 The most important element in roleplaying is communication. Sometimes players will assume that their DM has understood what they are attempting, only to find out a scene later that their idea went completely over the DM’s head. The following listicle will help your DM understand you better and reduce any problems that originate from a lack of proper communication.
1) Goal This sounds trivial but most players will almost always assume the goal and not mention it. “I want to climb the wall” sounds like a goal but it isn't, because it doesn't let the DM know why you are trying to climb the wall. “I want to get to the top of the wall so I have a better position from which to shoot my bow” says clearly what your intention is. Without a clear goal, the DM may misunderstand and end up narrating a result that you didn't expect. Sometimes this issue can be solved immediately, but in other cases this won't become apparent until after the encounter. At which point arguments ensue: “During the fight I climbed the trees, but it never gave me any protective cover!” “Well, you just said that you wanted to climb the trees. You never told me why.” 2) Means How you are going to do what you are attempting. This is the big one because here you can be creative and ingenious. Your DM might even reward you with some in-game bonus depending on how you do it. Climbing a wall barehanded isn’t the same as using a grappling hook. A single goal usually has many ways of achieving it, so don’t always go for the trivial option. Imagine the surrounding environment, what things are around that can be used. The DM will usually not be exhaustive in his description which leaves room for imagination. This is also a good time to look through your inventory. DMs will usually pick the most obvious means, if one is not specified, and assume you are using no equipment. This can result in losing potential positive modifiers to your skill test or, even worse, getting negative modifiers! 3) Skill Do not leave the skill test choice to your DM. Some games have an exhaustive list of skills and your DM won’t have all your skills memorized. He does not know what you are good at and what you are terrible at. If you want to use your “Lie” skill but the DM asks you to do a “Charm” test, go ahead and tell your DM: “I would like to use my Lie skill.” Some DMs might not like this style so be sure to talk it over with them. Try to be reasonable and not ask for a skill check with an unrelated skill, like using your strength skill to sing. Though sometimes using a completely ridiculous skill can have hilarious results. Your DM may and should encourage you to explain how your skill is being used. 4) Assistance Unless your character suffers from delusions of heroism, you might want to ask other characters for help. NPCs are not just side quest givers, some have skills that can and should be used to your benefit. Most DMs will fill the world with helpful NPCs just waiting to be used. Town guards can help you fight off those outlaws mugging your party in the alley. Some recurring NPCs, such as a previous quest giver, can become allies. They can provide information or resources for your current adventure. Even your enemies can be of aid if you understand their objectives and motivations. After all, if the dragon attacking your town is after gold why not lead him to your rival’s larger and richer city. 5) Personality Skill tests are the best moment to show how your character behaves. A barbarian and a duelist might both fight with swords but how they fight differs completely. Think about how this skill test relates to your character. A fear of heights might make a wall climb more interesting, or perhaps an old grudge fills you with fury as you strike your enemy. Personality can also be used to show intent. A scholar holding his book to his chest with sweat falling down his brow while hiding behind a shelf is cleverly not going to try to ambush the beholder. Don't forget that you are playing to have fun and “I jump backwards as I flail my sword around while yelling ‘I hate skeletons!’’ is always more entertaining for everyone at the table than: “I attack with my sword.” With all this in mind, we can change: “I wanna climb the castle wall” to: “I want to get to the top of the castle wall so I can sneak in. I’m going to look for the best catapult expert in our unit and I want to convince him to launch me. I want to use my Charm skill and with a wink and a convincing smile I say: ‘If you get me on top of that wall, I will end the war and you can be on your way home before dawn.’” Rodrigo Peralta is a roleplayer and a DM that likes to playtest many different rpgs. He enjoys both highly detailed complex systems and barebone casual games. He participates in local roleplaying events as both DM and player. Picture provided by author.  “Any axe is a good axe.” Ah, Dwarves. Every races has a certain stigma behind them in small human towns. For the most part, adventurers seem to be the exception to this. Although not every Elf is for equal rights, and not every Halfling is brooding and in (really adorable) plate armor. Of course it's worth exploring these wonderful little worlds of stereotypes because often they're based on a shred of truth. Or in other cases, a rather large pile of truth. 1) Elves A personal favorite of mine, Elves are the pointy eared, bow-shooting, magic-casting tree folk with an unnatural beauty and a thoughtful nature. Beware, because behind that calm and collected nature sits a xenophobe true and true. Who hasn’t wanted to spew racial slurs at everything under the sun every now and then? Humans? Inferior. Dwarves? Idiots. Halflings? Won’t amount to anything. Elves are the gods’ masterpiece and no one can take that away from them. When you start peppering everyone on the field in a volley of well aimed arrows, the party may reconsider using you as gnoll bait. 2) Dwarves Drunken brawling is a fun hobby, and the only hobby that Dwarves probably made into an art. If you can’t drink yourself under the table as a Dwarf, you just aren’t living to their full potential. Not to mention your average Dwarf almost likes their liquor as much as they like their friends, with their Lawful Good tendencies and all. You’ll be the envy of the party, as being proficient in smith's tools lets you maintain and create armour and weapons for the party. But don’t let those pesky Elves get word of your craftsmanship, otherwise they’ll be begging for some of your work. 3) Gnomes Wisecracking and friendly sometimes Gnomes are a little underrated, but when you mix magic and tinkering the results are usually rather splendid. Albeit being so small may have its disadvantages, it usually means you’re just that much harder to hit with a battleaxe. When the going gets tough, Gnomes have a tendency to make the going softer, between a loveable nature and invaluable skills Gnomes are quite the asset to any adventuring group, mostly due to their friendly natures and the neat little gadgets and do dads. Just don’t let them hear you demean their work, or it may spark quite the little fury. 4) Half-Orcs Fury. Gods. Good and evil. These are all the truths that a Half-orc faces in their lives. They all feel the pull of the god that calls to their very blood. All know the anger that makes their heart beat and their blood boil. The very fact that they are seen as being born of evil causes many to end up there. Their tenacity, both of body and mind are what marks Half-orcs. They aren’t made of stone. They’re made of bone, and when they pull yours from your body, you’ll know what it means to be a Half-orc. Bunch of badasses. Of course, real world stereotypes aren’t fun, but games are games, right? Jarod Lalonde is a young roleplayer and writer whose passion for both lead him here. He’s often sarcastic and has a +5 to insult. Dungeons and Dragons is his favorite platform. Although he’s not quite sure if it’s Cthulhu whispering to him in the small hours of the night, or just persistent flashbacks to the Far Realm. Picture Reference: https://www.pinterest.ie/pin/299207968980723733/   Since their introduction in the Van Richten's Guide, Ravenloft has gone to great lengths to make fiends diabolical again. There are no legions of hellspawn, no hells or heavens to travel to, no blood war cutting down thousands of faceless fiends an hour, cannon fodder for a multiversal conflict. Fiends in Ravenloft are rare, each a unique individual character, usually surrounded by a web of intrigue best suited for a high level party.
However, this is still a fantasy setting, and making fiends rare and unique has made them less accessible for situations when the plot calls for it. Friendly contact with an evil outsider is a requirement to get into the Blackguard prestige class, and Pathfinder gave us many more classes and archetypes that assume these monsters are everywhere. If your plot calls for a pact with darkness but fiends are scarce, here are some creative ways to get the job done. 1) The Ebonbane Despite being trapped with in a magical crystal coffin in a very remote location, the Ebonbane's legend has spread among those seeking shortcuts to power. Those who come to bargain with him are frequently lulled by his imprisonment, thinking themselves in control as they slice their palms and place a bloody handprint on enchanted crystal. The truth is, they will never leave Shadowborn Manor unless he owns them, body and soul. What he offers: Black Blade magus archetype, enchanted magic swords. What he asks: the Ebonbane compels his agents to work against the Knights of the Shadows. They find themselves hating anyone wearing the insignia or cloak of the Circle. Over time, this hatred grows to overshadow any prior ambition that caused them to strike their original bargain. 2) Baltoi The Bound Slumber spell cast on Baltoi doesn't prevent her from dreaming. She has one of the few perpetual dream spheres in the Nightmare Lands, and while the Nightmare Court has tried to corral her influence by sequestering that sphere in a Mist Oubliette, she has corrupted some of their ennui. Born of nightmares and tainted with demonic essence, these vile creatures bring her dreamers to tempt and corrupt. What she asks: Baltoi demands that each of these diabolists perform a rite that grants her domain powers, or weakens the spells that bind her. She doesn't care what they do after that. What she offers: Many don't survive performing the rites she demands. Those that do gain access to the full spectrum of summoning from the lower planes and undergo two stages of transposition with a fiend of the appropriate alignment. 3) Tsvtieyft Schattendertodd Bearing a name that means roughly “Second Shadow of Death,” this tenebris elevates the depraved and disturbed into legendary serial killers, its “Lustmorde.” The legends of its proteges always mention the city of Morfenzi, so those who would seek it out know to look for it there. If your campaign calls for a Jack the Ripper or Sweeney Todd, it's easy enough to say they traveled through Morfenzi at one point, and followed the call of darkness underground before journeying on. What it offers: The Lustmorde are not usually spellcasters, so the gifts of the Second Shadow are those befitting a cinematic serial killer: mild damage resistance or natural armor, even bonus feats that like Diehard are perfect for a killer who just keeps coming. What it asks: The master of the Lustmorde demands not just a body count, but murder as art. It drives its proteges to take risks for more kills even as it protects them. Of course, all three of these fiends are powerful enough that they might grant any boon the plot calls for, and ambitious or desperate enough to assist anyone for any reason. While you can always have your would-be diabolist stumble across The Black Duke or Elsepeth, it's nice to know some fiends that are exactly as far reaching as you need them to be. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. He is currently running the “Queen of Orphans” Ravenloft campaign. Picture Reference: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17529/Van-Richtens-Guide-to-Fiends-2e?it=1  If you are familiar with my show, The Dragon’s Horde, then you will also be familiar with the concept of “the sleepy dragon list.” For those of you not in The Horde, the sleepy dragon list is a bit of an albatross hanging from my dungeon mastering neck. In brief, it is a shorthand list of ideas that I have for items, adventures, NPCs, and such. Items on the list include things like “He thinks he is a werewolf. He is not” or “weird (sexy?) key.” Then there is the infamous “sleepy dragon.” It has dwelt within the list for nigh 4 years now, and I have yet to remember what the heck I wanted to do concerning a sleepy dragon. Despite this, I have continued to expand my sleepy dragon list with tons of narrative seeds to get a story on track. One of the most frequent questions we get on the show is from new DMs asking how to get things started. To this I say, ask no more, friends; Pendragon has 7 adventure introductions to get the creative juices flowing!
1) The Herd In the city of Sherrack there is a small village nestled within a grassy basin. Here, traders and farm hands amble about their day selling, harvesting, and discussing the recent goings-on over at Gumby’s farm. As of late, the resident octogenarian and shepherd has had quite the ordeal keeping his flock alive. Every day or two several of his flock go mysteriously missing; stranger yet, more sheep emerge from the woods to to fill their place the following day. Little do Gumby’s neighbors know, that he had recently developed an acute fear of his impending mortality and has turned experimenting on his flock to find the secrets of immortality. And little does Gumby know that the Divine have their eye on him and have sent a couple watchdogs his way in the form of sheep whose wool cannot be sheared. 2) Maiden Voyage The Briny Steed had seen much better days on the sea. Now it rests patiently in harbor, waiting for its next (and probably final) voyage. Through bribery, philandering, and “oh, come on’s” the wannabe captain, Earl Stoutheart has managed to convince the party to commandeer the vessel and sail it across the Scattered Sea. The gang lies in the belly of the ship, waiting for nightfall, but when the time arrives, they emerge to a sight most strange. The ship has already departed on its own accord and seems to be in command of its own heading. It is a ship’s turn to do some commandeering for a change, and the party is along for the ride of a now sentient maritime vessel. 3) Alcohol Poisoning You haven’t heard of the Drinking Hat?! Why, it’s the finest saloon for miles around. Well, it used to be anyway. Built in the husk of an abandoned grain silo, the proprietors of the bar have converted it into a massive, multi tiered drinking house. Tubes snake their way from the mountain of barrels above down to the respective patron, but I wouldn’t go there if I were you. Recently, a group of thieves guilders met an unfortunate end after having their drinks. They could have chosen any number of barrels to sip from, but the poor sods must have gotten one that had been tampered with. Some say it was just bad luck, but I say differently. I say they were assassinated. On my honor as guild master Roan, those responsible for the death of my men will pay with more than just coins. 4) Showstopper The bardic hall in Brint is known nationwide for being the home to more than its fair share of celebrities. The flying Charnelli twins. Finnigan the wondrous. Heck, even Mertick and his performing bear Bathsalts have stopped by on occasion. No one expected a show stopper from Cleopatra though, but a show stopper it was. Everyone assumed she would live and die as a modest tailor until she took the stage to sing. The issue is, no one will ever know how the show actually went, because no one ever left. The morning after her performance, the the owner of the hall found the entire crowd dead in their seats! She has since been arrested for murder, but she says she is innocent and they simply dropped dead in the middle of her act. Cleopatra’s head is on the chopping block, and your party may be the only ones who can prove her innocence. 5) Repo Let it never be said of Matilda that she was anything but a saint. Known for her meek generosity, Matilda enlists the help of the party to help her with a job a little outside the capabilities of a sweet aged woman. The thing is, locals are tired of the stagnant water of the swamp nearby, and they plan on draining it completely. This is all fine and good for most people, but not ‘ol Matilda. She informs the party that she left a large cache of treasure in a lockbox somewhere within the belly of the marsh. Should they find it, she would be more than happy to give them a cut of the booty. The party drudges around in the murky waters, following Matildas instructions closely, but when they arrive, not only do they find treasure but also a corpse clutching the lockbox. Upon further investigation, it appears that the body is wearing a locket with a picture of Matilda inside. Upon further further investigation, the party hears a group of locals approaching. Upon further further further investigation, the party is discovered by the locals (Matilda included) ripping the lockbox from the arms of a dead man. “That’s Harold!” Matilda shrieks, “And that is my lockbox!” Turns out Harold had mysteriously disappeared a year ago, taking both his and his wife’s savings with him. Matilda weeps in the arms of the closest friendly local, but what’s that? Did she just glance over and smirk? 6) The Call Of Pazuzu (I incorporate something similar to the following in each of my campaigns. This cult is kind of like my signature; I would love to know if this inspired an adventure of your own). Your party is headed off for a new adventure in unfamiliar territory. About a day from their destination, a group of naked elves and humans approaches with open arms. They inform the party that they are thrilled to see new faces and are about to, in short, start a celebration. Whether they join the naked folk or not, the party has to pass by the strangers’ camp which has a massive, half finished totem looming overhead. The nudists are busily gathering scrap wood to finish the totem, and they gleefully sing, dance, and try to rope the group into helping. Despite their cordial, unsuspecting nature, these individuals have been waiting a year for that particular night to summon their favorite pestilence demi-god, Pazuzu! An otherwise silver moon slowly begins to shift to a blood red crimson; then, with the totem complete, Pazuzu in all of her pestilent glory animates the statue and chooses it as her personal avatar. Whoops. 7) The Bane Of My Existence “Sleepy Dragon” The role of an effective storyteller can be a daunting task, especially since most of the work of a Dungeon Master happens in real time, but having good narrative seeds chock full of possible hooks and intrigue can make the job that much easier. Nothing feels worse than getting to the table and not feeling like you have enough content to work with; veteran and beginner DMs alike know this. Hopefully you can find ways to plant these seeds if you find yourself in a pinch, and maybe you can start crafting a Sleepy Dragon list of your own! A brief aside, if you come up with a cool answer to the Sleepy Dragon conundrum, feel free to tell me about it at [email protected] so we can feature it on the podcast! Andrew Pendragon is a veteran role player, Dungeon Master, and story teller. His work can be seen featured on outlets like the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights podcast and Youtube channel BlackEyedBlonde, but he takes the most pride in his High Level Games affiliate podcast The Dragon’s Horde where he, alongside his co host, answers listener submitted roleplay questions and weaves them into a false-actual-play adventure! Picture Reference: https://www.deviantart.com/legend13/art/Sleepy-Dragon-s-Teddy-275967993  When I started gaming, I loved to read the early Dragon anthologies for their insight into the early game. One of my favorite anecdotes was about a Lake Geneva player who took “wall" as a language, and proceeded to interrogate dungeon walls as to what was behind them. His creativity was only matched by the DM, who had all the walls reply in drunken slurs that they had no idea because they were all “plastered.” Apart from comic relief, this scenario raises the question of the role languages might play in various games. The Ravenloft setting dispensed with the simplicity of a “Common" tongue found in other settings because it clashed with the insular, xenophobic nature of the setting. This has forced players to strongly consider their choices for what many other settings consider an afterthought. To make sure you are covering all you bases, consider the 4 S’s. 1) Secret Societies Like Druidic in previous editions, knowledge of a particular language is extremely useful for identifying who is part of your secret club. Hidden messages become much more secure, as the eccentricities of a language are far more confusing than any code. Even when translated by magic, cryptic jargon or slang still remains, such as with Navajo code talking. This also adds to the flavor of the secret society, as the language in question is tied to pragmatic or philosophical roots of the group. Vampyrs of Falkovnia might use Wardin (the language of their leader’s lost world) as a way to express their ambitions, and a prospective Knight of the Shadows might be expected to learn Nidalan before the annual trip to the The Shadowlands. 