TEXT: 21
  The City That Dripped Blood
  
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  The City That Dripped Blood
  The City That Dripped Blood ...........................................p. 4
  Legal Appendix .............................................................p. 19
  Table of Contents
  
  4
  Frog God Games
  The City That Dripped Blood is a 5th edition adventure for 4th-level 
  characters. Characters who take shelter in an ancient, abandoned desert 
  ruin discover that the city isn’t as abandoned as they thought, and its 
  vampiric rulers would like nothing more than to slake their thirst with the 
  characters’ blood.
  The action has four components: exploring key features and structures, 
  figuring out the city’s odd social structure, uncovering its dark secrets, and 
  (ideally) defeating the evil entity that holds the city in its sway. Characters 
  might opt not to confront the city’s evil but instead just slip away when 
  they get the chance, but this option will not be readily available, forcing 
  the characters to hole up in the city and survive its many perils until the 
  GM chooses to allow escape as an option.
  This adventure is entirely open-ended. Once characters arrive in the 
  city, what happens next is largely up to them. They might join forces with 
  a group of furtive, outcast gnomes, take up arms in the service of the 
  ruling skelzis, find themselves captured and forced to fight in the arena, 
  or anything else. If the action slows down, use an event (from the Events 
  section) to liven things up and propel the characters into action.
  Background
  Two centuries ago, the city of Temelpa was a bustling hub of activity 
  along the caravan route crossing the wasteland. It had clear water, 
  sheltering palm trees, and riches accumulated from hundreds of merchants 
  passing through on their journeys between the empires of the East and 
  West. But when the seeds of a blood orchid drifted into the city and 
  took root, everything changed. Temelpa gained a sinister reputation for 
  vampirism and other dark practices. Merchants routed their caravans 
  away from the city onto longer but safer tracks. Before long, Temelpa 
  found itself with no visiting caravans, no influx of goods or cash — no 
  reason to exist.
  Most residents moved away, but a few — those without the wherewithal 
  or the ambition to move — stayed on as Temelpa withered under the blood 
  orchid’s influence. The decaying city was noticed by a group of skelzis, 
  who saw a prime target for their expansion into this part of the Material 
  Plane. A small number, accompanied by a bodyguard of weredactyls, 
  arrived and quickly took control — and just as quickly fell under the 
  influence of the blood orchid.
  A hundred years later, the city has three distinct populations: skelzis and 
  weredactyls at the top as the apparent ruling class, humans in the middle as 
  priests, artisans, and soldiers, and a population of gnome laborers who are 
  slaves in everything but name. Unknown to all but a handful of skelzis is 
  the blood orchid, thriving deep inside the city’s great ziggurat and driving 
  her underlings to ghastly feats of vampirism and cannibalism.
  Hooks
  The City That Dripped Blood aims to capture the atmosphere of a two-
  fisted, swords-and-sorcery story from the age of pulp magazines. The 
  easiest way to get characters involved is also the most authentic: simply 
  drop them in as described below under “Caravan Catastrophe.” If that 
  won’t work or you’re trying to run a continuous campaign, see “Other 
  Options.”
  Caravan Catastrophe
  The easiest hook and the one that’s closest to this adventure’s pulp roots 
  is to drop characters in media res.
  All of you were traveling as part of a caravan crossing the 
  great wasteland, either as guards, merchants, or passengers. 
  Two nights ago, the caravan was attacked by a hundred or 
  more howling gnolls from a savage desert tribe. They tore 
  through the camp like a hot wind. There was no point in 
  trying to organize a defense or make a stand. The best you 
  could do was escape with your lives. Each of you grabbed 
  whatever supplies were nearby and fled into the cold night.
  For a day, a night, and another day, you’ve been running 
  from pursuing gnolls, with no time to rest. At least twenty 
  are still on your trail, maybe more. You’re exhausted, hungry, 
  and dehydrated, but the gnolls seem as if they could lope 
  forever.
  As the sun touches the horizon, you crest a ridge and see 
  an ancient city spread before you. Much of it lies in ruins, but 
  many structures remain. Among those rubble-filled streets 
  and stone buildings, you could fend off any number of gnolls 
  for as long as your food and water hold out.
   
  At this point, show players the diagram of the city and jump to the 
  section titled Temelpa.
  Other Options
  Alternatively, you can use one of the following hooks to get characters 
  involved.
  They were hired by a collector or antiquarian to locate a fabled crown 
  in an abandoned city in the desert. Legend states that when the city was 
  abandoned, only its famously insane ruler stayed behind, determined to 
  wear the crown until the bitter end.
  They were hired or deputized by a wizard to deliver some blasphemous 
  item to the Grand Exsanguinator, Ruler of Temelpa and Apex of the 
  Crimson Ziggurat.
  The City That
  Dripped Blood
  By Steve Winter
  
  5
  The City That Dripped Blood
  Everything occurs as described under “Caravan Catastrophe,” but you 
  play out the first few days of travel and the nighttime attack by gnolls. 
  Ideally, players believe this is an adventure about guarding a caravan and 
  not about untangling the politics of a decadent desert ruin.
  Temelpa
  When characters first see the ruins, show them the diagram of the 
  city and read or paraphrase the following. The text assumes they’re 
  approaching the city from the side of the main gate. Adjust accordingly if 
  that’s not the case. Compass directions are entirely up to you; orient the 
  city however you like.
  Long ago, this must have been a major metropolis with tens 
  of thousands of residents. The city is surrounded by a stone 
  wall 30 feet high and almost 20 feet thick, with one major 
  gateway on the wall nearest you. The walls have crumbled 
  down into easily-crossed heaps of rubble at two other spots 
  along the wall far to your left and right. Near the center of 
  the city lies a vast, open plaza, and beyond that, a towering 
  ziggurat built of red stone. An arena for sports or other public 
  events stands to the right of the plaza, and a second ziggurat 
  — smaller than the first but still impressive — rises along the 
  right side of the city, near that wall.
  Ask players how they intend to enter the city: through the main gateway, 
  through one of the breaches in the walls, or by climbing over the wall.
  Besieged
  Within minutes of characters entering the city, no matter what the 
  adventure hook, a warband of pursuing gnolls arrives but doesn’t follow 
  the characters inside the walls. (Depending on the adventure hook, this 
  may be the characters’ first sighting of the gnolls although a kind GM 
  might mention a kicking up of dust in the distance from whence the party 
  has traveled.) The warband should appear to outnumber and outpower 
  the characters, enough to encourage a stay in the city until the siege is 
  broken. If a character looks outside the city to see what’s going on, read 
  the following.
  A line of gnolls stretches across the top of a sandy ridge 
  three hundred yards outside the city. The gnolls are spaced 
  20 yards apart on average. You see a score, but there could be 
  many more behind the ridge or concealed among boulders. 
  All of them squat on their haunches, lean on their spears or 
  bows, and watch the city. Occasionally a yip or a howl erupts 
  from one and is taken up by others, but the commotion 
  quickly dies down again.
  The gnolls are too far away to be sniped at with ranged weapons or 
  spells. A similar picket line can be seen watching the city from any point 
  along the walls, so it’s impossible to leave without being noticed and 
  attacked. Make it clear that every group has reinforcements nearby and 
  make the groups as powerful as necessary to discourage the characters 
  from attacking.
  These gnolls maintain their guard for several days, at least. Eventually, 
  when the GM chooses, a great haboob ravages the city and surrounding 
  desert. (The characters and residents of Temelpa need to shelter indoors 
  during the haboob or take exposure damage as determined by the GM.) 
  When the sand settles, the gnoll warband has departed, allowing the 
  characters to leave the city without confrontation. Ultimately, the gnolls 
  are just a plot device to keep characters embroiled in the affairs of the city. 
  This adventure is about exploring the ruins, not working out an elaborate 
  ruse to escape through a cordon of gnolls.
  What Characters Might Know
  Players might ask whether their characters know anything about this 
  ruined city in the wasteland. Don’t volunteer any information unless they 
  ask! If they do, allow characters to make a DC 20 Intelligence (History) 
  check. Characters with proficiency in History can add twice their 
  proficiency bonus. Anyone who succeeds recalls reading or hearing about 
  an ancient city that grew wealthy from caravan traffic. When the caravans 
  shifted to a different route, the city faded into obscurity and eventually 
  was abandoned at least a century ago.
  Where Do They Go from Here?
  The players can be enticed to explore Temelpa through greed, simple 
  survival, or moral virtue (after learning about the plight of the humans, the 
  gnomes, or the outcasts). Inevitably, they will interact with the residents 
  of Temelpa and quickly become entangled in the social injustices, being 
  viewed by various factions as a source of knowledge, potential allies, or as 
  a novel delicacy. The characters will soon have the opportunity to choose 
  sides or go it alone in a bid to survive until the gnoll siege is lifted.
  Residents
  Temelpa isn’t abandoned. It has three human or humanoid societies 
  existing in predator/prey relationships, plus a host of wandering monsters 
  that snatch and devour whatever they can. Secretly 
  reigning over all is Fuulagh, the 
  blood orchid savant growing 
  inside the Crimson Ziggurat.
  Skelzis and 
  Weredactyls
  At the top of the social 
  structure are the skelzis: vulture-like 
  creatures prone to extreme greed 
  and violent territorial urges. Skelzis 
  aren’t native to the Material Plane, 
  which they view as prime territory 
  for expansion. Unlike most skelzis, 
  these are infected with a form 
  of vampirism, so they’re more 
  interested in maintaining a steady 
  supply of blood than on expanding 
  their realm. Some of them have also 
  learned a smattering of magic from 
  their blood orchid overlord. Only a 
  dozen skelzis reside in Temelpa.
  When the skelzis came to 
  Temelpa, they brought along their 
  weredactyl servants. The two races 
  have similar origins and they may 
  seem indistinguishable to human 
  eyes at first glance, but skelzis resemble 
  humanoid vultures while weredactyls 
  resemble 
  humanoid 
  pterodactyls. 
  Weredactyls have longer, sharper beaks 
  and prominent crests behind their heads. 
  They seem to have a perpetual slouch, and 
  they’re less intelligent and slovenlier than 
  the fastidious skelzis. The weredactyls’ 
  only function in the city is to guard the 
  Crimson Ziggurat.
  
