The Savage Created (Players, Stay Out!)

With a little luck, I'll be running my first full AD&D conversion adventure at the beginning of next week. Since I'm in a Ravenloft mood, I'll be running a Savaged version of "The Created", a 2nd to 4th level scenario set in the domain of Odiare.  It's actually the story of how Odiare becomes a domain, so it makes for an interesting entry point.  The adventure is going to be a one-off, so I'm using pre-fab characters.  I've altered the set up and the tone of some of the characters to create Red Herrings and a darker atmosphere.

--The Constable, Aldo, is the town's "big man".  He's on the take, wrenching folks like the PCs into doing his bidding and wetting his beak from the profits.  This works perfectly with plans for the party (see below).  I've tried to make him more threatening, giving him a small cadre of thugs and a pair of mastiffs that would make short work of a single low-powered character on their own.
--The PCs will come to Odiare as thieves, invited by a cousin of at least one character who acts as a small-time hustler and informant: she'll tell them the best places to steal from during the festival in exchange for a cut of the profits.
--The first murder takes place in a house the PCs happen to be robbing, forcing them into the position of serving the constable in order to keep their ill gotten gains.

I've written up the Carrionettes as follows:


Carrionette, Evil Construct

Traits                                                         Secondary Statistics

Agility                    d6                             Charisma:

Smarts                    d6                             Pace: 2”

Spirit                      d4                             Parry: 5 (7)

Strength                  d4                             Toughness: 5

Vigor                      d10                           Reason: N/A

Skills:  Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Guts d4, Notice d6, Persuade d6, Stealth d12, Throwing d6, Tracking d6

Languages: Odiaren

Edges: Quick Draw, Steady Hands

Special Abilities:

Friend to Children:  Carrionettes gain +2 to Charisma when dealing with characters possessing the Major Hindrance “Young” (and possibly other innocents such as adults with child-like mentalities).   Because of this, Carrionettes will never harm children directly, though they might use them as shields or foils to protect themselves.

Puppet-Sized Wooden Body

--Immunities: Poison, Cold, Electricity, Psionic/Magical Domination

--Falling: 1/3 Damage

--Healing: Successful Repair roll = a Wound (2 Wounds on a Raise)

--Size: Small (-2 to Toughness, -2 to be hit by man-sized creatures)

--Weakness: Fire (treat Toughness as -2)

Possession

--Silver Needles (Attack Arms & Legs w/ no penalty): Range 3”. No damage, victim makes a Vigor roll (at -2 if already hit by a needle).  First hit paralyzes a limb (limiting weapon use or cutting movement in half), second hit totally paralyzes victim.  Paralysis remains as long as a needle is in the victim.  Removing a needle causes the paralysis to lift after d4 rounds.  

--Trade Souls: Plunging a silver needle into a paralyzed victim’s neck allows the carrionette to trade souls with the victim.  The process can be reversed by the same means.  In each case, the Carrionette body is incapacitated for 1 hour.    

Savaged Denizens of Dread #1, Bony Hands

Bony Hands, the Elusive Hungry Dead

Description: An emaciated pile of skin and bones, so slender and small it is only visible out of the corner of the eye.  Its mouth is lines with needle-like teeth and it moans in a manner that suggests long-unsatisfied hunger pangs.  The creatures feet are all-but invisible and barely scrape the ground, whereas the hands are oversized and tipped with sharpened bone claws.
    

Traits                                                         Secondary Statistics

Agility                     d8                              Charisma:

Smarts                    d6                              Pace: 6”

Spirit                       d8                              Parry: 6

Strength                d6                              Toughness: 8

Vigor                       d10                          

Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d8 (+4), Tracking d6

Special Abilities

--Claws: Str+2

--Bite: Str+d6+2.  A Bony Hands may only employ a bite attack when it has grappled a victim.
--Fear -1:  "I saw something out of the corner of my eye!  But where is it now!?

