[Campaign] Trapped in Ravenloft

[Myou]

SPOILERS FOR MY PLAYERS

Heya all. I'm in the process of starting my current campaign (3.5), and I thought I'd post the outline I have planned for the first session, in the hope that you guys might have some tips to help create the atmosphere I want and develop things in the next few sessions.

The premise for this game is that 4 first level characters adventuring in Faerun, a duo who know each-other, and two others, all awake together in the Ravenloft demiplane, and together survive long enough to escape - then try to find out how they were sent there in the first place.

They're gestalt, with a 32 point buy, so they're pretty tough, but they need to be, because I plan on their time in Ravenloft being pretty brutal. I want them to feel a sense of dread when an encounter appears, and to feel genuinely uneasy. I want it to feel like the setting itself is a malevolent entity out to get them. Like victims in a horror film they'll have to run and hide and struggle just to get a breather and a chance to rest and recover.

The four of them will awake on a dark night in a dense hillside forest of black-leafed trees, whose leaves are spiked and jagged, and very unlike any plants found in Faerun (a chance to make a planes knowledge check to realize they're not in Kansas any more), which thick bushes and saplings forming dense undergrowth (combined effects give a miss chance, and partial concealment for creatures not in melee range). They feel a deep seated unease, almost a sickness, in the pits of their stomachs, as is something were very wrong about everything around them, but before they can share stories and try to figure out how they got there, they encounter a pack of shambling undead, wandering the forest, badly rotted as if they were very old, flesh dripping from their bones, sickening anyone who fails a fort save.

The zombies are a tough fight, but can be escaped or avoided relatively easily. As they head through the forest they'll find a stream that leads down the sloping valley side towards a village at the bottom of the valley. as if to heard them in that direction, it quickly starts to rain heavily. Assuming they decide to check it our rather than hang about in zombie-plagued woods, when they go down there they'll find the place eerily quiet - windows are barred shut or even boarded up, and there are no lights on anywhere, except the taven where a few villagers are gathered, looking rather glum and suspicious of the new arrivals. The innkeeper tells them they're 5 days from the nearest settlement, and that the hills swam with foul creatures at night. then he'll charge them an extortionate fee to stay the night. He and the other villagers will refuse to talk much and give only cryptic answers.

Later in the night, after the rain has stopped they see the innkeeper barring the door and putting out the fire, as outside they start to hear movement, unseen creatures brushing against the door and making strange soft clicking sounds as if searching blindly in the dark.

When the PCs are asleep the innkeeper will sneak into their room armed with a dagger, and attempt to coup de grace them one by one, starting with the nearest one (who will mercifully has the best fort save). All 4 PCs will get listen checks to hear him, and once detected he will immediately fly into a suicidal frenzy, attacking them with no regard for himself. The other villagers who were in the inn will run in to join him. They fight without any anger, instead looking more like animals, with pallid skin and wide eyes making them seem unwell. As the battle progresses the rain will start to return, along with thunder, a storm beginning.

When defeated their bodies seem to break apart unpleasantly easily, and their skulls shatter on hitting the floor, viscous fluids and putrefied brain matter splattering he floor as large, hissing maggots are released, squirming free of their dying meals.

The noise of the fighting has drawn attention from outside, and the players hear the doors on the ground floor being broken in with a crash, many clacking, clicking creatures moving into the building.

The creatures are all limbs, reared up like human figures but with entirely alien bodies, chitinous and hairy spider-like arms and legs extending in angular lines from shapeless torsos, quietly clacking layers of mandibles lining the front, with no visible heads or eyes, clouds of sickening vapor jetting from wet air holes in their shoulders as they blindly grope for their prey. The sight of them alone terrifies weak willed PCs (will save), and inhaling the spore-like concoction they exhale infects the players with a disease that they immediately feel starting to sap their strength (fort save). The monsters are not alone, followed by thralls, humans, alive, moaning in pain as they shamble towards the PCs, their flesh wet and translucent, falling apart when pressure is applied, moved against their will by the power of the monsters, already beyond saving thanks to the vile rotting disease the creatures exude.

The numbers and the frightful nature of the beasts and their servants should drive the players to flee even if they didn't flee before having to meet the creatures at all. With some skill checks they can descend from a window to the ground at the back of the building and escape into the dark and wet of the stormy forest.

