A d100 Kull era Atlantian Artifacts table for Castles & Crusades rpg Campaign Set in Kull's Thurian Age

 

Here is a d100 Atlantean Artifacts table tailored for a Castles & Crusades campaign set in Robert E. Howard’s pre-cataclysmic Thurian Age (the era of Kull of Atlantis). This blog post picks right up D100 Kull Era Atlantean Relics and Monster Encounter Tables For A Sword & Sorcery Sword of Cepheus 2nd edition Part II

In this primordial era, Atlantis is not yet a sunken utopia; it is a rugged, sea-beaten continent inhabited by savage, tribal barbarians. Magic is rare, dark, and deeply tied to elder horrors, Serpent Men, and alien alchemy. These artifacts reflect that gritty, "Sword & Sorcery" tone, utilizing Castles & Crusades mechanics (Attribute Checks, Prime Attributes, and saving throws).

D100 Atlantean Artifacts Table

d100	Artifact	Brief Description & C&C Mechanics
01–05	Tiger-Valley War Club	A heavy stone-headed club bound in mammoth sinew. It functions as a +2 war club. Once per day, the wielder can unleash a roar requiring all enemies within 30 ft. to pass a Charisma save or be shaken (-2 to hit and AC) for 1d6 rounds.
06–10	The Obsidian Mirror of Tuzun Thune	A polished black volcanic glass mirror. A spellcaster looking into it can cast Scrying at will, but must make a Wisdom save (CL 6) each time or lose 1 point of Wisdom permanently as their soul is slowly drawn into the mirror's infinite depth.
11–15	Scale of the First Serpent	A large, iridescent green scale used as a buckler (+1 AC). It grants the user complete immunity to all natural and magical poisons. If a Serpent Man looks at the shield, they must make a Charisma save or be forced into their true, non-humanoid snake form.
16–20	Sea-Mountain Harpoon	A barbed +1 spear carved from the rib of a prehistoric leviathan. When thrown, it automatically returns to the wielder’s hand. On a critical hit against a creature with the aquatic subtype, it deals triple damage.
21–25	Alchemical Fire-Beads of Lemuria	A pouch of 1d6+1 cold, metallic red glass beads. When thrown (range 30 ft.), they burst. Treat as Fireball (5d6 fire damage, Dexterity save for half) but the fire burns underwater.
26–30	Mask of the Great Ape	A dried gorilla leather mask. When worn, the user gains +4 to Strength and Constitution but drops their Intelligence to 3. They gain a climb speed of 30 ft. and can fight for 1d4 rounds after reaching 0 hit points before dying.
31–35	The Iron Collar of the Galley-Slave	A rusted iron collar. When locked around a humanoid's neck, they are completely immune to exhaustion, sleep, and fear, but cannot disobey any direct verbal command from the key-holder.
36–40	Vial of Black Lotus Elixir	A single dose of shimmering black liquid. Drinking it grants the user the ability to cast Contact Other Plane to speak with the Great Old Ones. The user must make a Constitution save or permanently lose 1d4 points of Wisdom from the maddening revelations.
41–45	The Golden Skull of Rotath	A solid gold human skull inscribed with ancient Lemurian runes. It acts as a spell focus; any necromancy spell cast while holding it is cast at +2 Caster Level. It whispers secrets of the pre-human world to its holder during sleep.
42–50	The Jade Tooth of Valusia	A thumb-sized chunk of carved green jade. When pressed against a poison or curse, it absorbs it completely, turning pitch black. It can absorb up to 3 curses or lethal poisons before shattering.
51–55	Horn of the Tiger-Beast	A curved horn that can be blown once per day. It summons 1d4 saber-toothed tigers that obey the blower's mental commands for 1 hour or until slain, after which they dissolve into sea foam.
56–60	Ring of the Red Shadow	A copper band set with a raw ruby. Once per day, the wearer can step into a shadow and emerge from any other shadow within 100 feet (as Dimension Door).
61–65	Slayer’s Flint Dagger	A serrated knife made of gray flint. It acts as a +1 dagger but ignores all forms of magical damage reduction or physical armor bonuses from spells (like Shield or Mage Armor). It cuts purely through the physical body.
66–70	The Tabard of the Topaz Throne	A heavy silk vestment dyed the brilliant yellow of Valusia's royal color. The wearer gains a +3 bonus to all Charisma attribute checks and saving throws. However, they suffer a -2 penalty to Wisdom checks due to a lingering, arrogant paranoia.
71–75	The Whispering Shell	A giant spiral conch. Listening to it allows the user to understand any spoken language for 1 hour. There is a 5% chance the shell instead fills the user's mind with the deafening, maddening sounds of the roaring Pre-Cataclysmic ocean (stunned for 1d4 rounds).
76–80	Blood-Stone of Grondar	A dark red gem that must be pressed into an open wound to activate. It immediately heals 3d8+3 hit points. However, the user must immediately make a Constitution save or contract a wasting blood sickness that prevents natural healing until cured by magic.
81–85	The Pictish Tracker’s Fetish	A bundle of dried bones, feathers, and dried wolf eyes. When held, it grants the user the Ranger's Track ability (or a +5 bonus if the user is already a Ranger/Tracker).
86–90	The Silver Key of Kamelia	A delicately crafted key made of pure, un-tarnished starlight-silver. It can unlock any non-magical lock instantly. If used on a magically sealed door, it triggers a Dexterity check (CL of the seal) to bypass without setting off traps.
91–95	Crown of the First Barbarian	A simple band of hammered bronze and dire-wolf fangs. The wearer is entirely immune to mind-affecting magic, charms, and illusions. They rely entirely on raw, unyielding instinct.
96–00	The Great Greatsword of Valusian Kings	A massive, two-handed sword of stellar iron. It functions as a +3 greatsword. On a successful hit, it deals an extra 1d6 points of cold damage. Once per week, the wielder can cleave the air to tear open a temporary rift to the void, banishing one extraplanar creature hit by the blade (Charisma save to resist).