2) Status It was suggested in the Ravenloft Dungeon Master’s Guide that Draconic--the language of arcane spellcasting--was one possible bridge between the diverse patchwork of peoples scattered throughout the Mists. An example of this was given in Van Richten's Arsenal, when Celebrant Agatha Clairmont and Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove found it the only common language they could write letters in. In academic circles, knowledge of Draconic or other dead languages might be a significant status symbol. After all, Mordentish may be the language of scholars across the Core, but in Mordent it’s the language of everyone, from the dean to the drunkards. Dead languages are a much better reference than living ones when you are trying to sort out the ones who had quality schooling. 3) Summoning Summoning spells get short shrift in Ravenloft due to the restrictions on summoning extraplanar creatures, but there are ways around these restrictions. The simplest is the Entities from the Id feat from the RLDMG, which allows the full summoning list to anyone who has failed a Madness check. This has been expanded on for Pathfinder to allow for the Summoner core class using madness in a character backstory. However you choose to specialize in summoning, many summoned creatures need direction in their own language to do anything other than attack, so language slots add a lot to their versatility. 4) Sundries Sometimes the language slot is the best place for a language-like skill that doesn't fit elsewhere. Vistani ‘tralaks’ or trail signs don't have a ‘spoken’ form, but this is a language available to PC’s, unlike Paaterna. Like gnomes speaking to burrowing mammals, there might be a character with a supernatural ability to understand the speech of the undead, the shared chorus of elementals, or some ancient language from a past life. I thought about that guy who talked to walls when a player unfamiliar with Ravenloft put drow sign language in their list of languages. Drow are barely even legends in Ravenloft, so this was perhaps the least useful language choice possible. However, it inspired me to think about the role of sign language in the Land of Mists, and I created an esoteric sign language for this character, one used by La Serrure et Cle due to problems speaking while masked (and to further hide deformities that affected speech). Years later, “Surreran Sign" continues to be an interesting feature of my games. Consider this challenge next time a player proposes a rare or unorthodox language. There could be a great story there, and at the end of the day, great stories are what roleplaying games are all about. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. He is currently running the “Queen of Orphans” Ravenloft campaign on Discord. Picture Reference: http://termcoord.eu/2016/04/j-r-r-tolkiens-guide-to-inventing-a-fantasy-language/   Hey, Jim here! Before Frankie gets started, I wanted to remind you that High Level Games is bringing you game content and commentary absolutely free, as well as providing a home and launching point for a slew of great creators! If you want to support our endeavors, we'd love it if you stopped by our Patreon to show your support. Of course, if you'd like a little something for your hard earned money, you could always pick up one of our fine game products as well. Greetings, traveler! It’s no secret that adventurers stick out like a sore thumb in the Core. Heavy armor and ostentatious magic draw all manner of unwanted attention, and the wisest heroes learn quickly to travel incognito if they want to avoid overt hostility from the worst of the abominations that stalk the realms of men. Early in our correspondence, I gave you some advice on how a spellcaster might ply their trade without arousing too much suspicion. I thought we might revisit a similar topic and discuss those of a more surreptitious bent. Rogues (better known by their more honest sobriquet: thieves) are a staple of the adventuring party. Mundane skills of legerdemain, acrobatics, and ambush attacks make them indispensable to the travelling hero, but this sort of champion has a tendency to run afoul of the law, and with the exception of the ever-rare paladin, they top the Darklords Most Wanted lists in most domains. Fortunately, there are a number of guises the enterprising footpad can operate under if they want to avoid the watchful eye of the Core’s dark masters. Or just the local constabulary. 1) The Butler Great warriors often travel with a retinue. Fortunately, when faced with a wrathful cavalier, very few intelligent monsters will turn their back on the most visible threat to attack the help. Wealthy merchants, priests, diplomats: really, anyone with money can have a valet with them without arousing suspicion. In matters of espionage, the butler can often go places, especially in more medieval settings, where a notable hero might be noticed. Pulling off the role of the butler requires a bit of skill as a valet. Knowledge of how to prepare a meal, how to ready a horse or suit of armor, and how to craft or repair articles of clothing go a long way to selling the ruse, in addition to ingratiating you with your group, since these amenities can be welcoming comforts on the road. The best valets also double as barbers, of course, keeping their lords’ hair and faces immaculately trimmed and shaved. This provides a useful excuse for carrying a straight razor. Letter openers and small tack hammers can also be included without disrupting the image. 2) The Fur Trapper The quests of adventurers can sometimes take them far into the wilderness, and many groups take to hiring guides familiar with the lands they’re traversing. If your group isn’t fortunate enough to have such a guide, you might make your own fortune by disguising yourself as one. Providing you speak the local language, you may find rugged ‘working poor’ types more amenable to discussing current events with a fellow peasant. Knowledge in how to make, set, and disarm traps is one of the most quintessential thief skills, so it’s something you probably won’t have to go out of your way to learn. The profession gives you a reasonable excuse to carry a small selection of snares, wires, and jaw traps wherever you go as well as tools with which to work on them, and despite the name a skinning knife is still perfectly capable of slitting a throat when required. Of course, the large, shaggy furs that are common with these frontiersfolk are wonderfully useful for hiding any tools or items you wouldn’t want local law enforcement to find. 3) The Clown What better way to justify your acrobatics than by being an actual acrobat? The Skurra have long been aware that performers of all types are often allowed to get much closer to targets than a wandering sell-sword might be, and given more leeway in breaking social mores. While denizens of the more buttoned-up domains like Lamordia or Mordent may give such a performer the cold shoulder, many places see a street performer as a welcome break from their daily monotony, and may be more forthcoming with information (or just easy access to their coinpurses). Skill at performance is a must for this role, requiring the thief not only be a skilled gymnast, but that she have the ability to captivate an audience as well. Mimes, jugglers, or prestidigitators can help distract guards or crowds while their parties engage in clandestine activities, and the trappings of the clown can include a number of items that can be turned to lethal purpose, including juggling pins or knives, as well as potions or smokepowders for more dramatic effects. Oversized ruffs, shoes, and prosthetics can offer an easy place to hide smuggled goods, or as a decoy to keep eagle-eyed guards from noticing more cleverly concealed items. 4) The Bureaucrat Kingdoms aren’t built on swords and soldiers. Real kingdoms are built on paperwork. A thief who understands the machinations of seal and signet can be a much more dangerous threat than one who works with daggers and lockpicks. Diplomats, tax collectors, and lawyers can gain access to storerooms, prisons, and state halls with ease, and a balding, ink-stained clerical worker is rarely considered a threat by the fiends adventurers make a business of confronting. Pulling off this role requires either a wealth of knowledge in the field being infiltrated, or a phenomenal ability to bluff. Knowledge of local and international laws helps, as does being a dab hand at forgery. While the accoutrements of this disguise aren’t as useful for concealing deadly implements, wealthy or important bureaucrats can easily justify hiring professional muscle (read: the rest of the party) to keep them safe, cloaking the entire heroic venture in a veneer of legitimacy. 5) Doctor Every domain is accepting of at least some form of medical professional, with the more developed nations boasting a wide variety of physicians, alienists, and naturalists. The biggest benefit of adventuring as such an intellectual is the status it affords: the wealthy and the educated are often more open with someone they view as a social peer. The curiosity of these professions serves as a plausible excuse for the nosiness of the typical adventurer, and many people who balk at the idea of turning to barbarians with swords to address their needs are more willing to talk to someone they see as being able to solve their problems with reason and science. Investigative adventurers may love this role: it encourages them to carry a number of inspector's tools, such as magnifying lenses, sample vials, and chemistry kits. The surgical tools that many medical professionals keep on their person make efficient (and at times extremely gruesome) weapons, but also provide a lucrative, if visceral, source of income, since many monster body parts can fetch a high value from the arcane crowd. At the end of the day Any thief is better than no thief at all. Although they don't have the martial prowess of the fighter or the eldritch knowledge of the mage, their utilitarian skillset is too valuable for any party to be without. Still, whether you're looking to duck the wrath of Azalin Rex or just Constable Bob, a little subtlety never hurts. Good luck, and happy hunting. Frankie Drakeson, Lord Mayor of Carinford-Halldon Frankie Drakeson is a retired rifleman and the current mayor of Carinford-Halldon in Mordent. He is married to Gwendolyn Drakeson, the granddaughter of Nathan Timothy. Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter, or listen to Don, Jon, & Dragons, his podcast. Picture Reference: https://www.deviantart.com/gandolf67/art/Rogues-Den-375845519   There has been something of a surge in tabletop RPGs over the past few years, and while a lot of systems have grown their player base, no one has gotten as big as DND 5th Edition. Driven by the popularity of shows like Critical Role, it isn't much of an exaggeration to say that this edition of DND has finally clawed the Wizards of The Coast property back onto the lofty perch it was knocked off of when they released the previous edition. Since I like to check out popular games, I've played my share of DND 5E. I've also created content for it, which has necessitated going more than wrist-deep into the mechanics that make it work. As a gaming system, 5E is perfectly functional. It's fast-paced, easy to learn, and you can tinker with it relatively easily. With that said, though, there are certain aspects of it that I (as a player, an occasional DM, and a designer) absolutely hate. And, as always, one player's flaw is another player's feature. So keep that in mind as you go through my list. 1) The Narrowing of Class Features When I sit down with an RPG, one of the things that I enjoy is outright ignoring the stereotypes of a given class, and how they use their powers. Unfortunately, though, 5E has narrowed the functionality of class features to the point that character concepts which were simple to create in previous editions are outright impossible to make now. I’ll give you an example. A barbarian's Rage now has the caveat that you have to either attack a foe or take damage pretty much every round in order to keep your Rage going. This reduces Rage to nothing but a combat-focused ability, taking away any other potential uses for the power. You can't use your enhanced strength to pick up fallen comrades as you flee from battle, for example, and you can't use it to give you an extra boost while climbing a mountain side. You can't use it to outrun people chasing you across the rooftops, and unless you're actively being hurt you couldn't even use it for something like rescuing NPCs from a burning building. Even winning an arm wrestling contest is out, by the rules as they're written. This single-purpose mentality extends to a lot of classes, and it restricts play style unnecessarily. Rogues can only sneak attack with finesse weapons? Paladins can only use their smite on melee attacks? Was a paladin with a longbow whose hand is guided by the divine too game breaking? And so on, and so forth. The desire to be less flexible in terms of how abilities work, and thus to restrict character concepts, is one thing that turns me off hard about this edition. 2) Alignment Is More Pointless Than Ever Before Nothing starts arguments faster than talking about alignment in tabletop RPGs, but at least back in the 3.0 and 3.5 edition of the game alignment had some kind of purpose. Certain spells might affect you differently based on your alignment, you had to be of a certain alignment to be part of certain classes, and there were weapons that wouldn't work for you if your alignment didn't match theirs. It wasn't the most important feature of your character most of the time, but it would have mechanical repercussions in the game. I've played through a dozen levels in various 5E games so far, and alignment has never once come up. I haven't seen it mentioned in any spells I've looked at, nor in the descriptions of any magic items. There are suggestions in the class descriptions, but nothing happens to you if your paladin, monk, or cleric's alignment shifts away from what it was at the start. It doesn't restrict which classes you can mash up, either. Which begs the question; why the hell is it even here? While I'm sure there are a lot of folks who are extremely glad that alignment no longer impacts their in-game choices, if it doesn't actually do anything, then why was it included at all? Why not replace the pages talking about alignment with a deeper, more in-depth discussion of character beliefs and morality, since that's all been reduced to pure roleplay (as far as I can tell)? 3) An Overabundance Of DM Discretion The Dungeon Master is one of the most important positions at the table; without them, there's no game. However, 5E is a lot more like the second edition of the game, in that it expects the DM to not just rule on what's happening (like a judge or a referee), but to actively use their discretion as part of the core rules. I'll give you an example so you can see what I'm talking about. The wild magic sorcerer's description says that the DM may choose to make them roll a d20 any time they cast a spell of 1st-level or higher. If that roll is a 1, then they roll on the wild magic surge chart. A core feature of a class is entirely dependent on the DM's discretion. If you have a DM who doesn't know, or doesn't care, then the sorcerer will never actually roll on that table, which means a big part of that class will never function. Why put that decision on the DM, instead of just writing a rule that made the sorcerer roll that d20 every time they cast a spell, thus making it both truly random and feel like a game of Russian roulette? Or why not instead offer expanded language that states that when the sorcerer is in a stressful situation, or is suffering from any conditions, they must roll the d20 then? It's both one more thing for a DM to keep track of and it's asking them to put their nose directly into a player's core class feature. This isn't the only instance of this thinking showing through in the rules, either. If you look at skill checks, there's no longer a chart showing the appropriate difficulty check for certain tasks. Not so long ago, if you wanted to make an appropriate knowledge roll to know what monster you were facing, there would be a formula for determining that DC (typically something like monster CR + 10), and you would be able to ask questions about it based on how high above the DC you rolled. There were similar formulas for determining the DC for making a certain jump, for successfully persuading or intimidating a target, etc. Now there's a footnote in the Dungeon Master's Guide regarding average DC level based on how difficult a task might be, but there are no specific tables for particular tasks and challenges, or for modifiers to them. If you have a good DM, this isn't a big deal. If you have one who isn't mechanically savvy, or who decides to arbitrarily punish the group by setting nigh-impossible difficulty checks, then there's nothing in the rules you could raise as a point in your defense. 4) Big Gaps In The Rules It's impossible to make a rules system that covers everything. Even attempting such an impossible task is to court madness. But with the exception of when I joined a second edition campaign, I have never seen a game where there were fewer answers in the official rules about things that will actually come up with a fair bit of regularity. For example, we have some inkling of when certain races get older... but where are the age penalties/benefits (and if they don't exist, then what difference does it make how old you are)? We have rules for breaking objects, but no specific rules about trying to sunder the weapon, armor, or shield being wielded by an opponent. We have no set DC levels for given skills, as mentioned above, and there are no real rules for how you learn new languages. As a sample of the things that, while I was trying to build characters and figure out twists for an intro adventure, left me sighing and muttering, “Goddammit, 5E...” Sure, these aren't insurmountable problems. But if someone tries to sell you a car, and that car has parts missing, you'd be understandably irritated as you find ways to fill in those gaps. Especially if you were in the middle of a long campaign when you realized a piece you figured would be there just isn't. 5) Archetypes When I first came across the concept of archetypes back in 3.5, and then later on in Pathfinder, I thought they were a phenomenal idea. You took a base class like the fighter or the rogue (which already had a general, level 1-20 progression), and you swapped out certain abilities to make a more custom package of abilities. Maybe your fighter gave up heavy armor proficiency in exchange for additional damage with light weapons, making them into a duelist, or your ranger gave up spells in exchange for the ability to create traps. Archetypes were taking an already solid foundation, and providing you additional options you could use to better realize certain concepts. The keyword there is option. Archetypes were not a required part of the game. Much like prestige classes, you could use them if they suited your concept, or ignore them if they didn't. One of the most irritating aspects of 5E for me is that it kept what I can only think of as a holdover from 4E, in that classes much choose a particular archetype which more specifically defines their powers. Rogues have to make the choice between arcane trickster, shadow dancer, and assassin, for example. Barbarians can elect to go berserker, or totem worshiper. And so on, and so forth. Yes there are more options than that now, but these are the choices you're faced with in the base book. The problem is that there is no longer a foundation class; every class has branching paths. And the specificity of those branching paths often eliminates certain character concepts (perhaps just as much as the narrowing of class features I mentioned in the beginning). I don't mind their existence, as several of these archetypes are fun to play with; I object to them being mandatory. Because if they are optional, they give you additional tools to use for making your best game. If they aren't, then you're just being forced to cram your concept into one of these more narrowly defined paths which feels more like something out of an MMORPG like Diablo or World of Warcraft than the free-form universe of options and customization that tabletop RPGs have the ability to offer. While you can make the argument that the DM can just change the rules at their own table, these criticisms apply to the rules as they're written, not how someone may modify them in their personal games. For more of Neal Litherland's work, check out his gaming blog Improved Initiative, or take a look at his archive over at Gamers! Picture Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUDJzEagqE0   The Vistani are one of the truly unique elements of Ravenloft, but the familiar tropes of their wagons, evil eye, and card reading can become stereotyped and stale, getting in the way of making an encounter with them a truly memorable and unique experience. To make matters worse, their association with the real-life Roma can lead to unfortunate stereotypes of a people that have suffered from cultural appropriation and marginalization. Below are some options for bands taken to the edge of what it means to be Vistani, stretching the limits to create truly unique encounters far from any real-life association.
