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View Full Version : Ravenloft Modern: What's the Vistani's next move?



RukiTanuki
2008-02-25, 04:24 PM
My d20 Modern Ravenloft players know to stay away, but I'll spoiler the things they don't know.

The PCs are Slayers, people who recognize the supernatural world of Shadow hiding beneath the surface of the world we know and love, who have chosen to stand between the mundanes and the creatures of Shadow who would wish them harm. An email dispatch led them to Barovia, a Shadow-infested valley in Eastern Europe that's considered a no-entry zone, in order to rescue fellow Slayer Derek, who went AWOL and entered Barovia. Unfortunately, their plane crashed near their destination; they walked away, but the pilot did not. They hiked the remaining distance to the village, only to discover it in the middle of a zombie infestation.

Working their way to the barricaded town square (and rescuing a family of five in the process, they rescued a fellow Slayer Ashlyn (in search of the Sunsword Katana, a vampire slayer) and found most of the survivors holed up in the local tavern/hostel. Also present was Derek, unconscious and suffering from a zombie bite. (Our Acolyte is finding Remove Disease quite useful.) Once treated, Derek wakes up, and explains that he received an email dispatch informing him that his uncle, a werewolf hunter, disappeared in the valley. When the PCs pointed out that he was considered AWOL, he examines their email and his, realizes the headers are faked, and curses his own foolishness. Someone is tricking Slayers into entering, and it's rapidly becoming clear that they're not supposed to leave.

The son of the town burgomaster, Ismark, is drinking himself into a stupor at the bar downstairs. The PCs buy him a round and he explains what he knows: the master of Castle Ravenloft (Strahd) paid his father a visit, but was driven off by the Raven Cross, a holy symbol the burgomaster possessed. Soon after, the burgomaster lay dead from poison, and neither Ismark nor his sister Irene could make the Raven Cross work. Soon after, the zombie attacks started; the local priest hasn't been seen in days (he was grieving for his son, who was killed by thieves on the road), and Irene remains in the burgomaster's mansion, keeping watch over her father's body lest it become part of the zombie horde.

When the PCs insist that the survivors evacuate, Ismark retorts that the valley is cursed; only the local Vistani gypsies seem to be able to leave. All others are lost or killed in the mist. The local merchant, Bill (of Bill's Sundries), an American wise to the Slayers, confirms this information; he and his nephew are stuck there, and he's heard back from anyone but the Vistani who attempted to leave. (The PCs are a bit riled at Bill, who charged US$2500 for a map and $450 for shampoo, but they like his bald, oversized, simpleton nephew Perry, and went out of their way to bring him cookies.)

The Vistani try to goad the PCs into meeting their Madame Eva, whom many confirm to be the wisest person in the vicinity. Not trusting the roads, the PCs pay the Vistani to drive them to the encampment in their pickup. Eva (who towers over the PCs) delivers their fortune, providing information about Strahd, the artifacts they seek, and the zombie outbreak.

When playing the tarot card regarding severing Strahd's power over the valley, Eva looks startled. "You will need to find the three fanes that are the source of Strahd's grip on the valley," she explains. "There, you will need to slay the guardian of each fane, placing their body on the fane itself." She grins slightly. "At this, you will never succeed."

Eva leaves the PCs to ponder their fortune for a bit, and exits her caravan. The PCs spent a few minutes discussing the situation, then walk out... finding themselves surrounded by ten Vistani with weapons trained, clearly intending to fire. The gunbunny PC notices Madame Eva running at full speed to the southwest.

The katana-wielding PC smacked the nearest Vistani with the back of his blade, while the ninjitsu master used a smoke bomb to cloud their retreat. In the confusion, the ninja grabbed a flare, started screaming, and headed for the woods, while the others snuck behind the tents and caravans, hotwired the Vistani's truck, and took off. The ninja lost the Vistani in the woods, and met up with the other PCs. They arrived in town, and petitioned Bill for shelter. Shocked at the whole situation, Bill reveals a lift in the side of his building, and the PCs take the truck into Bill's basement -- revealing the small arsenal he has at hand.

Camping for the night, the PCs are at a loss for what happened.

Truth is...

The card Eva drew does, in fact, indicate that the fane guardians must be slain in order to revoke Strahd's power. Problem is, she's one of said guardians. She'd love to have Strahd removed from power, but only so she and the other guardians can rule in his stead. Removing Strahd at the cost of her own life is not an option. With Eva leading the Vistani, this changes the tone of the campaign immediately, as the PCs now have a small band of very clear enemies.

The head Vistani told the PCs "nothing personal" as he commanded the others to fire, and the PCs avoided lethal damage on the Vistani. However, the Vistani imperative to protect Eva is their utmost concern, and she's basically told the Vistani that the PCs were sent here by Strahd to kill her. The loss of their truck won't sit well with them either.

