Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends

[Crothian]

Gather Round for Ravenloft's Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends, by Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea, Ravenloft Developers

In the dark we hope to distance, distract and defend ourselves from terrors that haunt the twilight by huddling in our houses before the fading evening fire and telling each other tales to occupy our thoughts till dawn. We recount legends of valiant quests and faded glory, fallen heroes and dark justice, tragic villains and ancient horrors. Then the old folk recall the time-worn tales, grim sagas known throughout the realms from Darkon to Invidia, Mordent to Barovia; narratives of suffering and shame, of trials and tribulation and ultimately of tragedy for hero and villain alike. For in these tales we find warning and caution, hope and solace, and a chance that we might yet avoid a similar fate. The Realms' greatest legends, however, are more than mere musings of an imaginative mind. Though these fables may vary with each telling, the characters, themes and lessons remain the same as if drawn from the very pages of history, for, after all, at the heart of every legend lies a foundation in truth! It is this very kernel of veracity that inspires some and entices others to seek to discern the fact from the fiction and drives them on through the torments of life with the frail hope of proving the tale true and claiming the prize for themselves. But, one must be careful when seeking to learn the legitimacy of a legend lest one becomes trapped within that very saga, facing the same grim fate as its hero. "To Inherit Eternity" is one such story.

So begins "To Inherit Eternity," the first of five bone-chilling tales in Ravenloft's latest supplement, Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends. Based on classic horror motifs familiar to anyone who has sat around a campfire swapping scary stories or stayed up late at night as a child to hear the grown-ups tell tales of ghostly visitations and horrific crimes, these stories serve a dual purpose. First and foremost, they are intended to entertain fans of Ravenloft with versions of familiar horror tales such as 'The Bride' and 'The Flying Dutchman.' These tales, however, are transformed by the Mists into mini-adventures that are uniquely flavored by the atmosphere of the Dread Realm. Read through these stories and you will recognize tales of wedding nights gone dreadfully wrong, monsters in the shape of men who prey upon the innocent and the trusting, and an eternal wanderer cursed by something most people would consider a blessing. Once you've read the tales, find out how you can turn these stories into adventures and expand those adventures into campaigns. Variations on each story's theme provide opportunities for clever DMs to use these adventures several times by making some simple changes, such as substituting one villain for another or altering objects or scenes. Beyond the tales themselves, Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends provides something intangible for the Ravenloft game - a set of folk legends and ideas for creating similar stories. These tales come from the popular folklore of the Dread Realm, not from the few heroic characters battling darklords and engaging in political intrigues. These are the stories told by grandfathers and grandmothers to their children's children, or featured in taverns and inns on stormy nights when the doors and windows are bolted against the wind and rain.Tales of haunted houses and hidden treasures hint of a rich body of legendry and folklore, differing from realm to realm but each touching upon the things seen out of the corner of the eye or sensed after the lights have been blown out. Five premier authors approached these tales in their own way. Some place the players in the middle of the story, while others introduce their tales as fireside entertainments.
The Ravenloft game grew out of one of the most famous tales of gothic horror, that of the doomed, deathless vampire caught in his own tragic drama. What more fitting addition to the body of published work than a book of folk stories brought to dreadful life by the talents of Harold Johnson, Steve Miller, Brett King, Ryan Naylor and Ari Marmell.
So sit back, brew a cup of hot cider, lock your doors and open your minds to a different kind of terror, one that grows quietly as the night darkens, the silence deepens and thoughts dwell on the unknown and the mysterious, on Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends.

And here's the complete summary, from our review pages:

Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends
Authors: Harold Johnson, Brett King, Ari Marmell, Steve Miller, Ryan Naylor
Type: Accessory – story hooks
Format: 184 pages, paperback
Release date: May 2005

Summary of content:
Largely developed story scenarios, based on legendary villains and movies.

Chapter One: To Inherit Eternity (Harold Johnson)
Chapter Two: The Curse of Ashington Manor (Steve Miller)
Chapter Three: The Brood of Blutkalte (Brett King)
Chapter Four: Noises in the Night (Ryan Naylor), including the magic item: Tome of Horror
Chapter Five: To Honor and Obey (Ari Marmell)
DM’s Appendix: Accompanying notes for each chapters.

