Contents
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3Foreword
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3Credit
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3Links
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4World Rules
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4Tarnished
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8Runes
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9Creature Types
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10Death and Rebirth
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12Dungeons in the Lands Between
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13Environment of the Lands Between
Foreword
Credit
All Elden Ring art, images and original concepts are created by and attributed to From Software.
Links
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Other Work
My other work and other parts of the Elden Ring 5e conversion can be found here: u/Geoho6
Patreon
And of course, while 5e homebrew I post is available for free, if you'd like to support my work and this project, you can join my patreon: patreon.com/Geoh
World Rules
Tarnished
When Godfrey, the first Elden Lord, was spurned by Marika, he and his people were banished to distant lands, to fight and die. Now, the grace of gold has returned them to life and called them to the Lands Between, creating a culture focused on restoring the shattered Elden Ring by defeating the bearers of the Great Runes. Almost all Tarnished share the ability to access the Roundtable Hold, a place of gathering and rest.
In the early days, there were many Tarnished, who enthusiastically dedicated themselves to the task. As time progressed, many discovered their own truths, and diverged from the Two Fingers and the Roundtable Hold. Many tried, and failed, to restore the Elden Ring. One particularly famous Tarnished, Vyke, even acquired two Great Runes before ultimately succumbing to the Lands Between.
Mechanically, the Tarnished are player characters - NPC Tarnished may have similar abilities and motivations to the player, but can also diverege entirely.
Sites of Grace
Tarnished may not long rest unless they are at a site of grace, remnants of the guidance of grace that allow Tarnished to travel to the Roundtable Hold and restore their broken bodies. When a Tarnished completes their rest at a site of grace, their bodies are rejuvenated, and they can choose to be cured of conditions and diseases that have a set duration.
Roundtable Hold
A gathering place for Tarnished champions that seek to become Elden Lord, a Tarnished that has been deemed worthy by a finger maiden can be granted the ability to travel there while resting at a site of grace. It houses the two fingers, who will only seek audience with a Tarnished that has acquired a great rune. While at the Hold, player characters may discover that it is a shadow of its former self, having once housed great Tarnished champions, one of which, Vyke, even came close to becoming Elden Lord. The exchange of information and trade to the benefit of their common goal is standard for those that visit the Hold.
A Tarnished can access various services at the Roundtable Hold from the Tarnished that stay there - food, drink and a bed to sleep in make it a place one could rest forever; but an idle Tarnished is not a successful one.
Non-Tarnished Player Characters
If the DM and players decide that non-Tarnished PCs are a right fit for their campaign or session, the DM can simply allow players to access only some of the benefits a standard Tarnished would have - for example, a non-Tarnished might have access to their own kind of sacred flasks, physick and spirit calling bell.
The only rules that should universally be followed when running a game with non-Tarnished player characters is that they may not access Roundtable Hold, and are able to take a long rest outside of a site of grace.
Site of Grace Travel
As an optional rule, once players reach level 13, the DM can allow them to awaken at a different site of grace whenever they long rest at one, similar to how they can long rest and awaken at Roundtable Hold. A creature can only do this once per day.
In standard D&D 5th edition, level 13 is when players get access to the teleport spell.
Sacred Flasks and Tears
There are many objects throughout the Lands Between that were once blessed by the life-giving sap of the Erdtree, called tears. Normally, these would be nothing but artifacts - but through sites of grace, Tarnished can restore their power. If a Tarnished finds such an object, it will surely be a permanent boon.
Flask of Crimson TearsWondrous item, rare This sacred flask is filled with crimson tears, and is shaped like a golden chalice. It has 1 charge. You expend a charge to drink this potion using your bonus action to regain 1d4+1 hit points. |
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When you complete a long rest at a site of grace, this item regains all expended charges.
Flask of Cerulean TearsWondrous item, rare This sacred flask is filled with cerulean tears, and is shaped like a golden chalice. It has 1 charge. You expend a charge to drink this potion using your bonus action to recover expended spell slots with a combined level of 1. |
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When you complete a long rest at a site of grace, this item regains all expended charges.
Sacred TearWondrous item, uncommon A blessing of the Erdtree, found in churches and worshipped across the Lands Between. This tear can be applied to Flasks of Crimson or Cerulean tears to increase their potency. A single Sacred Tear can be used to improve both Flasks at once. |
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When improved, Flasks of Crimson Tears restore an additional 1d4+1 hit points, and Flasks of Cerulean Tears can restore an additional combined spell slot level.
Append the names of the sacred Flasks with a "+1", increasing the number as you use more Sacred Tears to improve them.
Golden SeedWondrous item, uncommon Plucked from the base of an illusory tree, this Golden Seed can be added to a Flask of Crimson of Cerulean tears to increase its maximum charges by one. The Golden Seed can only be added to one flask at a time, and cannot be removed. |
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Careful Progression
If you, as a DM, choose to use sacred Flasks, be sure to grant an equal amount of Sacred Tears and Golden Seeds to each of your players, so none of them feel left behind. You may also enforce the rule that each player may only be able to drink from their own flasks. Be careful when giving out Sacred Tears and Golden Seeds, as they are quite powerful. A good general rule is that your players should not be able to restore more than half of their hit points on average using a Flask of Crimson Tears.