  6
  Frog God Games
  Humans
  Humans in Temelpa are divided into four castes: artisans, merchants, 
  Crimson Guards, and the deathbearers.
  Merchants are the highest caste. They aren’t really merchants, because 
  Temelpa doesn’t have a functioning economy. They are more like 
  bureaucrats, keeping copious records on everyone and everything in the 
  city. They also manage the city’s logistics, making sure the crops are 
  properly planted, tended, harvested, stored, and distributed as needed. All 
  merchants use the commoner stat block. When out in public, they wear 
  yellow or orange robes and half-masks resembling birds’ beaks.
  The deathbearers are a small sect of priests who handle the dead. They 
  are the second highest of the human castes. All deathbearers live in the 
  Ziggurat of the Dead. Any human or gnome who dies in the city is taken 
  to the ziggurat, where the body is prepared for a cannibalistic ritual by 
  the deathbearers. Most deathbearers use the cultist stat block, with a few 
  using the cult fanatic. They wear dark blue robes with tattered hems and 
  cover their faces with half-masks resembling jackals’ snouts.
  Artisans are the third-highest caste. Their chief occupations are making 
  and dyeing clothing, painting murals, and carving sculptures from stone, 
  but they also do any odd jobs that aren’t considered menial enough for the 
  gnomes. All artisans use the commoner stat block. They wear robes of 
  multi-hued green and wear half-masks resembling lizards’ jaws.
  The Crimson Guards, the lowest of the human castes, are the city’s 
  police and defense force. Primarily, they keep the gnomes in line, hunt 
  outcasts, and protect everyone against predatory monsters. A standard 
  Crimson Guard patrol consists of 8 guards, 1 spy, and 1 veteran. 
  Double-size patrols are common if there’s any reason for alarm in the city. 
  Crimson Guards wear dark red robes and half-masks resembling colorful 
  insect mandibles.
  Gnomes
  The gnomes of Temelpa aren’t forest or rock gnomes. They’re 
  descended from svirfneblin who long ago were brought to the surface as 
  slaves, and slaves they remain. The gnomes do all the dirty, difficult labor 
  in the city. Their main jobs are tending the crops in the garden, keeping 
  streets clear of rubble, shoring up and repairing buildings that are still 
  in use, and toting anything that weighs more than a few pounds. Their 
  clothing is nothing more than a breechcloth or toga made from the worn-
  out, discarded, and bleached robe of a human or skelzi. All gnomes use 
  the deep gnome stat block, but with only rare exceptions, they’ve lost the 
  deep gnomes’ innate spellcasting ability.
  The gnomes are not closely guarded because there’s nowhere for them 
  to escape. They believe what they’ve been taught by the skelzis: that the 
  wasteland beyond the city stretches on to the edge of the world, inhabited 
  only by savage gnolls, giant scorpions, and flaming salamanders. Most of 
  them go about their tasks in sullen, cheerless silence.
  A few, however, rebel against the mechanical drudgery and slip away to 
  eke out an existence in Temelpa’s labyrinthine deserted areas. These are 
  the outcasts, hunted by the Crimson Guards, preyed on by monsters, and 
  purposefully forgotten by their families lest someone mentions a shunned 
  name and gets dragged away for punishment in the Crimson Ziggurat.
  Outcasts know the city better than anyone else. They live wherever 
  they can and move frequently. A high percentage of outcasts retain the 
  svirfneblins’ innate spellcasting. Illusion magic is a great help in their 
  survival.
  NPCs
  Characters are likely to interact with these key NPCs as they explore, 
  battle, and intrigue their way through Temelpa. Characters may not meet 
  all these NPCs, but stay alert for opportunities to bring them onstage.
  Ennorep
  Ennorep is a giant spider with a mutation that enhanced her Intelligence 
  to 19. She resides in the deserted area abutting the Merchant District. 
  Ennorep takes no part in the daily life of Temelpa, but the gnomes revere 
  her as a minor deity. They use phrases such as “thank Ennorep” when they 
  have good luck, or “If Ennorep allows” when speaking about the future.
  Ennorep knows what’s going on in the city and shares her knowledge 
  with the characters if they find the spider and ask her questions. She’s 
  a wise adviser in most respects. She beseeches the characters to aid the 
  gnomes and free them from the skelzis and from “the great thirst within 
  the ziggurat” if they seem reluctant to do so. Ennorep won’t get involved 
  in any battles except in self-defense. She especially appreciates the gift of 
  a live bat tossed into her web.
  Eresha
  This old, white-haired gnome leads a small group of outcasts. She 
  knows all the hidden pathways through her district and is as wily about 
  eluding giant bats and stegocentipedes as Crimson Guard patrols. Unlike 
  most gnomes, Eresha is open to ideas about attacking humans and skelzis 
  to bring down the caste structure in Temelpa. She is the complete opposite 
  of rash, however; she won’t sanction any plan unless it has a clear chance 
  to succeed. Eresha has innate spellcasting.
  Fulgar and Grenna
  Fulgar is a gnome outcast in Eresha’s band. Grenna is his wife, whom 
  he left behind when he fled to avoid punishment. If characters meet Fulgar, 
  he eventually gets around to asking them to find Grenna to let her know 
  that he’s alive and well. If they do, Fulgar happily risks his life to repay 
  the favor.
  Fuulagh
  Fuulagh is what the skelzis call the blood orchid savant living inside the 
  Crimson Ziggurat. When they first encountered Fuulagh, she enthralled 
  the skelzis with promises of fantastic power and longevity, and she used 
  ritual magic to transform them into vampires. The skelzis certainly don’t 
  consider her a deity, but they do revere Fuulagh as a mentor and master. As 
  long as they keep her fed with fresh gnomes and humans, the blood orchid 
  is content with her circumstances.
  The Grand Exsanguinator
  This figure is the eldest and craftiest of the skelzis, and hence their 
  leader. He is evil to his core and understands all too well the threat outsiders 
  present to the stability of Temelpa. He also understands that outsiders may 
  possess vital knowledge and wonderful items, so he extends a vice-grip of 
  hospitality for as long as that ruse has a chance to reap benefits. However, 
  no matter how creepily gracious the Grand Exsanguinator manages to be, 
  the impulse to drink the characters’ blood and dine on their flesh is never 
  far from his thoughts.
  Zechret
  Zechret is a veteran officer of the Crimson Guard. For most of his life, 
  he’s been loyal to his skelzi masters, but lately, he’s begun wondering 
  whether the wasteland really does extend all the way to the edge of the 
  world. A long conversation with the characters could be enough to change 
  his mind about many things. Zechret has dealt with outsiders before when 
  another group stumbled into the city a few years ago. They all wound up 
  in the clutches of the Grand Exsanguinator, of course, and once drained 
  were feasted upon in the Ziggurat of the Dead, according to tradition. Still, 
  if nothing lies outside the city but desert, desert, and more desert, then 
  where do these strangers keep coming from?
  If characters are captured, Zechret is a good candidate to lead the patrol. 
  If they find themselves imprisoned beneath the arena or in the Crimson 
  Ziggurat but they’ve planted seeds of doubt in Zechret’s mind, he may 
  sneak in and set them free.
  
