Tome of Bonescrag Episode 3: The End of Bonescrag

Recap

By this point, your players have faced (spoiler alert for those who have yet to read Episode 1 or Episode 2) a deranged solo Necromancer and a powerful snow-oriented fey creature summoned by concerned villagers. Players are familiar with a good portion of the residents of Bonescrag and have hopefully saved the village on at least two occasions. 

In our last adventure, players underwent high-intensity action and battle without much respite. Players lost and recovered their gear and deserve a time of rest. The threat of a looming storm has been quelled, and players are free to leave the village, except for the new threat that awaits: an army of Necromancers and their raised monsters.

Background

Recall in Episode 1 the introduction of Alder Brack, the town’s official founder. Brack emigrated to Bonescrag with his fellow covert cultists of Velsharoon, the Archmage of Necromancy. In an attempt to raise an army of villagers and travelers that they had murdered, the cultists fought the remaining townsfolk, resulting in a bloody stalemate with Alder Brack as the sole survivor. Maimed and unable to fulfill Velsharoon’s work, Brack hid the bodies in the crypt under the chapel, sealed the entrance, and rebranded Bonescrag as a new settler’s town. Only revealing the ways of his deity to the impressionable, Brack began to build his necromantic cult once again.

To this day, the existence of the cult remains undisclosed to most, though a large portion of the town works in the dark for Velsharoon.

Secrets

The first bit of information a Dungeon Master preparing this episode should know is that there still remains in operation a crypt beneath the village chapel. There are four entrances: a secret passage from within the church, the well in the center of town, a well behind the Brack Estate, and a hatch hidden in the North Forest.

The Brack Estate

Alder Brack III cavalierly owns the majority of the wealth within Bonescrag, as the town’s land sold by his ancestral Alder Brack passed eventually to him. Owning a large residence and piece of farm land, as well as providing a makeshift bank to those who have purchased homes under loan, Alder appears to be gracious and conducts his estate with the good of the town in mind, providing generously to all within while refraining from seeking gubernatorial power for himself.

The well behind the Brack Estate, hidden behind two conifer trees, serves another purpose besides as an entrance to the tunnels beneath the village and to the crypt. An aqueduct from the well replenishes a worshipping pool in tandem with a sacrificing altar in the west wing of the Brack estate, hidden behind a false wall. 

Not only does the concealed well draw water, it also has a set of ladder rungs fastened within that lead to a series of tunnels carefully developed by the Brack family for generations. These tunnels, easily traversed by hand-driven carts, connect various points in town, including the chapel, the well in the center of town (with 20 feet of the undertaker Hamlet’s home-based workplace), and a covert opening within the North Forest. Several workhands employed by Brack maintain and operate the tunnels.

Because the residence is upon a hill, there is little risk of a person accidentally coming across the well, and the majority of the servants and workers who occupy the estate with Brack are devout members of the Velsharoon cult. See our map and key for details within the Brack Estate.

The Chapel

Since its construction, the chapel has been home to all religious sects within Bonescrag. As a non-denominational building, it has been privately owned by the Brack family since the beginning of the town’s creation. One sector along the east side has remained under construction indefinitely. This has allowed for Brack and the Velsharoon cult to hide and enter the crypt covertly. 

The church has been carefully constructed upon an impressive foundation of pillars, raising it above its true base twenty feet below. When the cult first began murdering and hiding people below the building, each body was meticulously preserved in embalming oils, herbs, and necromantic symbols, then placed within a sarcophagus for long-term conservation. Some of the bodies within the crypt are nearly 200 years old.

The Church of Velsharoon is private and does not recruit haphazardly. Members are required to take an Oath of Life and Death, bound to the god they diligently serve in this life and the next, lest they be impelled to the Ethereal Plane as a lost soul.

Velsharoon Dogma: “Life and death are the twin faces of eternal existence. To surrender to either one is to resign oneself to obscurity. True power lies in the twilight zone between life and death” (Faiths and Pantheons, pg. 111).

