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Honor + Intrigue Campaign: In the Shadow of the Sun King
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<blockquote data-quote="BASHMAN" data-source="post: 7590354" data-attributes="member: 8277"><p>Next, I decided to run a horror module, very derivative of the old original TSR "Ravenloft" module. I changed the setting to the fictional town of De Greve in Brittany and the main antagonist to "Marquis Claude De Greve". For the set-up, I had Pierre the Bear and two other musketeers sent to go an collect the Marquis and bring him to Versailles (nobody refuses the King's hospitality). When these musketeers never returned Captain D'Artagnan (upon the recommendation of his good friends Baron Porthos and the Abee D'Herblay) enlists Girard and his friends to find out what happened to them and to bring them back (and arrest the Marquis for his defiance). </p><p>While many aspects of the adventure were based on the Ravenloft module, I did give things a unique spin. I had one of the PCs (Evelyn) be the reincarnation of Claude's true love, Henriette. I also had Claude's brother Leon be the true Villain-- a ghost whose curse overshadows all of the lands of DeGreve-- and wants nothing more than to see his brother and his harlot destroyed. To this end, he offers to aid the PCs in finding The Sword of St. Jeanne (Joan of Arc)-- the only weapon that can permanently kill the vampire Claude. </p><p></p><p>I also made some big changes from the Ravenloft module. I didn't have there be any evil "mists" surrounding the place that would poison them if they tried to leave. Instead, the villagers who lived in De Greve thought themselves under a curse (but in reality, it was the water from the town well under a curse by Leon. Anybody who drinks the water for a few months becomes dependent upon it. Leaving causes one to go through withdrawal which feels like a terrible sickness. The Roma (I don't like the word "gypsy") are immune to the curse because they don't drink from the well (partly because of the townsfolk's prejudice and partly because they don't stay long enough to fall under the curse). Unlike in Ravenloft, they are not evil, nor are they "in league" with the vampire. </p><p></p><p>One rule option I created during this adventure was something called "The Climate of Fear". Whenever the environment called for a Terror check by the PCs, lost Composure could only be restored when the PCs were in a "Sanctuary" from evil (such as a consecrated part of the castle) for at least an hour. The result was that failing a Terror check became much worse, and PCs drained their supply of Fortune rather than risk long-term Composure loss... which also played into the more grim nature of the setting. A special item that was found at one point in the adventure was the Rosary of Father Jerome (the priest who served at the castle almost a century ago). Anyone wearing it for an hour or more was considered to have Sanctuary; allowing that character much greater ability to withstand the effects of fear. The Crucifix of Father Jerome (which was made of silver and could be used to stake vampires) also gave the bearer +2 Defense against undead as they could not bear to look at it. </p><p></p><p>I did not base many of the encounters or specific events off Ravenloft, only the main structure of the adventure; I had a lot of fun adding new twists and encounters and took some inspiration from quite a bit of film for this. For background music, I had the soundtrack from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Phantom of the Opera playing at different moments. </p><p></p><p>Some fun encounters included: </p><p>Madame Petit, a friend of Wilhelm's and leader of a traveling caravan of Roma in the area did a reading for Wilhelm. The cards revealed the Queen of Swords (St. Jeanne's sword is alleged to be in the castle) and the Two Faced Knave (all is not as it appears) and the Three of Cups (the missing musketeers have only 3 more days to be found alive). </p><p></p><p>A Headless Horseman riding a Nightmare who guarded the bridge leading to the castle. The bridge was so narrow, PCs could not Yield Advantage... and the Nightmare could trample them and breathe fire and had batlike wings in case it fell off the bridge. </p><p></p><p>At the end of the first session Claude himself showed up, grabbing Evelyn and barricading a door with one hand. Even though Evelyn shot him (twice) he did not seem to even care-- he was so overjoyed, tears of blood ran from his eyes. He did not harm her, but instead told her about who she was in her past life and that she must go to the library to see the truth for herself. When Angus finally forced the door to open (using his whole body