How to Introduce these Artifacts in Castles & Crusades

• No "Identify" Spell: In a Kull-era campaign, players shouldn't simply cast Identify to learn these attributes. They must translate dead languages, consult ancient Pictish shamans, or experiment—often at great risk.

• The Price of Magic: These items are powerful but primitive. Many carry curses, psychological burdens, or draw the attention of ancient entities like the Serpent Men or Thulsa Doom. Use the Castle Keeper (CK) active-threat mechanics to make players weigh the benefits of using them.

'I'll Swallow Your Soul '- The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (also referred to as "Naturom Demonto" and "Book of The Dead") for Sword of Cepheus 2nd edition & Adventure Encounter

 The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (loosely translated as "Book of the Dead"), also known as the Naturom Demonto, is an ancient, sentient tome of ultimate black sorcery. Bound in human flesh and inked in human blood, it acts as a gateway to the dark, chaotic dimension of the Kandarian Demons (or "Deadites"). This blog post picks right up 'Hail To The King Baby!' Ashley 'Ash' Williams From The Evil Dead Films For Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition

In Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition, this book is not a mere passive spellbook; it is a malevolent, semi-sentient artifact that actively seeks to corrupt, possess, and destroy anyone foolish enough to unlock its secrets.

Artifact Statistics

• Type: Eldritch Artifact (Unique)

• Encumbrance: 2 items (Chunky, heavy, and bound with iron clasps)

• Requirements: Literacy (Ancient Sumerian or Dead Tongue), Sorcery 1+ (to read safely; anyone reading without the skill automatically triggers a mishap).

Core Mechanics & Curses

1. The Trigger: Whispers of the Damned

The book is constantly looking for a voice to speak its words into the physical world.

• Accidental Reading: If an adventurer attempts to translate or read the text aloud (intentionally or by playing a recorded reading), they must make a Formidable (10+) INT + Sorcery check.

• On a Failure: The Kandarian Demon is summoned into the surrounding wilderness, immediately seeking hosts to possess.

• On a Critical Failure (Natural 2 or Effect -4): A player character or nearby NPC is immediately targeted for possession (see Deadite Possession below).

2. Eldritch Spells Contained

A sorcerer who studies the book gains access to forbidden, high-tier Eldritch magic. The Necronomicon contains the following spells (standard casting time is 2D6 minutes, or 1 combat round if channeled):

• Animate Corpse (Eldritch): Reanimates nearby remains. Unlike normal necromancy, the GM secretly rolls; there is a 50% chance the corpse is possessed by a hostile Deadite rather than obeying the caster.

