The Lost Tomb One Shot

WELCOME TO THE LOST TOMB ONE SHOT

Your Genre – Historical Fantasy

Your Location – Aztec/Mayan, Native American

Players – 2-4

Starting Levels – 3-5

Based on the Lost Tomb Description

A search party is formed to locate the lost villagers of Aketopa in South Maka. It looks as though the desperate survivors, unable to escape through the jungle, dug into an abandoned tomb seeking a way out. Now the rescuers may need rescuing of their own as they enter a massive complex full of traps, mummies, and restless spirits.

Session 0 (Preparation)

– Have your characters already have an innate reason to join a search party. Whether that is a family connection to the villagers who are trapped, a desire to explore Aketopa, a belief of riches to find in the tombs, a need to prove themselves as a warrior, etc.

(If a character wishes to be unfazed, remember, it’s better to personalize a disruption to their way of life. Think like the hobbits living in the shire, happily. Something must be disrupted to convince them to leave their good situation.)

Where we Begin:

Let’s start our one shot where all good stories begin – a time of celebration, where people come together and enjoy the start of a new season. For this one shot we are going to set the scene in Nahui where a set of young men and women gain their titles and honor as Warriors. They have worked hard and have finished their final tests of strength, will, wit and maintain true to the balance of life. The Omean people all gather here, as tradition, to give tributes to their gods for the safety of these new warriors, and feast till dawn. Storytellers set up near houses and outside temples, telling wonderful tales of legendary warriors and the deadly encounters with some of the most dangerous animals who roam the lands with them.

Feel free to let some of your Player Characters be a part of these young men and women who have just become warriors. They can be anyone else experiencing this celebration too.

What to Say

“You find yourselves in the bustling city of Nahui. A city where water and land creatures coexist. People near and far all gather here to celebrate the christening of new warriors who are now free to embark on journeys of protection, adventure, and discovery.”

(This is where you want to cut to your party members in order to have them explain their names, what they look like, what they would be doing at such a celebration. For example, “We first look to the sea where the water earthkin and merfolk are gathered. Some are animating shapes with the water, telling stories as streams of water dance through the air and explode against each other. (Player) Please explain your character’s appearance. What are you doing?”)

STORY HOOK

*Once your players have described themselves, cut to the very center of this celebration.*

You are at the bottom of a large, stone temple in the city. The temple has been built overtop of their previous one, making it stronger and larger than before, with circular carvings signifying the water symbol worn by the water earthkin. The new warriors have just been released to commune with their family and friends after the ceremony and you are all standing on the large open community area between the houses. Music breaks out, food and drinks are being passed through the crowd. There is one main storyteller at the bottom of the steps. A crowd gathers around him as he starts to tell a story about the lost villagers in Aketopa. He looks to be a 6 foot tall stone earthkin with large muscles and scars across his face and body that tell their own stories. His name, Cocum.

*He chuckles as he seems to be talking with a friend nearby before turning to the crowd to tell a story.* “So you want to know about Aketopa? The once great base that has trapped many Wanzian warriors. The Northern folk heard tales of the great many beasts of the jungles and the lost villagers who found themselves trapped beneath the surface of the earth in the lost tomb of some of Maka’s greatest leaders. Their treasure’s and wisdom teachings were buried with them for generations. Dark spirits of Vengeance, and of Love roam the buried structure. The crossfire of such spirits tethered in one place is a danger to life itself. The longer they are trapped together the more unbalanced magic and its coexistence on the material plane will become. Last we ever heard from the great Wanzian warriors was a message sent by the Red Cougar himself. He said two words to us. “It’s begun.” Our guess from such a cryptic message is the call for a group to outsmart such spirits and lay them to rest along with the great leaders that they had unfinished business with.”

Allow your party to roll play. If they wish to talk with Cocum, let them ask if a search party or an attempt is being formed. Cocum is to say “yes. That he is looking for people as we speak.” If they do not ask him anything but simply continue through the party, have other npcs of villagers in this town bring up the idea of the glory that would be bestowed upon those who save the lost villagers, and then have Cocum later into the evening feast call upon anyone who wishes to join this search party.

I suggest having Cocum join you on the adventure, as to have a safety net for battles. (Someone to direct damage to when things get intense, or as an immersive guide to help lead your party through traps, rooms, and lore.)

