1d20 Sword & Sorcery Treasures & Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Copses Table For Your Old School Campaigns

 "His eyes tried to focus on the bloody burnt  heap that had once been a man. The wounds stunk of sulfur, acid, & something not of Earth. It was hard to believe that this mess was once Bran's grandfather King Hul.

'Grandfather what did this to you ?!'
From under one sulfur & acid burnt eye lid an eye of brilliant blue semi focused on the young warrior before him. But fear crawled up the spine of the young warrior.
The voice was the the sound of burnt lungs & rotting  tissue that had no right to be alive right now but spoke anyway. The corpse's words were mere echoes of the king who had taken his retainers & grand sons into the dungeon  entrance to the Underworld. "The hounds of Hades are coming back, I've hidden the treasure in the old gnarled trees below.'
'Take my armor, my sword, & the maps before the pack comes back. Be sure to take he signet ring of your ancestors. Now leave me to die.'
'Go & claim your birthright from below!'
That's when Bran first heard the baying of the pack & he had to hurry! "


Many are the times when adventurers will find the corpses & remains of those who have journeyed into the dungeons before them. Many times these remains have valuables, relics, & treasure upon them left by monsters as mere lures for the foolish & unwary. Sword & Sorcery literature is rife with these sorts of incidents on the trails of fortune & glory. But beware the pathways of fame & fortune are often the road to the coldest of Hell & the Underworld itself. Here then are 1d20 Sword & Sorcery treasures & relics left behind by adventurers who came before you!



There is a 40 % chance that the body is merely bait for some group of deranged warriors waiting in the wings. There is also a 60% chance of encountering some wandering monster that has been attracted by the scent of human terror & suffering. These monsters will attack to defend their food at all costs. Meals in the dungeons & ruins are a precious thing.

1d20 Random Sword & Sorcery Treasures
& Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Corpses Table

1.  A half baked & burnt warrior's corpse has his mail shirt split up the center with the broken & gory remains of his chest hanging out. Nearby a +1 sword has been dropped & a scabbard sits off to one side as the leather belt that held it has been ripped to shreds. Three torches & flint plus iron rations are scattered about. A careful search reveals a shuttered lantern of superior quality. There is an emerald ring worth 100 gold & an earring with 20 gold pieces because of the clan emblem on it. 
2. This woman warrior's corpse is a bloody mess of gore. The armor gone beyond repair but within a sachet at her side is a red gold cup worth 100 gold but her sword has been broken in three pieces. Near the side of the corpse a shattered shield of wood & bronze now so much kindling. 
3. A wizard corpse has been torn in half, his face a blighted mess of gore. The fine robes he wore are shredded beyond all reason. His bag of 50 gold coins lay scattered among the magic powders & chemicals strewn across the floor. His staff has been broken in two but in his robes is a scroll of cure light wounds a serviceable dagger two foot long. Its sheath is on the grown. Weird lights come from a wand of magic missiles that has been dipped in a glowing fungus. 
4.  Half the corpse of a thief whose twin ichor covered daggers lay near by. He has a fine cloak worth fifty gold & a bag containing 50 gold pieces worth of gold dust. Plus there is a very fine amulet of unknown magical quality.
5. The bloody & bruised corpse of a cleric & her assistant that has three bags full of 100 silver pieces, plus several holy books worth 200 to the right order. There is also a good & serviceable mace slick with the brains of some monster. 
6. A  single warrior whose bloody mess of a head is missing but he has a complete work up of light Dark Ages style  armor worth 80 gold pieces plus a +1 sword able to wound creatures of a supernatural. Nearby is the corpse of an orc whose head has been sliced clean through he had several gold & silver rings plus a torc worth 40 gold pieces. 
7. The head of a thief with a nose ring worth 22 gold pieces, an earring in the left ear that acts as protect from evil spell, and a tongue ring of magic missiles. The rest of body has been dragged off down the hall evident by the bloody trail of gore & rotting mess.
8.  The hand of a thief who was a well known cannabal evident by the elaborate tattoo on the hand. There are several rings including a copper ring of passage to a local house of ill repute, a ring of protection along with its slave bracelet. 
9. The fully crushed & mashed corpse of an armored knight of the temple of Light. The corpse contains three jewels, the golden hand of a witch idol, and a bag containing 20 gold pieces. 
10. The zombied & pulped corpse of a strange wizened green humanoid creature that has the robes of a priest, a knarled walking stick, 30 gold pieces, & a map to the lower level of this dungeon. Should anyone get too close the thing's head  will bite for 1d4 points of damage & spread zombie rot disease. 
11.  The bloated & distended body of a warrior that will explode for 1d6 points of damage & 1d8 strange violet fungus will erupt from the thing's stomach. There in the center of the gore is a golden dagger of weird aspect worth 50 gold pieces to a collector of the artifacts of the spores, molds, & fungus goddess. 
12. A wizard's corpse has been hung on a nearby hook, his magical paraphernalia is scattered around including his spell book, staff, short dagger, and two magic rings. The corpse will come to life but can't get down from the hook and simply dangle there menacingly. 
13. Two warriors including one with a strange sword have stabbed each other with lots of minor weapons scattered around. There is a magical dagger of protection from evil as well as 1d6 minor weapons around the pierce corpses. Zombie rot is starting to settle in & each round there is a 10% chance of them coming to life. There are 10 gold pieces of broken jewelry scattered around the melee area. 
14. Three broken & battered corpses belonging to some sword men & duelists have been neatly stacked a top one another. Their swords worth 60 gold pieces each have been placed near by. All loot has been taken from the bodies already. 
15. The broken & torn body of a thief has been ripped apart. The guts lay scattered around & the face has been gnawed off. His tools have been broken and lay scattered around but there is a golden crown that has been secreted within the hidden folds of the corpse's cloak. 
16. The single head of a cleric has been left on the floor, a careful search of the head reveals that there is something in the thing's mouth?! A flawless diamond worth a fortune has been secreted in the thing's mouth but it contains more. The angry ghost of the cleric is now attached to the jewel & each night it will torment the party. The jewel is worth 600 gold pieces but is cursed! Only the temple of light can remove the curse and put to rest the spirit. 
17. The corpse of a broken female acrobat lays splayed out with bloody hand prints all over it. The thing has 1d10 striges nesting on its back & they will attack but our acrobat has hidden a bag of 30 silver pieces nearby. 
18.  A  box lays on the side of the dungeon with the unliving head of a wizard inside. The thing will try to curse anyone foolish enough to open the box. But he has a strange jewel worth a hundred gold pieces on its head. The thing can also cast a chain lighting spell every three or so rounds. The box contains in a hidden compartment the  jewels to a minor royal family worth a 1000 gold pieces. 
19. Several bags lay atop ten pools of blood, these bags contain the remains of a warrior who ran afoul of a necromancer. The necromancer killed the warrior but has not been back to claim his foul prize. There is a bag containing 200 gold pieces worth of loot belonging to the former warrior. There is also a nasty phantom laying in wait for the party fifty feet away.
20. A giant monster's head lays in the center of the dungeon hallway. The thing is animated & hates adventurers with every fiber of its being. It will hover and move 20" feet per round. The thing will hurl insults as it tries to bite for 1d10 points of damage or hurl its tongue for 1d6 points of barbed damage. The thing is protecting a nearby tomb of a forgotten prince that contains two minor artifacts of power. The lich in the tomb turned the poor bastard adventurer into this thing. 