Wondrous Physick and Crystal Tears
The Flask of Wondrous Physick is a relic of the physick chemists, ancient priests of the Erdtree, and it can be used to harness the power of the rare Crystal Tears, which form from Minor Erdtrees after many moons. Basins are placed beneath such trees to collect them. Very few Tarnished have managed to find such a flask, and thus, none but the wielders of the Flask of Wondrous Physick seek to destroy the Erdtree Avatars that guard their trees in order to acquire the crystal tears.
Flask of Wondrous PhysickWondrous item, very rare This flask can harness the power of Crystal Tears. When you drink this potion, various special effects are bestowed upon you, depending on the mixture of Crystal Tears added to the flask. |
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After completing a long rest at a Site of Grace, up to two Crystal Tears can be added or removed from the flask. The flask can store a maximum of two crystal tears. If there are no Crystal Tears within, this flask has no effect.
Once this item is used, it cannot be used again until you complete a long rest at a Site of Grace.
Crystal Tears
There are many different kinds of Crystal Tears that can be found throughout the lands between. When added to a Flask of Wondrous Physick, they provide additional effects when the flask is consumed. The below table lists all variations of Crystal Tears.
| Crystal Tear | Effect |
|---|---|
| Crimson Crystal Tear | You restore an amount of hit points equal to half of your maximum hit points. |
| Crimsonspill Crystal Tear | For three minutes, your maximum hit points increase by an amount equal to your level. |
| Crimsonburst Crystal Tear | You restore 1d4+1 hitpoints at the start of your turn for one minute. |
| Cerulean Crystal Tear | Your recover an amount of spell slots with a combined level equal to your character level. |
| Greenspill Crimson Tear | For three minutes, your movement speed increases by 10 feet. |
| Greenburst Crimson Tear | For three minutes, your movement speed cannot be reduced to any amount above zero. Additionally, your level of exhaustion decreases by two. |
| Strength-knot Crystal Tear | Your Strength score increases by 2 for three minutes. |
| Dexterity-knot Crystal Tear | Your Dexterity score increases by 2 for three minutes. |
| Intelligence-knot Crystal Tear | Your Intelligence score increases by 2 for three minutes. |
| Faith-knot Crystal Tear | Your Wisdom or Charisma score increases by 2 for three minutes. |
| Opaline Hardtear | Your Armour Class increases by 1 for three minutes. |
| Speckled Hardtear | You gain +1 to all saving throws for three minutes, and can choose to remove any conditions or diseases you are suffering that have a set duration. |
| Leaden Hardtear | You cannot be stunned, restrained, knocked prone or grappled for two rounds. |
| Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear | Choose between force, necrotic, acid, cold, and thunder. For three minutes, whenever you roll damage of the chosen type you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage dealt. |
| Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear | For three minutes, whenever you roll fire damage, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage dealt. |
| Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear | For three minutes, whenever you roll lightning damage, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage dealt. |
| Crystal Tear | Effect |
|---|---|
| Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear | For three minutes, whenever you roll radiant damage, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage dealt. |
| Stonebarb Cracked Tear | For three minutes, whenever you roll an athletics check to grapple or shove prone, you have a +5 bonus to the roll. |
| Spiked Cracked Tear | For three minutes, whenever you hit an attack with a melee weapon for the first time on your turn, it deals additional damage equal to your proficiency bonus. |
| Thorny Cracked Tear | For three minutes, whenever you hit a weapon attack on a turn in which you have already hit a weapon attack, it deals additional damage equal to your proficiency bonus. |
| Twiggy Cracked Tear | For three minutes, your runes are protected, causing them not to be lost when you fall unconscious. |
| Winged Cracked Tear | Your carrying capacity doubles, you can wield Heavy weapons if you are a small creature, and all weapons you wield gain the Light property. These effects last for three minutes. |
| Windy Crystal Tear | For three minutes, your Armour Class increases by 5, and you have vulnerability to all damage. |
| Crimson Bubbletear | For three minutes or until this property takes effect, you are protected from death. When you take damage that would reduce you to zero hit points, you instead are reduced to one hit point. |
| Crimsonwhorl Bubbletear | For three minutes, whenever you take damage, you restore an amount of hit points equal to half your character level. |
| Opaline Bubbletear | For three minutes or until this property takes effect, you are protected from damage. When you take damage, it is reduced by an amount equal to your character level + your proficiency modifier, to a minimum of one. |
| Cerulean Hidden Tear | For two rounds, your spells do not consume spell slots. |
| Purifying Crystal Tear | You are purified of the curse of the Lord of Blood. |
| Ruptured Crystal Tear | At the start of your next turn, you explode. Every creature within 5 feet of you, including yourself, takes 8d6 radiant damage. Creatures other than you make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC of 25. If they succeed, the damage they take is halved. |
Spirit Calling
At some point, a Tarnished might find a Spirit Calling Bell, a magical item capable of summoning spirits from ashen remains of the fallen. While ashes are common throughout the lands between, these particular ashes are of creatures that were never reborn, and instead linger as spirits.
While one might think that Spirit Ashes can be created by burning a corpse, it is not that simple - it seems to be a combination of fate and natural causes that traps a creature's spirit to its ashes.
In rare cases, a creature might be certain that it can turn itself into Spirit Ashes, and do so willingly. Sometimes, in communities of creatures that are rejected by the grace of gold, this can be a burial practice.
