Johan Nohr of proudly presents

A weird OSR dungeon crawl, raised from the dead and restatted for MÖRK BORG
 The Unseen Vaults
of the Optic Experiment

Text, art and design

Johan Nohr 2018

MÖRK BORGification
Johan Nohr 2020

Proofreading
Björn Wärmedal
Bill Fugler
Mattias Lejbrink
Robert Charles Goen
Simon Perstrand

Playtested with level 3 B/X characters

at Gothcon 2018. One Cleric died.

This is not an of ficial MÖRK BORG product but rather an old adventure of mine haphazardly adapted and converted to MÖRK BORG,
on more or less popular demand. Some things doesn’t really fit the MÖRK BORG universe but what the hell right? It might be fun.
 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

Unliving Despair

1 4

Hidden Stash. D6:

1 Flying skull
2–4 Holy water
5–6 Just coins

2 5 7

Hair-in-Teeth Demonic
Worm-Thing
6
1D6 Skeleton
Assassins
1D4 Psychotic
Zombies
9

3
10 8
Gruzx the Blind Observer

11 1D6 Freak Freaks

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

The Vaults
One square is 5×5 feet.

1. Unliving Despair 7. Secret Corridor

Page 6 Page 11
Undead emotion in spectral form. Webbed corridor, demon murder-worm.
Tries to scare off intruders. Creatures Demonic Worm-Thing
Creatures Unliving Despair Secrets Passage to Room 4, 5 and 8

2. Force Trap Statue 8. Unholy Pool

Page 6 Page 11
Red marble statue. Magnetic barrier. Corrupted water, Freak Freaks' resting place.
Creatures None Secrets Passage to room 7

3. Gruzx, the Blind Observer 9. The Forgotten Prisoner

Page 9 Page 12
Chained, frenzied monster behind bars. Prison cell guarded by crazy zombies.
Creatures Gruzx the Ever Watching Creatures 1D4 Psychotic Zombies
Secrets Passage to Room 6 Hair-In-Teeth*

4. Vampire Ashes Storage 10. Aberration Shit Pit

Page 10 Page 14
Evil room full of barrels. Weird, toxic cesspit. Can be climbed.
Secrets Passage to Room 7 Secrets Hidden treasure

5. That One Pillar 11. Most Sacred Chamber

Page 10 of the Observer Observers
Broken pillar and doors. Page 15
Secrets Passage to Room 7 Electric viewing-portal to room 3.
Creatures 1D6 Freak Freaks

6. Skeleton Assassins
Page 10
Inactive undead soldiers. Silence.
Creatures 1D6 Skeleton assassins
Secrets Passage to Room 3 *And possibly the Spectre of Zaahr van Hhox

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

What’s the deal? The Vaults

In an old tomb of a noble family, a group of The Vaults used to be the tombs of an old
weird inter-planar appearance-mirroring noble ­family, long since forgotten and now
­entities known as Freak Freaks (or just one, in the hands of by the Freak Freaks. A couple
depending on how you roll) have ­established of weeks ago, the goblins of The Throatstab
an arcane laboratory dedicated to finding Clan went to see who dared disturb the ancient
the key to true vision. They conduct more dead. Few came back, and those who did now
or less ethically questionable ­experiments, cry of twisted undead beings and staring,
including human and demihuman sacrifice, blind eyes in the deep.
vampire burning, demonic bargains and The Vaults are all engulfed in darkness, the
harvesting of monstrous organs. They have only exceptions being the sickly glowing pool
also captured and chained a blinded observer in room 8, and the sparkling and crackling
villain. They are nowhere near their goal and surveillance portal in room 11.
are getting frustrated—and more extreme
in their ­methods. Enter the PCs, hungry for
treasure and thirsty for blood.
blurry vision
Because of the Sight Stealing Magicks
of the Freak Freaks, every living creature
What’s the hook? in the Vaults has its vision blurred and
muddied, like watching through a greasy
1. People in the local area are complaining
lens. There is no mechanical effect to
about blurry vision. Things worsen the this (because that would be boring),
closer you get to the dungeon. Black magic but visual descriptions of the rooms
and sorcery! It must be stopped. should get vaguer and more unclear
2. The great monstrosity Gruzx the Ever the closer the PCs get to the observer.
Watching has vanished, and now other foul Together with the lack of lighting in the
beings seek to fill the void his disappearance Vaults, this forces the PCs to rely more
has created. This is bad news. on their other senses. This effect is in
3. “Strange sounds, wails and howls seem to come place for as long as Gruzx lives, or until
from that cursed place. Best investigate it.” his vision is restored by any means.
4. The old noble family tomb has been unhal-
lowed, something has disturbed the dead.
Remove the curse and clean up the place.

