Wraith's Haunt
Creatures of evil, darkness and death, wraiths dwell in the dark and gloomy places of the world. They fear and are helpless in sunlight.
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Outside the Lair
Colours are strangely muted in the lair’s vicinity.
No natural animals linger close to the wraith’s domain. The surroundings are quiet and utterly devoid of such life—even near-mindless vermin do not linger here.
The dwarven rune for “danger” is etched prominently, but obviously hastily, in several spots.
A dusty backpack lies on the ground. Its contents are mouldy suggesting it has lain here for quite some time.
What’s Going On?
It is utterly silent, and the place seems deserted.
A blob of utter darkness—the wraith—lingers near the arched ceiling. Perceptive characters may notice it quivers almost imperceptibly at their approach.
A faith moaning sound reaches the characters’ ears from some unknown, unseen source.
Dust sifts down from the ceiling as the very stones themselves seem to groan.
Major Lair Features
Darkness—pregnant with malice—clusters thickly throughout the wraith’s lair. It seems to envelop nonmagical light sources and reduces their radius of illumination by five feet.
A deep chill fills the wraith’s domain. Sensitive souls—elves, half-elves and the like—and those strong in the service of goodness and light feel deeply uneasy while in the lair.
The sense of wrongness and unnaturalness filling the wrath’s lair keeps all normal animals at bay.
In a few locales, sinkholes lurk just below the floor. If a heavy individual stands in just the wrong spot the floor collapses into a cavern below.
Minor Lair Features
Bones are scattered about the lair. In places, they are so heaped they create areas of difficult terrain.
The surface of the lair’s walls, floors and ceiling crumble at the slightest touch. The wraith’s malign influence has begun infecting the very stones themselves.
Dust-encrusted webs—their spinners long dead—hang from the ceilings like grey burial shrouds.
Thick dust covers the floor throughout the lair, but a certain heaped unevenness in places hints at either an occasional breeze or a flying creature.
Wraith’s Appearance
White and electric blue heatless flames surround this insubstantial black shadow of a tall, slender man.
Comprising the blackened outline of a knight clad in plate armour this shadow-creature bears a sword of the blackest hue.
Appearing as a man-shaped thing this benighted figure wears a black cloak with a deep, darkness-filled cowl. It has long arms ending in slender, grasping claws. Its face is utterly featureless.
Two pinpricks of blazing red light pierce the head of this utterly silent, human-shaped shadow creature.
Treasure
An iron vial full of holy water lies on the floor. Etchings of holy saints and the like decorate the grimy, cold-to-the-touch vial.
A wall niche holds a golden candelabra complete with six blood-red candles and six white candles.
Six small black stones—onyxes—have spilt from a discarded pouch. Incautious explorers could stand on and crush them.
This slender silver dagger seems impossibly lightweight and glimmers impossibly brightly. Wraiths recoil from this weapon.
Trinkets & Trash
A rust-red longsword lies on the floor. If it is picked up the weapon’s blade falls apart and disintegrates into a welter of red dust.
A bent, misshapen holy symbol—a rising sun—hangs from a broken shred of fine silver chain.
This burial shift, heavy with dust and mould, disintegrates into a choking cloud if violently moved.
A dusty cloak lies spread out on the floor. Paranoid characters may suspect it to be a wraith.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from Monstrous Lair #67: Wraith’s Haunt by Robert Manson.
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