Spirit Calling Bells are rare - it might be that a party of Tarnished only ever finds one. Additionally, they can only be used within one mile of a Rebirth Monument, a stone obelisk. This allows for the DM to only have additional creatures summoned by the player in certain areas.
Example Spirit Ashes
As a DM, you can create Spirit Ashes if you have the statistics of any creature. You may choose not include the lore of the creature in the item's description, but instead allow the players to find it out by communicating with the creature.
Some Spirit Ashes might have a particular cost, such as spell slots or hit points, depending on their power or nature.
Lone Wolf AshesWondrous item, rare Whispers from the ashes tell a story of a group of wolves chased from their pack. They later encountered a nameless Tarnished, who welcomed them as hunting companions. |
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Spirit Jellyfish AshesWondrous item, rare Prone to tears, the jellyfish girl searches for her distant home. |
Mimic Tear AshesWondrous item, legendary When expending hit die to summon this creature, you take necrotic damage equal to half of your maximum hit points. This damage cannot be reduced or mitigated in any way. |
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Spirit Calling Bell
Wondrous item, very rare
A bell capable of summoning spirits from ashen remains. This item can only be used while within one mile of a Rebirth Monument. If it is close enough to be used, it will glow with a soft blue light.
As an action, ring the bell with Spirit Ashes held in the other hand. You expend hit die equal to the CR of the creature (to a minimum of one), summoning it as a spirit in a space within 5 feet of you. The spirit treats you as an ally, and retains the same statistics, personality traits and knowledge it had in life. If you or the creature go beyond one mile of the Rebirth Monument the creature was summoned near, it disappears.
Some Spirit Ashes contain multiple creatures. When using these Spirit Ashes, you must summon all of the creatures at once, adding their CR together to calculate the hit die cost.
You cannot use this item again until you complete a long rest.
Balancing
Spirit Calling can be quite powerful, not only in combat, but to gain information and lore about the world. Thus, as a DM, you should keep in mind what information the players will gain by giving them certain ashes. You can also use Spirit Ashes as an opportunity to give out plot hooks for adventures, or to tell a story about the world.
Runes
The lingering grace of gold in the Lands Between can be gathered into quantifiable runes. In the Lands Between, these function as currency for all, not just Tarnished. These runes can form into tangible golden objects, but mostly stay as immaterial within the very forms of all beings within the Lands Between.
Runes can freely be transferred between two creatures if both are willing. Both creatures must use their actions for one minute to transfer runes between each other.
Losing Runes
When a Tarnished is knocked unconscious, all of its runes fall with it, creating an illusory sapling on the nearest available surface. A creature can touch these runes using its action to gain them, removing the sapling. If this is not done, the sapling disappears after one day, or if the Tarnished is knocked unconscious again.
Conversion
In distant lands, coins are used for value instead of runes. In the Lands Between, they are worthless - if something is priced using coins, refer to this table.
| Coins | Runes |
|---|---|
| 1 silver | 1 Rune |
| 1 gold | 10 Runes |
| 1 platinum | 100 Runes |
Rune Gain
Non-Tarnished creatures automatically grant each player an amount of runes equal to their XP value when defeated.
The DM may want to have a discussion with the players to avoid "farming", or simply can determine that insignificant creatures, or even most creatures, do not drop runes.
In this case, you should use runes as objects as rewards and treasure.
Runes as Objects
Runes solidify naturally in the environment. These objects can be consumed to gain an amount of runes. A creature can instinctively know how many runes it is worth by holding it. A keen observer may notice the more valuable these solid runes are, the closer their appearance is to golden eyes.
Golden Runes
The most common rune found within the Lands Between. A golden rune can hold anywhere between 40 and 2000 runes.
Numen's Rune
A rarer kind of rune, named after the Numen, a people that originate from outside the Lands Between. A numen's rune can hold between 2000 and 3000 runes.
Hero's Rune
Named for heroes of the battlefield, these runes can hold anywhere between 3000 and 7000 runes.
Lord's Rune
True vestiges of gold, these runes resemble the most an eye, and shine golden. It is said that only one destined to be a lord could have held such a rune. A lord's rune holds 10000 runes.
Remembrances
Remembrances of gold are hewn by the Erdtree upon the end of demigods, obtainable by tarnished after killing them. While their primary use is to be transformed into weapons, ashes of war and spells, they can be consumed to provide runes.
Experience Points and Runes
If the DM decides to use experience points for character advancement, they can use runes in place of experience points. If such a system is used, a Tarnished must find a finger maiden to grant them power. They can give an amount of runes equal to the experience points required to level up to the maiden, gaining a level.
Using this system, the DM may choose to have a singular maiden for the entire party, or forgo the requirement of a maiden all together. Extraordinary amounts of wealth are required to advance in level.
Finger Maidens
Finger Maidens are women who have the power to guide Tarnished through their journey, and depending on the DM, turn runes into strength. They serve the Two Fingers, and have been doing so since the return of the Tarnished. They often seek information and hidden lore that would help guide their Tarnished, as doing so would assist them in becoming Elden Lord.
Not all finger maidens take a passive role. Some might take direct action to assist their Tarnished, though this is unorthodox. In the past, some finger maidens have been forced to join their tarnished in betraying the two fingers, or have even been sacrificed for a foul cause.
