A terrible storm is brewing – you must find shelter from

this accursed weather, and quickly! Veldmark, the nearest

town, is over ten leagues away, so your only choice is the
ruined fort on a nearby hill. As you approach, a faint cry
echoes from deep within the decrepit structure. The hair on
the back of your neck stands up in warning, but perhaps
it was just the wind. Perhaps. Gathering up your courage,
you enter the halls of the Grimhill fort.
A - Main Entrance
• Wooden signpost that says “You are not
welcome here!”.
• A gust of wind knocks a few branches and
pebbles from the ruined walls above.
• Sturdy oaken door, slightly ajar, squeaks
loudly if not opened with caution, DC 9.
1 - Empty Hallway
• Wind howls through the cracks in the
stone walls.
• Chandelier is hanging from one of the
beams. Pigeons have built a nest on it.
• Debris and wooden beams on the ground.
• Firewood and broken crates lie stacked
against the wall. There is a wood-chopping
axe leaning by the door to room 2.
• Voices can be heard from the room 2, DC
11 to hear two people arguing who’s turn it
is feed the hounds downstairs.
• Stone stairs lead directly to room 10. Any-
one climbing the stairs may alert sentries
above. Loose stones make noise, DC 11 to
pass undetected.
2 - Storage Room
• Barrels and crates are piled up all around
the room. They provide some cover. The
crates are mostly empty, the rest are full of
stolen goods (200 gp but really heavy).
• A pulley system hangs above the large
open trapdoor. Long chain hangs down the
hatch leading to room 7.
• Two nasty-looking ruffians are yelling
at each other, arguing, while the third one
enjoys the show. They can be surprised, but
will attack the party on sight otherwise.
Grimhill Bandit
AC 13 (leather+shield), HD 1 (4),
ATK 1 club +1 (1d4), MV near,
S +1, D +0, C+0, I -1, W +0, Ch -1, AL C
3 - Magically Locked Room
• The door to this room is locked with a
seal, can be smashed with DC 17, but will
make a loud noise and alert everyone in the
fort. Opens with a special key located in
room 12.
• Rotten tapestries display knights and
kings jousting. There is a wooden chair and
a table. If touched, all crumbles to dust.
• Heavy iron chest is pinned underneath
fallen stone blocks. Can be pulled out with
DC 10. Contains a golden statuette of a
young woman (50 gp), plated silver gloves,
and a magic longsword. If the statuette is
taken, a ghost of a sad woman will appear in
the room, somberly looking at the door. The
ghost is silent and harmless but will perma-
nently reduce CON by 1d8 points to anyone
who breaks the statuette. This is the ghost of
a skeleton in the room 8.
• Reinforced wooden trapdoor leads to
room 8. The door was locked once, but now,
the mechanism is rusty and broken beyond
repair.
The Holy Blade
An ornate blade mounted on a
jeweled iron handle.
Bonus. +1 longsword. +2 if
used against undead.
Benefit. if used by a cleric,
AC+1 against undead.
4 - Atrium
• The southern door of this room is un-
locked, but closed and reinforced with iron
bars.
• Beautiful frescoes are still visible on the
walls, displaying a knight and a lady in love,
riding a winged horse.
• Shallow fountian full of buzzing flies and
mosquitoes reeks of stale sewage. If searched
(DC 13), a silver ring (10 gp) can be found at
the bottom.
• Grey stormy skies can be seen from be-
low. The first raindrops are already here.
• The eastern door is missing from the hing-
es, the busy interior of room 5 can be seen
from here.
5 - Sleeping Chambers
• Bright orange flame illuminates the room
as three bandits hudled together next to a
fireplace, play card games and rolling dice.
Surprisingly, they are quiet, trying their best
not to wake up their sleeping comrades.
• Big iron bell is next to the gambling ban-
dits. If the bandits notice the characters, they
will ring the bell and alert all the bandits
in the fort. The bell is very old, intricately
engraved, and was stolen months ago, it is
worth 10 gp, or 100 gp if sold to the right
buyer.
• Seven bunkbeds are in this room. Two
bunkbeds have occupants - four sleeping
bandits.
• Large and empty king-sized bed is next
to the ladder leading to room 11. There is a
dagger +1 hidden under its dirty pillows.
• Two chests are by the large bed. The
smaller one is unlocked and looks empty. It
has a hidden compartment, DC 15 to notice
it. Inside is a magic scroll “Speak With Dead“
and a strange locket. The locket shows a
portrait of someone you wish to remember.