As they flee they will have to fight or evade more undead, but can take shelter in a cave they reach near the top of the hillside. The cave seems deserted, and a check reveals that while there are cracks in the back wall that go back an unknown distance, there is nothing in sight. The players will certainly have someone on watch this time they try to rest, and good thing too, as after a few hours several creatures will emerge into the cave, attempting to take them by surprise, able to squeeze through the cracks in the back wall.

The monsters are a pair of scorpion-like beasts, but in lieu of armoured exoskeletons they have fleshy, boneless bodies, the fronts holding more legs rather than claws or a head, their bodies looking like sacks of flesh attached to their tails, undulating as if something else were moving inside them, while their tails are a nest of writhing tentacles, each tipped with needle-likened maws that drool and rasp. The monsters try to grapple and pin players, so they can inject their maggots through the ear into the brain, and they regenerate from all damage, only acid able to kill them for good. On being split open the beasts burst like over-ripe fruit, swarms of maggots wriggling out, attacking anyone who is caught in the same square.

Once the aberrations are dealt with, the players are safe enough for a real rest - just as dawn approaches. That's the end of the session.




So what do you think? Too hammy? Too gory? Good if it's played right?

And suggestions for how to add to the sense of horror at the things encountered, and at the atmosphere?

And where should things go in the next session?

[Tokuhara]

SPOILERS FOR MY PLAYERS

Heya all. I'm in the process of starting my current campaign (3.5), and I thought I'd post the outline I have planned for the first session, in the hope that you guys might have some tips to help create the atmosphere I want and develop things in the next few sessions.

The premise for this game is that 4 first level characters adventuring in Faerun, a duo who know each-other, and two others, all awake together in the Ravenloft demiplane, and together survive long enough to escape - then try to find out how they were sent there in the first place.

They're gestalt, with a 32 point buy, so they're pretty tough, but they need to be, because I plan on their time in Ravenloft being pretty brutal. I want them to feel a sense of dread when an encounter appears, and to feel genuinely uneasy. I want it to feel like the setting itself is a malevolent entity out to get them. Like victims in a horror film they'll have to run and hide and struggle just to get a breather and a chance to rest and recover.

The four of them will awake on a dark night in a dense hillside forest of black-leafed trees, whose leaves are spiked and jagged, and very unlike any plants found in Faerun (a chance to make a planes knowledge check to realize they're not in Kansas any more), which thick bushes and saplings forming dense undergrowth (combined effects give a miss chance, and partial concealment for creatures not in melee range). They feel a deep seated unease, almost a sickness, in the pits of their stomachs, as is something were very wrong about everything around them, but before they can share stories and try to figure out how they got there, they encounter a pack of shambling undead, wandering the forest, badly rotted as if they were very old, flesh dripping from their bones, sickening anyone who fails a fort save.

The zombies are a tough fight, but can be escaped or avoided relatively easily. As they head through the forest they'll find a stream that leads down the sloping valley side towards a village at the bottom of the valley. as if to heard them in that direction, it quickly starts to rain heavily. Assuming they decide to check it our rather than hang about in zombie-plagued woods, when they go down there they'll find the place eerily quiet - windows are barred shut or even boarded up, and there are no lights on anywhere, except the taven where a few villagers are gathered, looking rather glum and suspicious of the new arrivals. The innkeeper tells them they're 5 days from the nearest settlement, and that the hills swam with foul creatures at night. then he'll charge them an extortionate fee to stay the night. He and the other villagers will refuse to talk much and give only cryptic answers.

Later in the night, after the rain has stopped they see the innkeeper barring the door and putting out the fire, as outside they start to hear movement, unseen creatures brushing against the door and making strange soft clicking sounds as if searching blindly in the dark.

When the PCs are asleep the innkeeper will sneak into their room armed with a dagger, and attempt to coup de grace them one by one, starting with the nearest one (who will mercifully has the best fort save). All 4 PCs will get listen checks to hear him, and once detected he will immediately fly into a suicidal frenzy, attacking them with no regard for himself. The other villagers who were in the inn will run in to join him. They fight without any anger, instead looking more like animals, with pallid skin and wide eyes making them seem unwell. As the battle progresses the rain will start to return, along with thunder, a storm beginning.

When defeated their bodies seem to break apart unpleasantly easily, and their skulls shatter on hitting the floor, viscous fluids and putrefied brain matter splattering he floor as large, hissing maggots are released, squirming free of their dying meals.

The noise of the fighting has drawn attention from outside, and the players hear the doors on the ground floor being broken in with a crash, many clacking, clicking creatures moving into the building.