Only Maidens?
While the game only presents Finger Maidens as women, there is also nothing suggesting that a man could not play the same role. In such a situation, they would likely present as a woman or at least as feminine, and wear the same traditional clothing that other finger maidens do.
Prices
To decide the proper price that merchants should sell certain items, determine at what level of power you want your players to acquire the item.
For example, if you want your players to acquire plate armour at level 9 where they would commonly be fighting CR 5 creatures, you could determine that the value of plate armour is equal to four slain CR 5 creatures, which would be 7200 runes, or 720 gold.
Keep in mind when pricing items that when a creature is slain, each player gets the runes from killing it - this means that the more players you have, the more runes they acquire from a single kill. This will allow them to pool their rewards together to buy expensive items.
Creature Types
The default creature types of 5th edition D&D don't exactly match the world of Elden Ring - thus, you can find below a guide to match certain creatures in Elden Ring with each creature type, with examples.
Aberrations
From the stars descend strange creatures, emerging from meteorites and stardust. There are the fallingstar beasts, the naturalborn of the void, and the alabaster and onyx lords, all born from the stars.
Beasts
The beasts of the Lands Between are more vicious than those of other lands - one can find trained hawks equipped with blades from Stormveil, runebears from the Mistwood, and the deadly land octopus.
Celestials
Celestials are holy beings - in the Lands Between, these are creatures close to the Golden Order - Marika and her Empyrean offspring are celestials.
Constructs
Constructs are creatures created from inanimate material and animated using magic. They differ from artificial life such as Albinaurics in that they do not breathe or bleed, and still resemble the objects from which they were constructed. Constructs often originate from Raya Lucaria, the mages there creating beings such as the four-armed marionette soldiers and the graven mage schools. Others have stranger origins - there are the valiant gargoyles, the iron virgins, the stone imps, the burial watchdogs, and many more.
Dragons
The category of 'dragon' in the Lands Between includes not only dragons, but other large draconic beings, such as magma wyrms and dragonkin soldiers. There are many different kinds and generations of dragon. Some have more bestial characteristics, like skin or hair, whereas the older dragons appear to be made of stone.
Elementals
There are no creatures similar to elementals in the Lands Between. The definition could be stretched to include creatures like the fire-touched burning slugs, but such exceptions are few and far between.
Fey and Fiends
There are no creatures equivalent to fey and fiends in the Lands Between.
Giants
Giants were once common in the Mountaintops of the Giants, but were slain in a great war between them and the Golden Order. The trolls sided with the Erdtree in this war, and thus were spared the slaughter. Many remain, often swearing their allegiance to the many shardbearers and lords, though like the humanoids, endless rebirth has left their minds muddled and empty.
Humanoids
The most common and varied type of creature in the Lands Between, the category of humanoids includes any creature with a human-like frame, even if it takes traits of other creatures, like the demi-humans or the misbegotten. The creature type of player characters will usually be humanoid, with few exceptions.
Monstrosity
A significant amount of hostile beings in the Lands Between are monstrosities. Monstrosities are twisted from beasts and humanoids, unrecognisable as either, but blending elements of both. While many monstrosities are horrifying, malformed combinations of limbs and gnashing teeth, like the grafted scions or the monstrous dogs and crows of caelid, others are simply creatures that don't fit neatly into most categories. Examples of the latter are the kindred of rot, basilisks, and the oracle envoys.
Ooze
A few unique types of oozes live in the Lands Between, namely skeletal slime and silver tears.
Plant
The predominant type of moving, combat-capable plant in the Lands Between are the miranda sprouts. They come in various forms and sizes, speciating into varieties that can apply poison, the scarlet rot, or even frenzied madness.
Undead
There are many forms of undead in the Lands Between. Those Who Live In Death live outside the golden order, living as skeletons and corpses, and match the standard definition of undead the best. Other undead can be found scattered throughout the land: spirits, mausoleum knights, and the skeletal forms of the beastmen of Farum Azula are a few examples.
Death and Rebirth
In the Lands Between, death is anything but permanent, especially for Tarnished. As a DM, having your characters exist in the same way that the Tarnished do in Elden Ring would create a very different campaign, as they are functionally immortal. However, the setting indicates that death can be more permanent - the non-playable tarnished can be slain and never return within the scope of the game. To simulate both of these, there are multiple rules for reincarnation. Only one should be used for the party - you can blend them at your own risk.
Erdtree Burial
Traditionally, those not rejected by the Greater Will are buried at the roots of the Erdtree, to be reborn at a later time. This process can take days, weeks, or years. Erdtree Burials typically take place within dangerous catacombs spread throughout the lands between.
Once a creature is buried, the DM rolls a d4 for the type of time passage, and then another die for the amount, specified by the time.
| d4 | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1d6 Days |
| 2 | 1d4 Weeks |
| 3 | 1d12 Months |
| 4 | 1d4 Years |
After this time has passed, the creature returns to life at the base of the Erdtree, within Leyndell. its body reborn.
Consistent Returns
In order to run their games consistently, a DM might determine that the player characters are always limited to a set time passage - for example, in a game where the DM wants the characters to regularly return to life, they would restrict the players to days. Alternatively, if the DM wanted to run a more traditional game while still using these rules, they would restrict the time passage to years. Keep in mind that the players would not be aware of when a dead comrade or enemy is scheduled to return.
