Return to the Ghostwood

This has been taking a while as I keep expanding it. The mystery of the lost kingdom and why the curse is for later when players uncover in game.

Revising table as was doing only d40 back then so first 40 entries a repeat from
Enchanted woods encounters

Bonus loot and hazard and mystery tables.

As players made a cool 30k cash Im sure will return. While treasure to be found encounters tend to be deadlier and magical.

Ghost Woods (Plague Doomed Lands)
Once a thriving plane of cultivated land, a necrotic plague killed all and the forest reclaimed it all in a supernaturally fast time period.

Remains of old homes, villages, towns and farms are everywhere, some haunted, some mass graves of sleeping undead. Goblins are most common living sentient but ogres and hobgoblins do alright too. Lost ruined villages shrouded by webs full of tiny spiders and the occasional magical giant one.

Roumours are possibly true stories heard in taverns
Challenges are obstacles that get in parties way but could be avoided
Mysteries are things that beg the question or add sense of mystery
Encounters are active foes looking for trouble

1d50 Rumours
1 A lich with an artifact caused fall of the old kingdom
2 Kingdom was curse by the gods
3 A gateway to the underworld is in the woods
4 The goblins are reincarnated from the original peasants of the lost kingdom
5 Treasure is hidden everywhere if you can face the undead
6 Evil presence in the woods can see through the skulls everywhere in the woods
7 The dead will seem easily destroyed but contaminate you with every touch
8 Under the light of the moon the dead rise and dance in the mist
9 Necromancers roam the woods seeking forbidden knowledge
10 A relic of the age of necromancers was uncovered caused the fall
11 In the ancient times the necromancer kings had a crypt city under the current forest
12 Devils and  demons are seen in the woods searching for something
13 Ogres and goblins eat bread made from bonemeal
14 Ruined villages and several towns are buried, once a free thriving kingdom
15 Few details of the old kingdom remain except the coins and a few treasures
16 Goblins will dance for a few coins or a decent meal
17 Goblins and ogres have tunneled all over the forest
18 Someone is making orcs again to build an army for no good purpose
19 If ever a evil power were to unite the evils of the forest nothing could stop them
20 The freemen of the lost kingdom opposed the ancient empire
21 Undead you slay will return the next full moon
22 Adventurers who get greedy always go to far and fight once too many
23 Coins from the ghostwood bear a curse so never touch them
24 Any who die in the ghostwood return as undead
25 The Barron has a secret deal with the evils behind ghostwood
26 Giants sleep under the forest awaiting the great curse to be lifted
27 Hobgoblins with skull helms patrol the woods hunting outsiders
28 Dark elves trade with someone in the woods but they do not share with who
29 Beastmen cavort in the woods, wild celebrations are heard on the full moon
30 Bones litter the forest everywhere picked clean by ravens
31 Men who enter the woods corpses are found in trees with theyre eye cut out
32 Bandits chased into the woods are eaten by goblins and ogres
33 Dark riders patrol the woods, who they are or serve are unknown
34 The creatures of the woods can smell blood for miles
35 Necromancer students from far and wide seek mysteries of the forest
36 The woods are as thick with angry spirits as trees
37 Priests warn men to fear the woods and forget about it's treasures and secrets
38 Kings of the lost kingdoms were known to have great tombs never found
39 Libraries and churches of the lost kingdom must have been swallowed up by the earth
40 The humanoids of the ghostwood have pallid white flesh from the bones they feed from
41 People have seen strange elves in woods of a type unknown elsewhere
42 Treasure is easy to find, everyone exaggerates the stories of death and curses
43 Sometimes you find undead farmers toiling as they did before the fall
44 If you sleep in the ghostwood you will have terrible nightmares
45 Sometimes the goblins and ogres are too busy to attack outsides
46 Anyone you meet must be evil so kill everybody you see
47 Some priests of the city make pilgrimages to forest to teach undead slaying to pupils
48 Some of the ghosts and spirits dont know they are dead
49 Witches meet in the woods for secret rituals to plot evil
50 Some are cursed to never find way out of the woods

