Gothic Earth Encounter Site

The year was 1863, and the confederate general Robert E. Lee had decided it was time to end the civil war by taking the battles to the soil of his union opponents. After crossing the Mason-Dixon line into Pennsylvania, General Lee started to head towards the state capital, Harrisburg. On the way, he changed his plans and began heading towards the union army under the command of General George Meade. The two armies met at the small, peaceful farming town of Gettysburg; a town and battle that would go down in history and would be forever haunted by the ghosts of restless warriors.

Of all the destruction and death wrought on the fields of Gettysburg, one of the bloodiest fights was at the maze of boulders known as Devil’s Den. After the battle, many of the dead were thrown into mass graves near the boulders, and their souls would later rise to serve the true master of this place.

From 1813 to 1826, an evil cabalist by the name of Fransor Yarick terrorized the farmers of Gettysburg. This evil man figured the farmers were easy pickings, and at first he was right. Nightly, he would raid their houses, taking money, goods and, if he wanted, people, until finally the locals fought back. On the dark cloudy night of July 4, 1826, Fransor was dragged from his bed, taken outside of town to a place avoided by all, Devil’s Den, then beaten to death and buried. Over the years, the spot was forgotten about and the name of Fransor Yarick became obscure, until after the battle of Gettysburg.

Fransor Yarick’s evil was great and terrible. After his death he became a powerful Zombie Lord and made the site of his burial the base of his evil. Nightly he sends zombie patrols out into the surrounding countryside to gather new victims for his dark army of dead.

1. Open graves: This 50’ long trench is the site of the mass graves dug after the battle of Gettysburg and used mostly to bury the confederate soldiers. At any time 1d10 zombies can be found walking in and around the trench. They will attack with their dirty claws (75%) or will use rotting muskets (25%) as clubs. (1d4 damage with 30% chance per hit of breaking).
   
   
2. Trees of Death: Four dead trees, the last of the trees remaining after the battle, stand in this spot as beacons of evil which glow an eerie red at night. This is the spot where Fransor was put to death; his evil taint remaining behind to remind his murderers and their relatives that he is still here and will one day claim them for his undead army.
   
   
3. Devil’s Den: Fransor makes his lair in this maze of boulders surrounded by 3d10 zombie guards. Any who enter the boulders must make a saving throw vs. poison or be effected by the stench of Fransor’s rotting body. Those affected suffer one of the following effects:(1d4)
   1. Character begins choking and uncontrollably coughing suffering 1d6 points of damage for 6 rounds
   2. -1 to strength and -1 to constitution (permanent)
   3. Character is unable to do anything for 1d8 rounds due to nausea
   4. Cause Disease (as the spell)

Characters walking through the boulders will be required to make a horror check when meeting Fransor for the first time and also when they see what has been left behind as a warning - various rotting body parts (including heads) of past victims not turned into zombies. Hidden at various spots (up to the D.M.) are 1d4 live victims with only 1 hit point left. They do not know any information about the zombies or Fransor and will only want to leave the area as soon as possible. The only treasure to be found in the entire area is 262 dollars in confederate money, useless to all but the collector or an antique dealer.

In addition to the zombies listed above, 100 others lair in and around the boulders. Also, there is a 50% chance to encounter the ghost of Brigadier General Lewis A. Armstead, CSA. The ghost is neutral good and will help any characters of good alignment who can answer his one question, “What became of the brave boys of Virginia?” He died at Pickett’s Charge and his spirit has not been able to rest due to the spreading of Fransor’s evil. The ghost will fight Fransor to the best of his abilities to rescue the bodies of his fellow Virginians under the control of the Zombie Lord. The ghost of General Armstead will answer any questions to the best of his knowledge, and, if he helps to defeat Fransor, will ask the characters to bury the dead confederate soldiers in a holy place to rest in peace.

Zombies: (AC: 8, MV: 6, HD: 2, THAC0: 19, #of Attacks: 1, Damage/Attack: 1-8, Special Defenses: spell immunity, Size: M, Alignment: neutral, Morale: special, XP: Value 65)

Ghost: (AC: 0 or 8, MV: 9, HD: 10, THAC0: 11, #of Attacks: 1, Damage/Attack: age 10-40 yrs., Special Defenses: silver or magic items to hit, Special Attack: opponent save vs. spell or flee for 2d6 turns, magic jar, Size: M, Alignment: neutral good, Morale: special, XP: Value 7800.

Fransor Yarick - Zombie Lord of the Den

© Dennis Gill, 1999