Natural Rebirth
There are many who live outside the Golden Order, and cannot have access to an Erdtree burial. Despite this, such peoples are still affected by the removal of the Rune of Death from the Golden Order. This may include Omens, Misbegotten, Demi-humans, the Nox, and cosmically traitorous Tarnished.
When such a creature dies, the DM rolls a d4 for the type of time passage, and another die for the amount, using the Erdtree Burial table and multiplying the rolled amount of time by ten. After this time passes, the creature's original body returns to life, withered and broken. The creature rolls 1d4, gaining the amount rolled as levels of exhaustion. These levels cannot be removed for 1d100 days.
If the creature's original body was destroyed, its spirit remains. If the body was burnt and its ashes preserved and recovered, its spirit can be called back to take corporeal form (see Spirit Calling on page 7). Otherwise, the DM should roll using the Erdtree Burial table. After the time has passed, roll to determine the outcome.
| d2 | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 1 | The creature's spirit becomes a Spirit Jellyfish. |
| 2 | The creature's spirit wanders, unable to be found by known magic. But remember - without Death, anything is possible. |
Non-Playable Characters
In-world, most NPCs will be subject to an Erdtree Burial or Natural Rebirth. The only NPCs in the game that are rejected by the Greater Will and cannot return to life are the traitorous Shardbearers, who must permanently die in order for the Golden Order to be restored. However, the DM should only track the rebirth timing of important, named NPCs whose return will affect the story. The DM can also roll important groups of NPCs as if they were one entity, causing them to return together. In the world, this would be a common occcurence for groups of creatures that die together.
Grace of Gold
If you want to play a non-traditional game that exactly simulates the quick return to life that the player character experiences in Elden Ring, you can rule that your players are blessed by the Grace of Gold. Keep in mind this will change the game drastically, and you should only do this if you are aware of the consequences.
Tarnished that are blessed by the Grace of Gold may return to life quickly. When such a Tarnished dies, they return to life at the Site of Grace they last long rested at the next morning.
Those Who Live In Death
Those Who Live in Death are creatures that have come into contact with Deathroot and rejected the Golden Order, living beyond the bounds of life. In order to kill them, the bones of their skeletal forms must be destroyed entirely, or they will reform, even when scattered. Only Golden Order fundamentalist incantations can fully dissolve the bones - otherwise, the time it takes for Those Who Live in Death to return to life depends on how scattered their bones are.
| Scattering | Time |
|---|---|
| None | One Day |
| > 500 feet | One Day |
| > 1 Mile | One Week |
| > 5 Miles | One Month |
| Between Realms | 1d12 Months |
| Between Continents | 1d12 Years |
Age
Those who have been experiencing reincarnation for a long time are not immune to the effects of age. One can find ancient nobles wandering the fields of the Lands Between, their bodies and minds withered, still searching for something long forgotten. The majority of people in the Lands Between that aren't Tarnished have experienced this, with varying degrees of severity. It is for this reason that so many of the people of the Lands Between are hostile - not because they are malevolent, but because they have forgotten who their enemies are. The Tarnished, having been recently resurrected by the Greater Will, are, more often than not, the only self-aware beings that the players will encounter for a long time.
O, Death
Long ago, Queen Marika the Eternal gained her namesake by plucking the Rune of Death from the Golden Order. However, a fragment of the Rune of Death was stolen from her on the Night of the Black Knives, granting various creatures the power to grant Destined Death using weapons that harness this power. Should a creature die this way, it may not return to life by any means beyond the power of the Elden Ring itself. If a creature or weapon possesses this power, it will be noted in its description or abilities.
Should the Rune of Death be fully unleashed once again, all manner of resurrection will be halted, except Those Who Live in Death.
Evergaols
There is a punishment placed upon those worse than Death, temporary as it is. When a creature's crimes are too great to be allowed chance at rebirth, or it simply goes against the Golden Order, it is sealed in an Evergaol. These structures were once built with strange rituals and techniques lost to time, though they are still used to imprison and house different creatures to this day.
A creature sealed in an Evergaol can never escape on its own. Evergaols can be entered or opened from the outside.
They are guarded by abnormal constructs made of stone orbs, who most still do not know the origin of.
Dungeons in the Lands Between
Dungeons are common throughout the lands between. Usually, they originate from burial rites, and are catacombs where Erdtree burials are performed. They are guarded by constructs, knights and sometimes Those Who Live In Death. They are not without their hazards. Below you will find a list of traps and other things that might be found within.
Illusory Walls
In places where magic is common, mostly in the areas surrounding Raya Lucaria, it is common practice to hide valuables behind fake walls, that dispel their illusory forms once struck with enough force.
In order to break through an illusory wall, a creature must deal any amount of damage to it. As a DM, if your players are suspicious that a dungeon may house illusory walls, they can slowly and methodically search it. This is the preferred option to listening to your players ask if each wall is illusory - a generalised, hand-waved search prevents a tedious manual questioning of each wall.
There are two methods to finding illusory walls - the first is searching the entire dungeon after it has been cleared, and the second is to search each individual room before it has been made safe. Both use Intelligence (Investigation) checks. Each has different DCs and results, shown in the two tables below. This can be a group check or an individual one.