1d100 Challenges
1 A floating skull trap blocks a path
2 Wall of bone blocks the path
3 A skeleton fence with fear casting skulls
4 A field with buried undead that arise if walked over
5 A rickety bone bridge over a chasm
6 A miasma of illness inducing fog wafts over area
7 Thick peasoup fog rolls over area reducing visibility to a few yards
8 Area covered in buried pits with undead inside
9 Evil squirrels try to steal stuff
10 Goblins in tree with an arbelast and signal horn
11 A high outcrop of rocks with a ogre and heap of throwing stones
12 Bone caltrops with venom scattered in undergrowth
13 Goblins hiding in piles of bones
14 Phantom curses intruders laughs then vanishes
15 Area surrounded by magical wards
16 Treasure chest with explosive runes
17 Magically locked gate or portcullis
18 Stone bridge bound with supernatural being
19 Chained monster blocks path
20 Ruined wall blocks the pass
21 Ground covers a buried building ready to collapse
22 A slippery rapid stream is in the path
23 A poison well with a shady tree and comfortable grass by the path
24 Area filled with goblin traps, funnel travelers to ambush point
25 A area of gigantic white fungus, often gob;ins here gathering food
26 Explosive mushrooms and fungus planted defensively by goblins
27 Shrieking ghost mushrooms cry out attracting encounters
28 Goblin trackers with horns follow and signal whereabouts of intruders
29 Marshy bog swallows up men who enter it
30 Swamp filled with undead corpses arise if intruders enter
31 Stampede of white deer of ghostwood thunder along trail stopping for no man
32 Storm suddenly appears driving everyone to ground
33 A goblin market on the path, dozens of goblins and others mostly busy trading
34 A goblin dance party with evil satyrs and beastmen on trail ahead
35 Huge tree has trail pass through trunk, acts as a gatehouse to a monster
36 Tree fort with undead and goblins and dark elves
37 Monstrous vines grasp at intruders on path
38 Undead filled quicksand on path
39 Spiderwebs block passage
40 Huge tangled trees with goblins inside with carved murderholes and arrow slits
41 A sprawling overgrown graveyard long ago defiled is on the path
42 A grove of evil tree folk in tree form sleeps on the path
43 A rapid stream has a log over it but some of the rocks are a giant frog
44 Dancing grounds of beastmen or goblins ahead sacred to inhumans
45 A huge undead eating giant wasp nest in trees will settle for living flesh
46 Ogres having a campside sing along bbq in this favorite area
47 Boiling mud, boiling pools of calcium deposits and hourly geyser
48 Bridge over rapid stream home to wicked troll
49 Thorn bushes and prickly vegetation over path
50 Forest fire started by desperate adventurer, undead with buckets swarm in
51 Crumbling bridge over crevice collapses if too much weight
52 Goblin hunters start fire, knowing local wind conditions to drive adventurers deeper in woods
53 Giant trapdoor spiders in area
54 Giant antlion pits over area
55 Gallows tree with animated noose vines
56 Goblin with chest flees, leads through pit, stake and snares if chased
57 Swingline over crevice with volcanic boiling mud
58 Explosive rune stones under leaf litter
59 Swarm of stinging insects drive to nearby body of water with other threat
60 Log pendulum trap with bone goblin ambush
61 Sounds of torture, hobgoblins hunting intruders use victim screams to lure into ambush
62 Trees full of gremlins with poisoned or diseased darts
63 Crosbows with tripwires in area
64 Slippery hillside path, if slip will slide to encounter at bottom of hill
65 Flying necromancer riding zombie eagle throws fireball through clearing in trees then flies away
66 Area crawling with large scorpions
67 Rodents in ivy covered ground eating hidden corpses swarm on living prey
68 Giant skunk eating corpses on the path
69 Evil beavers with bone dam flooded area knee deep, concealed zombies lie in wait
70 Evil beavers fell trees on party then dive into water
71 Singing zombie choir in ruins of church by path swarm out if hear intruders
72 Ground soaked in flammable oil under leaves, goblin pyromaniac waits in bushes
73 Anti paladin challenges all who seek to cross bridge over ravine
74 Ravine blocks passage possibly could cut down a tree for a bridge
75 Stone statues in area, a gorgon, basilisk, medusa or serial killer artist dwells in area
76 Caged owlbear released if tripwire pulled, possibly operated by a goblin
77 Vampire ivy vines grow over area
78 Aggressive forest walrus basking in sun, males attack intruders who scare females or kids
79 Giant beetles digging for corpses to lay grubs in, very aggressive to invaders in breeding area
80 Crumbling stone wall forces to leave trail or climb, possibly collapses if too much weight
81 Peryton family live in area, rotting corpses in trees with hearts torn out as larder
82 Evil monks on trail insist you turn back, area forbidden to heathens
83 Log over crevice, explosive runes half way along under bark
84 Vampire bats swarm everywhere nipping then go to warn local monsters
85 Terror bird nesting area, males on nests on ground very angry if see thieving apes
86 Thick choking smoke clouds from goblins burning horrid formula up wind to drive party back
87 Crevice blocks path, family of troglodytes inside swarm out if disturbed
88 Altar of evil cult in clearing with curse to any who touch
89 Sacred area of beastman tribe, will hun party till all exterminated if any cross fetish idols
90 Huge serpants in trees common in area grab passers by to constrict
91 Ground covered in bones and small poisonous frogs
92 Treasure chest with shrieking fungus inside calls local monsters if disturbed
93 Sealed stone pit contains a demon
94 Ancient stones with elder inscriptions if read a demon is summoned
95 Ancient monolith if seen dream of frog demons eating you that night
96 Evil chanting gives intruders in area -1 hit save damage
97 Evil nuns in nunnery tower invite poor heroes in for "healing, food and a good night rest"
98 Swarm of diseased carnivorous squirrels defend traditional feeding area
99 Enterance to underworld, river pours into pit, gateway to hell or other entry with guards
100 Adorable animals in tiny suits having a dinner invite heroes to join them, actually shape shifting demons hoping to find people to torment, might offer human flesh meal with them

