Death Maven

A General narrative about Death Mavens can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

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Str: 1.25, Con: 1.25, Dex: .75, Lk: 1, IQ: 1.1, Wiz: 1.5, SP: .75, Chr: 1.5

Height: 1.75, Weight : 1.25.

Language(s): Death Mavens speak Necrotic in addition to the local human tongue (or Common).

Death Mavens have the following special qualities.

1) Death Maven are averse to bright light.

2) They are considered undead.

3) Any Undead other than a Death Maven does 2 points of damage on any spite roll in the presence of a Death Maven (i.e. whenever they are close enough to be part of the same encounter). This benefit does not stack up in the presence of two or more Death Mavens. It applies only once.

4) If a Death Maven chooses to mentor an ally during the course of a game session, she doubles the benefits gained by that ally at no extra cost of her own.

Standard Monster Rating: 50.

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“She regards those resting in the graveyard as her children.”

Lisien Talloween, Dwarven Princess

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A Death Maven appears to be tall gaunt woman with a long neck. Often, the head of a Death Maven is adorned with a small set of horns, though this is not always the case.

Nobody seems to know the origin of these mysterious creatures, but the great mages of the world do have some sense of the nature of a Death Maven. Their appearance is often a sign of a coming disaster. That much is well known. Some say that they come to bring about the disasters themselves. Others believe they arrive hoping to ease the passage of the living into the worlds of the dead. They have never been known to help others avert disaster, but the spirits of the dead generally regard these creatures as a benign force, albeit one with little to offer the living. When a disaster causes sufficient loss of life, a Death Maven may well take up residence, effectively adopting the souls of the departed. In such cases, a Death Maven will likely remain at the site of a terrible disaster long after the event has passed from human memory, leaving only if and when living things come to revitalize the location.

Death Mavens are also known to reside in large graveyards in remote locations, watching over the remains of generations long since past. Wherever she lives, a Death Maven will surely find herself among the dead. By all accounts, she will regard them as her own personal responsibility.

A Death Maven will allow nobody to threaten those under her protection. Efforts to resurrect the dead have been known to raise the ire of a Death Maven, but they tolerate healers in most cases. Those who come to pay their respects and leave in peace have little to fear. Grave Robbers will be treated with little mercy.

Has any given Death Maven ever been alive or did they take shape as a kind of avatar and spirit protector of the dead? Nobody seems to know the origin of these creatures.

Specific rules for playing a Death Maven in Tunnels and Trolls can be found here.

The Stone Philosophic

A Fantasy Setting

Death Maven (Tunnels and Trolls)

Death Maven