Upon succeeding the investigation check, the players take the time to find it listed on the table depending on the DC. If they fail, the time is expended, and they may try again.
If there are no illusory walls, succeeding a DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check will confirm it.
Illusory Walls: Dungeon-Wide Investigation
| Illusory Wall Locations | DC | Time Taken |
|---|---|---|
| Obvious | 10 | 2 hours |
| Hidden | 15 | 6 hours |
| Well-Hidden | 17 | 12 hours |
| Secret | 20 | 24 hours |
Illusory Walls: Room-Specific Investigation
| Illusory Wall Location | DC | Time Taken (Dependent on Room Size) |
|---|---|---|
| Obvious | 10 | 1-10 rounds |
| Hidden | 15 | 1-5 minutes |
| Well-Hidden | 17 | 5-10 minutes |
| Secret | 20 | 20-30 minutes |
Rules Reminder: Group Checks
To make a group ability check, everyone in the group makes the ability check. If at least half the group succeeds, the whole group succeeds.
Traps
Transporter Chest
If a creature opens this chest, mist emerges and surrounds them. Each creature within 30 feet of the chest makes a Dexterity saving throw with a DC of 20 - a creature can choose to fail. Upon failure, a creature is teleported to a different location. Each chest is tied to one specific location and can be reused.
Impflame Pillar
Fashioned after the stone imps that guard the catacombs, these pillars rise and descend interchangably when struck with any amount of damage. They are usually placed in hallway intersections where flame shoots from statues of imps built into the pillar, firing in each cardinal direction. They flame travels in a 5-foot-wide line that can be up to 60 feet long, firing in an alternating pattern so long as the pillar has not been made to descend.
A creature that wishes to run through the flame at the perfect time must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC of 15. Upon failure, it takes 8d6 fire damage.
The pillars can be any height, and they can be stood upon and made to rise to access otherwise inaccessible areas. One of the more common ways of dealing with them is to hit them with a ranged attack.
Carian Dagger
Used originally to defend Caria Manor, these daggers are placed in the ground. A creature with a passive perception of 13 or higher would notice them before stepping over them. Stepping over the dagger causes it to remove itself from the ground and fire a glintstone pebble upward. The DM makes an attack roll with a +5 to hit that deals 4d4 force damage.
Dart Pressure Plate
A common trap. A creature with a passive perception of 16 or higher would notice these pressure plates before stepping on them. When a creature steps on such a pressure plate, appropriately-placed mechanisms fire darts towards them. The DM makes an attack roll with a +10 to hit that has an effect depending on the type of dart.
| Dart Type | Effect |
|---|---|
| Standard | The creature takes 1d8+5 piercing damage. |
| Poison | The creature takes 1d8+5 piercing damage and 1d4 poison damage. It must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 10 or be poisoned for one minute. |
| Flaming | The creature takes 1d8+5 piercing damage and 2d6 fire damage. |
| Glintstone | The creature takes 4d4+5 force damage. |
| Rotting | The creature takes 1d4 piercing damage. It must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 15 or suffer from the scarlet rot for one minute. |
Stonesword Keys
Some catacombs and burial sites had areas that needed extra protection - in ages long past, they were sealed with imp statues that could be unlocked with items known as stonesword keys. Many have been discovered and hoarded long since, and are sometimes sold in exchange for runes.
Stonesword KeyWondrous item, rare You can use this key to break the seal on an imp statue. Once used, the key remains in the statue, unable to be used again. |
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Environment of the Lands Between
Conditions
Some features and abilities apply certain conditions, listed below. Elden Ring status effects such as sleep, bleed, and poison do not require new conditions and have been converted differently - sleep is magical sleep similar to the sleep spell, bleed is extra piercing damage on critical hits, and poison uses the Poisoned condition, with varying amounts of damage depending on the feature or ability.
Deathblight
Some creatures and objects can cause a special condition called deathblight. Deathblight is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of deathblight, specified in the effect's description.
Deathblight levels have no effect until a creature has 6 levels, at which point it dies.
If a creature with a level of deathblight suffers another effect that causes deathblight, its current level of deathblight increases by the amount specified in the effect's description.
Finishing a long or short rest removes all deathblight levels from a creature.
Frenzied Madness
Some creatures and objects can cause a special condition called frenzied madness. Frenzied madness is measured in three levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of frenzied madness, specified in the effect's description.
Frenzied madness levels have no effect until a creature has 3 levels. When a creature gains its third level, it takes psychic damage equal to 1d12 + its level or CR (whichever is applicable), and if it has spell slots, its highest level spell slot is expended. Additionally, it is stunned until the end of its next turn. After suffering these effects, the creature loses all its levels of frenzied madness.
If a creature with a level of frenzied madness suffers another effect that causes frenzied madness, its current level of frenzied madness increases by the amount specified in the effect's description.
Finishing a long or short rest removes all frenzied madness levels from a creature.
Frenzied Roleplay
While there are no effects for having one or two levels of frenzied madness, a creature that suffers from it might start experiencing minor bouts of controllable mania or unusual behaviour.
Frostbitten
- A frostbitten creature's speed is halved.
- The creature can take its action or bonus action, but not both.
- Regardless of the creature’s abilities or magic items, it can’t make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn.
- If the creature takes fire damage, the condition ends.