against Claude's left hand), the entire party got the fright of their lives fighting him. He seemed to ignore most damage, rolled 3 initiatives per round, and though he had a sword on his belt, didn't even draw it, instead pulling Julie into a vice-like grip and opening his jaws wide to slake his thirst. A point-blank called shot for extra damage WITH A MUSKET to the head did enough damage that he decided to retire, turning to mist and fleeing through a secret door behind the throne. It was clear to the PCs that to have any chance against him (he was fighting with one hand, not even using his weapon while trying to hold onto Evelyn-- and also using his body to shield her) they would need some sort of edge. </p><p></p><p>A hedge maze with a number of topiary monsters (inspired by the novel "The Shining") at the center of which was a gazebo (which wasn't haunted) where they found the Rosary of Father Jerome. </p><p></p><p>Several Stained Glass Golems in the (desecrated) chapel. They were made of razor-sharp glass. Hitting one with a melee attack caused it to shatter a bit, causing the person who hit it to take damage! Shooting it caused it to shatter much worse, causing everyone adjacent to take damage from the glass. This was very fun to run and the players were both amazed and scared of this encounter. (I had printed stained glass windows depicting knights and angels and such which were on the terrain as set dressing, but turned out to be "monsters" that came off the walls). The film Young Sherlock Holmes inspired this encounter. </p><p></p><p>A mirrored ballroom full of ghosts (they could see them reflected on the mirrored walls in a room that looked otherwise empty). There was NO WAY the PCs would be able to fight these ghosts. There were over a hundred of them. Moving through the room required them to make checks or swept up into the dancing, each turn they would lose 1 Lifeblood. Angus had to be physically dragged out of the room by the rest of the party. They took every possible pain to avoid entering this room again. </p><p></p><p>Caverns beneath the castle where the Sword of St. Jeanne resided... protected by giant worm creatures rising from the abyss. The floor was extremely fragile, making the fight even more perilous. </p><p>A long hallway with paintings and statues (I used primed but unpainted minis for the statues and printed mini baroque paintings on cardstock). Statues came to live and attempted to drag Evelyn into her past-life's portrait (which would have transported her to the Library where Henriette's ghost resides) but the PCs destroyed them first. </p><p></p><p>Leon De Greve offered the PCs safe haven to rest in his chamber within the castle, and initially, everyone liked him and thought he was on their side. There was a broken mirror in the section of the castle that led to the tower where he was isolated. Leon explained that the ghosts in the castle could only travel via mirrors and he was too far from any to escape the tower. The PCs then went looking for a mirror for him, allowing him to escape once and for all. This ties in well with "what really happened". Henriette was once Leon's wife. Leon was a cruel and indifferent husband who only cared about money and warfare. While he was away on campaign, Leon's younger brother Claude and Henriette fell in love. When Leon returned, she decided to tell him the truth (that she was with child, and that it was Claude's), whereupon Leon pushed her off the tower. Knowing his brother was to blame, Claude (who was always smaller and weaker than his brother) pledged his soul to the forces of darkness in exchange for the power to kill Leon and see his Henriette once again. This pledge was granted by turning him into a vampire. With his newfound strength, Claude was at last able to kill Leon and have his revenge, slaking his first vampiric thirst on his brother's own blood. But he paid a terrible price. Not only do vampires cast no reflection-- they are incapable of seeing any as well (a mirror just looks like a flat shiny metallic surface to them). And this was the cruelest irony-- for Henriette and Leon's souls were both bound to the castle's mirrors. Claude could be in the same room as Henriette's ghost-- and he could neither see her nor hear her. Leon's ghost could manifest outside of a mirror but was bound by mirrors to travel. </p><p></p><p>One by one, the PCs managed to find the missing musketeers. Two were found in weakened states locked in dungeons, but Pierre was found in a training ground possessed, believing himself to be fighting to defend the King and that the zombies and skeletons at his side were his soldiers to command... against the PCs who were there to assassinate the King! They managed to subdue him and escape alive, just as the skeletons began to rise for another round. They barred the door behind them and made their way to the library.