Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Aug 16, 2005 22:48:25	I know, it's still another 2 months away, but I'm starting to put together a Halloween one-shot for a group of players, and I'm looking to take some ideas from fertile imaginations out there. The players are going to be ordinary folk: Commoners, Experts, Nobles. I'm allowing from these 3 classes, I want the players to be "everymen", and starting them at level 3. So what I'm looking for is basically a good list of encounters from Monster Manuals 1-3 and Fiend Folio to provide a challenge for level 3 regulars. I'm not looking to turn it into a hackfest, but actually a plothook or two to accompany each monster in the encounter table, and creatures that are most likely to be found in Ravenloft. The first that comes to mind are Redcaps from MMIII. They live in a windmill and stalk the countryside by night. What can you come up with?
#2 zombiegleemax Aug 17, 2005 1:20:43	ghost and geists woudl give good non combat plots... even then remember all CR of NPC clases is reduced by half in comparison to the common classes, in fact you should be thinking in CR 1 or 2, 3 will give them problems in itself. just my 2 cents Montalve
#3 Mortepierre Aug 17, 2005 1:56:16	Well, if it's for a Halloween adventure, the Dread Scarecrow really should make an appearance :D
#4 zombiegleemax Aug 17, 2005 14:48:35	Well, if it's for a Halloween adventure, the Dread Scarecrow really should make an appearance :D Is that in one of the Arthaus books?
#5 zombiegleemax Aug 17, 2005 23:07:23	i beliebe it is in one of the mosnter compendiums of Ravenloft, i just not 100% sure.
#6 Mortepierre Aug 18, 2005 2:05:49	Is that in one of the Arthaus books? Yup, it's in DoD (both the 3E and 3.5E version)
#7 zombiegleemax Aug 20, 2005 0:50:31	Investigating a serial killer jack-the-Ripper style (with low level aristocrat as the antagonist) could be interesting. Possible twists include it is one of the PCs and the others don't know. (worked out with the player before time, or simply as blackouts without player control) Since it is only one shot for solving a mystery the players shouldn't mind the twist if there is appropriate "fight club" foreshadowing. Another idea A cute, little and evil pixie is murdering children in a small villiage. Against a party you described this antagonist if intelligently played could result in a TPK, may or may not be what you are looking for. (actually if played really intelligently it could make the wholel villiage a ghost town) Another idea "Vampire" comes to the party, begging them to destroy it, but is actual a normal human woman who has gone mad from an actual vampire attack.
#8 The_Jester Aug 20, 2005 0:54:56	A vampire. Seriously. A good hunt ends during the day anyway with a single stake to the helpless foe. Using commoners only emphasises the need to do it during the day opposed to hacking about at night. Just toss in a Reinfield or other day-time flunky-guardian for the big epic battle/climax. Just think of the horror when they realize just what they're up against. :D
#9 zombiegleemax Aug 20, 2005 11:57:05	A vampire. Seriously. A good hunt ends during the day anyway with a single stake to the helpless foe. Using commoners only emphasises the need to do it during the day opposed to hacking about at night. Just toss in a Reinfield or other day-time flunky-guardian for the big epic battle/climax. Just think of the horror when they realize just what they're up against. :D same scenario would be interesting in Masque of the Red Death with low level characters. even in Ravenloft it would be an interesting twist if the vampire has some unique vulnerability and a special power that makes a direct confrontation suicide at best. Montalve
#10 fiery_overlord Aug 20, 2005 17:21:24	The vampire idea is valid, if potentially lethal if the vampire becomes aware that it is hunted. This is were it become vital to use its weaknesses like being repeled by garlic/ holy symbols and the fact they must be invited into a residence to enter. Of course any vampire with a Intelligence or Wisdom above 8 would realize it when confronted with its weaknesses it is best to fall back on Dominated innocent villagers or its children of the night ability to remove obstacles and strike its hunters from afar. This can make the nights quite horrible and fear filled, not that dominated villagers are not a threat in the day too. If I was just a 5 HD fledgling vampire, (any class that you like, though spell casters are particularly scary) woe to the party that hunted me. The most basic vampire abilities are well worth the LA +8 when used proactively. I believe I could kite whole parties much higher level characters than my ECL. At very least they would never catch me but some smuck I set up as a 'fall vampire'. An idea for a villian that could be played intelligently without stomping the party into the ground is an adorable, exceptionally bright but wicked little girl who is a serial poisoner. No one can figure out why people in the village are dying mysteriously. Good mystery, with the antagonist providing a kewl twist.