The creatures are all limbs, reared up like human figures but with entirely alien bodies, chitinous and hairy spider-like arms and legs extending in angular lines from shapeless torsos, quietly clacking layers of mandibles lining the front, with no visible heads or eyes, clouds of sickening vapor jetting from wet air holes in their shoulders as they blindly grope for their prey. The sight of them alone terrifies weak willed PCs (will save), and inhaling the spore-like concoction they exhale infects the players with a disease that they immediately feel starting to sap their strength (fort save). The monsters are not alone, followed by thralls, humans, alive, moaning in pain as they shamble towards the PCs, their flesh wet and translucent, falling apart when pressure is applied, moved against their will by the power of the monsters, already beyond saving thanks to the vile rotting disease the creatures exude.

The numbers and the frightful nature of the beasts and their servants should drive the players to flee even if they didn't flee before having to meet the creatures at all. With some skill checks they can descend from a window to the ground at the back of the building and escape into the dark and wet of the stormy forest.

As they flee they will have to fight or evade more undead, but can take shelter in a cave they reach near the top of the hillside. The cave seems deserted, and a check reveals that while there are cracks in the back wall that go back an unknown distance, there is nothing in sight. The players will certainly have someone on watch this time they try to rest, and good thing too, as after a few hours several creatures will emerge into the cave, attempting to take them by surprise, able to squeeze through the cracks in the back wall.

The monsters are a pair of scorpion-like beasts, but in lieu of armoured exoskeletons they have fleshy, boneless bodies, the fronts holding more legs rather than claws or a head, their bodies looking like sacks of flesh attached to their tails, undulating as if something else were moving inside them, while their tails are a nest of writhing tentacles, each tipped with needle-likened maws that drool and rasp. The monsters try to grapple and pin players, so they can inject their maggots through the ear into the brain, and they regenerate from all damage, only acid able to kill them for good. On being split open the beasts burst like over-ripe fruit, swarms of maggots wriggling out, attacking anyone who is caught in the same square.

Once the aberrations are dealt with, the players are safe enough for a real rest - just as dawn approaches. That's the end of the session.




So what do you think? Too hammy? Too gory? Good if it's played right?

And suggestions for how to add to the sense of horror at the things encountered, and at the atmosphere?

And where should things go in the next session?

You must wake up every morning and say, "I think I'll do evil today." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzpgAQpcp8o)

[Myou]

You must wake up every morning and say, "I think I'll do evil today." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzpgAQpcp8o)

Of course, clearly I need more cursed magical items! :smallbiggrin:

[Kol Korran]

SPOILERS FOR MY PLAYERS

The premise for this game is that 4 first level characters adventuring in Faerun, a duo who know each-other, and two others, all awake together in the Ravenloft demiplane, and together survive long enough to escape - then try to find out how they were sent there in the first place.

do you have any idea why they were taken by Ravenloft? the land usually takes only the very powerful, very twisted/ conflicted or both.

since you can't get more characters into ravenloft, and since the characters are awfully squishy at 1st level (Gestalt and 32 point buy are nice, but 1 HD is 1 HD) i'd strongly suggest to make them a higher level. i'd suggest 3. at level 1 they are 1-2 rolls away from dying.


I plan on their time in Ravenloft being pretty brutal. I want them to feel a sense of dread when an encounter appears, and to feel genuinely uneasy. I want it to feel like the setting itself is a malevolent entity out to get them. Like victims in a horror film they'll have to run and hide and struggle just to get a breather and a chance to rest and recover.

:smallbiggrin: and that is how ravenloft should be played.


The zombies are a tough fight, but can be escaped or avoided relatively easily.
i suggest to let them come in some waves, and explicitly detail to the party they hear more moaning through the woods.

i don't know if the zombies have more of a role other than just a fight, but here are a few ideas:

let the zombies moan PARTS of the characters names, with other zombies completing them perhaps. at fisrt let it be jumbled up or weak, but the party should figure this out fairly fast.
you need to make these zombies a bit different than the normal shambling zombies (who are a pity of a fight) i suggest giving them some sort of a "surge of speed" ability, make them able to close distance fast or have the full normal round of actions that most creatures do every ... 1d4/6 rounds? might creep them out.
instead of slamming the party, have the zombies try and grapple them. and then bite them. it's less effective, but often more frightening.