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BASHMAN, post: 7590354, member: 8277"] Next, I decided to run a horror module, very derivative of the old original TSR "Ravenloft" module. I changed the setting to the fictional town of De Greve in Brittany and the main antagonist to "Marquis Claude De Greve". For the set-up, I had Pierre the Bear and two other musketeers sent to go an collect the Marquis and bring him to Versailles (nobody refuses the King's hospitality). When these musketeers never returned Captain D'Artagnan (upon the recommendation of his good friends Baron Porthos and the Abee D'Herblay) enlists Girard and his friends to find out what happened to them and to bring them back (and arrest the Marquis for his defiance). While many aspects of the adventure were based on the Ravenloft module, I did give things a unique spin. I had one of the PCs (Evelyn) be the reincarnation of Claude's true love, Henriette. I also had Claude's brother Leon be the true Villain-- a ghost whose curse overshadows all of the lands of DeGreve-- and wants nothing more than to see his brother and his harlot destroyed. To this end, he offers to aid the PCs in finding The Sword of St. Jeanne (Joan of Arc)-- the only weapon that can permanently kill the vampire Claude. I also made some big changes from the Ravenloft module. I didn't have there be any evil "mists" surrounding the place that would poison them if they tried to leave. Instead, the villagers who lived in De Greve thought themselves under a curse (but in reality, it was the water from the town well under a curse by Leon. Anybody who drinks the water for a few months becomes dependent upon it. Leaving causes one to go through withdrawal which feels like a terrible sickness. The Roma (I don't like the word "gypsy") are immune to the curse because they don't drink from the well (partly because of the townsfolk's prejudice and partly because they don't stay long enough to fall under the curse). Unlike in Ravenloft, they are not evil, nor are they "in league" with the vampire. One rule option I created during this adventure was something called "The Climate of Fear". Whenever the environment called for a Terror check by the PCs, lost Composure could only be restored when the PCs were in a "Sanctuary" from evil (such as a consecrated part of the castle) for at least an hour. The result was that failing a Terror check became much worse, and PCs drained their supply of Fortune rather than risk long-term Composure loss... which also played into the more grim nature of the setting. A special item that was found at one point in the adventure was the Rosary of Father Jerome (the priest who served at the castle almost a century ago). Anyone wearing it for an hour or more was considered to have Sanctuary; allowing that character much greater ability to withstand the effects of fear. The Crucifix of Father Jerome (which was made of silver and could be used to stake vampires) also gave the bearer +2 Defense against undead as they could not bear to look at it. I did not base many of the encounters or specific events off Ravenloft, only the main structure of the adventure; I had a lot of fun adding new twists and encounters and took some inspiration from quite a bit of film for this. For background music, I had the soundtrack from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Phantom of the Opera playing at different moments. Some fun encounters included: Madame Petit, a friend of Wilhelm's and leader of a traveling caravan of Roma in the area did a reading for Wilhelm. The cards revealed the Queen of Swords (St. Jeanne's sword is alleged to be in the castle) and the Two Faced Knave (all is not as it appears) and the Three of Cups (the missing musketeers have only 3 more days to be found alive). A Headless Horseman riding a Nightmare who guarded the bridge leading to the castle. The bridge was so narrow, PCs could not Yield Advantage... and the Nightmare could trample them and breathe fire and had batlike wings in case it fell off the bridge. At the end of the first session Claude himself showed up, grabbing Evelyn and barricading a door with one hand. Even though Evelyn shot him (twice) he did not seem to even care-- he was so overjoyed, tears of blood ran from his eyes. He did not harm her, but instead told her about who she was in her past life and that she must go to the library to see the truth for herself. When Angus finally forced the door to open (using his whole body against Claude's left hand), the entire party got the fright of their lives fighting him. He seemed to ignore most