brothersale wrote: Mon Oct 27, 2025 6:40 pm
Sure, i don't mind, but please bare in mind it is not my creation and i do not know who the author is or what website it is from.
Domain of Albans
The small town that I had entered seemed peaceful, idyllic. My travels in the cursed lands I had been somehow pulled into had been a nightmare, but this small town was near perfect. Friendly faces and a welcoming community, it reminded me of my travels through the Dalelands.
I walked along the central (and, from what I could determine, the only) street and was approached by smiling man, slight portly, with a handshake at the ready. We exchanged pleasantries, and I learned his name was Ronnie, and he was the mayor of this town, called Elding. He pointed me to the only "inn", The Elding House. It was an old manor house, comfortable and welcoming.
The mistress of the House, Jenni, was a kind, elderly lady. She offered me a room, which was spacious and well furnished, but little coin. After a brief conversation, she directed me to the local tavern where I could speak to the local folk. This place seems too good to be true, and though my mind is open for a true safe land, I hold to my suspicions.
The Land: Albans is an island floating in the mists. It is a medium sized island, about 30 miles in diameter. Almost the entire island is covered in forest, which the exception of the town of Elding, home to 750 people on the western side of the island, which is surrounded by small groups of farmland. The forests vary in thickness from light patches of new growth to thick growth of ancient oaks. A number of creeks run through the rolling hills of the domain.
Technology level: Classical
The Folk: The people of Albans are good, hard working people who live on a small amount of farming, supplemented with hunting and fishing. They live simple lives, and are quite happy with their existence. Compared to other realms in the Demiplane of Dread, they have it very well. Monsters do not terrorize them at night. They often gather on each others porch late into the night gossiping and laughing. Still, though they have little fear of creatures entering their town, the woods are another matter. They are a healthy people of average build. They tend towards light brown hair and blue or brown eyes. Dark haired residents of Elding are very rare, but blondes are not uncommon.
The inhabitants of Elding (there are no other centers of population in Albans except Elding, not even a single hermit lives outside the safety of the town and small farms that supply the towns food) have a healthy respect / fear for the forests of their homeland. By day, they freely enter the woods to hunt and fish the abundant forests and streams. Children play near the edge of the woods, and have no fear of attack.
But when night falls, this stops. The population know of the existence of the ghost of Leah McClendon, and they give her proper respect. They will, under absolutely no circumstances, enter the woods past dusk. While normally nice, friendly, open people, they will become terrified and will fight with all the feeble means to stay out of the woods, for they know that entering them at night time is certain death.
The town of Elding is very basic. One "hotel" – a bed and breakfast owned by a nice old lady – is the only place for visitors to stay. It has three rooms in an old manor house. The roads are tightly packed dirt and gravely, pretty smooth. The Elding Tavern is a small, cozy structure where the locals discuss town matters and gossip over a mug of maple ale, a weak drink with a sweet taste.
Native Player Characters: PC’s coming from Albans must come from the only population center, the town of Elding. The only classes available to PC’s coming from this domain are fighter and ranger. Since Elding is such a small town, no metal armor is initially available, and no weapon greater than a short sword can be found.
Personalities of Note: The mayor of Elding, Ronnie Darnall, holds the political power in Elding. He is an open minded, kind man who is very proud of his citizens and his town. He is also very reachable, and if PC’s wish to speak with him, he would be happy to meet them and learn more about them. The other person of note is Edwar Spence, the owner of The Elding Tavern. He is a talkative sort, a bit overweight with thinning hair.
Current Situation: The town of Elding is completely different from the original population center Albans. The people know the legend of the ghost and have heard of the old town, but have no idea of the old town’s existence or validity of the rumor. They only know that the ghost is quite real.
The old town has been abandoned for over a century. The buildings are run down, the roads overgrown. Leah’s house is near the center of the domain, a few miles from the old town. It is a run down two story structure with a dirt cellar. It has quite obviously not been lived in for years. The house was ransacked by her accusers long ago, when they dragged her from it. Rubble litters the building, and bloody marks line the walls, evidence of her hatred for intruders.
Leah McClendon
3rd magnitude ghost, Neutral Evil
Armor Class 0 Str -
Movement 12 Dex -
Level/Hit Dice 5 Con -
Hit Points 41 Int 13
THAC0 15 Wis 15
No. of Attacks 1 Cha 13
Damage/Attack 2d8 (burning)
Special Attacks Aging
Special Defenses +2 or better weapons to hit
Magic Resistance Nil
History: The town of Albans was a ordinary town of modest size. The people worshipped a single god, and worked hard to live well in his eyes. They feared magic, and would not tolerate spellcasters in their region. It was not a good place for Leah McClendon to live, but the woods were her home, and she could not abandon them. Leah was a druid, and lived to nurture her grove and the surrounding areas, which always grew lushly. She avoided the town, and the people generally avoided her.