The Well in the Center of Town

Much like the Brack Estate’s well, the well within the center of town is the closest entrance to the crypt outside of the church and is within 20 feet of the undertaker’s home. Constructed as the first alternative entrance, this well is large enough for a body to enter and has a passageway behind a false stone wall a few dozen feet above the waterline to allow for interception of a body. 

As it contains no rungs, this well is not to be entered by a person wishing to reach the crypts, simply as a way to quickly transport bodies to the chapel swiftly in the thick of night. Nevertheless, a few drunken souls have snuck a peek at the deeds of Hamlet the undertaker from behind the curtains of the Men’s Club or around the corner of the inn. Rumors have flurried around town about bodies being dropped into the well, but no evidence has validated the claims. They remain tall-tales about the town, passed around campfires and from older to younger siblings as a means to sow spook.

The North Forest

To maintain their sense of secrecy, Velsharoon necromancers restrict their body supply to travelers, monsters like a rogue Squalor Goblin, and those who die of natural causes in town. The live victims are often caught within the North Forest and taken down a hatch and across the valley a few miles to the crypt. This work is typically done by a small party of undead servitors, supervised by one priest of Velsharoon, Boq, who acts as a servant to the Brack estate. 

Key Players

Alder Brack. Founder of Bonescrag. Establisher of the Church of Velsharoon. Necromancer. Deceased.

Alder Brack III. The title-owner of most homes in the valley, owner of the chapel, farmlands, and makeshift loaner. Head Priest of the Velsharoon cult, lineally begot from his great-grandfather, Alder Brack. The last in his line of Bracks (has no family, wife, or children). Necromancer.

Hamlet. Undertaker of Bonescrag. Priest of Velsharoon. Necromancer.

Boq. Servant to the Brack estate. Operator of a handful of undead who man the tunnels below Bonescrag. Necromancer.

Pastor Joel. Runs the day-to-day operation of the chapel. Non-denominational by name, but a worshipper of Velsharoon in secret. Not a necromancer.

Goals of the Church of Velsharoon

The local necromancy cult has been amassing corpses for nearly 200 years and storing them beneath Bonescrag. The group has acquired over 10,000 bodies with the intent of overrunning the remaining villagers in due time and submitting them to their god. Unfortunately for Bonescrag, this time has come.

The Return of Alder Brack

Though two known rituals have been adopted by the cult, the Binding of the Crypt and the Pact of the Everlasting, which allow a priest to return to life either as living or undead, Alder Brack developed a third ritual to restore him to life when the time has come to raise his army. The Ritual of Restitution requires the blood sacrifice of a priest of Velsharoon and two lambs: one white and one black. The priest to be sacrificed must drink the blood of both lambs before slitting his or her throat into a basin of birchwood ash, vestments of the being to return, and scarab beetles. Life will build itself on top of the basin. Several other priests performing the ritual will recite an incantation that calls upon the soul who set himself in the Restitution Tomb in death, guiding him to embrace the newly formed fleshy vessel.

The returned Alder Brack will have exactly half of the lifespan as he previously did, returning as a middle-aged man, though with all of the skills, knowledge, memories, ailments, and frailties he had in life, including his mutilated shoulder and understanding of necromancy.

Events

If all things went according to plan in Episode 2, players should be aware that the curse of the land is due to ongoing activity of necromancy, though details about who is involved and where these things happen is a mystery.

Players will have time to rest up from their last encounter and recover their gear according to the discretion of the Dungeon Master. Snow still covers the valley, but overall the weather is mild.

Meeting Key Players

Due to the prolific status of the Brack name, the party should be slightly familiar with Alder and possibly Hamlet the undertaker, but Boq is a lowly servant who does not require attention. He can be seen assisting Alder with his job, but he should keep a low profile. 

Characters may also meet several unnamed members of the cult, but they will likely seem normal or slightly mistrusting. 