1) The Caliglia (Kamii) Vistani normally travel in cyclical routes, but what happens when one of those routes refuses to stay still? In 590, one band had just caulked their wagons to ferry themselves across the Musarde when the Grand Conjunction hit, and they were all swept out to sea! Reading the cards for their fate, their Raunie declared that they must remain on the water until their former route returns to them. The Caliglia traded their wagons for sloops, with which they escort ships between the various seas of the Core and beyond. To avoid static burn, they refuse to set foot on land for longer than a few hours, and always return to the sea before the sun sets. As part of the Kamii tribe, they have turned their metalworking trade to maritime crafts: nails, braces and other ironworks that protect vessels, compasses that predict the weather, and magic cutlasses that draw power from the sea. 2) The Valstike (Corvara) The Valstike tribe roam the lands extolling the virtues of the asylum of Dominia, selling crafts created by inmates, and offering to relieve families and communities of the burden of caring for the feeble minded, insane, or incorrigible. They don’t openly offer outright kidnapping as a service, but some have read between the lines and struck a private deal. If an individual is violently mad--or inconveniently sane--the Valstike excel at live capture, even before resorting to their potent poisons or powerful magic. Their padded vardos have a mild pacifying aura, a variety of restraints, and coffin-sized hidden compartments if necessary. 3) The Biskrem (Vatraska) Only in the topsy-turvy chaos of Vechor could the land change so quickly that Vistani can fulfil their obligation to travel by staying still. The Biskrem run a popular rural inn called The Sundowner (good quality food and rooms, fair prices), that generates a shared unreality wrinkle* among guests that drink their unique brandy. The radius varies depending upon the number of guests, and causes the surrounding landscape to resemble guests’ homelands. The Vistani fix native dishes for the guests out of local flora and fauna that appear when the land changes, and frequently speak of having “traveled,” even though the “camp” is a stationary building. Such an island of sanity is even more popular among outlanders from beyond the Mists, who frequently have vivid dreams of visiting their homelands, and even learn about current events. 4) Lunadd (Canjar) Scholars have wondered, if Vistani are compelled to move in fixed cyclical routes, how do new domains get added to the routes? The answer is found in a rarely mentioned family of the Canjar, whose strange fate allows them to visit each new domain as it appears, BUT at the cost that they can never go back to a domain after leaving. They sell their information to other Vistani during Lunaset, brokering for the supernatural power to add the new domain to routes. Lunadd cannot navigate the Mists per se, being locked on a course to visit each new domain as it appears. To compensate for this loss, and to assist with their mission, they have the gift of speaking the language of anyone they touch. 5) Kruug (Equaar) Hinted at in Van Richten's Arsenal, this singular family of Vistani are tied to the lost royal family of Velkaarn, and seek to restore the Bloodknife to its reincarnated owner. Like other Equaar, they have no wagons, but also stand out for only training truly wild animals, such the wolves and raptors that accompany them. Kruug trained animals despise the undead, and never fall under the sway of an undead darklord even if their creature type would normally be subject to a lord’s control. It's said that once the vampire lord Velkaarn is no more, the Kruug will return from isolation in the Mists. If these legends are correct, the Kruug may be the first Vistani family to willingly undergo ritual static burn. 6) Golurn (Naiat) As the domains on their route became increasingly urbanized, one clan left their vardos behind as they prowl the streets of Paridon, Nosos, and other large cities. Upon arriving in a new city, the Golurn spread out fast, darting through alleys solo, or in groups no larger than four. They find good places to perform, or do small chores, using the subtle charm of their heritage to ingratiate themselves. Golurn children and elders are always accompanied by adults who look after them and involve them in the task at hand. Anyone who threatens one of them finds the others are never far away, but those who indulge their presence find their spirits lifted, their minds awakened; far more value than that of any coin they leave with. Perhaps one of the most important elements of any encounter with a people as mysterious and unique as the Vistani is that it should fulfil multiple roles in the story. Atmosphere is always one of those roles, but the above are also intended for situations where the heroes need a challenge, or refuge, or information, or encouragement, or tools. If the heroes really do just need their fortunes told, or passage from one domain to another, consider alternatives to the Vistani from time to time, to help avoid making these powerful and mysterious people into a backdrop for the scene change. * Unreality wrinkles are a feature of Vechor described in the Nocturnal Sea Gazeteer, a netbook hosted by the Fraternity of Shadows. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. He is currently running the “Queen of Orphans” Ravenloft campaign on Discord. Picture Reference: http://thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com/2016/09/curse-of-strahd-running-final-battle.html 5 Reasons to Use This Badass WerePanther For Your Next D&D Game: Meet Baron Urik von Kharkov25/5/2018  Hey, Jim here. Before Frankie gets going: if you want to help High Level Games continue to produce great content and launch the careers of the next generation of creators, we'd love it if you stopped by our Patreon to show your support. Of course, if you'd like a little something for your hard earned money, you could always pick up one of our fine game products as well.
Greetings, traveler! Congratulations are in order to you. Uncovering a doppelganger is no mean feat. I'm sorry the fiend slipped your grasp, but heartened to hear you already have a lead. As to your query: if, as you say, the monster was seen heading for Castle Pantara, you may indeed need to treat with Baron Urik von Kharkov of those lands. Fortunately, he and I have interacted on occasion in the past, and I would be happy to provide you with a few words to the wise regarding him and his domain. Baron Urik von Kharkov is the Darklord of Valachan. A werepanther as well as a vampire, he rules his populace with the help of an army of werepanther secret police. Each year he selects a bride by lottery, but he is unable to control his compulsions to harm his brides. Within the year, each unfortunate victim is dead by his hands. 1) Demon Lover Baron Urik von Kharkov's defining trait is his tragic marital history. With each annual bridal lottery, his hopes climb higher with dreams of the future, and with each unfortunate illness or accident, his despair plunges deeper than ever before. You may find him most approachable immediately before or after this annual lottery. Baron Urik von Kharkov's story centers around an allegory for domestic violence and the behavioral cycles of an abuser. When first courting potential brides (and potential victims, including PCs), he is attentive, erudite, and elegant. Gradually his demeanor shifts, becoming more demanding and more wrathful. By the time he begins harming people, either his underlings or his wives, he will have given the victim ample reason to believe he's only reacting to their bad actions; maybe even acting for their own good! If his victims ever awake to the realization of how much of a monster he truly is, they will be bound to inextricably to him that escape will be impossible, only a choice of death at his hands or their own. This is a sensitive topic, and should be handled appropriately. While von Kharkov (like many abusers) may believe that his evil actions spring from something within him, a Beast that is beyond his control, this is merely self-delusion. Like all Darklords, von Kharkov has been damned not because of his inherent nature, but the evil choices he willingly made. 2) Of the People The people are Valachan are dark of skin and black of hair, and if you or your companions have a contrasting appearance, you may find that it generates a great deal of attention. The Valachani culture differs significantly from that of the western Core as well, and is often considered 'less civilized' by the less worldly minds of our home realms. For their differences, the Valachani are no less civilized than you or I, and thinking otherwise would be a grave mistake indeed. Baron von Kharkov cuts one of the most impressive figures out of all the Darklords of Ravenloft. It can be refreshing to see a character that not only provides representation for black characters, but is also a character who is educated, powerful, refined, in command and beloved by his people. He has elegance and poise, with an undercurrent of menace, like the mighty feline predators he is so heavily involved with thematically. Rick Worthy and Steven Williams have both given magnificent performances of this variety that you can reference if needed. As well, Valachan serves as a good example of a prosperous and functional black-predominant fantasy nation. There are a couple stumbling blocks to look out for here. The first is the notion of a black man as a domestic abuser. This is a tired trope in fiction, which often ends up played to racist hyperbole or comedic effect. You'll get a better result if you take care to make von Kharkov's actions and relationships nuanced and rounded. Depending on the party's makeup, there is also the risk of running 'white savior' stories, where a group of well-meaning white adventurers deign to travel to a backwards group of people of color to solve their problems. Keep in mind that the Valachani are an independent, capable people, and you should have no trouble giving your players the same impression. 3) Cycle of Pain Despite his lofty status now, Urik has suffered many abuses in the past. Wizards in particular may find little favor to be had in Castle Pantara, as practitioners of the arcane have been no friend to the Baron in earlier days. Like many good villains, Baron Urik von Kharkov has a backstory filled with personal heartache that informs his present motivations. Despite the fact that he's utterly evil, like Erik Killmonger or Hannibal Lecter, von Kharkov has a true horror in his past. He's been enslaved, tortured, experimented on, and cruelly manipulated into harming those he cared about. If he's persecuting those who enslaved him (or people of the same bent) like the Red Wizards or the Kargat, it's easy to muddy the waters and make the PCs really struggle to think about who the bad guy really is. It's important to remember though, that a tragic backstory doesn't excuse his actions. No matter what von Kharkov says, at the end of the day he's still the one responsible for his own actions, and he can't lay the blame for the blood he's shed at the feet of those who hurt him. Remember again, he wouldn't be a Darklord if he hadn't chosen his own path. 4) Thieves in the Night The Baron is a terrifying combatant, to be sure, but the force that truly keeps Valachan in line is the Black Leopards. Forming the backbone of the Baron's authority in Valachan, the Black Leopards act as secret police, ruthlessly enforcing the Baron's will and security through fear and brutal violence. The Black Leopards (many of whom are werepanthers) are Urik's main tool to keep Valachan under his thumb. Given their distinctive appearance and fascist behavior, they make marvelous underbosses. Their stark contrast to the respectable, empathetic populace of Valachan makes them great center-stage bad guys, and their potent supernatural abilities let them pose a threat to even veteran adventuring groups. With fascist groups like the Black Leopards, there can be a temptation to make them appear sympathetic, as though their terrorism and violence is required to keep their borders secure against dangerous outsiders. Although this is the excuse such villains always hide behind, it isn't true in the Black Leopards case. While it's true that the Mordentish look down their nose at the Valachani, the 'dangerous threats' that the Black Leopards' violent actions and interrogations are meant to quell are merely a product of von Kharkov's paranoia and his underlings' cruelty and greed. 5) King Among Monsters I have seen three heroes pursue Baron Urik von Kharkov to their own deaths. Each believed they had the truth of von Kharkov's nature. One believed him to be a tyrannical dictator, a military leader held in power by a team of elite monstrous soldiers. One believed von Kharkov to be a werepanther, using his curse to infect and control the most sadistic and predatory of his citizens to control the rest of the nation. The third believed Urik to be a nosferatu, who drained the life from his captive populace as surely as he stole the lives of his own brides. Each of these heroes perished because none had the full picture: all of them were correct, and it is a blindness to all the facets of the Baron's character that has proved the undoing of many a hero. For the crunch-favoring DMs out there, Baron von Kharkov is a dream come true. As both a werepanther and a vampire, he offers a whole palette of abilities to choose from. As an undead shapeshifter he can ignore a whole range of spells and magical abilities, he can hold his own in combat, and his stealth and intelligence gathering abilities are so extensive it's nearly impossible for a party to get the jump on him. He's even got the ability to suborn feline party members like mounts, animal companions, and familiars to his own service! Best yet, many of the standard weaknesses of his monster types do not apply to him. It's important not to give the party a fair fight, however. Urik von Kharkov was born as a panther, not a man, and understands the need for stealth, ambush, and waiting for the opportune moment to strike. His ability to drain blood (and erase memories), spread disease, and command a wide variety of mortal, monstrous, and bestial servants allows him to ensure that a party on his hit list never gets a moment's peace, much less a short rest. Farewell If you decide to pursue this villain to Castle Pantara, I sincerely hope you find that the Baron has dealt with him first, in a terminal manner. Otherwise I fear it may be you who finds yourself being...dealt with. If you should survive, my own men can meet you at the Mordentish border and ferry you to safety with all available haste. In the meantime, good luck and happy hunting, Frankie “Farshot” Drakeson, Lord Mayor of Carinford-Halldon Frankie Drakeson is a retired rifleman and the current mayor of Carinford-Halldon in Mordent. He is married to Gwendolyn Drakeson, making him Nathan Timothy’s grandson by marriage. Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter, or listen to Don, Jon, & Dragons, his podcast. Picture Reference: https://guardians-of-the-mists.obsidianportal.com/characters/baron-urik-von-kharkov  The Vistani (and by extension The Carnival) are the default “traveling band” for the setting, but there are many travelers who brave the Mists using safety in numbers. One of the greatest advantages of using such a group in a campaign is that they can appear in a wide variety of domains, whether in the Core, island or cluster. For those times when you need to have the adventure come to your players, here are a few ways to have hell (or heaven) on wheels. 1) Professor Arcanus Since the events of CotN: Werebeasts, Arcanus no longer has the luxury of being a one man show. On the night one of his exhibits came back to life, he was saved by a band of traveling adventurers, but he was revealed as a lycanthrope, and one of their number become a carnivorous ape. They now travel with him under the guise of fellow performers, secretly seeking a cure for both Arcanus and their friend, who has been trained to perform and assist. His new allies have taken on his penchant for showmanship and exaggeration, and they include an anchorite of the Erudite tradition who has had some success navigating the Mists. 2) Morts-qui-Dancent The Book of Sacrifices tells the tragic story of a group of musicians who “just wanted to make music.” They now travel from place to place, compelled to do just that or suffer horrible consequences. The undead musical troupe cannot navigate the Mists, but they are generally content to let fate decide their path. Despite their nature and circumstances, they tend towards benevolence, and uniquely suited to survive anywhere, including places the others cannot, such as the Necropolis or Keening. 3) Black Avlyhn First described in the Notes on Doppelgangers, this annis travels with over thirty of her own murderous doppelganger children, who believe that they are immature hags. They use their talents to play the part of Vistani, but are basically just roving thugs. The ones that have gone through puberty can appear as male or female, but visitors may note that all the children in the band of “Vistani" are female...and identical except for their ages. Recently, the band forced a mist ferryman to bargain for its life with passage through Mists. Since then, Avlyhn has prepared a magic circle to capture the next ferryman they encounter, in the hopes that they will be able to trap it and use it to truly travel like Vistani. 4) Rhennee Stranded generations ago in the Greyhawk setting where they learned to ply the Nyr Dyv, the barge folk may adapt to sailing Lake Kriegvogel or Lake Zarovich. Their distinctive customs and unusual magic are similar to the Vistani but with a few memorable contrasts. Obviously using barges instead of wagons is a significant difference, and PCs expecting a Vetha to break out the cards for a fortune telling might see her pour a bucket of bird entrails off the back of the barge instead. A grim Darkhagard’s distinctive weapon and combat style will make an impression whether he's an ally or an enemy. 5) The Dreamspoken Forbidden Lore introduced the Ildi’Thaan, and the first Gazetteer expanded on the Thaani ethnic group associated with them. But while many Thaani are troubled by dreams of Bleutspur, not all of them follow where the dreams lead. The Dreamspoken are Thaani with budding psionic powers who flee the lure of the Ildi’Thaan, developing their powers themselves while traveling the world. Coming from Barovia where Vistani are so well respected, it’s common for them to run away with with the Vistani for protection. Some of them return to Immol every few years to pick up new Dreamspoken, growing into larger bands that adopt Vistani dress and customs, mimicking Vistani magic with psionic powers. This has resulted in false reports of Vistani boys with the Sight, or Vistani with other unusual powers. 6) The Soldiers Of Truth Warden Cyrus Townsend is a powerful anchorite who leads this band of Ezra’s faithful. With planning and precision, they Mistwalk to a theocratic domain such as Pharazia, astound the locals with a practiced barrage of miracles and proselytizing, and disappear back into the Mists before the authorities can muster a response. Most locals are grateful for the food, water, and healing, but a few risk their lives to hide and read the forbidden texts, hoping to be rescued back to the Core at the next visit. Townsend’s “wonderworking" is an extremely risky enterprise, but its success has spawned imitators, especially among the Nevuchar Springs Sect. The latter, of course, don't always bother to ask people if they want to be rescued…. When looking for a traveling band to play a role in your game, consider the role you want them to play, whether rescue through the mists, a source of information or goods, mysterious foreshadowing, entertainment, healing, or just ambiance. Many of the above can fill those roles while creating a sense of a much larger world, with room for many varieties of travelers braving the Mists to see where fortune brings them. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. He is currently running the “Queen of Orphans” Ravenloft campaign on Discord.   