Traveling to Aketopa

Aketopa is to the north east of Nahui. The terrain is full of rolling hills, and forest patches that at night become as deadly as the legend of the tomb itself.

Travel role play is optional. If your players wish to role play it out let’s add some challenges.

Make them roll a DC 10 wisdom (perception) to notice any monsters roaming around at night. Some mind their own business and fly through the night making scary noises and creep up on the crew just to see the disturbance. Others, with a DC 15 wisdom (insight) roll, are preparing to attack you all as hope for a large meal for the forests.

Monsters to use:

RANDOM ENCOUNTER CHART

Elohim Interior Manual (EIM)

Monster Manual (MM)

You make it to the front of the city. There are many unmarked buildings and cracked pathways. Taking your group through here – let them explore. When they all have entered through what would be considered the main gate, have them all tell you their passive arcana.

(Similar to passive perception, passive arcana would be 10+intelligence + proficiency you have that)

DISCLAIMER – Magic used for plot is not an official spell in DnD 5e

DC 10 = You notice a feeling of a magical wave pass over you all once you’ve entered.

DC 15 = You are aware it’s some sort of barrier magic

DC 18 = You can tell it’s similar to the spell Wall of Force in which you can either destroy using disintegrate or by completing your quest.

(DM you know that using disintegrate will also cause all spirits in the dungeon to be released onto the surface instead of just the tomb. Find ways to advise them against this)

You may use these DCs after the passive arcana if any of your party members wish to investigate further.

Inside the City

…

THE TOMB (DUNGEON)

DM! (This is for personal use only. Not for commercial use.) We are transitioning to the main plot of our One Shot. The big challenge, the story arch. By now in the campaign you have a feel for how your players are reacting to the world, the lore, etc. It is entirely up to you how large your dungeon is and how hard you push them. If you started at lower levels, remember – your players may be powerful in attacks, but can’t take a lot of hits. Make sure your players take a long rest before entering further. Stress, these ghosts really aren’t going anywhere.

I suggest 5 rooms. 3 challenges, the lost villagers, and the final room. If your players are really taking to the combat, or the puzzles, give them more rooms! Nothing’s stopping you. THE ONLY FIXED ROOMS ARE PLOT ROOMS. THEY ARE BOLDED.

Essentially I am going to lay out the dungeon like this. You have 3 types of rooms. A combat room, a puzzle room, and a plot room. Some puzzles include loot. Otherwise roll randomly on the loot tables in the Players Handbook to fill rooms and reward your players. The puzzle rooms are all basically like a locked room in style.

Here is my example of the dungeon: feel free to move it around or use it exactly how it is.

Room 1 – Puzzles 3 and then 1

Room 2 – Combat 1

Room 3 – The Lost Villagers

Room 4 – Combat 3 & 4

Room 5 – Puzzle 3

Room 6 – Final Room – the resting place of the leaders.

LIST OF PUZZLES

Puzzle 1 – GOAL: Aquatic Discoveries

One wall has a sentence written on it in Nibi. It says “The magic of the tomb will be released upon the world if Zuma and Gabor aren’t put to rest. If crimes aren’t accounted for let no one live.” Let them be able to read this if they either know Nibi or use a spell.

What you want to lay a bunch of weapons in a pile. (use the list in the Elohim Interior Manual as to make sure nothing is overpowered and they decide to switch up their weapons.) Under all of these weapons is a single word. Balance

Beside the closed up stone door in this room, is a balancing scale. There are two words. One on each side of the scale. On one side it says “Peace” on the other “Destruction.” The answer of this puzzle is placing a weapon of some sort in the “destruction” scale bowl to signify that your characters understand that weapons will never create peace – only destruction.