Rumors

By now, the player characters are seen as heroes by the common townsfolk for saving Kornelia and the town from the storm creature. Characters who seek information about the necromancy cult should be cautious of who they talk to, but if they speak to acquaintances in town, this is the information they should receive:

1. “There have always been rumors of necromancers in town. Nothing substantial, but Viktor was one, though probably independent, so that establishes that something might be going on.”
2. “You never know who is a part of a cult. Be wary who you talk to.”
3. “There have been several eye-witnesses over the decades who swear they have seen bodies dropped into the well in the dead of night, but those are ghost stories we all have heard as kids. Nobody believes them, and besides, nobody has found bodies or signs of bodies in the well.”

Concealing Rumors

Should the characters speak directly to Alder Brack III, Hamlet, or Boq about a necromancy cult, a set of burly men should tail the party and keep an eye on them. At a point when the party gets too close to discovering something highly incriminating, a group of necromancers and their risen servants may lure and/or attack them. This will not incriminate the Bracks or the Velsharoon cult, but it should rough up the players a bit.

A Dungeon Master may use Cultists and Priests for this encounter.

Investigation

Players should be pointed in the direction of the well for investigation. If they attempt to enter the well in broad daylight, they may draw a concerned crowd, with people discussing that a small child has fallen in or that the water is contaminated, or some outlandish rumor that tends to form during the first minutes of excitement. Players who stake out the well may see the undertaker snooping around, but the cult is too smart to dump bodies when there is a buzz in the air about their deeds.

The second location that could interest players is the Brack estate. This can either be a whisper by a civilian that Brack knows everything that goes on in town, or perhaps an uncommitted member of the cult tips them off then disappears.

Should the party investigate the North Forest, finding the hatch would require a feat of investigation and perception, rewarded possibly by the ingenuity and craftiness of the players. Perhaps they stake out the forest and catch an undead servant hauling a goblin corpse to the hatch, or maybe they see Boq mucking around out there and follow him.

Players who somehow enter the tunnels below will find them crawling with undead. The undead may not find them hostile, thus not provoking attack. The players could try to sneak through the horde to find out where the tunnels lead, but they will risk running into priests who control segments of the undead army. Prepare accordingly and have some fun with this.

Escalation of Events

Because there are only a few dozen priests available to raise the dead, this has been an ongoing process throughout the past three years. Foul zombies and Skeletons fill the spaces beneath the valley. These creatures may break free from the control of the Velsharoon priests and leave the tunnels, possibly entering town and attacking anyone they see. This approach, though extreme, would keep players on the right track of discovering what has been going on.

Players may discover that the Nomad camp has been ransacked and many of the members either killed or missing. This may be from an accidental outbreak of zombies, eventually contained by the priests, though not until after the damage had been done. Perhaps the Nomads came across the hatch in the North Forest and Brack ordered their removal before the Velsharoon secret got out. 

Surviving Nomads, if a Dungeon Master decides that there are any, may shed some light on the evil plaguing Bonescrag, namely, the undead and necromancers involved. Their knowledge will be incomplete, but it can still paint a picture at what the players will face.

The Dinner Party

Finally, players who have got the gist of what’s going on will be invited to the Brack Estate for a dinner party. Several prominent villagers such as the Village Commissioner Jebediah, Curl the Innkeeper, and Hamlet the undertaker will be there, as well as any other familiar faces the players may find that make sense to the context and setting.

Brack Estate

The players should have time to look around the home. If they have proven themselves in skill, cleverness, and roleplay, they may discover secrets of the Brack estate, possibly running into the original founder recently recreated (though his identity would likely remain a mystery, unless they discover some portrait of him beneath sheets in storage or behind a false wall, possibly in the space upstairs) reading a book in the second-floor study. 