Chapter One: New magic items – the Heirloom, Lucine Claw, Wanderer’s Guide, Waters of Eternity; Long cast of characters; New monsters: Ambiant (undead), Darque (aberration), Lost (or Echoes or Shells, aberration)
Chapter Two: New magic items – Rozaleen’s Tarokka; New monsters: Verhteig; NPC portrait: Lord Herod Ashington, Maekon, Rozaleen
Chapter Three: NPC portrait: Sebastian Blutkalte
Chapter Four: New monsters: Bogeyman – the Bad Thing, Mister Fox, Monsieur and Madame Croquemitaine, Alligator Lenny, the Scissorman
Chapter Five: New class: Voodan; the Loas of Souragne detailed

 

[Joël of the FoS]

Part 1 - To Inherit Eternity - 2 stars rating

I have to admit I had to read a few parts twice as the whole thing is quite confusing with the long list of characters involved in this story.

It is incredibly intricate. The story of the diner is a good read, if too long in parts. However, I find it difficult to translate it in a D&D context:

- first, as Tobias said, the interactions between the cast of characters are very complex, and inserting the characters in this tightly knit scenario can be very difficult. The list of characters is very long, making it very difficult for a DM to successfully animate all these complex NPCs in an entertaining and fluid ways. Or as in most murder mystery games I’ve been, it is railroading au maximum and this can be frustrating for the players.

- also, the PCs are (usually!) capable characters, and they would take whatever means to ensure the safety of the NPCs, foiling the murderer’s attempts, or even catching him in the act and capturing him; and in fact ruining the scenario.

Perhaps it would work by diminishing the number of NPC? Some of them are odd anyway: the Guardian and the Cult of Light seem odd and I don’t see them pursuing actively the goals they have.

Also, do we really need the Eternal, or just the old man dream of being immortal would be enough to motivate all these NPCs?

The themes around being eternal are interesting and would fit well in a Borca or Richemulot salon discussion.

The annexes relating to it are similarly strange. First, the magic items. I’ve never found a magical item so precisely tailored for only one situation or person (the heirloom), so it rings “railroading” to me.

Then the cast of characters with a short description for each (and amazing portraits by Talon) is well made, with the reserve I said on some of these NPC’s credibility. A few characters however are very good and gothic (like Hugo or the shy writer, for example).

After it, follows a strange monster that reminded me of Star Trek: the ambient – an alien gas creature able to make any spells and illusion to confuse you? The Darque and the Lost monsters however are better.

So this first part is quite puzzling for me… It's not bad, it just puzzles me as how to make it work.

Part 2 - The Curse of Ashington Manor - 4 stars rating

Wow! Quite a change of pace from the previous one. Now we're stuck in a curse of horrible events happening again every 17 years, i.e. the brutal murder of an innocent teen girl. 85 years ago, a vistani girl was brutally killed in order to provide entertainment for depraved nobles. She dies cursing the place and the killers. Now, every 17 years, something similar happens again.

What's cool is that the players hears of it only days before it happens again (ah, fate!), but the way the event runs is quite interesting. In a Castle Forlorn way, the manor areas shift between all fifth time frames, i.e. now, when it started, and the three times in the past when similar events were re-enacted.

A very good adventure where they have to end the curse and lay the vistani ghost to rest. Indeed, this has potential to become a well known adventure for the setting.

The appendix presents a new type of monster, the Vehrteig, a creature delighting in depravity and violence in others. It is of course helping setting the right mood for this kind of event. Strangely, Maekon reminded me of the one-eyed assassin in Kill Bill, i.e. a slightly boyish but still attractive, very dangerous woman, under sophisticated guise. Or perhaps it is the (great) illustrations of Mr Pozas that led me this way? That is how I would play her.

The only thing perhaps I'm not sure is needed is the special tarokka deck description i.e. with seminal events like the one described, the part played by the deck is perhaps overdoing it, the adventure can happen without it.

Short and dense text, very well made, bravo.

Added afterward: Ashington Manor - I DMed it. It was easy to insert in my campaign, as the heroes were traveling from Karina to Levkarest and the hamlet was somewhere along the way. I used the Miko hook (the merchant's daughter). My players loved it. They liked the past history of the house, the way the scenario is made, the mysteries in it and the cool time shifts.