1d10 Random Strange Caravans & Weird Merchants From Beyond Table For Your Old School Campaigns

 In a lost land, that only dreams have known,

Where flaming suns walk naked and alone;
Among horizons bright as molten brass,
And glowing heavens like furnaces of glass,
It rears with dome and tower manifold,
Rich as a dawn of amarant and gold,
Or gorgeous as the Phoenix, born of fire,
And soaring from an opalescent pyre
Sheer to the zenith. Like some anademe
Of Titan jewels turned to flame and dream
The city crowns the far horizon-light
Over the flowered meads of damassin ....
A desert isle of madreperl ! wherein
The thurifer and opal-fruited palm
And heaven-thronging minarets becalm
The seas of azure wind....

(Note: These lines were remembered out of a dream, and are given verbatim.)

The City in the Desert  (1922)
by Clark Ashton Smith


They come from out of the wasteland sands on alien creatures changing & metamorphosing to fit the local time & space. There are so many names but they all have come to sell their wares. The merchant princes, the queens of the road, the travelers, & many others. They come from all walks of life & places unknown. The folk are an amalgam of many of the exotic, the alien, the unwanted, & the list goes on. But they are also the dreamers & the dream. There are powerful half blooded Elven princes among their ranks & dreamers of the first order. Assassins of 2nd level guarding the wiles of  alien escorts of the most dangerous & erotic aspect.
When these caravans come to call the merchant princes will come to call on the rulers & authorities of the local cities. Ancient contracts promising horrid curses are sited & pacts made every two hundred years are shook over a small pile of gold pieces.

He is not what he appears to be

Ilusionists are some of the most valuable members of these mysterious caravans providing cover, creating distractions, & providing shows that attract people by the hundreds. This in turn provides the caravan marketplace with lots of customers. Wares are traded, soul pacts are made, & hundreds of pieces of dreams flow into the golden vessels of the caravans. The ancient powers of the Elves continue to ply their trade as they do in the modern day.
Going to a caravan market place may provide a party with a key book, occult treatise or other rare supernatural item forty percent of the time. There are certain forbidden tents where the erotic & exotic arts perform. But there are one or two 'special tents' that have late night or early morning performances at 'the hour of the soul.' These performances will drain one point of wisdom per customer & are by invitation only.
The merchant princes use these pieces of the human soul to perform black miracles back in their own lands far beyond the realms of dream.



There are often opportunities for adventurers to hire on to such caravans are paramount with them offering one  gold piece a day for grunt work &  six pieces for guard, military, & cargo duties. But there often powerful spirits & other supernatural predators among the 'acts' of these merchant princes. Those who hire on can be seen as potential fuel as well & should regard their tenure among these caravans as temporary at best. But there are valuable 'fairy gold' to be had & many an adventurer has been tempted by rumors of it. There is only death waiting for them however unless they are very careful. There will be a 20,000 to 2,000 gold piece treasury used by the caravan but there will be a efreet or genie guarding it of the most vile aspect. These 'treasures' will often turn to leaves or other debris when the characters exit the holding wagons. Changelings are often exchanged for strong human children who are considered a valuable treasure in their own right.
The various princes are often huldra ("hidden being") Elven blooded beings able to exist in the human world while powerful Elven wizards equip their caravans from Fairyland. These are seen as investments by their masters for the power of pure human souls is a value among the supernatural powers of incredible occult potential.
These caravans move across time, space, & dreams taking the relics from a million worlds but they are seldom what they appear to be.


1d20 Random Strange Caravans & Weird Merchants From Beyond Table 

1. Prince Albrus & his cohorts are a merchant train of incredible potential that is looking for a heir to a throne in Fairyland. His ties to the court of Hell allow him to sell medical miracles & occult secrets from across the planes. He is sardonic & very vein however & this can be used to the advantage of adventurers but his wraith is very dangerous. 
2. The Princess Truse & Prince Rous The Justice are two of the most devious & dangerous of the merchant princes. Their caravan is the cover for a Fey thieves & assassins guild of the most vile kind. Every two hundred years they follow a route that allows them to snatch & grab human babies for  changelings. Assassinate heads of state & then for good measure steal candy from children. These two however sell a wide array of occult components & artifacts to royalty from Fairyland. 
3. The Caravan of Wonders - This traveling troupe of magicians & performers is actually the cover for a lawfully aligned group of Fey & Elves who are hunting down the pawns of Hell & Chaos. They have many among their ranks who act as illusionists & wizards while their knights & paladins move across the land. There are twelve ranks of thieves who spy & steal from the wealthy patrons of cults & temples of depravity. 
4. Deacons of Depravity & Malice this caravan offers many different medical cures & a wide array of pleasures of the flesh. But in fact they have among their ranks some of the most dangerous necromancers ever to walk out of Fairyland. They seek the souls of the unwary and trade them for magick and illusionary treasures.
5. Trades of Nature is a group of traveling druidic priests & priestesses who help farmers & the like with crop issues & problems all the while being a cover for Fey. These spirits of the Earth actually are looking for an ancient temple of theirs across the planes but help farmers. Occasionally they trade for the soul of a child to help restore a particularly bad area.  They use the miracle of the Wicker man to restore the land.
6. Those Who Restore The Balance - This large caravan trades minor occult miracles, shows, & odd relics as they repair farm implements, address crowds with minor farming information, sell seeds, & are greatly regarded. These merchants are looking for a minor chaos cult whose sins have caused a disruption in the fabric of time. They have made a deal with an Elven wizard to sell his wares for the right of murder when they find them. That was two hundred years ago & they continue to travel. 
7. The Seekers of Lom - A troupe of traveling druids & seekers of wisdom who often come to predict the coming harvests & crop rotations. These traders are actually monster hunters and seek the abominations of Chaos to root out & destroy. They trade in information & seeds for their services while providing cover to seek out the destroyers of their master Lom. Occasionally they will take on an apprentice & use a changeling his or her place. 
8. The Caravan of Ull - This troupe of Elves is one of the most prolific in Europe & uses a wide variety of circus & faires to cover their activities. They serve the ancient Greek Muses & are often used to seek out aspiring artists to take with them back to Fairyland & the Underworld. 
9. The Tattered Ones - A Fall troupe of traders & acrobats whose performances hide the activities of one of the most dangerous occult witch hunters seen from Fairyland. Their hatred of covens & other pagan cults is widely known but their agenda is not. They leave a tattered doll after a hunt & murder of a coven at the site of a grove. There are rumors of twelve assassins guilds offering them up a child or two for apprenticeship every seven years. 
10. The Dark Ones in Shelter - This Spring group of Dark Elves comes to trade with human settlements in the most remotest corners of the world. They offer wisdom, food, farming advice, medical help, & worship. They are actually dark Elven paladins & knights who travel among humanity searching for the Devil's cults to murder & after centuries have gotten very good at it.

1d7 Random Lovecraftian Sword & Sorcery Adventure Hooks Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Horror & evil grow like a cancer across the worlds, heroes are needed to stem the tide of this cancer. Men & women of valor,courage, and wisdom. Monsters, tyrants, & nameless horrors straight from the depths of the deepest underworld threaten the mortal realm. Are your heroes ready to meet this these threats head on?



These Sword & Sorcery hooks are set at levels three through six for PC's of B/X Dungeons & Dragons as well as most retroclones such as Labyrinth Lord or Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition.


These could be used as adventure or campaign starters with some tweaking for your own home Sword & Sorcery campaign settings. These hooks are set up with an experienced group of players in mind with mid tier characters in mind.