Dungeon Masters should sprinkle in clues about the nature of the Brack family and manor (see this map), including:

• Questionable macabre books and decor.
• Necromantic spell scrolls hidden deep within bookshelves.
• Sensing undead, especially through means of spells.
• Discovering the mechanisms that reveal hidden entrances to the cult lair, coffin room, or storage space on the second floor.
• Perhaps a player feels a draft coming from beneath a false wall, indicating that it may open somehow.
• Cult symbols behind tattered wallpaper or chipping paint.
• Squeaky floorboards that, when pried open, reveal daggers, candlesticks, written incantations, and herbs as ritual components.
• Possible blood drips in the home.
• A flayed rat pinned to a wooden board hidden within the servants’ quarters. Maybe the rat is undead and moves when touched. This could be found in Boq’s room or in a common area within the servants’ quarters.
• If a player character is brilliant at spatial awareness, they may realize that some of the house is unrevealed when they compare its exterior.

Rising Action

At this event, Alder Brack III will announce that he has been working very hard planning a town-wide restoration project that he wishes to unfold before the esteemed members of the village. He’ll make a speech while all are dining:

“For two centuries, our town has boldly survived the harshest of weather. Our tenacious spirit is what keeps this community alive. We share abundantly among ourselves; the mill, our crops, our wool, our hearts. Together we fight the rare attacks from the Squalor Goblin or other beasts from the North Forest. When Kornelia went missing, Jebediah formed an extensive search party. And the adventurers here today have exhibited such bravery as to be proverbial Bonescrag citizens themselves.

“We don’t give up. And it’s in that very spirit that I hope to sway you to accept our restoration project. In life, we persist. We think not of what happens to us after life. Or rather, we work with all of our might in spite of those thoughts. As most of you know, my family has owned the chapel since our town was established, and I have seen many faiths come and go from its doors. Our chapel has undergone construction for what seems like a lifetime, but I am finally putting my foot down and saying, ‘it’s time.’ It’s time to make our community whole. It’s time to make Bonescrag stronger than ever. But the chapel is just one aspect of restoration that we hope to bring forth in the coming year.

“Our crops have failed us. Our soil is depleted, and our friends discuss settling elsewhere. But what if there is a way to bring vigor back to Bonescrag? What if there was no death? ‘Life and death are the twin faces of eternal existence. To surrender to either one is to resign oneself to obscurity. True power lies in the twilight zone between life and death.’ That’s an old saying I heard my grandfather often say. Bonescrag is in need of a restoration that releases us from our prison of life and death. Our failing crops, attacks from monsters, fear of our children being kidnapped and harmed. We have found a way to circumvent all of this. But don’t take my word for it, hear it for yourself from the very founder of our town.”

Alder Brack, the town founder, will enter the dining hall and begin his speech. Throughout, many villagers will murmur that the man looked like the portraits, and he even has a mutilated shoulder. 

“Indeed, it is I, Alder Brack, the very same man who established Bonescrag. I knew your fathers’ fathers. I helped your families build a life here. Many of you must wonder how I stand before you. In my life, I served one deity. His reward was to show me the way to return again. My great grandson has brought me back in your greatest hour of need so that I may help you find a better way of living. May we all now take a period of silence to allow the delightful grace of Velsharoon to wash upon us.”

Four priests throughout the room will cast Silence upon the guests, covering an area of approximately 80’ x 80’. The Bracks will be outside of the area. The elder Brack continues:

“We can restore this valley, but it will require the cooperation of all. Those who fight against us will be compelled or cast out.”

At this point, several squadrons of undead will shuffle into the Brack home. They likely are not fresh zombies.

Plans 

A Dungeon Master may question why invite the obviously capable adventurers to the feast if they will have front rows to interfere with the plans? Alder Brack III recognizes that these adventurers have been heralded as the town’s heroes. If they start a resistance, the villagers will follow suit. With them trapped within the Brack Estate, surrounded by powerful necromancers and their horde of zombies, the Bracks have a chance to keep them quelled.