1d100 Mysteries
1 Empty cottages from a forgotten village
2 Cave in a hill littered in bones
3 Battered old book in trunk from the lost kingdom
4 A strange monolith swarming with guard skeletons
5 Gallows with hung outsiders fresh and warm
6 Gibbets in tree with ravens eating eyeballs from missing knights
7 Black monolith carved in elder runes
8 Statue of hero or king of lost kingdom
9 Monolith of fused bone with necromancer runes of a spell
10 Mutilated bodies on roadside (might reanimate)
11 Attractive elfmaids probably shape shifting horrors
12 A villager or adventurer you have met really doppelganger
13 Cottage with old woman living inside, claims house warded vs evil
14 Scaffolding around huge corpse made from smaller bodies, incomplete
15 Lightning strikes a tree exposing a coffin with a map in skeleton hand
16 Black squirrel trying to drag a bejeweled skull
17 A beast man in a bear trap
18 A beast man or werewolf in a pit trap
19 Elvish tea set, scones and picknick blanket spread out ready to use
20 Trail of delicious candy lead to spooky house
21 Lost child possibly innocent or see monster children table
22 Pond full of frogs staring knowingly at you
23 Semi exposed graves with possible entrance to tunnel network
34 Goblin spotted climbing into concealed trapdoor
35 Strange white skinned and haired elf watches from a distance then vanishes
36 Empty village square with church, hall and houses, untouched for hundreds of years
37 Hear bell toll in the distance
38 Find a small lake with ruins visible on bottom
39 Well with spiders and snakes has something old in the bottom like a chest or door
40 Broken sword of a noted family lays on trail
41 Hedges of brambles form a wild hedge maze filled with skeletons hiding something
42 A sinister old house
43 Dead adventurers looted corpses, possibly some known from pub
44 Owl hoot excitedly as you approach open area
45 Blood trail leads down into a stinking hole under tree roots
46 Child's doll found under tree
47 Flayed human skin neatly laid out in tree branches
48 Message scratched in dirt or tree bark mostly rubbed out
49 Old battered sign post points into dark thicket
50 Goblins playing bone instruments ignore passers by
51 Bones laid out in occult signs in clearing
52 Talking skull wants to make friends, wont sutup
53 Rotting corpse holding a strange potion bottle
54 Naked madman with long beard chained to rock tries to eat anyone
55 Skeleton horse urges someone to ride him
56 Skeleton wagon of grain being hauled somewhere in forest
57 Dark elf being dragged off by ghouls
58 Spiderwebs with occult signs woven into them could be clues to a lost spell
59 Stinking crack in  ground leads to darkness
60 Skeleton fisherman with bucket of fish skeletons by stream
61 Giant skull with necromancer runes carved into it
62 Open pit with dead mule and shovels nearby, opens into a spiral stairwell
63 Goblin children singing about nearby tomb complex
64 See skeleton born from grave lumber off into forest
65 Flying skull with scroll in mouth carrying message
66 Priest impaled to tree with bone lance tips
67 Opening into hill surrounded by skulls with a bone portcullis
68 Tree hollow with green smokey bottle and note in necromancer language
69 Top half of skeleton with bone key in mouth crawls towards who knows
70 Giant piles of animal dung, twitching remains of zombie holding scroll tube
71 Ivy covered stone monument telling tale of doomed knights quest
72 Crumbled fragments of statue of an orc king if partly assembled
73 Wizard pouring cauldron into bubbling bog to create orcs
74 Goblin kids painting graffiti on crumbling wall covering ancient mural
75 Hobgoblin officers studying map of adjacent villages
76 Secret police of Shadel Port having secret meeting with necromancers
77 Abandoned treehouse with remains of long dead family or goblins
78 Strange fruit tree with skull shaped fruit
79 Trees with faces like human in agony, twisted limbs and roots
80 Crumbling shack with skeletons eating rat stew
81 Goblin girl with sickle skipping and gathering shrooms in a basket
82 Glowing moss or fireflies make dark patch of forest a wonderland
83 Skeletons carry crumbling corpse in palanquin in circles
84 Goblins doing laundry by a stream, beg not to be abused by adventurers
85 Hobgoblins marching with crystal coffin with frozen woman inside
86 Mysterious bubbling cauldron on a fire, owner has fled in haste
87 In a stone coffin a sleeping person from lost kingdom who awakens under sunlight
88 Bear traps buried in undergrowth made from bone
89 Silver toothed wolf traps in area
90 Rogue offers to play cards, actually a devil who reads their minds for intel
91 Swarm of bats fly overhead then report to evil masters
92 Funeral wagon pulled by undead oxen or horses with load of coffins
93 Skeleton with scythe walking in woods whistling, if sees party nods hello keeps going
94 Bone shack with bone furniture, inside bone goblin is crafting furniture for sale
95 Skeletons stand around grave, reverse funeral as undead born from grave all cheer
96 Goblin selling bone meal bread from a pushcart, 1 cp a loaf
97 Necromancer pimp offers magically preserved zombie hookers from his tiny hut
98 Wolves gnawing on squealing skeleton trying to escape
99 Skeleton kids skipping merrily through woods with ball and skeleton dog
100 A field with 2000 skeletons holding left or right hands in air, a necro binary computer, necromancers get grumpy if computations disturbed, happy to boast about achievement in spell computation