If you want to help High Level Games continue to produce great content and launch the careers of the next generation of creators, we'd love it if you stopped by our Patreon to show your support. Of course, if you'd like a little something for your hard earned money, you could always pick up one of our fine game products as well. Greetings, traveler! I must say I’m relieved you survived your excursion in Lamordia. Also, I wouldn’t worry overmuch; I’m sure the Baron’s soldiers will eventually tire of looking for you. Since hiding in the basement of a safehouse can get quite dull (as I well remember!) I thought you would appreciate a little light reading material. Thinking of Mordenheim’s wayward creations got me thinking about the nature of corruption. It seems as though corruption from a person or thing’s original purpose is a not uncommon occurrence in the Mists. We’re all familiar with notable examples like Blackroot, of course, but the once noble treant is hardly the only such case. 1) Splinterwaif Travelers through the unspoiled wilderness may have encountered the elusive dryad: an innocent forest spirit tied mystically to a single virgin tree. Folk legend holds that harming the tree harms the maiden, and should the tree perish, so too will the dryad. (Folk legend also holds that driving a knot on said tree will compel the spirit to become your bride, but I suspect the latter part of the tale has more to do with woodsmen starved for feminine affection than actual fact.) But what happens if the tree is not merely cut down, but hacked to pieces, sliced and planed, rendered into dozens of boards, and then hammered together with iron spikes to fashion a pigsty, fish stall, brothel, or other shelter of slaughter or vice? Are fey spirits not just as prone to malevolent haunting as human spirits? They are. Such atrocity can give rise to a splinterwaif: a dryad spirit twisted by hatred and abuse. These hideous creatures lurk in slums, junkyards, and alleys, stalking children and the infirm to drain the life force of the living to sustain themselves. Only small, woody shrubs remain where their victims once stood. Stats for the splinterwaif can be found in the Monster Manual III. 2) Midnight Unicorn Many outlanders I’ve spoken to have told me stories of the noble unicorn: a creature of purest innocence, which dwells in forest glades and blesses those it deems worthy with protection and healing. Legend has it that the touch of their horn can banish any impurity, even poison or illness. The only such being I’ve encountered was far from these legends. Its coat was as black as coal, and a fierce malevolence burned in its glowing red eyes. The silver horn spiraling from its skull sported wicked barbs along its razored length. Most disconcerting of all was the unearthly shriek that it accompanied its arrival. When it vanished, just as suddenly, the silence was nearly as terrifying. If I had to guess, I would suspect that unicorns are occasionally drawn in by the Mists just as Outlanders are. Their close connection to the land, like elementals, eventually seeps into their very being, and they find themselves twisting into a hateful mockery of their former selves. Black unicorns can be found in the Monsters of Faerun compendium. 3) Boxwood Defenders Once, on the invitation of Lord Pennybore, I travelled to Darkon to attend a large dinner party. Woefully, it turned out to be an ambush, as Pennybore (in reality the hidden Blackburn-Bruce scion I’d been hunting for nearly a year) had laid out an elaborate trap to kill me. Perhaps most terrifying was his hedge maze. Filled with blind turns and dead ends, as well as dozens of boxwood sculptures, each trimmed to the shape of a fearsome soldier or diabolical beast, it was very nearly my tomb. The sculptures came to life, and I found myself pursued, unarmed and unarmored, through an unlit maze, stalked by living extensions of the hedges themselves. I’ve heard that such creatures can be created by skilled mages, but I fear that exposure to too much wickedness (and the tainted nature of the Mists themselves) can lend these guardians a cruelty they would lack in their ‘natural’ state. To add boxwood defenders to your haunted mansions, check out the topiary guardian statistics in the Monster Manual III. 4) Cyclopes Religion is a powerful thing. When twisted by grief and neglect, that power can be terrible indeed. Although rare, I’ve encountered more than one instance of a religious idol persisting even after the death of the congregation that once worshipped before it. Regardless of the tenets of the original faith, these fallen icons mar their features beyond recognition and pursue eternal vengeance against those they hold accountable for the loss of their faithful. (I assume there’s a convoluted reasoning at work, but typically this category includes everyone they meet.) Dripping spectral blood from their ruined visages, they strike fear into the hearts of those they assault, and madness in the minds of any unfortunate enough to touch their ectoplasmic vitriol. Fortunately for most, these cyclopes tend to be somewhat unsociable. They are most often found in the wild, isolated places their faithful once gathered, haunting the sites of their former glory. Unfortunately for you, these are just the sorts of places your profession sends you to time and time again. Renegade religious statues use the rogue eidolon stats from the Monster Manual II. Conclusion Scholars have gone back and forth on the corrupting nature of the Mists and the truth behind outlander tales of unadulterated versions of some of our more common monstrosities. If nothing else, these sorts of discussions make an interesting diversion when one is hiding from overzealous law enforcement. If you continue to have difficulties, send word in a return missive and I shall see what I can do to find a suitable escape for you. In the meantime, good luck and happy hiding, Frankie “Farshot” Drakeson, Lord Mayor of Carinford-Halldon Frankie Drakeson is a retired rifleman and the current mayor of Carinford-Halldon in Mordent. He is married to Gwendolyn Drakeson, making him Nathan Timothy’s grandson by marriage. Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter, or listen to Don, Jon, & Dragons, his podcast. Picture Reference: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/156218680804888437/   All right, tabletop roleplaying gamers. It’s time to talk about a real problem for your long-term roleplaying happiness: enemy NPC fatigue (ENPCF), or “boredom,” for short. We’ve all been there: you’re on a dungeon crawl, twelve levels down the tower, and the monsters are starting to blend together. What was that last one? Tarrak, tarrasque, tourrette… it doesn’t really matter, actually. The slavering mandibles, grating claws, and magical damage resistance all look the same at that point. Granted, it’s been fun to collect loot and advance your character, but if you wanted to go grinding or farm resources, you might as well be playing Skyrim. It’s time for a serious villain overhaul. The following are a few memorable monster villains from my own playing history. Let these creatures and people be an inspiration to your own memorable villain repertoire and take your games to the next level. 1) Rifts - The Evil Blob A telepathic alien entity had taken control of a supercomputer. The supercomputer/monster then embraced (enslaved?) a race of cave-dwelling creatures. It taught them to read, write, and manufacture; it trained them to build and use amazing technology, established a social structure and government, and it even served as a quasi-religion. All it demanded was food in return, and it received enough that it grew into an enormous, fleshy blob. Our party came at this creature sideways. We were being attacked by bands of these small, hairy, Gollum-like cave-dwellers. We didn’t think much of it, random encounters being what they are, but we started to wonder when we accidentally captured one of them. The creature told us that we had to leave, that we were invading the territory of their tribe, and that their great leader would destroy us. Intrigued, we did a bit of reconnaissance, and discovered “the blob”. In the end, however, our group determined that this blob-like creature had in fact improved the quality of life for these cave-dwellers immensely. Rather than invade and fight the blob, we decided to establish a bi-lateral trade agreement with it. Whaddya know? This was memorable because we didn’t have to fight it at all. There was enough grey area to decided that killing it would probably be worse for the hairy creatures in the end. To keep things interesting, create villains that the characters don’t need to fight, but can be overcome in other ways. 2) D&D 3.5 - The Vampire Lord With The Crazy Castle This villain is both a creature and an environment. At the beginning of this encounter, our party was warmly welcomed into a castle. The castle was well appointed, tastefully decorated, and we were fed a luxurious meal. We were waited on by a group of lovely ladies, the daughters of the lord, who later surprised various members of our party by arriving in their bedrooms. That’s where the red flags went up. They were, of course, vampire spawn who were working for the vampire lord of the castle. As the illusions faded, our characters began to see that the tapestries in this castle were rotting, there was black mold and cobwebs everywhere, and our hostesses were, in fact, undead abominations. The castle then became a magical labyrinth of bloodstained dungeons, torture chambers, decaying dining halls, and all-round horror. The castle itself eventually herded us into the great hall for a final showdown with the vampire lord. While I don’t remember the name of this creep, I will surely never forget the feeling of sick dread I had while moving inevitably through his castle of horrors to meet him. Environment can make the villain! 3) Shadowrun - Bug Spirits What is big, horrifically alien, deadly… oh, and can’t be harmed by ordinary weapons? Shadowrun Bug Spirits. Denizens of a poorly understood nether dimension, these spiritual creatures have manifested on Shadowrun’s parallel earth to… well, nobody really understands why they’re here, which is part of what makes them so scary. To destroy the living? To consume everything? To reproduce? Also, if they get ahold of you, they will either eat you (which would be a mercy) or they will take you back to their nest, where a gentle, well-meaning madman plants a spirit larva inside you. It takes possession of your body, and you will become either a true believing member of a bug spirit cult, a hybrid bug-human drone, or the shell of an egg that will hatch into a spiritual insect. I still shudder. During an extended Shadowrun game, Bug Spirits were just one element in probably the most convincingly storied game world I have played in; they were nevertheless one of the most memorable creature villains I have ever encountered. Better than Ridley Scott’s Alien, it makes the so-called ‘mindless’ monster deeply personal on both a physical and a spiritual level. Did I mention that ordinary weapons don’t hurt them? 4) Rifts - The Coalition The Coalition forces from Kevin Siembada’s Rifts are a great, multi-layered enemy. Xenophobic, merciless, and dressed up in black skulls, they make perfect cannon fodder for gamers just out to bash some bad guys. It’s like being Indiana Jones and punching Nazis. In one game, however, we players got a closer look at them and the Nazis began to look more like the Germans from Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Some prisoners we had captured seemed a little too human, a little too close to home. Think about it: these people are the last major human power in the game world, the descendants of those who survived the coming of the rifts. Why do they fight against DeeBees? Because this is their earth. Why are they xenophobic? Because many, many of the things that have come through the rifts have been incredibly dangerous, or utterly evil. What made these villains most memorable was being able to stand in their shoes. We realised that, if the world really did erupt with magic and extra-dimensional beings, humans would likely only survive if they banded together - and it becomes easy to see yourself joining up with the Coalition just to survive. Have some sympathy for the devil; there is a lot of power in having sympathetic villains with their own agenda. 5) D&D 3.5 - The Desolator The Desolator was an evil half-orc, half-ogre chieftain who allied to dark powers that planned to unite the orcish hordes to annihilate the world. Sounds like a fairly straightforward Dungeons & Dragons character at first glance, but I could have kissed the Dungeonmaster. Maybe I did, I don’t remember. This villain was capital ‘A’ awesome for me because he was a direct response to the character I was playing. My character was a half-orc barbarian (classic!) who had become the king of a tribe of orcs who were trying somehow to be good. Yes, we took some liberties with the canon, it’s a part of the hobby. I made a long write-up trying to reconcile this bizarre situation, but the short version is this: My character, whose leadership was in dispute, had used a once-in-a-generation war cry to call all the orcish tribes to war against the Desolator and his buddies. The Desolator, on the other hand, had used the same war cry to call the orcs to fight against my character and the forces of good. Part of the final battle involved an argument between him and I to persuade the orcish onlookers whom they should follow The physical victory over the villain was that much sweeter because of the moral/political victory of winning the hordes over to my side. The best villains have a personal connection to the players’ characters and the characters’ players! Create villains who have a rational agenda to create interesting grey moral areas. Allow more than one way to overcome villains in order to keep things interesting. Add an environment that matches your villain to create a more memorable experience. Use monsters that can do worse than just killing a character. Finally, make villains personal by connecting them with characters in important ways. These are just a few suggestions; hopefully these experiences will help you to change things up and keep your games fresh! Landrew is a full-time educator, part-time art enthusiast. He applies his background in literature and fine arts to his favourite hobby (role-playing games) because the market for a background in the Fine Arts is very limited. He writes this blog on company time under a pseudonym. Long live the Corporation! Image source: Art of the Genre’s article on Shadowrun’s Bug City   This is Leyshon Campbell. Before I give you some totally free content, including shortcuts to some of the finest game materials ever made, I want to thank High Level Games for dragging me back into a hobby that I love. They are truly a Makerspace for game designers, and they deserve support. If you see the value here like I do, check out our Patreon, or pick up one of our excellent products. Lycanthropy in Ravenloft is intended to be a curse rather than a blessing, but it's a curse that is notoriously hard to lift. According to the official guide to the subject, once the progenitor is dead, there’s a ritual involving a number of high level spells cast on the afflicted person in their beast form, with saving throw penalties reflective of how deeply the beast has taken hold. If the afflicted doesn’t have the means yet to kill the progenitor, obtain the spells or make the saves, their life becomes a matter of managing the dread disease. Here are a few suggestions to make that easier. 1. Get Informed Do you change with the phases of the moon, or the tides? What about violence, hunger or the smell of blood? Use redundancies, such as manacles inside a locked and barred room. Not only is this safer, but it will give you a rough idea of how strong it is by what doesn’t work. Read up on cheap STR/DEX poisons, such as whiteshoot root. The worst they can do is paralyze, and they can make other precautions more effective. Learn about the laws wherever you go, especially smaller offenses that warrant jail time. Getting thrown in jail for unpaid fines may prevent manslaughter. If anyone knows of your condition, they may lock you up longer than you intend, but that’s still more manageable than running free. 2. Get Help Many champions of the Mists are familiar with precautions against lycanthropy, but some are more helpful than others. George Weathermay may take pity, especially if he sees a connection to his nieces. Ivan Dragonov might be convinced to assist in hunting down the progenitor, with strict warnings as to what will happen if they delay in a cure. Carnagan Wolfe may not know about being infected, but might share some insight of his life on the fringes of werewolf society. And an infected lycanthrope in truly dire straits might learn a lot from Vjorn Horstman, even if they have to escape his lab after learning it. 3. Get Magic Finding a relic like the Hands of the Dawn Healer might be a bigger quest than getting cured, but it’s certainly worth following up on rumors, especially if you’ve hit a dead end on your bloodline. Anyone wearing a Wolfspaw Amulet can trap the beast in any corner, alcove or pit on very short notice. Some shared party items like magic manacles, a bag of holding or portable hole could keep the beast in check for a few days and then turned to other uses the rest of the month. A Silver Amulet of the Beast is a comprehensive solution, but it’s not a shared item, and may work best financed through a sponsor or on temporary loan from an ally. Finally, if you start to transform, buy yourself a little time by drinking a spiritual purgative. It may only hold off the curse a few rounds or minutes, but that may be enough time to get someplace more secure. 4. Get Hunting Even if you don't have all the ingredients for a cure, tracking down the progenitor is a great way to gain needed experience. If you were lucky enough to be infected by a true lycanthrope, this means only one hunt, but occasionally it means tracing back through any number of infected to find the original. As Celia Whitmoor and her companion Argent can tell you, the danger and logistical difficulty of a long bloodline hunt belie the fact that this is an emotionally grueling journey, with any number of false ends where you find not the object of your quest, but another hapless reflection of what you are turning into. It may be best to lay out some rules for how long you will hunt, and how much you will tolerate, until you decide to try for control instead of cure. 5. Get Control Taking control of the beast is no easy choice; even attempting will make it more difficult to be cured in the future, and success will prevent it entirely. Van Richten’s Guide had no rules for it, but John W. Mangrum wrote up some pretty good rules in the Book of Shadows (“Wild at Heart”). The Duskpeace Outcasts are the obvious ones to turn to for this kind of help, but the Keepers of the Black Feather might offer some small assistance to other kinds of werebeasts, if you’ve proven yourself a worthy ally. BONUS: Get Re-infected As a third option against control or cure, some might consider re-infection. Only the most recent phenotype takes effect, so why not replace your slavering wolf with a more fastidious panther, or less hungry rat? The ideal might be to join a flock of wereravens, but there are also outlander varieties of tigers, bears or boars whose beast-selves are not evil. It’s up to the DM how a “reboot” against a different phenotype interacts with ranks in control shape. Managing an afflicted PC requires a tricky balance; if lycanthropy is too easy to lift then it loses its gravitas, but it shouldn’t be so harsh as to make the PC unplayable or derail the rest of the campaign. By making plans and taking precautions, you can make lycanthropy an ever-present part of the life of a character while still allowing them to have as productive a life as an adventurer in Ravenloft can have. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. He is currently running the “Queen of Orphans” Ravenloft campaign on Discord.   Hey, Jim here! Before Frankie gets started, I wanted to remind you that High Level Games is bringing you game content and commentary absolutely free, as well as providing a home and launching point for a slew of great creators! If you want to help our endeavors, we'd love it if you stopped by our Patreon to show your support. Of course, if you'd like a little something for your hard earned money, you could always pick up one of our fine game products as well.