The original map doodle that started this whole

thing, drawn without planning or sketching, a late
night of inspiration, alcohol and doom metal.

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

1. Unliving Despair
what’s the flying skull
Dust and dry air. Low-reliefs of dead nobles. in the hidden stash?
Terrified faces. They weren’t carved like this. This is the preserved skull of Ik the
Strangler, a vicious murderer who had a

W
long rivalry with the noble family whose
hen the Freak Freaks turned the old
tombs this dungeon used to be. They
tomb into their laboratory, the dead finally got to him, had him executed
spirits were enraged and confused. and then, as a final act of rubbing it
All their frustration and despair merged to in, had his skull cursed and buried
form a shapeless, ghastly being—an emotion in their tomb. He reanimated and is
brought to unlife: Despair in ghostly form. now a slowly hovering skull capable of
It wails and complains loudly of the intrusion speech and nursing a deep hatred to
and corruption of the tomb, and will initially every living thing. Especially since he
try to scare off any intruder it encounters. has to obey their every word. He is good
at scouting, but is a notorious liar.

UNLIVING DESPAIR
HP 12. As air −D4 (but immune to physical 2. Force Trap Statue
harm except from magic weapons). Never
f lees. Floats in the air at the speed of a hurried, Crimson red marble statue of naked,
but walking human. muscular man. Angry stare. Eyes follow you.
Piercing shriek: D6 damage to one creature

T
(ignores armor). he Freak Freaks installed this magical
Ghastly wail (Test presence DR14): Everyone trap as a security measure to ensure
that fails becomes cursed for D4 rounds, that no one disturbs their work.
begins to bleed profusely from their eyes, The statue pushes living creatures away, like
mouths and ears and must take 1 damage two magnetic poles refracting each other. It is
per round to act. physically impossible for anyone, no matter
Development: Can be persuaded to aid the how strong, to push themselves beyond the
disruption of the experiments. If so, it can prove statue. Objects can be thrown past the trap,
a powerful, albeit weird, ally of the PCs. and undead beings are not hindered. Living
things however, cannot enter the Observer’s
Secret door in the corridor: Push one chamber without dealing with the statue. If it
of the many stones in the northern wall, followed is destroyed, it will implode and collapse the
by pressing another stone only a meter away. room onto itself. Anyone in the room when
An audible Click! is heard. You can now push the this happens must make a dr12 agility test to
secret door on the southern wall—a heavy, cumber­ avoid getting crushed to death. The trap can be
some slab of stone—to uncover a small treasure ­deactivated by dispelling magic or, with some
stash hidden ages ago. effort, moving the statue into another room.

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The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

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The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

3. Gruzx, the Blind Observer

gruzx's eye rays (d6):
Cold metal, dust and sound of chains, 1. Death Ray
stench of a sweaty fat man. Mad howls. Damage: One D8 per active Misery.
Anyone killed by this ray is reduced to