• Chains of the Forest (Arcane): Nature itself turns hostile. Trees, vines, and roots attack a targeted zone, trapping victims (treat as an attack with the Grapple trait).

• Demonic Possession (Eldritch): The caster attempts to force a Kandarian spirit into a living target.

• Temporal Rift (Eldritch): A chaotic portal opens, swallowing anything nearby and scattering them across time (or sending them to a desolate, ash-covered wasteland).

3. The Toll of the Flesh (Rapid Corruption)

The Necronomicon accelerates spiritual decay.

• Study Toll: Merely spending a week studying the book grants 1 permanent point of Corruption.

• Casting Toll: Every time a spell from this book is cast, the caster gains 1 Corruption (or 2 Corruption if channeled).

• The Kandarian Mishap Table: If a sorcerer rolls a Critical Failure (natural 2 or Effect -4 or worse) while casting a spell from the Necronomicon, they do not roll on the standard Sorcerous Mishap table. Instead, roll on the table below:

2D6	Necronomicon Mishap Effect
2-5	The Blood Tears: The caster's eyes weep blood. Apply a -2 penalty to all physical actions requiring sight for 1D6 hours.
6-8	The Laughing Woods: The surrounding environment begins to cackle and mock the caster. All characters within 100 meters must make an END or INT check (8+) to avoid being Shaken by terror.
9-10	Spontaneous Decay: One of the caster’s limbs (roll randomly) turns gray and begins to rot. It is treated as useless until amputated or cleansed with holy magic.
11-12	Instant Possession: The caster’s mind is temporarily shattered. A Kandarian demon takes control of their body for 1D6 rounds, attacking allies.

Creature Profile: The Deadite (Kandarian Host)

When a human body (living or dead) is possessed by the spirits unleashed by the book, they become a Deadite. They are mocking, hyper-agile, and physically devastating.

Deadite Host
STR 11 (+1), DEX 10 (+1), END 12 (+2), INT 8 (+0), EDU 5 (-1),

 SOC 0 (-3)

Life Blood: 23 
Armor: 2 (Unnatural, rubbery flesh)
Skills: Athletics 2, Melee (Unarmed) 2, Deception 2, Gunbat/Archery 1
Combat: Claws/Bite (2D6 damage) or improvised weapons.

Special Traits:

• Psychological Warfare: Deadites use the memories of their host to torment their loved ones. They can use a standard action to mock an opponent. The target must succeed on an INT check (8+) or suffer a -1 DM to all rolls for the rest of the encounter due to distress.

• Unnatural Resiliency: Deadites do not feel pain and cannot be knocked unconscious by damage. They are immune to poisons, disease, and standard mind-altering magic.

• Severed Limb Survival: Even if a limb is severed (via a slashing weapon or critical hit), the limb remains animated and hostile. A severed hand has STR 3, DEX 8, and will crawl to choke opponents (1D6-2 damage).

• The Only Way Out is Dismemberment: A Deadite host can only be truly destroyed by reducing its Life Blood to 0 and explicitly dismembering the body (burning, hacking it to pieces, or using a heavy slashing weapon).

The Cabin at Deadman's Ridge

A thick, unnatural fog has swallowed the pine forests of the Grey Spine Mountains. High up on the pass sits Stone-Hollow, a vital iron-mining and logging outpost that has suddenly gone silent. The local baron hires the adventurers to investigate, offering a handsome bounty under a simple premise: find out why the ore shipments have stopped, and get the miners back to work.

The Setup

When the party arrives, they find no signs of an external siege—no burned palisades, no arrow-riddled doors. Instead, they find an eerie, absolute silence.

• The outer gate swings lazily on squeaking iron hinges.

• Half-eaten meals sit rotting on tables in the mess hall.

• The draft animals in the stables have been violently slaughtered, their ribcages pried open from the inside.

The Hook

At the center of the mystery is Scholar Caleb, a disgraced academic from the capital whom the miners hired to translate "ancient tablets" they unearthed deep in the iron vein.

Instead of tablets, they found a stone coffer containing a book bound in leathery, scarred human flesh: the Naturom Demonto. Unaware of its true nature, Caleb read the opening Sumerian incantations aloud to an audience of curious miners.

