The Veilshredder of the Forgotten Marsh
by Reverend Dungeon MasterWelcome to the Forgotten Marsh. Population: you, the bugs, and the smell of bad decisions. The locals told you not to come here, didn’t they? Something about ancient horrors, twisted monsters, and a cursed mist that eats your sanity one brain cell at a time. But no, you thought, Treasure! Glory! Maybe a chance to poke some ancient evil in the eye!
So here you are, knee-deep in what might generously be called mud, surrounded by mist so thick it could probably stab you if it tried. You hear a sound. A scream? No, a laugh. Wait, both? Great. You’re officially starring in a horror play nobody asked for, and the finale is coming up fast.
And then it shows up.
The Veilshredder doesn’t just arrive; it manifests like the universe itself is apologizing for creating it. It’s part humanoid, part bug, part “what the hell is that?” Its torso gleams with oily rainbow chitin, its claws look sharp enough to cut through your existential dread, and its head (oh, you’ll love this), its head is a swirling void full of screaming faces. Here’s the fun part: they’re your faces, every one of you, twisting in agony like a bunch of backup singers for despair.
It moves toward you, legs clicking on the wet ground, and you can feel reality protesting its presence. You’ve got about three seconds to act before things get real messy. Hope you brought more than just bad ideas and a rusty sword.
The Encounter
Veilshredder (Nightmare Made Flesh)
Armor Class: -2 (good luck hitting it)
Hit Dice: 12*** (60 HP, because it’s built like a tank)
THAC0: 9 (say goodbye to your face)
Move: 120' (40') (faster than your panic)
Attacks: 2 claws (1d10+special) or Veil Rend (special)
No. Appearing: 1 (mercifully, one is plenty)
Save As: F12
Morale: 12 (this thing doesn’t know fear, but you sure will)
Treasure Type: H (hope you survive long enough to collect it)
Alignment: Chaotic (like you even had to ask)
Special Abilities:
Veil Rend: Once per turn, it tears reality a new one within 30’. Save vs. Spells or get stuck in a personalized hellscape of your worst memory for 1d4 rounds. Paralyzed. Taking 1d6 damage per round. On a save, you’re still taking half damage.
Reflections of Madness: Look at its void-face, and congratulations! Save vs. Spells or get Confused (as per the spell) for 2d6 rounds. Immunity to mind-affecting effects? Nope. This is worse.
Phantom Claws: Claw attack hits? You’re taking 1d6 damage and, if you’re a spellcaster, losing one spell level or a memorized spell. Not a caster? Lose 1d6 HP permanently unless you make friends with a cleric.
Dimensional Shift: It can teleport anywhere within 120’ once per round because the laws of physics are just a suggestion.
It doesn’t attack so much as exist in your general direction, and that’s enough to make you regret every decision that led you here. Those claws? They’re not for show. The mist? It’s laughing at you, probably. And that screaming void-face? Oh, you’re going to be thinking about that for a while. If you survive.
Treasure
If, by some miracle, you actually kill this thing, it collapses into a puddle of black goo that smells like shame and misery. In the muck, you find:
Veilshard Amulet: A jagged piece of obsidian pulsing with dark light. Makes you immune to mind-affecting spells but drops your Charisma by 2 because you’re now just that unsettling.
Warped Coin Hoard: 1,000 gp worth of coins from cultures so obscure they’d stump historians. Worth double to scholars or collectors, but you’ll probably just buy ale with it.
Tome of Fractured Realities: A cursed book that teaches the Veil Rend spell to magic-users. Casting it costs 1 permanent Intelligence point, but hey, who needs brains anyway?
XP Award
Defeating the Veilshredder: 4,000 XP (shared among the party, assuming anyone survives).
Selling the loot: 1,200 XP.
So there you have it. A terrible idea turned worse, with some shiny stuff and a lot of trauma to show for it. Well done, adventurers! Next time, try listening to the locals.
