2020

Instant Encounters Volume Three

 2020
Instant Encounters Volume Three

Written by: Layout

Ken Spencer Suzy Moseby

5e Conversion: Interior Art:

Edwin Nagy Josh Stewart, and Terry Pavlet

Editors: Front Cover Art:

Jeff Harkness Rasmus Jensen

Art Director: Cartography:

Casey Christofferson Robert Altbauer

©2020 Necromancer Games. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is
expressly forbidden. Necromancer Games, and the Necromancer Games logo,
Tome of Horrors 2020: Instant Encounters Volume Three is a trademark of Necromancer Games. All rights
reserved. All characters, names, places, items, art, and text herein are copyrighted by Necromancer Games. The
mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright
concerned. ©

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 Table of Contents

Tanked!.........................................................................................
!.........................................................................................33
Estril’s Menagerie. .................................................................................. 3
The Tank................................................................................................. 3
Eye of the Deep...................................................................................... 3
Tide Pools of Death.......................................................................
.......................................................................44
Introduction............................................................................................ 4
Interrupted Sleep. ................................................................................... 4
The Wrecked Skiff................................................................................... 4
Brine Zombie.......................................................................................... 4
Clearing of the Iron Cobras...........................................................
...........................................................66
The Death of Heinrich Ritterfell.............................................................. 6
The First Cobra....................................................................................... 6
The Second Cobra.................................................................................... 6
The Third Cobra. ..................................................................................... 6
Iron Cobra. ........................................................................................... 6

2 | Instant Encounters Vol. 3

 Tanked!

This one-sheet adventure is intended for a party of 2-6 characters of Tier 2. It can Eye of the Deep
be used whenever the characters are in or near the surface of the ocean, even if they are
just standing on the beach. Any mix of characters will serve well, but they should have Medium aberration, lawful evil
easy means of breathing underwater or you are just killing them for your own twisted
amusement. Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 117 (18d8 + 36)
Speed 5 ft., swim 20 ft.
Estril’s Menagerie
The mad cloud giant Estril maintains an aquatic menagerie on in her cloud STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
castle. She keeps the water fresh and brings in fish to feed her pets through the use of
teleportation rings in the roof of the gigantic aquariums. The characters are caught in one 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 13 (+1)
of these periodic tank cleanings/ food gatherings and are sucked through and deposited
on the sand of the rapidly refilling aquarium.
Skills Perception +4
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
The Tank Languages Aquan, Common, Deep Speech
The aquarium is formed from steeled glass and measures 100 by 100 by 100 ft., Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
making it over 7 million gallons of water. The teleportation circle is in the ceiling and
can be accessed once the tank is filled, but is a one-way circle. The floor is covered in Amphibious. The eye of the deep can breathe in both air and water.
sand, shells, rocks, and kelp. Fish of all sorts swim around, but of note there are hunter Flyby. The eye of the deep doesn’t provoke an opportunity attack when it
sharks, reef sharks, and a small swarm of quippers. Giant ghost shrimp (treat as giant flies out of an enemy’s reach.
crabs, but with half HD) keep the tank clean. Hyper-Awareness. An eye of the deep’s eye stalks allow it to see in all
directions at once. It cannot be surprised.
Stun Cone. An eye of the deep’s central eye produces a cone extending
Mount Bubbles straight ahead from its front to a range of 30 feet. At the start of each
of its turns, the eye of the deep decides which way the cone faces and
whether the cone is active. All creatures in this area must succeed on a
The highest pinnacle of rocks in the tank towers up 90 feet, almost to the top of the DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be stunned for 1 minute. A creature
tank. Inside there are two ten foot diameter planar portals, one connects to the Plane of can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the
Air, the other to the Plane of Fire. A complex series of ducts (each 5 foot in diameter) effect on itself on a success.
cycle water though the mount and past these portals, this both heating and aerating it.
Brass meshes cover the entrances to these ducts (can be broken open with a successful
DC 18 Athletics (Strength) check). Actions
Multiattack. The eye of the deep makes three attacks: one with its bite and
two with its pincers.
The Castle Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6 + 2)
piercing damage.
In the center of the tank is a 60 foot tall life size model of a fairy castle, complete Pincers. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d8 + 2)
with pennants, gate, and battlements. This is the lair of an eye of the deep. Inside there is bludgeoning damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 12) if the eye of
a small treasure chest that holds, nothing. It is a decoration. the deep isn’t already grappling a creature, and the target is restrained
until the grapple ends.
Eye Rays. Each of the creature’s eyes stalks can produce a magical ray once
Eye of the Deep per round. The creature can aim both of its eye rays in any direction
and they have a range of 150 feet.
This creature is a 5-foot wide orb dominated by a central eye and large serrated Paralytic Ray. Using its left eye, the eye of the deep unleashes a powerful
mouth. Hundreds of small seaweed-like bristles hang from the bottom of its body. Two paralytic beam. The target must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw
large crab-like pincers protrude from its body, and two long, thin eyestalks sprout from or be paralyzed for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at
the top of its orb. the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Eyes of the deep are found only in the deepest parts of the ocean, though on occasion Enfeeblement Ray. Using its right eye, the eye of the deep unleashes a
one moves too close to the shoreline and ends up beached on the sands. An eye of the powerful ray of enfeeblement. The target must make a DC 15 Wisdom
deep stranded in this manner dies in 2d4 minutes unless placed back into the water. saving throw or deal half damage with all attacks that use Strength for
An eye of the deep floats slowly through the oceans searching for its prey. It attacks 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of
using its eye rays; then it grasps an opponent with its pincers and subjects the victim to its its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
bite attack. An eye of the deep’s pincers are considered to be primary attacks. Major Image. The eye of the deep concentrates its eye rays together to
project a major image illusion. The illusion is generated at any point
within range and in the eye of the deep’s line of sight. Seeing through
the illusion requires a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation)
check.

