89
THE GOOD KNIGHT'S REPOSE. This room holds thirteen skeletal remains.
Twelve of the bodies belonged to ghouls, they have curved spines,
prognathous skulls with enlarged canines, and clawed hands. They
surround the skeleton of a knight in chain mail.
The
last skeleton is actually a restless dead. He is Varun Daris, a
paladin of Adriel who entered the dungeon with his six retainers in
order to try to rid the Castle of evil. He was attacked by a host of
ghouls and defeated them, but then succumbed to his wounds. His
piety and his special silver holy symbol prevented him from becoming
a ghoul himself. Instead he rose as a restless dead and his
retainers became the skeletons in Room 88.
Varun
Daris, Lawful Good Restless Dead (AC 5; MV 9”; HD 4+3; hp 17; #AT
1; D Two handed sword +1; SD Sharp weapons score half damage
only, limited spell immunity; XP 215)
Varun
will slowly stand up if adventurers enter the room, their intrusion
having awoken him. He can speak, but it will take him another round
or so to remember how. His voice is a croaking rasp that sounds like
wind from beyond the grave. Once he is fully risen, he will realize
his goal: to slay evil creatures, especially undead and ghouls in
particular. He can be talked into joining an adventuring party if
they convince him that they have the same or similar goals.
If
Varun Daris does join the party, he will bring any surviving
skeletons from Room 88 to serve him. He will accompany the party as
long as they remain underground and seem dedicated to fighting evil,
but will part ways with them if they leave the dungeons in order to
continue his crusade.
Varun
has the same immunities as normal skeletons. He can be turned as if
he was a 4th level paladin, but not in this room. He no longer has
any paladin special abilities but he has a special “detect undead”
ability that will allow him to know if a certain path will lead him
directly to undead creatures. The ability will only work if the path
leads directly to undead (no branching paths between Varun and the
undead). Varun cannot tell what type of undead he is sensing, but
can get a feeling of strength. For example, liches, ghosts, and
vampires will give a very strong impression, while skeletons and
zombies will give a very faint impression. About his neck he wears
an iron chain and a special silver amulet that is also a holy symbol
of Adriel. The amulet is worth 1000 gold crescents and it has the
ability to prevent its wearer from rising as an undead creature if
slain by undead.
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