1d100 Ghostwood encounters
1 Pass through graveyard, zombies grab your feet as they burst through ground
2 Skeletons tending fields like living peasants for who knows who
3 Non-corporeal undead in ruined remains of peasant cottage
4 Wights dwelling in a barrow mound tomb of long forgotten noble
5 Flaming Skulls scream and flies at you screaming
6 Willow the wisp, will kill you and eat your souls
7 Bone fence blocks your path, if molested skeletons arise from it and attacked
8 Three old crones offer to tell your fortune - actually they curse hero with every prophecy
9 Witch house - pleads she is just old woman, if threatened she is a sorceress
10 Witches pretending to be lost harlots try to enslave and kill party
11 Hideous Witch doing something unspeakable, if harmed her demon lover appears
12 A priest and his acolytes looking for undead to slay accuse party of being necromancers
13 Necromancer and pupils on a feild trip
14 Giant coffin spiders with zombified web covered husks of old victims
15 The remains of an ancient battle, undead soldiers awake to defend their honour
16 Bone goblins roasting a "live" zombie on a spit
17 Bone goblins collecting bones to make buildings, skeletons or ogre bread
18 Ogre grinding bones for his supper, he really busy but might like some fresh bones
19 A necromancer with their undead lover - doesn't aprove of you perverts disturbing them
20 Swarm of vampire bats
21 Ogre Mage Necromancer wants more magic items, pay or die
22 Wolves digging for food decide fresh meat better - may be Dire wolves
23 Dire Squirrel with a tree full of skulls, see him hide with a skull, a magic hat in bottom
24 Young wizard thinks party are necromancers offers to be their student
25 Mad man gnawing on bones thinks he is a ghoul
26 Undead band playing haunted death march ignore party
27 Stumble across a broken tomb and swarm of feasting ghouls
28 Skeleton cavalry and skeleton horse archers chase party
29 A creepy wizard or his hunchback offer you increadible powers if they can experiment on you
30 Undead giant cobbled together from normal bodies lumbers after party hungrily
31 Black Druids sacrificing at a sacred stone, set their undead slaves on you
32 Swarm of undead crows, rats, squirrels or other beast molest party
33 Undead wolves chase party, might be directed by a wight hunter
34 Undead prehistoric Elk or moose with rune covered antlers attacks
35 Albino Unicorn - blood red eyes, wounds inflicted bleed 1pt/round till first aid or magic
36 Nightmare with skeleton mage demands a life from the party
37 Night Hag in disguise lures into her cottage decorated with twitching undead adventurers
38 Undead farm animals arise and try to eat humans who are not vegetarians
39 Undead treeant with zombies in his branches he can use as missiles
40 Lich and his enterage quizes party about current events of the empire, gives 1gp, leaves
41 Phantom horseman chases party, returns every time when they visit forest again
42 Owlbear family snuffling about for food
43 Hellcat follows party to spy on or convert to evil
44 Bonemen warriors attack fleshy men on sight
45 Evil tree men await in treeform to ambush unwary
46 Goatmen with screaming prisoner try to avoid party
47 Orcs with sheild wall, ranks of spears and archers hunt party
48 Hobgoblins with wargs hunt party
49 Bone goblins on giant vampire bats skirmish with missile fire, close in if party losing
50 Bonegoblins on wolves follow party and wait till just after next fight or sleep to charge
51 Bonegoblins with snorkels on riding frogs hide under a stream
52 Giant forest weasels attack from trees