Necromancer Plans 

The events that ensue will depend upon your players and the actions of non-player characters. Should the Bracks succeed on their plans, this is how events plan to go:

1. Imprison town leadership and heroes. Deter them from fighting then and there by showing that they will lose, as the undead vastly outnumber the players.
2. Send priests door-to-door to convince, then compel, villagers to accept Velsharoon as their savior.
3. Round up each citizen to the Brack estate, guarded heavily by squadrons of zombies.
4. Explain the process of how to help everyone return to life after death through a non-invasive ritual, provided they worship and serve Velsharoon for the remainder of their lives.
5. Create Velsharoon fanatics. Find new Velsharoon priests. 
6. Become the world’s first large-scale Velsharoon church.
7. Eventually compel other cities to join.

Player Choices

Players will have a few options, as always.

1. Fight then and there. 
2. Escape.
3. Become imprisoned.

Fight.

Should the players attempt to fight right then, there will be a number of ways to overcome the necromancers:

1. Hordes of undead will perish when their controlling necromancer falls.
2. The battle will end when the two Bracks have died.
3. Villagers like Jebediah and Curl will help by holding the undead at bay for the players to take their shot at the necromancers.

This will not be an easy fight, but it should not be an automatic loss. Prepare for player creativity, and allow for interactive battle map elements. 

Escape. 

Should the players attempt to escape, they could be successful. Jebediah and Curl may help them run by holding off the undead soldiers. Players will risk being attacked by the spellcasting Bracks, but this may not prevent them from leaving.

Should players leave the house, they will encounter several squadrons of undead throughout the village. They can escape stealthily or fight their way through.

Leaving the Town

If players decide that they should not get involved with the village’s extreme problem, a Dungeon Master should ensure that this plays heavily into their character development. Some characters may regret the loss of the town, including children and friendly villagers they met. Some may become hardened or gain a vice like being rejected by their deity, PTSD, turn to substance abuse, or have reoccurring nightmares. Allowing an extreme necromantic cult to freely rule the land may also play into a Dungeon Master’s plot in the future. 

Rallying the Forces

Players that escape and decide to fight in their own time will find a number of resources.

1. Players may discover a resistance faction that has also escaped and want to save their beloved village. These villagers will serve their purposes by holding back undead armies and may be commanded by the adventurers who have the most leadership experience.
2. Players could encounter a villager who dabbles in artificery or potion-making who has contraptions and magic items especially helpful at fighting hordes. There are always lunatic preppers who find that their day has come in tragic and unexpected scenarios such as this.
3. Villagers in general will have their spirits lifted and an aura of hope and resilience when they see the adventurers have stuck around to fight. These villagers will be especially hard for the necromancers and undead to take down. By emboldening the town, the players may receive Inspiration every round as well.
4. Players could approach the Forest Witch for help, especially if her domain is at risk of being overtaken. She should not destroy the Bracks herself, but she can easily hold back the horde while the players defeat the worst villains.

Become Imprisoned.

This option will look a lot like a combination of Fight and Escape. Eventually, the players will need to find a way out of the Brack home prison and escape. They will be guarded in shifts by priests who eventually have more work to do away from the prison, Brack Estate servants who might be a bit scared and swayed to help them out, or undead who are just posted to guard them. It is possible for the undead to break from the necromancers’ control and create a distraction for the players to escape as well. 

Escape may also occur through the help of Jebedian and Curl, a villager who has come to break them free, or by their own ingenuity. Depending on the amount of time the players spend behind bars, a lot outside of the Brack estate can occur, as per the suggestions in the “Rallying the Forces” section above.

Battle

We are entrusting the Dungeon Master with most of the set up of the battle. Because the situation is a mess of dozens of priests, thousands of undead, the two Brack necromancers, and villagers, there is no perfect way to plan this battle. Things will be glossed over. Small triumphs like players witnessing villager successes and sad tragedies like watching villagers perish will add flavor to the battle. This battle will likely stretch the entirety of Bonescrag. You can find that map here.