G
a pile of fine ash and a bleached skull.
ruzx the Ever Watching, previously
a major villain of the lands, is now 2. Confusion Ray
reduced to a sad, insane shadow of For D4 rounds, roll a D6 at the start of
his former self. Behind massive iron bars he each round to see what the victim does:
lies chained and alone in the dirt and urine that 1: Attack nearest creature.
2: Run screaming in a random direction.
covers the floor. The Freak Freaks have blinded
3: Remove their clothes, then eat them.
him, stolen his magical vision, and watch him
4: Drop and roll around as if on fire.
constantly through scrying spells. The locks 5: Stand still and stare, do nothing.
to his room are hard to breach, and Gruzx 6: Run towards Gruzx to get a nice,
himself is unstable and can burst into fits of warm hug.
rage unprovoked. His eye rays still function,
3. Shrinking Ray
but he no longer has control over them. If the
Victim is reduced to half size. Any
PCs enter the room, they will also be discovered equipment carried, however, is not.
by the Freak Freaks who will try to stop them.
4. Growing Ray
Secret door: High up on one of the walls, Victim doubles in size. Equipment and
just beneath the ceiling, is a fake piece of wall—it’s worn items stay the same size. Plate
armor could possibly be a problem.
actually a sheet of thick paper painted to look like
stone. Craf ty! 5. Kinetic Ray
Pushes victim to the end of the ray,
probably in another room or just
pinned against the wall. Deals 1
damage per 10 feet travelled this way.
GRUZX. BLIND OBSERVER 6. Mutation Ray
HP 20. chitin −D6. He can no longer f ly, Victim is mutated. Don’t have a
but rolls across the f loor at the speed of a ­favourite mutation chart? Just say it's a:
frenzied walrus. And sounds like one too! 6. Blinking Ray
Bite: D6 damage. Victim begins to blink back and forth
3 random rays each round, at random t­ argets. between this world and the shadow
Test presence DR12 to avoid effect. world. Will do this for 2D6 rounds. 50%
Development: If freed, will roll around and chance that the PC begins their next
destroy everything it can. Will hunt down round in the shadow realm, where they
the Freak Freaks and slay them, then try to cannot deal or receive physical damage.
regain his vision and return home. Can reward Interaction with the physical world is
the PCs for helping him with this. But would impossible, but it’s easier to bump into
ghosts. So that's something.
you trust a megalomaniac super-villain?

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

4. Vampire Ashes Storage 6. Skeleton Assassins

Aching head, migraine. Barrels, dust. Cough. Silence. Skeletal figures. Jagged blades.

I A
n order to steal a observers magic vision, dark and silent room in which the
hundreds of vampires must be burnt to Freak Freaks store skeleton assassins
ashes. The ashes is used as part of the until needed. Skeletal combatants
experiment. Stored in this dry chamber are wielding scimitars, posing like an enemy is
barrels of the stuff. Twenty barrels, filled to approaching, but unmoving. Will remain still
the brim with fine, gray dust. The room reeks until anything tries to damage them. Then,
of evil and curses. Anyone lingering here will they will all activate and attack. A skilled
suffer from headaches and nausea. necromancer might be able to give them new
orders, but they will require proof that their
Secret door: A classic. Push one stone and current masters are either slain or have agreed
hear the rumbling noise of the secret door from upon losing custody of them.
room 5 to room 7 opening up.
Secret door: Easily overlooked, one of the
stone slabs in the ceiling near the southern wall can
5. That One Pillar be moved to the side, supported by a metal frame.
Behind it, a tunnel.
Crumbled stone. Exquisite columns. Ruin.

T
all chamber with four pillars, of which
one has fallen down and lies in ruin
in the middle. Nothing of value here. 1D6 SKELETON ASSASSINS
HP 4. no armor. Immune to piercing damage
Secret door: Hidden beneath a layer of dust (except for ­crits). Bludgeoning weapons does
in the broken pillar is a lid. Underneath that, a double damage. Moves a the speed of a healthy
button. If pressed, a rumbling noise is heard and human. Will never f lee. If sneaking, can only
the secret door in room 4 is opened. be spotted 1 in 20.
Scimitar: D6 damage.
Development: Can be “hacked” with skillful
necromantic magic, if they are convinced that the
Freak Freaks are either dead or done with them.

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

7. Secret Corridor 8. Unholy Pool

Cobwebs. Sounds of insects. Sulfuric smell. Cancerous light in the darkness.
A voice? Probably just the wind. A pool of dead water. Steep sloping pit.