Funnily, when they saved Miko from the bandits, they were sure their quest was done, till they found the wall of mists and the apparition of Rozaleen in the main hall...

Confirmed by Steve: I have found an inconsistency in the scenario: Maekon is playing the tarokka deck and all 4 cards are always drawn by her (darklord, beats, temptress and innocent).

Well, the innocent card was stuffed in Rozaleen's mouth, and she was buried with it. So... Maekon could not play the first four cards, including the Innocent card. So there is an error in the scenario and the drawings.

Possible solutions from me:

1) Remove the Innocent card from Rozaleen's body
2) Remove the incomplete tarokka deck from Maekon and place it elsewhere for the heroes to find.

Steve Miller :

FYI, the design of the adventure vis-a-vis Maekon and the Tarokka deck went like this...

1. Maekon was in the house the whole time, playing with the deck in the master bedroom. Scrapped that idea, wanted her to be wandering and drawn back. Did rewrites. Tarokka deck was in desk in master bedroom, left there by Ashington.

2. Decided Maekon had Tarokka deck with her. Did rewrites.

3. After thinking about it, decided that there needed to be a stronger way to tell Rozaleen's body from others. Decided a card should be placed with the body. Did some rewrites, but obviously not enough of them, nor did I think that change through clearly... I was just being overly dramatic and making Ashington even more of a monstrous bad guy. (Maekon needs to be able to lay four cards, as that's the Basic Cross. The Innocent card needs to stay with the deck.)

The fix is to remove the card that is buried with Rozaleen. Ashington only grabs one card. Or, if you want to keep a card with the body, just don't make it Innocent... make it a random card from the Minor Deck. (My players had no problem identifying the right body... I was over-thinking things toward the end. I should have left well enough alone.)


Part 3 - the Brood of Blutkalte - rati9ng 3 stars

OK, prepare yourself for the weird and the unexpected. This part is about a villain, the ghost of a disturbed multi-personality child, killing people while using either his mother, father or grand-father personality. Two other personalities are part of this rooster: himself (as a young boy) and a wicked minstrel. So far, OK.

What’s weird is that the child was a doppelganger (don’t ask why, read it!), so now you have a doppelghost. Are you comfortably seated? What this ghost can do is possess a body and use his shape-changing ability to make this possessed body assume the guise of his family members. Far fetched? Sure! Interesting? You bet!

Really, it is weird and far-fetched, but it makes a great unique villain. You have this family of amplified killers (as seen by the boy’s eyes), under the guise of healers, looking for preys to heal / kill. And this minstrel wandering and spreading the word about the Blukalte family. I can see a good recurring villain for any campaign.

The other abilities of this unique creature are creepy and one is ultimately cool for Ravenloft: Grave Summoning (he summons you to walk to the cemetery, where a coffin hides near the freshly made grave sign with your name. You enter in the coffin and “wake up” from this trance when you hear dirt being poured over the coffin … (Other Kill Bill visions for me here, sorry)).

Well done, good one.

Part 4 - the Bogeyman (Noises in the night) - rating 4 1/2 stars

Exquisite rendering of the child scare monsters. Very well done and easy to insert. Mechanics is all needed, nothing missing or superfluous.

My daughter is 12 and loves vampires and ghost stories but this scared her (we made jokes with the snip snip noise, but it reached her in a way horror stories never had before: she needed a lighted bed lamp at night since!)... I think the greatest horrors can be seen through a child's eyes and that is the great thing about bogeymen.

Part 5 - To Honor and Obey - rating 3 1/2 stars

Great story of mischief and treason. It is very emotional and intimate, and full of twists. Short and well done. The flavor of Souragne is very well used in it.

This said, the motivations of the protagonists are very well hidden inside themselves and using this story as it happens is tough, as none knows really what is happening and what plans they have. Unless they side with one of the protagonist?

The same for the story after the events happened: it is so hidden it's somewhat strange that there are rumours of it at all. People could rumour about something strange, but no details of what really happened.

But if you manage to make believable the fact that the story is rumoured, or interest your players in that case in any other way, it is a great backstory.

The appendix on Loas is easy to implement in a game, for a good voodan caster or a dark one.