The Sands of Bloodlust | Free Adventure for D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e
Designed by Gabriel Ribeiro
Cartography by Architect GM and Oliver Bogler
This level-eight short adventure challenges players to survive the horrors of a necromantic swamp, navigate treacherous terrain haunted by ghostly legionnaires, and confront the violent, blood-soaked rituals of the ancient Blood Coliseum. Will they triumph over the undead and unlock the dark secrets of the Blood Coliseum, or succumb to its sinister allure?
By the way, if you're looking for even more puzzles and other GM resources, check out Lair Magazine #46, Tyranny & Trepidation. It includes two short adventures for levels 3 and 8, five horror-inspired locations, five puzzles, two full-length adventures designed for levels 2 and 17, and an article detailing how to create your own horror adventures! Or check out the bundles and yearly subs to learn how you can get more resources and save big.
The Sands of Bloodlust - 5e
Game Master Notes
Level. This adventure is designed for a group of four to six level-eight characters.
Creatures. This adventure features the following creatures: stirge, wight, specter.
Resting. It’s expected that the party will not need to take any long rests in this adventure, though they may need a short rest if the characters encounter bad luck.
The Swamp of Sapping Waters
Stretching as far as the eye can see is a horrid swamp: dark waters, twisted vegetation, a putrid stench, and the buzzing of a million insects dominate your senses. This is not a pleasant place, but that unpleasantness paves a path forward. Motion under the swamp’s surface clearly indicates that something lives within its depths.
Creatures. There is one wight in the swamp, along with uncountable stirge. The stirge operate as an element of the swamp of sapping waters trap described below.
Encounter Notes.
· The wight that attacks the party has the normal statistics but can use its life drain action twice in each of its turns.
· Heavy clouds cover the skies even during the day.
Sapping Waters. The magic of the Blood Coliseum affected the swamp’s waters long ago. Like the Coliseum’s sand, it has life-sapping properties.
Stirge Swarms. Stirge swarm everywhere, overwhelming prey and quickly reducing weaker creatures to husks when they strike. They work as part of the hazard present during the combat with the wight and are detailed below.
Wights. Wights rise from the swamp’s waters, and any creature that dies due to the Swamp of Sapping Waters rises again as a wight.
Swamp of Sapping Waters
Magical hazard (Complex hazard, level 5-10, dangerous)
Description. The Swamp of Sapping Waters tries to consume creatures that enter it to sustain the magic that constantly brews beneath its damp soil. It hunts using the sapping waters themselves and swarms of stirge.
Trigger. The hazard activates once the wight attacks the characters.
Initiative. The whispering winds act on Initiative count 20, the seeping darkness acts on Initiative count 10, and the cultists roll for Initiative.
Active Elements
Swarms (Initiative count 20). The stirge swarms roam the battlefield as the wight attacks the party. Three random characters must make DC 17 Dexterity saving throws or be swarmed by them on Initiative count 20.
While swarmed, a creature is blinded, grappled, and suffers 2d10 necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns. A swarmed creature can make a DC 17 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to escape from the swarm, needing to move away from it before the end of their turn or become swarmed again when it ends.
Sapping Waters (Initiative count 10). The water calls on its victims, pooling beneath their feet to slowly consume them. One random character must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw on Initiative count 10 or become paralyzed until the Initiative count 10 of the next round of combat. Once a creature fails on the saving throw, the sapping waters will target them every turn.
If a creature fails the saving throw three times in a row, the water pools deep enough below them to form a sinkhole and swallow them. They go 5 feet underwater and become unconscious.
Constant Elements
Twisting Soil. The swamp’s soil and vegetation, including tree roots, constantly twist and squirm, making it difficult terrain.
Countermeasures
Swarm of Stirge. Even though sinister powers have a hold of the swamp, forces of good still remain. A forgotten deity makes white daisies bloom in it and gives them the power to drive the stirge away.
A character can discover this relation with a DC 15 Wisdom (Nature) check. Gathering enough daisies and producing an unguent will drive the monsters away. A creature slathered in the unguent is never targeted by the stirge swarms.
Sapping Waters. The sapping waters are insidious but are ultimately weak. They cannot retarget a creature that resists their effects.
