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Table of Contents

Introduction . 2For the Dungeon Master 2Fear and Horror Checks 3Running This Adventure 3The Continuing Adventure 3

Knocking At Death's Door 4A Brush With Death 6Darkness and Danger 8Terror in the Streets 9An Offer of Alliance 10

Gazing Into the Grave 13A Grim Harvest 13The Eyes of Baltor 15The Broken Blade 16The Life Stealers 16Ladislas's Tactics 16Hunyadi Danesti 17Mopping Up 18A Dogged Attack 18

Hope Resurrected 21Getting Inside the Tower 22Mircea and His Students 24The Radiant Tower 24A Whisper of Madness 26Evil Underfoot 27

Descent Into Darkness 29In and Out of the Catacombs 29The Escape Tunnel .30The Well of Bones 32Corridors of Corruption 33Chambers of Horror 34A Meal of Maggots 35The Master's Bath 35The Chambers 35

Sealing the Tomb 50The Final Blow 51Aftermath 52

Appendix 1: The Domain of Falkovnia . . .53The Talons 53The Laws and the People 54Lekar 55Disease 56

Appendix 2: Cast of Characters 57Ladislas Sintesti 57Ring of Vitality 59The Ebon Fold 60Life Spell 61Death Shards . . . .61Mircea Giurgiu 62

Player Handouts 64

CreditsDesign: Lisa Smedman; Editing: Steven Brown; Creative Director: HaroldJohnson

Cover Art: Fred Fields; Interior Art: John DollarArt Director: Stephen A. Daniele; Graphic Design: Greg Kerkman

Cartography: Dennis Kauth, Rob Lazzaretti, & David C. Sutherland HITypesetting: Angelika Lokotz

TSR, Inc.201 Sheridan Springs Rd.

Lake GenevaWI53147

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TSR Ltd.120 Church EndCherry HintonCambridge CB1 3LBUnited Kingdom

9523

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the Gnited States of America.Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written

consent of TSR, Inc. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade forEnglish language products of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd.

Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.AD&D, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and RAVENLOFT are registered trademarks of TSR, Inc.

The TSR logo is a trademark owned by TSR, Inc.All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

©1996 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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Introduction

an 1 forget the dismalnight that gaveJVly soul's best part

forever to the grave?

Thomas Tickell

Death comes in many forms. There isthe death of the flesh, which can bereversed by those skilled in the healingor necromantic arts. There is the deathof the spirit, which can be reversed withtime, love, and compassion. And thenthere is the death of the soul, which is asirreversible as it is final.

To some, death is an endless torture.They lie not in eternal slumber, but arethe selfless minions of those who canmanipulate and command rotting flesh.To others—particularly to the persecutedmasses of Falkovnia—it is life that istorture. Death is a blissful release fromagony, an end to be welcomed, if notactively sought.

Death may come suddenly or mayproceed with agonizing slowness. Justas the torturer plays with his victims, sotoo does the necromancer strip the lifeforce away, piece by tiny piece.

What lies beyond the veil of the grimreaper? Only the foolhardy venture toask.

For the Dungeon master

© eath Unchained is designed for agroup of three to six charactersof levels 5 to 7. Ideally the player

characters (PCs) should have somemeans of dealing with poison, whichappears frequently in this adventure.

The adventure is set in Falkovnia, oneof the core domains of the RAVENLOFT®world. It pits PCs against the Ebon Fold,

a secret society of assassins who areusing magical daggers to steal life

force from their victims andchannel it into a crystal skull atthe center of their lair. The assassinsdo not know what purpose this willultimately serve, only that it has beenordered by the necromancer who is theirleader.

Although it is not required for thisadventure, the Dungeon Master (DM)may like to read The CompleteNecromancer's Handbook rulessupplement. It can provide valuable tipson running a nonplayer character (NPC)necromancer. It also includes variouspoisons, magical items, and arcane textsthat can be added to the lair of the EbonFold.

Hdveniure Summary *Death Unchained opens with the PCheroes being transported by the Mists toLekar, the capital city of the domain ofFalkovnia. Here, they meet a fellowadventurer whose party is being huntedby the Ebon Fold. She proposes that theheroes join forces with her, instructingthem to meet her group at a ruinedchapel outside of town. When the heroesarrive at the chapel, the group is alreadydead and the Ebon Fold are lying inwait. The heroes now become targetedfor death and must find out why.

