The Necromantic
City Escape The party has arrived
Credits
Story: © Rick Vechel, 2012
Artwork: Undead on cover image by
EriktheGreat (Pixabay). Image on page 7
by OpenClipart-Vectors (Pixabay).
Published by: Vechel Fantasy, 2018
More of these adventures, as well as extra
features like NPC’s and custom items can
be found on
http://www.VechelFantasy.com/
Usage
This adventure is not particular for any set
level or group of players. I’ve created this
adventure as a one shot for Halloween in
2012 (using DnD 3.5). I’ve used this
revisited version for an event in 2018 to
get people acquainted with Dungeons and
Dragons (5e).
In my running of this adventure, I have
reduced the character speeds by 10 ft. per
round. It’s hard to properly portray a
village on just a single table and this will
make the travel more fitting. Besides this,
I also play the combatless parts turn
based: after their movement, they see
what is going on up ahead - feel free to
use it however you prefer, but these
methods helped me greatly during the
playtests.
Depending on the party and their approach
to battle, it might be a good idea to use
small maps for battle purposes. I used a4
or a3 paper battle maps in the fashion of
Final Fantasy: you meet a group of
enemies, the battle starts and they all
appear on a small map, ready for battle!
This adventure is easily set in any setting,
you only need a single remote village or
could even use a city center if a wall is
built around it.
Summary
in a small village
called Wyrmdale
during their travels.
But in the middle of
the night, they are awakened by strange
sounds.
They seem to be alone in the building
(tavern or guard tower) and go outside.
The village is filled with zombies, skeletons
and other undead. Whatever is happening
in this town; it’s dark and necromantic in
nature. The first priority is to find a safe
space but these are almost nowhere to be
found. They have to escape the village.
The village has several exits, although the
party only knows the big entrances along
the main road.
In the village they have several
possibilities to exit. On the central road,
there are several positions where signs are
put up. They can exit using the main
entrance, a side entrance or a path leading
further between and into the mountains.
All gates are locked.
When the party has successfully closed the
gate behind them, the adventure has been
completed.
As the party may be ill-equipped, they can
also venture towards the tavern or farms
for food, the Market District for armor,
weapons and other tools or the mines to
take some gems for their trouble. All with
their own dangers and events. Of course
as where they might even find a place with
the keys to open the gates.
Information
In contrast to other adventures of mine,
you don’t have to use the information for
the players given here for this adventure.
You can use any generic town to do a one-
off or use the following one, called
Wyrmdale. In the near future, more
adventures will be published through
Vechel Fantasy cutting in to this
adventure.
1
Wyrmdale is a small village near the
mountains. The economy revolves around
agricultural activities. The village has extra
work and income due to the gem mines on
the mountainside.
The village is run by a dwarven family,
Braeggings. This family is well-established
in the region and one branch of the family
has settled here in Wyrmdale. There are
several legends about how the mountain
dwarf Lorbic Braeggings led a mercenary
campaign and killed a blue dragon, an
ancient wyrm, centuries ago to claim its
hoard; the gem filled mines. He then built
a trading post around it - the current
Market District and called it Wyrmdale,
using the wealth to craft this village over
several decades. At this moment in time,
the village is ruled by Yudroc Braeggings,
his great-grandchild. The Braeggings have
a private estate on the side of the
mountain, overseeing the village and the
direct region around it. This keep is also
suited for battle, as Lorbic didn’t want to
lose his newfound treasure or have his
town-building venture taken over when the
wyrm was gone.
Adventure Hooks
The adventurers don’t need a direct tie to
this adventure. It can be a small side
quest; they could be passing through this
town on their way to somewhere else.
They could have just as well started in this
town after coming together. You can use
the following methods to invite the players
to participate in this adventure:
> The party is passing through and were
looking for a place to stay the night. While
in the tavern, they are suddenly awoken
by moans, screams and other ominous
sounds. They walk downstairs to enter an
abandoned tavern. As they walk outside,
the first undead are seen and their escape
attempt begins!
> The party was sent to this town as the
nearby city or town was waiting on some
trading goods. The party entered the town
and everything seemed normal. Then
suddenly, they are captured by some kind
of militia and thrown
into cells suspected of
planning a rebellion
against lord
Braeggings. In the
night, they are awoken
by moans, screams
and other ominous sounds. The cell door is
open and the guard building seems to be
abandoned.
As they walk outside, the first undead are
seen and their escape attempt begins!
Adventure:
The Necromantic City Escape
The adventurers are woken up in the
middle of the night by strange noises:
moaning, hissing and the occasional thud.
If they are in prison cells: The door leading
upstairs is open. The cell door seems easy
enough to break (DC 10 Strength check). If
they call for help or a guard, they hear nothing.
If they are in a tavern: The tavern looks
abandoned; not even the barkeep is in sight.
As they go outside, they are immediately
in the direct vicinity of undead monsters;
skeletons and zombies. Depending on their
position, please use the following districts
and areas. The cursive text can be read to
the party.
In the streets in between the locations
(described further along in this document),
there are several points where there are
undead. Roll the specified amount of dice
to conjure up the amount of enemies and
choose which type to use from the Bestiary
on page 12.
The Village Square
Using the map on page 9, the adventurers
come out on the square outside the tavern
in the bottom right of the map.
When you entered the tavern this
afternoon, the square was full of playing
children and parents hanging out after
their work in the mines or on the farms.
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 Small stores had their porches filled with
fresh fruits and more but now everything
is gone. The only thing that remains is a
mist hanging around this area. A few
skeletons turn their head towards the
adventurers, who have opened the door of
the tavern. They slowly move towards the
adventurers, their joints cracking with
every step. Behind them your hear some
moaning - there might be more hiding in
the mist.
Roll 1d3+1 for the amount of skeletons in
front of the players. In the mist behind
them, only one turn away, there are some
zombies. Roll 1d3 for the amount of
zombies and 1d3 Crawling Claws.
After the adventurers have ran away,
hidden or have fought them off, they can
further investigate the square. The four
shops are closed. If they wish, a DC 10
Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check or a DC
15 Strength check will grant them entry.
There they will find some food and some
change; 1d20 copper pieces each.
The Workers District
Using the map on page 9, the adventurers
come out on the square outside the guard
tower in the bottom middle of the map.
As you peek outside of the abandoned
Guard Tower, you hear the joints of the
undead crack as they move further in the
mist. You don’t see anything yet and the
street seems to be clear. To the right, in
the eastern part, you see the dwarven
built wall that indicates the border of the
town of Wyrmdale.
Just then the adventurers suddenly, they
hear something behind the buildings to the
bottom left of the corner. It sounds like a
frightened dog barking at what can only be
more undead. If the adventurers check it
out, they see an alive dog surrounded by
1d4 skeletons at 20 ft. distance.
The small houses surround a small
community garden. In the middle, a
mastiff is barking at some skeletons.
The skeletons slowly
follow the dog and
they seem to have
surrounded it. The dog
has its tail between his
legs and whimpers in
between his barking.
The dog can be successfully saved by
defeating these skeletons. The dog will
accompany the one who delivers the first
hit, using its Keen Senses to warn the
party about enemies in the mist in the
future by growling or drawing your
attention in other (non-vocal) ways.
The Southern Gate
In the south of Wyrmdale, there is a broad
metal gate.
Between the Workers District and the
Village Square there is a gate consisting of
metal plates with spikes on top of them. If
you walk back a bit, you see the dwarven
keep of the Braeggings family up the
mountainside. It seems impregnable as
this gate is embedded in the mountain
itself. You don’t even know how to open
this gate, there is no handle or any hole
that indicates a lock.
There is no way to get past this gate. Even
getting over it is hard due to the spikes
but even harder as the mountain is quite
steep.
The Market District
All day long, carts traveled to and from the
Market District, but now it’s the home of
an undead horror.
On the boulevard, the broad street, carts
set up their pop-up shops and sometimes
use the storage houses on both sides of
the boulevard. The shops like the weapon-
and armorsmith, are in the western part of
the village - one street further.
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The adventurers walk up the steps towards
the Market District, the workplace for
traders, smithies, bowyers and more
artisans and sellers. But as you walk
further, you hear a terrifying roar and the
sound of bones breaking with a loud crack.
As you come closer to the boulevard,
usually filled with merchants and buyers,
you see something big in the mist. You
can’t tell what it is, yet…
Using the Bestiary on page 12, choose or
roll for the Champion undead that lingers
in the middle of this boulevard. It is alone
at this moment in time but will attack
anyone who enters the boulevard.
Sneaking past it requires a DC 15 Dexitery
(Stealth) check.
The storage houses are tightly locked, with
broad chains and sophisticated locks.
Opening it requires a DC 20 Dexterity
(Thieves’ Tools) check to open the locks or
a DC 30 Strength check to tear the chains
and break the doors down. Inside the
storage are chests filled with trading
goods: silks, flour, gems and others.
On the second street, there are several