As they head through the forest they'll find a stream that leads down the sloping valley side towards a village at the bottom of the valley. as if to herd them in that direction,

beware of railroading the party. (which is partly about what Eberron is trying to do). many parties might want to explore more places in the woods. let them do so, and let them find other kinds of signs of habituation (plantation, a short well used track and the like) all leading to the village. (i guess this is railroading)


The innkeeper tells them they're 5 days from the nearest settlement, and that the hills swam with foul creatures at night. then he'll charge them an extortionate fee to stay the night. He and the other villagers will refuse to talk much and give only cryptic answers.

at this point most players will be freaked out a bit (hopefully) or damn suspicious. i suggest to make a few "colorful" characters to speak with, enhance the creepiness. this is an opportunity you really shouldn't let out.
a few things the characters might get knowledge of:

the name of the closest town
the name of the region they are in and possibly the ruler (though i'd suggest to give him a spooky title than a real name) the people make signs against evil when speaking it's name. no mention of ravenloft.
no one heard of the Faerunian gods
perhaps some mentions and scary tales of the monsters. is suggest through the villages personal stories. like a young little girl who plays with a sullen scarred silent hulk. they are twins. "he tried to save mommy and daddy, the laughing ones did it to him" and the like.



Later in the night, after the rain has stopped they see the innkeeper barring the door and putting out the fire, as outside they start to hear movement, unseen creatures brushing against the door and making strange soft clicking sounds as if searching blindly in the dark.

When the PCs are asleep the innkeeper will sneak into their room armed with a dagger, and attempt to coup de grace them one by one, starting with the nearest one (who will mercifully has the best fort save).

if your characters are actually asleep, and if they didn't put up a guard they all deserve to die. if it were my group they'd probably stay wide awake, at least the non caster ones.


The other villagers who were in the inn will run in to join him. They fight without any anger, instead looking more like animals, with pallid skin and wide eyes making them seem unwell.

When defeated their bodies seem to break apart unpleasantly easily, and their skulls shatter on hitting the floor, viscous fluids and putrefied brain matter splattering he floor as large, hissing maggots are released, squirming free of their dying meals.

Do you have some sort of an explanation to this? it seems like the bug creatures are causing this, but they haven't gotten into the inn? horror is horror, but many players like there to be some sort of consistency and logic.


The noise of the fighting has drawn attention from outside, and the players hear the doors on the ground floor being broken in with a crash, many clacking, clicking creatures moving into the building.

The creatures are all limbs, reared up like human figures but with entirely alien bodies, chitinous and hairy spider-like arms and legs extending in angular lines from shapeless torsos, quietly clacking layers of mandibles lining the front, with no visible heads or eyes, clouds of sickening vapor jetting from wet air holes in their shoulders as they blindly grope for their prey. The sight of them alone terrifies weak willed PCs (will save), and inhaling the spore-like concoction they exhale infects the players with a disease that they immediately feel starting to sap their strength (fort save). The monsters are not alone, followed by thralls, humans, alive, moaning in pain as they shamble towards the PCs, their flesh wet and translucent, falling apart when pressure is applied, moved against their will by the power of the monsters, already beyond saving thanks to the vile rotting disease the creatures exude.

why weren't the doors broken before? the creatures rely solely on sound? beware the party might try to be heroic or too adventurous here, and it might easily lead to a TPK.

but otherthan that i think it's a good frightening scene. i suggest to have the crashing happen in the near end of the previous battle, thus linking the two, and giving the party not much respite.


As they flee they will have to fight or evade more undead, but can take shelter in a cave they reach near the top of the hillside. The cave seems deserted, and a check reveals that while there are cracks in the back wall that go back an unknown distance, there is nothing in sight.

this is too much like the Hobbit. again, you just put your players through a frightening encounter, and you expect them to hide... in a cave... that is not fully explored... with one opening... (except for the cracks) in a forest of creepy zombies... while the insect creatures are still about?

my players would head for the road for the next town, and won't stop till they are damn exhausted.


as after a few hours several creatures will emerge into the cave, attempting to take them by surprise, able to squeeze through the cracks in the back wall.

if the creatures hunt by sound, how did they find the sleeping party but not the inn full of people (at first)? also, i think you're running the party too thin, especially if they are 1st level. i doubt they'll have any resources to handle this battle. i suggest to let the creatures find them while they do their morning preparations, perhaps in their midst (so casters may have recuperated only a part of their spells)


and they regenerate from all damage, only acid able to kill them for good. On being split open the beasts burst like over-ripe fruit, swarms of maggots wriggling out, attacking anyone who is caught in the same square.
regenerate from how much damage? can the players hit them and cause enough damage to kill one without acid? do the players even have acid? in sufficient amount? (most magic users will have used their acid spells by now)

do the players have to fight a maggot swarm? this sounds like one insanely tough fight for 1st level.


