RPG Resource: Click here for home page
 
 
Main Menu
 What's New
 Reviews
 Genre Resources
 Master System List
 Complete Product List
 Shared Campaigns
 Community Content
 General Resources
 Game Companies
 Journals
 Inspirations
 Board & other games
 Copyright Statement

Search



Dungeons & Dragons 3e: City of the Dead

City of the Dead

Cemeteries can be fascinating places to visit - you may be chasing cultists, smacking down undead, or gloating over an enemy's demise (and maybe even dancing on his grave!). Or perhaps you are a necromancer in search of more supplies. Whatever reason you have for sending the party to a graveyard, here's a good one to send them to.

The introductory notes explain the limited customisation that's possible. You can switch on or off the heavy background 'fill' (for ink-saving purposes), you can also remove or display a grid, the furniture depicted, or numbers. Play around, see what you like best. There's also a few ideas about how you could use this set of plans, and a generic key - a lot of which isn't relevant here, it's the standard one that appears in all sets of 0one plans.

The first plan shows the entire cemetery, which is a quite large walled one on a slight hill. It's probably located outside a city, but sometimes you'll find it within city limits - especially if the city has grown rapidly of late. There's a path up to the single gate, and several trees grow amongst the gravestones and monuments. It gives a good impression of the whole, with regular grave plots as well as some larger monuments.

Next up is a cross-section of the entire hill showing how there are catacombs underneath one mausoleum, and how the ground slopes slightly across the entire cemetery. This is followed by more detailed plans of the mausoleum and the underground level. Statues, pillars and places for multiple burials suggest that an important family owns this tomb. Of course, you can abstract this plan and add it to the grounds of some notable family's home, if preferred!

Next up, plans of the mortuary, which also has an underground level. There's an office, a workshop and storage; clearly this is used for an undertaking business as well as the base for running the cemetery. There's a nice central courtyard with trees and a collonade, and what might be a viewing area downstairs for those who wish to see their deceased loved ones one last time before they are buried.

The following page presents plans for two other mausoleums. One is round and the other is square, but both pack in quite a few tombs. They both have an underground level as well as what can be seen above ground. Finally there are the plans for the actual catacombs, which are also beneath the large mausoleum that was shown first. This boasts several statures as well as loads of burial niches, and an entire section hidden behind secret doors.

Overall, it makes for a lot of scope for some shenanigans in a graveyard - not necessarily limited to a fantasy game, of course. It's certainly a resource worth having up your sleeve.

Return to City of the Dead page.

Reviewed: 1 January 2019