Now, the unseen Kandarian force has claimed the hollow. The miners are no longer human.

The Grim Realities

To survive and resolve the situation, the adventurers must contend with several horrific challenges:

• The Whispering Woods: The forest surrounding the outpost has turned actively hostile. Pine branches claw at backpacks, roots rise up to trip fleeing characters, and the wind carries the mocking, echoing laughter of deceased loved ones. Attempting to flee the valley requires a Difficult (10+) Navigation (or Survival) check; failure means looping right back to the slaughterhouse of Stone-Hollow.

• The "Living" Deadites: The possessed miners retain their tools. Players will face Deadites armed with heavy wood-cutting axes (3D6 damage) and mining picks (2D6+2 AP 2). They will play dead, use the voices of crying children to lure characters into dark corners, and mock the party's deepest personal failures mid-combat.

• The Ritual in the Mine: Deep in the damp, dark tunnels of the iron mine, Scholar Caleb’s body has been horribly mutated. Suspended from the ceiling by thick, thorny vines, his half-possessed, cackling form is clutching the book, continuously chanting to open a permanent rift.

The Choice

To stop the spreading plague, the party must retrieve the book. However, the tome cannot be easily destroyed by mundane fire or steel—burning it only causes the book to scream in agony while releasing a wave of choking, toxic black smoke (Hard END check to avoid suffocation).

The party must make a choice:

1. Dismember the Possessed: Wage a bloody war of attrition through the mines, hack Caleb to pieces, and risk taking the cursed book with them to find a high sorcerer capable of sealing it.

2. Seal the Mine: Use the mining guild's black powder reserves to collapse the entire ridge. This will bury the book and the Deadites, but it will also destroy the baron's valuable mine, forfeit their reward, and seal any surviving, unpossessed miners in a dark grave forever.

A Sword & Sorcery d100 Serpent Men Encounters & Ruins Table For The Castles & Crusades rpg

 Here is a d100 table designed for Old School Renaissance (OSR) campaigns. It blends classic science-fantasy, cosmic horror, and ancient, decaying civilizations—perfect for dropping straight into your wilderness hexes, deep under-empires, or forgotten jungle ruins.

The encounters are divided into active Encounters (01–50) and strange Ruins & Relics (51–00).