They can find part of the answer at theRadiant Tower, a school for wizards.Here they can learn that the magicaldaggers used by the Ebon Fold drain lifeenergy.

Eventually, the characters discoverthat the subterranean lair of the EbonFold lies beneath the Radiant Tower.They must enter this lair to find the • fcrystal skull in which the life energiesare being stored. Ultimately, they mustdefeat the leader of the Ebon Fold, apowerful necromancer, and releasethe stolen energies from the skull.

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Introduction

fear and Horror Checkst several points during this adventure, theDM is instructed to have the heroes

cmake fear and horror checks. This gamemechanic is intended to foster appropriatereactions, on the part of the players, to ahorrific or terrifying situation.

At the DM's discretion, fear and horrorchecks may be omitted if the players arealready doing an adequate job of role-playingthese emotions.

Running This Hduenturekortions of this adventure are written tofallow greater flexibility in running anencounter; they give the DM the

opportunity to alter the course of events,tailoring encounters to the actions of thecharacters. These sections are indicated by theheading Options. Other optional sections aretitled Ladislas's Opportunity. They outlinepossible attacks that the main villain (thenecromancer Ladislas Sintesti) might make.

When running Death Unchained, the DMshould strive to produce an atmosphere inwhich the heroes feel hunted, constantly on theverge of being captured. From the moment theyarrive in Falkovnia they become subject to theunceasing brutality of the domain's militia, whoare used to terrorizing the population andarbitrarily arresting and executing anyone theyplease.

The heroes are almost certain to run afoul ofFalkovnia's militia—especially if they arecarrying weapons or wearing armor. The Talonswill immediately act to enforce the lawprohibiting the wearing of arms and willunrelentingly pursue any who resist arrest orescape their custody.

Demihuman characters will have the worsttime of it. They are automatically assumed tobe escaped slaves and will be hunted down likedogs. To survive in Falkovnia they will eitherneed to find some way to disguise themselvesas humans—or will have to pass themselves offas the slaves of the human characters.

Terrified by the brutal oppression of their lord,the general populace will refuse aid to theheroes, lest they be arrested too. The onesaving grace is that the inhabitants of Falkovniado not wish to draw attention to themselves,

and thus will not go out of their way to informthe militia of the heroes' actions.

In addition to the militia, the Ebon Fold (asecret society) will be constantly on thecharacters' trail. The DM should keep theheroes in a continual state of flight, allowingthem only a moment's breathing time betweenchases and attacks. This way, the offer of aidfrom fellow travelers (the NPCs led by HathrilHasselin) and the eventual offer of lodging inthe Radiant Tower will seem like welcomerespites.

Falkovnia is also a land of unremitting horror.Everywhere the heroes turn, they are faced withgruesome encounters with death,dismemberment, and disease. It should seemthat there is no relief from the mutilated"walking wounded" or the nightly round ofimpalements. Should any of the characterssuccumb to disease (as they almost certainlywill if they spend any time in the city) no onewill help them, lest they too become infected.Even though the disease will be temporary andprobably nonfatal, the DM should give theimpression that the hero is in dire danger, withno source of succor.

Before beginning play, the DM shouldphotocopy and read the Player Handouts thatappear on page 64 of this adventure. The DMwill be instructed when to hand these out to theplayers.

The Continuing flduenture

©ieath Unchained is the first in a trilogy of[adventures. The events in it lead up toDeath Ascendant, another 64-page

module, and ultimately to Requiem, a boxedset. Despite the fact that it is part of a trilogy,Death Unchained can be played as a stand-alone adventure.

Indeed, the DM should present it as such.When they have completed Death Unchained,the heroes should feel that they haveaccomplished their goal by putting an end tothe Ebon Fold and destroying the crystal skull.It should come as a complete surprise that thisis merely a prologue to an upcoming battle withthe darklord of a neighboring domain.

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Ejiqcking at ftetlisBoor

rink today, anddrown all sorrow;You shaJJ perhaps

not do it tomorrow;Best while you have it,

use your breath;There is no drinking after death.

