The Pit of Unquiet Souls
Saare’s Pit has another, more lurid, name—and for good reason. The Pit of Unquiet Souls squats at the centre of a nest of macabre tales of madness, horror and death. It is said, those who spend too much time in the abandoned mine often go mad or disappear entirely, and old miners’ tales tell of the pit’s very rocks whispering horrible secrets to those toiling in its bowels. Still, there are those who think treasure yet lurks in the mine and will brave its terrors to retrieve them.
Notable Locations at a Glance
The characters’ travels should not be boring affairs wherein either they encounter no one of note or end up fighting everyone (and everything) they meet. Use the minor events below, to add flavour and detail to their journey.
Cartography Dyson Logos; Tagging Bart Wynants
The Pit of Unquiet Souls comprises four small, but distinct, levels. Two shafts connect the various dungeon levels.
Surface
S1 Equipment Store: Old equipment fills this ramshackle dry-stone building.
S2 The Wheel House: This stone L-shaped building houses the mine’s wheelhouse, bunkroom and kitchen.
The Gallery
G1 The Carven Stair: Hewn from the rock, this cramped and winding stair links the Gallery to the Dead Drift.
G2 The Dead End: Miners used this dead-end tunnel as a place to eat, drink and rest during their workdays.
The Dead Drift
D1 Two Ways: This was the last part of the mine to be abandoned.
D2 Cross Ways: This area lies at the heart of the mine.
D3 Old Workings: This area was deemed unsafe and abandoned when the mining intersected with the workings above (location G2).
The Unquiet Rift
U1 Shaft’s End: Here—in the deepest workings—the main access shaft ends.
U2 The Subterranean Study: Viljami Saarelainen lived here, to keep an eye on his workers.
U3 The Four: Driven mad by the insane whisperings of the four rock pillars here, the madman Olavi Ilakka lies close to death.
Dungeon Dressing
Use this list, to breathe life and detail into the dungeon:
Water staining on the rough-hewn wall is vaguely reminiscent of a hideously ugly face.
Part-melted candles fill several niches in the walls. Dried wax streaks the stone below the niches.
Greenish-yellow mould covers the floor and wall. (Tracks may be evident in the mould if the mine is inhabited).
Cracks riddle the ceiling, and a small pile of grit and stones hint at the potential instability of the area.
Graffiti etched in Common into the wall reads, “Dead”.
The smashed and mouldering remains of a wheelbarrow lies on its side. Chunks of rock cover the nearby floor.
Cold, dirty water drips through the ceiling to quietly splash on the floor.
A cracked pit prop holding the ceiling aloft looks in imminent danger of snapping.
Wide downward cracks cut through the pit’s walls. The cracks are deep and jagged. Lichen grows inside; many small albino insects feed on the lichen
A faint breeze—coming down the nearest shaft—fills the area. It plucks at the characters’ lights and has a 50% chance of extinguishing any open flames.
Things to Find
Use this list, to determine what minor objects or features of interest the party find if they search a location. Modify the value of items found to suit your campaign.
A heavy cast iron pickaxe lies rusting on the floor. A faint smear of blood mars its handle.
A squashed brass lantern lies on its side under a covering of grit and dust. From the damage, it looks like someone strong, or heavy, stamped on the lantern.
An old bucket filled with rubble stands against the wall. Anyone lifting the bucket discovers it has a rotten bottom; the rubble it holds loudly clatters to the ground.
Covered in grit and dust this skeleton—yet clad in old leathers—has been wedged into a small niche in one wall. The unfortunate’s skull has been caved in.
Faint and dust-filled scratches on a wall (DC 15 Wisdom [Perception] spots) spell out the message, “The Voices. Why Do They Torment Me So?”.
Confused tracks on the grimy, dusty floor provide a hint as to what lurks in the mine.
White mould grows on the wall in a shape vaguely reminiscent of a large handprint.
A small shrine to the god of miners pierces a wall. Several part-melted candles stand amid a small pile of offerings that include 14 cp, 16 sp and 8 gp.
A crudely-executed wall carving depicts a cluster of four pillars standing in the middle of a cavern.
A small bat colony hangs on the ceiling. Lights or noise startle them.
This is an extract from Dungeon Backdrop: Pit of Unquiet Souls by the sinister Creighton Broadhurst.
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