Once the aberrations are dealt with, the players are safe enough for a real rest - just as dawn approaches. That's the end of the session.

the session sounds well so far, but no session in Eberron should end with "and all is well" situation. Cliffhanger! unexpected horror! the "oh **** we're screwed!" feeling! Dread, deep seated dread is what ravenloft is all about!
i suggest to either end the session as the creatures are getting in, or perhaps introduce another element of fear, such as a mild sign of transformation of the PCs themselves, or some illness.


So what do you think? Too hammy? Too gory? Good if it's played right?
i think you definitely got the tone right. you're vivid with descriptions and the sense of horror which is good. good luck!


And where should things go in the next session?
just saw this... you don't have a rough sketch of where things are going? i'd suggest to have some, that way you can answer people's questions now aboutthe future and create consistency.

i'd suggest to focus on the run to the next town, a safer one. soem elements that might be incorporated:
- first some pursuit of stricken villagers
- then a more intense pursuit by some strong horseman (think nazgul or headless horseman, but make it more interesting)
- encountering various challenges of the countryside. weird nature and the like.
- perhaps meeting a survivor of the little village (outdoors man? a witch?) someone who can provide more creepy info, some help, and perhaps a safe place to rest.
- finding the next town under some serious trouble, such as besieged by the creatures in the first adventure

i hope this helps,
Kol.

[Myou]

do you have any idea why they were taken by Ravenloft? the land usually takes only the very powerful, very twisted/ conflicted or both.

That's something I've been undecided on for a while. At the moment my favourite idea is that the setting itself has started reaching out to claim people, and is targeting not the strong, but those who have the potential to become strong - and to become forces for good.



since you can't get more characters into ravenloft, and since the characters are awfully squishy at 1st level (Gestalt and 32 point buy are nice, but 1 HD is 1 HD) i'd strongly suggest to make them a higher level. i'd suggest 3. at level 1 they are 1-2 rolls away from dying.

While I want things to feel pretty brutal and awful for them, I'm not above pulling a few punches. I'm also giving them max hit points per level.

You've got a good point, but we wanted that feeling of vulnerability that level 1 characters have, and that fun 'just starting out' vibe.



:smallbiggrin: and that is how ravenloft should be played.

I'm glad you approve. :smallbiggrin:



i suggest to let them come in some waves, and explicitly detail to the party they hear more moaning through the woods.

i don't know if the zombies have more of a role other than just a fight, but here are a few ideas:

let the zombies moan PARTS of the characters names, with other zombies completing them perhaps. at fisrt let it be jumbled up or weak, but the party should figure this out fairly fast.
you need to make these zombies a bit different than the normal shambling zombies (who are a pity of a fight) i suggest giving them some sort of a "surge of speed" ability, make them able to close distance fast or have the full normal round of actions that most creatures do every ... 1d4/6 rounds? might creep them out.
instead of slamming the party, have the zombies try and grapple them. and then bite them. it's less effective, but often more frightening.


The zombies are basically meant to be some of the past victims, there to 'welcome' new arrivals. As such it makes sense for them to welcome them by name. :smallamused:

Waves would help get the players moving too.

Ohhh, I like that grappling idea, very nice. They clearly need an infectious bite too, a good chance for some more fort saves. Plus grappling with a decaying, disintegrating corpse is a pretty disgusting thought.



beware of railroading the party. (which is partly about what Eberron is trying to do). many parties might want to explore more places in the woods. let them do so, and let them find other kinds of signs of habituation (plantation, a short well used track and the like) all leading to the village. (i guess this is railroading)

I like that - more signs pointing towards the village. I don't expect them to try searching the hills, but you never know. Of course that also means more zombies to fight.



at this point most players will be freaked out a bit (hopefully) or damn suspicious. i suggest to make a few "colorful" characters to speak with, enhance the creepiness. this is an opportunity you really shouldn't let out.
a few things the characters might get knowledge of:

the name of the closest town
the name of the region they are in and possibly the ruler (though i'd suggest to give him a spooky title than a real name) the people make signs against evil when speaking it's name. no mention of ravenloft.
no one heard of the Faerunian gods
perhaps some mentions and scary tales of the monsters. is suggest through the villages personal stories. like a young little girl who plays with a sullen scarred silent hulk. they are twins. "he tried to save mommy and daddy, the laughing ones did it to him" and the like.


