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CHAPTER 3: REALM OF THE UNDEAD
The Realm of Orcus
The home layer of Orcus is the
333d layer of the Abyss, and that is
where the conduit from encounter
area 26 in Chapter Two leads.
The Palace of Orcus lies in a deep
valley surrounded by immense
mountains honeycombed with narrow
passages. Smaller valleys in the
mountains contain cities of undead
and a variety of other encounters,
described in this chapter. The palace
itself and its surroundings are
described in Chapter Four. See the
map on pages 48 and 49 for a description
of this area.
The passageways that weave and
twist through the mountains are cut
deeply into the rock. They are made
of solid stone, well worn and quite
slippery. The walls on either side are
climbable by a thief at normal
chances, and extend upward approximately
100 feet. The contour lines
shown on Map 10 describe the tops of
the walls, not the pathways or valley
encounter areas, which are considered
to be at 1,000 feet. (The River of
Acid, demon cities, and the Palace of
Orcus itself are all at 0 altitude.) As is
clear from inspection of the contour
lines, most sections of the path are
steeply canted either up or down,
which affects both combat and movement.
Although only a small section of
this layer of the Abyss is shown here,
note that this mountain completely
surrounds the Palace of Orcus, and
extends off the map edges for several
miles. Most of this layer of the Abyss
consists of this labyrinthine mountain,
but it is not known by Prime
Material plane scholars what other
terrain types might occupy this realm.
Characters who try to fly rather
than walk encounter hordes of
chasme, and also have a cumulative
10% chance per turn of having Pazu-
zu appear. In this layer, Pazuzu is
being paid by Orcus to battle any
creatures he finds in the sky, and he
does so, using his powers to gate in as
many opponents as possible. Pazuzu
is highly intelligent and prefers to flee
and summon more help if the PCs
seem to be winning. See the previous
chapter for statistics on Pazuzu.
Since Orcus is Prince of Undead, all
types of undead creatures as well as
most types of demons inhabit this
plane. It is known that a large population
of skeletal monsters, various sorts
of zombies, huecuvae, shadows,
sheet phantoms, vampires, and death
knights are found here, as well as other
creatures. For each turn spent in
this layer, there is a chance equal to
the average party level (but not
greater than 75%) of a random
encounter using the following table:
Random Encounters in the Realm of
Orcus (roll 1d8 + 1d12)
Roll Encounter
2 Nabassu (1): AC -5, MV
15”/15” (MC:C), HD 5+20,
#AT 3, Dmg 2d4/2d4/3d4,
SA spell-like abilities, thief
abilities, SD harmed only by
iron or +1 or better weapons,
MR 50%, AL CE, Size M
(MM2, pg. 41)
3 Demilich (1, encountered as
a skull and a few bones in the
middle of the path): AC -6
and special, MV special, hp
50 and special, #AT special,
SA/SD numerous, MR vulnerable
only to specific spells,
AL N(E), Size M (MM2, pg.
33)
4 Shadow Demons (2d6): AC
varies, MV 12”/18”, HD
7+3, #AT 3, Dmg 1d8/1d6/
1d6, SA leap attack, SD
undetectable 90% of time,
MR immune to fire, cold,
46
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
and lightning, AL CE, Size M
(FF, pg. 78)
Sons of Kyuss (2d6): AC 10,
MV 9”, HD 4, #AT 1, Dmg
1d8, SA fear 30’ radius, successful
hit has 25% chance of
giving advanced leprosy,
worms from eyes attack nearby
characters & burrow into
brain in 1d4 rounds to turn
victims into Sons of Kyuss,
SD regeneration 2 hp/r, AL
CE, Size M (FF, pg. 83)
Spectres (2d6): AC 2, MV
15”/30”, HD 7+3, #AT 1,
Dmg 1d8, SA energy drain,
SD +1 or better weapon to
hit, MR sleep, charm, hold or
cold - based spells, AL LE, Size
M (MM pg. 89)
Ghouls (4d12): AC 6, MV
9”, HD 2, #AT 3, Dmg 1d3/
1d3/1d6, SA paralyzation,
MR immune to sleep, charm,
AL CE, Size M (MM, pg. 43)
Babau (2d6): AC -3, MV
15”, HD 7+14, #AT 1 bastard
sword +2, Dmg 2d4
+9, SA spell-like abilities,
SD cutting and stabbing
effects do only half damage
but cold iron weapons do
+2, MR 50%, AL CE, Size M
(MM2, pg. 36)
Chasme (2d6): AC -1, MV
6”/21” (MC:D), HD 7+2,
#AT 3, Dmg 2d4/2d4/1d4,
SA/SD spell-like abilities,
buzzing causes sleep, MR
40%, AL CE, Size M (MM2,
Pg. 38)
Dretch (5d10): AC 2, MV 9”,
HD 4, #AT 3, Dmg 1d4/
1d4/1d4+1, SA/SD spelllike
abilities, MR 30%, AL
CE, Size S (MM2, pg. 38)
Rutterkins (5d6): AC 1, MV
12”, HD 5+1, #AT 2, Dmg
1d6+1/1d6+1, SA/SD
spell-like abilities, MR 40%,