Book of Vile Spells | Ruins of Xug | Saare’s Pit | The Insane Armiger | Six Village Oddities
Book of Vile Spells
Spellbook | Treasure
Containing ineffable spells of the vilest sort, the Book of Vile Spells is a legend among spellcasters of all ilks. Sought after by those of the blackest hearts and feared and reviled by others, the Book of Vile Spellsis an ancient, legendary tome. Only those steeped in evil can study the Book of Vile Spells without falling under its deadly curse—a curse that slowly saps the intelligence and wisdom of the possessor until they degenerate into the book’s mindless servitor.
Penned centuries ago by an unknown, but undoubtedly mighty, hand, the tome holds spells of curious, foul design. Most are modifications of common spells, but all inject evil’s foulness into the casting process. For example, necroball acts in almost all regards like a fireball, but instead of dealing fire damage, it deals necrotic damage, while abyssal storm pummels targets not with ice but with the very stuff of the Abyss. Other spells such as wish have more subtle enchantments woven through their fabric, bringing calamity and suffering to those in the caster’s immediate orbit.
Most sages believe that the Book of Vile Spells was penned by some supremely evil and powerful spellcaster such as one of the legendary demonic liches of Dread Angor. Others believe a demon lord created the book as an irresistible lure for depraved mortals intent on arcane power.
Ruins of Xug
Desert | Ruins
Set amid a barren wilderness of breathtaking hostility, the ruined city of Xug is almost impossible to reach. Set in the Luminous Desert’s deepest reaches and surrounded by a swath of heat-baked salt flats dotted with luridly-coloured, acidic hydrothermal pools. During the day, noxious clouds of acidic mist drift across the salt flats, and temperatures climb to the very limits of what is survivable without magic protection. The region around Xug is a deathtrap.
A smattering of nomadic people dwell in the dunes surrounding the salt flats, working at the edges to cut the salt into blocks before trading it with the few merchants hardy enough to dare the desert’s ever-shifting, scorching sands and tribes of marauding gnoll scavengers.
The few adventurers and explorers to survive expeditions to Xug with their sanity intact talk of the ruin’s massive stone blocks of great age, alien architecture and the seemingly illimitable catacombs beneath the ruins. Strange, formless fungoid creatures are said to dwell in the catacombs’ depths, and they do not take kindly to interlopers. Encounters with these beings invariably end in death or insanity. The nomads dwelling about the salt flats know Xug as the “Forever City” and believe it has always been thus; of its people, though, the nomads’ stories are silent.
Saare’s Pit
Haunted | Mine
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 it.
Unnumbered centuries ago, a meteor crashed to the ground. Comprising super-heavy metals, the meteor buried itself deep underground. There it lay undisturbed for years uncounted until fate decreed Viljami Saarelainen chose the exact spot to sink his mine. Initially, things went well. Saare’s Pit—as it was first known—produced a trickle of silver and gold, and Viljami grew moderately wealthy. As the miners delved deeper, however, the trouble started.
First, some of the miners on the deeper level declared they could hear a faint voice calling to them. Then, some refused to continue working in the pit while others went slowly mad. Eventually, Viljami was left alone to work the mine. His eventual fate remains unknown, but after his final workers disappeared, he was never seen again. After a few years, his family—near destitute—moved away, and he and his pit were mostly forgotten.
The Insane Armiger
NPC
The Insane Armiger dwells in an old hunting lodge. The building once belonged to a wealthy merchant, Kaarle Venemies, but it fell into disuse when the merchant was slain by bandits. Kaarle was the last of his line, and thus, the lodge was forgotten. It lay abandoned until Sakarias Venemies stumbled upon it during a ferocious storm.
Sakarias Venemies was a brave warrior, but something he saw on his last adventure shattered his sanity. By incredible happenstance, Sakarias—while exploring the old lodge—discovered that he shared his last name with the long-dead owner of the house. In the depths of his insanity, he realised that this meant the house belonged to him, and clearly, the house was that of a nobleman. Therefore, Sakarias must be a noble, and the house belonged to him!
Sakarias has dwelled in the house ever since and—as a noble—practised his right to bear arms and demand tolls of people using “his” road. When he is denied his rightful tribute, he flies into a terrible rage and slays all who defy him.
Six Village Oddities
Six Things | Village
The villagers—even the children—all wear jangling necklaces or bracelets. Some are made of bone, while others are of silver or even gold. The villagers believe the jangling keeps evil spirits away. All the houses also have wind chimes (for the same reason).
No children are allowed out after dark without an adult. The villagers won’t say why this is, but if a child does go out alone after sunset, panic ensues.
The local tavern serves an array of fine ales. Each regular has their own named flagon—each with a flip-up lid to keep out flies, dust and suchlike. Some are ornate works of art passed down through the generations. Travellers must make do with cheap, battered flagons.
The villagers are friendly—nauseatingly so—toward adventurers. Nothing is too much trouble for such “honoured” visitors. The characters receive better service than the locals in any village businesses, and unattached villagers literally throw themselves at eligible visiting adventurers.
Births are a time of great joy in the village. When one occurs, a festival-like atmosphere reigns; there is much drinking and carousing (which inevitably leads to more celebrations roughly nine months later).
Each family maintains a small, private burial ground on their land—normally in a corner of their field or garden. There is no communal cemetery, and strangers cannot be buried within the village’s bounds.
Thank you for reading the Sunday Supplement; I hope some of this week’s Campaign Components make it into your game or sparks your creativity.
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The Miscellany of Many Things comprises almost 200 Campaign Components—personalities, items, adventure locations and more—taken from Raging Swan Press’s Sunday Supplement.
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The Miscellany of Many Things is a System Neutral book. The download for this book comprises the Miscellanies PDF and the individual markdown files for all the Campaign Components featured therein.