shops; unlike the pop-up ones, these seem
permanent. All doors are well locked but
less fortified as the ones on the boulevard.
Opening these requires a DC 15 Dexterity
(Sleight of Hand) check to open the locks
or a DC 20 Strength check to kick in the
doors.
The shops are filled with wares. The
adventurers can find the following:
- Weaponsmith:
1d6 Handaxes, 1d6 Light Hammers, 1d3
Maces, 1d8 Spears, 1d6 Battleaxes, 1
Greatsaxe, 1 Greatsword, 1d2 Mauls, 1d4
Morningstars, 1d3 Warpick, 1d4
Warhammers.
- Armorsmith:
1d6 Leather armors, 1d2 studded Leather,
1d2 Chain shirts, 1d2 Scale mail, 1
Breastplate, 1d4 Shields.
- Bowyer:
1d100 Arrows, 1d100 Bolts, 1d4
Shortbows, 1d2 Longbows, 1d3 Hand
Crossbows, 1d2 Light Crossbows.
Behind the stores are
two paths. One leads
to a temple for
followers of the
dwarven god Moradin.
Here the adventurers
find 1d6+1 healing
potions.
The other path leads to an exit...
The Mountain path
To the west, there is a path leading into
the mountains.
It might be perilous, with harpy’s living in
these mountains and there might be some
bandits. But it does sound a lot safer than
the undead hordes even though you don’t
know where this path might lead too.
Before you lies a path through the
mountain - carved out for probably
another trade route.
The only thing standing in your way, is an
iron gate made out of crossed bars
(horizontally and vertically) and with
chains that bind it together.
There is no key in sight, so it is most
logical to try and break through with a DC
15 Strength check. The only downside is,
that upon making sounds, 1d8 Crawling
Claws will appear from the ground below.
Keeping the adventurers in the village for
more undead fun and suspense?
- As you walk into the mountain path for
several minutes, the adventurers see that
an avalanche has blocked their path…
The Eastern Gate
To the east, across the Market District and
in between the Farms and the Workers
District, is one of the two gates of
Wyrmdale, the other one being the
Northern gate.
4
 A gate, over 15 ft. high and about 9 feet
wide stands between you and freedom
from the undead inhabitants swarming
Wyrmdale. It’s closed and probably locked,
but that is a worry for another time as
several undead are in front of the gate.
Roll 1d2 ghouls and 1d2+1 skeletons who
are in front of the gate. The ghoul appears
to be wearing remnants of a guard uniform
and upon an DC 15 Intelligence
(Investigation) check he has the key for
the gate.
In the guard tower, which hinges are
broken, there is a key on a desk. Getting
in the guard tower requires a DC 10
Strength check to kick in the door or a DC
15 Strength (Acrobatics) to climb through
a higher up window. Searching through the
room for the key requires a DC 10 Wisdom
(Perception) or DC 10 Intelligence
(Investigation) check.
With this key or the key hidden in the
clothing of the ghoul-guard, the lock of the
Eastern Gate can be opened.
In the cabinets the adventurers can find
guard uniforms, paperwork about past
trials and inspections as well as 1d6
crossbow bolts. There is a stairway going
up and one going down. Going up you will
go the watchtower. 1d2 Heavy Crossbows
lie there for the taking, together with 1d20
crossbow bolts. Going down will bring you
to two rows of abandoned cells.
Keeping the adventurers in the village for
more undead fun and suspense?
- The Eastern Gate mechanism has broken
down. It’s too large for hinges and the
pulleys that direct the chains are broken
beyond repair. The undead seem to have
put so much pressure on the gate that it
broke down.
The Mining District
In the upper right corner of the village are
the mines; the part of the village that
brings in a lot of money for the Braeggings
family.
The Mining district seems to be the most
recent built - or at least under better
maintenance than other parts of the
village. The road is scarred from the
countless carts that have driven here. At
the entrance of the path, there is a sign
with the words “Medical center”. On the
left and to the right of the road you see a
few safe houses - most of them locked
tight.
Inside the medical center, the adventurers
can easily find 1d4+2 complete Medicine
Kits as well as 1d3+1 healing potions.
The safe houses are harder to come in to.
The locks are massive, requiring a DC 25
Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check to open,
and the doors to sturdy to break down
without specific equipment and probably
beasts and machines.
Further along the way, it seems that a safe
house if open - the same goes for the
doorless building which seems to be
mostly housing beds.
At this part of the road, almost near the
mine itself, 1d4 skeletons and 1d4 zombies
wander. Behind them, on the left side of
the road, a safe house seems to be open.
Inside are 1d4 Warpicks, 1d8 crowbars,
1d8 hammers and several other mining
tools
(such as a shovel, small hammers, chisels but
nothing like explosives in case of your adventurers
asking about this - because they will),
tinker’s
tools, mason’s tools and jeweler’s tools.
On the right side of the road, there are
sleeping quarters for miners after their
shifts. Inside this building, you can’t really
find anything besides bedrolls and some
dice and card sets. As well as a flute, a
violin and two drums!
5
The Farms
In the upper left corner of the village,
there are several agricultural fields barns
and farmhouses.
This part of the city should have been