Currently, it holds an image of a five year
old girl. The large chest is locked, DC 13 to
unlock. It contains a variety of coins and
jewelry (150 gp).
• Trapdoor on the ceiling of this room is
locked, DC 13 to open. The trapdoor leads to
room 11.
Grimhill Bandit
AC 13 (leather+shield), HD 1 (4),
ATK 1 club +1 (1d4), MV near,
S +1, D +0, C+0, I -1, W +0, Ch -1, AL C
B - Hidden Cave
• Faint stench of wet dogs permiates the air.
Not even the smell of fresh rain can hide it.
• The cave entrance is hidden by branches
and tall grass. It can be seen from the road,
DC 13.
• There are bones littered around the en-
trance. Mostly animal, but some are certainly
human.
6 - Den of Wolves
• The ground is muddy and sticky. Move-
ment is difficult, DC 10 or get stuck in the
mud. Spend an action to pull yourself out.
• Snarls can be heard in the darkness. Two
wolves are poised to strike! They will attack
any character carrying a torch.
• Malodorous pond is on the western part
of the cavern and the way leads to room 8,
but the stones have caved in and it is im-
possible to go through unless the rocks are
cleared. It takes an hour to clear.
• There is a corpse of a middle-aged human
floating in the pond. The corpse is bloated
and full of leeches and flesh-eating snails. If
inspected, the corpse will reveal an unread-
able soaked letter, and a children’s silver
bracelet (10 gp) in the envelope.
• Hidden door on the north wall! Touching
the cave walls reveals a faux rock - painted
surprisingly well, DC 13 to notice. The door
leads to room 7.
Wolf
AC 12, HD 2 (9),
ATK 1 bite +2 (1d6), MV double near,
S +2, D +2, C+1, I -2, W +1, Ch +0, AL N
Pack Hunter. Deals +1 damage
while next to an ally.
7 - Old Wine Cellar
• Smell of mold and vinegar wafts through
the room. Broken bottles lie all around the
corners. There is a 2-in-6 chance that a bot-
tle of old elven vintage worth 15 gp is still
intact. Tastes great!
• Big cluster of mushrooms on the ceiling
illuminates the room in vibrant hues of blue
and purple.
• Four thick wooden beams hold the ceil-
ing in place. They are a new addition to this
room. If at least two of the beams are broken
or removed in some way, the ceiling will
collapse and kill everyone in the room.
• Rusty steel ladder bolted in the wall leads
to room 2.
8 - Ruined Dungeon
• Damp and slippery. Everything is covered
by a layer of slime and hundreds upon hun-
dreds of fat slugs. Step on them, they pop!
• Chains and manacles are bolted into dun-
geon walls. Moldy skeletons are attached to
some of them.
• Human skeleton lies on the floor, adorned
in rotting court dress, with dirty pieces of
jewelry (30 gp) still attached to it. Bones of
the skeleton appear to be broken, as if it was
thrown from above. This is the skeleton of a
ghost in the room 3.
• Rickety ladder made of wood is swarmed
by slugs. The wood is rotten, and climbing
the ladder takes some effort, DC 9. The lad-
der leads to room 3.
• Three fat giant rats are living in this room,
feeding off of slugs. They are well fed and
will not attack, unless provoked.
Giant Rat
AC 11 , HD 1 (4),
ATK 1 bite +1 (1d4+disease), MV near,
S -2, D +1, C+1, I -2, W +1, Ch -2, AL N
Disease. DC 12 CON or 1d4 CON damage.
Repeat once a day, ends on success. Die at 0
CON.
C - Wall Vines
• Broken wall overgrown in vines is some-
what challenging to climb, DC 13. Failure by
five or more will loosen some of the stones
which will deal 1d4 damage to the closest
person below, DC 9 for half damage. Once
the loose stones fall, the vines will be much
easier to climb, DC 9.
• Some vines have thorns that deal one
point of damage to anyone without gloves.
There are old blood stains on the vines.
• Oddly beautiful skull shaped white roses
grow on the vines. They smell of sorrow.
9 - Crumbling Wall
• The storm is getting closer. The wind be-
gins to rage. It is not safe outside anymore.
• Ground is littered with broken stones
and stone slabs. Movement is noisy, and a
bit difficult, but not impossible.
• Sturdy reinforced door to the east leads to
room 10. The door is barred from the inside,
DC 17 to force open.
• Broken door to the north leads to room
12. “Do not enter!” is written on one of the
planks.
10 - Sentry Room
• Two bandits and their sergeant guard the
wall section from this small chamber. There
is 2-in-6 chance that the bandits are currently
looking through the door, making it im-
possible for anyone to pass through room 9
undetected for 3d10 minutes.