53 Stagman druid with his beserker warriors tries to drive outsiders away
54 Forest mimic pretends to be sword in stone or other treasure
55 Forrest trapper lays flat on ground covered in leaf litter
56 Bone chariot with skeletal horses and undead necromancer attack
57 Skeletal knight of lost lands offers joust, offers a bone lance and undead horse
58 Devil swine in guise of a jolly sly grogshop or pie seller with enthraled customer-guards
59 Huge white lion roars will attack if threatened
60 Bone goblin princess and entourage offer gold to any human who impregnates her
61 Undead knight questing for cause no longer possible to complete questions party
62 Maiden being held down by frustrated skeletons who dont know what they are doing
63 Pumpkin patch erupts with scarecrows
64 Yellow musk creeper with zombies with yellow musk vegepygmie shaman
65 Necromancer on palanquin with undead entourage demands party hand over all magic
66 Fungus ridden forest kraken hides in mass of rotten wood covered in shrooms
67 Revenant ranger protector of the forest hunts and assasinates intruders
68 Hobgoblin halberdiers and heavy armour comanded by hero
69 Witch with goatmen lovers demands party provide a sacrificial victim
70 Fungus covered zombies lurch to life, striking them releases clouds of choking spores
71 Undead priest with improved skeletons in chainmail, tries to turn the living
72 Badger men with evil priest demand all party food
73 Evil dark dwarfs demand all metal goods or be killed
74 Nasty halfling gang in trees follow party and await worst moment to pelt with rocks
75 Dark rangers with wolf pets and black druid leader summon creatures then attack
76 A pretty pony winks appealingly near a stream inviting you to ride it (kelpie)
77 Killer bunnies swarm from undergrowth leaping ferociously
78 Chaos cultists and zombies in disguise as monks try to get close by being
79 Bugbears in skull tabards with huge mauls and garrottes skulk about killing intruders
80 Gremlins follow till resting then creep into clothing and belongings
81 Nasty forest gnomes skirmish then use magic to escape if threatened
82 A gang of halfling pickpockets invite you to eat with them
83 Halfling children savagely pelt rocks from safety of trees any on this path
84 A wicked Dryad with slave guards and monster pets desires new lovers
85 Huge stampede of wild boars runs down any who startle them
86 Insane giant black wild boar delights in eating human or demihuman flesh
87 Black unicorn, any it kills raised as undead, horn drains one level
88 Rust monsters starving for metal, these ones have mace head tails they use as weapons
89 Boar men hunting band, seek slaves or meat people to take home and roast
90 Men carrying huge spiders on their backs with orc guards, spiders are wizards too
91 Rabid grizzly bear hates humans
92 Witch on sled pulled by wildcats tries to enslave trvellers or turn to stone if they resist
93 Wight knights in shadowy patch of forest will retreat from streams of sunlight
94 Insane faun beastmen try to drive away outsiders with sticks and stones, skirmish only
95 Centaur necromancer with ghoul followers wants to feed his pets
96 Pack of sobbing undead children at first seem normal till they start swarming and biting
97 Dark centaur hunter with bone bow shoots poison arrows will harry for days avoiding melee
98 Mysterious ghostwood albino elves assault with arrows and spells then flee
99 Dark elf traders will try to charm travellers to be slaves, send in undead and flee if fails
100 A bone dragon comes to destroy outsiders, his gas breath liquifies flesh

