Mask 10: The Dead Man Mask
Found in a ruined cliff-city.
The mask takes the gruesome form of a bloated corpse. The torso fits over the wearer’s head, while the limbs and head flap wildly during ceremonies. Lank human hair tops the macabre figure.
On a cloudless day, atop a mighty hill, one may commence the Dance of the Dead while wearing the Dead Man Mask to resurrect up to d6 corpses, no matter the state of decay. Once up and walking, the corpses follow any commands given to them.
One must be careful, as there’s a 1:6 chance a corpse becomes host to a ghoul, an unclean spirit with a taste for human flesh. Ghouls are crafty, waiting until the right moment to strike, taking their summoner unaware. Ghouls are also privy to information only the dead may know, possibly answering questions in exchange for freedom.
Ghoul - HD 13; Claw/Claw/Bite (damage as middling heavy weapon); mundane weapon immunity
Mundane weapons may destroy the host corpse, but they cannot harm the ghoul itself. It simply transfers to another corpse or, if a corpse is not present, it tries to possess the wearer of the Dead Man Mask. Save versus True Grit, or else become host to the ghoul.
Thank you to Feirsteax for the tag and Stella for starting this whole thing.
Next, I tag blark
Megapost:
I'm starting a weird little thing for rpg bloggers called the great magic mask relay. To start it off I wrote a diabolic magic mask from the dawn of the iron age for B/X. The next person up is Moose. https://poundsofnothing.blogspot.com/2025/07/mask-01-mask-of-iron-warriors.html
Previous masks:
01: https://poundsofnothing.blogspot.com/2025/07/mask-01-mask-of-iron-warriors.html
02: https://icbmoose.blot.im/mask-02-ships-scapegoat
03: https://newtyoung.com/blogs/blog/mask-of-penitence
04: https://wasitlikely.blogspot.com/2025/08/mask-04-dog-dolly-darling-daddy.html
05: https://bluemountain.bearblog.dev/mask-05-jade-and-love/
06: https://unturnedhovel.bearblog.dev/mask-06-death-mask-of-the-seer-resident/
07: https://eviltables.com/2025/08/20/mask-07-albans-festival-mask/
08: https://gromblog-mask-of-telepathy.carrd.co/
09: https://feirsteax.blogspot.com/2025/09/mask-09-eye-mask-of-nlin-dreamer.html