As a side note, Bill's position is unique. He's settled into a good position by being the Vistani's sole business contact in the area; he gets first call on any new merchandise they bring in. He's specifically been stocking up on arms, partly for any future escape plan, and partly to keep anyone else from having more firepower. (The Vistani bring the weapons because Bill pays handily for them, which in turn lets them take more trips.) He let the PCs in not so much to protect them from the Vistani, but because he couldn't think of a good enough excuse to say no at the time. He knows he's invited himself into a world of trouble at this point.

Further complicating things is that a subordinate of Strahd, Lucas, has been paying Bill US$25,000 a week to report anything he finds out about newcomers to the valley. This money is a cornerstone of Bill's business. Bill's primary goals are to stay alive, protect Perry, and find a way out of the valley. Goal 3 involves finding a group of Slayers who can take down Strahd, but he can't directly support any group, because if they fail (and he's found out), Strahd's wrath will directly conflict with Goal 1.

Now, I plot the Vistani's next move.

I've settled that their intention is to subdue the PCs, take them to the Fane (where Eva is hiding), and find out what she wants done. Given a chance to plan, they would prefer to use their heads, rather than take on the PCs in a firefight (as they had to when Eva was forced to flee). They know the PCs are experienced. The Vistani plan is going to be well-thought-out, for no other reason than they also need to devise a plan to make it back to the town square on foot (as they can no longer race past the zombies in their truck). Their normally jovial attitude is gone; they've been playful with the PCs because they've been manipulating them, and it's pushed their emotional button that they're no longer the ones in control of the situation.

Perhaps they'll become aggressive, in their own cunning way, and attempt to squeeze the PCs rather than use force. They will sneak into town, staying in a group, using crossbows rather than firearms to dispatch zombies, and break into the hostel. A quick interrogation of the clientele will reveal the PCs location. They will then call out the PCs, in the town square.

And they'll have a gun to the head of a child from the family the PCs rescued.

Now, the Vistani don't want to hurt a kid. But they know the PCs want it even less. The lead Vistani is very charismatic, and is going to screw with the PC's heads. (I'm confident in my ability to pull this off.) The players are seriously debating whether the Vistani need to be stopped with force, and I would like to encourage their debate by presenting the Vistani as desperate, rather than malicious. They wants the PCs unarmed and bound, in front of them, in five minutes, or else the blood is on their hands.

If the PCs surrender, I expect that they'll find some opportunity to escape before they're killed. I'll have the Vistani take reasonable but not bulletproof precautions; I know the PCs will find whatever holes I fail to spot. :) Their primary motivation since talking to Derek has been to protect the townspeople, foremost by stopping the zombie siege. They know that they have to hurry before the town's overrun. The conflict of "get captured" versus "the Vistani hurt people" will be interesting; one PC may even propose a firefight (possibly using the ninja to attempt to save the child).

I have yet to plan the Fane encounter; I'll probably use the existing one as a guide. My primary concern is this situation. I'm trying to figure out the most likely response to (indirectly) seeking the death of the Vistani leader. How far will they go to eliminate this threat?



Is this idea sound? Would you dare pull this on your players? What would you do next? And, of course, do you have an even better suggestion?

EDIT: In case it comes up, the PCs are (off the top of my head):
Katana Slayer: Strong Hero 3/Shadow Slayer 5/Holy Knight 1
Gunbunny: Fast Hero 3/Gunslinger 6
Ninja: Smart Hero 1/Fast Hero 2/Infiltrator 6
Acolyte: Dedicated Hero 4/Acolyte 5

Shishnarfne
2008-02-25, 05:56 PM
Spoilers for those who haven't played all the way through Ravenloft read the module:

Yeah, that card can be a TPK waiting to happen. Madam Eva hits like a tank.

Well, when something similar happened in my D&D Ravenloft campaign... a PC died in the initial fight, and they lost Urik too...



Regarding the plan:
Sounds like a fairly good idea... Rather in character for the Vistani...

Suggestion:


Another option is for the Vistani to go to ground a bit (if they feel threatened by the PCs combat prowess) and try to cover Madam Eva... makes that Fane VERY difficult to take out, but might be an option if they don't want to hurt the PCs and don't think that they can beat them.

Alternative: Vistani focus on making it difficult for the party to try to discourage them... recover truck, raise alerts/difficulties if the party looks for revenge. Here the Vistani don't try to actively oppose the PCs but are very passive-aggressive/passive-defiant.

I might go for that, but only because I've seen my characters walk into several near-TPK experiences in the module even without that... (Madam Eva prepared for combat took out 2 PCs without any assistance!)

Worse news is that Strahd is going to get a decent report on the party, their actions, and their capabilities... That allows him to set up traps for them and come prepared to the table.


Good luck with Ravenloft! I really enjoy the setting, and I've run it a few times.