Lacuna Coil’s House of Shame is simple inspiration because the first two lines are just…awesome. They’re also fantastic live. I would advise it if that’s your thing.
As the characters walk through a settlement near a cemetery, a disheveled man makes eye contact with them, smiles warmly, then says, “Run.” Anyone who sticks around then sees the man calmly turn toward the cemetery, raise his arms, and say, “Rise!” Within a minute, the ground in the cemetery begins to open.
Germinate
Next, we are going to germinate the seed with secrets. Some of these secrets might contradict each other. They do not all have to be used. Rather, they are to give a GM some ideas to work with. Anything highlighted in brackets is fair game to change…then again, it’s all fair game to change because you’re the GM.
- The man is a [farmer; blacksmith; alchemist; undertaker] who is angry with the [council; merchant’s guild; some random citizens].
- The man is a necromancer traveling through nearby settlements with an artifact allowing him to raise the dead. His motivations are [nefarious; altruistic; insane].
- The man is undead, himself, and reviving [members of a lost cult; former servants; spies; any recently dead person].
- Whatever grants this man the power was in the well water. Perhaps people were buried before they were dead. Instead, they were in a condition of stasis.
- It is not corpses that crawls from the ground but something else like [rats; insects; an amalgamation of dead; incorporeal spirits; an earth elemental].
- The man is no stranger. The party has seen him previously. He was [the priest that removed a curse; the armorer who fixed their chainmail; the potion dealer].
- The man appears not to be alone. There are others positioned around the cemetery, or there is a [halfling; elf; goblin] standing just behind him.
- Risen corpses walk in unison toward [the town hall; the town square; the edge of town; the tavern; the party].
- If questioned, the man says he [has no intention to hurt anyone; hopes to control the town; will show people what he is made of].
- The man is just a pawn serving a [lich; powerful necromancer; mage gone made; skilled illusionist; lesser deity].
Grow
This seed makes for an obvious combat encounter, where the party would fight whatever rises from the cemetery and could include the man, himself. Any combat might also include town guards and dialogue that might have the party questioning their allegiance. However, combat is not the only possibility.
For a one-shot, the party might wisely flee or otherwise be driven off by the man. Telegraph the impossibility of an initial battle and allow the party to collect a weapon or allies that might help them defeat the scourge in a single session.
The party could also do this across several sessions, especially if the weapon to defeat the scourge is something they must seek elsewhere. This would make for a great adventure.
Or perhaps this is only the beginning. This man is not alone and is part of a larger conspiracy to raise the dead and fill the land with undead and pestilence. The party was just introduced to the campaign villain.