  7
  The City That Dripped Blood
  Cannibalism  
  and Vampirism
  Most of the city’s food consists of beans, squash, melons, and other 
  low-moisture fruit and vegetables from the garden district. However, all 
  Temelpa’s residents practice highly ritualized cannibalism. They don’t 
  see anything odd in this and don’t even have a special word for it. For 
  roleplaying purposes, don’t just blurt this out. Drop hints here and there 
  and let players assemble the full picture themselves. Humans and gnomes 
  supplement their diets with other types of meat, too, when they can get 
  it: lizards, bats, and various types of giant centipedes are most common. 
  Whenever the characters are received as guests by anyone, always see that 
  they’re offered a small dish of food and let them wonder what it is.
  The skelzis and Fuulagh, their blood orchid mentor, are vampiric. 
  Fuulagh lives entirely on blood, but the skelzis both drink blood from 
  living victims and eat flesh in ritual, cannibalistic feasts at the Ziggurat of 
  the Dead. Only gnomes and humans are bled vampirically, but the flesh 
  of everyone who dies in the city is eaten. Skelzis are eaten only by other 
  skelzis; this is an extremely rare sort of feast because there are so few 
  skelzis in the city and they live for centuries.
  It’s important to note that no one is prowling the streets at night for 
  victims to drink blood from. All the blood is taken from “criminals” 
  brought to the Crimson Ziggurat in chains. This is certainly the fate of any 
  outcast unlucky enough to be caught by the Crimson Guard, and it may 
  also be the intended fate of player characters who earn the displeasure or 
  distrust of Temelpa’s rulers. Captives typically survive several weeks of 
  horror as sources of nourishment in the Ziggurat.
  Likewise, neither the skelzis nor Fuulagh are undead. They are living 
  entities who drink blood because their bodies have come to depend on it 
  for survival, and they’ve shaped a society around their horrific need.
  Events
  This section outlines specific events that can happen while characters 
  are in Temelpa. Some of these are triggered by character actions while 
  others happen entirely on their own but drag the characters in. It’s up to 
  you which to use and which to ignore — and you’re always free to come 
  up with more of your own to take advantage of the characters’ ill-advised 
  actions or the players’ careless table talk.
  Supplies and Exhaustion
  When characters first arrive at the city, have each player roll 1d6–3 to 
  determine how many days’ worth of food and water they have left. Also, 
  have each character make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. Those who 
  succeed are fine. A character who fails has one level of exhaustion, and a 
  character who fails by 5 or more has two levels of exhaustion. A level of 
  exhaustion can be erased by depleting one day’s worth of supplies. The 
  lack of food and water can be a powerful motivator to get characters to 
  explore the city and approach the gnomes for help.
  Fulgar to the Rescue
  If players seem unsure what to do next shortly after their characters 
  enter the city or if it looks as if they intend to just barricade themselves 
  inside a building and wait for the gnolls to leave, then one of them spots 
  something watching them from the shadows. As soon as someone looks 
  at it, the creature ducks back into a ruined building. If they’re sheltering 
  inside a building, the creature moves deeper into the ruined structure.
  The “creature” is Fulgar, an outcast gnome. He isn’t especially 
  frightened of the characters; he’s cautious about them but also eager to 
  help them and win their trust. Fulgar has never seen outsiders before, but 
  he’s heard legends about them. He and the seven other outcasts he lives 
  with, including Eresha (see NPCs), have talked many times about the 
  possibility of outsiders arriving and upending the social order in Temelpa.
  The outcasts’ only weapons are clubs and stone axes with which they 
  hunt small lizards and protect themselves against the weaker of the 
  city’s predators. They’d never tackle something like a stegocentipede 
  or willingly fight Crimson Guards. When danger rears up, they use their 
  knowledge of the ruins to escape rather than fight.
  These outcasts relocate frequently from one hiding place to another to 
  evade Crimson Guard patrols. Their current hideout is in an abandoned 
  stegocentipede burrow beneath a block of ruined buildings.
  The outcasts know every hidden passage through the city and the best 
  ways to avoid unwanted attention. If characters sneak around the city with 
  an outcast gnome as a guide, the chance for a random encounter is reduced 
  by 1 everywhere.
  Outcasts can keep the characters safely hidden almost indefinitely. Make 
  sure characters realize, however, that the outcasts subsist perpetually on 
  the edge of starvation. They seldom have more than one day’s supply of 
  food and water, most of which is stolen from the garden district. They 
  could take more, but that would only lead to the families and friends they 
  left behind being punished. If characters spend much time with a band 
  of outcasts and don’t donate significantly to the common larder, they’ll 
  quickly exhaust the group’s supplies and probably be the reason for the 
  gnomes going hungry for several days.
  Funeral Procession
  The most likely site for this event is in the Ziggurat of the Dead district, 
  but a procession could be encountered in any inhabited zone of the city.
  Whenever someone dies in Temelpa, the body is retrieved by 
  deathbearers and carried to the Ziggurat of the Dead for a ritualistic 
  cannibal feast. A procession consists of seven deathbearers (6 cultists, 1 
  cult fanatic) escorted by eight Crimson Guards (7 guards, 1 veteran). 
  The cult fanatic leads the procession, walking slowly while beating a 
  dirge-like tempo on a small gong. Then come four Crimson Guards, six 
  cultists carrying a covered stretcher, and the last four guards.
  A procession never varies from this size. If more than one body needs 
  to be retrieved, a procession brings one back to the ziggurat, then returns 
  for the second, and so on.
  The door of the ziggurat is closed after the procession leaves. When 
  it returns, the procession halts outside the door and the lead deathbearer 
  strikes the gong three times. The door guard inside the ziggurat then 
  challenges the procession with the ritual phrase “Who approaches?” 
  This must be answered by the correct ritual response; see area 1 of the 
  Ziggurat of the Dead for full details. When the correct responses to 
  the ritual questions are given, the door to the ziggurat is opened and the 
  deathbearers take the body inside. The Crimson Guards turn around and 
  march back to the barracks.
  If the correct responses aren’t given to the ritual questions, the 
  deathbearer manning the door pulls a cord that alerts others inside the 
  ziggurat that something odd is happening. Beyond that, no one in the 
  ziggurat will be quite sure what to do, because such a thing never happens. 
  Everyone in Temelpa is bound by traditions they no longer understand, and 
  the deathbearers are the most tradition-bound of all. If the wrong response 
  is given to the challenge, or no response at all, the door guard pulls the 
  cord but then is equally likely to either run away and ask someone else 
  what to do or open the door anyway to see what’s going on. What they 
  won’t do is bar the door or prepare for any sort of armed response; the 
  deathbearers simply don’t think in those terms.
  Enter the Crimson Guard
  Unlike other gnomes and humans in Temelpa, Crimson Guards won’t 
  be thrown for a loop by the sight of outsiders. Most of them have never 
  seen one, but they’ve heard plenty of stories. In the event of encountering 
  outsiders, their orders are to escort the strangers to the Great Plaza and 
  send word to the Crimson Ziggurat for further instructions. They don’t 
  have orders to attack on sight, and they do have orders to take captives if 
  a fight breaks out.
  The Crimson Guards have little to no experience at fighting other human 
  warriors, but they fight creatures and monsters in the city frequently, 
  