d40 Ghostwood Items
1 Bone femur flute
2 Bone and human organ bagpipes
3 Bone comb
4 Rib cage lyre
5 Urn of ash, bone fragments and 1d20 coins
6 Scroll in bone tube, a letter warning about coming disaster from lost kingdom
7 Scroll in bone tube, a long lost love letter and poem
8 Scroll in bone tube, a necromancer scroll
9 Scroll in bone tube, cure light wounds spell
10 Scroll in bone tube, necromantic treatise on undead
11 A creepy rag or porcelain doll
12 A bag of fresh eyeballs
13 A bag if opened releases a flying screaming flaming skull
14 A sealed bottle of strange vapour contains a spitit
15 A sealed bottle of strange vapour contains an imp
16 A bottle of long spoiled wine
17 A bottle of finest brandy or rum
18 A bone pipe with hash or opium or lotus or other drug resin
19 A snuff box with dust from leng causing maddening hallucinations
20 A scribe set in a bone box
21 A bag of knuckle bones
22 A bag of bone dice
23 A box with a bone and wood chess set with undead characters for pieces
24 A skull in a box of interest to necromancers, they question skull with spells
25 A book from the lost kingdom detailing every day life
26 A partial map of the lost kingdom
27 A gold ring houses spirit of necromancer who tries to possess wearer
28 A bag with a set of bone and gold dentures
29 Necklace of skulls carved from bone
30 A bag with packed necromancers lunch
31 Bone arrow of unfamiliar design
32 Bag with crying baby goblin, needs milk or keeps screaming once opened
33 A clay jar of honey from hallucinogenic plants, causes 12 hour long fevered dreams
34 A bag with dried bundle of sweet smelling flowers
35 A bad with dried heart full of thorns or nails
36 A bag with holy water bottle
37 A bag with bottle of weak healing potion
38 A bag of dried hallucinogenic mushrooms
39 A bag of fish skeletons
40 A box with a bear or wolf cub
41 A bottle of flammable oil and a lantern
42 A bag of tallow candles made from rendered human fat
43 Bag of dried mystery meat
44 A map of tunnels beneath the woods
45 A bag of severed hands
46 A bag of bone meal
47 A bag of delicious boiled sweeties
48 A bag of worm ridden head cheese
49 A clay jar of sour curdled milk
50 A bag of leather cord filled with knots