TEXT: Anatomy of a
   
  Writing Jeff Gomez
  Color Art Phil Stone
  Editing Felipe Real
  Layout Xanditz
  Graveyard
  G
  raveyards are places of 
  death, mourning, and 
  somber reflection. And, 
  more often than not, zombies.
  Use the following tables to 
  generate an unnerving graveyard for 
  your PCs to explore.
  EN World EN5ider | Anatomy of a Graveyard
  
  Funeral Rites 
  Burial grounds vary based on culture, religion, and 
  economic status of those interred. Graveyards are 
  reflections of funeral rites on a mass scale. Roll 1d12 
  or choose one.
  1.
  Burial at Sea. For seafaring cultures, there
  is only one place to put a corpse. Bodies are
  usually wrapped in linens or seaweed, weighed
  down with stones. They are then pushed
  overboard to sink into the depths. In some
  cultures, corpses are buoyed by light organic
  matter, to drift over the waves or to attract
  sharks. For the highest ranking, the dead are
  set to sea in small wooden boats. Then they
  are lit ablaze until the vessel descends into the
  darkness.
  2.
  Burial. Burial is the most common method of
  corpse disposal. Corpses lie deep enough that
  they do not stink up the area (usually six feet),
  and some have coffins to rest in. These plots
  are usually marked with tombstones. This is to
  prevent accidental discovery and to provide a
  place to mourn.
  3.
  Cremation. Where space is a premium, a
  disease is a concern, or return to a burial
  ground is unlikely, cremation is the method.
  The actual burning itself can take place in a
  made oven or atop a ceremonial funeral pyre.
  Flame provides an element of finality that
  burial may not. The ashes are either interred
  into the ground or given to loved ones to
  distribute or keep as they see fit.
  4.
  Endocannibalism. Endocannibalism is the
  practice of eating a person’s body after they
  have died. Even if the practice stems from
  a lack of nutrition, the ceremony is usually
  solemn and spiritual. Endocannibalistic
  cultures see the practice as a proper
  funeral rite. The bones are either buried or
  crushed into a mash that they eat with stew.
  Unfortunately, endocannibalism is an excellent
  way to spread disease throughout a tribe.
  5.
  Mass Grave. Mass graves are open or covered
  pits in which hundreds or thousands of corpses
  lie. These bodies receive no special preparation.
  The arrangement is usually one of convenience
  rather than tradition. Mass graves are often for
  paupers, or for atrocities in times of war. Yet,
  some tribal cultures fling their dead into an open
  mass grave. In this way all corpses are with one
  another after death.
  6.
  Mausoleum or Crypt. Mausoleums are stately,
  often extravagant structures meant to house
  many corpses. They are well made, with every
  sign of wealth under the pretense of mourning.
  Mausoleums usually house entire families,
  though some have a single wealthy individual.
  Most mausoleums are amid smaller tombstones.
  In this manner their inhabitants can lord over
  their lesser even in death.
  7.
  Measures Against Undead. In cultures where
  the undead is a real threat more protections are
  necessary. The heads of corpses are severed from
  their bodies, or staked in place with wooden
  spears. The coffins have iron bandings to prevent
  anything from escaping. These graveyards
  appear as traditional burial graveyards, but
  many hold potential undead.
  8.
  The World Beyond or Mummification. The
  spirit is a reflection of the body, or so some
  cultures believe. The corpse must receive a
  preparation to endure the journey to the next
  life. This always involves burying the corpse
  with some sort of payment for the gods below.
  Payments include a coin on the tongue, a
  hundred servants, or a terracotta army. Such
  bodies are preserved using mummification or
  other tactics. The idea is to prevent that they fall
  apart before their journey is complete.
  9.
  To the Air. To cultures that live high in the
  mountains, the lowlands may as well be another
  world. Some tribal cultures throw their dead off a 
  sacred cliff. The ritual is either one of convenience
  or simple necessity, but the result is the same. The 
  base of the cliff has thousands of human remains.
  EN World EN5ider  | Anatomy of a Graveyard
  