Scarlet Rot
- A creature that starts its turn with Scarlet Rot takes necrotic damage equal to its proficiency bonus.
Immunity
Non-humanoid creatures are usually immune to Frenzied Madness and Deathblight, and creatures with resistance or immunity to cold damage are usually immune to being frostbitten.
Hazards
The world is dangerous - but the Lands Between is even deadlier. Even for a realm without Death, one cannot escape it.
Long-Term Scarlet Rot
The scarlet rot condition simulates a temporarily, but managable infection. However, many creatures infected with the scarlet rot are not so lucky. Some are even born with the affliction, which is almost impossible to cure or mitigate unless one somehow finds themselves in possession of unalloyed gold. Long-term scarlet rot persists even through resurrection.
Whenever a creature gains the scarlet rot condition, a DM can choose to apply long-term scarlet rot at their own discretion depending on the strength and severity of the rot, or alternatively can roll a d100 each time the creature gains the condition. On a roll of 1, the creature begins to suffer from long-term scarlet rot.
Some player characters may decide to be born or previously afflicted with long-term scarlet rot in their backstory, meaning they would start playing their character at a later stage, having survived for a long time with the condition previously. Long-term scarlet rot operates in time frames that will usually be beyond a standard campaign. Each stage of long-term scarlet rot is detailed below, with initial infection beginning at stage one. After the duration of the stage ends, the next stage begins.
A creature that is born with the scarlet rot has a higher natural immunity - the duration of each stage is doubled for them.
| Stage | Effects | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You feel a slight nausea during waking hours and itching of the skin. | 1d6 days |
| 2 | You have disadvantage on saving throws made to avoid suffering scarlet rot. Minor visual signs of the rot, lesions and marks, begin to appear on your skin. | 1d12 months |
| 3 | Your Constitution score and maximum is reduced by 2 and you have resistance to necrotic damage. The rot begins to spread, taking over limbs and becoming visually obvious. You gain an aversion to certain foods and pleasures you once enjoyed. | 4d12 months |
| 4 | The rot gains enough ground to begin making parts of your body unusable. You lose the ability to use one of your limbs, determined by rolling 1d4 (left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg). | 6d12 months |
| 5 | You permanently gain one level of exhaustion as the rot begins to spread to vital parts of your body, such as your face and organs. | 2d12 months |
| 6 | You lose your sight or hearing, determined by rolling 1d2 as the scarlet rot spreads to your vital extremities. | 4d12 months |
| 7 | You lose another limb, determined by the DM. | 6d12 months |
| 8 | You die permanently, finally succumbing to the rot and becoming unable to be resurrected. |
The duration of a stage can be paused with a needle of unalloyed gold.
Long-Term & Indefinite Frenzied Madness
The frenzied madness, suffered enough, can cause permanent damage to the mind and soul of one suffering it. Some say that the madness comes before the frenzied flame touches them, and others believe the opposite. Either way, the DM can apply the following rules to the frenzied madness condition.
Whenever a creature reaches three levels of frenzied madness, it must succeed a Wisdom saving throw with a DC of 15 or suffer an effect from the long-term frenzied madness table for 1d10 days. When a creature suffers from an additional long-term frenzied madness effect while already suffering from another, the previous effect is extended to last as long as the new one.
For each day that a creature suffers the effects of long-term madness, it rolls 1d100. On a roll of one, it becomes immune to long-term frenzied madness and suffers one of the conditions on the indefinite frenzied madness table permanently.
The effects of long-term and indefinite frenzied madness cannot be mitigated or cured by items or spells.
Long-Term Frenzed Madness
| d100 | Effect (1d10 days) |
|---|---|
| 01-10 | You commonly experience erratic episodes and appear unstable to others, gaining disadvantage on Charisma saving throws and checks. |
| 11-20 | You constantly mutter under your breath, wary of the world around you, suffering an intense paranoia. Whenever you take damage, you become frightened of the creature that damaged you until the end of your next turn. |
| 21-30 | An unbearable heat lingers beneath your skin. You wake up each morning with scratches on your arms made by your unconscious body. You have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws. |
| 31-40 | A migraine lingers just behind your eyes constantly. Each time you begin a long rest, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 15. Upon a failure, you are unable to attempt to long rest again for the next 8 hours. |
| 41-45 | You hear voices of thousands of fervent prayers, begging for the destruction of the world's order and revenge for those that have suffered because of it. You gain advantage on attack rolls against humanoids and celestials. May chaos take the world! |
| 46-55 | You yearn to embrace and become one with all, yet your body burns. Your unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d4 psychic damage, and you imagine fires where there are none, licking and coiling around you, ever-encroaching. |
| 56-65 | Your body rejects the frenzied madness, trying its best to defeat it. You enter into a feverish state - your movement and maximum hit points are halved. |
| 66-75 | You begin to lose the understanding that separates you from nonliving things. Your Intelligence score decreases by 4. |
| 76-85 | The fire and passion of your soul is doused and replaced with another. You become willing to sacrifice your ideals and relationships to achieve your goals, gaining advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks. |
| 86-90 | You unearth in your mind an ancient truth you always understood, but you know will fade if this madness leaves you. You gain disadvantage on saving throws made to avoid frenzied madness as the subconscious desire to experience more fills your very being. |
| 91-95 | Sparks of the frenzied flame linger in your eyes, and you can see the truth of the world. You gain 120 feet of true sight, but have disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws. |
| 96-100 | You see visions of a burning world, a perfect chaos torn from the clutches of order. You seek to destroy structures, objects and even signs of the natural order such as plants and animals, but are not yet far gone enough to want to kill your allies - though the thought is there... |
Indefinite Frenzied Madness
When a character suffers from indefinite frenzied madness, their eyes stay alight with orange-yellow flame and their skins twists and burns - but worst of all, their mind twists beyond recovery. A characater suffering from indefinite frenzied madness is immune to psychic and fire damage.