John Fletcher

Death Unchained begins, appropriatelyenough, with a funeral. It doesn't matterwhether the characters are alreadywithin Ravenloft, or whether they arestarting the adventure from a worldoutside the Demiplane of Dread; ineither case, they will soon betransported by the Mists to the domainof Falkovnia and the city of Lekar.

Ideally, the funeral should be ofsomeone that the heroes know and like.Perhaps a trusted retainer has died andis being laid to rest. In this case, theymay already be part of the procession;the DM should modify the descriptionbelow accordingly, perhaps shifting theappearance of the Mists to the burialsite. The adventure can then unfold as anatural development of events that arealready in progress.

Alternatively, perhaps a famousperson has died, and the heroes (likeeveryone else of import) are attendingthe funeral. If the procession is takingplace on a specific world, the DM mightalso like to modify the description toinclude the customs and burial practicesof that world. Once again, this will helpto blend this adventure in with acampaign already in progress.

Read the players the following:

You hear the sound of hornsplaying a slow, melancholy tune.Overlaying this minor key are thebright voices of laughing childrenand the tinkle of metal on stone.

In another moment, a processionof folk dressed in dark, somber

clothing rounds thecorner. Six of them carry ablack coffin on their shoulders.Others play horns or cast coppercoins onto the street. Children runbehind the procession, plucking upcoins.

As the procession passes you,one of the pall bearers stumblesand loses his footing, jostling thefellow beside him. The coffincrashes to the ground and the lidflies open. Rocks tumble out. Inanother moment, there are shoutsof surprise and confusion. Themournful dirge falters to a halt.

"It's gone!" one of the mournerscries. "The body is gone!"

Seconds later, a thick white mistbegins to pour out of the opencoffin. Tendrils of it spiral towardyou, as if seeking you out.

No matter how hard the charactersrun or what refuge they seek, the Mistsurrounds them. Closing the lid of thecoffin does not help; the Mist insteadbegins to rise out of the ground. Evenmagic cannot halt its progress.

The DM should allow them a momentor two to blunder around in the fogbefore reading the following to the . ,players: ..

As the mist begins to dissipate,you see that you are standing inwhat seems to be a large publicsquare—the outlines of thebuildings that enclose it can just bemade out. All around you, dozensof posts have been set into theground. From each hangs a limp*shape that is pierced by the post.

Suddenly one of the shapesmoves slightly and groans. Yourealize that each of the forms is aperson, impaled on a smoothwooden stake. Amazingly, one ofthese wretches is still alive!

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knocking at ©eath'sThe 36 people impaled on the stakes are

ordinary citizens of Falkovnia—men andwomen alike. Some are freshly killed; othershave hung here for weeks. They are pathetic-looking creatures, dressed in simple peasantclothing.

As the Mist finally clears, revealing theagonized expressions on the faces of the deadand the slippery, blood-soaked cobblestonesunderfoot, have the heroes make a fear check.

If they investigate the groans, read thefollowing to the players:

The weak groans come from a woman—an ordinary peasant, by the look of her.She turns her head slowly to the side andgroans again with the pain of even thisslight movement. Her body slides an inchlower on the stake, driving it through herstomach and producing a fresh gout ofblood.

"My daughter," she whispers faintly, hereyes beseeching you. "Is she alive?"

Good-aligned characters should want to helpthis woman, who is obviously in great pain.

Unfortunately, removing her from the stake willtear open her wound and kill her; she currentlyhas only 1 hit point. While the stake is piercingher, any healing spells will be of limited use,since the wound will not close.

The woman begs the heroes to look for herteenage daughter Smaranda, who can berecognized by the faded blue ribbon in her hair.Unfortunately, Smaranda is just a few feetaway, impaled by a stake and quite dead. Ashawl lies on the ground below her, wet withblood.

If the heroes show the woman the ribbon orthe shawl or tell her that her daughter is dead,she cries out in anguish. "A curse upon theTalons!" she cries. "May they drown in theblood they so freely shed!"

Unless they find a way to save her, thewoman will eventually die. She does, however,manage to whisper a warning to the characters:"Get inside! It's past the midnight curfew! Themilitia will kill you if they find you on thestreets."

The woman's name is Ilona Beglitzi. If theheroes have shown her any kindness, she tellsthem to take her wedding ring—a simple band

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