L2-05. Ossuary Stacks - The Bone-Chain

Role & feel

A compact-shelving ossuary where remains are sorted before placement in family wings. The racks slide on rails and can be locked at measured intervals. It’s tight, tactically messy, and perfect for an undead ambush when the room’s “chain” is yanked wrong.

How the racks work (player-led, no roll needed)

• Each rack’s brass endcap has six small push-studs in a ring.
• Press any rack’s studs clockwise on a six-count → that rack unlocks and can slide (one Medium creature can push 5 ft per round).
• Press counter-clockwise on a six-count → rack locks with a soft chime.
• Press in the wrong rhythm or shove a locked rack → triggers the room’s Bone-Chain (see trap), and may start the ambush.

Tip: Smart players will quickly use racks to create cover, split undead, or pin them.

Environmental trap — The Bone-Chain

• Trigger: Forcing a locked rack, banging loudly, lifting the east door bar off-beat, or sprinting through while racks are unlocked.
• Effect: Hidden cams yank under-floor bars; the active aisle shutters with up-thrust spike pins (shin-high) and a bone chime rattles.
• Creatures in that aisle make DC 13 DEX or take 7 (2d6) piercing and are Restrained until the end of their next turn (caught between pins and rack). Success: half damage, no restrain.
• The chime wakes the dead (see trigger below).
• Bypass: Keeping a soft six-count while operating studs/locking all three racks first.
• Disable: Wedge the shutter cams in six places (simple tools, 1 minute each), or apply holy water to the cam slots (suppresses for 10 minutes).

Ambush trigger — “Rise, Kept to Service”

This room holds prepared remains under Mortarch doctrine. When the Bone-Chain chimes, or when any character breaks a ruby wax dot on a skull bundle, the following rise at the end of that round:

Creatures

• 4 Zombies (bundled bone-bearers) emerging from between racks.
• 1–2 Ruby Ghouls (attendants) on the north catwalk if the fight lasts past Round 2 or if the party entered noisy. They prefer to shove skull boxes (see below) and grapple into pin-aisles.

Terrain tricks

• Sliding racks: A shove (STR 12) moves a UNLOCKED rack 5 ft; any creature adjacent on the far side must beat DC 12 DEX or be pressed for 5 (1d10) bludgeoning and pushed 5 ft.
• Skull box shove (catwalk): A ghoul or PC can tip a box; a 10-ft line below makes DC 12 DEX or fall prone in rolling bones; space becomes difficult terrain for 1 round.
• Bone dust bloom: When two racks clang together, a bone-dust cloud fills a 10-ft cube; creatures inside make DC 12 CON or are Poisoned until end of their next turn (coughing).

Tactics (quick)

• Round 1: Zombies rise in the two closest aisles to intruders; first ghoul appears on catwalk, hissing but holding unless attacked.
• Round 2: Ghoul uses shove to knock a PC prone, then grapple next round to drag them into a shutter aisle right before a Bone-Chain re-trigger.
• Round 3+: If the party adopts the six-count and locks a rack, the ghoul withdraws toward the west passage, trying to draw them deeper to Wing of Stone.

Wee Jas theming & Mortarch sign

• Every skull row has a bronze name tag and a ruby wax dot—the lawful inventory of the dead.
• The Mortarch sigil (ruby skull over dagger-flame in a six-ring) is stamped on new tags; older Suel tags bear only Wee Jas script.
• A plaque near the table reads in Old Suloise: “Keep the measure; keep the law; bind the oath; quench the ire.” (Same line you seeded in L2-03.)

What clever players can do (no checks required)

• Lock all three racks (counter-clockwise six-count) to kill the ambush potential; the Bone-Chain won’t fire while all three are locked and no one sprints.
• Smear funerary myrrh (from L2-03) across ruby dots to sanctify bundles → those bodies won’t rise this scene.
• Name and commend one of the tagged dead at the table while ringing a bell (taken from L2-04 or here if present) → one zombie fails to animate this combat.

Treasure & tools

• Ruby Wax Stamp (Mortarch sigil): acts as a holy symbol for his cult; showing it grants advantage on social checks vs. Ruby Ghouls/Custodians this level (until they learn you’re false).
• Ossuary Kit: bone hooks, clamps, linen (counts as Healer’s kit – 3 uses here due to familiarity).
• Tablet of Lots: slate ledger listing transfers to Wing of Stone (includes orc names in phonetic Suel) and a coming “Mass Kindling Day” (foreshadowing).
• 2 vials funerary resin (counts as oil of slipperiness for stripping grapples on undead only; fluff as “they can’t get purchase”).

Boxed outcomes (drop-in snippets)

Trigger chime

A thin bone chime shivers through the racks. Bundles shift. Something begins to climb out of its neat wrapping.

Locking a rack

The brass studs answer your six taps with a soft chime. The rack settles, unwilling to budge.

Dust bloom

Racks clash and a pale cloud billows—dry and cold—stinging eyes and tongue.

Ghoul on the catwalk

A robed attendant peers over a box, head cocked—not hissing, not yet—hands poised to tip the skulls.