Greetings traveler! I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I understand one of your companions went missing in Lamordia, and you believe the shadowy Adam to be responsible. I was relieved to receive your letter asking for my advice on how to proceed; I had begun to worry you no longer had need of me! Fortunately for you, I’ve dealt with Adam (as well as his deranged creator) personally. Since encountering Adam, I’ve tangled with other creatures of his ilk, and discerned several common threads between them. 1) The Difference In other lands, the ability to animate the inanimate is a function of powerful magic and expert application. Within the Mists, however, the power to bestow quasi-life to one's creations comes more easily (if not as reliably). Although the techniques vary wildly, they all require a creator to spend an inordinate amount of time, attention, and money in the pursuit of their creation. A great deal of information about the varieties of golem creation can be found in Van Richten's seminal (if unoriginally named) Van Richten's Guide to the Created. What the good doctor fails to note is the distinction between ‘mundane’ constructs, the mindless automata that follow only the directions of their creators, and the malignant intelligence of those constructs touched (some might say tainted) by the Dark Powers. Van Richten’s successors, the Weathermay twins, have dubbed the more dangerous variety dread golems. While the rules were written with 2e in mind, the lore, background, and cost guidelines in Van Richten's Guide are suitable for any edition. Rules for dread golems can be found on p. 190 of the Ravenloft Core Rulebook. 2) The Obsession What a sufficiently motivated creator lacks in magical potential, the Dark Powers may sometimes fill in. What seems to attract their attention in this regard is obsession: the desire to finish their work at the expense of everything else. Bringing their creation to life may not even be their literal intent. Consider Ernst Bederim: an acolyte at the Great Cathedral in Levkarest and a bright young artist who worked exclusively in portraits of leaded glass. His magnum opus was to be a portrait of Ezra to rival the centerpiece of Sainte Mere de Larmes. His passion led him to neglect his duties to the faith (at least one brother suffered grievous injuries restoring a fresco that Ernst was supposed to have done), and eventually he went missing altogether. He was found sliced to pieces a few weeks later, but his nearly-completed masterpiece has not been seen since. The animation of this art piece into a Dread Golem (for that is what I believe transpired) was not born of a literal desire to bring life, only a figurative desire, to make his artwork "come alive" as it were, a desire which the Dark Powers saw fit to grant. If the glass portrait of Ezra truly does stalk the Great Cathedral, then statistics for stained-glass golems can be found in the Monster Manual II. 3) The Connection The power to create life is the province of the gods alone, and mankind has but a single way to achieve this end: the way the gods intended. The magically potent and driven may attempt to usurp this power, but their creations, from the basest homunculus to the most powerful golem, remain a part of them in a potent and fundamental way. I believe that the soul of the creation is a piece of the creator's own soul, a fragment they have torn loose with their perverse obsession and imparted in the construct, like a cutting taken from a tree. Consider Adam: his own creator, Dr. Mordenheim, and he suffer an intense shared connection. Prick one, and the other feels the needle. (But be warned: I know from experience that neither can perish whilst the other endures.) Adam is even widely believed (by those who know of such things) to be Lamordia's Dark Lord. So why does his domain, and his alone, not reflect his own history and psyche? The answer is that he is not, no matter what he might think, an independent creature: he is merely an extension of Mordenheim's own soul. This is why Lamordia is modeled after Mordenheim's influence, and not Adam's. Frankie may be correct here: if Adam and Mordenheim truly are one soul, it would make their dual curses make sense. Both are chief among the damned in Lamordia, and while Mordenheim's influence predominates, only Adam wields the supernatural prowess of the Dark Lord. For more information about Lamordia and its environs, see the Ravenloft Gazetteer: Vol. II. 4) The Imperfect Some powers are not for humankind to possess, a lesson the dread golems' half-lives bring resoundingly home. Each of these creatures possesses a number of tiny flaws, which Van Richten dubs zeitgeibers, as if to underscore their creators' inability to impart real life. I encountered a jeweler in Hazlan once, a Rashemi woman purported to have the occasional prophetic dream. She made such wonderful trinkets from crystal, etched in the shapes of animals both real and mystical. When the Mulan noble she served became pregnant, the artist worked night and day fashioning a delicate crystalline fairy to watch over the child, for she had sensed a great darkness that wished the Mulan harm. The noblewoman miscarried, and when she discovered what her servant had been making, she cursed the artist for her superstition and had her hanged. The crystalline fairy did not take this affront lightly: before departing into the night, she killed every Mulan child in the household. To this day, the crystal fairy is incapable of passing a sleeping person without doing them an ill turn, which may be as innocuous as stealing an article of clothing, or as vicious as cold blooded murder. The crystal fairy has been sighted all across the core, often posing as a mundane piece of jewelry or statuary. Details on crystal golems can be found in Denizens of Darkness. 5) The Malevolent While some dread golems, like the crystal fairy, are born shortly before their creator's demise, virtually all of those that are not eventually attempt to destroy their creator. Some may attempt to do so out of a perverse mockery of love, desiring to possess their beloved even at the cost of the creator's life, but most grow to despise their 'parent.' Some profess anger at having been made for servitude, some outrage at being created imperfectly. Some, like Adam, cite personal conflicts that exploded into a lifetime of treacheries. I believe that the truth is that the same part of the creator's soul which animates the golem is the part of themselves that know what they have done is wrong, and that they deserve to be punished for it. The act of creation purges them of this part of themselves, and the Dark Powers give it the ability to act on its dark desires. For such creatures and their creators, life takes on one of two forms: either the creator (or sometimes, much more rarely, the creature) flees, while the other pursues them with the same relentless obsession that brought about the golem's unnatural existence in the first place, or else (like Dr. Mordenheim) the creator proves too powerful or influential for the construct to easily destroy, and they lurk on the fringes of their creator's territory, plotting elaborate vengeance. Adam's Wrath is only one of the Dark Lord of Lamordia's elaborate revenge schemes. Check it or the Gazetteer II for more possible ways for Adam to involve the PCs in his vengeful war against the mad doctor who created him. Conclusion If you take only a single piece of advice from me regarding your plan to rescue your companion from Adam's clutches, it is this: don't. My own brush with Adam and Dr. Mordenheim cost me a lung, the life of my sister, and the soul of a dear friend, and I consider myself to have gotten away lightly. In the best of scenarios, your friend is already dead. At worst, they are irrevocably...altered. However, I know you well enough to know you're unlikely to heed my warnings. You'll risk your life for that of your companion's no matter what I say, so as your (distant) friend and occasional mentor, I offer you this additional bit of wisdom: Trust Adam not at all. Trust Mordenheim less. Good luck, and happy hunting. Frankie Drakeson, Lord Mayor of Carinford-Halldon Frankie Drakeson is a retired rifleman and the current mayor of Carinford-Halldon in Mordent. He is married to Gwendolyn Drakeson, the granddaughter of Nathan Timothy. Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter, or listen to Don, Jon, & Dragons, his podcast. Picture Reference: http://www.lomion.de/cmm/golervfl.php  “The punishment should fit the crime” is a good general rule, but there’s plenty of room for exceptions. One of the worst curses in Ravenloft canon is the mishamel, which has nothing to do with a specific crime, but exists as a general deterrent against offending the Vistani. Likewise, stealing from Ankhtepot’s tomb causes a character to age a year every day, but there’s no clear reflection of the crime in that punishment, either. Even matching the severity of the crime only applies to the most traditional curses of vengeance; as explained in my earlier article, it’s possible to receive a powerful curse for a small offense, or even for a good deed, under the right circumstances. With that in mind, here are some plug-and-play curse ideas that are just looking for the right opportunity.
1) Adventure Magnet “Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love die beneath their claws!” With those words Madame Radanavich unwittingly set Rudolph Van Richten on the road from humble herbalist to a legendary scholar of the occult. I thought of this when one of my players came up with a great character concept that was just too practical for an adventuring career. On the first adventure, the PC turned down a desperate woman’s plea, and was cursed that “Those without help will always find you, until you cannot stop your ears to their cries!” The character who was too practical to pursue adventuring found adventure hooks just landed on the doorstep, refusing to be ignored. 2) Marked For Death The Final Destination film series portrays a struggle against rabid coincidence that makes for a good Lethal curse. There are many ways to reflect it in the rules: all attacks against the character might be treated as critical threats (i.e. automatic hit, roll for crit) or do max damage. Traps or spells that should randomly select a target always select the PC, and they don’t ever get a save against area effects. To truly create a sense of faceless danger like the films, have the PC save once a day to avoid a freak accident. This is a good substitute for lycanthropy in some break-the-curse adventures, as some players might see lycanthropy as a bonus. 3) Shadow Boxing While the Vistani see curses as serious business, other creatures such as Midnight Cats might be much more inclined to play around. An animated shadow is often just the ticket for comic relief, as would be a harmless silhouette on the wall or floor pantomiming commentary on the PC’s words and actions. This can be customized for specific situations, such as a shadow that depicts the truth when the target lies, or taunts people the target respects. Such a curse might never rise above the Frustrating level of severity, but it gives lots of opportunity for roleplay and can even entertain the players as it frustrates their plans. 4) Unnatural Aura The Scent of the Grave feat offered in Van Richten's Arsenal is often an example of being blessed with suck (Warning, TV Tropes link). If your PCs can find a bonus in normal animals being frightened or aggressive in their presence, then more power to them, but most people would consider that a curse. For every situation where they avoid being tracked by bloodhounds, there are many more where horses spook and bolt, wolves attack, dogs cause a ruckus or cats yowl and hiss until the locals start whispering about witchcraft. It works far better as a curse than taking up a feat slot, but if you think your PC is getting too much mileage out of it, add the additional effect that food spoils quickly in their presence, such that they can’t save any for longer than a day. So if your PCs are on the fast track for some mojo but you don't know the specific whammy you want to put on them, consider a generic version. Punishments don't always have to have that perfect fit, as long as they are punishments. After all, it's really what people do about it that makes them unique. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. Picture Reference: http://dndspeak.com/2017/12/100-curses/  The Ravenloft game offers some ways to live with lycanthropy, but some players don’t need much encouragement. It gives them better combat ability, which is the reason they are an adventurer anyway, right? Sometimes players need a reminder that something that tries to kill everyone you love is a bad thing. If your infected PC is trying to talk the others out of a cure, here's how to write them a reality check.
1) No More Murder Hobo Because lycanthropy keeps the “victim” alive while threatening people they care about, the severity of the curse is a reflection of how much they have to lose. Those who are most tempted by lycanthropy tend to be rootless, living only for the next adventure. Give them roots: the bartender who gives them leads, the kids who admire them, the cleric who patches them up. Consider a big adventure that gives them a cool base of operations, complete with a couple of loyal staff. Once they have something to lose, the curse takes its proper perspective. 2) Dangle Mistletoe One special type of community tie bears special mention. Have an NPC show interest in the PC by sending little gifts or calling in favors to make a job easier. If the player takes the bait and the relationship starts heating up, remind them that the beast will target their love interest. Make sure the NPC is playing hard enough to get that there’s lots promised and nothing delivered… yet. Even the most juvenile player should be moved to get rid of this barrier to romantic entanglements off-screen. 3) Share The Pain Make sure the other party members are on the front lines when it comes to every kind of collateral damage. A party that is sick of mending the furniture is your best ally for dealing with a lycanthrope-happy player. Remind players that infected characters may have a harder time gaining XP, and infected paladins, clerics, druids and rangers could lose much more. In the rare situation that everyone still lines up for infection, make it clear that their beastly selves will destroy the group, either by going separate ways or just killing each other. 4) Wake-Up Calls If you think a hangover is bad, how about waking up a murderer? Make a small table of random places the PC might wake up after a night as the beast. In a jail cell. Naked in the woods. In an animal cage. On a lab table. Lost in a subterranean cave. Even just waking up a few days north of the rest of the party could ruin a lot of adventuring plans. It's OK to let them see the table so they know what might happen, even let them make suggestions, but don't let them see you roll, and don’t just announce what the results are. Some things are best found out the hard way. 5) Fools Rush In Lycanthropes target people that their host feels strongly about, and there are plenty of other strong feelings beyond love or friendship. If the infected PC feels strong hatred against the villain of the story line, have the beast go for a direct attack, rushing in with all of the rage felt by the host, but without the reasoning to actually do the job. It might do a lot of damage and take out several lackeys, but infected survivors could pose a greater threat to the party. After the PC wakes up as a prisoner in the villain's lair, offer a temporary replacement character. By the time the original has been rescued, the player will hopefully have learned the lesson, and will be first in line for a cure. Other media may be full of heroic werewolves, but the specifics of each mythology have to be taken into account, and Ravenloft lycanthropes are not those of Hollywood. Unless you’ve agreed to loosen the rules for them, lycanthropy should not be an enhancement to the character. It should be a disaster waiting to happen that they will work hard to be rid of, and count themselves blessed when finally free. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. Picture Reference: http://otherworldmystery.com/werewolves-arent-real  Greetings, travelers!
