Into the Weird Blue Yonder: Ghoul's Church Adventure Location

Here is an adventure location from Into the Weird Blue Yonder to prove that I am still working on it.

Ruined Church at Night by Martin 'Cynicus' Anderson

The Ghoul’s Church:

An old abandoned church dedicated to Saint Catherine often called Our Lady of the Broken for her well known work healing the injured soldiers of the Empire during the reign of the Divine Empress. The windows are smashed and the wood is rotting. The icon of the Saint is missing and the pews are in disarray. Anyone that knows 2 or more Divine Mundanities can tell from sight that this church has been desecrated by negligence.

A Ghoul has taken up residence in the crypt below, hiding from the Medidroids who recognize him as ill. He is an emaciated creature with long limbs, sharpened teeth, and pale, partially translucent skin. He has emptied out the crypt below the church and the Medidroids have left him few corpses to munch on, so he is starving.

The Ghoul of Black Crossing: +5 Bite and Tear (1d8+1), HP: 12, AC: 13, HD: 3. Move: 30ft. Climb: 30ft.

Mimicry: The Ghoul can mimic the voices of those he has consumed. He has eaten a priest, an elderly lady, and the great knight who are all interred in the church crypt amongst others.

When the PCs enter the church, the creaking floorboards will give them away immediately. The Ghoul will speak with the voice of the old vicar and try to get them to come downstairs where he will wait above the archway to drop down on the last person to enter the crypt.

What the Ghoul knows:

• The strange white automata that wander the forest “repair” creatures, putting them back together worse than before. He has not returned to Blackcrossing for a while but he has seen a few of the poor denizens from that village in the forest and they have all been “repaired.”
• The Pitch River is full of monsters.
• He has heard strange, lilting music on the breeze lately though never found its source.
• Some kind of vessel carrying these automata fell from the sky and crashed into the nearby swamp.
• He could sometimes fish very well preserved corpses from the muck of the swamp.

In the Crypt:

Gnawed bones lay around this ancient crypt as the Ghoul nibbled every bit of meat off them. The walls are lined with boxes for the remains of the common church member. Some have been ripped open. The three sarcophagi of notable figures have all been emptied of their corpses:

• One contains the frayed remnants of a faded blue dress and six gold bands worth 10gp each.
• Another holds nothing but the remains of a shredded white robe and a silver holy symbol in the image of Saint Catherine worth 15gp to a historian or member of the clergy.
• This sarcophagus is older and more decorated than the rest. It used to hold the remains of Remus Antioches: a great warrior that slew one of the Witch-Beasts in this area during the reign of the Divine Empress. His armor remains though damaged by time and the ghoul (+4 AC). His golden death mask is worth 50 gp. His sword, Purity, is still there stained by the foul black lifeblood of the Witch-Beast.

Purity, the Blood Stained Blade:

PC Info: +1 Sword (1d8+1). You gain 2 HP. Once per day, you may say the oath written on the blade: “I slay for the Empress!”to gain an additional +1 to hit, damage, and AC for ten minutes.

GM Info: Each time the blade’s power is used, black blood drips from it and spreads slightly farther along the blade. Each day this power is used, roll a Cataclysm Dice on the table below:

Curse of the Witch-Beast:

1d8: A bestial ferocity empowers your blade as you strike.

1d6: Your skin becomes cold and clammy. Warts appear on your skin. You gain -1 Pers.

1d4: Your eyes enlarge and your teeth sharpen. You gain -1 Pers and +2 HP.

Cataclysm: Your back arches and slime drips from your skin constantly, your nails become claws. Your skin becomes a blackish green. You gain -1 Pers and most people who see you fully will take you for a monster and try to kill you.

This curse can be removed by the Crone in the Windmill or by any spell caster or cleric at a high level. If a PC is holding this blade when they meet the Crone: she will fly into a rage at the sight of them. However, if the PC is already showing visual signs of the curse, she will use this to her advantage, offering to remove the curse if the party will do her a favor (pg ??). Medidroids will recognize this curse as a sickness.