lively at one time; with farmers and farm
hands and of course the animals. But now
it is filled with the stench of death and rot.
The barns are open, the farms seem
abandoned and you see a small tower up
ahead in the left upper corner, across the
undead livestock.
As the adventurers wander around, 1d8
zombies and 1d12 Crawling Claws can be
used on the path. The animals are undead
as well, although they are passive. Upon
opening the gate or trying to come close, a
Champion arises from the mist. It seems
that it was eating off the livestock.
In the barns, the adventurers find
haystacks, woodcarver’s tools, carpenter’s
tools, weaver’s tools and leatherworker’s
tools as well as 1d6 sickles (curved
daggers) and 1d4 scythes (simple weapon,
1d8 slashing damage, two-handed, 6 lb.).
There is an observatory in the corner, just
in front of the wall. If the adventurers try
and go there, arcane sigils and markings
appear around the tower. If they come
within 5 ft. of the entrance, a successful
DC 15 Wisdom Saving Throw is required to
not be Frightened for 1 minute. If the
Champion has not been alarmed thus far,
it will now storm the adventurers.
The Northern Gate
To the north, between the Miners District
and the Farms, is one of the two gates of
Wyrmdale, the other being the Eastern
Gate.
A gate, over 15 ft. high and about 9 feet
wide stands between you and freedom
from the undead inhabitants swarming
Wyrmdale. It’s closed and probably locked,
but that is a worry for another time as
several undead are in front of the gate.
Roll 1d3 ghouls and
1d4 skeletons who are
in front of the gate.
One of the skeletons
appears to be wearing
remnants of a guard
uniform and upon an
DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check
he has the key for the gate.
In the guard tower, there is a key in a
desk drawer. Getting in the guard tower
requires a DC 10 Strength check to kick in
the door, a DC 15 Strength (Acrobatics) to
climb through a higher up window or a DC
10 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) to open the
lock. Searching through the room for the
key requires a DC 15 Intelligence
(Investigation) check. With this key or the
key hidden in the clothing of the skeletal-
guard, the lock of the Northern Gate can
be opened.
In the cabinets the adventurers can find
guard uniforms, paperwork about past
trials and inspections as well as 1d8
crossbow bolts. There is a stairway going
up and one going down. Going up you will
go the watchtower. 1d2+1 Heavy
Crossbows lie there for the taking,
together with 1d12 crossbow bolts. Going
down will bring you to two rows of
abandoned cells.
Spawning grounds
On the map there are several Spawning
Grounds visible. Each five rounds; roll for
additional Regular undead from the
Bestiary for the spawning grounds to
spawn. This repeated spawning will
activate after the players have passed that
part of the city. Naturally, they start with
one set of Regular undead according to the
dice number noted on the spawning
ground.
Every round, these undead can move.
These can be used to chase players or
push them forward if they hang around too
long at one place to discuss their approach
and such.
6
Battle Tactics
Most undead are mindless puppets. The
same goes for the undead in this
adventure. They primarily swarm the living
to try and catch them. They single out
targets and usually go for advantage in
numbers.
If it comes to who they hunt, they smell
fresh flesh and go after sounds. In combat,
they will go for the loudest one or the one
has destroyed on of their own.
The Walls
The adventurers might just think of
climbing the walls to leave the village. The
problem with that is that the walls are
filled with undead, probably former guards,
which will make it nearly impossible - even
if they have the climbing tools necessary.
Completion
Whenever the party
has reached a gate,
they have the
opportunity to leave
the city and complete
this adventure. But you, as the Dungeon
Master, can decide to stretch out this
adventure. For example, they open a gate
but there is a boulder lying further up the
mountain path, blocking their escape. Or a
gate is so damaged that the key won’t fit.
And these are dwarven gates; not
something you can break through. This
gives you some flexibility if it comes to
time required for a session and keeping it
exciting for the players.
There is no reward, but their life. And
maybe a dog if they have rescued it near
the tavern.
What if?
If the group fails, they probably wind up
dead. In that case, you can always give
the players another attempt using new
characters. A fun little thing to do is using
their fallen characters as zombie enemies.
If the group decides to wait it out in a
building or even in the prison cells, I
recommend the following options:
1. Swarm the building that they are in.
With this option, they will trap themselves
while the undead enemies swarm inside
through windows, doorways and other
possible openings.
2. Daytime does not make these undead
enemies disappear - a curse has been
inflicted upon this town. They will go
hungry, maybe gain Exhaustion levels and
will perish slowly. Not a fun game with the
last option, but it should be enough to
drive the characters to get out.
7
NPC Statistics
There are no statistics for NPC’s necessary
for this adventure, as everyone has been
turned to mindless undead.