  10. To the Animals. Sometimes the natural ways
  are the best ways. Hyenas, vultures, or other
  scavenging beasts receive corpses. This is so
  because people consider them semi-sacred
  psychopomps. As animals devour the corpses, the 
  dead enter their next life (and abandon this one).
  11. To the Stone. To many underground cultures,
  simple burial isn’t enough. In these civilizations,
  corpses receive a treatment. Then, magma or tar
  pools disintegrate them. These corpses “return
  to the stone”, according to what the housewives
  believe. As such, their spirits may crystallize into
  gemstones in the following years.
  12. To the Wood. In many elven cultures (and some
  human cultures), a return to nature symbolizes
  the beginning of a new life. Corpses or cremated 
  ashes lie with seeds, which then grow into
  magnificent trees. Some cultures even inter bodies
  within the trunks of living trees. While most 
  wood burials happen in a forest, some cultures
  keep orchards of grave trees. These orchards yield
  rich and nourishing fruit year over year.
  Other Elements
  A graveyard is more than a collection of 
  tombstones. Other objects, creatures, or auras add to 
  the mood. Roll 1d12 or choose one.
  1.
  A gnarled tree stretched bare branches over the
  graves. The twisted bark almost seems to cry out
  in agony.
  2.
  A thick, pale fog envelops the graveyard. This
  foul smelling air is suffocating and deadens all
  noise.
  3.
  An ancient well sits at the center of this
  graveyard. What madness drove these people to
  corrupt a water source with corpses?
  4.
  An icy mist swirls around the tombstones in
  violent crystalline drafts.
  5.
  Hundreds (if not thousands) of ravens perched
  on the graves. They are silent and immobile
  unless provoked, at which point all take wing in
  a cacophony caws.
  6.
  Not all corpses rest as they should. Bones and
  teeth emerge from the soil.
  7.
  The ground is black and muddy, though there is
  no obvious source of water.
  8.
  Dead leaves and flowers are on the ground,
  which crunches underfoot.
  9.
  The iron gate, though rusted and broken,
  has spikes and reinforcements as if to keep
  something in.
  10. There seems to be little respect for space in
  this graveyard. Tombstones lie on top on one
  another, and new plots overlap with old plots.
  11.  Thick grey vines cover large sections of the
  graveyard. Shriveled fruit hang from their
  boughs.
  12.  Upon closer inspection, repurposed
  gravestones from ages past form this well-
  worn cobblestone path.
  Cause of Death 
  Sometimes an explanation leaves only more 
  questions. The following inscribed causes of death 
  may lead the PCs down a strange path. Roll 1d12 or 
  choose one.
  1.
  Buried Alive at Her Husband’s Request
  2.
  Burned for Witchcraft
  3.
  By Suicide in a Fit of Madness
  4.
  Dead for the Careless Hand of a Doctor
  5.
  Dead on the Order of the King
  6.
  For the Curse Could Not Be Lifted
  7.
  Hanged for Heresy
  8.
  Interred for the Second Time
  9.
  Left to the Elements by a Loving Family
  10. Murdered by a Coward Whose Name is Not Fit
  for This Stone
  11. Of an Empty Belly, Surrounded by Friends
  12. Of Unnatural Illness
  EN World EN5ider | Anatomy of a Graveyard
  
  Tombstone Inscriptions 
  Most tombstones give a name, span of life, and 
  cause of death. Some have taken it upon themselves 
  to add a bit of somber or humorous poetry to the 
  cemetery. Roll 1d12 or choose one.
  1.
  All things happen for a reason
  2.
  Always loving, always loved
  3.
  Damn, but it’s dark down here
  4.
  DO NOT EXHUME
  5.
  Gone, but not forgiven
  6.
  I am not today what I was yesterday
  7.
  I was somebody. You need not know more.
  8.
  Let’s go home
  9.
  May his memory be eternal
  10. Once met, never forgotten
  11. Step with care, a dream lies buried here.
  12. Tears cannot restore her–thus I weep
  The Restless Dead 
  What would a cemetery be without a few angry 
  undead? Use the following descriptions to add flavor 
  to a roaming zombie, skeleton, or ghost. Roll 1d12 or 
  choose one.
  1.
  A white apparition opens her eyes and mouth in
  a noiseless scream. Her ethereal hair floats in all
  directions as if underwater.
  2.
  Burning motes of flame show eyes in a
  humanoid shadow. Waves of hunger and rage
  emit from the wraith in equal measure.
  3.
  Rotting flesh does not hide the terror etched in
  this creature’s face. This man died in absolute
  pain and overcome by fear.
  4.
  The corpse bubbles and putrefies as it moves,
  thick black fluid running from a dozen sores.
  5.
  The corpse must be recently dead. Only its white
  eyes and staggering movements give it away as
  unnatural.
  6.
  The ghost takes hovering steps with elegance and
  purpose. She must have been a noble in life, or 
  else death bestowed her with unnerving grace.
  7.
  The jaw of this poor corpse hangs by a single
  stretched tendon, rotten away to almost nothing.
  It clacks from side to side with every step.
  8.
  The mindlessness of zombies has never been so
  clear. This corpse’s face is limp and blank, rotten
  eyes half-closed beneath blackened lids.
  9.
  The skeleton moves with loud, clumsy, and
  quick strides. Though it lacks any grace or
  uniformity in its steps, its speed is frightening.
  10. This corpse wears a long black dress of
  mourning. The dress looks pristine despite the
  rotting corpse within. Her long, thin hair hangs
  almost to the ground.
  11. This creature is so long dead that even its bones
  are rotting, and not an inch of flesh remains.
  Black silk threads keep its structure together.
  12. Though the corpse has an almost regal finery, it’s
  head has completely decomposed. Only a jaw
  and neck remain.
  EN World EN5ider  | Anatomy of a Graveyard
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 208 - Anatomy of A Graveyard.pdf