Grottröj

presents

A long time ago, the archangel Michael

fell out of grace with their god and was
locked in a crypt. Now a leader of the local
Crypt of the
Archangel
temple has issued a reward for anyone who
can find the crypt and bring back proof of
its existence.

The adventures in the "Grottröj presents"

series have been played at the Grottröj Old
School Convention. This adventure was
appreciated for its social interactions,
varied surroundings, and rewarding climax.

Profits from the sales of this adventure go

towards supporting Grottröj.

An adventure for 1st level Player Characters

Grottröj presents

Crypt of the Archangel

An adventure for 1st level Player Characters

By Björn Wärmedal

Table of Contents
Background.............................................................1
The Siblings............................................................1
The Key...................................................................3
Outside the Crypt....................................................3
Lucien......................................................................3
Room Descriptions.............................................4
Savannah.................................................................5
Room Descriptions.............................................6
Julian.......................................................................8
Room Descriptions.............................................8
Michael..................................................................10
Things to be Found................................................11
 Crypt of the Archangel

Background
A long time ago, the archangel Michael fell out of grace with
their god. They were locked in a crypt and their personality
split into three separate beings. These beings have since
struggled between themselves, not knowing of their origins.

Now a leader of the local temple has experienced visions of

this crypt and its location. He has issued a reward for anyone
who can find the crypt, based on his vague description, and
bring back artifacts or other proof of its existence.

The Siblings
The three intelligent occupants of the crypt consider
themselves siblings. For all they know they have always
existed, have always schemed and plotted against each other
and will always continue to grate on each other's nerves.
After all, they're immortal and have a pathological disinterest
in anything outside of the crypt.

Savannah takes the form of a woman and Julian that of a

man, and Lucien takes on a form like something in between.

While they each have a door into Michael's actual grave, they
don't really know it. In fact, they're incapable of knowing
anything about Michael, the doors or keys or the outside

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 Crypt of the Archangel

world. As soon as it's brought up they lose interest, zone out

and change the subject. Not because they want to avoid
talking about it, but because they literally can't hold it in their
minds long enough to form coherent thoughts and theories
about it. If pressed too relentlessly they'll eventually just
walk away.

Likewise, humans and demihumans are of no consequence to

them. If asked to help "relieve pain," for example, they might
as well kill the person suffering it. Stopped the pain, right?
The PCs are welcome to come and go as they please and
even bring treasure out from the crypt. The siblings will,
however, approach anyone coming into their territory, to
ascertain that they're not sent by another sibling to steal
something of personal value. They may also ask for favours
(typically to steal or fetch something that another sibling
has). None of them will ever ally themselves with the PCs.
They may be convinced to help with little things (like
healing, fixing broken weapons and whatnot; their magic
powers are impressive but seldom employed).

Being attacked is a nuisance to any of them, but is simply

solved by killing the assailant. They are for all intents and
purposes invulnerable, and freakishly strong. The siblings
wouldn't bother enough to run after an attacker, but can kill
any of the PCs by effortlessly tossing, strangling, or crushing
them. They'll never strike first, however, and never attack
anyone who hasn't attempted to harm them. They don't really
care about the PCs' lives, and may well end any of them as a
solution to a problem or because they misunderstood a
request.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

The Key
The middle room is the actual grave. It has three entrances.
They all open with the same key, which is a mechanical
device that has been split in three. The parts most resemble
clockwork; fine and sensitive mechanical wonders. Each
sibling has one part, but they are completely unaware of it.

Outside the Crypt

The crypt is a bit hard to find. It's located in the south wall of
a deep ravine. There is a big gilded double door made of
solid oak. It's ajar. Around it, a large section of the ravine
wall is flat and smooth stonework rather than natural
formations.

Lucien
Lucien occupies the area closest to the door. They appear in a
ghostly form; skin bright white, waxy and a little
luminescent; clothes in worn white gossamer. If given their
life force back they'll flush into a healthy light brown skin
and black hair. Their clothes will solidify into something old-
fashioned and neutral though still look worn. Their rooms are
mostly dark and damp. Furniture here is old and mouldy.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

When still in ghostly form Lucien is a little curious but shy.

Helpful if asked, but absent-minded and unhurried. They can
seem a little dim-witted at first interaction. If turned back to
solid form (i.e. the PCs somehow got Lucien's life force
back) they'll be in a bit of hurry to find Julian and dole out
payback. What exactly this entails is left to the DM's
discretion.

Room Descriptions
1. Statues of saints and lesser angels. Most saints are carrying
mundane tool-sets of different kinds. 10 skeletons are
hanging in chains in the ceiling, barely out of mêlée range.
One statue has a gilded sword, pointed upwards. If the sword
is tipped, the skeletons will fall, take 1d6 falling damage
each and proceed to attack the PCs. The skeletons have ML
12, HD 1, AC as Unarmoured, ATK# 1, Dmg 1d6, Move
120', Save F1.

2. Art gallery. Many paintings feature a clockwork-like piece

somewhere in the motif; a part of the key.