1d7 Random Sword & Sorcery Adventure Hooks Table

1. A pack of Nightguants has taken residence with a nearby set of ruins. Each night they take a random person on a wretched journey to a hag that strips them of vital life essence and returns them before morning. Each victim always has the same bone jarring nightmare of her asking them over & over about a hidden hoard of treasure in some ruined temple. The village priest is advertising for adventurers to track her down & destroy the monster! The village itself is becoming ruined because no is maintaining the place and the nightgaunts are unnerving as well as consuming the livestock in the most horrid fashion. There is a +2 dagger & small 120 gold piece stash within their nearby hide out. 
2. A necromancer has moved into the area & has gathered a cult of death worshipers nearby in a hidden grove. Each night zombies rise from the ground to gather around a sacred set of stones and worship a demon he or she has summoned for some unknown purpose. The place is getting an evil reputation among nearby villages and there is a festival coming up.The village elders are looking for heroes to destroy the necromancer & restore order. There are rumors of a treasure buried in the center of the standing stones.
3. A basilisk has taken residence within the ruins of a once rich temple of Apollo and is coveting the former offerings of the god. Priests of Apollo are seeking adventurers to take down the foul creature but there is a demon behind the thing who is guiding its actions. He wishes to attract a cult to further befoul the place. The heroes receive dreams of the monster going on a rampage through a nearby village. 
4. Villagers have recently uncovered in a field a sealed vault of the Elder Things a giant black pudding  and the thing is on a rampage each night at the hour of the dead. Fields, crops, and villagers have been killed and a wizard as well as heroes are needed to put the thing down. 
5. A hunger spirit has been let loose by the meddling of a local wizard and now crops, people, animals are all dying. An ancient talisman of the Ancient Ones is needed to put the thing to rest. The artifact is found in the temple of the gargoyles nearby hidden within the grove of the old ones. There is said to be other treasure there as well. 
6. A young druid has angered a shambling mound who was resting as a part of the grove of elder trees. Now the thing rampages each evening destroying and all in its way. A horrid fate awaits any who crosses its path but there are rumors of a necromancer who might be using it to uncover a treasure of old. The thing has killed three villagers already. 
7. A young priest of Cthulhu has come looking for converts to his twisted faith & is assisted by 5 zombies of Deep Ones whom he has awoken from deathless slumber. Now he seeks their grand tomb in the nearby endless swamp of Woe. He is holding the local village hostage and needs brave adventurers to plumb its depths.
   
   
   Out of what crypt they crawl, I cannot tell,
   But every night I see the rubbery things,
   Black, horned, and slender, with membranous wings,
   They come in legions on the north wind’s swell
   With obscene clutch that titillates and stings,
   Snatching me off on monstrous voyagings
   To grey worlds hidden deep in nightmare’s well.
   
   Over the jagged peaks of Thok they sweep,
   Heedless of all the cries I try to make,
   And down the nether pits to that foul lake
   Where the puffed shoggoths splash in doubtful sleep.
   But ho! If only they would make some sound,
   Or wear a face where faces should be found!
   
   Night-Gaunts  (1939)
   by Howard Phillips LovecraftWritten circa 1930. First published in Weird Tales (no. 34, no. 6, December 1939).
   Part of the "Fungi from Yuggoth" cycle of poems.

1d7 Random Lovecraftian Sword & Sorcery Adventure Hooks Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Horror & evil grow like a cancer across the worlds, heroes are needed to stem the tide of this cancer. Men & women of valor,courage, and wisdom. Monsters, tyrants, & nameless horrors straight from the depths of the deepest underworld threaten the mortal realm. Are your heroes ready to meet this these threats head on?


These Sword & Sorcery hooks are set at levels three through six for PC's of B/X Dungeons & Dragons as well as most retroclones such as Labyrinth Lord or Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition.


These could be used as adventure or campaign starters with some tweaking for your own home Sword & Sorcery campaign settings. These hooks are set up with an experienced group of players in mind with mid tier characters in mind.


1d7 Random Sword & Sorcery Adventure Hooks Table

1. A pack of Nightguants has taken residence with a nearby set of ruins. Each night they take a random person on a wretched journey to a hag that strips them of vital life essence and returns them before morning. Each victim always has the same bone jarring nightmare of her asking them over & over about a hidden hoard of treasure in some ruined temple. The village priest is advertising for adventurers to track her down & destroy the monster! The village itself is becoming ruined because no is maintaining the place and the nightgaunts are unnerving as well as consuming the livestock in the most horrid fashion. There is a +2 dagger & small 120 gold piece stash within their nearby hide out. 
2. A necromancer has moved into the area & has gathered a cult of death worshipers nearby in a hidden grove. Each night zombies rise from the ground to gather around a sacred set of stones and worship a demon he or she has summoned for some unknown purpose. The place is getting an evil reputation among nearby villages and there is a festival coming up.The village elders are looking for heroes to destroy the necromancer & restore order. There are rumors of a treasure buried in the center of the standing stones.
3. A basilisk has taken residence within the ruins of a once rich temple of Apollo and is coveting the former offerings of the god. Priests of Apollo are seeking adventurers to take down the foul creature but there is a demon behind the thing who is guiding its actions. He wishes to attract a cult to further befoul the place. The heroes receive dreams of the monster going on a rampage through a nearby village. 
4. Villagers have recently uncovered in a field a sealed vault of the Elder Things a giant black pudding  and the thing is on a rampage each night at the hour of the dead. Fields, crops, and villagers have been killed and a wizard as well as heroes are needed to put the thing down. 
5. A hunger spirit has been let loose by the meddling of a local wizard and now crops, people, animals are all dying. An ancient talisman of the Ancient Ones is needed to put the thing to rest. The artifact is found in the temple of the gargoyles nearby hidden within the grove of the old ones. There is said to be other treasure there as well. 
6. A young druid has angered a shambling mound who was resting as a part of the grove of elder trees. Now the thing rampages each evening destroying and all in its way. A horrid fate awaits any who crosses its path but there are rumors of a necromancer who might be using it to uncover a treasure of old. The thing has killed three villagers already. 
7. A young priest of Cthulhu has come looking for converts to his twisted faith & is assisted by 5 zombies of Deep Ones whom he has awoken from deathless slumber. Now he seeks their grand tomb in the nearby endless swamp of Woe. He is holding the local village hostage and needs brave adventurers to plumb its depths.
   
   
   Out of what crypt they crawl, I cannot tell,
   But every night I see the rubbery things,
   Black, horned, and slender, with membranous wings,
   They come in legions on the north wind’s swell
   With obscene clutch that titillates and stings,
   Snatching me off on monstrous voyagings
   To grey worlds hidden deep in nightmare’s well.
   
   Over the jagged peaks of Thok they sweep,
   Heedless of all the cries I try to make,
   And down the nether pits to that foul lake
   Where the puffed shoggoths splash in doubtful sleep.
   But ho! If only they would make some sound,
   Or wear a face where faces should be found!
   Night-Gaunts  (1939)
   by Howard Phillips LovecraftWritten circa 1930. First published in Weird Tales (no. 34, no. 6, December 1939).
   Part of the "Fungi from Yuggoth" cycle of poems.

Keeping The Adventurers All In The Family - 1d7 Random Sword & Sorcery Blood Relative Patrons Table For Old School Campaigns

The two barbarian warriors crossed the wilderness as well as the  wastelands just to get to these strange & sick looking bio mechanical towers that hovered over them. They hurt the eyes of the warriors just to look upon.
'I was expecting more Crum, the architectural aesthetic for those towers is so two thousand years ago.'
'Look we need his help if we're going to get to star port temple, you knew taking the job you were going to have to deal with the old pervert.'
'Yeah but everything always revolves around blood, demons, magick, & sex with him. He's like what fifty thousand years old? You'd think that Martar The Servant of Santus'  would have had his fill by now'
'Would you? For your information I'm only four seven and half thousand years old and my harem is quite extensive. Most likely you two might be my great grand sons twice removed. In fact this country is filled with my grand progeny'
'Are you going to help us or not Grandfather Martar or not?'
The old wizard considered them both for a moment with deep & abidingly  inhuman eyes under brows snow white like the snow around them.
'What's in it for me?'
Crum smiled that half lopsided smile of his.Mostly because of the half healed scar from his pit fighting days.
The three were enveloped in a gust of snow, elderith energies, & a hearty laugh of things best not discussed. 
Wizardly patrons for parties are rare, dangerous, wily, and some can almost be of a god level. Many are hundreds if not thousands of years old. Many wizards willingly cultivate their own adventuring groups of 2nd to 3rd level often with their own blood flowing through the veins of such parties. Many such wizards have inhuman, demonic, or monstrous genetic material within their own veins. This often gives even the most good repudiation wizards a capricious and wily sense of humor leaving them someone never to cross during deals or dealings with such.