Puzzle 2 – GOAL: Spell Scrolls

…

 Puzzle 3 – This puzzle room is more – a challenge. Have your players walk deep into the depth of this temple, and try to figure out how to get across a pool of lava 20 ft wide. Give them boxes that float, a bunch of potted vases in the room (some full of water), and if anything – hint towards firing arrows into the softer sandstone type walls (as mentioned in the description at the beginning of the tomb description). If they fire arrows into the walls, convince them to jump from arrow to arrow as they swing across. Let them use rope to fire one and swing but always let there be consequences to low acrobatics checks, or strength etc. (The arrow falls out but you just barely make it.) (Typical dnd 5e lava damage = 6d10 fire damage per turn.) Another option that my friend used when I pulled this was using the spell absorb elements to absorb the lava.The more lava he chose to absorb the more he had to expend his energy into something. In his case, he expended all of the energy into a spear and threw it with all his might. He killed an npc but managed to save everyone else. The rule was, he could absorb as much as he liked so long as he remained concentrated. The first turn after he was done absorbing, or lost concentration – he had to expel the energy into some sort of strike or in turn take whatever damage he would have used. (Ie. 4 turns of lava damage, 24d10 damage) If they strike a wall with a spear or crossbow, let it crack and possibly fall, but don’t punish your players for creatively taking the risk for your group.

LIST OF COMBATS

Combat 1 – The Ghost of Vengeance. This Ghost is one who is angry with the leaders. They are downright angry with who they were and how they went about leading. Perhaps this ghost was pissed about a previous family member the leader had sentenced to death unjustly, or the inability to to make the hard call on a battle, and he lost his life in a battle that, in the end, did not make any difference. (He died for nothing, and refused to just end it there.)

Ghosts – (CR 4, Pg 148, MM    or    Pg 11-12, EIM)

 Combat 2 – The Ghost of Love. This ghost was perhaps a previous lover of one of the leaders. They were so deeply in love that when the leader passed on, the lover did too. Only this lover held so deeply onto the idea of wanting to live with them, that they became a ghost and were trapped on the ethereal plane of existence. This ghost wants so badly for the leaders to now reawaken so that their lives journey can be put to rest.

Ghosts – (CR 4, Pg 148, MM    or    Pg 11-12, EIM)

Combat 3 – …

Combat 4 – Oniate. Perhaps you are almost at the end of this dungeon. All of a sudden the severed hand of a mummy you have yet to fight appears and is moving on its own. Its goal? Trying to acquire the written scrolls of magic imbued with the ability to cast it without much experience or a focus, so long as someone reads the scroll out loud. These are hidden, not here but in puzzle 2.

Oniate – (CR 2, Pg 57, EIM)

LORE ROOMS

Lost Villagers – You enter a room and in the corner you see a bunch of people (20) huddled in the corner. They are sitting in fear, silently eating half a ration each as one of them breaks a dried ration in half, and hands it out. The man handing out rations seems to be dressed with an ax to his belt and the face of a Red Cougar. He is the twin brother of the one who ran out. A spell casting mage who was fearless in battle, but had to choose between dying to save the villagers but release the spirits, or living, and letting go of his brother until they could come up with a better solution.

Have the villagers talk with your party. Express their fears, their history. Explain who these leaders are. Zuma, and Gabor. The previous leaders of the Omean people. The ones who released dark beasts upon the world to “cleanse” the weak from existence. Maybe tell the story of Vengeance, the ghost. (At this point they either already killed him and now can feel remorse, or walk in to a battle with vengeance with pity in mind)

Have the warriors explain how to get out of here. That they need to let the spirits of the mummies lay back to rest or die. The magic around the town is stopping anyone from leaving as a precaution for protecting the rest of the world. When the villagers of Aketopa first tried to leave and wound up in the abandoned complex of this tomb, they woke the mummies from rest and angered the spirits of Love and Vengeance to wreak havoc on anyone who tried to hurt or move Zuman and Gabor.

 The Resting Place – Zuma and Gabor, the Omean leader’s tombs are laid side by side. Except, where the mummies should be set to rest, is the empty divot of two awoken mummies. Allow your players to make a choice.

Choice 1. Convince these leaders (who knew whatever languages they would’ve known in life beforehand) to lay back in their resting place. When doing so they can use charisma checks DC 20 (flaccid or nat). These include deception, or persuasion. They are immune to fear so intimidation will never work, they are also immune to being charmed so this must be on the wit of your players alone.

Choice 2. Fight and kill the leaders. Both Zuma and Gabor must die for the spell to be lifted. Any combats you did not use may be called upon now if the fight is too easy, or you want to make the challenge harder!

Mummy (CR 3, Pg 228, MM)  x2

Once this has been completed, you may explain the release of magical energy surrounding this place. That, like a wave of fresh air and wind hits across everyone’s face as the wall barrier is removed, and everyone can go back home to Nahui, North Maka, or where else your party is from.