Dungeon Backdrop: The Splintered Crypt (Patreon)

I designed this week's Dungeon Backdrop for the paladins in my campaign so they'd have something to aim for in the future--some epic quest to recover a holy weapon that could run as a subplot through the coming months and years. Turns out, I don't have any paladin characters in my campaign*--this is a slight flaw in my plan, but given I enjoyed designing the Splintered Crypt I can live with my slight oversight. 

(*In fact, the heroes seem to becoming less heroic and goodly with every session).

Still no matter, I hope you enjoy the Splintered Crypt and can find a use for it in your own campaign. I also hope you can make use of the interesting moral ambiguity in the Dungeon Backdrop; the characters may (after all) be looting a legendary paladin's tomb!

About the Splintered Crypt

Famed for his unswerving devotion to his celestial lord and his magical sword, Demon Bane, Val Karen was a paladin-hero of old. For five decades he stood between Ashlar’s commonfolk and the darkness ever-pressing in on the small, isolated domain. Death is an implacable foe, however, and eventually old age caught up with the redoubtable paladin. Laid to rest not in the scared sepulchre below Tor Abbey but among the hills of his youth Val Koren’s legend—and stories of his legendary blade—live on long after his hidden crypt was lost to time. 

A recently landslide, however, has returned Val Koren’s lost crypt to the world of men. And with it have returned the stories and legends of Demon Bane which is said to rest unclaimed and wielded with him in his sepulchre. 

About Dungeon Backdrops

You are a GM, but you are busy. You want to write your own modules, but you just don’t have the time. And you don’t want to use commercial modules. You want to make your campaign your own. That’s where the Dungeon Backdrop line comes in! Each Dungeon Backdrop presents a fully fleshed out and lovingly detailed self-contained dungeon ready for you to use as you see fit. Stock the dungeon with your own monsters (and—perhaps—their treasure), decide their back story and you are good to go.  

This Dungeon Backdrop is designed to work with the Duchy of Ashlar and Gloamhold campaign setting but can be easily inserted into almost any fantasy campaign. Dungeon Backdrops: we describe the dungeon, you add the monsters (and the treasure).

Don't Forget to Vote

Earlier in the week, I post up my thoughts and a question about the imminent return go the Dungeon Dressing line. I'm very exciting about the return of Dungeon Dressing, and I'd love for you to vote in the poll. Voting closes early next week, so have your say.

Where's My Stuff?

As always, by the time you get this you should have a message from me containing the special secret download codes for these books. Just drop them into your browser and you should be good to go. If you have any problems, just drop me a line and I'll sort it out for you. 

I've also attached tagged and untagged copies of the Splintered Crypt's map to this post for your convenience and gaming pleasure. 

And finally, don't forget to download your copy of Monstrous Lair #35: Ghost-Haunted House!

Thank You!

As always, I want to thank you for being a part of the Raging Swan Press Patreon campaign. Your contribution enables us to keep doing what we do and to produce genuinely useful, flavoursome books and supplements to help busy GMs everywhere run their games with less stress and hassle. Thank you. 

I'd also like to welcome and name check all our new members. Welcome, Douglas Bailey, Patrick Dillon, David Wright, Jess Pendley, Chris Dodge and Andrew Hartsell!

Have a great weekend, and good luck with your game.

Creighton

PS-don't want to be a terrible GM? Read my new GM advice article either at the Raging Swan Press store or on Instagram.