1d20 Random Encounters With Shades of the Damned & Phantoms of Hell For Your Old School Campaigns

 I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect - in terror.
Edgar Allan Poe



As the veil thins there's a marked changed in the barriers between the material & Hell itself. Souls of the damned drift forth to terroize the living. Adventurers are no different they can come across Hell mouths in the wilderness or the marked world of dungeons. The world of Chaos & the damned is unleashed on the living. 

Areas where the damned have truck with the living are rife with mutation, degeneration, & demonic influence. These places are often the sites of paladins, witchfinders, & other fanatics of the cause of good. But they are also the sites of cults that further the agenda of Hell itself. Here demons have easier means of crossing into the reality of the PC's and are not subject to the normal rules of banishment. 


Demonic Durer spearsman available through 
Antediluvan miniatures 

Hellmouths often accompany these violent passages of Hell into the world of the living. These things must be closed and will leave a violent residue of evil that will cause mutation & harm to the living for generations to come unless cleansed. 

1d20 Random Encounters With Shades of the Damned
& Phantoms of Hell

1. 1d8 Ghosts of the lake of fire, these are normal ghosts but with several minor abilities such as affect normal fires, fear, & they can cast a fire ball that does 1d4 points of damage within a 20 foot radius. Found in swarms of eight or less they are prone to violence to the living. 
2. 1d6 Moaning Drentches these horrors have come from a nearby crack in reality spilling into the local reality. These things have the abilities of a banshee & want to cause as much misery as possible. 
3. A flock of 1d6 Vrocks who are searching for any innocent souls they can. They rhyme & wager among themselves for their next kill. 
4. 1d7 Barbed devils sporting forks among themselves to kill off any humans they come across to drag their souls back to the underworld. 
5. A rather bored looking arch demon royals who will attack anyone he comes across violently. His bored friendly look will invite conversation but this is actually a charm ability that he's using. 
6. Two violent demon politicians who are arguing among themselves all of the will tugging a political party banner. They will use the banner on anyone they get close to tie up the party or NPC's. The banner is demonically strong & magically infinite. Their banter masks their evil intent. 
7. A group of minor demon hunters armed with spears & nets intent on hunting the living for the stew pot. There are 1d8 of these hunter's skin appears to be mutating & changing to meet their prey. 
8. A strange demonic or devil musician playing a weird bag pipe construction that is actually the head of a damned soul. The demon is actually a demonic bard & anyone hearing the music must save vs charm or follow this demon's turn. 
9. 1d10 Infernal striges these things are the size of a human baby & are looking for the innocent to plague. They will focus on adventurers knowing instinctively the threat they pose. 
10. 1d10 sexy witch succubus who are cavorting through the scenes looking for souls to suck dry. These things change from male to female & back again. They are looking for anyone they can drag off to their little corner for rendering down into potions & charms. 
11. An infernal jailer moving quietly as the keys around him clink. Use the stats for a chain devil but he will hurl a chain around anyone he can supernaturally within a twenty foot range. 
12. A horde of 1d6 bearded devil rhymers who are spouting poetry & using a thier own blood with +2 quills of sharpness to cut to the quick the living. They will start 'fighting' over a human head of the damned filled with ink that they will hurl at a party. The ink is actually acid & they will attack with their supernaturally sharp quills.
13. A gaggle of 1d10 hags with a selection of the damned for sale to anyone. These bitties of horror want to unload these wretches as soon as possible but party members may join their ranks ASAP. 
14. 1d20 vampire royals on their way to gain revenge on the local king for destroying their nest. They are guarded by two very powerful vampire knights of the 5th level. These royals may reward any living with a minor trinket if they engage in good conversation or slaughter them. 
15. A pile of 'gold' that is actually made up of the spirits of the miserly & the greedy in the form demonic gold bugs with the faces of the dead on them instead of kings & queens. They will not attack but will after an hour or two easy pickings for PC's. There are three vrocks among the coins polymorphed.. 
16. Wailing moaners and ghosts of the lowest pits who take the form of demonic ghosts. They have all of the abilities of a Monster Manual ghost but double the hit points. They are weak to holy symbols. 
17. A demonic banker who is looking for the books to be balanced! They must be and the souls of the party will do! They will do nicely indeed! Use the stats for a chain devil. 
18. A devil book binder is among the bushes looking for a damned soul & its most troublesome that he's not around. He must be turned into a book of forbidden knowledge you see. The book binder will give you twelve gold pieces if you help him find the soul of this wizard or he may make you & your party into autobiogrpahies of themselves! He has the abilities of an ice devil & serves a 'named' patron. 
19. An Erinyes royal & her 1d6 demonic  followers are taking in the sights they will pay for reputable guides only to betray the party later on or will they?! They may pay in coin of Hell. Her rival will show up within 1d8 rounds and may attack or engage the party. 
20. An arch devil is in a protracted war with his demonic rival and the PC's could be caught in the middle! They have just found themselves between the two armies. 