There is a 1d4 chance where such powerful wizards are operating that any NPC that the player characters are dealing with maybe related through familial or other relationships to such a wizards. Wizards of this caliber often have such later operations with blood ties to ensure far more supernatural or preternatural success in rites, rituals, and even Vancian based spells. When there are four or more blood relatives present or precipitating in magick rites  there is a 40% chance of the spells effects & duration being doubled. The supernatural forces, spirits, and gods may look favorable on such operations. 

There is a 60% chance that such a wizardly patron may call on adventurers for a favor or errant. The wizard is available for magical research & identification of magic items at a 30% discount & may elect to buy any treasure from PC's. But this might be at a substantial discount. There could be complications if such privileges are abused or if the PC's sell to a rival wizard instead of their own blood. A loss of honor in certain supernatural regions could result as well with more monstrous members of such families.
There is also a 20% chance that such a wizard may have a god or demon  of magick or the occult as a parent further complicating such relations & adventure opportunities.

1d7 Random Sword & Sorcery Blood Relative Wizard Patron Table 

1. Segus The Magnificent is a 20th level wizard whose gone into semi retirement & has a large colony of great grand children across the dimension some of whom are not human. He is an active & dangerous patron when it comes to adventuring as he has a keen interest in the fate of certain Prime Material worlds. He also has a blood war with an underworld demon & his own progeny. He loves illusions & music of all kinds, there are several noted bards within his blood lines. 
2. Titus of Rhoades - A highly dangerous necromancer whose mother was the goddess of witches. Titus loves to play the scholar & admirer of beauty as well as patron of the arts while he worms his way into academic or political circles whist placing family members in key positions of power. He is a depraved worm of the lowest order. 
3. Ironus Mull witch of the heavens, this witch has an entire tribe of great grand children devoted to her & several power witches within. She also has several key heroes and necromancers placed within routes of power & adventure. Her overall goals are murky at best. 
4. Tina Hargraver - The white hero of Hargrave is one of the most powerful wizards the PC's are ever to encounter. A great spy mistress and mover of nations this wizard has hand picked sons & daughters scattered throughout the worlds spreading her brand of adventuring & magic making. Ti'na as she is know all that more powerful as a seller of information & favors. Two great hero kings & queens of near by nations  are her sons & daughters.
5. Yotri The Wise One - A seemingly harmless beggar & man of knowledge who wanders from place to place in the company of heroes & gods is actually one of the foremost divine wizards with progeny spread across the universe. He collects favors, treasures, and tithes from his blood. He is actually a highly dangerous wizard because of his connections and seemingly good nature. He is a master manipulator and rumored to be son of a trickster god. 
6. Quses The Bold A wizard of some renowned who has retired to her tower in the deep wilderness. Quses The Bold is a queen of natural magic that has spawned two groves of druids who rule her kingdom & expand her realm planting trees & spell soaked seeds where ever they go. This gives her magick a foot hold & spies of ent blood across the dimensions. It is rumored she has switched sexes and fathered a hero or two but none bare broach the subject. 
7.   Martar The Servant of Santus is a master of sex, death, and demonic magick whose reach has touched twenty two worlds. He is a master of seven star systems whose not slowed down. Rumored to be the son of a dragon & a sky goddess this wizard is a wily and dangerous foe who places his family at key points in history. 

1d15 Random 'Witch Fated' Treasures & Relics of Occult Power Table

"I utter in words my thanks to the Ruler of all, the King of Glory, the everlasting Lord, for the treasures which I here gaze upon, in that I have been allowed to win such things for my people before my day of death! Now that I have given my old life in barter for the hoard of treasure, do ye henceforth supply the people's needs, — I may stay here no longer. Bid the war-veterans raise a splendid barrow after the funeral fire, on a projection by the sea, which shall tower high on Hronesness as a memorial for my people, so that seafarers who urge their tall ships from afar over the spray of ocean shall thereafter call it Beowulf's barrow."
Line 2795 of Beowulf

There are relics & treasures that have fallen from the hands of kings that they are wreathed in destiny. Songs are sung of their stories but they have gone into the claws of dragons, demons, & monsters in lairs under the Earth. These relic are the lost pieces of another age claimed by monsters. PC's who find these treasures are often caught into the skein of fate & may find themselves on an adventure regardless.

Any of these  items  often of legend & myth find their way into the claws of some seriously dangerous dragons or monsters. They are often 40% chance cursed or worse 'witch fated.' Witch fated relics & treasures bare the mark of  occult power or supernatural influence. Covens, cults, & groves of witches of the most dangerous stripe desire these items. They are often part & parcel of the complex supernatural relationships that arise between dragons & covens of local witches. Any time that one of these items of power leaves a hoard there is a 70% chance that a cell of witches or their agents with the 'sight' will seek the person who has possession of it.


There is a 20% chance of these items having some odd supernatural quirk or power that has been soaked up over the hundreds of years laying next to a sleeping dragon. Consult the appropriate type of dragon for possible powers or abilities of these items. Dragons may go on the war path to recover such a minor relic because it has gone missing. Villages may burn, crops turned to ash, and places of power may feel their Hellish wraith.
Those possessing such items may be troubled by horrid dreams & visions of impending doom & depravity. The dragon may supernaturally become aware of the owner of the item through their dreams & may be able to track them across the Astral planar dreamscape.