The Lost Legionnaires
Mist rolls in from all directions, covering the ground and crawling up your ankles like spectral fingers as though it had a mind and intention of its own. The mists grow thicker and climb higher, going past your thighs, and you can’t help but notice the blood-red tinge that colors it. As you walk through the mist, inhuman wailing echoes through the swamp.
The Lost Legionnaires. The ghosts of ancient legionnaires who died on their way to the Blood Coliseum haunt the crossroads that travel from the swamp to the magical site. Their grudges make them linger, but they’re mere echoes of the proud warriors they once were.
Speak with Dead. If the characters find the remains of a legionnaire and cast speak with dead on it, they can only answer questions about a long-lost past, when they were part of an empire’s standing army. If asked about their objectives, they talk about reaching the Coliseum and “walking again upon the red sands.”
The Lost Legionnaires
Magical hazard (Complex hazard, level 5-10, dangerous)
Description. Specters of people wearing ancient-looking armor roam the mists that cover the crossroads. They have grudges for their deaths and seek the living to alleviate their fury and haunt those who get lost among the mists.
Trigger. The hazard activates once the characters reach the crossroads between the swamp and the Coliseum.
Active Elements
Legionnaire Hauntings. Whenever the characters fail on a check to find their path out of the mists, they get lost and run into legionnaire ghosts. When this happens, all characters must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or suffer 3d10 necrotic damage.
Once a character fails this saving throw 3 times, they suffer 1 level of exhaustion.
Constant Elements
Magical Mists. The mists magically distort the perception of creatures inside it: Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks made within it are made with disadvantage.
Countermeasures
As the magical mists cover the terrain and the surroundings, the characters must make skill checks to orient themselves and find their way out of the crossroads and into the Coliseum. Some checks that the characters could make include Wisdom (Survival) checks to find old trails, Intelligence (Arcana) checks to feel the magical pathways of energy towards the Coliseum, or Charisma (Intimidation) checks to frighten the ghosts and clear the way. Their DC is 15, whatever the check.
Once they get four successes, they find their way out of the mists and into the Coliseum.
Alternatively, the characters can attempt to exorcise the legionnaires. Doing so requires the characters to succeed on three consecutive DC 17 Intelligence or Wisdom (Religion) checks. They do not have to do these checks on consecutive turns, but failing a check resets the count to zero.
The Sands of Bloodlust
Surrounded by dead trees and a barren landscape, a sandy pit surrounded by the dilapidated and rustic stonework of an ancient coliseum stands just outside the horrific mists. The wailing of the ghosts of before contrasts with the sounds coming from the lower coliseum: distorted, wild cheers and booing echo from within.
When the characters enter:
As you cross the planks into the arena, the cheers drown you in a wave of distorted screams. At the center of the pit, a reanimated corpse with translucent skin wearing a gladiator’s helmet is removing a bloody sword from the stomach of a sacrificed human.
Creatures. Four specters are waiting for people to battle in the arena, seeking sustenance in their blood. One wight—the translucent skin corpse—is already at the arena.
Encounter Notes.
· The wights in the Coliseum have a +6 bonus to hit on their attacks.
· Heavy clouds cover the skies even during the day.
· The spike pits in the arena are 10 feet deep, and falling inside them causes 2d6 piercing damage plus the falling damage.
The Sands of Bloodlust. The sands of the pit, enchanted with bloody, necromantic spells, use acts of violence to give bodies to incorporeal undead. Whenever a living creature receives 30 points of damage, one of the specters turns into a wight, rising from the pond of blood on the right side of the arena.
Players can make a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check to discover this relation between spilled blood and the specters’ new bodies.
The bloody sands incite violent behavior. Whenever one of the player characters reduces a creature to 0 hit points in the arena, they must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or use their next action to make an attack against the nearest creature, moving toward them if necessary, even if they’re allied.
Conclusion
The only undead with enough power and determination to fight in the arena are the first wight and the specters that were already there. The spirits cheer for the players and then vanish if the party is victorious.
With the threats out of the way, the characters can investigate the sands and their sinister power, detailed in the Point of Interest section below.
Point of Interest: The Blood Coliseum
The Blood Coliseum
Magical site
Creatures. Specters and wights.