A A
hidden corridor, like a dry culvert, nyone entering this room will feel
low ceiling and filled with dust and uneasy as the light is dirty and
spider webs. This hallway is seldom unclean. It irritates the eyes, makes
used, even by the Freak Freaks, ever since the the skin itch, and blackens clothes as if they
Demonic worm-thing made it its lair. were dipped in ink. This is the unhallowed
pool where the masters of the vaults go to rest
Secret doors: All secret doors are easily and restore their strength. The f loor is a slope
spotted and opened from this corridor. down to the glowing water, and climbing up
can be difficult if the PCs are carrying heavy
equipment.
Drinking the water is not recommended.
It will quench the thirst and sate the hunger
DEMONIC WORM-THING for a full week, but will curse the drinker
HP 15. Thick hide −D4. Morale 5. Moves like with an impossibly strong hatred to everyone
an eel downriver. Tends to escape as soon as it except the creatures currently in the room.
is wounded, only to return later through the It will last until magically removed.
walls of any room the PCs occupy, preferably
in the middle of another encounter. Secret door: One of the many tall stone
Bite: D8 damage (plus poison: Toughness blocks covering the walls is loose, and can be moved
DR12 or fall into a murderous frenzy and or tipped to uncover a passage into room 7.
attack the closest creature—the same
creature—for D3 rounds).
Bad Breath: Can spew a cloud of infernal
gut fumes onto up to two nearby creatures:
Each tests toughness dr10 or becomes
incapacitated for the next round, as they blurry vision
cough up a reeking black sludge of crushed Don't forget to describe the dungeon's
insects and toenails. visual appearance in vague terms and
Development: Can become a returning nemesis, more rely on the other senses. Especially
and will hunt the PCs outside the dungeon. this close to the blind observer. Focus on
smell, sounds, and the general feeling of
the rooms. Shapes can be discerned, only
not at a distance. It's like going without
glasses when you really need them.

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

9. The Forgotten Prisoner THE SPECTRE OF ZAAHR VAN HHOX.

HP 13. undying flesh −D2 (immune to physical
Sobbing. Moaning. Stench of blood and gore. harm, critical hits with stabbing weapons the
Feet dragging. Something is terribly wrong.
only exception. Morale 10. Weakened by
crucifixes (DR to attack/defend is 10 while the

T
his is Hair-in-Teeth, the only survivor symbol is shown). Moves as a normal human.
of the Throatstab Clan's attack on the Withering touch: (DR14 to defend against, D6
vaults a few weeks ago. Her fellow damage and that much minus on any rolls
goblins were all either killed or managed the victim makes until fully healed). Any
to escape, but Hair-in-Teeth was captured, creature slain by Zaahr van Hhox is raised
put behind bars, experimented on, mutated, the next round as a zombie (stats as below,
discarded and then utterly forgotten. except the part with the missed slam attack,
The Freak Freaks imbued her with the as it’ll be a normal, sensible zombie).
soul of an old, mad vampire as part of a failed Development: If released, will try to slay
experiment, and that ancient undead soul any c­ reature in his path before returning to
takes over during stressful moments. It also Venomblade Keep where he will regain his
causes madness to nearby undead, making strength before he tries to take Gruzxs place
them just as confused and unstable as Hair- as the villain of the land. Should he discover that
in-Teeth. This is unknown to the Freak Freaks, the Freak Freaks stores his ashes in Room 4, his
who placed a handful of zombies on guard goal will be to use these ashes to return to physical
here. The zombies are no longer loyal to them, form in some way. He's not sure how, though.
and will attack any creature on sight.
1D4 PSYCHOTIC ZOMBIES.
HP 20. Every time a zombie is reduced to zero
HP, it gains 1D10–3 HP (remains dead if still
at 0), even if decapitated or destroyed by fire.
HAIR-IN-TEETH. Moves with a limp. DR10 to hit.
HP 3. no armor. Morale 4. Cursed, mutated Slam attack: D4 damage. Any miss means
goblin. Runs at the speed of a quick child. that the zombie headbutts the wall, taking
When dead, unleashes the spectre of Zaahr D4 damage in the process.
van Hhox, Lord of Venomblade Keep. Development: Could possibly kill themselves,
Bites, claws and kicks for D4 damage. which is ok. Or they might never truly die, which
Development: Her split personality will become is even better.
more and more evident as time goes, and as
Zaahr van Hhox tries to take full control.

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

10. Aberration Shit Pit

Horrid stench that burns the nostrils. Warm
air. Walls plastered with red and black goo.

I
n this vile corner of Gruzx’s prison a hole
opens up to the reeking cesspit below,
where the feces of the mad observer
boils together into an acidic, lumpy stew.
Anyone even near the room must make a
DR12 toughness test or get sick.
The excrements deals D6 acidic damage to
the touch, and destroys armor and weapons
in seconds. The vapours are poisonous and
a failed dr14 toughness test gives any PC
−3 on all rolls for the rest of the day, or until
refreshed with elixir vitalis or smelling salts.