• Three sleeping bags are placed around a
bonfire. There is a pouch of gold (10 gp) and
a throwing dagger in one of the bags.
• Stairway on the south leads to room 1.
Grimhill Bandit
AC 12 (leather), HD 1 (4),
ATK 1 club +1 (1d4) or 1 crossbow +0 (1d6),
MV near,
S +1, D +0, C+0, I -1, W +0, Ch -1, AL C
Grimhill Bandit Sergeant
AC 14 (chainmail+shield), HD 2 (9),
ATK 1 mace +1 (1d6), MV near,
S +1, D +0, C+0, I -1, W +0, Ch -1, AL C
Battle Hardened. Attacks twice.
11 - Old Armory
• Half of the roof is missing. Beams are
broken and most shingles are gone. Pigeons
nest here now.
• Weapon racks and armor stands lay emp-
ty, piled up against the north wall.
• Heavy iron door to the west is busted
open and bent, unable to close again, leading
to room 12. The weight of stones and beams
appears to be the culprit.
• Fresh corpse of a man dressed in green
robes lies next to two dead stirges, both
cut in half. His body is full of stirge punc-
tures, not a single drop of blood left in it.
He clutches a silver dagger +1 and a journal.
The robed man also wears an old ruby ring
(15 gp) and a silk pouch with gems (30 gp).
In his pocket is a pair of keys, one opens the
large chest in room 5, the other is for the
trapdoor in this room.
• Trapdoor on the south-eastern corner of
this room is locked, DC 13 to open. The trap-
door leads to room 5.
Osgarl’s Journal
If the characters decide to take some time
to read the journal, they will find boring
notes about stolen goods and how the
spoils were being divided.
They will also learn about the gang’s hi-
erarchy. Osgarl the magician is the bandit
leader, while Bert the sergeant is his sec-
ond in command.
In his journal, Osgarl also mentions that
he has chosen Grimhill Fort as the base of
his operations because the place has quite
the unique history. He mentions undying
love and tragic and unfortunate imprison-
ment of a noblewoman, and murderous
rivalry between two knights - two broth-
ers.
In his research, Osgarl has discovered
that the unexplored stirge-infested tow-
er hides intriguing treasures. He also ad-
dresses their value and his unwillingness
to share with Bert and his crew. This is
why Osgarl wanted to delve in all by him-
self, until his sudden and untimely death.
12 - Grimhill Tower
• The tower has collapsed from the inside,
only the moss-covered walls still stand.
• A sudden flash of lightning illuminates
the place, revealing four stirges hanging
from the support beams. They attack!
• Armored knight lies dead in the rubble.
The knight wears rusty platemail and a
shield with a crest lost to time. Next to the
knight is a locked chest, DC 17. Inside it are
a golden statuette of a young man (50 gp), a
long emerald necklace (70 gp), and a jeweled
crown (150 gp). If the characters attempt to
open the chest or interfere with it in some
way, the knight will rise as a wight and
attack. The wight has a special key to room 3
attached to its belt.
• Iron door to the east laed to room 11.
• Broken door to the south laed to room 9.
Stirge
AC 12, HD 1 (4),
ATK 1 beak +2 (1d4 + blood drain),
MV near (fly),
S -2, D +2, C +1 I -2, W +0, Ch -2, AL N
Blood Drain. Attach to a bitten target and
automatically hit the next round.
Wight
AC 15 (rusty platemail+shield), HD 3 (13),
ATK 1 mace +3 (1d6) and 1 life drain +3,
MV near,
S +3, D +1, C +2, I +1, W +0, Ch +1, AL C
Greater Undead. Immune to morale checks.
Only damaged by silvered weapons or
magic.
Life Drain. 1d4 CON damage. Death if re-
duced to 0 CON.
Reuniting the Tragic Lovers
If the characters discover both golden
statuettes (from room 3 and room 12),
they will notice that the statues fit togeth-
er perfectly. If the statuettes are reunited,
the ghost in room 3 will vanish, and the
wight in room 12 will turn to dust, and
the words “Glad to see you again, my love...“
will echo in the wind. All of a sudden, the
storm will subside, the rain stop, and the
sky will turn blue once more.
 Written and designed by:
Aleksandar Kostić aka Art of Caustic
Editing and proofreading by:
Alex Bates

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The Tragic Curse of Grimhill Fort is an independent product published under

the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License and is not affiliated with The Arcane
Library, LLC. Shadowdark RPG © 2023 The Arcane Library, LLC.