#11 zombiegleemax Aug 21, 2005 4:36:19	The players are going to be ordinary folk: Commoners, Experts, Nobles. It's a typical day in (insert). The sounds of lumberjacks hard at work echoes in the background. Farmers are out toiling the fields. Fruits and vegetables are being hawked near the centre of town. Gossiping folk who are too old to be further held accountable for the town's prosperity converse from doorway to second storey windows. In the centre of town is (insert name), in the pillory again, being humiliated by those passing by... A typical day indeed. Suddenly, one of the PCs (non-noble) is distracted by a squeal for help. Turning, they spot a young girl running from (forest, field; depends on location/profession). She is scrambling, obviously terrified, and when she turns back to face whatever she is running from, she trips and falls hard to the ground. Favoring her right ankle, it is apparent that she is seriously injured, and cannot pick herself up from the ground. She screams for help once more, then, realising she is still somewhat isolated from the town, she begins to sob uncontrollably. If she is approached by the PC, she begins to tell her tale (insert your own...I like the idea of a bogeyman; something easily dismissed). If not, then an NPC runs to her and calls out to the PC, by name, for assistance. The girl is subsequently taken into town, the primary concern being her twisted ankle. Depending on the occupation of the other PCs, you might be able to bring the girl, and her tale, to another (PC). A doctor, a herbalist, even a barkeep/barmaid (who has, over the years, gotten used to dealing with such types of injuries). Something in the young girl's tale eventually grabs at the attention of the locals. Something that affects them, the town, as a whole. So much so that they decide to take her to (Noble family's estate)...another potential PC...for advice. Rumors of invasion, rumors of ghosts, rumors of roving beasts in the woods beyond...all begin to circulate town. But only the PCs (if you manage to full circle things) know what has taken a grip on the terrified little girl. Maybe the girl is lying, or, a notorious fibber...a wicked little thing... Maybe the girl has been eating Blackcap Mushrooms again, and the PCs (the adventure itself) are in reality her "trip"...(hell, you could even create and run an entire campaign based on the girl's psychedelic habit!) Maybe the girl is a messenger sent from a nearby town, to warn (insert town name) of impending danger. Some form of invasion...physical or spiritual...maybe even both... Maybe the girl isn't even real, an illusion cast upon the town to instill negative emotion...negative energy needed by a covey of witches to exact their revenge...(just picture an old rotten hag talking like a sweet little girl, another controlling her movements like some sort of puppet master, and the other preparing a most wicked dish of revenge; all from a dank ol' underground haunt. All of them weaving a sinister plot to "repay" some of the town's elders, maybe even the PC's parents or relatives, who turn out to be retired adventurers.) Maybe the girl IS the bogeyman...come for another rip or two...and the girl's warning is it's warning...of itself...(a victim of circumstance who can only manage to be moral for fleeting moments; before a specific thing or event happens.)
#12 zombiegleemax Aug 28, 2005 4:02:23	Excellant stuff!!! The standard 'thing in a crypt that preys on town' is always good, but that Little Girl (esp. that one about the Bogeyman's warning of itself...freaky!). I saw The Grudge a few months ago...it still has an impression on me! To create that kind of Malevolance, Terror, Foreboding, esp. Dread, and a few other emotions should be the goal of Every Ravenloft Campaign... I'm a n00b to the whole non-Dungeon crawl (or warfare) campaign...some pointers for this kinda thing would be exceptionally helpful!