Giant Demon Antediluvan miniatures 

1d10 Random Mystical & Dangerous Damned Underworld Encounters Table For Your Old School Swords & Sorcery campaigns

" There are some qualities—some incorporate things,

⁠That have a double life, which thus is made
A type of that twin entity which springs
⁠From matter and light, evinced in solid and shade.
There is a two-fold Silence—sea and shore—
⁠Body and soul. One dwells in lonely places,
⁠Newly with grass o'ergrown; some solemn graces,
Some human memories and tearful lore,
Render him terrorless: his name's "No More."
He is the corporate Silence: dread him not!
⁠No power hath he of evil in himself;
But should some urgent fate (untimely lot!)
⁠Bring thee to meet his shadow (nameless elf,
That haunteth the lone regions where hath trod
No foot of man,) commend thyself to God!"
Silence Edgar Allen Poe 



Between the time when the cock crows & the seconds tick there are gateways of the dead that wash against this reality of ours. The damned come inbetween these slices & cracks in the world & the underworld. The damned crossover to torment & feed on the living. Those things that should not be & are not dead come to call. Adventurers run across the damned & pay with these encounters with their very souls & existence. 

Purgatory by Venezuelan painter Cristóbal Rojas (1890)

The damned cross over during the time when the clock chimes to the hour of the dead & in dungeons dread. Down among the dead men isn't an understatement. These things that creep into our reality as trespassers among the living hunger for the flesh, souls, & existence of those who haunt the dark in search of treasures dire & deep. 

1d10 Random Mystical &
Dangerous Damned  Underworld
 Encounters Table 

1. Three sheet phantoms tied to the shroud of a shambling king who stumbles over the chains of his own existence. They will attack any living they encounter during their hunting time on Earth. They have collected three hundred gold coins that decorate the chains of their master. These phantoms will feast on the souls of any living they can kill passing the energies on to their 'master' bound in the chains of misery. 
2. A bloody & bloated wraith dressed in the tatters of his former existence. The body bloody with th tortures done by demons most foul. He has over his body the written names of thirty three demons of the Abyss who have used him for writing & torture practice. He has a valuable ring of jet worth 100 gold pieces on. But he gapes at anyone as he hungers for the flesh & souls of the living. 
3. A trio of grinning shadows that are woven together in darkness. The trio hungers for the flesh & existence of the livng. They have and are tied to a golden bell. The bell is worth 200 gold pieces & rings each time a living person wanders near them. 
4. This is the resting place of a harpy with the face of prominent politician or king. The harpy makes very snide comments or sings beautifully to lure fools closer. She will attack at the drop of a hat at the mention of her beautiful wings. This sends her in foul mood. She hungers to be a real woman but it not like to happen. Her violent urges make her target the living and thier flesh. 
5. A strange little dwarf like man is actually the living embody of hate that has been mentioned in the darker passages of the Necronomicon. The dwarf is actually a dark fey that hungers for the souls of young foolish adventurers. He counts as a wandering & evil minor devil thing. 
6. A strange shape shifting hog is actually the devil incarnate. Actually he's the damn soul of a glutton that lusts for the food that the living. This nameless thing counts as a devil swine for its agenda, magick & dangerous attitude.
7. A strange almagam of living tissue & flesh rolls as it goes about its business.Anyone getting in this thing's way will be consumed. There are several pieces of gold within it. The things has its own agenda & treasure worth 500 gold pieces stashed near by. 
8. The damned don't rest & this monster of undead & hash smoke has targeted the player's PC's. The this thing has made many advances towards the living and wants to eat the faces off anyone it can. 
9. The left over evil of a thousand souls congelled into a proto plasmic goo that seeks to eat anyone it can. It hates & wants to feed off othe living. It constantly changes shape  reveling in the thing's nervous enegy.. 
10. There are thirteen skeletons glowing with the fires of the undead that seek to consume the living. These things work as a unit that wishes to take down anyone it can! They have a trunk hidden near an oak tree containing 300 gold coins 

1d6 Random Encounters With Damned Souls Table For Your Old School Campaigns

When the gates of Hell can't hold the damned anymore then they shall burst forth onto the Earth. The damned can be encountered anywhere in their old haunts and ruins. They have been dragged down to the depths and often are let loose upon the Earth to terrorize the living, these horrors come back as evil spirits, ghosts, specters and worse. And their often waiting till the living venture into their areas of influence.



