - The taste of a:
(d4 roll) 1 - windy day,
2 - funeral march,
3 - victory song,
4 - rain on the lips of a dead man

2 - A (d4 roll) 1 - maiden’s,
2 - mother’s,
3 - king’s ,
4 - criminal’s,
(d4 roll) 1 - joy,
2 - sorrow,
3 - reward,

4 - punishment

3 - The scent of:
(d4 roll) 1 - a child’s confusion,
2 - geometry,
3 - bright light,
4 - a joyous reunion

4 - d8 years of another man’s life

5 - A pacifist’s weapon.

6 - Joy in Iron.

7 - The final work of an artist as yet unborn.

8 - The final breath of an immortal.

9 - The hair of a dragon.

10 - The apple of the Beholder’s eye.

11 - Acceptance of futility.

12 - A beautiful person’s ugliness.

13 - A Secret:
(d4 roll) 1 - Your secret,
2 - A secret of your family’s
3 - A friend’s secret,
4 - An enemy’s secret

14 - A Memory:
(d4 roll) 1 - A happy one,
2 - A sad one,
3 - A crucial one,
4 - One of no apparent significance  

15 - Your greatest skill

16 - Coins from an empire, as yet unborn

17 - A dead heart, still beating

18 - A child’s first words

19 - A reflection of the dark

20 - Your shadow

d6 Magic Item Rejuvenation Methods

1 - It must be regularly fed blood:
(d10 roll) 1 - Yours,
2 - An enemy’s,
3 - A friend’s,
4 - Royalty’s,
5 - Angelic,
6 - Demonic,
7 - Draconic,
8 - Familial,
9 - A long dead species,
10 - A Powerful Spellcaster’s: (d4 roll) [1 - Arcane, 2 - Divine, 3 - Druidic, 4 - Bardic]

2 - It must be regularly consecrated in:
(d12 roll) 1 - freshly blessed holy water,
2 - a lake that has never seen the light of day,
3 - in angel’s tears,
4 - in a demon lord’s forge,
5 - somewhere that has never been charted on a map,
6 - over the bones of a martyred saint,
7 - in freshly ground diamond dust,
8 - in a dream,
9 - at the tip of a unicorn’s horn,
10 - in the blood of a convicted criminal,
11 - in the belly of a dragon,
12 - at a mountain peak untouched by cloud

3 - It must be returned to its maker for its power to be rejuvenated:
(d4 roll) 1 - the cost will be great,
2 - the process will be long,
3 - the maker has moved to an inconvenient location,
4 - the maker will not do it willingly

4 - It must be used to accomplish:
(d6 roll) 1 - an act of great good,
2 - an act of great evil,
3 - an act of justice,
4 - an act of mercy,
5 - the death of the mighty,
6 - a great discovery

5 -  It must be fueled by the caster’s own magic. Doing so makes it:
(d4 roll) 1 - harder to remember and prepare spells,
2 - that spells have a small chance to fail on casting,
3 - that you have less power to fuel spell casting,
4 - easier for other spellcasters to counter their spells. This effect is only for: (d4 roll) [1 - a relatively short period following recharging the item, 2 - for a short while after using the item’s power, 3 - as long as you wield the item, 4 - permanent, but only has a small impact each time]

6 - It must completely drain the magic of:
(d4 roll)1 - other spellcasters, probably through violence,
2 - magical locations, by being present overnight,
3 - other magic items, by touch,
4 - ancient enchantments, at least a century old,
5 - the power sources of golems and other manufactured beings,
6 - powerful extra-planar beings, unaware of what will happen

d10 Inconvenient Locations

1 - A few levels down in the local dungeon.

2 - A few hundred years ago.

3 - Deep inside a labyrinthine pocket dimension.

4 - Secluded in the sealed tower of a monster haunted:
(d4 roll) 1 - ruined city,
2 - decrepit castle,
3 - temple complex,
4 - lonely island

5 - In a retreat deep below the surface of the earth, with no known entrance.

6 - In a flying dwelling that has never seen the underside of clouds.

7 - In the hardest to reach nook of this massive:
(d10 roll) 1 - mountain,
2 - ravine/chasm,
3 - jungle,
4 - desert,

5 - Ocean,
6 - Cave System,
7 - Glacier,
8 - Cliffside,
9 - Giant Tree,
10 - Roll twice, placing the first somewhere in the second.

8 - In dreams:
(d12 roll) 1 - on the shores of memories-through-twisted-mirrors,
2 - in the archives of experience-and-knowledge-lost-long-ago,
3 - in the wildlands of imagination-left-to-grow-unwatched-and-unpruned,
4 - in the forest-of-the-haze-of-the-mind-after-long-ages,
5 - atop the precipices of the mountains-of-aspirations-always-dreamed-of-but-thought-impossible,
6 - in the depths of the ocean-of-desperation-and-despond-that-weighs-heavily-on-the-down-trodden,
7 - in the vast halls-of-the-familiarity-and-close-mindedness-of-the-comfortable-and-rich,
8 - in the ravines-of-fears-once-held-but-now-cast-away,
9 - in the forest clearings-of-those-moments-when-all-is-still-and-silence-can-settle-and-comfort,
10 - in the cities-of-the-worries-and-pressures-of-the-inferno-of-modernity,
11 - the lands of the-illusion-that-is-known-to-be-real-though-it-is-not,
12 - the harbour-of-the-half-asleep on the borderlands of the-not-quite-dreaming

9 - Beyond the silver of the mirror

10 - In a tower that exists only:
(d4 roll)  1 - At night,
2 - When you have your eyes closed,
3 - At a certain time of year,
4 - At the culmination of a: (d4 roll) [1 - lost and esoteric ritual, 2 - long and demanding ritual, 3 - fabulously expensive ritual, 4 - devastatingly self-sacrificial ritual]