d100 Serpent Men Encounters & Ruins

d100	Encounter / Ruin Type	Description
01–05	The Degenerate Brood	$2\text{d}6$ devolved, beast-like Serpent Men clad in rotting rags. They cannot speak but communicate via frantic tail-rattling. They are tracking a fresh scent and carry rusted copper spears tipped with paralytic venom (Save or paralyzed for $1\text{d}4$ hours).
06–10	The Chameleonic Infiltrator	A single Serpent Man using ancient illusion-tech to appear as a lost human merchant. It attempts to join the party, subtly asking about local defenses, gate networks, or ancient ruins. Its shadow, if cast by candlelight, always reveals its true, scaled form.
11–15	Flesh-Warpers' Caravan	$1\text{d}4$ Elite Serpent Priests transporting a massive, floating vat of amber mutagenic jelly. They are escorted by $2\text{d}4$ "unshackled"—hideous, multi-limbed human slaves grafted with reptilian features. They are seeking fresh "raw materials" (the PCs).
16–20	The Sibilant Embassy	A high-ranking Serpent Aristocrat riding a levitating brass palanquin, escorted by 6 heavy shock-guards with obsidian shields. The Aristocrat is highly civilized, speaks fluent archaic Common, and is willing to trade forbidden lore or stellar maps for high-grade lead or radioactive ores.
21–25	The Sleepers Awakened	$1\text{d}3$ ancient Serpent Men who have just emerged from a millenia-long stasis pod. Their scales are pale, dry, and shedding. They are severely disoriented, highly aggressive, and demand to know which "warm-blooded slave-dynasty" currently rules the surface.
26–30	Hunting Party of the Void	$1\text{d}4$ hunters armed with pneumatic long-rifles that fire cold-burning plasma darts ($1\text{d}8$ damage + light source). They are accompanied by $1\text{d}2$ tethered "Stellar Hounds"—eyeless, multi-jawed reptilian beasts that track targets by detecting heat and psychic activity.
31–35	The Escaped Experiment	A terrified, half-scaled human escaped slave running toward the party. Close behind is a hunting drone—a brass orb hovering on humming anti-grav plates, firing green combustion beams that melt stone.
36–40	Viper-Engine Patrol	A low-slung, brass-plated trike or sky-skiff powered by a glowing green radium cell. It carries two Serpent soldiers; one steers while the other operates a swivel-mounted dart-harpoon designed to impale and drag targets.
41–45	The Heretic Priest	A lone, outcast Serpent Cleric who has rejected the Great Yig or the Outer Gods in favor of a strange philosophy of cold, mechanical logic. It offers to teach the party how to bypass local serpent security wards in exchange for protection out of the region.
46–50	Phantasmal Cohort	$2\text{d}6$ shimmering, translucent emerald projections of ancient Serpent soldiers marching in perfect lockstep. They are a localized psychic loop from a war fought ten thousand years ago. They ignore the party unless a PC is carrying active, unshielded ancient technology.
51–55	The Sun-Drainer Obelisk	A needle of black basalt wrapped in copper coils. The air within 100 yards is pitch black and freezing cold, as the obelisk actively siphons light and heat to power a subterranean vault. Torches instantly flicker out; only magical light or rad-lamps function here.
56–60	The Shedding Temple	A crumbling ziggurat made of yellowed stone. The entire exterior is draped in thousands of dry, translucent, giant snakeskins. Inside, the walls are slick with a caustic, hallucinogenic slime that causes vivid, terrifying visions of the world before the sun went cold.
61–65	The Radium Hatchery	A domed chamber containing dozens of petrified, leathery eggs arranged around a cracked, glowing green fuel rod. The radiation here is palpable (metallic taste in the mouth). $1\text{d}4$ eggs are still viable; if exposed to extreme heat, they will hatch into highly aggressive, glowing hatchlings.
66–70	The Whispering Hypogeum	An underground burial vault of the Serpent Nobility. The mummified remains are preserved in canisters of pressurised inert gas. If a canister is opened, the gas causes immediate auditory hallucinations—the dry, sibilant voices of the dead chanting coordinate codes for a distant star system.
67–75	The Great Brass Astrolabe	A massive, floor-to-ceiling brass model of the cosmos, slowly rotating via heavy counterweights hidden deep below. It does not map the current sky, but rather the alignment of the stars as they were 100,000 years ago. Aligning the rings correctly opens a hidden hatch to a stasis vault.
76–80	The Molting Baths	A ruin containing deep pools filled with a thick, warm, mineral-rich oil. Serpent Men used these pools to ease their shedding process. The oil is still warm and possesses incredible regenerative properties (restores $1\text{d}8$ HP), but drinking or soaking in it for too long starts growing scales on human skin.
81–85	The Gate of the Outer Dark	A massive archway constructed of non-Euclidean black stone that seems to swallow light. When active, the interior of the arch shows a terrifying view of deep space. Creeping, pale tendrils occasionally slip through the threshold, searching for warmth.
86–90	The Scriptorium of Scales	A library containing thousands of thin, etched lead sheets instead of books. They detail ancient genetic lineages, stellar drift equations, and the biological blueprints of the first human slaves. Reading them for more than an hour requires a Sanity/Save vs. Madness.
91–95	The Idol of the Coiled Father	A colossal stone statue of a coiled serpent with a humanoid torso, holding a cracked ruby the size of a human torso. Removing the ruby triggers a silent, subterranean alarm and floods the chamber with a heavy, sweet-smelling sleeping gas (Save or sleep for $2\text{d}6$ turns).
96–00	The Chrono-Vortex	A ruined laboratory where a shattered temporal engine slowly leaks. Time within the room is highly unstable. Every turn spent inside, roll $1\text{d}6$: on a 1-2, the party is thrown 1 hour into the past; on a 3-4, 1 hour into the future; on a 5-6, they catch glimpses of the Serpent Empire at its absolute height.

How to Use This Table

• Hex Crawling: Roll once per day in tropical, desert, or underground hexes.

• Thematic Integration: If the party rolls an encounter in the first half of the table, consider having the NPCs or creatures originate from, or be heading toward, one of the ruins in the second half of the table to build organic, emergent narrative threads.