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  Frog God Games
  so they’re no strangers to combat. They aren’t cowards or fools, and 
  they don’t throw their lives away pointlessly. Their officers are at least 
  as curious about the characters and their equipment as the characters 
  probably are about the Crimson Guards. Keep that in mind when they first 
  meet; they’d rather be friends than enemies, but just like the characters, 
  they’d rather jump to conclusions and survive than give the benefit of the 
  doubt and be killed.
  Before throwing waves of Crimson Guards at the characters to be 
  mowed down, remember the human population of Temelpa is small; fewer 
  than 200 adults, only 40 of whom are Crimson Guards. If you allow them 
  to be slaughtered piecemeal, they stop being any sort of threat. This is a 
  fact they understand perfectly well.
  Captured!
  Characters may wind up captured by the Crimson Guard and brought as 
  prisoners to the Crimson Ziggurat.
  Capturing player characters is always difficult because many players 
  would rather see their characters die in battle than be taken prisoner. Often 
  the only way to do it is to obviously overpower the characters and reduce 
  everyone to 0 hit points with nonlethal damage.
  If characters are captured, they’ll be imprisoned beneath the arena 
  in sturdy stone cells with iron bar doors. Before long, they’ll be visited 
  and questioned by a pair of high-ranking skelzis — not the Grand 
  Exsanguinator — whose job it is to determine whether the outsiders 
  present a risk to the skelzis. They approach this task with the attitude that 
  all outsiders present a risk (of course!), so the characters have an uphill 
  battle proving otherwise. If they manage to calm the skelzis’ paranoia, 
  they’ll be given an audience with the Grand Exsanguinator. They will not 
  be given back their weapons or armor beforehand.
  A second alternative is that the characters don’t persuade the skelzis 
  of anything, but they strike the creatures as particularly enticing morsels 
  for the Grand Exsanguinator or for Fuulagh. In that case, the skelzis 
  explain that one of them, alone, must present their case to the leader of 
  Temelpa. The characters can choose their own representative, who will 
  be escorted to the Crimson Ziggurat. That character should be given a 
  few opportunities to escape along the way because once they reach the 
  ziggurat, they’ll either be shackled by the Crimson Guard or charmed by 
  Fuulagh, then slowly drained of blood and consumed. The skelzis then 
  return to the remaining imprisoned characters with the message that one 
  more of them has been requested to join their companion at the ziggurat 
  to corroborate his or her story — and so on, and so on, until all are dead.
  The most likely outcome for captured characters is to be judged too 
  dangerous and sentenced to die in arena combat before spectators. In this 
  case, characters are brought up to the arena individually or in small groups 
  and pitted against captured monsters. A giant lizard gives an exciting 
  match against a 4th-level adventurer fighting barehanded. Against a pair of 
  characters, a gargoyle with its wings broken off is a current crowd favorite, 
  and a group fight against a stegocentipede is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
  The characters have little to gain by winning these fights beyond another 
  day of life. They might impress the skelzis with their courage and even earn 
  the admiration of the crowd, but that doesn’t equate to freedom. A great 
  performance in the arena might, however, impress their jailors — Zechret 
  
  9
  The City That Dripped Blood
  in particular (see NPCs) — enough to leave their cage door unlocked so 
  they can slip away. Mostly, arena battles are an opportunity for characters 
  to stage a daring escape from the arena or while being escorted to or from 
  their cell. If characters don’t escape one way or another, eventually they 
  will be killed in the arena by an ever-more-dangerous roster of foes.
  Guests of the Grand Exsanguinator
  If characters are brought to see the Grand Exsanguinator (as opposed 
  to infiltrating or battling their way through the Crimson Ziggurat), they 
  are disarmed before being allowed into the audience chamber. This is 
  nonnegotiable. Only weredactyls and Crimson Guards are allowed to bear 
  weapons in the presence of the Grand Exsanguinator.
  An official audience is attended by the Grand Exsanguinator, 3 
  skelzis (two of them spellcasters), and 4 weredactyls in hybrid form. The 
  Grand Exsanguinator’s interests are entirely self-centered; he wants to 
  know how the characters wound up in Temelpa, whether they’re a threat 
  to skelzi dominance, and whether the skelzis can manipulate them or pay 
  them to serve skelzi interests. He doesn’t care where the characters came 
  from or their opinions about cannibalism and vampirism. He expects 
  complete deference from his underlings and inferiors, which the characters 
  clearly are. Anyone who gets lippy or sassy to the Grand Exsanguinator 
  can expect a sharp slap from a weredactyl. Where things go from there is 
  anyone’s guess.
  Fortunately for the player characters, skelzis are not good judges of 
  human deceitfulness. Anyone with proficiency in Deception can lie 
  to them with impunity, within reason (the skelzis aren’t charmed and 
  they don’t believe statements they know to be false or that are simply 
  outrageous). Anyone else can get away with lying by making a successful 
  DC 8 Charisma check. The penalty for lying to the Grand Exsanguinator 
  is another slap across the face from a weredactyl.
  What the skelzis want from the characters follows in descending order 
  of priority:
  To sip their vigorous, outsider blood until they’re dead, then dine on 
  their flesh. With this as their goal, they may offer the characters food and 
  drink. Anyone who drinks or eats the offered items must make a successful 
  DC 15 Constitution saving throw six hours later or become poisoned and 
  blinded for 1 hour, at which point they’re attacked by Crimson Guards, 
  shackled, and imprisoned beneath the arena. To allay suspicion, the 
  three skelzis (not the Grand Exsanguinator) accept portions and cups 
  from the same servings; they know the effect is temporary and worth it 
  to capture such valuable prisoners. They assure the characters none of 
  the food is human or gnome flesh if asked, but they find the characters’ 
  squeamishness hilarious.
  For the characters to become loyal underlings, probably as “special 
  officers” in the Crimson Guards. Their duties would focus on hunting down 
  gnome outcasts, fighting monsters, and intimidating gnomes into abject 
  obedience. The skelzis would be willing to pay for this service, for a while 
  at least, out of the treasure stored in area 8 of the Crimson Ziggurat. How 
  much they pay isn’t a big concern to them because they expect to eventually 
  kill the characters (see priority #1) and get it all back anyway.
  For the characters to leave Temelpa quickly and quietly. If the other 
  options seem to be off the table, the Grand Exsanguinator offers to outfit 
  the characters with a week’s worth of food and water (plenty to reach 
  hospitable territory) and maybe even some minor payment to encourage 
  them to leave. The characters would be wise to be suspicious, however, 
  because the food and water are poisoned with the same poison described 
  under point #1. When it takes effect, two squads of Crimson Guards 
  who trailed the characters attack to capture them and bring them back in 
  shackles to the arena in Temelpa.
  Moving Around the City
  The districts are delineated on the city diagram. Note that it’s a 
  diagram, not a map; the city isn’t a neat rectangle with districts defined in 
  right angles. The diagram is a simplified display meant to be used on the 
  tabletop to keep track of where characters are. A miniature, die, or other 
  token can be used to mark their location and track their movement.
  Temelpa is surrounded by stone walls 30 feet high and 18 feet thick. 
  Inside these surrounding walls, the city is further divided into districts 
  by interior walls that are 20 feet high and 12 feet thick. To pass from one 
  district to another, a person usually goes through one of the many gates or 
  archways piercing the interior walls. The walls are falling apart in many 
  places, so it’s also possible to move between districts by scrambling up 
  and over the rubble pile at a collapsed section, or even by scaling the 
  wall itself, if that’s what characters want to do. Unless a particular gate 
  is guarded or watched by something the characters prefer to avoid, the 
  gateways are the easiest and best option.
  It’s also possible to travel along the tops of the walls. The walls were 
  originally built to be used as roadways for rapidly moving troops around 
  the city during a military emergency. Staircases allowing access onto 
  the walls can be found with a few minutes of searching in most districts. 
  Characters might decide this is an easy way to move around the city, but it’s 
  not. Anything moving atop the walls is noticed automatically by gargoyles 
  and giant bats, and comes under attack at the worst possible moment. 
  City residents never travel atop the walls for exactly this reason. Friendly 
  residents warn the characters about this danger if they’re asked. 
  Simply walking openly through a district, either to reach a location inside 
  that district or to reach a neighboring district, takes 10 minutes. Characters 
  can run or “double-time” through a district in 5 minutes, but this increases 
  the chance for a random encounter. If they’re trying to go unnoticed — 
  hugging the shadows, avoiding open areas, and sticking to cover — passing 
  through takes 20 minutes. If they’re exploring the district for the first time or 
  searching for something specific, triple the time to 30 minutes.
  Random Encounters
  The number in a district indicates the likelihood of characters having 
  an encounter when they enter that district or spend a significant amount 
  of time moving around inside it (the higher the number, the more likely). 
  Specific areas inside a district might have higher chances for an encounter. 
  The district containing the Ziggurat of the Dead, for example, has low odds 
  for a random encounter because it’s largely avoided by most creatures, but 
  the ziggurat itself is always occupied and guarded.
  For the random encounter tables, see Appendix 1: Random Encounters.
  District Descriptions
  None of the districts is homogenous. Even apparently occupied areas 
  such as the Merchants’ District are mostly abandoned and at least partially 
  in ruins, and deserted areas still have a few isolated residents such as 
  monsters, outcasts, and Crimson Guards hunting for outcasts.
  Arena. This area is empty most of the time, except for the gargoyles 
  that perch atop the arena walls. Prisoners — when they’re not killed 
  outright — are kept in cells beneath the arena. Sometimes prisoners are 
  forced to fight in the arena against monsters or other prisoners. This may 
  be a punishment, a death sentence, or (ostensibly) a chance to prove their 
  worth to the skelzis.
  Artisan District. Humans of the artisan caste live and work in this 
  district. It’s the least threatening of the human-occupied districts because 
  the artisans are generally preoccupied with their work and are more 
  willing than others to turn a blind (inquisitive) eye on someone who’s not 
  wearing a robe or mask.
  Barracks. The barracks is occupied by 40 humans who fill the ranks of 
  the Crimson Guard. They patrol around the Crimson Ziggurat and in the 
  Merchants’ and Artisan Districts, accompany deathbearer parties retrieving 
  bodies, hunt outcasts when they cause trouble, and sometimes check up 
  