--Improved Grappling: +2 to all grapple related checks.

--Improved Frenzy: Bony Hands make two melee attacks per round without penalty.

--Partial Invisibility: All attacks against a Bony Hands are at -2, due to the fact they can only be seen with peripheral vision.  Moreover, Bony Hands gain +4 on all Stealth checks.  Magic that detects undead or reveals the invisible can dispel this property.  Normal “Dispel” powers are ineffective, as this invisibility is innate. 

--Scamper: Opponents man-sized or larger are at -1 to hit a Bony Hands.  This penalty stacks with the Bony Hand’s “Partial Invisibility”. 

--Small: -1 to Toughness

--Undead: +2 Toughness; Undead Immunities

The World of the Ephemeral Dead

As I'm writing this I'm planning to run the second half of a ghost-town adventure for my current Deadlands: Hell on Earth game. Its allowed me to think of what I'd like to incorporate into future ghost-centered stories. So this isn't a single post, but a running list I'm making for myself and anyone who cares to read it.

If you have ghostly game-table activities that have worked for you in the past, feel free to note them in the comments section. I'm always interested in what other folks are thinking.

--Round-Robin Intention through Possession--
Possession isn't just a good way of getting a party to jump at shadows. It can also help investigative minds sort out what's going on in a ghost's head. I had the idea to have the entire party roll for possession simultaneously and then I'd toss random notes to the victims and have them read them in their best "otherworldly" voices. The notes would give random clues to the ghost's nature as it jumped from person to person. Of course the notes would be out of order, so they'd have to put the pieces together. Also, I was figuring it might be a fun way of getting some of the folks in my group who don't full-on role-play to cut loose. I might also reward the best ghostly voice (or the person who came out of their shell the most) with a Benny. I figure I could do this two to three times over the course of an adventure with different ghosts or the same ghost revealing important details through this chaotic roulette-style possession. And of course, whoever reads the last note is the body the ghost stays in and through-whom it attacks the party.

Introducing a Darklord through the Tarroka

I can't remember where I read the idea, but I want to advocate it to anyone who will listen. If you are able to print tarroka cards, consider printing off extra copies of particularly nasty ones. Here's my idea for when my heroes will inevitably incur the wrath of a Darklord:
--While on the run the heroes encounter a small Vistani caravan. I have it in mind so make my campaign Vistani-friendly, so the heroes have easy access to a mentoring force that can direct them when they get lost (I know the Vistani aren't good, but that's part of the fun).
--Anyway, they stop by the caravan's fortuneteller for a tarroka reading and the young woman pulls a horrid series of cards: all darklords.
--There's only one possibility: the Darklord's influence is being felt by the cards. The man/woman/creature and his/her/its minions are due to arrive at any moment! The young woman can only offer the party the advice to flee as fast as they can and pray that their pursuer kills them swiftly.
--As the heroes exit the fortuneteller's vardo, the Vistani have already come under attack. Though they are neutral, the domain lord chooses to look past this as they harbor fugitives in his/her/its realm.

Ravenloft Maps

I recently acquired a copy of Campaign Cartographer 3 and decided to create some maps related to my Ravenloft ideas. None of these maps feature "cannon" sites, but what is GMing if not an opportunity to put your personal spin on a setting. Below is my first map, depicting the village of Shroudhob on the Isle of Liffe; a pastoral settlement that is besieged by black-hooded horrors.


The town of Coldwood Cross is both a red herring and a base camp for a couple of adventure ideas I've had. It provides a place for heroes to rest and purchase equipment and an opportunity for them to jump at shadows.


My most recent map is the town of Marinova in Borca. Here I've tried to depict a clear distinction between districts with "Old Town" to the south and west with its thatched roof buildings and "New Town" to the north and east with its more modern and expensive gothic architecture. Not sure what I'm going to do with this map, though Marinova may be the location of an alchemist's shop where an important evil artifact has been casually mislaid on a shelf.