I n s ta n t E n co u n t e rs Vo l . 3 |3
 Tide Pools of Death
Tide Pools of Death one-sheet can take place anytime the party is camping near the
ocean’s edge. It is designed for a party of 4-6 characters of Tier 1. No specific mix of
The Wrecked Skiff
characters is needed, though someone who can track or swim will be helpful. After the attack it should not be too hard to follow the brine zombies’ tracks, at least for
a little ways. They drag and shuffle a bit, and thus leave long furrows in the sand. However,
these furrows lead to a rocky portion of the beach with high cliffs. The tidal pools are a
Introduction poor surface footprints, but the tracks can be followed with a successful DC 15 Wisdom
(Survival) check. They lead to a narrow sea cave entrance from which spars and other
A few years ago Silas Hawthgrow and his crew of smugglers off loaded a small fortune wreckage peaks out. Glints of metal can be seen from behind the wreckage, as well as the
in illicit goods from the pirate ship Lost Fools. It was a dark moonless night and the crew moans and movement of more brine zombies.
struggled against an ebbing tide to bring their skiff in to their landing point in a hidden The cave is partially flooded up to the dashed line to a depth of three feet, and is sex
cove. They failed and ended up on the rocks. While awaiting the return of the tide, a sudden feet deep beyond. The tide is coming in and the entire cave will flood in 1d10+ 5 rounds.
squall caught the skiff and drove it into a small sea cave. Silas and his crew died, but their There are eight brine zombies in the sea cave behind the wreckage. They are angry and want
sudden death committing in the course of committing a crime turned their corpses in to nothing more than to kill and drown the living. Five of these are towards the front of the
brine zombies. cave, but three lurk on the ledges at A, B, and C. The lurkers wait to dive down on any who
come underneath them, even if the fight should be over. The brine zombies do not act in a
coordinated manner, however some of their latent memories of being crewmates remains and
Interrupted Sleep thus they do not fight entirely independently. They will certainly gang up on their foes, as
opposed to each taking on a single opponent.
During the first watch, that is from around ten pm to midnight, several shambling, bloated A scattering of 40 gp, 143 sp, and 65 cp lie in the bottom of the sea cave. Amongst the
shapes can be spotted approaching the campsite. These are a number of brine zombies equal wreckage of the skiff are several barrels of broken crockery, but on barrel contains six bottles
to the number of characters +1. The zombies amble along at their usual shuffle, giving the of expensive wine packed in sodden straw (they will go for 15 gp each to the right buyer).
characters time to awake and arm (but it should be noted that it is unlikely anyone has
recovered their spells, HP, or HD from a long rest yet). Anyone who normally wears armor
will only have about a minute to don it, not enough time for the more heavily armored
fighters. Zombie, Brine
During the attack the brine zombies will attempt to first cut down characters with their
scimitars and then drag any who have fallen into the surf. They are rather mindless in their This creature appears as a rotting humanoid dressed in tattered and ragged clothing.
attack, wanting to drown as many as they can as opposed to fighting as a unit or protecting Its semi-bloated body glistens from the slimy mixture of water and seaweed that hangs
themselves. The fight should be short and panicky; this is an attack at night by unknown from its form. The creature’s rotting flesh is blue-green in color. No semblance of life burns
assailants, make good use of penalties for poor light. in its eyes.

Brine zombies are the remnants of a ship’s crew that has perished at sea. They are
mindless creatures, not very pleasant to look at, and relentless in their attacks on the living.
The spark of evil that brought them back from the ocean depths drives them to seek the
living so they may join them in their watery graves. Brine zombies appear much as they
did in life.

Brine zombies attack an opponent with their cutlasses or fists in melee. If a brine zombie
successfully grabs an opponent, it dives overboard and attempts to drown the victim by
pinning its adversary underwater.

Brine Zombie
Medium undead, neutral evil

Armor Class 11 (natural armor)

Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

14 (+2) 8 (–1) 13 (+1) 2 (–4) 10 (+0) 10 (+0)

Damage Resistances fire

Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie to 0 hit points, it must

make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken,
unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the
zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.