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  Frog God Games
  
  11
  The City That Dripped Blood
  on the gnomes to ensure they’re working hard and following the rules. A 
  handful of gnome servants also lives near the barracks. Like other districts, 
  the barracks complex is surrounded by blocks of abandoned ruins.
  Crimson Ziggurat. The Crimson Ziggurat towers over all other 
  structures in the city. It stands in the middle of a 600-foot-square plaza 
  that’s empty except for statues: some toppled, some still upright. Unlike 
  the rest of the city that is mostly a dull, desert tan, the ziggurat is made 
  from red stone with colorful murals painted on its walls. The murals mostly 
  depict majestic, larger-than-life skelzis in positions of dominance above 
  smaller humans. Some of the artwork is quite well-rendered, though it’s 
  all highly stylized with an oddly disturbing, unearthly vibe.
  The Crimson Ziggurat is the headquarters and residence of the skelzis 
  and the home of Fuulagh, the blood orchid savant that rules Temelpa 
  behind the scenes. See the section Crimson Ziggurat, below, for more 
  details on this structure.
  Deserted. None of the city’s three resident races has dwellings in these 
  areas. Many structures are collapsed, and streets are choked with weeds 
  and drifting sand. Some creatures do live here, including outcasts and 
  various monsters. Deserted areas are largely avoided by the city’s residents 
  because of the danger from roaming scavengers and other monsters. They 
  stick strictly to a few well-traveled routes through these areas and never 
  deviate from the cleared paths.
  Garden. The gnomes farm this area to raise food for the city. The fields 
  are dry and sparse, but they produce enough dates, figs, olives, beans, 
  gourds, and grapes to feed the city’s residents — those who don’t subsist 
  on blood, anyway.
  Great Plaza. This area is wide open except for crumbling decorative 
  arches, dry fountains, toppled monuments, and other ruined symbols of long-
  ago civic pride. Moving across the open expanse is dangerous day or night 
  because of the giant bats, normal-sized swarms of bats, and weredactyls in 
  pterodactyl form perched among the ruins, watching for prey.
  Merchant District. Merchants are the highest of the four human castes. 
  Temelpa doesn’t conduct any trade with the outside world; its economy 
  is entirely closed, and all internal trade is conducted by bartering or with 
  the small supply of ancient, well-worn coins. The “merchants” are really 
  bureaucrats who keep track of everything that can be tracked. Aside from 
  their homes, this district holds wide outdoor bazaars where the merchants 
  squat next to low desks all day, updating their records on clay tablets 
  manufactured by gnomes.
  Gnome District. The gnomes live in these districts, mostly unguarded 
  and unsupervised. They don’t leave the city because they’ve been taught 
  that the desert stretches for countless miles in every direction to the edge 
  of the world. Most of the gnomes aren’t openly opposed to their masters, 
  both because this is the only life they know and because they’ve learned 
  to fear the consequence of serious or prolonged disobedience. They aren’t 
  hostile to outsiders, but they’re not warm and welcoming, either. A party 
  consisting mainly of humans might be mistaken for a group of Crimson 
  Guards escorting a few merchants and artisans on an inspection though 
  the fact that no one is wearing masks is highly confusing to the gnomes. 
  Very few gnomes keep the presence of strangers a secret from their 
  masters. Gnomes who have contact with outsiders could be contaminated 
  with false notions about the world (i.e., actual facts), and the fate of such 
  people is to be killed and eaten to prevent the spread of dangerous ideas. 
  This fact of life is well understood by the gnomes and largely accepted by 
  them as right and proper, so it’s a rare gnome who enthusiastically aids a 
  stranger. Outcasts, of course, are an exception.
  A tiny cadre of non-outcast gnomes keeps alive the idea of overthrowing 
  the skelzis in Temelpa and winning their freedom. There are seldom more 
  than a dozen individuals in this group, and all of them reside in the gnome 
  district adjoining the Merchant District. Outside of those conspirators, 
  only Ennorep and a few outcasts know about the existence of the group. 
  They have no definite plans for revolution, but the appearance of powerful 
  outsiders in the city might spur them to make contact.
  Ziggurat of the Dead. The human priesthood of deathbearers is 
  headquartered here. This priesthood is nothing more than a thinly veiled 
  cannibalism cult. See the Ziggurat of the Dead section below for full 
  details on this structure.
  Crimson Ziggurat
  The Crimson Ziggurat is two levels tall. The entrance is on the second 
  level. Two ramps lead up the front wall of the ziggurat, meet at a landing 
  in the middle, and extend from there up to the entrance. There is no door 
  to seal the entrance. Inside, most chambers are dimly lit by oil lamps. The 
  ventilation is very bad; all the air inside is stale, dust-filled, and smoky, 
  and stinks of blood and sweat.
  1. Weredactyl Guards
  This spot is guarded by 4 weredactyls in hybrid form. They aren’t very 
  attentive, so they make Perception checks with disadvantage. Anyone 
  accompanied by a skelzi is allowed to pass with no more scrutiny than a 
  lazy glance through droopy eyelids.
  2. Scribes’ Chamber
  Originally, the skelzis took up residence in this city as a forward base 
  for investigating the potential for a larger colony in the Material Plane. 
  This group hasn’t made much real progress toward that goal, but it still 
  keeps extensive records of its activities and its observations about the 
  Material Plane’s resources and inhabitants. This chamber usually contains 
  2 or 3 skelzis adding to their store of records or reviewing old records, 
  which are kept on clay tablets. Nothing here has much monetary value, but 
  certain scholars of the planes would find these tablets fascinating — and 
  potentially alarming in what they reveal about the intentions of the skelzi 
  race overall.
  3. Nest
  This chamber is a jumble of soiled pillows, rumpled rugs, 
  and straw, all scraped into a heap that reeks of filth and stale 
  perfume.
  These chambers are where skelzis other than the Grand Exsanguinator 
  sleep. They don’t have distinct beds but instead simply crawl into the 
  nest, pushing other sleepers aside or sprawling atop them. The smell 
  is an atrocious mix of filth and perfume. The most befouled and least 
  conveniently located chambers are used by the weredactyls. In most 
  respects, they’re indistinguishable.
  4. Feeding Cells
  The skelzis need regular feedings of blood, regardless of what’s going 
  on at the Ziggurat of the Dead. One or two gnomes or humans are chained 
  here for the skelzis to “snack on” when the need arises.
  5. Waiting Room
  This chamber is always occupied by 2 skelzis and 4 weredactyls in 
  hybrid form, as protection for area 6. No one is allowed through into area 
  6 without explaining what they want to the satisfaction of the skelzis. If the 
  characters come here with a skelzi and they presume to speak instead of 
  letting their escort do all the talking, the skelzis stationed here are highly 
  offended and probably respond with a slap across the face, a blow from 
  their blood whip, or even something worse, depending on how haughty 
  the characters were. Reasons why characters would be allowed to see the 
  Grand Exsanguinator include the following:
  They’re captives being brought for a tasting.
  They want to betray the location of a nest of gnome outcasts.
  They’re emissaries from a distant realm bearing gifts for the Grand 
  Exsanguinator.
  