While playing in the forest, several children saw Leah casting a spell of growth on sickly sapling. The children returned to town, claiming that Leah had cast a spells, and as children are wont to do, exaggerated, saying that she had also cast a spell on them. The townsfolk, naturally paranoid of magic, took the children at their word. The villagers traveled to Leah’s home in the woods, a two story home surrounded by a circular ring of oaks. The villagers confronted Leah, and on her walls they saw many kinds of nature symbols. As is common in such mobs, they saw this as evidence of witchcraft, and had her dragged back to town. After a sham of a trial, she was burned at the stake.
The town had not seen the end Leah McClendon. Her anger and betrayal at her demise caused her to rise as a ghost, and a powerful one at that. She desired revenge on those who has cursed her to her existence of undeath. The accusing children were the first to disappear. They were taken one by one each night, four in all. Then those who had prosecuted her began to disappear. The townsfolk, realizing what was happening but powerless to prevent it, fled, leaving almost all their possessions behind. They never returned. As they fled, they barely noticed the mists that rose in the forest behind them. The mists took the land and created the domain of Albans.
Current Sketch: Leah now spends her time in her forest, observing the lands she loves. She can no longer help her forest and, in fact, can only harm them. Her touch causes wildlife to wither and die within seconds. It agonizes her be only a spectator in nature, but remain one she must.
For most of the time, Leah remains invisible. Only during combat does she become visible. When this happens, she appears as a petite spectral woman in her early 30’s, a face that would be described at pretty were it not contorted in fury. If, however, methods are used to view her before she attacks, Leah’s face is one of curiosity on the first day the intruders are in her forest and annoyance the second.
By day, Leah is powerless and unaware of anything that happens in her domain. She is only active once the sun sets. Once "awake", Leah can detect the presence of anyone in her forest, but the town of Elding. She can unerringly find intruders, and does so immediately after she awakens.
Leah’s reaction upon awakening depends entirely on how long the PC’s have been in her realm.
Day 1: Leah is curious about her new arrivals, and investigates. She moves about the area around the camp site. the PC’s can hear mumbling, but cannot make out words. Also, footsteps through the underbrush can be heard, though if searched, no footprints can be found. (This is a magic effect – the ghost does not actually touch the ground.)
Day 2: Leah has not become annoyed that the intruders are still in her forest. An hour after sunset, Leah begins asking why the PC’s are bothering her, and occasionally hurls (another magical effect) objects at the PC’s. The ghost cannot be communicated with – she asked questions, but cannot hear the PC’s answer.
Day 3: Leah is now outraged that the intruders are still present. She visibly appears and attacks the intruders. Only when she appears visibly can she directly harmed. She fights until destroyed.
Closing the Borders: The borders automatically close ever day at dusk, except for the town of Elding. Leah has no power of the town, and cannot enter it. If the PC’s are in the woods at night, the borders will not reopen unless the Leah is destroyed (see below.) Any who try to leave Albans after the borders have closed will become thoroughly lost, and will eventually find themselves back in a spot in the woods that they have seen before, as if they had been traveling in a circle.
Combat: On the second day that the PC’s are in Albans, Leah will hurl various items such as rocks and heavy sticks at the PC’s, doing from 2d4 points of damage. These attacks are more to drive off the PC’s than to kill them, and a few items are thrown every hour. Leah remains invisible during the second day attack. If the PC’s use magical means to see her, then they can see the ghost looking at them, yelling things and telling them to go. If Leah is struck by a weapon or spell capable of harming her, then she instantly disappears… until the next night.
On the third night, when Leah takes her semi-corporeal form, she attacks by touch. She does have an aging attack, but it is weaker than most ghosts – each strikes takes 1d10 years from the victim. In addition to her age drain, her touch also does 2d8 points of burning damage. Each strike will leave a scorched, sooty mark on the victims’ skin.
Leah can only be harmed by magical weapons of +2 or greater. She has all the normal immunities that ghosts possess – she cannot be effected by charm, sleep, and cold related spells. She does have a particular weakness to fire spells, and can be harmed by them, but only suffers 1 point of damage per level of the caster. So, if a 7th level mage were to cast a fireball, the damage to Leah would be 7 points.
Should Leah be taken to zero hit points or below, she dissipates. At this point, the borders of the domain cease to hold them inside, and they can leave, but only until dawn. After this, the borders once again hold the PC’s prisoner. Leah will reform the next night and resume her attack.
Each night that Leah is destroyed the PC’s do not leave Albans, she becomes stronger, gaining 1HD, 8hp, and her THAC0 lowers by 2. Should the PC’s then escape, her stats return to normal should they ever re-enter Albans.
The only way to permanently destroy Leah is to search her home and find her holy symbol, which is lying in the basement of her dilapidated home. The symbol is a ring of brown vines surrounding a four pointed star made of tightly wrapped leaves. This holy symbol must be taken into the abandoned town of Albans, to the pyre where Leah herself was burnt. The symbol must then be burnt. After the symbol is destroyed in this way, Leah will appear before the PC’s, her skin and clothing burnt. She will let out a sigh, and a blast of heat is released, and Leah disappears forest. The domain of Albans is no more, and the PC’s are released into the mists.