Use the Priest stat block for the Necromancer Priests, but replace the damage type in Divine Eminence as necrotic damage; and replace its spells with the following:
Cantrip (at will). Chill Touch, Mage Hand, Shocking Grasp 
1st level (4 slots). False Life, Inflict Wounds, Shield
2nd level (3 slots). Levitate, Ray of Sickness
3rd level (2 slots). Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch 

Use Zombie and Skeleton stat blocks for the undead masses.

For your Brack foes, use the Necromancer stats (CR 9) from Volo’s Guide to Monsters as a basis. You can also add in lair effects if fighting within the Brack Estate. Nerdarchy gives a myriad of lair actions a Dungeon Master could choose from.

Try your best to balance each encounter, as there will be many mini-encounters in this long episode. Adjust the CR for your party by reducing the number of Bracks they have to fight at a time, by keeping hordes at bay through the actions of villagers, by allowing them respite via long or short rests or potions that restore their abilities and hit points, and by allowing for battle hazards to affect the enemies and keep them occupied.

Resolution

The end of Bonescrag will come one of two ways: either the demolition of the valley through the undead hordes and necromancers, fought by the resilient villagers; or by the defeat of the evil that attempted to overtake the town.

The Death of a Village

“The party looks around their dire situation, overrun by undead and necromancers. Proud and strong faces of villagers that the party fought alongside drown in the swarm of skeletons. Wounds pulsate with agony; screams from fallen friends provoke fear; there is no other recourse but to succumb to the vileness of the land. Abruptly, like a gift from the gods, a line of sight opens between the factions of fighting—a clear avenue to the treeline of the North Forest.”

Players may decide to retreat at this time. If they do, there should be no repercussions except emotional turmoil, which should be pivotal in their character development and perhaps future plot lines.

Should players choose to stay and continue fighting, a Dungeon Master may award them temporary Epic Boons from their gods or the anti-necromancy deity Lathander who is watching over the battle. There are many sources for Epic Boons to award players. See this list of Homebrew Boons and find the ones that fit your players best. These Epic Boons should turn the tide of the battle by giving players superpower abilities without cheapening the players’ experience by ending the battle for them.

The End of Bonescrag

If players remain until the end, they may fight until the Dungeon Master deems all Velsharoon priests have fallen, and thus their undead armies have been obliterated. To end the session, read the following excerpt when the battle finally comes to an end.

“As players swing their mighty weapons and blast powerful spells from the depths of their souls, they see the final undead creature collapse to the ground, disintegrating into a pile of dust. Bloodied villagers stand—barely—panting and coughing as their bodies give way to the fatigue they’ve held back until now. 

“Where there should be feelings of triumph in the success of battle, there is only a thick and palpable air of anguish and loss. Children cry over their perished parents; neighbors shed tears over the destruction of their homes and lives. 

“In its own way, Bonescrag has died. As the peaceful village in the valley, a traveler’s town, Bonescrag is bereft of spirit. There is not a single villager who is celebrating their victory. There is only the cold wet blood on the snowy ground, trampled underfoot the now evaporated undead terrors.

“A few days pass. Players and Bonescrag residents begin their journey to recovery. Remnants of the Velsharoon cult are buried or destroyed. There are no feasts or victory celebrations. There is only a broken and beaten community. 

“Players solemnly say their goodbyes, pack their bags, and head for their next destination through the mountains. As the players reach the final stretch of farmland at the eastern edge of town, a small patch of green shows through the slight layer of snow. Seedlings, unburdened by the necrotic curse that fettered their vitality over the last few years, surge through the icy blanket. Like magic, the valley becomes a thicket of crops, herbs, flowers, and shrubs. Sunlight kisses their petals and leaves. The valley has become a spring sanctuary.

“These words from the voice of Lathander, The Morninglord, come to the players’ minds: ‘A steel sword is brittle when first formed. Quenched in the murky waters of loss and pain, Bonescrag, now and forever bound in love, will begin to grow anew. For their sacrifice, I will protect them eternally.’”

This is the end of the Tome of Bonescrag. We thank all of our readers and ask for your generosity in providing feedback if you run this adventure. Please Cast Message to us below or email [email protected].