Description. The Blood Coliseum is a ruined arena from the time of a forgotten empire, its lowered stone walls and seats dilapidated by past conflicts and time. It has been left unmaintained for ages, invaded by vegetation now long dead.
Eyes are naturally drawn to the sand pit, attracted by the sinister energies that have coalesced there through the practice of necromantic rituals. Blood has seeped into it deeply, staining most of the sand in tones of red.
The blood pit to the right of the arena bubbles constantly, and vapors rise from it, signals of the necromancy that affects it. Corpse parts, organs, and bones float inside it, being made, unmade, and remade by the spells.
Discoveries. Characters can discover the following information at the Coliseum:
· One can use the blood pond in the sand pit to gain power at a cost: a character can sacrifice 15 maximum hit points to increase one ability point by 1. A creature can only do so once, and from then on, whenever their hit points are reduced to 0, they automatically fail on their first death saving throw.
· A DC 18 Intelligence (Religion) check reveals that the symbols carved around the blood pool refer to an old god of fertility. However, they were tampered with to corrupt the god’s influence, perverting the hallowed site into a necromantic nexus.
The Sands of Bloodlust - PF2e
Game Master Notes
Level. This adventure is designed for a group of four level-eight characters.
Creatures. This adventure features the following creatures: wight, hunter wight, specter.
Adventure Difficulty. The characters can expect to encounter two hazards and one severe encounter during this short adventure.
The Swamp of Sapping Waters Hazard 8
Stretching as far as the eye can see is a horrid swamp: dark waters, twisted vegetation, a putrid stench, and the buzzing of a million insects dominate your senses. This is not a pleasant place, but that unpleasantness paves a path forward. Motion under the swamp’s surface clearly indicates that something lives within its depths.
Creatures. There is one hunter wight in the swamp, along with uncountable flying demons. The demons operate as an element of the Swamp of Sapping Waters trap described below.
Sapping Waters. The magic of the Blood Coliseum affected the swamp’s waters long ago. Like the Coliseum’s sand, it has life-sapping properties.
Demon Swarms. Demon swarm everywhere, overwhelming prey and quickly reducing weaker creatures to husks when they strike. They work as part of the hazard present during the combat with the wight and are detailed below.
Wights. Wights rise from the swamp’s waters, and any creature that dies due to the Swamp of Sapping Waters rises again as a wight.
Swamp of Sapping Waters
Complex, Magical, Trap
Stealth DC 31 (expert) to notice the swarms of demons under the water’s surface.
Description. The Swamp of Sapping Waters tries to consume creatures that enter it to sustain the magic that constantly brews beneath its damp soil. It hunts using the sapping waters themselves and swarms of demons.
—
Disable DC 28 Religion to invoke the power of a good deity to drive the demons back to their home plane. DC 28 Nature to notice the demons avoid a certain type of flower, which can be used to safely traverse the swamp. Once the hunter wight is defeated, the swarms dissipate.
Difficult Movement. The swamp is difficult terrain.
Rising Demons [reaction] Trigger. The hazard activates once the wight attacks the characters. Effect. Countless demons swarm out of the water. Each character touching the water when the demons emerge must make a DC 26 Fortitude save or be stunned 3 until the end of their next turn.
—
Routine (3 actions) The swarms target 1d6 characters. Each character targeted must make a DC 26 Fortitude save or take 2d10+11 piercing damage. On a critical failure, the target also takes 1d4 persistent bleed damage.
The Lost Legionnaires Hazard 8
Mist rolls in from all directions, covering the ground and crawling up your ankles like spectral fingers as though it had a mind and intention of its own. The mists grow thicker and climb higher, going past your thighs, and you can’t help but notice the blood-red tinge that colors it. As you walk through the mist, inhuman wailing echoes through the swamp.
The Lost Legionnaires. The ghosts of ancient legionnaires who died on their way to the Blood Coliseum haunt the crossroads that travel from the swamp to the magical site. Their grudges make them linger, but they’re mere echoes of the proud warriors they once were.
Speak with Dead. If the characters find the remains of a legionnaire and cast speak with dead on it, they can only answer questions about a long-lost past, when they were part of an empire’s standing army. If asked about their objectives, they talk about reaching the Coliseum and “walking again upon the red sands.”
The Lost Legionnaires
Complex, Magical, Haunt
Stealth DC 31 (trained) to notice the specters have hostile intent (DC 0 to notice the specters).
Description. Specters of people wearing ancient-looking armor roam the mists that cover the crossroads. They have grudges for their deaths and seek the living to alleviate their fury and haunt those who get lost among the mists.
—
Disable DC 28 Religion to exorcise the legionnaires. Each time the legionnaires are exorcised, their damage is reduced by 1d10, and once it is reduced to 0, they may pass on to the afterlife. Alternatively, the legionnaires do not pursue creatures who head toward the Coliseum once they leave the immediate area.
Haunting Begins [reaction] Trigger. The hazard activates once the characters reach the crossroads between the swamp and the Coliseum. Effect. A heavy mist rolls in over the area, distorting vision. Any checks made that require sight have a -2 circumstance penalty as long as the haunt is active. The legionnaires then roll initiative.
—
Routine (3 actions) The legionnaires attempt to steal the life force of all creatures within their area. Affected creatures take 4d10 void damage (DC 26 Basic Fortitude save). If a creature fails the saving throw three times, they are drained 1 (or increase their drained value by 1 if already drained).
—
Reset This hazard resets at dawn each day until the legionnaires are exorcised.
The Sands of Bloodlust Severe 8
Surrounded by dead trees and a barren landscape, a sandy pit surrounded by the dilapidated and rustic stonework of an ancient coliseum stands just outside the horrific mists. The wailing of the ghosts of before contrasts with the sounds coming from the lower coliseum: distorted, wild cheers and booing echo from within.
When the characters enter:
As you cross the planks into the arena, the cheers drown you in a wave of distorted screams. At the center of the pit, a reanimated corpse with translucent skin wearing a gladiator’s helmet is removing a bloody sword from the stomach of a sacrificed human.
Creatures. Four specters are waiting for people to battle in the arena, seeking sustenance in their blood. One wight—the translucent skin corpse—is already at the arena.
Encounter Notes.
· Heavy clouds cover the skies even during the day.
· The spike pits in the arena are 10 feet deep, and falling inside them causes 2d6 piercing damage plus the falling damage.
The Sands of Bloodlust. The sands of the pit, enchanted with bloody, necromantic spells, use acts of violence to give bodies to incorporeal undead. Whenever a living creature receives 30 points of damage, one of the specters turns into a wight, rising from the pond of blood on the right side of the arena.
Players can make a DC 24 Arcana check to discover this relation between spilled blood and the specters’ new bodies.
The bloody sands incite violent behavior. Whenever one of the player characters reduces a creature to 0 hit points in the arena, they must make a DC 24 Will save or use their next action to make an attack against the nearest creature, moving toward them if necessary, even if they’re allied.
Conclusion
The only undead with enough power and determination to fight in the arena are the first wight and the specters that were already there. The spirits cheer for the players and then vanish if the party is victorious.
With the threats out of the way, the characters can investigate the sands and their sinister power, detailed in the Point of Interest section below.
Point of Interest: The Blood Coliseum
The Blood Coliseum
Magical site
Creatures. Specters and wights.
Description. The Blood Coliseum is a ruined arena from the time of a forgotten empire, its lowered stone walls and seats dilapidated by past conflicts and time. It has been left unmaintained for ages, invaded by vegetation now long dead.
Eyes are naturally drawn to the sand pit, attracted by the sinister energies that have coalesced there through the practice of necromantic rituals. Blood has seeped into it deeply, staining most of the sand in tones of red.
The blood pit to the right of the arena bubbles constantly, and vapors rise from it, signals of the necromancy that affects it. Corpse parts, organs, and bones float inside it, being made, unmade, and remade by the spells.
Discoveries. Characters can discover the following information at the Coliseum:
· One can use the blood pond in the sand pit to gain power at a cost: a character can sacrifice 15 maximum hit points to increase one ability point by 1. A creature can only do so once, and from then on, whenever their hit points are reduced to 0, they automatically fail their first recovery check.
· A DC 30 Religion check reveals that the symbols carved around the blood pool refer to an old god of fertility. However, they were tampered with to corrupt the god’s influence, perverting the hallowed site into a necromantic nexus.
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