Horror at Gravehollow Hill

A Short Adventure
For 2 to 4 Players
of 1st to 3rd Level
Published by

LPM Media
Writing and Maps: Philip Morgan
Cover Design: Philip Morgan

All work Copyright Philip Morgan 2015 All Rights Reserved

The purchaser of this supplement may print out any and/or all maps and supplemental information from
this eBook as often as desired for personal/private game use.

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Notes and Advice for the Game Master

About This Supplement Module
Notes About Monsters:
This module is designed for use with
almost any fantasy role-playing system and, as
such, contains animals and monsters found in any
setting. Depending on the system you and your
group are using, the creatures presented may be
more powerful (or less powerful) than their
counterparts in your game setting. So feel free to
change, replace, add or substitute as necessary to
meet the needs of your game. If, for some reason,
your setting does not have the specific type of
creature represented, then substitute something
you feel would be an appropriate match for the
type of creature your system would support.
Notes About Named NPCs:
In the case of named NPCs (significant
non-player characters the players may meet), the
character is designed for use in almost any
fantasy role-playing setting and the
adventure they are found in. Feel free to
change them or rename them as necessary for
your game. If equipment or level-dependent
abilities are suggested, again feel free to change,
remove or modify as needed to match what your
game system supports. Anything suggested about
a named NPC is conditional and at the Game
Master's discretion to use or ignore.
Notes About Experience:
Every game system handles experience
rewards differently. It is the opinion of the author
of this module that a group of two to four, first- to
third-level characters should be able to handle the
challenges within without too much difficulty.
However, this is just a very basic suggestion, as it
depends on what a level is in the game system
you are using. For that reason, GMs should award
player experience as they see fit, based on
whatever creatures, traps and treasure they
substitute and provide based on the rules of the
specific setting they are using.
Notes About Treasure and Magic Items:
As stated, this module is designed to be

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used with almost any fantasy setting and any level

of magic available in that setting. That being said,
any treasure or magic items awarded to the
players should be subject the GM's discretion.
Many treasures and magic items are settingspecific and often subject to specific rules found
in the setting rulebooks. The listed items are
merely a guide and not meant to replace any game
mechanics, just a suggestion of treasures the
players may find.
Items of a magical nature may be
described as slightly magical, minor magical,
moderately magical (rarely powerfully magical),
or in the case of weapons and armor may be listed
as a generic +1, +2 or +3, or potions as generic
and non-specific (such as a generic potion of
healing). It is up the GM to determine what is
appropriate given their setting and rules (even
substituting mundane and high quality gear in
place of magic!) and to award goods or coins as
setting-appropriate. If any magic item presented
does not fit your setting, feel free to substitute
something that does. This is a very rough guide to
help Game Masters get a feel of what might be
found by their players during the course of this
adventure module.
Notes About Traps:
When presented, traps encountered by the
players are rough guidelines for the GM and can
be substituted for something more appropriate, if
necessary. The trap should be significant enough
to severely harm the character who triggers it,
perhaps even causing death or unconsciousness if
a save is failed (scale the damage as necessary
based on the setting rules).
Final Notes to the Game Master:
Everything presented in the following
module is designed to be generic, and is in no
way meant to substitute game rules, combat rules,
creature manuals, treasure books or dungeon
modules specifically meant to be used with your
setting of choice, merely supplement them. GMs
are encouraged to add, subtract or change
monsters, traps and treasures as best fits your
game and setting.

Horror at Gravehollow Hill

A Short Adventure for 2 to 4 Players
of Levels 1 to 3 (Novice)
Adventure Backstory For the Game Master:
The village of Raven's Nest has always
lived in the shadow of the large nearby cemetery
known Gravehollow Hill, a place for burying
thieves, deserters and condemned murderers as
well as those who died of plagues or without
relatives to care for them. The negative energy of
such events has seeped into the land, casting a
pall over the village and the cemetery.
A week ago villagers started vanishing in
the night or at dusk, with only a few remains to
mark their disappearance a finger here, a scrap
of bloodied cloth there. Fearing vengeful undead,
the villagers lock and bar their doors and
windows at night. The mayor, a man named
Tinwhistle, is willing to hire anyone brave enough
to venture into Gravehollow Hill and stop the
undead that must surely be the cause of the
disappearances.
However, it is not roaming undead killing
the villagers of Raven's Nest. It is a pack of
bloodthirsty, unusually cunning and rabid wolves
who have taken up residence in a decrepit cairn
called The Mausoleum deep within the cemetery
and are using the village as a hunting ground.
Eliminating these pack killers is the players'
ultimate goal, and doing so will make them
heroes in the eyes of the villagers.
Getting Involved:
These adventure hooks can be used to
draw the characters into the plot:
On their way to a larger city, the players
stop to rest for the night at Raven's Nest.
Rumors from travelers find their way to
the players, speaking of Raven's Nest's
misfortunes, drawing altruistic characters.
Students of history, mages or holy
warriors may be drawn to investigate the dark
histories that surround Gravehollow Hill.
The mayor of Raven's Nest is offering a