Spring approaches and love is in the air. It seems like every civilization I hear of, from the dour Mordentish to the most bizarre of outlander cultures, celebrates a holiday around this time of year focused around romance, whether of the noble and sophisticated type or of the more…fleshly variety. While sharing a candlelit dinner with the Lady Drakeson, it occurred to me that we often consider love to be the sole province of goodness, the ultimate indicator of a soul’s purity. Tragically, this isn’t the case. The blackest of hearts can occasionally find another that beats in unison with their own, and woe to any that cross their path. Such villainous paramours feed on one another, becoming in tandem a far greater threat than the sum of their individual iniquity. Should you desire to investigate any of these forbidden romances, I would tread with extreme caution. Creatures who have only one bright light in a life filled with darkness are given to protecting it, and monsters such as these are not known for their restraint. There are a few such affairs that I’m familiar with throughout the world; most of them come to my attention as the likely cause of the death of a correspondent such as yourself! 1) The Doomed Lovers Travelers along the road to Valachan occasionally encounter the specter of a woman some distance off the road, vaguely discernible and in great distress. Those kind-hearted and foolish enough to investigate rarely return. I believe this apparition to be the departed soul of Lizibet Moore, who fled her home to wed a rakish Dementlieuse actor. Conventional wisdom claims he either abandoned her in the moor, or killed her himself. Moved by this story, I attempted to lay her to rest myself in my youth, a mistake which nearly cost me my life. You see, Romero, her paramour, did not abandon her: he simply could not navigate the treacherous Mordentish swamps, and drowned in the bog. His love, upon finding his remains, killed herself in sorrow. Shunned by their own families, their love denied by the very ground beneath their feet, the two found in death the union they were denied in life: Lizibet now roams the moor in ghostly fashion, luring victims to her lover. His own form preserved by the bog, Romero projects upon his victims the terror he felt as the black mud filled his lungs, damning even those who escape him a slow, lingering demise from his cursed touch. The two lash out at any living being that comes within their domain. Those who do not freeze in terror at the sight of Romero find themselves split further, as Lizibet attempts to possess those most capable of harming her lover. They’ve amassed a small fortune in stolen treasures by now, which they believe will finance the bright future that they don’t seem to realize they can no longer attain. Lizibet is a 5th level rogue as well as a ghost with the Malevolence and Corrupting Touch abilities. Romero uses the statistics for a mummy. 2) The Singers Speaking of dangers to travelers, should you find yourself along the coast of Dementlieu, for the love of Ezra, plug your ears! The first strains of singing you hear may likely be your last. A tiny, lush island off the coast of Dementlieu, too small to even have a name, is the home for a woman who lures travelers to their deaths, although stories vary as to her identity. Some give her wings and clawed feet, and call her Cymone, citing the rocky island as her nest. Others claim she dwells in the tidal pools and drinks the blood of travelers, and name her Cold Brigitte. Aslaug de la Plage, the keeper of the lighthouse, dismisses these stories as superstitious nonsense. In reality, there is not one monster, but three: Cymone is a harpy, Cold Brigitte is a watery fae known as a glaistig, and even the lighthouse keeper who protects their secret, Aslaug, is herself a sirine. The three are not merely compatriots, but lovers, but those who think to join them are in for a rude surprise, as the lovers feast on their prey: Aslaug devours their minds, Cold Brigitte drains their lifeblood, and Cymone gorges on their bodies. The overlapping effect of not one but three songs of enchantment is usually enough to incapacitate entire groups of heroes. Should that fail to work, Cymone can always take to the air while Aslaug and Brigitte retreat to the safety of deeper waters (potentially luring an enchanted captive or two to their own drownings as well). It would take a dedicated group of adventurers indeed to dispatch this wicked love triangle! Sirine statistics can be found in the Monster Manual II. Glaistig statistics can be found in the Monster Manual III. 3) The Artists In the past decade or so, the works of a singular artist have begun to spread across the eastern core. A sculptor who works in marble, this mysterious artist is like none before him: rendering in stone the tiniest details, so fine as to be unbelievable, his figures so lifelike that one could swear they could spring to life. A small brass plate bearing a serpentine insignia, usually on the breast or the center of the back, marks each statue as his. This dark work is the result of a medusa named Mukondi, who claims to hail from a land she only calls ‘the Shaar.’ She was an isolated threat, living alone on the plains near the border of Darkon and Nova Vaasa, before a chance encounter with a shipwreck survivor named Phidian, a maedar. If you’re unfamiliar, a maedar is the extremely rare male form of the medusa. Immune to the gaze attacks of their female peers, maedars instead have the ability to restore petrification victims (which they rarely do). The pair now practice an extortion scheme, kidnapping the loved ones of the wealthy and powerful, then demanding exorbitant ransoms to return them. Should any of their victims fail to pay, then there is soon a new statue on the market. (Phidian drills out the hearts of these statues, which he replaces with the brass plug that is their signature, thus preventing anyone from returning Mukondi’s victims to life.) I believe Azalin is aware of their presence, but since they confine their depredations to Nova Vaasans (or those that are not his citizens), the lich’s forces do not confront them. Statistics for maedar can be found in Dragon Magazine #355. 4) The Outcasts Dazin Cade was an accomplished illusionist, and a renowned adventurer. Like many heroes before him, he chose to brave Castle Ravenloft. The bones of his companions lie moldering in Strahd’s flooded dungeons, but Cade himself was given the curse of vampiric immortality, and was put to work in his new lord’s service. In some forgotten volume of arcane lore, Dazin stumbled across a mention of the Cult of the Nightfoe, and was immediately entranced. The defunct religion venerated a nameless destructor figure of ethereal beauty and incredible danger. Although his research indicated that Strahd’s forces had destroyed them all centuries ago, he became fixated on the cult, determined to locate its remnants. In a hidden shrine in the Balinoks, north of the Luna River, he found what he was looking for. None of the priestly sacraments remained, but the dark visions he received as he slumbered told him he had found what he was looking for. He fashioned a new image of his deity: an icon forged from an obsidian-black metal, so cold as to sap the life from any foolish enough to touch it. So great was his devotion that the Nightfoe has given life, or a cruel semblance of it, to this statue. Dazin Cade and the statue he has named Nightbane dwell now as both lovers and co-conspirators. They have even begun abducting those who wander too far into the mountains and cursing them with undeath, raising a new cult of vampiric spawn to worship at the Nightfoe’s feet. Even without their underlings, Cade and the Nightbane are a terrifying combination. Dazin specializes in spells of light and shadow, which seem to energize his lover in an arcane way. The Nightbane may never speak, but it can certainly act, and it does so by emulating the god whose image it was created in, in his role as a destructor. He can even send out cascades of necromantic energy that peel the spirits away from the living to reinvigorate his vampiric partner. Should the two grow much larger in power or influence, they may be forced to relocate, or else deal with the forces of Barovia’s monarch, who is unlikely to view the presence of a rival with good humor. Dazin Cade is a human vampire, and a 9th level illusionist. Nightbane uses the statistics of a shadesteel golem (Monster Manual III), but with an Intelligence of 18. 5) The Duet Many travelers have seen Zidora and Seoci. Although the two range all over the Core, they usually stay near Kartakass, where their abilities are most appreciated. They actually have a reputation as folk heroes, although this is far from the case. In reality, the pair are brigands and murderers, who spin elaborate tales of their victims’ monstrosity after the fact. They use the guise of a pair of adventurers as a cover to rob the defenseless and evade the law. Zidora is half-Vistani, an image she sometimes accentuates to add to her exoticism, if she thinks that would be to her advantage. She is a skilled at dancing, singing, and several instruments. Her lover, the Tepestani Seoci, is a tall, powerful man with long hair and a perpetual shifty grin. His skill is far more specialized, limited to the violin and a vast store of ribald songs and off-color jokes. Seoci possesses a magical violin that makes him particularly dangerous. It entrances its victims, and makes them more susceptible to musical attacks. Conveniently, Zidora is a gifted sorceress, specialized in just such attacks. Eventually, these two will run afoul of the wrong prey, but until then they live fast and carefree, lost in their own self-destructive romance. Zidora is a 9th level sorceress specializing in sonic attacks. Seoci is a 9th level bard with a violin that functions identically to Pipes of Pain. Conclusion Love may not be the soul province of the goodly, but it is undeniably good. The presence of such bonds of true love within the most wicked of beings points to their core of humanity; it offers the hope that even the most sinful among us might be saved, or at least be offered a taste of salvation among our own self-inflicted damnation. Take care, should you engage any of these beings. I have considered hunting some of them, but then I think of the lengths I might go to in order to protect Gwen, or she to protect me, and I inevitably decide that such dangerous hunts might be better left to the younger and more vigorous. As always, safe travels and happy hunting, Frankie ‘Farshot’ Drakeson, Lord Mayor of Carinford-Halldon Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter, or listen to Don, Jon, & Dragons, his podcast. Picture Reference: http://skyrimphotos.blogspot.com/2012/08/ghost-lovers.html  Editor’s note: Enjoy reading articles about your favorite hobby and engaging with fellow gamers? We do too, but hosting and producing our site isn’t free. Please consider visiting our Patreon page and supporting us at any amount. We put every dollar back into the site and its production, and your help has allowed us to have certain paid article months for our contributors (such as this month). Thank you for your continued readership and your support!
-David, Blog Manager Milgrak advised me to contact you as soon as you brought him an unusual gown your slain vampiress was wearing, apparently the work of the peerless Borcan fashion designer Bertold Iacomo. On your life, let no one know you possess the Iacomo Rose! It’s not cursed in the typical sense, but it’s hunted by many desperate and resourceful parties, servants of the one who took a thing of beauty and made it a venomous weapon. Many who have vanquished immortal creatures of the night have been unprepared to face the true ruthlessness of mortals in the daytime. I will tell you what I can…. Master poisoner Ivan Dilisnya’s creativity and cruelty have borne strange and bitter fruit that take many by surprise. PC’s with plenty of antitoxin can still fall prey to these stranger facets of Ivan’s poison politics. 1) Borrowed Time Ivan’s inner circle of guards knows that if he dies, he takes with him the formula for Mercy, the temporary antidote that delays the fatal Borrowed Time in their systems for one more day. Of course, these servants cannot travel far without additional Mercy to take with them, but there are rumors that a few have magical delivery methods for long distance travel. Having learned the hard way that some would spend their last day in suicidal revenge, Ivan considers carefully before starting the week-long process of poisoning a new recruit, and prefers condemned criminals who genuinely see the poison as a reprieve. 2) Gravitas Gravis The faux-Darkonese name is painful, but no one would dare correct Ivan’s grammar. Upon hearing of Somnos wine from Darkon, he created his own fast-acting intoxicant to loosen lips. A mind clouded by it is prone to rambling and finds everything funny, but nothing more hilarious than divulging their own secrets. Many screams heard in Degravo are actually the sounds of people recovering, realizing that they have gleefully destroyed themselves with barely any interrogation at all. 3) The Iacomo Rose This blush-colored taffeta gown was worth more than a small farm when Ivana gave it to a foreign agent provocateur to help seduce Ivan. Wise to their intrigues, Ivan used his Envenom ability to infuse the dress with strength-draining contact poison, but the woman inexplicably ignored the effects and fled to Dementlieu with the dress. Now Ivan seeks the dress in the hopes of understanding what went wrong. The lethal poison actually prevents mold and mildew, and if handled with the accompanying unvenomed gloves someone might live long enough to try it on. 4) Varcolac Similar in some ways to catalytic poison, banewort preparation is blended with another plant to make the victim allergic to that plant for several hours. Some of Ivan’s quislings are fond of blending it with wolvesbane to make “varcolac,” which makes it appear the victim is infected with lycanthropy. Victims may isolate themselves from their allies if they believe the ruse, and may draw the attention of monster hunters either way. Rumor has it that Ivan has created similar alchemical preparations that create temporary allergy to a specific metal, such as silver, gold or cold iron. 5) Lampwick A form of catalytic poison combined with ether, naptha and a sample of the victim’s hair, this oily liquid slowly evaporates to create thick vapors that cause one specific person to lose consciousness. The poison runs out faster when burned but the effect is much stronger, and dried tobacco can absorb quite a volume in lampwick and still remain flammable. Many of Ivan’s more subtle hunters are fond of lampwick pipes or cigars, surrounding themselves in clouds of smoke in situations where they might confront a target in public, and even blowing a puff of sleep-smoke as a direct weapon. 6) Night Ride This poison has two possible effects, both diabolically subtle. A single dose up to four hours before sleeping will disrupt sleep ever so slightly, causing the victim to talk or even walk in their sleep. A clever person can manipulate the sleeping victim into confessing secrets, implant a suggestion, or direct specific actions of the sleeper. A double dose will allow the victim to sleep normally to observers, but they will wake exhausted, the poison having prevented them from getting any rest. The former is popular in situations where blackmail is preferable to murder. The latter is generally part of a gaslighting campaign, or to keep a foe from restoring strength. 7) Veridian Ivan’s obsession with eternal youth led him to rumors of a Valachani sorcerer’s elixir of immortality. All attempts to reproduce the formula yielded only spectacular deaths, but Ivan saved one of the failures for when he isn’t concerned about collateral damage or cleanup. A bottle of this bright green liquid grants acid and fire immunity and fast healing, but the victim suffers increasing nausea, interspersed by vomiting monstrous oozes and slimes made from their own dissolving organs. Over the course of three days, the victim continues to live sans spleen, stomach, lungs and finally heart, growing thinner and paler with each purge until they collapse into a featureless puddle. No one knows if the original person’s mind remains intact. If so, and if they are truly immortal, this may be the worst fate Ivan has inflicted on anyone. I don’t mean to frighten you, nor would I extort your property from you. My offer is a fair price for a dress that cannot be safely worn and attracts unwanted attention, and none of the others hunting it will make such an offer. Indeed, you may be lucky if they let you keep your life. Dr. Phillippe Delapont Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. Picture Reference: https://io9.gizmodo.com/strychnine-a-brief-history-of-the-worlds-least-subtle-1727903421  Any players worth their dice know to fear offending the Vistani, lest they be stricken with some unspeakable curse, but the gypsy-folk are not the only ones who can invoke their wrath. Just as Ravenloft games keep players on their toes with vampires immune to garlic and mirrors, or lycanthropes immune to silver, players should never become too confident in their expectation that being nice to the Vistani--or anyone else--is a guarantee against being cursed. If your plot calls for a PC to be cursed but they are on their best behavior for all the usual suspects, you might want to review some of these less usual alternatives.
1) No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Ravenloft is known for moral quandaries, and sometimes getting cursed is the result of doing the right thing: The Evil Eye has an example of this. In addition, because justification is measured from the invoker’s point of view, an evil or deceived invoker might feel wronged for all sorts of reasons. In the epic-level Reckonings campaign, a charismatic PC encouraged an abused daughter to stand up to her mother and leave, and the mother felt highly justified in the Dangerous curse she invoked on him in response. 2) Midnight Cat These supernatural felines had a +15 to curse checks in 3E. Some DM’s would temper that to avoid upstaging the Vistani, but it's also possible that the cats are so rare, so solitary, and so stealthy that their curses haven’t earned a reputation yet. With such a bonus, a Midnight Cat could toss out unjustified curses at will with a reasonable chance of one sticking, no matter how frivolous. Heaven help the poor party who actually does something to offend the creature. Of course, Midnight Cats can also remove curses, but their price for doing so may require a Powers check. 3) The Wishing Imp As the song goes, “There is no curse or evil spell...that’s worse than one we give ourselves.” This truism at the heart of Ravenloft Powers Checks is also known by those who have once possessed the infamous Wishing Imp, a diabolical figurine that grants twisted wishes. The difference between a twisted wish and a curse is mostly a matter of perspective, but it's even possible a wish could be granted in the form of a literal curse, such as a character wishing for prowess in unarmed combat and becoming infected with lycanthropy. 4) The Ancient Dead Ancient Dead (mummies) with the Curse of Vengeance salient ability add their rank +4 to curse checks. Between that and their bonus to charisma, a powerful mummy could rival the Vistani for laying curses. In addition, the single minded passion that drives their unlife, combined with any unusual customs of their culture of origin, makes it possible for them to justify curses for unexpected things (see #1). 5) Alchemical Purgative From Van Richten’s Arsenal, spiritual purgatives expel the affliction from the body, but the effect is temporary unless another takes up the burden. While a few selfless souls will knowingly take a curse for someone they love or to spare an innocent, (see below) most uses of this purgative involve a hapless victim duped or even forced to ingest the purgative before the time limit expires. PCs should beware bets or dares to eat or drink anything, especially if the other person seems to be in a hurry. 6) Expiation One 2nd edition alternative to paladins in Ravenloft was the paragon, a pure soul reborn over endless generations to fight the forces of darkness. One of their powers was “expiation,” the ability to temporarily absorb curses. This allowed the paragon to absorb a curse temporarily, either to give a little respite or to endure some rigorous cleansing process that the original victim might not have survived. Alternately, some religious group might have an expiation ritual that could work for other volunteers, allowing any PC to stand proxy for someone less fortunate, only to remain cursed when the cleansing portion of the ritual goes awry. 7) Flask Of Curses In a land like Ravenloft, we often forget about items like this from the original DMG, whose powers are enhanced in the Demiplane of Dread. Not only does it not matter whether the curse is justified, but these flasks can release any magnitude of curse, even the Lethal kind that could permanently change someone into an undead or other monster. Of course, this works best if the flask is a unique item with a history that explains its accursed nature and provides a theme for the curses. 8) Deity The Unspoken Pact that distances clerics from their gods does not prevent every expression of divine supernatural power. A PC who violates religious tenets or desecrates holy ground may pass the Powers check, but there may yet be divine consequences. Touch of Death has an example of a powerful divine curse for grave robbing from the Akiri: aging one day per year, with lifespan unchanged. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, from embarrassing to lethal, mildly humorous to eternally torturous. Having ways to inflict or remove curses in unusual ways allows them to be used more creatively, adding depth and drama to your gameplay and explore hidden parts of the world’s mythology. Your players may not actually thank you for cursing their characters, but they should still have a good time fighting against the darkness, and that’s what Ravenloft is all about. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. Picture Reference: https://www.pinterest.se/pin/560205641129076605/  The Ravenloft setting uses “Powers Checks” to reflect the gifts and curses imposed by the mysterious Dark Powers upon those who transgress moral laws. This gives some structure for great stories of corruption and redemption, but the exact game mechanics of these checks have always been open to questions by fans. It’s even worse when the player supports their character’s decisions, and enforcement of the rules spirals into an argument about who has the correct moral compass. If you want to include temptation in your game, here are 4 optional rules to keep Powers Checks from going the route of politics and religion.
