Encounter

The Entry Warrens

Combat

Area O1 — The Entry Warrens

The tunnel ceiling has collapsed in three places, forcing the party to crawl through bone-choked gaps. The air smells of rust and old blood. As the party navigates the warrens, they disturb three Bone Scavengers (Creature 3)—ravenous beasts that have fed on the ossuary's dead for decades, now mutated by the tear's energy. Two Cultist Lookouts (Creature 2) watch from a ledge overhead, ready to harass intruders or slip away.

Tactical Features & Environment

  • Difficult Terrain (Bone Piles): The floor is covered in shifting, brittle skeletal remains. Squares containing bone piles are difficult terrain (moving into a square of difficult terrain costs 5 extra feet of movement).
  • Unstable Ceiling (Environmental Hazard): The fractured ceiling in this area is precarious. Sonic or thunder spells (such as sound burst), firearm blasts, or a critical hit against a wall or the ceiling triggers a localized cave-in in a 10-foot radius beneath the disruption:
    • Trigger: Loud sonic/thunder effects, firearm usage, or a critical hit against the environment.
    • Effect: Falling rubble deals 2d6 bludgeoning damage to all creatures in the area (DC 18 Reflex save). On a critical failure, a creature takes double damage and is pinned under the debris (becoming grabbed and off-guard until they succeed at a DC 18 Athletics check to Escape).
  • Sentry Behavior (Cultist Lookouts): The two Cultist Lookouts occupy a 10-foot-high stone ledge overlooking the central chamber, gaining cover (+2 circumstance bonus to AC) against targets below:
    • Tactics: If the party is struggling or split, they rain alchemist's fire down on the backline. If two or more Bone Scavengers are slain, or if a hero uses Warn the Shrine, one lookout immediately attempts to flee toward Area O3 to warn Brother Alms, while the other covers the retreat.
    • Stealth & Perception: The lookouts use Stealth DC 18 to stay hidden before initiative is rolled. A character who succeeds at a DC 18 Perception check notices them lurking on the ledge before the ambush begins.

Encounter Budget (Moderate 4)

This encounter features 3× Bone Scavengers (45 XP total) and 2× Cultist Lookouts (24 XP total) for a total of 69 XP—a standard Moderate encounter for a 4th-level party (budget: 80 XP).