| d6 | Effect (Indefinite) |
|---|---|
| 1 | You desire to destroy and tear apart everything around you, forcing it to rejoin what was once whole and great. You consider every creature an enemy except others loyal to the frenzied flame, and spend your time killing as obviously and loudly as possible. |
| 2 | You lose the ability to produce coherent speech and communication. You become a silent killer, biding your time and waiting until the perfect moment to slaughter living things around you. Your allies may not be aware of the full extent of your insanity until the violence occurs - it could be weeks or even months from when you first meet them. |
| 3 | You become apathetic, lying down and allowing the world to take you. If anyone disturbs your rest, you attempt to kill them out of rage. |
| 4 | Your body is alight with the frenzied flame. Whenever you touch a flammable object, it is set alight. While you harbour no particular grudge against other creatures, you seek to burn all that you can burn until there is nothing left, and you will not let anyone stop you. |
| 5 | You must spread this gift to others, and will do anything to force them to share in your madness. As an action, you can force a creature that you touch to make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 18. Upon failure, it gains a level of frenzied madness. |
| 6 | Your madness goes deeper than simple violence - you lose all emotion, and begin scheming on how to subtly bring about the chaos you desire without alienating your allies. |
Lava
The jagged volcano of Mount Gelmir is awash with pools of lava. Lava is considered to be difficult terrain. A creature that starts its turn in the lava or enters it for the first time on a turn takes fire damage depending on their level of submersion.
| Submersion | Damage |
|---|---|
| Surface Level | 2d10 |
| Shallow | 6d10 |
| Partially submerged | 8d10 |
| Fully Submerged | 12d10 |
Poison Swamp
Some waters are corrupted by rancid filth and refuse, poisoning all those that step within. Such waters are considered difficult terrain.
When a creature enters corrupted waters such as these for the first time on its turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Constitution saving throw. Upon failure, it is poisoned for one minute. The DC of the save depends on the intensity of the poison polluting the waters.
| Intensity | DC |
|---|---|
| Weak | 10 |
| Standard | 13 |
| Unbearable | 16 |
When a creature is poisoned this way, it takes 1d4 poison damage at the end of each of its turns. If a creature is cured of the poisoned condition gained from such waters, it does not need to make the save again for another minute.
Scarlet Rot Bogs
Sometimes, in places like Caelid or the Lake of Rot, the scarlet rot is so ingrained into the landscape that bogs and swamps of scarlet rot form, making it difficult for creatures to traverse the environment. Like poison, swamps and other bodies of shallow liquid tainted by the scarlet rot are difficult terrain.
When a creature enters a bog of scarlet rot for the first time on its turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Constitution saving throw. Upon failure, it suffers from the scarlet rot. The DC of the save and the amount of time the scarlet rot lasts for depends on the intensity of the scarlet rot infecting the waters.
| Intensity | DC | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 14 | 1 minute |
| Unbearable | 17 | 10 minutes |
| Deadly | 20 | 10 minutes |
If a creature is cured of the scarlet rot gained from such waters, it does not need to make the save again for another minute. If you want to quickly determine if a creature can safely cross a bog, check how many times it can cure itself of the scarlet rot with items versus how many minutes it would take to cross the bog - for example, if a creature has eight neutralising boluses and three casts of Flame, Cleanse Me available, it can survive for 11 minutes safely within the bog.
Spirit Steeds
Spirit steeds are rare mounts that can be summoned with a spectral steed whistle. In the game, the Tarnished rides Torrent, but in your games, if indeed spirit steeds appear at all, different steeds would show. If the DM decides to include spirit steeds, use the following items and statistics.
Spectral Steed WhistleWondrous item, very rare As a bonus action, sound the whistle to summon and mount a spectral steed that is bound to this whistle. If the steed dies, you can revive it by using your action to expend a charge of a Flask of Crimson Tears. |
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The DM has the steed's statistics.
Spirit Steed
Large, Neutral
- Armor Class 14
- Hit Points 7 * your character level
- Speed 60 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 11 (+0) 7 (-2)
- Saving Throws Dex, Str
- Condition Immunities charmed
- Proficiency Bonus equals your bonus
Trample. If the Spirit Steed moves at least 30 feet before running within 5 feet of a hostile creature, that creature takes 1d4 bludgeoning damage. The Spirit Steed can only deal this damage once on its turn.
Double Jump. The Spirit Steed's high jump height and long jump distance are both increased by 10 feet.
Evasion. When the Spirit Steed is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.
Spiritsprings
Spiritsprings are naturally occuring whirlwinds that can be ridden by a spirit steed. When a spirit steed jumps within a spiritspring, it and its rider are immune to fall damage for one round, and the steed launches itself up to 200 feet in the air.