1d6 Random Encounters With Damned Souls Table

1. The Katutharothali are the spirits of the damned of those who in life were corrupted by the forces of the occult, in death they come back to Earth as balls of hell fire and plasma waiting to attack the living. They often assemble around graveyards and ancient ruins. They attack as ghosts and with a flame attack for 2d6 +1 points of damage in a twenty foot radius. 
2. Caunaka The Eyeless Horrors - These are souls of the damned who witnessed secrets and perversions of nature that they used to gain power and influence over the poor. These souls seek the eyes of the living so that they might experience the memories and life experiences of others. They attack as wights and use enchanted daggers on the living. 
3. Gogonduavama The 3 A.M. spirits  - These are souls of those who pararished between the ticks of the  clock during the hours of the soul at Three A.M. when the demons of the Outer Darkness dragged them down to the icy depths of Hell. They're cold touch drains life from the living, they attack as ghosts and specters. They hate the living, they steal secrets, dreams, and stories from small children. 
4. Glindrothat The Constant Mouths - These damned once used the power of gossip and lies to gain an edge over their mothers and fathers through black mail. They're heads are faceless things made up of nine mouths that have razor sharp tongues that lash out up to 20 feet for 3d6+3 points of damage. They move as ghouls and have had back and neck broken, then reset at unnatural angles. They crave the flesh and spirit of the living. 
5. Uthmazgu are the spirits and undead hosts of the spirits of darkness, spite, and horror. They move at  odd angles through the spirit realms and can move as blink dogs rapidly appearing at odd intervals with the speed of demons with long nails that do 1d4 points of damage and they dip these into the tears of their victims. They taste like the sweetest wine to them. They are blank stark white beings whose flesh has been bleached by the fires of Hell itself. 
6. Welatugona are the broken mothers who seek out the spirits of the children of others to comfort themselves. They use these small spirits as minions, they spy on, stalk and kill whole families as ghostly horrors. Welatugona are master manipulators and deceivers using black mail, and promises of treasure to murder their victims when opportunity presents itself. They count as ghosts, horrors, and monsters of the blackest stripe.

1d6 Random Negative Planar Entities Encounter Table For Your Old School Campaigns

They're names are legion, they are all that remains once Chaos has had its way with men and near men's souls. Sometimes these things find their way back into our reality, a bit of space time flotsam and jetsam that continues to circle the drain of entropy and reality. Often times these horror escape from the Outer Darkness, the Abyss, or other place oozing their way between the cracks of our world. The damned find their way shadowing our world and hungering for the lives that we lead here are all that remains of those who have slipped their bounds and escaped into the world of the living once again. Often times an angel of Death or a bailiff from The Beyond comes to fetch these creatures back to the border lands again. But this can take months, sometimes adventurers and freebooters are the best hope against such entities.

1d6 Random Negative Planar Entities Encounter Table

1. This robed entity only half exists in your world and the smell of sulfur as well as damnation cling to its weirdly seen frame. The thing flashes a bit of a half wind blown face whose eyes are pits into the deepest abyss at the end of the universe and the thing is hungry for your soul. Only silver or a laser sword may harm it. Because of its half real nature this horror can't be turned.  Only destruction assures its hunger will be destroyed.
2. Once the leader of a cult of Chaos this entity knows 1d4  spells of 3rd level but can not remember its name or purpose in existence. Still it serves its ancient demon god masters murmuring their praises even as it pathetically pulls itself along the ground leaving an ectoplasm slime trail of its own digestive juices. 
3. This collection of 1d4 damned souls were gossips who ruined many a man's reputation in life, in death and change their minds have been scrubbed clean by the hellish winds of eternity.  They're non existent tongues murmur with the forbidden gossip of ages long forgotten there is a 20% of them dropping some minor cosmic truth otherwise they are in your business spreading lies about you and your lives. There is a 4% chance that these things may now a spell or two of 2nd level and they love to open with magick missile. 
4. These pathetic and slightly strange injured damned who seem to follow PC's and manifest at the most inopportune times. The half charred corpse thing will shift through realities and stalk PC's, always on the look out for fresh meat and they've somehow latched on to your party and will follow at a 100 yard radius. They also steal small objects such as keys, telekinesis enables them to move small things at a 60 yard radius. They seek to spread their own brand of depression, apathy, and horror in the face of entropy. These horrors have weird hooks for hands. 
5. Weird gas mask like bio mechanical faces mark these damned, far too long bodies and odd black garment glistening skin cloth these beings. They seem as if they're partially awash in a storm that only exists for them only. They their rounded snout like faces are filled with strange sucking lamprey like teeth that tear out horrid chunks of flesh from their prey's bodies and souls. Their touch smells of burnt cinnamon and human waste. These things swim through space to reach their prey. Their claw like hands held in downward mockery of prayers until they reach toward their victims with wet sucking sounds. 
6. These strange beings are clothed in black cloth like flesh resembling modern suits, these being's black glistening slime covered eyes resemble smoked glasses of the finest quality. They are not, instead these things are tall humanoids covered in pock marked flesh with odd alien eyes covering every space of flesh on their bodies. Two too wide mouths flutter with intense hungry sucking sounds as two tendrils wreath around their hands that can sense strong life forces which they will feed. But really their main meat is the moments of joy and happiness in life. They will drain 1d10 years from their victims with each touch. There are some varieties that level drain but these entities are mere rumors in space bars and brothels of spacers, adventurers, and some esoteric outlaws.