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Nerdarchy > Dungeons & Dragons  > Out of the Box Encounters: Ghost and the Darkness

Out of the Box Encounters: Ghost and the Darkness

Dexterity: The Grace and Fumble of Movement
Constitution: Tough as Nails, or Fragile as Glass?

To continue my series in October and bringing in some more Out of the Box adventures inspired by some awesome movies let me present another for you. I have been thinking about these lions for a long time and I finally made this happen. I truly love this movie and its setup makes for some serious adventure vibes.  Incorporating creatures like Ghost and the Darkness from the movie into your D&D game is an excellent way to craft an atmosphere of dread and tension over multiple encounters. Unlike a traditional “kill the monster and move on” scenario, this encounter has the lions Lion Face covered in bloodstalking the party, striking when least expected, and slipping back into the shadows. Players must investigate, gather information, and adapt as they face creatures that aren’t just ordinary lions, but monstrosities that seem born of nightmare—cunning, calculating, and nearly impossible to track.

In this setup, the party is hired to protect workers constructing a new village in the wilderness. Something—or some things—has been slaughtering the workers and spreading fear throughout the camp. These lions aren’t ordinary animals; they are terrifying, supernatural predators. Known to the locals as the Ghost and the Darkness, these creatures are more than just legends.


Ghost and the Darkness

Encounter Level: 5-7

Encounter Setup

The party has been called to assist in the building of a new village in a remote, dangerous area. For weeks, strange attacks have plagued the workforce, with bodies found brutally torn apart and dragged into the wilderness. Panic is spreading, and the workers refuse to continue unless the threat is eliminated.

When the party arrives, they’ll need to use a variety of skills to piece together what they’re up against.


Skill Challenges

Before facing the Ghost and the Darkness, the party must gather information and assess the threat. These skill checks will help them prepare and develop strategies to confront the lions.

  1. Investigation (DC 14): The party can examine the workers’ camp and the surrounding area for clues. Success reveals large paw prints that seem to appear and disappear inexplicably, as though the lions themselves can shift in and out of reality. They also find remains of previous victims, all with eerily precise, surgical wounds.
  2. Nature (DC 15): A successful check reveals that while the creatures resemble lions, their hunting patterns are unnatural. Unlike normal lions, which kill for food, these creatures seem to kill for sport, always leaving their prey behind.
  3. History or Arcana (DC 14): Researching or speaking with local shamans or sages reveals tales of the Ghost and the Darkness—lions said to be born of dark magic or curses, able to become invisible and shift through shadows. The more the party learns, the more they realize they aren’t dealing with normal animals, but something monstrous.
  4. Survival (DC 13): Tracking the lions is incredibly difficult due to their unnatural ability to vanish, but a successful Survival check reveals faint trails leading toward deep woods or caves, where the lions likely have their lair.

The Encounter

The Ghost and the Darkness are not meant to be defeated in a single encounter. They’ll stalk the party, using hit-and-run tactics, vanishing into the night after each attack. They should be treated as intelligent foes that use the environment to their advantage, disappearing into the wilderness when the fight doesn’t favor them.


Ghost and Darkness Stat Blocks

The Ghost

Large Monstrosity, Chaotic Evil


  • Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points: 114 (12d10+48)
  • Speed: 50 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 12 (+1)

  • Saving Throws: Dex +7, Wis +5
  • Skills: Stealth +9, Perception +5, Survival +5
  • Damage Resistances: Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
  • Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 15
  • Languages: Understands Common and Elvish but cannot speak
  • Challenge: 6 (2,300 XP)

Shadow Step: The Ghost can move between shadows. As a bonus action, it can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see that is in dim light or darkness. After teleporting, it has advantage on the first melee attack it makes before the end of its turn.

Predator’s Sense: The Ghost has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Ghostly Invisibility (Recharge 5-6): As an action, the Ghost can turn invisible for up to 1 minute. The invisibility ends if it attacks or casts a spell. While invisible, it leaves no physical traces and cannot be tracked by non-magical means.

Keen Smell: The Ghost has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Actions


Multiattack: The Ghost makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.

Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage.

Claw: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.


The Darkness

Large Monstrosity, Chaotic Evil


  • Armor Class: 16 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points: 126 (12d10+60)
  • Speed: 50 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 8 (-1) 14 (+2) 10 (+0)

  • Saving Throws: Str +8, Dex +6, Con +8
  • Skills: Stealth +8, Perception +5, Intimidation +4
  • Damage Resistances: Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
  • Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 15
  • Languages: Understands Common and Elvish but cannot speak
  • Challenge: 7 (2,900 XP)

Unnatural Presence: When the Darkness is within 30 feet of a creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn. A creature that succeeds on the save is immune to this effect for 24 hours.

Night Stalker: The Darkness has advantage on attack rolls against creatures that are frightened or in dim light.

Cunning Escape (Recharge 4-6): When the Darkness takes damage, it can use its reaction to take the Disengage action and move up to half its speed. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

Keen Smell: The Darkness has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Actions


Multiattack: The Darkness makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.

Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage.

Claw: Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage.


Running the Encounter

The key to this encounter is not in immediately confronting and defeating Ghost and the Darkness. Instead, the lions should serve as recurring threats, harrying the players at night, disappearing into the wilderness, and using hit-and-run tactics. The party will need to balance protecting the workers with tracking down the lions’ lair—if they can even find it.

You can sprinkle in smaller clues or attacks from Ghost and the Darkness throughout several sessions. Perhaps the party hears disturbing sounds at night, or a worker goes missing after a brief moment of carelessness. These mini-encounters build tension, making the final confrontation even more satisfying.

When the party is finally ready to face the lions, they’ll need to track them to their lair—perhaps a cave hidden deep in the wilderness or an overgrown ruin. This final showdown should be brutal, with the lions using their full array of abilities to evade and terrorize the party.


Conclusion

This D&D encounter with the Ghost and the Darkness allows you to play with tension, pacing, and fear in a way that’s different from your typical monster hunt. The supernatural nature of the lions turns a simple predator into an unrelenting, calculating threat that requires cunning, strategy, and perseverance to defeat. By having these creatures attack over time and retreating when it suits them, your players will feel the true weight of danger. When they finally face Ghost and the Darkness in their lair, victory will be all the sweeter in this RPG encounter.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!

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Ted Adams

The nerd is strong in this one. I received my bachelors degree in communication with a specialization in Radio/TV/Film. I have been a table top role player for over 30 years. I have played several iterations of D&D, Mutants and Masterminds 2nd and 3rd editions, Star wars RPG, Shadowrun and World of Darkness as well as mnay others since starting Nerdarchy. I am an avid fan of books and follow a few authors reading all they write. Favorite author is Jim Butcher I have been an on/off larper for around 15 years even doing a stretch of running my own for a while. I have played a number of Miniature games including Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, Heroscape, Mage Knight, Dreamblade and D&D Miniatures. I have practiced with the art of the German long sword with an ARMA group for over 7 years studying the German long sword, sword and buckler, dagger, axe and polearm. By no strecth of the imagination am I an expert but good enough to last longer than the average person if the Zombie apocalypse ever happens. I am an avid fan of board games and dice games with my current favorite board game is Betrayal at House on the Hill.

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