The Silence

Seven Horrifying New Monsters

This is an adventure for first-level characters. Contained in this document are seven horrifying low-level monsters, as well as the framework for a world in which these ghosts exist. I designed these ghosts to create more narrative nuance for low-level adventures, and to create a greater sense of horror in my 5E adventures.  They are:

• The Silent Ones: fast, fragile zombies that make no sound.
• The Doll: an automaton powered by stitched-together souls.
• The Faceless: a spirit who has died a second death.
• The Blooded: vampiric ghosts who hunt in covens.
• The Vengeant: a ghost who seeks both vengeance and release.
• The Memoire: a haunting who takes the form of a childhood friend.
• The Nowhere: a nether realm entity, neither here nor there.

Additionally, I've woven together a story and a world in which a horror or post-apocalypse campaign might begin.

A Post-Apocalyptic World

The world is not as it used to be. The taverns have closed. The markets are gone. There are only bands of travelers now, each keeping to themselves. Watching each other with wary eyes. 


You pass them every day, though the numbers seem to be dwindling. Is this because you’re moving further from what used to be the city center? Or is it simply that people have been dying off in such a great number?
It’s hard to say. Now that the silent ones roam everywhere. Now that you, too must be silent. Now that there’s nowhere left to go. All that’s left to do: find shelter. Find food. And see if you can find a way to keep the ghosts from swarming the places you hope to call home.


Either that, or keep hitting the road. Over and over. But this isn’t something that you’re necessarily interested in. You’d rather settle down. Find a place to live. Find a community, raise a family. You seek some semblance of normalcy.


This adventure is about trying to find that. About trying to live a normal life, and learning how to do more than simply survive. It is for an adventuring party beginning at level 1.

A Mansion on a Hill

You and your companions have found each other through the past few months, as you’ve wandered from place to place, searching for a place to call your own. Some of them you’ve known from before this all happened, before the dead started returning in their haunting silence, striking out at the living. Some of them you’ve only met now that you’ve been on the run. 


But you’ve each formed a bond by now, because you all share the same goal: finding a place to settle down. A place where you can keep out the living dead. And perhaps grow some crops, put down some roots, start again.


So when you stumble across the deserted mansion on the hill, it seems like a wonderful opportunity. And you’re determined to see if you might not be able to make a life here.

A Proper Haunting

There is a tragic story for your players to uncover here, through portraits, letters, diary entries, and the memories that remain tied to this place. Will they be able to lift the mansion's curse? Or will they be forced to run from the ghastly hauntings closing in all around them?

Note: there are some very sensitive topics covered in this game, including parental abuse, murder suicide, and others. Please be safe, and read through the safety suggestions I've included. Thank you!

Also, I'm not sure why the PDF is 47 MB? Sorry about that! ^_^