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  Frog God Games
  
  13
  The City That Dripped Blood
  They need to warn the Grand Exsanguinator about a danger approaching 
  from beyond the city’s walls.
  Trying to bully or bluff past these guards with any other excuse triggers 
  a sharp rebuke to the characters or a direct attack from the skelzis and 
  weredactyls. Any ruckus in this chamber draws reinforcements from 
  everywhere else in the ziggurat.
  6. Audience Chamber
  Scattered cushions and heavy rugs fill this room. The Grand 
  Exsanguinator and 2 skelzis with spellcasting ability “hold court” in this 
  chamber. Most of their time is spent discussing unattainable goals and 
  unlikely plans that they’ll never put into action, and slowly draining blood 
  from an unfortunate gnome or human sent to the ziggurat for punishment. 
  One such lost soul is chained and unconscious in the corner.
  Any ruckus in this chamber draws reinforcements from everywhere 
  else in the ziggurat.
  7. Grand Exsanguinator’s Nest
  The Grand Exsanguinator uses this room as his private sleeping 
  chamber. One semiconscious gnome with puncture wounds in his throat 
  lies shackled to the wall.
  8. Treasure Chamber
  Over the decades, the skelzis looted almost everything of value left 
  behind in the city and stored it here. This room also holds whatever 
  valuables they’ve taken from travelers who had the misfortune to stumble 
  into Temelpa. A jumble of sacks, boxes, urns, and baskets contains 
  a decanter of endless water, a +1 glaive, a scroll of protection against 
  oozes, a gem worth 625 gp, three items of jewelry worth 115 gp, 160 gp, 
  and 380 gp, 2,600 gp, 1,560 sp, and 1,080 cp. The room also holds as 
  many simple weapons and suits of light armor as you care to include. The 
  armor has been ruined by time and by the teeth of vermin. The weapons 
  are in bad shape but most could be made usable again with maintenance: 
  cleaning, sharpening, replacing handles that have been chewed away by 
  rats and insects, etc.
  9. Pure Water Spring
  A pool of murky water stands inside a crudely made, low 
  brick basin. An occasional soft ripple indicates something is 
  moving in the water.
  The ziggurat has its own supply of drinking water, an important asset 
  in light of the skelzis’ natural paranoia. Neither the water nor the basin 
  have any magical properties. Eel-like creatures swim in the water; they’re 
  harmless natives of the skelzis’ extraplanar home, kept in the pool here 
  because the skelzis like the oily flavor they lend the water.
  The corridor between this chamber and area 10 is piled with debris 
  and broken furniture scavenged from the city. It’s not completely blocked; 
  characters can scramble over the pile with a bit of care, but anyone who 
  does so must make a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check or they 
  make enough noise to be heard in areas 5, 6, and 10.
  10. Chamber of the Orchid
  Fuulagh, the blood orchid savant, lives here: plotting, draining blood, 
  and advising the Grand Exsanguinator on how best to maintain control 
  over his human and gnome subjects.
  This chamber is barely lit by a smoky oil lamp near the 
  door. Beyond that pale circle of light, deep shadows engulf 
  the room. The reek of blood, rotting flesh, and damp earth is 
  strong, and it becomes almost overpowering when something 
  large moves in the shadows.
  The chamber contains the blood orchid savant, Fuulagh, and 2 
  weredactyls assigned to guard her. All are hidden in the shadows but 
  can be picked out by characters with passive Perception 17 or higher, or 
  by characters who actively scan the room and make a successful DC 17 
  Wisdom (Perception) check.
  Other than skelzis and weredactyls, no one ever enters this chamber 
  except in chains, so Fuulagh is extremely wary of the characters. She 
  doesn’t attack immediately, but she has no reason to think they haven’t 
  come to kill her. She does her best to pretend she’s an innocent planar 
  wanderer imprisoned by the skelzis and weredactyls, wanting nothing 
  more than to be freed so she can return home.
  Ziggurat of the Dead
  Aside from the deathbearers, no humans or gnomes live in this district. 
  Outcasts avoid it, and with few creatures to prey on, not even many 
  monsters prowl its abandoned streets. In fact, it’s one of the safest places 
  in the city for characters who just want to hide and avoid notice. Because 
  of the district’s sacred and secretive nature, however, being caught here 
  is certain to get characters dragged before the Grand Exsanguinator for 
  trial and either sentenced to death in the arena or set aside for a special 
  vampiric feast by high-ranking skelzis.
  The ziggurat is two levels tall. The entrance is on the second level. 
  Two ramps lead up the front wall of the ziggurat, meet at a landing in the 
  middle, and extend from there up to the entrance. The entrance is sealed 
  by a door that is opened only when necessary. Most chambers are dimly 
  lit by oil lamps. The ventilation is very bad; all the air inside is stale, dust-
  filled, and smoky, and stinks of blood, roasted meat, and sweat.
  If characters spend some time hidden in this district and watch the 
  ziggurat, they might see a procession of deathbearers leaving to retrieve a 
  body or returning with one. You can either choose to have this happen or 
  roll 1d6; 1 or 2 = characters see a procession leaving the pyramid; 3 or 4 = 
  characters see a procession returning to the pyramid; 5 or 6 = no procession. 
  For more details, see Funeral Procession in the Events section.
  Unlabeled chambers in the ziggurat are empty and unused.
  1. Entryway
  The entrance is sealed by a heavy wooden door that is never 
  locked or barred (who would want to break into this place?). A lone 
  deathbearer (cultist) is always stationed just inside the entrance, 
  however, to accept messages that a body needs retrieval and to open 
  the door for a departing or returning procession. If anyone opens the 
  door or even knocks on it, they must give the proper ritual responses 
  to the doorman’s questions. If no response or an incorrect response 
  is given, the doorman sounds an alarm (pulls a rope that rings bells 
  in area 6 and 7) to alert others to the presence of intruders. Even 
  this doesn’t cause a powerful armed response since, in Temelpa, an 
  “intruder” is usually just someone who’s confused, hungry, or tired of 
  life. If strangers are known to be in the city, however, an alarm brings 
  all deathbearers in the ziggurat to the entryway.
  The following are the two ritual questions and their answers:
  “Who approaches?” is answered with “A deceased servant of the blood” 
  
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  Frog God Games
  by a procession returning with a corpse or with “A living servant of the 
  blood” in any other case.
  “What is thy aspiration?” is answered with “To be consumed” if a corpse 
  is being brought in, or with “To consume” if residents are coming to the 
  ziggurat for a feast, or with “To serve” under any other circumstance.
  2. Public Feasting Hall
  Long tables are set up down the length of this chamber, with benches on 
  both sides. This is where public feasts are held. The chamber isn’t nearly 
  large enough to hold everyone in Temelpa, obviously. It seats about 50 
  humans or 60 gnomes.
  3. Inner Feasting Hall
  This chamber is a smaller, nicer version of area 2. It’s reserved for use 
  only by skelzis when they attend cannibalistic feasts.
  4. Sleeping Chambers
  These are sleeping chambers for deathbearers. The cultists have few 
  personal belongings, none of which has much value. The rooms contain 
  simple cots, three-legged stools, washbasins, a few storage chests, and 
  many wallpegs for hanging robes, belts, pouches, and anything else that 
  can be hung up. (Hanging items are less likely to be attacked by chewing 
  rats than items on cots or even in chests.)
  5. Slabs
  This room contains nothing but several tables where bodies are placed 
  after being brought into the ziggurat. It’s up to you whether any bodies 
  are present, or you can roll 1d4–2 for the number of corpses on tables. 
  They’re kept here until needed in the kitchen.
  6. Kitchen
  This chamber appears no different from any other large kitchen. It has 
  preparation tables, a large roasting area near the outside wall (smoke and heat 
  are vented to the outside as much as possible). It’s usual for 2 or 3 deathbearers 
  (cultists) to be here during a usual day, preparing normal meals. Three or four 
  times as many will be present when a feast is being prepared.
  7. Shrine
  Beyond the entrance, much of this chamber’s floor is 
  covered with thick mats of woven straw. The walls are 
  covered with murals depicting feasters at tables laden with 
  food. Some appear to be joyous occasions with dancing and 
  entertainers, while others are somber and dark. In the far 
  corner, a squat idol sits in a circle of light provided by oil 
  lamps. It’s adorned with necklaces and crowns, and several 
  offering bowls are arranged on the floor before it.
  This is the deathbearers’ blasphemous shrine. At a glance, the idol seems 
  familiar to any character with proficiency in Religion. It resembles the idols 
  venerated by any of the many gluttony cults they’ve encountered or read 
  about: a rotund humanoid with exaggerated mouth and teeth, tiny eyes, 
  shrunken limbs, and a swollen belly. The necklaces and crown adorning it 
  are made from linked fingerbones, teeth, short ribs, and other small bones 
  from humans and gnomes. The whole thing is about 4 feet tall.
  Although it started out as nothing more than a fetish carved from hard 
  wood with red tourmaline eyes, the cult’s devotion attracted the attention 
  of a barbed devil. The devil frequently inhabits the statue and watches 
  the deathbearers’ services through its eyes and occasionally manifests tiny 
  “miracles” such as flames in the offering bowls to drive the cultists into 
  a worshipful frenzy. If characters deface the statue (by prying the gems 
  from its eye sockets, for example), there’s a 4-in-6 chance the barbed devil 
  takes offense, manifests in the chamber, and attacks.
  Treasure. The two red tourmalines in the idol’s eyes are worth 100 
  gp apiece. Removing each without damage requires a successful DC 5 
  Dexterity check; if the check fails, that eye’s value is reduced to 25 gp.
  8. Crypts of Bones
  The bones of Temelpa residents who died and were eaten here in the 
  ziggurat are stored in this crypt. They are stacked along the walls in 
  staggered tiers many feet deep, with skulls lined up side by side along the 
  top layers. A character who makes a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) 
  check can estimate that the room contains the bones of 500–600 humans 
  and gnomes. Nothing of value is stored here.
  9. Ghoul Cell
  A heavy wooden door — the only one you’ve seen inside the 
  ziggurat — is closed across this doorway and barred on this 
  side. The smell of rotting meat is faint but distinct near this 
  intersection.
  Imprisoned in the chamber beyond this door are 3 ghouls. The ghouls 
  subsist on entrails and rotting scraps left over from feasts, so they’re 
  always hungry. They hear everything going on in the hallway and are 
  poised along the front wall of the room, ready to attack the first person 
  who enters or leans through the doorway after the door is opened — unless 
  that person is wearing a deathbearer mask. They won’t immediately attack 
  someone wearing a jackal mask because they expect such a person to 
  bring them food, however meager it might be. The moment they realize a 
  mask-wearer isn’t bringing a basket of maggot-ridden meat, they attack.
  