Hidden treasure: Deep in the monster shit

is hidden a golden goblin tooth worth 15 gold,
a silver necklace worth 50 silver, and an ebony
claw the size of a cat’s paw worth 30 silver (or 50
to a collector).

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

11. Most Sacred Chamber

of the Observer Observers
Static noise. Erratic electric light. 1D6 FREAK FREAKS
Hypnotic patterns. Hospital smell. – INTERPLANAR PSYCHO-MIMICS
HP 16. thick, rubbery skin −D2.Will rather

T
his is the laboratory and experimental retreat than die but will never surrender.
chamber where the Freak Freaks work Two claw attacks: D6 damage each. If both
to discover the secret of truesight. It hit, the Freak Freak can steal vitality from
is a well stocked alchemical laboratory, with the victim, healing itself for double the
many eldritch items and instruments strange damage caused by the two claw attacks.
and alien to laymen and professionals alike. Plasmic mind-bomb: One of them carries a
The laboratory is worth 1 000 silver. plasmic mind-bomb which can be ­activated
Intelligent creatures perceive The Freak and thrown as an attack. The mind-bomb
Freaks as copies of themselves (­including, detonates with a loud electric noise and
but not limited to appearance, smell, voice any creature within 10 feet of the device
and mannerisms), but they are i­ nvisible to must make a Dr10 presence test or have
animals and soulless creatures. their mind wiped. A mind-wiped creature
They are psionic beings from a far-away loses all improvements to Abilities and
plane of existence, whose mute emperor has gained hit points, essentially becoming a
gone missing (turned invisible, and no-one freshly made character. All this is returned
knows where he is), and they are dedicated in to the PC if he/she spends some time
their search for truesight. They are annoyed resting submerged in the unholy pool in
by any disturbance, but if the PCs could aid room 8. The Freak Freaks know this.
them in their experiments, they will allow Development: If the PCs help them gain truesight,
them to help. If not, they won’t hesitate to or find their emperor, they will be thankful and
deploy deadly force to secure their operation. might reward them with strange and esoteric
­treasures from beyond the astral planes. This
could lead to further interplanar adventures, with
the Freak Freaks (who prefer to be called something
less derogatory) as allies or benefactors. But most
the viewing arch
likely, they will try to kill the PCs for intruding.
Through a portal-like structure in this
chamber they watch Gruzx as he is
tormented by their vision-siphoning
technology. The archway crackles and
buzzes, a vague observer silhouette
is showing in the lightning. Anyone
touching the archway must make a
dr14 presence test or be transported
to room 3. And go permanently blind.

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 The Unseen Vaults of the Op tic Exper imen t

Tips and ideas

Let the Unliving Despair help: There is really
no way that the PCs will just stumble upon
the hidden stash located in the early part
of the ­dungeon. If they come to some sort
of agreement with the Unliving Despair,
maybe have it tell them about the stash,
thinking there might be something there
that could help them?
Shouldn’t this be a tomb? If you want, place
some holy symbols, some gargoyles,
statues and maybe a sarcophagus or two
down in the vaults. Maybe the skeleton
assassins are clad in funeral masks and
golden ornaments?
Let’s torture Gruzx! In the playtests, I placed
a couple of levers and buttons next to the
Freak Freaks’ viewing portal, where they
(or really as it turned out – the PCs) could
control tasers, electrodes and other devices
aimed at – or implanted in – the chained
observer. Maybe one way to stop this whole
thing is to mash all the buttons at once
and cause so much stress to poor old Gruzx
that he explodes in a f leshy, gooey bang?
Add more people: No extra-planar mutant
freaks’ dungeon-based experiments are
safe with meddling adventurers snooping
around—and the more the merrier! To
spice things up, add an extra adventuring
party or two in the mix.
My friend van Hhox: Should the PCs help
Hair-in-Teeth/Zahr van Hhox, the undead
lord could show them his gratitude, but
exactly in what form is unclear. Ghoul­-
infested real estate, vampiric noble titles,
cursed gold or a wine cellar full of delicious Should you play this adventure, or if you want
blood are just some ideas. to talk about prepping it, please let me know!

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