3. Storage room. Lots of trinkets. Box with two rings. In the

lid the lines "Blessed?" and "Cursed?" are scribbled, with
arrows pointing to respective position. Both rings have fallen
out of place, and there is no way to tell which should go
where. If two different people wear a ring each the
personality from the one who dies first will be transported
into the body of the second ring-wearer at the time of death.
A large candelabra is on the floor, worth 300 gp. This
candelabra belongs to Julian.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

4. Assorted treasure, worth a total of 2000 gp. One third of

the clockwork-like thing.

5. Lucien's chamber. Furnished like a salon or living room;

couches, armchairs, bookshelves and small tables with vases.
Everything is worn out, rotten, dirty and half broken. The
shelves are full of fiction books, all in very bad shape. All the
furniture seems to be placed a little off, as if the person
decorating didn't really know what each type of furniture was
for or how they're commonly used. A door to Michael's crypt
is clearly visible behind a sofa.

Savannah
Savannah is of average height, olive skin, long curly brown
hair. She wears a simple but elegant white dress. Her rooms
are in the same manner; simple and minimalistic but elegant.
Most of her surroundings are in earthly colours. The only
thing she has in excess is food, of which she rarely eats.

Of the three siblings, she is the only one with any sense of
humour. It is, however, somewhat dark and twisted. She'll
graciously answer questions about things in the crypt, but
withhold important details such as what happens when you
pull the chains in room 7 or touch the mirrors in room 9.
Seeing someone get hurt or killed is the height of hilarity to
her.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

Room Descriptions
6. Two huge black dogs that are chained to the wall. Their
stats are ML 12, HD 5, AC as Unarmoured, ATK# 2
(claw/bite), Dmg 1d6/1d8, Move 120', Save F5.

7. Northern corridor filled with bodies. From the ceiling

hangs five chains, a handle in each. Something happens if
you pull them;

North-west: chain falls out of hole it comes from.

North-east: Arrows shoot from the east wall.

South-east: arrows shoot from the ground.

South-west: arrows shoot from the ceiling.

Middle: the dogs in room 6 are released and attack.

Arrows do 1d6 damage, Save or be paralysed in 1d4 limbs

for 8 hours.

8. Savannah's chamber. It's a minimalistic living room. There

is a small shelf with only the major religious volumes. She
also has a low table and a number of armchairs; all in wood
and no cushions. If the PCs haven't met her somewhere else
she can be found here, either reading a poetry book or pacing
the room looking at her few belongings.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

9. Pile of mirrors. These are Julian's, though he no longer

cares about them. If you touch the mirror surface of them,
Save or fall under a magical effect:

1. Only exist in Julian's mirror-world from now on

(meaning you appear to be an illusion, and all
illusions and other mirror-world things are real to
you).

2. Switch alignment or faith.

3. You can only talk in negations. Each time you break

this rule you lose 1 HP and get to Save again (this
will continue until a Save succeeds or you die).

4. You can no longer see ahead of you, only behind

you.

5. Reverse your handedness (left-handed becomes

right-handed and vice versa; ambidextrous now has
no "correct" hand).

6. Can no longer see colours at all, everything is

shades of grey (at least 50 of them).

10. Assorted treasure, worth a total of 3000 gp.

11. Storage. Contains mostly stuff that the PCs have lost
earlier – even as early as childhood – but nothing of real
value. A third of the clockwork-like key. One smooth black
stone that sits alone on a shelf is magic; it's Lucien's life
force and they really want it back. Julian stole it from them,
and Savannah stole it from him.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

12. Dining room. Long table filled with superb food. The
PCs are free to take whatever they want from the table. It's
all delicious, and any time they've been away from the room
overnight and come back the table replenishes.

Julian
The third sibling is a tall and handsome man. He stands a
head and a half taller than the tallest party member and is
very fashionably dressed. He spends most of his time either
sitting on his throne or looking into mirrors. It is not the
reflection that interests him, but what he can do with them.
He has a very special relationship to mirrors; he can make
any mirror interact with a world that only exists in his mind.
His mirror world exists parallel to reality, but exactly how it
fits together with it (or if it exists at all outside of the crypt)
is anyone's guess. It will cease to exist when Julian does,
including everything and everyone in it with the possible
exception of a PC or henchman/hireling gazing into
Michael's crypt when it happens.

His rooms are all marble floors, tiled walls and gilded details.
There is no discernible light source, but the rooms are as
bright as if daylight was coming through the ceiling at all
times.

Room Descriptions
13. Covered mirror in the south wall. The room is filled with
short, stout, grey men with no eyes or mouths (8 of them).
They are invisible and move around almost imperceptibly

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 Crypt of the Archangel

until the mirror is uncovered, whereupon they appear and

start attacking the PCs. If the mirror is covered they turn
invisible and placid once again. Their stats are ML 12, HD 1,
AC as Unarmoured, ATK# 1, Dmg 1d4, Move 120', Save F1.

14. Julian's chamber. The throne standing in the middle of the

room facing south dominates the room. It is large, even as
thrones go, and covered in gilded ornaments depicting
demons, lions and angels. Apart from the throne, there is also
a pedestal with an ornate marble chess board. He typically
plays against himself and can sometimes take years to ponder
a move, but will indulge anyone who asks to play against
him. (Author's note: unfailingly players that I have run this
adventure with have asked to play against him, betting
something on the game. I've happened to have a chess board
nearby and have downloaded a chess clock app, limiting the
game time to two minutes for each player and then played
against the player making the offer.)