1) Whispering Shadows Assign each player the “dark side” of another PC. During gameplay, these “shadows” entice their target to commit acts that are worthy of a Powers Check, and can actually offer specific boons that will come from giving in--the DM decides the corresponding penalty. If the controlling player accepts the offer, the player that offered it gets a token they can trade in at any time to turn one die roll into a natural 20. This is a great opportunity for players to roleplay temptation, as well as get to know other characters better. 2) The Burden Of Time Ravenloft PC’s study tomes of forbidden lore, brave sinkholes of evil, steal cursed objects, and worse. Reflect that general attrition of the soul by having players roll percentile dice when they level up, 1% cumulative for every 1000 XP they earn (10K for higher level groups). When someone fails, go through their most recent actions and find an appropriate offense. If nothing works, consider foreshadowing (see below), or change the powers check result to a failed horror check. 3) Foreshadowing If a player argues that their offense wasn’t that big a deal and shouldn’t be punished, let them look for a better opportunity. The failed roll becomes foreshadowing of what the PC is about to do, rather than what they have done. Of course, while the Dark Powers are interested in little things done for good reasons, such as white lies and grave robbing, it’s best to only share the results of these rolls with the DM in case the player is eyeing that “Betrayal, Major” column in the rulebook. 4) Probation Some players look at roleplaying as a chance to behave however they want without any consequences. While powers checks can help discourage this, the system is not designed as a teaching curve. If one of your players is playing Chaotic Stupid, consider a probationary result. When they fail the roll, they don’t suffer the consequences immediately. Instead, the PC is on probation: anything additional within the next (in-game) week that warrants a check will cause them to fail. So depending on whether you need some more structure or flexibility, one of these rules may give you what you need or inspire you to create your own tweak. Just remember that whatever rules you use should be applied consistently, so that the Dark Powers feel like an omnipresent moral hazard instead of the whims of the DM. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. Picture Reference: http://thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com/2016/03/dungeons-dragons-guide-to-curse-of.html  I did not see that one coming! – My favourite D&D creatures, and why I think some of them are underused.
The first moment when I got hooked on D&D was, oddly, when I opened the Monster Manual for the first time. I was thinking in purely narrative terms, and a book filled with physical prompts to the story felt like Cthulhu had smiled upon me. Since then, I’ve fought with many of these creatures, and although I love the sameness of some (I’m ok with Dungeon = skeletons), I do feel some creatures don’t get enough time in the limelight. So these are some of my choices, random, and in no particular order. 1) Aarakokra (Humanoid Eagles/Hawks) The Aaarakokra were one of the first things to get me into D&D, and this is no exaggeration. I opened the Monster Manual (MM) and there they were, first entry. Oddly, it wasn’t as a creature that I saw them, but NPC’s. I saw a major avian civilisation, living in sprawling towers and cliffs. I saw a people like humans, with good guys and bad guys, but that could fly. I ended up using one as an apothecary in my first adventure, and ‘caw caw’’d her voice throughout. I then lost my voice for 3 days. 2) Were-things (Polymorphs Human/Animal) I love werewolves, always have. The MM opens up other possibilities, were-tigers, etc, but lycanthropy is a favourite. I think it could work well as a cursed character, revealing him/herself as a were-creature at the worse possible moment. Also, their ability to infect others makes them a much bigger threat than usual. 3) Doppelgangers/Mimics (Shapeshifters) Perhaps in the same way as the previous entry, I find doppelgangers and mimics inherently interesting. Anything and anyone could be something or someone else. The possibilities are endless. I simultaneously like the tragic aspect that a creature with all faces and shapes might lack one of its own. 4) Dragons I am ambivalent about dragons. I mean, is there any creature more iconic in this game? It’s in the name! I’ve come across dragons on many games I’ve played, and they were usually used as the uber-boss. One game, they were the brains behind the operation, and were the ones hiring the party, which was a nice variation. I don’t know, I just feel they’re played just as Smaug (From The Hobbit fame), stuck in a cave shouting threats. I think Shadowrun might have ruined dragons for me. Dragons should be pulling the strings behind the curtains, they are certainly powerful enough, and old enough, to do it. And if you meet it in a cave, it’s because a) it wished for it to be so or b) the players were so amazingly cunning they surprised it (yeah, right….). 5) Drow (Subterranean Elves, Dark-skinned, White Hair) The Drow were originally presented as ‘cave elves’, and as the Aarakokra, they have a deep and intricate backstory that usually gets ignored. Now I’m not saying you need to know everything ever written about them (I certainly don’t!), but the moment a drow appears, people immediacy assume he or she is evil, which I think is a serious reduction in the potential of the race. I once had a Drow selling sausages and kebabs out of a cart in the middle of town, during the day. He had a massive cloak to protect him from the sun, and the origin of the sausage’s meat was dubious at best, but it was good to see my players waiting for him to do something evil/treacherous. He didn’t. He was a seller of kebabs. Even the change was correct. 6) Ghosts Another creature I consider underused. Maybe it’s attacking the party because it has a purpose? Maybe it would actually help the party if someone took the time to figure out WHY it is haunting or attacking the party at that point? 7) Gnolls (Humanoid Hienas) I *love* gnolls. They’ve got a face only a mother would love and an aggressiveness to match. I think they work well in packs, but for me, their value lies as the stupid minions of the mid-level baddie. You know what I’m talking about. The jailer that falls asleep with his back to the cell? The guard that is busy smoking, and ignores the moving shrub? I can easily see them as a threat AND as comedy relief. 8) Merfolk (Mermaids/Mermen) I’d use these guys every near-water adventure I could think of. Maybe there’s a parallel adventure to the party’s happening in the depths, and then suddenly both collide? They’re bound to a civilisation down there at least as advanced as ours. So why wouldn’t their duke get a party together to research what the heck the surface-dwellers are up to? Boom, now you have two parties in the half-sunken temple trying to get the artefact at the same time. Good luck with that. 9) Mind Flayer (Octopus-headed Humanoid) The Ilithids are Cthulhu-looking interdimensional brain-suckers, and this is pretty much everything anyone needs to know about them. They are properly dangerous, but I’m fascinated about running an adventure in one of their lairs (maybe with the party pretending to be some of their slaves), with the party constantly exposed to technology WAY beyond their ken. And when you meet an Ilithid every other room…. How’re those persuasion rolls going for you? 10) Minotaur (Bull-headed Very Large Humanoid) Massive creature that is fine as opposition, but I believe works equally well as an NPC (See above). I had a minotaur cloth merchant in one of my adventures. I had to create him in a second, I opened the MM and there he was. He had a string between his horns, with a number of ribbons of fabric floating in the breeze. He was his own billboard. And these are my first 10 underused creatures. What are yours? Rui is a Portuguese scientist that, after ten years doing strange things in labs, decided to become a teacher. Then, two years ago, like he was bit by a radioactive D20, RPG’s came into his life, and he’s now juggling teaching, playing and GMing quite happily. He lives in the UK with his partner Joana, an ungodly number of potted plants, 4 to 5 RPG’s at various stages of completion (and across as many rule systems), and maps, cursed idols, evil necklaces, and any other props he can get his hands on. He’s been writing for HLG for a few months, and is one of the resident vloggers. He can be reached at @Atomic_RPG. Picture Reference: http://menaceminis.blogspot.com/2014/07/walloping-krong-and-low-life-miniatures.html  Greetings, traveler!
It was kind of you to contact me. I always appreciate the chance to offer my assistance to a fellow adventurer, even one as experienced as yourself. The mysterious circumstances you describe: clergy found in their own shrines and cathedrals (which had subsequently been defaced), their throats torn open, left me quite puzzled until I noticed an additional detail in the sketches you provided. The vandalism and the destruction of holy iconography does not extend above chest height: the perpetrator is quite short in stature. I believe you are dealing with a child vampire. Able to put on the act of a starving, freezing orphan, they are usually welcomed into the place of worship by a merciful clergy member, who is in turn killed for their trouble. Child undead are a terrible tragedy, but are all too common. All manner of undead can come in a childish form, and in some cases can be even more deadly than an adult version of the same creature. Fortunately, there is a sharp divide in the psychology of undead children, and understanding where any specific creature falls in that spectrum could mean the difference between life and death for the prospective monster hunter. Type One: The Innocent Don’t mistake my hyperbole: these creatures are far from innocent. However, the first type of child undead does share a certain lack of development common to small children. They act the way children act, because as far as they know, they are still children. They respond mentally and emotionally to problems as adolescents do, and can often be confounded due to this limitation. (Although sometimes this limitation is more of a burden to an adventurer trying to parley or outwit such a creature.) Undead of this variety may believe they have the same needs as a living child, and often come into conflict with the living while seeking food, shelter, playmates, or the protection of adult authority figures. A child like this often has a protector that provides for their unholy needs and shields them from any direct challenges to their deluded worldview. Aukagaak and her child mummies are an example of such a relationship. Ghosts are far and away the type of child undead most likely to fall into this category. Any type of undead which can both largely pass as human and create spawn without conscious effort (vampires, most commonly) are also likely candidates. More than one adventurer has confronted a vampire parent-child bond hoping to destroy what they believed to be an abomination turning children into undead only to discover that it is the child who is the master and their ‘adoptive parent’ the spawn! One final word to the wise: if such children as these teach us anything, it is the true folly in believing that childhood equates to innocence. Empathy develops during childhood, sometimes later in some children than others. A child turned to undeath before this process is complete can be capable of horrifying acts of cruelty, made even more horrifying by the cherubic countenance that conceived of them. Type Two: The Grown-up Eternity is a long time. For many children cursed with undeath, their mental and emotional development is not hindered by the stunted physical maturation. Indeed, one vampire I interviewed indicated that he’d seen a child vampire whose physical condition made her even more motivated to increase her intellect and experience, to avoid being treated like a child. Undead of this stripe have the psychological maturity of their actual age, not their apparent age. They are often erudite and well-spoken, and capable of laying plans of great cunning. Such creatures may play the role of a child in specific circumstances, usually while feeding or preparing a trap, but when dealing with those who know what they are, tend to revert to speaking and acting like an adult. Merilee Markuza, the child vampiress from Lamordia, is one of the best examples of this type. Creatures that cannot ignore their undead nature, either due to horrific deformity, a feeding compulsion, or a required intent to have become undead, are the most common children in this category. Child liches are not terribly common, but not so uncommon as to never be encountered. Child mummies are frightfully common, unfortunately, and tend to function identically to their older counterparts, especially those that have been placed as sentinels over long forgotten tombs. Fortunately, undead of this stripe often suffer from insecurity. They act as adults because they desire to be adults; a privilege which has forever been stolen from them. Dealing with them amicably requires one to treat them at all times as though the child is a peer. Patronizing or ridiculing them for their physical age is a certain way to enrage them, a tactic that more than one adventurer has used to deceive creatures of this ilk. Type Three: The Changeling The most insidious type of undead child is one that has the full knowledge and experience of an adult, but still chooses to act in the manner of a child consistently. Such monsters enjoy occupying the social position of a child. People go out of their way to protect children, children have few to no obligations or expectations, children can break social morays or go ignored if they wish to: the advantages are endless. Like Innocent undead, they often have families or adopted protectors to shield them from harm. Undead that live in clusters can frequently give rise to these abominations; vampires, ghouls, and lebentods are the most common examples. The horrific nature of their existence makes the self-delusion of the Innocents difficult, but the communal nature of their kind makes it easy to slip into a child’s role. The diminutive undead receives the protection and special treatment they so desire, while the older undead assuage their own psychological trauma by going through the motions of living relationships, helping them to ‘normalize’ their own existence. It’s not uncommon for community members to be just as surprised as adventurers to discover the ‘child’ in their midst is not nearly so naïve as they had believed. Adventurers faced with this type of undead would do well to never forget that its childlike appearance is its primary defense mechanism. By keeping its façade going at all times, the creature is often able to convince heroes to treat it as though it were a child even though they most certainly know it is not. Many times this proves to be a fatal mistake. In Conclusion: Growing Up The attacks you described in your letters seem almost certainly vampiric in nature. Confronting such creatures is often even more dangerous than confronting more mature specimens. Their supernatural strength ensures that they do not suffer the weakness that a human child would, and their undead abilities are under no inhibition whatsoever. Complicating this is your own empathy: heroes are invariably compassionate and helpful at their core, and nothing compels compassion like the plight of a child. Undead youths rely on this, and you can go into your investigation assured that your empathy is their greatest weapon. Safe travels and happy hunting, Frankie Drakeson, Lord Mayor of Carinford-Halldon. Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter, or listen to Don, Jon, & Dragons, his podcast. Image Reference: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/birgitte-hjort-sorenson-game-of-thrones-wildling-undead  Suddenly Talesian froze, still kneeling over the dismantled sculpture, his eyes snapped shut in the middle of lifting out the handful of enchanted cloth at the heart of the explosive device hidden within. We all wanted to ask what was the matter, but after three minutes holding our breath, we remained silent by force of habit.