1d15 Random 'Witch Fated' Treasures
& Relics of Occult Power Table

1. The Golden Cup of ARA - This cup has been carved of golden wood & has an interior of gold overlay. The cup is a sacred relic & able create a healing drought for 1d6 people every new moon. The goddess ARA watches over the relic but its been missing since a dragon stole it after having infiltrated a coven to claim it as their own. The cup is worth a cool thousand gold pieces to the right collector. 
2. The Ring of the Doppelgangers - This ring now belongs to a treasure hoard of a powerful witch whose been cursed to become a red dragon of the most dangerous aspect. The ring allows one to summon the fetch of another & the evil soul twin must answer any questions put to it truthfully. The ring was originally used for an ascension ceremony of power within a local coven. But its been missing for over two hundred years.  Worth about 600 gold pieces to a local lord who wants it for  nefarious reasons.
3. Eye of the Chaos Goddess - This strange crystal gem allows the owner to gaze into the nearby dimensions & planes. The eye will allow one to know the names of power of these creatures making summoning them far easier. The owner has an 80% chance of summoning them depending upon planar weather conditions. Originally this was a military item used in a war on the forces of law. But the coven to whom it belonged to was ransacked by a dragon of incredible occult power. The goddess has been trapped within for centuries. 
4. The Wands of The Fetches - This wand allows one to summon their shadow self from the plane of death & allow it to show the pathways to hidden destinies & treasures. The wand originally was used by a dragon to test the occult potential of new witches & wizards in its area. The wand was stolen by an evil witch who used it to amass a hoard & turn herself into a dragon of unstable power. Since then it has not been seen in three hundred years. 
5. The Golden Plate of Ra - This plate of purest gold comes from the depths of Fairyland & allows one to gaze into the pits of the Old Gods where Ra was trapped during his death cycle. The plate allows one to find the occult paths of power allowing a witch or wizard to cast one level higher spells their PC's actual level. The plate has a price in the form of a temporary wisdom point each day which take the form of gold tears. The plate has been in the hoard of a dangerously evil wizard who has a pet dragon with the plate as the centerpiece of his hoard. The witches of Ra want it back however. 
6. The Casket of Power & Destiny - This casket contains the soul of a powerful witch & her occult power. The casket can be used by anyone to create 2nd level witches spell like abilities but its real power is the ability to heal even the most grievous injuries each full moon. A dragon has been guarding it for two centuries until the chosen one comes. 
7. The Puzzle of Tears - This set of finely wrought puzzle pieces allows one piece together the soul of a person whose had their soul torn apart. The puzzle must be used by a 6th level witch in a place of power under the waxing moon. A swamp dragon has been guarding it against a local group of dangerous witches who belong to the goddess of black tears. They will pay handsomely for it. 
8. The Hand of Despair - This ancient withered & decaying piece of flesh once belonged to one of the white witches of Fairyland until she was cursed by a dragon of dire aspect. The crone that resulted was a hag of the first order & rampaged across parts of the countryside. Her evil was contained in her hand after a knight cut it off. A dragon of power took the hand for safe keeping but recently she has returned as an undead demonic thing & has begun killing mystics trying to track down her hand. The hand allows one to use many of the minor abilities of a hag but the owner must kill every seven days. 
9. The Agates of the Gods - These jewel encrusted stones are the gem covered gal stones of a dangerously murderous dragon taken from his gut by a witch whose husband slayed the beast. They are said to have the power to kill a minor god. But they are very pretty items & worth 60 gold pieces each. There are ten of them each of them pertaining to the ten fingers or miracles of the minor gods. Only the witch's coven knows their secrets & they will murder the owner to get the stones back! 
10. The Crown of the Ancient Swords Woman - This strange crown once belonged to a minor princess of Fairyland & it allows the owner to harm demons when wielding a sword. The crown was used to slay an ancient demon after it was taken from its owner by a dragon. He seduced its previous owner & enchanted it with the ability to once a day create a door into Fairyland. The ancient Coven of the Swords Woman has been trapped in Fairyland ever since. Now they wish to return home. They have a small treasure to give the party who saves them. 
11. The Glass of Looking - This ancient mirror allows the owner to gaze into nearby occult realms of power & triple the effects of any spell they cast while tapping the mirrors power. The mirror however holds an evil  dragon within its depths & it is currently owned by a coven of witches who use to plan the kidnapping of local children to sell into slavery in Fairyland. The parents of one of the children wants revenge on them. 
12. The Knife of Decay - This occult relic of power is often used to cut the cords of the soul allowing the owner to experience the realms of death without dying. They can visit with the recently deceased one last time and find out some vital piece of information. But the knife is currently owned by a death dragon of dire aspect. She has twelve witches of Death after her & they will do anything to get the knife from her clutches. The knife can also cause anything it touches to decay & melt when struck by it within 1d8 rounds. Death itself would also like the knife back but is amused by the antics surrounding it. 
13. The Casket of Is - This casket contains the soul of a demon called 'Is' a creature of no great importance whose name is used to keep it trapped within the relic. The relic allows the owner to access its power to see twelve possible visions of the future. Each vision is governed over by the soul of a witch but every twelve visions a dragon astral stalks the owner to eat their souls. The casket is currently in the possession of a dying witch who wants to pass it on to another but her circle wants it. The demon on the other hand will send 1d6 minor demons to torment the PC's because it can to attract their attention. 
14. The Ark of Lu - This ark once belonged to a witch goddess named Lu whose power was vast & dangerous. Lu used her abilities to steal the souls of the newly dead for her spiritual slave ship of power. The gods found out about her project & locked her away in the ark where she waits & preys on any covens foolish enough to own the ark. She now has a dragon in her clutches who is in human form to find the Ark. The ark allows the owner to access the deep magicks & can take on some of the goddesses power for 1d8 hours. The owner gains the ability to charm, cast 1st level spells, & has access to the witch goddess clerical magic. The owner however will want & become addicted to the ark's power. 
15. Splinter of the True Coffin - This strange piece of wood drips with the blood of a moon goddess whose power comes from her true coffin. The coffin now holds her undead remains & it allows the owner to find her. A dragon is after the splinter & his witches want the power of the moon goddess for themselves but a cleric of Law is after them. The splinter will find the PC's & involve them in its tapestry of blood & mayhem. There is a 600 gold piece emerald in the top of the coffin.

1d10 Random Strange Caravans & Weird Merchants From Beyond Table For Your Old School Campaigns

 

In a lost land, that only dreams have known,
Where flaming suns walk naked and alone;
Among horizons bright as molten brass,
And glowing heavens like furnaces of glass,
It rears with dome and tower manifold,
Rich as a dawn of amarant and gold,
Or gorgeous as the Phoenix, born of fire,
And soaring from an opalescent pyre
Sheer to the zenith. Like some anademe
Of Titan jewels turned to flame and dream
The city crowns the far horizon-light
Over the flowered meads of damassin ....
A desert isle of madreperl ! wherein
The thurifer and opal-fruited palm
And heaven-thronging minarets becalm
The seas of azure wind....

(Note: These lines were remembered out of a dream, and are given verbatim.)

The City in the Desert  (1922)
by Clark Ashton Smith


They come from out of the wasteland sands on alien creatures changing & metamorphosing to fit the local time & space. There are so many names but they all have come to sell their wares. The merchant princes, the queens of the road, the travelers, & many others. They come from all walks of life & places unknown. The folk are an amalgam of many of the exotic, the alien, the unwanted, & the list goes on. But they are also the dreamers & the dream. There are powerful half blooded Elven princes among their ranks & dreamers of the first order. Assassins of 2nd level guarding the wiles of  alien escorts of the most dangerous & erotic aspect.
When these caravans come to call the merchant princes will come to call on the rulers & authorities of the local cities. Ancient contracts promising horrid curses are sited & pacts made every two hundred years are shook over a small pile of gold pieces.

He is not what he appears to be

Ilusionists are some of the most valuable members of these mysterious caravans providing cover, creating distractions, & providing shows that attract people by the hundreds. This in turn provides the caravan marketplace with lots of customers. Wares are traded, soul pacts are made, & hundreds of pieces of dreams flow into the golden vessels of the caravans. The ancient powers of the Elves continue to ply their trade as they do in the modern day.
Going to a caravan market place may provide a party with a key book, occult treatise or other rare supernatural item forty percent of the time. There are certain forbidden tents where the erotic & exotic arts perform. But there are one or two 'special tents' that have late night or early morning performances at 'the hour of the soul.' These performances will drain one point of wisdom per customer & are by invitation only.
The merchant princes use these pieces of the human soul to perform black miracles back in their own lands far beyond the realms of dream.



There are often opportunities for adventurers to hire on to such caravans are paramount with them offering one  gold piece a day for grunt work &  six pieces for guard, military, & cargo duties. But there often powerful spirits & other supernatural predators among the 'acts' of these merchant princes. Those who hire on can be seen as potential fuel as well & should regard their tenure among these caravans as temporary at best. But there are valuable 'fairy gold' to be had & many an adventurer has been tempted by rumors of it. There is only death waiting for them however unless they are very careful. There will be a 20,000 to 2,000 gold piece treasury used by the caravan but there will be a efreet or genie guarding it of the most vile aspect. These 'treasures' will often turn to leaves or other debris when the characters exit the holding wagons. Changelings are often exchanged for strong human children who are considered a valuable treasure in their own right.
The various princes are often huldra ("hidden being") Elven blooded beings able to exist in the human world while powerful Elven wizards equip their caravans from Fairyland. These are seen as investments by their masters for the power of pure human souls is a value among the supernatural powers of incredible occult potential.
These caravans move across time, space, & dreams taking the relics from a million worlds but they are seldom what they appear to be.


