The ancient crypts and dusty tombs of Adon often hold more than just the dead. Many times these hallowed resting places are repositories of inestimable wealth, forbidden lore, and powerful magic – but not without inhabitants or guardians. The restless dead often haunt these cold graves and barrows, beings powerful enough to resist the final embrace of death and return to the land of the living. The mere mention of the undead is enough to ward off most would-be grave robbers and tomb raiders… but not all of them.
One such group of fearless pilferers is known as the Bone Panders, a loose-knit organization of adventurers and mercenaries that scour Adon’s graveyards in search of wealth and lore. Some unscrupulous Bone Panders recover and sell fresh bodies as cadavers, or even the remains of legendary heroes to sell body parts piecemeal as relics. Yet the Bone Panders are more than mere tomb robbers, they are also hunters of the undead. Many noble and august organizations of undead slayers exist in Adon, such as the militant Pale Reavers or the Church of Laris, all grim crusaders in the fight to eradicate the undead menace. However, the Bone Panders are unique in that they do not hunt the undead for just and noble causes; on the contrary, they hunt them for profit. Wizards, scholars, and universities from all across Adon pay handsomely for undead remnants such as ghostly ectoplasm, vampire ichor, or lich dust. Some demented necromancers or anatomists pay princely sums for captured undead specimens, a deadly undertaking indeed.
Grave robbing is a detestable crime in civilized nations, and even in the frontier regions of Adon plundering tombs or trespassing on sacred burial grounds is taboo. If local government or law enforcement is made aware that Bone Panders are operating in their village or city, the offending party may be banished or jailed on the spot. Thus, the Bone Panders must tread lightly and operate quickly whenever they go about their macabre business. In order to diminish their presence, Bone Panders work only in four-man groups known as skulks.