Good point, I should use the NPCs there. The village is too remote to have any lord, alone out in the mountainous forests. I was planning on the temple, should they search it, having a number of abandoned holy symbols - some from their own gods, others from gods not known to them.

The villagers are victims of the scorpion-like beasts in the cave, infected with their offspring, being used as a combination of mobile food supply and tool to lure in fresh meat, which they then drag up the hillside to feed to their progenitors. The larvae in them are the same ones that the scorpion-like aberrations contain. The scorpion-like and spider-like creatures are actually two different factions.

Because the villagers are still alive, but their minds are being destroyed by the parasites, it doesn't seem right for them to be too talkative - perhaps beyond answering a few simple questions they start to act as if distressed when questioned, but refuse to talk about why, and mutter about the pain, and the throbbing... crawling... burrowing....

Oh, and one of them should totally be a little girl, with her father.



if your characters are actually asleep, and if they didn't put up a guard they all deserve to die. if it were my group they'd probably stay wide awake, at least the non caster ones.

Well, my group are used to me being a benevolent DM, so while I've warned them not to play the hero and to be careful, I think there's even odds they'll all sleep. If they stay awake then good for them though! :smallsmile:

I'll probably require some sort of will save to stay awake all night though. Low DC. What do you think?



Do you have some sort of an explanation to this? it seems like the bug creatures are causing this, but they haven't gotten into the inn? horror is horror, but many players like there to be some sort of consistency and logic.

Yeah, it's the two separate factions I mention earlier in this post.



why weren't the doors broken before? the creatures rely solely on sound? beware the party might try to be heroic or too adventurous here, and it might easily lead to a TPK.

but otherthan that i think it's a good frightening scene. i suggest to have the crashing happen in the near end of the previous battle, thus linking the two, and giving the party not much respite.

They do indeed rely on sound primarily, but can also perceive living things that approach too closely with their limited psionic-style capabilities. I was thinking that the sheer numbers of them should encourage the party to flee, as seen when flashes of lightning illuminate the outside, and the PCs see a sea of moving legs.

That and catching the horrible disease they can see killing the thralls. It seems to me that staying to fight after that would clearly be a death sentence.



this is too much like the Hobbit. again, you just put your players through a frightening encounter, and you expect them to hide... in a cave... that is not fully explored... with one opening... (except for the cracks) in a forest of creepy zombies... while the insect creatures are still about?

my players would head for the road for the next town, and won't stop till they are damn exhausted.

Boy, it's been a loooong time since I read that book. :smallbiggrin:

You're right, but they're going to want to take shelter somewhere, so perhaps I'll show them the cave, but put it further away, so they come on it after a number of hours of flight, when they're exhausted. They'll have to stop somewhere at that point, and the scorpion-like monsters can always come out to get them if they don't take the bait. But resting in a thunderstorm with undead outside, I'd bet on them hiding in the cave.

Hmm, perhaps the scorpion-like creatures have filled the cracks with some kind of secretion, to conceal their presence, so the cave appears to be safe.



if the creatures hunt by sound, how did they find the sleeping party but not the inn full of people (at first)? also, i think you're running the party too thin, especially if they are 1st level. i doubt they'll have any resources to handle this battle. i suggest to let the creatures find them while they do their morning preparations, perhaps in their midst (so casters may have recuperated only a part of their spells)

These scorpion-like creatures have blindsight, so they supernaturally see things around them. I clearly didn't make it very clear that the two aberrations were different creatures. :smallredface:

if they don't stay in the cave to rest then I agree, while they prepare is a nice time.



regenerate from how much damage? can the players hit them and cause enough damage to kill one without acid? do the players even have acid? in sufficient amount? (most magic users will have used their acid spells by now)

do the players have to fight a maggot swarm? this sounds like one insanely tough fight for 1st level.

Oh, they just have regeneration 2 (regenerate 2 HP per round), they can certainly be put down without it, it's just a matter of keeping them down, and I made sure they do indeed have acid, they have some scrolls of orb of acid.

I wasn't planning on using swarm rules, rather the maggots act more like an area effect, needing to be brushed off/crushed as a full round action. They only do minimal damage though.

But yeah, I do want it to be tough, it's meant to sort of be the climax to the session.



the session sounds well so far, but no session in Eberron should end with "and all is well" situation. Cliffhanger! unexpected horror! the "oh **** we're screwed!" feeling! Dread, deep seated dread is what ravenloft is all about!
i suggest to either end the session as the creatures are getting in, or perhaps introduce another element of fear, such as a mild sign of transformation of the PCs themselves, or some illness.