damage, rolled 3 initiatives per round, and though he had a sword on his belt, didn't even draw it, instead pulling Julie into a vice-like grip and opening his jaws wide to slake his thirst. A point-blank called shot for extra damage WITH A MUSKET to the head did enough damage that he decided to retire, turning to mist and fleeing through a secret door behind the throne. It was clear to the PCs that to have any chance against him (he was fighting with one hand, not even using his weapon while trying to hold onto Evelyn-- and also using his body to shield her) they would need some sort of edge. A hedge maze with a number of topiary monsters (inspired by the novel "The Shining") at the center of which was a gazebo (which wasn't haunted) where they found the Rosary of Father Jerome. Several Stained Glass Golems in the (desecrated) chapel. They were made of razor-sharp glass. Hitting one with a melee attack caused it to shatter a bit, causing the person who hit it to take damage! Shooting it caused it to shatter much worse, causing everyone adjacent to take damage from the glass. This was very fun to run and the players were both amazed and scared of this encounter. (I had printed stained glass windows depicting knights and angels and such which were on the terrain as set dressing, but turned out to be "monsters" that came off the walls). The film Young Sherlock Holmes inspired this encounter. A mirrored ballroom full of ghosts (they could see them reflected on the mirrored walls in a room that looked otherwise empty). There was NO WAY the PCs would be able to fight these ghosts. There were over a hundred of them. Moving through the room required them to make checks or swept up into the dancing, each turn they would lose 1 Lifeblood. Angus had to be physically dragged out of the room by the rest of the party. They took every possible pain to avoid entering this room again. Caverns beneath the castle where the Sword of St. Jeanne resided... protected by giant worm creatures rising from the abyss. The floor was extremely fragile, making the fight even more perilous. A long hallway with paintings and statues (I used primed but unpainted minis for the statues and printed mini baroque paintings on cardstock). Statues came to live and attempted to drag Evelyn into her past-life's portrait (which would have transported her to the Library where Henriette's ghost resides) but the PCs destroyed them first. Leon De Greve offered the PCs safe haven to rest in his chamber within the castle, and initially, everyone liked him and thought he was on their side. There was a broken mirror in the section of the castle that led to the tower where he was isolated. Leon explained that the ghosts in the castle could only travel via mirrors and he was too far from any to escape the tower. The PCs then went looking for a mirror for him, allowing him to escape once and for all. This ties in well with "what really happened". Henriette was once Leon's wife. Leon was a cruel and indifferent husband who only cared about money and warfare. While he was away on campaign, Leon's younger brother Claude and Henriette fell in love. When Leon returned, she decided to tell him the truth (that she was with child, and that it was Claude's), whereupon Leon pushed her off the tower. Knowing his brother was to blame, Claude (who was always smaller and weaker than his brother) pledged his soul to the forces of darkness in exchange for the power to kill Leon and see his Henriette once again. This pledge was granted by turning him into a vampire. With his newfound strength, Claude was at last able to kill Leon and have his revenge, slaking his first vampiric thirst on his brother's own blood. But he paid a terrible price. Not only do vampires cast no reflection-- they are incapable of seeing any as well (a mirror just looks like a flat shiny metallic surface to them). And this was the cruelest irony-- for Henriette and Leon's souls were both bound to the castle's mirrors. Claude could be in the same room as Henriette's ghost-- and he could neither see her nor hear her. Leon's ghost could manifest outside of a mirror but was bound by mirrors to travel. One by one, the PCs managed to find the missing musketeers. Two were found in weakened states locked in dungeons, but Pierre was found in a training ground possessed, believing himself to be fighting to defend the King and that the zombies and skeletons at his side were his soldiers to command... against the PCs who were there to assassinate the King! They managed to subdue him and escape alive, just as the skeletons began to rise for another round. They barred the door behind them and made their way to the library. [/QUOTE]
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