1d20 Random Strange Caravans & Weird Merchants From Beyond Table 

1. Prince Albrus & his cohorts are a merchant train of incredible potential that is looking for a heir to a throne in Fairyland. His ties to the court of Hell allow him to sell medical miracles & occult secrets from across the planes. He is sardonic & very vein however & this can be used to the advantage of adventurers but his wraith is very dangerous. 
2. The Princess Truse & Prince Rous The Justice are two of the most devious & dangerous of the merchant princes. Their caravan is the cover for a Fey thieves & assassins guild of the most vile kind. Every two hundred years they follow a route that allows them to snatch & grab human babies for  changelings. Assassinate heads of state & then for good measure steal candy from children. These two however sell a wide array of occult components & artifacts to royalty from Fairyland. 
3. The Caravan of Wonders - This traveling troupe of magicians & performers is actually the cover for a lawfully aligned group of Fey & Elves who are hunting down the pawns of Hell & Chaos. They have many among their ranks who act as illusionists & wizards while their knights & paladins move across the land. There are twelve ranks of thieves who spy & steal from the wealthy patrons of cults & temples of depravity. 
4. Deacons of Depravity & Malice this caravan offers many different medical cures & a wide array of pleasures of the flesh. But in fact they have among their ranks some of the most dangerous necromancers ever to walk out of Fairyland. They seek the souls of the unwary and trade them for magick and illusionary treasures.
5. Trades of Nature is a group of traveling druidic priests & priestesses who help farmers & the like with crop issues & problems all the while being a cover for Fey. These spirits of the Earth actually are looking for an ancient temple of theirs across the planes but help farmers. Occasionally they trade for the soul of a child to help restore a particularly bad area.  They use the miracle of the Wicker man to restore the land.
6. Those Who Restore The Balance - This large caravan trades minor occult miracles, shows, & odd relics as they repair farm implements, address crowds with minor farming information, sell seeds, & are greatly regarded. These merchants are looking for a minor chaos cult whose sins have caused a disruption in the fabric of time. They have made a deal with an Elven wizard to sell his wares for the right of murder when they find them. That was two hundred years ago & they continue to travel. 
7. The Seekers of Lom - A troupe of traveling druids & seekers of wisdom who often come to predict the coming harvests & crop rotations. These traders are actually monster hunters and seek the abominations of Chaos to root out & destroy. They trade in information & seeds for their services while providing cover to seek out the destroyers of their master Lom. Occasionally they will take on an apprentice & use a changeling his or her place. 
8. The Caravan of Ull - This troupe of Elves is one of the most prolific in Europe & uses a wide variety of circus & faires to cover their activities. They serve the ancient Greek Muses & are often used to seek out aspiring artists to take with them back to Fairyland & the Underworld. 
9. The Tattered Ones - A Fall troupe of traders & acrobats whose performances hide the activities of one of the most dangerous occult witch hunters seen from Fairyland. Their hatred of covens & other pagan cults is widely known but their agenda is not. They leave a tattered doll after a hunt & murder of a coven at the site of a grove. There are rumors of twelve assassins guilds offering them up a child or two for apprenticeship every seven years. 
10. The Dark Ones in Shelter - This Spring group of Dark Elves comes to trade with human settlements in the most remotest corners of the world. They offer wisdom, food, farming advice, medical help, & worship. They are actually dark Elven paladins & knights who travel among humanity searching for the Devil's cults to murder & after centuries have gotten very good at it.

1d20 Random Strange & Dangerous Occult Sacrificial Treasures & Relics Table

Cries of blood soaked fury cloaked night & echoed off of the distant mountain ridges!
Bran had come up the ancient hillock & saw the smoke first. But his men saw the gold's glow sputtering off of the fires. That glow was unmistakable to desperate men & women but Bran saw the cloaked priests & their obsidian paddle swords laying in wait.
He tried to stop them but it was too late the spirits had them quickly & his hireling warriors picked up in the flea bitten hole of Pesi died in agony.
Bran had learned better to seek the easy gold of the cults of darkness. His real warriors shifted uneasy having watched those fools run afoul of the forces from Outside. Bran's grandfather knew all to well the hidden spirits of Moloch & Baal. Bran continued his quest for the family's hearth stone in the 'Old Quarter'.
But as he rode away something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end!




The ancient rites of many deities are carried out on the fly out in the wilderness & wastes where adventurers roam. This is often done out of necessity by cults with strange agendas & weird ceremonies that must be conducted on the run. But is there something that's been left behind or treasure for adventurers to profit from at the sites of such occult rights?!


Strange trinkets, golden beads, odd bits of silver, as well as semi precious stones are only some of the bits & bobs left behind by various cults of Sword & Sorcery black gods & cults. Often this iniquitous pieces have precious metals that can be melted into more valuable fare. There are certain classes of adventurers who make it their business to seek these sites out. Vultures are adventurers who seek out sacrificial offerings & treasures to profit from them. There is a 80% chance of a major curse being visited upon the offenders & violators but often there will be a major occultist or dark wizard on retainer who can ease the burden of such curses. They are seen as merely doing business in 'the black trade' as its called.


There is a 30 % chance of the manifestation of a special type of 'holy spirit' that will seek out & destroy any such seekers & thieves of their gods. These manifestations will be of some of the most dangerous undead available from the Outer Darkness. Another possibility is for a holy warrior of the religion whose treasures have been taken to seek out & murder any such thieves. The worst case is where a demon of the god who has been offended & a holy warrior to work together to kill the entire party for their offense  to the dark gods. These holy warriors are often of 4th or greater level fighters, barbarians, or knights.


1d20 Random Strange & Dangerous Occult Sacrificial Treasures & Relics Table

1. This weird bronze portable altar has the remains of thirty two young women. The skulls are adorned with jade head pieces worth 30 gold pieces. These head pieces can be used in a rare demon summoning spell if gotten within 48 hours of the sacrifice. The whole affair rings with the dark occult power of the sacrifices. 
2. Bloody, burnt, still smoking this make shift alter contains the charcoaled remains of five victims. There  are the half melted gold coins worth 20 gold pieces & a single jade napped knife used for cutting throats worth 30 gold pieces to a black wizard. 
3. Twelve bodies have been arranged in a weird pile with a single stone carving under all of them. There are twelve semi precious stones of red crystal placed in the mouth of each victim. The stones are red diamonds used to summon the spirits of the death goddess whose cult made this mess. 
4. A single carved metal & stone head contains an actual human male head. The eyes of the head have been replaced with two large emeralds worth 100 gold pieces each. The head will begin mouthing the words to a demon summoning spell if the emeralds are removed. A demon will gate in 1d8 rounds later. 
5. A large cage contains the burnt up corpse of a man whose limbs have been removed. The head is a strange demonic thing & there is a chest in the cage containing the remains of a dark wizard's spell book & wand of magic missiles. The thing will spring to life if the chest is disturbed but the monster has the gift of prophecy and will give one character a day a dark & prophetic prophesy. 
6. Two chest have been left in the middle of the ground. One chest contains 10 heads of men rotting & decaying. The other chest contains 200 pieces of gold coated wooden sticks worth 60 gold pieces because they are sticks of summoning & prayer. These sticks can be used in ancient mystic rites of demon worship. 
7. An altar is made from bone & living muscle within it are flesh pockets containing the golden tears of a black prophetic seer. These tears are worth 100 gold to a rival cult & they can be used as bargaining tools with demons & black gods of the Abyss. 
8. A giants head has been made into an altar box, there are twenty two compartments within the still semi living head. The head will bite someone for  1d6 points of damage. There are ninety nine golden coins secreted away in the head & it knows a spell for summoning imps & other minor creatures. 
9. The hip bone from a giant sperm whale is actually an altar to the dark aspects of Dagon. The god will come to claim the blue alien gold hidden within a compartment within the altar. There is a 50% chance of the fish god trying to kidnap the PCs and drown them. He may curse any violators present when he appears within six rounds. 
10. This strange box like altar contains the head of a black saint & its an unliving vampiric relic. It contains within it 100 gold pieces and a scroll of cure light wounds but it will try to bite for 1d6 points of damage. The head will sing the praises of the vampire god who may 40% appear to the PC's & try to destroy them. 
11. An ancient rod altar that folds into a cubic gateway into the Outer Darkness. There will be 1d6 demon women warriors waiting for the PC's to warn them about the gateway. 
12. An ancient two foot long box of ivory & gold that contains the essence of a unliving soul.. There are over five hundred coins waiting for the right adventurer 
13. A giant stone slab with 12 hidden compartments across the face of the stone that contains gold, diamonds, etc. all for the sacrifice of the love of his life. 1d6 wights will appear to punish the PC for an unholy union. 
14. Bronze box made by the hands of a demon, this box contains the sacrificial fingers of past victims dipped in gold. The figures are worth 80 gold pieces and can be used to summon a pig demon for the character's bidding. 
15. This strange stone slab contains evidence of a time traveler that a demon of the Outer Darkness is after. There is a demon bounty hunter asking questions & now after the PC's. There is a lot of stuff used in demon summoning around in the area including about 40 gold pieces. 
16. A statue of a goddess contains over 10 gold pieces and apparently the enemies of mankind are seeking one of the PC's for a sacrifice on the table nearby. 
17. The body of a thief lays at the foot of a strange goddess altar and has around it twelve sets of foot prints including one set of a minotaur tracks who wants to murder one of the party because their scent reminds them of their former lives. 
18. A round stone pentacle contains seven pure diamonds worth eight hundred gold pieces but there a shadow demon lurking around to kill any one who tries to claim the diamonds. There is the corpse of a thief nearby with strange blue green claw marks on the neck of the victim. 
19. A strange tabernacle contains the mortal remains of an unholy warrior & she wants to come back. The tabernacle contains over 10 victims of this cult. There are over 100 gold coins in a secret compartment which also contains a dozen blood red scorpions waiting to strike. 
20. An ancient druid cult used this golden series of disks worth over 400 gold each but there is an invisible curse upon them. The druids will try to scare off the PC's if this doesn't work then the druids will summon a minor demon into the wizard's body

1d6 Random Sword & Sorcery Side Quest Adventure Locations Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Bran had survived the worst that the Underworld had thrown at him & his party. He made his way down the old game trails the mules in tow. There wasn't even a sound around the forest as he made his way home. The unnaturalness of the silence unnerved him & he looked around him as the sun filtered through the dense trees. No birds singing,no bugs in the air, the wind was even quiet & silence became something alien. You could cut it with a knife. Then the cold began to be felt on his arms. The hairs stood up & his breath was forming fog as he breathed. The 'unnaturalness' was here again his hand automatically had reached for his father's sword. It slid easily on the scabbard's metal with an oily & dangerous sound. Yet he held it waiting for the next move of the 'other world'. He didn't have long to wait as woman in archaic armor appeared in the blink of an eye.
'You have the air of destiny about you Bran' her common tongue was precise & practiced. 'I have need of you & your band' for there are things following on your heels that you are not aware of.
The first of Hade's goblins swarmed out from behind several of the trees around them & they passed through the misty image of archaic woman warrior. Bran would have to wait to see his grand father's kingdom but then he saw a door in the side of a nearby rock where seconds before there was none. Yes this was going to be a very interesting day indeed.


Sometimes the very dungeons that adventurers uncover can shift the balance of occult & supernatural power along the ley lines of a region. These shifts in the astral energies can cause ancient locations to be uncovered as well as monsters of horrible aspect to come forth. But these events are often opportunities to adventurers for there are often adventure locations uncovered by these diggings in the dirt. There is a 40% chance that these locations may not even be related to the current adventure. Destiny has an odd way of working adventurers into her plans.


Locations such as these are often related to isolated regions of the Underworld that have been cut off or are not easily accessed by the rest of these locations. Wandering monsters often see these places as locations where easy prey might be had. They will often follow adventurers to such spots to pick off any stragglers or weak targets. Such prey has a 10% chance of rewarding the adventurers for helping them or rescuing them. But beware for the gods often use such adventure locations to snare adventurers into their own affairs & games of fate.

1d6  Random Sword & Sorcery Side Quest Adventure Locations Table 

1. An ancient crack in the ground leads to an ancient Dwarven workshop, there are 1d20 maggot like dwarves toiling away around several iron workbenches. They are working on several treasures & ancient relics of the gods. There are 1d4 magic rings that are nearby but these 3rd level Dwarven warriors will attack anyone stupid enough to try and steal such rings. The fact is that these nasty Dwarves will rob any PC's of any gold that they have for their projects! These Dwarves may curse the PC's for their troubles & interference in their work! 
2. A strange patch of stone work leads to an ancient maze work within the PC's find several skeletons dressed in archaic warriors garb & missing their heads. There are 200 copper pieces scattered around them. The PC's find that they are in a strange ancient maze works & they can hear the bellowing of a Minotaur nearby! This is one of the fabled minotaur's maze temples! There will be 1d6 minor relics here but the undead cult of the minotaur will wish to sacrifice the PC's for the cannibal feast! 
3. In the center of the forests stands a stone anvil with an iron hammer & anyone approaching it will feel its occult power. There are 1d6 druids nearby who will approach the PCs & tell them that they must not strike the anvil! They have recently comeback into the world from the 'Other Realm'. The party will hear the telepathic cries of a young girl and she screams to be free within their minds.
   What is happening is that there is group of 1d6 Elven knights ready to slaughter the PC's for there is the soul of an evil demon trapped within the anvil. But they are forbidden from telling the PC's about this by the demon's curse. 
4. The PC's will find a nearby settlement  slaughtered by what appears to be an undead knight on a nightmare. There is blood & gore everywhere and the wreckage of homes scattered about. But no matter how the PC's attack the knight will not fight them.
   A group of damned cannibal spirits  has come from within a fissure within the ground about  forty feet from the settlement after being released from the underworld. The knight has been charged with taking them back but needs help from the adventurer for there is a necromancer in one of the homes near by. He can offer a 200 gold piece reward but it will be in underworld gold. This gold carries bad luck of all kinds and the dead will be drawn to the PC's. 
5. Weird lights & strange glowing balls of unnatural light will harass the PC's & they will want the PC's to follow them back to a strange Roman like temple. Inside an old wizard tends a skeleton & beckons the PC's closer. He is the last in a noble line & needs the PC's to take the skeleton of his wife & him to the local entrance to the Underworld. He will offer 100 gold pieces but a necromancer & his cannibal helpers wish to torment the wizard & enslave the spirits of the couple. 
6. 1d10 strange & twisted mutated animals are rampaging through a nearby village. They will fight to the death against any PC's & slaughter any NPC's they can. Recently a strange rock & brass doorway was found in the side of a hill two hundred feet from the village center. A large gold ring was set into the door & it was taken to the village mayor's office. But now a strange fire elemental being stalks the countryside and the thing burns with unnatural fires creating & twisting monsters from the local wild & farm life. I will take the semi magical ring back go back to the forge of the unknown gods where it came from. But should the ring not be returned 1d6 fire elemental beings will come forth by sunset.