“Sheth...could you...help me up?” Talesian said slowly, softly. I looked at the others. Lorne and Lydia stirred. They were both closer, surely they could help him without setting anything off. “Only Sheth!” his quiet vehemence drew them up short, his eyes still shut. “Plainsman,” he said to me, “your time has come. The last layer of the weapon is protected by explosive runes; the trap will still kill us all--and everyone upstairs--if anyone reads but a single word.” I helped him to his feet as the others turned their backs, and he patted me on the shoulder with confidence I did not share. “Describe what you see, and I will guide you. Your illiteracy is our best protection now.” Most good roleplaying games have elements of mystery, suspense and thriller, after all, as these are plot based and can apply to any setting. But sometimes you want to push things further and create something that combines genres. Even if you’re not a fan of Smash Up, there’s a lot of fun to be had when you mix the tropes of one genre with the setting and elements of another. If your players are pining for Secrets and Spies while playing Dungeons and Dragons, here are some ways to give them the feel for what they want without changing settings. 1) Secret Whispers The message cantrip can give the feel of modern spy thrillers with agents whispering to each other through hidden earpieces. A social venue the PC’s have crashed allows for lots of whispering back and forth as they distract the mark, case his room, etc. Note that message can work through a scrying sensor, allowing for the “handler” to call shots from a vantage point on the roof, nearby apartment, or getaway vehicle. If the PC’s are too low level to have message work reliably through a scrying sensor (5% chance per level for a scrying spell) perhaps their patron provides the targets of the spell with a some minor magic that “boosts the signal.” 2) Codes and Riddles Codes and ciphers are perhaps the easiest element of spy thrillers to import into fantasy, at least for the party rogue. To kick it up a notch toward spycraft, emphasize the use of regular code books, rotating keywords, and other trappings of old-school cryptography. If your group is into props, making your own code grille for them to decode messages with is a surefire winner. And speaking of codes, the locking wards on doors and chests in fantasy games and settings doesn’t make most people think of computer passwords, but it could. To make the party rogue feel more like a computer hacker, have them focus on the individuality of the person who made the wards for their own personal use. That evil high priest they are investigating...what’s his favorite scripture? 3) Magical Message Drop But what if the secret message isn’t written at all? Have PC’s discover that an enemy agent gets instructions via magic mouth spells when they arrive in a particular public place. Suddenly all those ranks in disguise (or equivalent spells or items) have yet another purpose, as they try to impersonate the agent and get the magic mouth to speak to them instead. But what if someone mistakes them for the real bad guy? Having to stay in character during an impersonation gone wrong is a tried and true staple of the spy genre, and a great opportunity to play “double or nothing” with the information they are after. 4) Macguffins More than any other genre, spy thrillers are driven by small but powerful items prized by the superpowers on both sides. The fantasy genre tends to use maguffins that are powerful for their own sake--the One Ring, the Sword of Shannara, Hand of Vecna, etc. To make a fantasy adventure feel more like Her Majesty’s Secret Service, consider having the PC’s quest for powerful, portable things that they can’t use themselves, such as command words to a powerful golem; rare ingredient for epic spells; the remains of a powerful artifact that can be re-enchanted. Have rival teams of adventurers hired by the other side, both groups fighting to deliver the goods to those who can actually use it. 5) Gunpowder Plots, Minus The Gunpowder The rare gunpowder in fantasy settings is probably better suited for firearms than for a weapon of mass destruction. For a bomb threat, consider instead a necklace or wand of fireballs rigged to break, so that all the charges are released at once (if players aren’t sweating, feel free to count out the d6’s you’d roll for a fully charged device). Explosive runes might be activated at a distance using a spyglass or scrying device, and could set off other effects. The shrink item spell can be used to shrink a bonfire and its fuel to a piece of inert cloth 1/16th the original size, making for an interesting “time bomb” as the duration runs out, or the spell can end early by a collision with a solid surface. This spell lends itself to sabotage; even a simple block of wood could do devastating damage expanding to full size in the right space. 6) Set Pieces And Chase Scenes Finally, good spy thrillers keep a sense of urgency using breakneck chases and treacherous set pieces for the fights. It’s easy enough to import this into a fantasy setting using carriages, carts, and caravels for transportation, but be ready to take it to the extremes. Players are used to fast movement in the middle of combat, with spells and monk abilities to fly around. Don’t let them use these mobility options. Force them to fight bare-knuckled with the baddies in a small space that’s moving swiftly toward oblivion...and then crank up the Mission Impossible theme to eleven. So there you have it: six ways to cross the genres and mix some spy thriller into your D&D fantasy setting for a change of pace. Who knows? If your players like it, you could build an entire campaign around these kinds of intrigues, with them as agents in a shadow war between secret societies. Leyshon Campbell has been playing and writing for gaming for over twenty years, from the Kargatane's Book of S series, playtesting D&D 3E in a Ravenloft campaign, to the ill-fated Masque of the Jade Horror. He ran an extended spy thriller campaign in Ravenloft called “Kara’s Daughters.” http://oriath.wikia.com/wiki/Eyes_of_Sodos  Secret societies are one of cornerstones of the Ravenloft Setting, but they tend to fall into background roles of either cannon fodder for the villain, or temporary resources for the heroes. Having played many games with secret societies and made three of my own (Memento Mori, Kara’s Daughters and the soon-to-be-released Ward Zero), here are some tips for getting the most out of them:
1) Information Is The Highest Form Of Currency Some “underdog” secret societies like the Shadow Insurrection, L’Ordures, and Sons of Gundar make obvious allies for anyone fighting the same foe, but things can get too cozy; these are secret societies, after all. To keep the mystique in a long running alliance, remember that equipment and even spellcasting is cheap, but secrets, once shared, are spent forever. Outsiders should have to submit to lengthy vetting and use excellent diplomacy to pry a single critical secret from groups like the Duskpeace Outcasts. Offering money tends to backfire, because it suggests the one offering does not know how valuable information is, or how dangerous. 2) Splitting The Party Even if one PC is a member, the rest of the party should not be insiders by default. Some heroic groups (i.e. the Society of Huntsmen, the Lamplighters, the Circle) don’t limit fraternization with outsiders, but a member of the Brotherhood of Broken Blades draws suspicion if their party includes arcane spellcasters. Many others are somewhere in between: a member might lead the party on one adventure on behalf of the society, share a little “need to know” info on the next, and offer nothing of value on another. Variety is the key; a member of the Green Hand or The Woodcutter's Axe need not confront the group’s enemies around every corner. 3) The More, The Merrier Any of the “underdog” groups might welcome all classes, such that an entire party could join. Likewise, any party might join the Order of the Guardians and just report on any evil artifacts they find. More options become available with restricted character creation: a Carnival-based campaign with a party of Troupers, a “special investigations” team for La Serrure et Clé composed of calibans, or an all-elf strike team for the Children of Wrath are all possibilities. In all these cases, the restriction is on race, so the party might include members of any class. Class restrictions are more difficult; if The Noble Brotherhood of Assassins needs serious muscle for a particular job, or the Knights of the Ashen Bough need a spellcaster to erase Drakov brands, they would probably contract with an outsider ally rather than recruit someone. 4) “Congratulations…” Even if a PC doesn’t seek membership, someone might feel they earned it. Groups like the Fraternity of Shadows or Kargatane make offers one can’t refuse based on their own sense of worthiness. The Échansons, Ildi'Thaan, Vilushka, or Witches of Hala might choose someone based on their bloodline. In cases like the Stalkers, Ata Bestaal, or even Keepers of the Black Feather, membership includes lycanthropy, such that a character might be “accidentally recruited” during a fight. In all these cases, the PC is not really an outsider, but their loyalty is in question. Even otherwise good groups may take drastic measures if someone with too much knowledge of their inner working turns them down. 5) Membership Has Its Privileges Members of most non-evil groups should be glad they joined most of the time. Physical tokens of membership frequently include masterwork items suitable for enchanting, if not minor magical items. Support societies like Société de Legerdemain, L’Académie des Sciences, and the Veiled Palm shouldn’t require more than dues (including discounted prices for supplies), reporting anything of interest, and keeping group secrets. If social obligations aren’t part of your game, this can also apply to “underdog” or “heroic” societies. If assigned to do more, the majority of the work should be within the PC’s comfort zone and rewarded fairly. Plots that pit group loyalty against friends, family or conscience should only come after the PC has built a strong identity as part of the society. 6) That Wasn’t In The Brochure! Many secret societies have hierarchies, and some evil ones can appear harmless or even heroic to those at the lowest levels. A PC might spend decades in La Confrérie des Rêveurs* before finally discovering who (or what) they’ve been “feeding.” Insurrectionists in Mortigny might revere the long-dead martyr Simon Audaire long before being formally introduced to him in the, er, “flesh.” Many more groups are not stated as having such a layered structure, but could easily develop one, such as the Scions of Purity, Syndicate of Enlightened Citizens, League of Nine, and The Scions of Yakov Dilisnya. Allow PC’s to benefit from such associations as much as possible before learning the Awful Truth. Such “malign paradigm shifts” are among the most devastating horror checks, and are among the penultimate thrills of playing in a horror setting. 7) Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor Finally, while truly evil cults may only fit as antagonists, you can still get more mileage from the Dark Delvers or Cult of the Straw God by emphasizing their insidious ideology. Long after the party has destroyed Mother Fury, have them discover a Howling Clan revival among the frustrated poor of some distant town. An old ally suffering nightmares of the Dead Man’s Campaign might be groomed for membership in the Lustmorde, or a treasure-seeking rival enthralled by writings about the Seven Scarabs. This could make for a truly epic struggle to destroy not just a dangerous cult, but a dangerous idea. Such challenges have been covered previously for destroying Sinkholes of Evil (RLDMG), and for fighting bogeymen (DTDL). Whether allies, mentors, rivals or enemies, the people who make up these groups have committed themselves to keep secrets from their fellowmen. It’s a grave choice that players may be faced with, to join them in bearing that burden of secrecy, or to drag the truth into the light of day to kill it. Either option can pose a challenge for PC’s of any level, and raise the kind of complex moral questions that keep players coming back to Ravenloft. *La Confrérie des Rêveurs was described in an article of the same name in Quoth the Raven issue #6, a Ravenloft netbook hosted by the Fraternity of Shadows. Matthew Barrett has been playing and writing for Ravenloft for over twenty years, starting with the Kargatane's Book of S series (as Leyshon Campbell). He married his wife on Friday the 13th after proposing to her on Halloween. By tradition, the first story read at birth to each of their three children was The Barker’s Tour, from Ravenloft’s “Carnival” supplement. He is currently working on a Ravenloft-based experiment in crowdsourced fiction using his “Inkubator” system at inkubator.miraheze.org. Pic Reference: http://www.theendofhistory.net/most_recent/history-terrorism-secret-societies/  Greetings!
Friend: I know that Lord Mayor Drakeson has invited you to Carinford-Halldon, ostensibly to congratulate you on rooting out and killing the werewolf Edmond Timothy. Have you had occasion to meet Mayor Drakeson's wife? Gwendolyn Drakeson is a perfect hostess, of course, and the two of them are quite in love. It would seem that her grandfather Nathan Timothy found a smart match for her indeed… The werewolf (here and throughout I use the term werewolf, but each of these points could refer to most all lycanthropes, and some non-lycanthrope shapeshifters as well) is one of the oldest archetypes in horror literature. In Danse Macabre, Stephen King boils all monsters down to three basic molds, one of which is the werewolf: the monster that walks among us. Throughout history, mythology, and fiction, there are several common threads that run through the best werewolf stories. Hopefully, looking at some of these a little more closely may give you some insight (or inspiration) for using werewolves in your own games. 1) The Beast Truly, from his origins as a pauper in the western core, Frankie Drakeson has overcome a great deal of personal tragedy, from being orphaned before he could walk, to the brutal violence he and his sister suffered at the hands of a Dementlieuse smuggler. Such setbacks would have destroyed a lesser man, but Mayor Drakeson shows no signs of being weighed down by his past. The werewolf isn’t just a person who turns into a wolf. Not everyone who gets bitten becomes infected. In werewolf stories, the hidden monstrosity of the werewolf represents the savagery that can lurk within anyone. This can vary from a rage-fueled impulse to mindless destruction, all the way up to a predatory need to hunt and kill one’s own kind. In Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series, the werewolf curse isn’t just a supernatural disease; it represents the very real, deep issues these characters struggle with, including spousal abuse, post traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, and a host of other problems. In the best werewolf stories, the monster isn’t just the random victim of circumstance: the curse echoes some darkness that already exists within them, and the wolf is just an excuse to let it out. 2) The Unnatural A word of advice if you plan to accept his invitation: Carinford-Halldon is extremely unusual for Mordentish villages in that it has no dogs. The residents seem unsure about the cause, and while some blame the wild boars and others vaguely recall a mysterious canine illness, bringing a hound remains a risky proposition. The ‘wolf’ in werewolf has very little to do with wolves beyond a passing resemblance. The best werewolves have virtually nothing to do with natural wolves. Most werewolves are shunned by natural beasts. It’s fitting that many werewolf groups operate along the alpha-beta-omega pack structure, since this hierarchy is a fiction of humankind. It appears only in wolves in captivity, so it's apropos that it is used by beings that are of both wolf and man, but wholly neither. In the few cases where monstrous werewolves exert control over real wolves, they control the animals not through a connection of kinship but through supernatural domination, much like a vampire. The werewolf who has a deep connection to nature is a figure of primal spirituality, not a monster, and loses some of its impact in a horror setting. 3) The Hidden I envy you: Mayor Drakeson is a delightful dinner companion! The servants and commonfolk in his village will no doubt seek to regale you with numerous tales of the monsters he's vanquished and the lengths he's gone to in order to protect his friends and family. There's probably no one in the entire town that doesn't feel like they personally owe their lives to him. The greatest danger of the werewolf isn’t their teeth or even their curse; it’s that they could be anyone. If the players can readily identify the werewolf suspect, then you might not be getting the most mileage out of the werewolf archetype. The werewolf is at its best when people don’t even realize that’s what they’re dealing with. In a D&D game of course, this is nearly impossible. Fortunately, once someone has been exposed to the werewolf archetype it leaves an indelible fear in the back of their mind; fear of the evil their friends and allies might be concealing. (It is this exact fear that games like Are You a Werewolf? exploit to create humor.) As the adventure continues and tension begins to mount, player suspicion will grow to become paranoia, and the damage that a party can do when it is gripped by fear can be greater than the mayhem caused by the werewolf itself. The most malevolent werewolves, the ones who know (or suspect) their true nature, are adept at exploiting this, diverting attention from themselves so adroitly that their friends and allies will even take up arms against renowned heroes rather than believe their loved one could be hiding such a dark secret. 4) The Puppet I do hope you come at the right time of year, however. During autumn, when the last desperate traders of the season are hurrying across the lands, both predator and brigand make travel to the town dangerous. Why, the mayor and his family are so busy keeping the roads safe they can scarcely be found at all! Although transforming beneath the full moon is the most common trigger, almost all werewolves are afflicted by their curse in some kind of scheduled timeframe, both in fiction and mythology. Ancient werewolf stories tell of men who transform every evening when the sun goes down, those who were cursed to walk as a wolf seven days out of the year, those who transformed beneath the new moon, and an assortment of other schedules. In all these cases, the underlying root is the same: the werewolf is affected by unseen forces that do not have such a pull over the rest of us. These forces compel the werewolf to do their evil deeds, in the same way that Dexter’s Dark Passenger compels him to his own butchery. History is rife with serial killers compelled to follow a schedule to their murders, and it is this example that informs the werewolf legend’s need for a timeframe. Altering the schedule for a werewolf antagonist can be a good way to throw the PCs for a loop while still maintaining this core aspect of the werewolf archetype. 5)The Cycle Shortly after arranging to marry Nathan Timothy's granddaughter Gwen, Frankie began a family of his own. His six children have grown into fine young men and women, and from captain of the guard to magistrate, they all serve the town as loyally as their parents do. Human storytellers have known for centuries that abuse and trauma can form a vicious feedback loop. The werewolf legend reflects that in multiple ways. On the one hand, there are the werewolves who were delivered into this curse: regular people, possibly even good people (albeit ones with repressed horrors or well controlled dark urges) who were affected by traumas larger than they could cope with. There are also the hereditary werewolves, whose curse was handed down from parent to child. These werewolves reflect the unfortunate tendency for the unwary (or uncaring) to inflict their own trauma on their children. Such families work hard to maintain a semblance of normalcy, keeping their family as hidden from their community as possible. Some werewolves who become aware of their nature can delight in spreading their disease to others (Voldemort’s flunky Fenrir Greyback is a good example of this) in the same way that some human predators take a perverse glee in bringing others around to their warped point of view. 6) The Corruption Mayor Drakeson has done a wonderful job getting rid of the boars around Carinford-Halldon: those swine cause so many problems! Why, shortly after he settled there, the native boars caused so much damage with their rooting that they wiped out entire copses of trees. To this day you can't find a cedar tree within miles of the town. Whether they entered their state willingly, as punishment for their crimes, were infected by another werewolf, or had their curse passed on by their parents, all werewolves share a foulness within them. This inner bestiality is why the werewolf is vulnerable to silver, as silver is a symbol of purity. Other possibilities exist, of course. Ravenloft werewolves are famous for their varied chemical and material ‘allergies.' However, all of these items share something in common: they’re all either symbols of purity or agents of purification. (The film Ginger Snaps explores this idea.) This is an important link for the archetype. Werewolves’ banes aren’t just random weaknesses, they’re a tangible reminder that the afflicted is a monster, and its pain stems from the fact that its wickedness is so strong as to cause a physical reaction when exposed to such purity. 7) The Victim Since Frankie quit hunting monsters and settled down with his family, he's done his best to stay busy. Notably, he's done a marvelous job sponsoring and training monster hunters. He's shown a particular interest in training those adventurers who would travel through Kartakas or Verbrek, as though he has a specific grudge against the abominations of those lands. Most werewolves were a person, once. Like Larry Talbot, they might have even been a good person. The most impactful werewolf stories are the ones where the protagonists discover that the werewolf is someone they care about. Almost as meaningful, and a little less expected, is when the werewolf turns out to be someone they don't know terribly well, but they just like. In lighter stories, the quest to find a cure can be the focus of an adventure. However, in horror adventuring, especially the Victorian horror of Ravenloft, the werewolf curse is an echo of the mental darkness it is serves as an allegory for: it cannot be cured. It can be suppressed, for a time, but there is no force that can contain it forever. Eventually, the monster within will break loose and hurt someone. The person the werewolf once was might be horrified by what they've become, but they find themselves unable to end their own existence; the monster is part of their own will to survive, and it is stronger than they are. Such unfortunate souls cannot understand why they continue to allow themselves to commit the atrocities they perform while transformed, and with every passing cycle they become increasingly unsure of whether they began as a good person with a horrific curse, or if the monster was their true self all along and their human life just a convenient disguise. Conclusion My, how I ramble on! The truth is, you've done quite a bit of good in the world, and I'm certain Mayor Drakeson's patronage is no small part of that. You deserve his recognition, to be sure. Carinford-Halldon is a lovely place: a tight knit community with an intense amount of loyalty to one another, both commoner and noble alike. Spend a day with the Mayor and his family, and you'll find their hospitality beyond compare. Spend any more time than that with them, and you're bound to have a howling good time... Knowledgeably yours, The Barnacle Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Quoth the Raven. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter. Image reference: https://www.blackgate.com/2011/10/21/game-review-innistrad-from-magic-the-gathering/ |
All blog materials created and developed by the staff here at High Level Games 
Click here to support our community for as a little as $1.00 for exclusive content, free downloadable stuff, and even discounts on role-playing game items.
Archives
April 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed