Lands of Parsantium – Slaughter Stones Part 2

Here’s the second part of last week’s post detailing a previously unexplored location in my campaign setting, the Lands of Parsantium. The Slaughter Stones are an adventure site for D&D 5e & Tales of the Valiant.

Read Lands of Parsantium – Slaughter Stones Part 1

---

Slaughter Stones

4. Shrine

• Worn, stone steps descend 35 feet to a cave lit by burning torches and filled with the stench of death. Blood stains the floor. 
• Prisoner. A male centaur with brown and white striped hindquarters is manacled to the south wall, awaiting sacrifice. Named Erdene, he is the youngest cousin of the centaur Khan of Khans. Erdene has three levels of exhaustion and is wounded (30 HP).
• Free Erdene: use Lozhsetseg’s key or DC 15 DEX (Thieves’ Tools) check to pick the lock or break the manacles with DC 20 STR (Athletics) check. The manacles are AC 19 with 15 HP.
• A circular hole in the floor leads down to Area 5 and is the source of the foul stench. There are no stairs, ladders or ropes, but there is an iron ring fixed to the ceiling directly above the middle of the hole.
• An ancient stone statue of a pot-bellied humanoid figure holding a gada (club) stands against the northern wall of the cave. The statue has been decapitated, and the head is missing.

5. Charnel Pit

• The gnolls have been throwing the bodies of their sacrifices into this hole. The bottom is 80 feet down, and is piled high with rotting corpses and bones of centaurs, humanoids and other creatures.
• Descend into the hole: DC 13 CON save or become poisoned for 1 minute.
• The walls of the chamber are covered in faded frescoes depicting epic battles between humans, elves, centaurs, and gnolls. 
• Study the frescoes: a huge red-skinned, pot-bellied figure with a monstrous face and wielding a golden gada dominates the battle scenes. DC 17 INT (Religion) check to identify Tengsaran, an obscure war god worshipped across the Great Grass Sea several hundred years ago.
• Search the corpses: DC 15 CON save or become infected with carrion curse (see Tales of the Valiant Game Master’s Guide). 
• DC 13 INT (Investigation) check to find each of the missing stone heads from the statues in Area 3 and Area 4. The heads have monstrous faces with sharp teeth and large ears, and closely resembles the figure of Tengsaran in the frescoes.
• The stone heads radiates transmutation magic. If a head is placed atop the matching statue in Area 3 or Area 4, it transforms into a dvarapala (Creature Codex), a huge semi-divine warrior-giant that serves the god Tengsaran.
• The dvarapala will slay any surviving gnolls at the Slaughter Stones, and then stand guard over Area 4, one on each side of the entrance, only admitting the PCs or worshippers of Tengsaran.

---

Loot the Gnoll

Roll on this table when the PCs search a yurt or dead gnoll.

d20	Item Found
1	Headless meerkat, a handy snack for later
2	Handwoven prayer mat, filthy (50 gp if cleaned thoroughly)
3	Cute little hyena cub
4	Wooden cudgel studded with hyena’s teeth
5	Recurved (composite) bow made from polished black wood
6	Necklace of finger bones and sinew
7	Strips of unidentifiable smoked meat
8	2d8 Tiangaon silver yuan (sp) threaded on a string
9	Glass jar filled with rotting eyeballs
10	Jade figurine of a kirin (50 gp)
11	4d6 Parsantine gold bezants (gp) in a leather pouch
12	Spear decorated with black and red feathers, tiny rodent skulls and other fetishes
13	Water skin branded with crude demonic maw emblem
14	Gold earring (15 gp), still attached to severed ear
15	Drinking horn with bronze rim (20 gp)
16	Potion of healing with a fiery taste
17	1d6 tiger eye agate gemstones (10 gp each)
18	Silk hand fan embroidered with birds and flowers (30 gp)
19	Arrow of celestial slaying
20	Shield of clamour

---

Alternative Gnolls for D&D 2024

If you don’t have access to a Kobold Press monster book, you can use the following stats from the D&D 2024 Monster Manual:

• Gnoll (MV) -> gnoll warrior
• Gnoll havoc runner (TOB1) -> gnoll pack lord
• Gnoll slaver (CC) -> gnoll pack lord
• Gnoll bone-brewer (MV2) -> gnoll fang of Yeenoghu

---

Lands of Parsantium map by Jared Blando

---

If you enjoyed this post, download a free preview of Parsantium: City at the Crossroads to find out more about the setting, or, better still, buy Parsantium from Drivethrurpg.