Alfredo Amatriain Martinez (Order #10126116)

tidy sum of 50 gold coins and a Writ of Service

(that would open doors with rich and powerful
patrons) to anyone willing to solve the village's
problem.
The Village of Raven's Nest:
Any simple farming village can be
substituted for Raven's Nest, where most people
spend the daylight hours tilling the fields or
tending farm animals. A blacksmith, woodsman,
village trader, innkeeper and staff of the inn are
the only non-farmers in the village. The residents
of the village are mostly human with a few half
elves and halflings scattered among them, and a
handful of elderly people and children rounding
out the village population of 60 people.
A wide dirt road runs through the center of
the village, and most of the simple buildings that
crowd around it are one-story houses made of
stone and wood, with thatch roofs. Wooden barns,
silos and animal pens lay beyond the homes, and
a single mill house stands near the fields.
The only buildings of any real significance
are the mayor's home (a two-story stone house)
and the sprawling Grave Humors Inn and
Tavern right in the center of the village (where
the players will interact most with the locals and
the mayor). The taproom is very large, with a
cellar under the bar and a kitchen accessible from
the bar. Near the wide and always lit fireplace,
one of the tables is reserved for the village trader,
who will be willing to barter with the players for
simple, mundane items and goods.
The Mission:
Any inquiries by the players into matters
here in Raven's Nest will either draw the attention
of Mayor Tinwhistle, or they will be sent to him
directly (for curious PCs, the mayor of Raven's
Nest is a hereditary title, not an elected one). He
is willing to give players a general history of the
village (the GM is encouraged to be creative and
a bit gruesome here) and a basic rundown of the
adventure background when hiring them
keeping in mind the mayor is firmly convinced
that undead are the source of the problem!

Village Rumors:
If the players ask around or keep an ear
open (a Skill Roll), they may hear one or more of
the following rumors from the villagers in the
tavern:
A villager will claim to have heard
howling in the night, and found large wolf
tracks in the mud come morning.
The fog never really lifts from the
cemetery, and a few folks swear they've seen
red eyes glowing from within the fog, watching
them.
Rumor has it one of the old women in
the village is a witch though no one speaks of
it publicly.
Rumors persist that the mayor's family
used to conduct dark rites in their house and
it's how the family stays in power.
The angry spirits of the interred of
Gravehollow are coming back for revenge!
Red Herring:
The following incident may be used by
devious GMs to confound the players further:
Two days before the vanishings started, a
few of the young boys in the village dared one of
their number to go steal a warding holy symbol
from atop the grave of a notorious murderer. The
boys believe the murderer has risen from his
grave as an undead killer, and that they are
responsible for letting him loose.
The Wandering Priest:
A sun god cleric, a man named Faedor
Burrbarrow, has arrived in town. He is aged yet
still strong of faith and will, but is alone and
unsure of his chances against any undead. If the
party consists of fewer than four player
characters, Burrbarrow will join them on their
excursion into the cemetery. If the party has four
PCs, he will take a lot of convincing (tough
Persuasion roll) to join them, thinking men and
women younger than himself can handle things.

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He will provide moral support in both cases, and

be willing to provide holy water and healing for
very modest fees to the players. Burrbarrow is a
seasoned cleric (3rd level) with appropriate spells
and skills, carries a +1 mace and wears chain
mail.
Entering Gravehollow Hill Cemetery:
Gravehollow Hill has a permanent and
thick miasma of fog that covers the ground and
worsens at night. That, combined with the
crowded tombstones, makes for difficult terrain
when moving, with poor visibility that can affect
long-range attacks, usually -2 or -4 on Attack
Rolls depending on the situation.
The area is also tainted, hosting winding
footpaths, twisting trees and an unnatural air of
stillness; this can be used to good effect by a
Game Master willing to play up the creepy
atmosphere to his or her players. The cemetery
grounds are also far larger than they would appear
to be from the outside.
Depending on how willing the players are
to explore the large cemetery, they may be
confronted by one of the following random
animals or monsters:
1d4 large rats
1d3 unusually large bugs drawn to feed
on corpses
3 ghouls drawn by the carnage of the
past week
The Infected:
While the players explore the cemetery,
they will be attacked by a group of villagers that
are frothing at the mouth and gibbering,
seemingly rabid, and are armed with farming
tools. They are hiding behind some tall
tombstones, waiting to ambush the players,
prompting a Fear Roll when they attack. The
villagers seem to be rotting, giving them the
appearance of zombies.
Infected Villagers (4)
The villagers are infected with the same

disease that is affecting the wolves, which is how

the villagers got infected to begin with. They are
crazed and beyond reason or help, and fight until
dead or driven off. Any sort of Healing roll easily
finds wolf bites on the villagers' bodies.
Wolf Pack Attack:
The final confrontation will occur far into
the cemetery, where the pack makes their lair in a
simple stone cairn placed above a mass burial pit
The Mausoleum. The red-eyed, rotting and
mangy pack of rabid wolves is waiting there, and
their condition has made them unusually vicious.
The smell coming from the cairn is awful (have
the players roll an Ability Roll to keep from
getting nauseated; the GM may decide what
failure means), and inside the cairn is where the
players will find the decomposing bodies of most
of the missing villagers.
Rabid Wolves (2+1 per Player)
The wolves are very sick and beyond any
ability to control them, barring magic. They will
fight until death.
Any players bitten during the final battle
may contract rabies from the wolves (a tough
Ability Roll will be required to keep from
contracting the illness), which will quickly
complicate the players' lives unless they get it
cured.
After the adventure ends, Game Masters
or players wanting to explore the source of this
particular rabies infection are welcome to do so,
for it certainly isn't a naturally occurring disease.

Treasures:
In The Mausoleum: 1 plain copper ring, 1
plain silver ring, 10 silver coins (in a pouch), 1
glass eye, 1 topaz necklace
From Mayor Tinwhistle: 50 gold coins and
1 Writ of Service award (a one-time use item to
automatically win a Persuasion contest with a
noble, high-ranking officer or similar NPC)

Alfredo Amatriain Martinez (Order #10126116)

Alfredo Amatriain Martinez (Order #10126116)