Maps
You can use the map provided in this
document on the following pages or find an
attachment to this document (printready).
In the future, more maps will be made
available. Please check out
http://www.VechelFantasy.com/ for future Quick view: Guard tower
updates.
You will also find a few small maps to use
when the party would like to enter
buildings: a guard tower and a tavern.

The village map fits a Chessex Megamp

(88 x 122 cm or 34 ½ inch x 48 inch). But
of course, you can always try to use a map
of a village near you using Google Maps.
Try out this Dutch village for example:
Koningsbosch (Kingsforest)
https://www.google.com/maps/place/51%
C2%B003'09.3%22N+5%C2%B057'11.2%
22E/@51.0539578,5.9532935,13.56z/data
=!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d51.05 Quick view: Tavern
25695!4d5.9531192 or use existing
villages that you have used and/or drawn.

8
Map of Wyrmdale

9
Maps

The base floor of the Guard Towers. There are four desks, each with a chair, in
front of two rows of cabinets on each side. Across the entrance, there are two
stairways, one going up and one going down.

10
The base floor of the tavern. There
is a long bar, three small tables and
one big table. There is a stairway
leading up to rooms for rent and a
door inside a cubbard that leads to
a small storage cellar.
11
Bestiary
You can use the following table for the Adjustments for
Regular monsters that spawn on the higher level
designated spots. On the special spaces, characters
you can also use the Champion table. A If you want to use this
Champion is alway singular, but the adventure on higher
Regular foes can come in multiple levels, you can! This
numbers. These numbers are shown on adventure is suitable for level 1 and
the Adventure description of a certain level 2 characters, maybe even level 3. If
place or district. you want to make it suitable for higher
levels, consider the following creatures:

Creature CR / EXP Location

Regular
Regular

Wight 3 Monster Manual,

Crawling Claw 0 Monster Manual, 700 p300
10 p44
Deathlock 3 Mordenkainen’s
Skeleton 1/4 Monster Manual, Wight 700 Tome of Foes,
50 p272 p129

Zombie 1/4 Monster Manual, Ghost 4 Monster Manual,

50 p316 1100 p272

Ghoul 1 Monster Manual, Revenant 5 Monster Manual,

100 p148 1800 p259

Champions Vampire 5 Monster Manual,

Spawn 1800 p298

Minotaur 2 Monster Manual, Wraith 5 Monster Manual,

Skeleton 450 p273 1800 p302

Ogre Zombie 2 Monster Manual, Champions

450 p316

Wight 3 Monster Manual, Beholder 5 Monster Manual,

700 p300 Zombie 1800 p316

Deathlock 3 Mordenkainen's Bodak 6 Volo’s Guide to

Wight 700 Tome of Foes, 2300 Monsters, p127
p129

Sword Wraith 8 Mordenkainen’s

Commander 3900 Tome of Foes,
p241

Playtest
There has been one playtest of this
adventure in October 2012 with five level 1
characters. This was considered ‘Deadly’.

A rough draft has been play tested in

October 2018 with four level 2 player
characters. This was considered ‘Deadly’.

12