  15
  The City That Dripped Blood
  Roll 1d6 when characters enter a district or spend a significant amount 
  of time moving around inside it. A roll equal to or less than the number in 
  the district indicates an encounter.
  This roll can be modified by the situation:
  +1
  Characters are sneaking and keeping under cover.
  +1
  Nighttime in an occupied area.
  -1
  Nighttime in a deserted area.
  -1
  Characters are moving rapidly.
  -1
  Characters are being actively hunted or pursued.
  When an encounter is indicated, use the appropriate table to determine 
  what’s met:
  Deserted, Arena, or Great Plaza District
  1d12
  Result
  1
  Black Pudding
  2
  3 Cockatrices
  3
  2 Gargoyles
  4
  6 Giant Bats
  5
  8 Giant Centipedes
  6
  5 Giant Lizards
  7
  2 Giant Spiders
  8
  Grey Ooze
  9
  2 Shadows
  10
  Stegocentipede
  11
  7 Stirges
  12
  2 Weredactyls in pterodactyl form
  Gnome District
  1d8
  Result
  1
  Crimson Guard patrol (8 Guards, 1 Spy, and 1 Veteran)
  2
  8 Giant Centipedes
  3
  2d4 Gnomes (Deep Gnomes)
  4
  2d4 Gnomes (Deep Gnomes)
  5
  2d4 Gnomes (Deep Gnomes)
  6
  3 Shadows
  7
  Skelzi and Weredactyl
  8
  9 Stirges
  Crimson Ziggurat District
  1d6
  Result
  1
  2d4 Gnomes (Deep Gnomes)
  2
  Crimson Guard patrol (8 Guards, 1 Spy, and 1 
  Veteran)
  3
  Crimson Guard patrol, doubled (16 Guards, 2 Spies, 
  and 2 Veterans)
  4
  2d4 Merchants or Artisans (Commoners)
  5
  Deathbearer procession (1 Cult Fanatic, 6 Cultists, 1 
  Veteran, 7 Guards)
  6
  2 Skelzis and 2 Weredactyls
  Ziggurat of the Dead District
  1d8
  Result
  1
  1d4 Deathbearers (Cultists)
  2
  2 Gargoyles
  3
  8 Giant Centipedes
  4
  2 Giant Spiders
  5
  Ochre Jelly
  6
  2 Shadows
  7
  8 Stirges
  8
  2 Weredactyls in pterodactyl form
  Barracks, Merchant, or Artisan District
  1d10
  Result
  1
  2d4 Artisans (Commoners)
  2
  Giant Centipede
  3
  2 Cockatrices
  4
  Crimson Guard patrol (8 Guards, 1 Spy, and 1 Veteran)
  5
  Crimson Guard patrol (8 Guards, 1 Spy, and 1 Veteran)
  6
  Crimson Guard patrol, doubled (16 Guards, 2 Spies, 
  and 2 Veterans)
  7
  Giant Spider
  8
  2d4 Gnomes
  9
  2d4 Merchants (Commoners)
  10
  2 Skelzis and 2 Weredactyls
  Appendix 1: Random  
  Encounter Tables
  
  16
  Frog God Games
  Fuulagh
  Fuulagh is a blood orchid savant, a rare example of her type that has 
  learned spellcasting. Like all blood orchids, Fuulagh has three downward 
  curving “petals” of flesh with a dark, pebbly outer hide and a pallid whitish 
  underside. The petals end in split tips that converge beneath the blood 
  orchid’s bulbous body. The body is flexible and squishy, about one foot 
  long and six inches in diameter, and terminates with a sphincter-shaped 
  mouth, front and center. A swarm of writhing, pallid tentacles dangle from 
  its underside: there are 16 manipulator arms and eight thinner tendrils with 
  red eyes at the ends. A second cluster of eye tendrils rises from its back.
  Blood orchids are territorial, xenophobic, and possessive. They regard 
  other races as aberrant and not to be trusted, even other lawful creatures. 
  Their alliances are always based on dominance and benefit the blood 
  orchid almost exclusively.
  Communication for blood orchids is through a means of empathy/
  telepathy. They have no sense of hearing. Fuulagh can close her outer 
  petals downward and rest on the ground, where she resembles a rocky 
  nodule or fungus of some kind.
  Fuulagh (Blood Orchid Savant)
  Large aberration, lawful evil
  Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 97 (13d10 + 26)
  Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft.x
   
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  15 (+2)
  14 (+2)
  14 (+2)
  13 (+1)
  16 (+3)
  18 (+4)
   
  Skills Stealth +5
  Damage Resistances acid, cold, lightning, fire
  Damage Immunities thunder
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
  Languages telepathy 120 ft.
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
  Spellcasting. The blood orchid is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its 
  spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit 
  with spell attacks). It can cast the following spells:
  Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, fire bolt, light, mage hand
  1st level (4 slots): burning hands, color spray, detect magic, 
  magic missile
  2nd level (3 slots): darkness, ray of enfeeblement, scorching 
  ray
  Hyper-Awareness. A blood orchid cannot be surprised.
  Telepathic Bond. Blood orchids have an unbreakable 
  telepathic link to other blood orchids that are within 120 
  feet.
  Actions
   
