FLAVOR:
# Devastated Plain
This stretch of grassland was once beautiful, but a great battle was waged here. The hooves of the horses tore up the earth, and the magic of the two opposing sides has left a threatening residue. Even the most optimistic of druids cannot deny that the land will take years, likely decades, to recover.
To determine how the battle concluded, roll on the table below or link it to the factions within your setting:
| d4 | Battle Conclusion |
| --- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 1 | The aggressors crushed their opponent, carrying on in glorious victory. |
| 2 | The defenders held the line for days until reinforcements could arrive, taking heavy casualties. |
| 3 | A third party entered the fray, routing both sides and seizing a decisive advantage. |
| 4 | Nobody won, and both sides retreated in stalemate, their forces decimated. |
>NPC: San Sotharith
> he/him
> San was a knight amongst one of the forces and died in battle without getting a chance to tell his comrade that he returned his affections. Now he haunts the battlefield as a ghost, hoping that he can find someone who is willing to carry a message to his comrade and make it right.
#### Might be inhabited by:
Valkyrie
---
# Corpselands
*4th tier (terrain)*
**Challenge** 16 (15,000 XP) **DC:** 21/17
**Area:** Greater (1 day)
This battlefield has already been picked over by scavengers, but unburied corpses litter the field. The ground is uneven, and a wrong step can lead to injury or the triggering of a magical glyph.
#### Bodies
A [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Medicine|Medicine]] check determines how long ago the battle was.
| d4 | Body Age | Body State |
| --- | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 1 | 1 day | The corpses are stiff but otherwise relatively intact. The skin may have small blisters. |
| 2 | 2-4 days | The corpses begin to bloat, squeezing grotesquely out of armor. They smell and may have an unusual greenish color. |
| 3 | 3-10 days | The corpses are shrunken and have taken on a reddish color. They may be leaking. |
| 4 | Longer than 10 days | The corpses are shriveled, their nails and teeth loose in their sockets. |
#### Arcane
A *[detect magic](https://a5e.tabletopbytheik.nl/compendium/spells/detect_magic)* spell reveals that there is still latent energy in the ground and that walking may be dangerous. This *detect magic* spell, so long as it is active, grants advantage on checks made to avoid such traps. However, if players attempt to keep it up at all times, it requires either two people ritually casting it or for the party to stop for the time it takes someone to ritually cast the spell, halving their travel pace.
#### Known
A [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/History|History]] or [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Culture|Culture]] check determines the parties involved in the combat and, if the battle was more than five days ago and the adventurer would have plausible reason to know who won. A marshal has advantage on this check.
## **Possible** **Solutions**
This battlefield contains several threats. For each hour that the party travels through the battlefield, roll 1d10. The total sum of their failures and successes also triggers additional consequences.
| d10 | Event | Check |
| ---- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 1 | A hidden *[glyph of warding](https://a5e.tabletopbytheik.nl/compendium/spells/glyph_of_warding)*, yet to be activated. If triggered, it casts *[cloudkill](https://a5e.tabletopbytheik.nl/compendium/spells/cloudkill)* at sixth level. | [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Perception\|Perception]]; [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Arcana\|Arcana]] identifies |
| 2 | A trench clogged with corpses that, if an adventurer falls in, deals a level of strife. Undead creatures are immune. | [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Acrobatics\|Acrobatics]], or<br>[[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Engineering\|Engineering]] to construct a bridge |
| 3 | A single banner, impaled into the dead standardbearer that held it. | Grants advantage on History (see [[#Known]]) |
| 4 | A horse, somehow still alive and struggling to free itself. | [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Animal Handling\|Animal Handling]] |
| 5 | A dying soldier who attempts to curse the party with her last breath, affecting them with a *[bane](https://a5e.tabletopbytheik.nl/compendium/spells/bane)* spell for the next eight hours. | [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Persuasion\|Persuasion]] to defuse the situation; [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Religion\|Religion]] |
| 6 | A leader of note; their death may not have been reported. | [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Culture\|Culture]] to identify |
| 7 | Ravens feast on a body. | [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Animal Handling\|Animal Handling]] or [[03-Mechanics/6-Ability Scores/Intimidation\|Intimidation]] |
| 8-10 | The party continues on their way seeing little of note. | None |
**Critical Failure.** If the party fails to succeed on any check made, they take two levels of fatigue and two levels of strife from the efforts and stress of their failure. Their journey takes twice as long.
**Failure.** If the party fails on more checks than they succeed, they take one level of fatigue and one level of strife, and their journey takes one and a half times as long.
**Success.** If the party succeeds on more checks than they fail, they are able to proceed through the battlefield without any lingering issue.
**Critical Success.** If the party succeeds on all checks, they gain divine inspiration from an appropriate god. A god who deals with war or death would be best-suited. Each adventurer gains a d10 Inspiration die, which lasts until it is used.
___
**Source:** Stranger Sites