They've had quite a few chances to catch nasty things so far, so developing symptoms would be a great way to end.

If they manage not to get sick, then I need to come up with something else as you say. It can lead in to the next session.



i think you definitely got the tone right. you're vivid with descriptions and the sense of horror which is good. good luck!

Thank you very much! :smallsmile:



just saw this... you don't have a rough sketch of where things are going? i'd suggest to have some, that way you can answer people's questions now aboutthe future and create consistency.

So very true, this is something I really need to lay out before I start!



i'd suggest to focus on the run to the next town, a safer one. soem elements that might be incorporated:
- first some pursuit of stricken villagers
- then a more intense pursuit by some strong horseman (think nazgul or headless horseman, but make it more interesting)
- encountering various challenges of the countryside. weird nature and the like.
- perhaps meeting a survivor of the little village (outdoors man? a witch?) someone who can provide more creepy info, some help, and perhaps a safe place to rest.
- finding the next town under some serious trouble, such as besieged by the creatures in the first adventure

i hope this helps,
Kol.

Getting to the next town, or another temporary place of respite is definitely the way to go!

I like the idea of meeting some more coherent survivor - maybe that could be the end of the session, coming upon some sort of woodsman in a far flung outlying home. Although one already succumbing to the Putrefaction Sickness that the spider-like monstrosities spread, after visiting the village at night a week or so ago. He can help them find their way in the right direction before he succumbs. And speak about how he hears the spiders in his mind, and feeling them moving under his skin. And lament having watched the disease kill his wife too. Then finally ask if they breathed the vapor too.

That would really upset the players.

So with that the session would end.


Your post was brilliant, thank you! You gave me some really good ideas!

I definitely need a fuller outline of the wider events going on before I start.

[Kol Korran]

That's something I've been undecided on for a while. At the moment my favourite idea is that the setting itself has started reaching out to claim people, and is targeting not the strong, but those who have the potential to become strong - and to become forces for good. [quote]

that might be a new interesting approach for ravenloft... if the players know the setting, you could really play on it: Ravenloft itself is either:

evolving
losing it's mind
birthing a child mini plane? a child ravenloft who can only attract weaker individuals? and having a more childish (but still deeply perverted and horrific) mind?


[QUOTE]
The zombies are basically meant to be some of the past victims
so the zombies are the victims of the spidery beings?


I was planning on the temple, should they search it, having a number of abandoned holy symbols - some from their own gods, others from gods not known to them.

the temple is a good idea. i'd suggest to have all kind of negelcted offerings in it, and perhaps writings on the walls such as "why god, why?" "i've looked everywhere for you, where are you?" "why don't you answer, i need you so much?" "is it all... is it all because i failed you?" and so on...

Q: do you have any people wielding Divine magic in your group? it's been too long since i played ravenloft, i don't remember what happens to their spells.


The scorpion-like and spider-like creatures are actually two different factions.


make sure the characters get that. it was confusing enough for me.


I'll probably require some sort of will save to stay awake all night though. Low DC. What do you think?

i think in such a situation most people will stay wide awake. besiedes, it's most likely they've been up for only a few hours. and they can take turns guarding. if they indeed all wish to stay awake you can make a Low DC will save, but to dose off slightly, not fall asleep, perhaps gaining like a -4 on init.


Boy, it's been a loooong time since I read that book. :smallbiggrin:

You're right, but they're going to want to take shelter somewhere, so perhaps I'll show them the cave, but put it further away, so they come on it after a number of hours of flight, when they're exhausted. They'll have to stop somewhere at that point, and the scorpion-like monsters can always come out to get them if they don't take the bait. But resting in a thunderstorm with undead outside, I'd bet on them hiding in the cave.

Hmm, perhaps the scorpion-like creatures have filled the cracks with some kind of secretion, to conceal their presence, so the cave appears to be safe.

question: why scorpion and spider creatures? do they have a role further in the campaign? i get that they oppose each other, but why?

players like to understand stuff (at least partially) or to at least feel that stuff can be understood.


But yeah, I do want it to be tough, it's meant to sort of be the climax to the session.

i'd avoid swarms for now, at least till they get any reasonable AoE capabilites. beside- maggots can't spread or attack much.


, thank you! You gave me some really good ideas!
glad i could help. i found help for my campaigns in this forum, i'm trying to repay the favor.