15. Storage, contains small boxes, brooches, earrings, and

other small things. Most are more or less worthless. Also
contains a sword that belongs to Savannah. It's a beautiful +2
sword, but it can't ever deliver a killing stroke to anyone.

16. Empty. It's obvious that a candelabra should be hanging

here.

17. Illusory hole in the west wall that appears to lead into a
vast sea of slimy tentacles. Living chains burst out to drag
PCs into it and suffocate them. A Save vs Spells will see
through these chains, the hole, and the vast sea of tentacles as
nothing but illusions, and if told that this is the case even
someone who failed the save will realise the truth. Once the

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illusion has been broken 5 adventurers who have been

captured by the illusory chains over the centuries become
visible. They are stuck to the wall in some kind of stasis, but
easily awoken. This happens to anyone who fails to see
through the illusion.

18. Looks like the most luxurious pig-sty ever. Marble floors,
brass railings. Has no pigs. They exist only in Julian's mirror-
world and can be seen in a mirror prominently placed against
the west wall. The mirror is a secret door.

19. Assorted treasure. Worth a total of 2000 gp. On the top

shelf sits one third of the clockwork-like key.

Michael
20. The key, once assembled, will open either of the three
doors to this room. Opening any of the doors will release
Michael in all their glory. A blinding holy light will emanate
from the opened door, and anyone gazing upon it will gain a
level. Within seconds everyone in the crypt will pass out
briefly. When they wake up the crypt will be clean, no traces
of its previous inhabitants or any of their deeds or
possessions to be found. Left in this room will be a handful
(2d20) of beautiful golden feathers, each of them a foot long.
They’re worth 100 gp per feather.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

Things to be Found
Wherever bodies of previous adventurers can be found there
will be equipment. Likewise there are also random things and
trinkets lying about in the storage rooms or treasure
chambers. Here’s an assortment of things to be found in
places like that, for inspiration or to roll on. Treasure items
are left to the DM’s imagination.

1. Travel sized rolling pin strapped to a large lump of

mouldy dough wrapped in leather.

2. Spell scroll with a 1st level Magic-User spell called

Mistform. It turns the caster and her carried
equipment into mist for 1d6 rounds. While in this
form the caster counts as flying, can move at 3
times normal speed, and is immune to non-magical
damage. The caster cannot carry or significantly
affect objects in their surrounding whilst in mist
form.

3. Messenger bag filled with letters. Old, read, mostly

non-personal, and discarded. No telling why anyone
would keep them.

4. Quiver with 10 arrows of exquisite quality. They are

magical; any that misses its target will return to the
quiver, any that hits will deal 1d8 damage and
break. These arrows will never hit a friend of the
shooter.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

5. A box with everything needed to put up a puppet

show. 6 different puppets and a small stage
complete with curtains.

6. Large collection of colourful glass beads.

7. 4 pairs of used boots in Halfling sizes.

8. Several copies of a fiction novel called “Glorious

Heroes and Their Many Journeyes” (yes, the last
word is misspelt). A PC with a Wisdom of 13 or
higher will instantly recognise it as one of the worst
novels published in the last century. Among
aristocrats and learned people it is fashionable to
own at least 2 copies, only to complain about them
at parties. Everyone who is anyone knows what a
complete disaster of a work the book is. Hardly
anyone has actually read it.

9. Small sack filled with crayon stumps.

10. Diary. 100 pages. Only covers 4 rather mundane

days from the owners life, in a bitter tone and
excruciating detail.

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 Crypt of the Archangel

11. Letter from an adventurer, meant to be brought back

to their partner after the adventurer’s untimely
demise. Hastily written and dated to only a year
ago. The recipient’s address is only a few days
travel away.

“Dear M.

You’re right. Way over my head. I’m so

sorry.

Regards, Tracy.

PS. Don’t let Hicks take the baby over that

gambling debt!”

12. Fishbowl. The goldfish in it is clearly miserable and

scrawny, but kept alive by magic. The bowl cannot
be broken, the water will always stay inside it, and
nothing in the bowl can die.

13. Small blackboard and a box of chalks.

14. Foldable stool, attached to a backpack.

15. Two beautiful dresses, about 200 years old.

16. A large black sack with 58 small quartz crystals and

a small notebook. The notebook has an entry for
each of the 42 crystals that have been thrown away
from the collection. The previous owner was
apparently obsessed with finding out which one out
of the original 100 held a number of Resurrection
spells, and has spent a fortune on Identify spells on
them. They are all magic, but the only magic effect

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they have is that anyone casting Identify on any of

them will see the written message “No, this wasn’t
the right one either” in the air above it.

17. A pug, excellently stuffed. Actually it might be held

in magical stasis. It’s really hard to tell.

18. The autobiographical work of Lester the Newt, a

Halfling adventurer who had a short but insanely
eventful life. He was also great writer.

19. A +1 magical sword.

20. Spectacles. Well made.

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