Actions
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. one
target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

4 | Instant Encounters Vol. 3

I n s ta n t E n co u n t e rs Vo l . 3 |5
 Clearing of the Iron Cobras
This one-sheet adventure is intended for a party of 2–6 characters of Tier 1. It can be
introduced as part of any overland journey and makes a good first adventure for a party.
The Second Cobra
Any mix of characters should succeed at this adventure. Marked with a “1” on its hood, this cobra — in the event of Ritterfell’s death — was
ordered to track down the wizard’s most hated rival. Coincidentally, this rival has the
The Death of Heinrich Ritterfell same name as one of the characters, and the construct is now hunting down that character.
The cobra was aware of the characters approaching the wizard’s body for several
Heinrich Ritterfell was a powerful wizard who kept a low profile. He mostly traveled minutes and slithered north to hide in the trees as they approached (it has advantage on
about investigating strange arcane mysteries, seeking esoteric knowledge in forgotten its Dexterity [Stealth] checks due to its size and the underbrush to hide beneath). The
libraries, and having long debates with like-minded wizards. He was pursuing a rumor snake follows the characters and attempts to fulfill its mission from ambush if possible.
about a hidden trove of books in the nearby woods when he died. Even his powerful
magic could not prevent the toll of years, or in Ritterfell’s case, centuries, and his body
finally gave up. His last contingency spell took effect and teleported his worldly goods
The Third Cobra
to his heir, leaving behind a naked corpse and Ritterfell’s bodyguards: three iron cobras The final cobra, labeled with a “2” on its hood, is 30 feet to the south of the corpse,
he had crafted decades ago. However, Ritterfell recently acquired a ring of warmth, and looking for a stick. It was ordered to defend Ritterfell’s possessions. Despite age, the
this ring had not yet been included in the contingency spell. The rose-gold band with a child inside does not die, and for Ritterfell this often manifested as playing games with
large ruby is still on his left hand. his constructs. As he walked along, he would pick up a stick or rock, announce “this
The characters come upon the naked body of an elderly human man lying in the is mine,” and then toss it for “2” to retrieve. This frivolous game was the aged sage’s
middle of the road. Four sets of tracks are found around the body. One set is from a last act. The snake guards the stick to the death unless someone touches the ring on
booted man who shuffled and walked with a staff; these end at the body. The second Ritterfell’s finger, at which time it comes slithering back in a rage, or as much rage as
slithering track leads to a metal statue of a large cobra. The other two are slithering tracks it can produce.
as well, but they follow the man’s tracks leading to the body and then split. One goes
north, while the other heads south into the trees.
Iron Cobra
The First Cobra This creature resembles a small metallic cobra. Its body shines with a silver hue, and
This cobra, labeled with a “3” on its hood, was tasked with guarding the person of its eyes are small pinpoints of red light.
Heinrich Ritterfell. It still maintains its last orders and stands vigil; it turns its head to The iron cobra is a construct that resembles a small, three-foot-long cobra. Its eyes
track any who come near but focuses on creatures closest to the body. If Ritterfell’s body give it an evil and determined — and almost intelligent — look. The iron cobra is most
is disturbed in any way or if the cobra itself is attacked, it attempts to drive away the often used to guard a treasure or to act as a bodyguard to its creator, though on some
offender. It does not pursue characters out of sight of Ritterfell’s body. occasions it can be ordered to track down and slay any creature within one mile whose
name is known by the creator.
The iron cobra attacks by biting its opponent.

Iron Cobra
Small construct, neutral

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 27 (6d6 + 6)
Speed 40 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

12 (+1) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 5 (–3) 12 (+1) 1 (–5)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4

Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
from nonmagical weapons that aren’t adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed,
petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speak
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Find Target. The iron cobra knows the location of a specific target creature
as long as that creature is within one mile of it. If the creature is
moving, it knows the direction of that creature’s movement. If the target
is beyond this distance, the iron cobra can’t locate the target creature.
Immutable Form. The iron cobra is immune to any spell or effect that
would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The iron cobra has advantage on saving throws against
spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapon. The iron cobra’s weapon attacks are magical.
Poison. The iron cobra contains enough venom for three attacks. After that,
it does not deal the poison damage listed in its bite attack.

Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 +
2) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution
saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed saving throw,
or half as much damage on a successful one.

6 | Instant Encounters Vol. 3

I n s ta n t E n co u n t e rs Vo l . 3 |7
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Did your players finish your planned adventure an hour
early? Do you need a quick transition scenario to bring
the characters up a level before moving on? Tome of
Horrors 2020 Instant Encounters are micro-adventures
perfect for those need-it-quick situations that always
seem to appear. All of them contain the illustrations and
stats for the monster featured in the scenario, and many
of them have maps as well.
Always roll a 20 on your Charisma (Gamemaster) saving
throws!

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