I definitely need a fuller outline of the wider events going on before I start.

this could lift your campaign from being "it was cool. fun to play" to "holy S**T! wait till i tell you about this! it was so frickin awesome!"
i'm exaggerating, it's far from the deciding factor in making this happen, but it's an important one.

good luck! :smallsmile:

[Myou]

that might be a new interesting approach for ravenloft... if the players know the setting, you could really play on it: Ravenloft itself is either:

evolving
losing it's mind
birthing a child mini plane? a child ravenloft who can only attract weaker individuals? and having a more childish (but still deeply perverted and horrific) mind?


Evolving and losing it's mind. :smallamused:

Perhaps it's starting to grow too powerful, overwhelming and subsuming the dark powers (the forces that created it), and wanting to pervert and corrupt the rest of the planes too. Which is why it's drawing in good souls to corrupt and torture.

It would seem initially like the dark lords were bringing all this about, then later the dark powers, but ultimately the players would realize that master and servant were reversed, and ravenloft had taken the minds of the dark powers, and was feeding on everyone inside it, growing stronger all the time, until eventually it could try to force itself into Faerun.



so the zombies are the victims of the spidery beings?

That's a good point, the intent was that they were not - the were a self perpetuating force of nature in the area, as more people are pulled in, they attack them and make more of themselves. Almost a natural feature of ravenloft - something that you encounter frequently in he wilderness at night.

They don't seem connected to the other factions, but all are motivated by the torment of ravenloft seeping into their minds over many years, as much victims as anyone, like a spreading infection.



the temple is a good idea. i'd suggest to have all kind of negelcted offerings in it, and perhaps writings on the walls such as "why god, why?" "i've looked everywhere for you, where are you?" "why don't you answer, i need you so much?" "is it all... is it all because i failed you?" and so on...

Q: do you have any people wielding Divine magic in your group? it's been too long since i played ravenloft, i don't remember what happens to their spells.

Ohh, scrawled writings are a nice idea, maybe scratched into the stone. i like those details you outlined, I think I'll use them.

I don't plan on there being any interference with spells - I wouldn't want to penalize our one divine caster.



make sure the characters get that. it was confusing enough for me.

Yeah, you're right. I'll try to make the descriptions I give quite different. Emphasize the chitinous, insectoid plates on the spidery ones, and the pink, fleshy, boneless nature of the scorpiony ones. Spidery and scorpiony are my new (made up) words for the day. :smalltongue:



i think in such a situation most people will stay wide awake. besiedes, it's most likely they've been up for only a few hours. and they can take turns guarding. if they indeed all wish to stay awake you can make a Low DC will save, but to dose off slightly, not fall asleep, perhaps gaining like a -4 on init.

Hmmm... maybe the setting itself gives them a nudge here, trying to dull their minds into relaxing long enough to fall asleep. Maybe a concentration check for whoever is on watch to not start to doze, reducing their spot/listen and init. If they have spellcraft they could also make a check to realise that there was some sort of magical effect in the air.



question: why scorpion and spider creatures? do they have a role further in the campaign? i get that they oppose each other, but why?

players like to understand stuff (at least partially) or to at least feel that stuff can be understood.

Well, the scorpiony ones are intended to be only of limited intelligence, natural predators found in the setting. The spidery ones are much more intelligent and are not normal at all. They probably arose after the scorpiony ones had infected the innkeeper and a few others to catch food.

The spidery ones are coming from underground, popping up in seemingly isolated areas and making whole communities disappear slowly, a symptom of the degeneration and escalation of the evil of ravenloft, and more immediately, a link to the dark forces (perhaps lolth is one of the beings that helped create ravenloft?) - these are beings they created, or perverted, and which have now begun to ignore their masters as the setting itself moves them instead. They're growing in number and power like a plague, one well suited to be unleashed on the holdouts of sanity in ravenloft, and then on the wider planes.



i'd avoid swarms for now, at least till they get any reasonable AoE capabilites. beside- maggots can't spread or attack much.

Yeah, I won't use actual swarms for a level or two. :smallbiggrin:



glad i could help. i found help for my campaigns in this forum, i'm trying to repay the favor.

this could lift your campaign from being "it was cool. fun to play" to "holy S**T! wait till i tell you about this! it was so frickin awesome!"
i'm exaggerating, it's far from the deciding factor in making this happen, but it's an important one.

good luck! :smallsmile:

I certainly hope to achieve that kind of excitement and memorable feeling!

You're a wealth of good ideas! :3