1d20 Sword & Sorcery Treasures & Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Copses Table For Your Old School Campaigns

"His eyes tried to focus on the bloody burnt  heap that had once been a man. The wounds stunk of sulfur, acid, & something not of Earth. It was hard to believe that this mess was once Bran's grandfather King Hul.
'Grandfather what did this to you ?!'
From under one sulfur & acid burnt eye lid an eye of brilliant blue semi focused on the young warrior before him. But fear crawled up the spine of the young warrior.
The voice was the the sound of burnt lungs & rotting  tissue that had no right to be alive right now but spoke anyway. The corpse's words were mere echoes of the king who had taken his retainers & grand sons into the dungeon  entrance to the Underworld. "The hounds of Hades are coming back, I've hidden the treasure in the old gnarled trees below.'
'Take my armor, my sword, & the maps before the pack comes back. Be sure to take he signet ring of your ancestors. Now leave me to die.'
'Go & claim your birthright from below!'
That's when Bran first heard the baying of the pack & he had to hurry! "


Many are the times when adventurers will find the corpses & remains of those who have journeyed into the dungeons before them. Many times these remains have valuables, relics, & treasure upon them left by monsters as mere lures for the foolish & unwary. Sword & Sorcery literature is rife with these sorts of incidents on the trails of fortune & glory. But beware the pathways of fame & fortune are often the road to the coldest of Hell & the Underworld itself. Here then are 1d20 Sword & Sorcery treasures & relics left behind by adventurers who came before you!



There is a 40 % chance that the body is merely bait for some group of deranged warriors waiting in the wings. There is also a 60% chance of encountering some wandering monster that has been attracted by the scent of human terror & suffering. These monsters will attack to defend their food at all costs. Meals in the dungeons & ruins are a precious thing.

1d20 Random Sword & Sorcery Treasures
& Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Corpses Table

1.  A half baked & burnt warrior's corpse has his mail shirt split up the center with the broken & gory remains of his chest hanging out. Nearby a +1 sword has been dropped & a scabbard sits off to one side as the leather belt that held it has been ripped to shreds. Three torches & flint plus iron rations are scattered about. A careful search reveals a shuttered lantern of superior quality. There is an emerald ring worth 100 gold & an earring with 20 gold pieces because of the clan emblem on it. 
2. This woman warrior's corpse is a bloody mess of gore. The armor gone beyond repair but within a sachet at her side is a red gold cup worth 100 gold but her sword has been broken in three pieces. Near the side of the corpse a shattered shield of wood & bronze now so much kindling. 
3. A wizard corpse has been torn in half, his face a blighted mess of gore. The fine robes he wore are shredded beyond all reason. His bag of 50 gold coins lay scattered among the magic powders & chemicals strewn across the floor. His staff has been broken in two but in his robes is a scroll of cure light wounds a serviceable dagger two foot long. Its sheath is on the grown. Weird lights come from a wand of magic missiles that has been dipped in a glowing fungus. 
4.  Half the corpse of a thief whose twin ichor covered daggers lay near by. He has a fine cloak worth fifty gold & a bag containing 50 gold pieces worth of gold dust. Plus there is a very fine amulet of unknown magical quality.
5. The bloody & bruised corpse of a cleric & her assistant that has three bags full of 100 silver pieces, plus several holy books worth 200 to the right order. There is also a good & serviceable mace slick with the brains of some monster. 
6. A  single warrior whose bloody mess of a head is missing but he has a complete work up of light Dark Ages style  armor worth 80 gold pieces plus a +1 sword able to wound creatures of a supernatural. Nearby is the corpse of an orc whose head has been sliced clean through he had several gold & silver rings plus a torc worth 40 gold pieces. 
7. The head of a thief with a nose ring worth 22 gold pieces, an earring in the left ear that acts as protect from evil spell, and a tongue ring of magic missiles. The rest of body has been dragged off down the hall evident by the bloody trail of gore & rotting mess.
8.  The hand of a thief who was a well known cannabal evident by the elaborate tattoo on the hand. There are several rings including a copper ring of passage to a local house of ill repute, a ring of protection along with its slave bracelet. 
9. The fully crushed & mashed corpse of an armored knight of the temple of Light. The corpse contains three jewels, the golden hand of a witch idol, and a bag containing 20 gold pieces. 
10. The zombied & pulped corpse of a strange wizened green humanoid creature that has the robes of a priest, a knarled walking stick, 30 gold pieces, & a map to the lower level of this dungeon. Should anyone get too close the thing's head  will bite for 1d4 points of damage & spread zombie rot disease. 
11.  The bloated & distended body of a warrior that will explode for 1d6 points of damage & 1d8 strange violet fungus will erupt from the thing's stomach. There in the center of the gore is a golden dagger of weird aspect worth 50 gold pieces to a collector of the artifacts of the spores, molds, & fungus goddess. 
12. A wizard's corpse has been hung on a nearby hook, his magical paraphernalia is scattered around including his spell book, staff, short dagger, and two magic rings. The corpse will come to life but can't get down from the hook and simply dangle there menacingly. 
13. Two warriors including one with a strange sword have stabbed each other with lots of minor weapons scattered around. There is a magical dagger of protection from evil as well as 1d6 minor weapons around the pierce corpses. Zombie rot is starting to settle in & each round there is a 10% chance of them coming to life. There are 10 gold pieces of broken jewelry scattered around the melee area. 
14. Three broken & battered corpses belonging to some sword men & duelists have been neatly stacked a top one another. Their swords worth 60 gold pieces each have been placed near by. All loot has been taken from the bodies already. 
15. The broken & torn body of a thief has been ripped apart. The guts lay scattered around & the face has been gnawed off. His tools have been broken and lay scattered around but there is a golden crown that has been secreted within the hidden folds of the corpse's cloak. 
16. The single head of a cleric has been left on the floor, a careful search of the head reveals that there is something in the thing's mouth?! A flawless diamond worth a fortune has been secreted in the thing's mouth but it contains more. The angry ghost of the cleric is now attached to the jewel & each night it will torment the party. The jewel is worth 600 gold pieces but is cursed! Only the temple of light can remove the curse and put to rest the spirit. 
17. The corpse of a broken female acrobat lays splayed out with bloody hand prints all over it. The thing has 1d10 striges nesting on its back & they will attack but our acrobat has hidden a bag of 30 silver pieces nearby. 
18.  A  box lays on the side of the dungeon with the unliving head of a wizard inside. The thing will try to curse anyone foolish enough to open the box. But he has a strange jewel worth a hundred gold pieces on its head. The thing can also cast a chain lighting spell every three or so rounds. The box contains in a hidden compartment the  jewels to a minor royal family worth a 1000 gold pieces. 
19. Several bags lay atop ten pools of blood, these bags contain the remains of a warrior who ran afoul of a necromancer. The necromancer killed the warrior but has not been back to claim his foul prize. There is a bag containing 200 gold pieces worth of loot belonging to the former warrior. There is also a nasty phantom laying in wait for the party fifty feet away.
20. A giant monster's head lays in the center of the dungeon hallway. The thing is animated & hates adventurers with every fiber of its being. It will hover and move 20" feet per round. The thing will hurl insults as it tries to bite for 1d10 points of damage or hurl its tongue for 1d6 points of barbed damage. The thing is protecting a nearby tomb of a forgotten prince that contains two minor artifacts of power. The lich in the tomb turned the poor bastard adventurer into this thing.