  Multiattack. The blood orchid savant makes three attacks 
  with its tentacles.
  Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 11 (2d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage and 
  the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving 
  throw or be poisoned for 1 hour. The target is also grappled 
  (escape DC 14). While grappled this way, the creature is 
  restrained.
  Blood Drain. The blood orchid feeds on every creature it is 
  grappling. Each grappled creature must succeed on a 
  DC 14 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is 
  reduced by 5 (1d10), and the blood orchid savant regains 
  the same number of hit points. The reduction lasts until the 
  creature finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect 
  reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
  Charm. One creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 
  15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed for 24 hours. The 
  creature is not under the blood orchid’s control but regards 
  it as a trusted friend, takes its requests as favorably as 
  possible, and won’t try to escape from the blood orchid’s 
  grapple. Each time the blood orchid or its allies do anything 
  harmful to the creature, it can repeat the saving throw.
  Skelzi
  Skelzis originate from beyond the Material Plane. They have humanoid 
  bodies with leathery skin, but their human appearance is rendered alien 
  by the beak that protrudes from the birdlike skelzi face. Moreover, a 
  skelzi’s hide is chameleonic, changing to blend with its surroundings. The 
  creatures usually travel robed and masked outside the safety of their own 
  enclaves. Every skelzi outpost, colony, and expedition is well-supplied 
  with weredactyls.
  Skelzis are aggressively expansionistic, so countless colonies and more 
  than a few empires exist across the infinite planes of existence. Skelzi 
  empires tend to be decadent, corrupt, torpid, and slow to respond to threats 
  — but when they do respond, it is likely to be with overwhelming force. 
  Smaller and younger societies are more energetic. All skelzi societies are 
  organized around a many-tiered caste system in which lower-ranking 
  members serve those above them. The fact that skelzis are willing to serve 
  other skelzis who outrank them should not be confused with an attitude 
  of obedience or with any sense of loyalty. High-ranking skelzis wear 
  extravagant headdresses and rich clothing, deliberately drawing attention 
  to themselves and to their high positions.
  The skelzis of Temelpa are all vampiric, having been transformed via 
  ritual by Fuulagh. About half of them are also spellcasters (see sidebar). 
  The Grand Exsanguinator is a spellcasting, vampiric skelzi.
  Skelzi, Vampiric
  Medium humanoid, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 44 (8d8 + 8)
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  14 (+2)
  15 (+2)
  12 (+1)
  10 (+0)
  10 (+0)
  10 (+0)
   
  Skills Stealth +4
  Senses passive Perception 13
  Languages Common, Skelzi
  Challenge 1 (200 XP)
  Chameleonic Hide. If the skelzi sheds its garments, it can hide 
  when lightly obscured, its Stealth bonus increases to +6, and 
  it has advantage on Stealth checks and on initiative rolls.
  Actions
   
  Multiattack. The skelzi makes one claw attack and one blood 
  whip attack.
  Appendix 2: Monsters
  
  17
  The City That Dripped Blood
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage.
  Blood Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage and the target must 
  make a successful DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 
  a bleeding wound. At the start of each of the wounded 
  creature’s turns, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage for each 
  time it’s been wounded, and it can then make a DC 15 
  Constitution saving throw, ending the effect of all such 
  wounds on itself on a success. Alternatively, the wounded 
  creature, or a creature within 5 feet of it, can use an action 
  to make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check, ending the 
  effect of such wounds on it on a success.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing 
  creature or a creature that is grappled by the skelzi, 
  incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing 
  damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit 
  point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the 
  necrotic damage taken, and the skelzi regains hit points 
  equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target 
  finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its 
  hit point maximum to 0.
  Charm. One creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 
  10 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed for 24 hours. The 
  creature is not under the skelzi’s control but regards it as 
  a trusted friend, takes its requests as favorably as possible, 
  and is willing to be bitten. Each time the skelzi or its allies do 
  anything harmful to the creature, it can repeat the saving 
  throw.
  Stegocentipede
  This creature resembles a gigantic centipede covered with plates of 
  chitin with spikes that can be raised or lowered along its back and flanks. 
  Its tail ends in a wicked, whip-like stinger.
  Stegocentipedes are arthropods that have grown to stunning size. They 
  are rumored among sages to have come to the Material Plane from another 
  plane or dimension, though no proof has been found to support this theory. 
  It is based chiefly on the fact that nothing else like them exists. It’s possible 
  that the stegocentipedes in Temelpa were brought by the skelzis to help 
  spread terror through the city.
  A typical stegocentipede is 18 feet long, but there is much variety 
  among the species. A stegocentipede raises its spines instinctively when 
  it enters combat, and it moves constantly in a back-and-forth, sawing 
  motion as it fights.
  Stegocentipede
  Huge beast, unaligned
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 76 (9d12 + 18)
  Speed 40 ft.
   
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  19 (+4)
  15 (+2)
  14 (+2)
  1 (–5)
  10 (+0)
  6 (–2)
   
  Condition Immunities charmed, prone, restrained
  Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages —
  Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
  Spines. A creature that makes a melee attack against a 
  stegocentipede while within 5 feet of the stegocentipede 
  must make a successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw 
  or take 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage from spines on the 
  stegocentipede’s carapace.
  Actions
   
  Multiattack. The stegocentipede bites once and stings once.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.
  Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage and the target 
  must make a successful DC 12 Constitution saving throw or 
  be poisoned. While poisoned, the creature takes 7 (2d6) 
  poison damage at the start of its turn. A poisoned creature 
  repeats the saving throw at the start of its turn, ending the 
  effect on itself with a success.
  Weredactyl
  Weredactyls in their human form are fat, slouching humanoids with 
  protruding faces, low foreheads, and sagittal crests. Their were-form is a 
  pterodactyl with long human fingers at the wing-joint and human eyes. In 
  hybrid form, their arms and legs are more developed, and their wings and 
  beaks are small, too small to enable flight in the case of the wings.
  Weredactyls live in servitude to the evil skelzis. They are naturally 
  stupid even in human form. If they spend more than six continuous hours 
  in pterodactyl form, they go feral and must be retrained from scratch to be 
  of any use to their skelzi masters. Obviously, the skelzis go to great lengths 
  to prevent this from happening — just one reason why weredactyls are 
  almost never encountered without skelzis nearby.
  In the Material Plane, a weredactyl can fly with a Small rider, but it isn’t 
  strong enough to carry a Medium rider in flight. Enlarge/reduce potions 
  and spells are highly valued by skelzis visiting the Material Plane because 
  they can use them to become small enough for their weredactyl mounts to 
  carry them, then return to normal size at the conclusion of their journey.
  Variant: Skelzi Spellcasters
  Some skelzi are also spellcasters. A spellcasting skelzi has 
  a challenge rating of 2 (450 XP), Intelligence 15 (+2), and the 
  spellcasting trait.
  Spellcasting. The skelzi is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its 
  spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 12, 
  +4 to hit with spell attacks). It can cast the following 
  spells:
  Cantrips (at will): light, minor illusion, poison spray, 
  shocking grasp
  1st level (4 slots): grease, magic missile
  2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, enlarge/reduce, 
  hold person
  3rd level (2 slots): lightning bolt, slow
  
  18
  Frog God Games
  Weredactyl
  Medium humanoid (shapechanger), chaotic evil
  Armor Class 12
  Hit Points 44 (8d8 + 8)
  Speed 30 ft. (human or hybrid form); 10 ft., 50 ft. flying 
  (pterodactyl form)
   
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  16 (+3)
  15 (+2)
  12 (+1)
  7 (–2)
  10 (+0)
  8 (–1)
   
  Damage Immunity bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing 
  damage from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered
  Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages Common, Skelzi
  Challenge 2 (450 XP)
  Shapechanger. The weredactyl can use its action to 
  polymorph into a pterodactyl-humanoid hybrid or into a 
  pterodactyl, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. 
  Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it 
  is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. It reverts to its true 
  form if it dies.
  Actions
   
  Multiattack. The weredactyl makes two melee or ranged 
  attacks.
  Peck (Pterodactyl or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon 
  Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) 
  piercing damage.
  Claw (Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage. If 
  two claw attacks hit the same target on the weredactyl’s 
  turn, the target must make a successful DC 12 Dexterity 
  saving throw or be grappled (escape DC 11).
  Handaxe (Human or Hybrid Form Only). Melee or Ranged 
  Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
  
  19
  The City That Dripped Blood
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  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with 
  all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the 
  breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
  14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such 
  provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. 
  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  System Reference Document © 2000. Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors Jonathan 
  Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave 
  Arneson. 
  System Reference Document 5.1 © 2016. Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors Mike 
  Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, 
  Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on 
  material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
  Tome of Horrors © 2018, Frog God Games, LLC; Authors: Kevin Baase, Erica Balsley, 
  John “Pexx” Barnhouse, Christopher Bishop, Casey Christofferson, Jim Collura, Andrea 
  Costantini, Jayson ‘Rocky’ Gardner, Zach Glazar, Meghan Greene, Scott Greene, Lance 
  Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Ian S. Johnston, Bill Kenower, Patrick Lawinger, 
  Rhiannon Louve, Ian McGarty, Edwin Nagy, James Patterson, Nathan Paul, Patrick N. 
  Pilgrim, Clark Peterson, Anthony Pryor, Greg Ragland, Robert Schwalb, G. Scott Swift, 
  Greg A. Vaughan, and Bill Webb
  The City That Dripped Blood © 2018, Frog God Games, LLC; Author: Steve Winter
  
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  Frog God Games
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Frog God Games/The City that Dripped Blood.pdf