Sample file. The Ravenloft campaign setting is an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons property.

Transcription

1 Beware the Tales Told in Darkness Childhood legends, ghost stories and cautionary tales take on a life of their own when surrounded by the Mists of Ravenloft. From the immortal creature destined to eternal wandering to the sinister tailor known as Scissorman, from the family whose members all have dark secrets to a wedding night shattered by horror and the house that relives the atrocity at its core, five stories of classic terror become a setting for bold adventurers or helpless victims. This book revisits the old-fashioned horror story as viewed through the lens of Ravenloft and provides players and DMs with a chance to rewrite a horrific ending, or become part of the recurring nightmare. Techniques for turning stories into games and adapting a tale to suit a particular group offer a handbook for creating and playing one-of-a-kind adventures that touch upon heroes deepest fears. Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player s Handbook, published by Wizards of the Coast. This product utilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision. The Ravenloft campaign setting is an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons property. ISBN WW15032 $24.99 U.S.

2 Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends Authors:: Harold Johnson ( To Inherit Eternity ), Brett King ( The Brood of Blutkalte ), Ari Marmell ( To Honor and Obey ) Steve Miller ( The Curse of Ashington Manor ) and Ryan Naylor ( Noises in the Night ) Developers:: Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea Editor: Dale Donovan Sword & Sorcery Managing Editor: Stewart Wieck Art Director: Richard Thomas Layout and Typesetting: Ron Thompson Interior Artists: Talon Dunning, Marcio Fiorito, Brian LeBlanc and Claudio Pozas Front and Back Cover Designer: Ron Thompson Credits Additional Thanks Based on the Original Dungeons & Dragons rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the new Dungeons & Dragons game designed by Johnathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker and Peter Adkison. Special Acknowledgements Andria Hayday (1st ed. design) Bruce Nesmith (1st ed. design) Tracy & Laura Hickman (original concept) 2005 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Ravenloft, Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons and its logo, the d20 System logo, and Wizards of the Coast and its logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., in the USA and other countries, and are used by Arthaus under license. Arthaus and its logo are trademarks of Arthaus Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Sword and Sorcery and its logo are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. PRINTED IN CANADA 1

3 Introduction Table of Contents Introduction 3 Chapter One: To Inherit Eternity 7 Chapter Two: The Curse of Ashington Manor 57 Chapter Three: The Brood of Blutkalte 89 Chapter Four: Noises in the Night 109 Chapter Five: To Honor and Obey 123 DM s Appendix 138 2

4 Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends Introduction 3

5 Introduction ne of the keys to the continued success of the Ravenloft game setting is the way its writers take horror stories we all know and love (to dread), and puts unique spins on them. From its earliest incarnation as a stand-alone AD&D game adventure, the Ravenloft setting has been about bringing horror stories to your gaming table. We ve drawn from classics in the genre (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), from historical terrors (Jack the Ripper and Vlad Tepes), from radio dramas and movies (such as Donovan s Brain from Suspense and films such as The Plague of Zombies and Cat People). With this book, we turn to even more prevalent tales and make them part of Ravenloft, tales that often formed the foundation for the novels, radio plays, and movies we drew inspiration from: the horrific folktales and legends that exist in a dozen different forms the world over and which are told and retold by children and adults alike. Everyone reading these words has either sat around a campfire or been in a room of friends during a sleepover and swapped horror stories. Everyone has heard some variation of The Hook (teens sneak out for a bit of necking and narrowly avoid falling victim to a hook-wielding maniac or maybe they don t avoid becoming victims), The Hitcher (where a traveler picks up someone by the roadside, only to hear a radio bulletin about an escaped lunatic who resembles the increasingly twitchy stranger sitting next to him), or The Bride (where a vengeful spirit of a woman slain is devoted to warning or killing future wives of her still-living husband). We can add to this mix any number of ghost stories, vampire tales and werewolf yarns. We can probably even add more than a few scenarios used in roleplaying games over the years. These are the stories that changed the way we think of the dark, and these are the stories from which other, more elaborate and artful works intended to send shivers down your spine have sprung. In the following pages, you will find five Ravenloft takes on classic horror folktales. We start with The Bride and The Hook and other of the archetypical horror story foundations and build adventure hooks, characters, magical items, and even full-blown adventures around them. The chapters are structured in such a way that the DM can take the material and incorporate it into their ongoing campaigns within the Demiplane of Dread, or even use the material to add terror to other imaginary realms of the d20 System multiverse. 4

6 Who is This Book For? Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends provides some excellent stories to entertain both players and DMs. This supplement also contains much useful information exclusively for DMs, demonstrating how these stories can be adapted for use in fantasy games. Players who are thinking about trying their hand at DMing can find many suggestions in these pages, providing them with insight into how to go about creating an adventure from a story or folk tale. Such players should make sure their DM doesn t intend to use any of the tales within these pages before reading it, however. The appendix, as in most Ravenloft supplements, contains information for the DM s eyes only. How to Use This Book Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends is a sourcebook that provides supernatural and horror story hooks and adventure elements for incorporation into any Ravenloft campaign or any other horror/fantasy game. In order to gain full enjoyment of this product, you need the Ravenloft Player s Handbook, Ravenloft DM s Guide, and Denizens of Dread. The Ravenloft Tarokka Deck may also add greatly to the usefulness of this product, but it is not as crucial as the aforementioned books. Each chapter in this supplement presents a different legend or story, followed by possible locations for using the story in a campaign as well as adventure suggestions spun off from that legend. As is the case with most Ravenloft setting material, the ideas offered here can be transported from the Demiplane of Dread to any other game world that the DM wishes to infuse with a bit of darkness and terror. Some chapters include more straightforward adventure material, but in all cases, each chapter is rich in source material and a variety of elements that can be incorporated into ongoing Ravenloft games. The Introduction provides you with an overview and some general hints as to how to use this book. Chapter One: To Inherit Eternity shows that when a stranger proffers a gift, one should be certain it is something one really needs before Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends accepting. One never knows who stands to gain the most: the giver or the recipient. Chapter Two: The Curse of Ashington Manor brings to life the story of a curse. Decades ago, a young Vistani died at the hands of a brutal nobleman. With her dying breath, she placed a curse upon Ashington Manor and all who enter it. Now, the curse is coming undone, and strange magical energies sweep the player characters into a nightmare house they may never leave alive. Chapter Three: The Brood of Blutkalte provides an intimate look at horror in an unexpected setting. In every community, one can find a family that taints the well of harmony and performs foul deeds while the people sleep. At least, one hopes such a family can be found, for if they operate in total secrecy, the evil they spread may know no bounds. Chapter Four: To Honor and Obey takes shape around the occasion of a wedding. In Souragne, marriage is a happy occasion as it is in so many other lands. However, when dark obsessions bubble to the surface, one particular marriage ends with murder. Chapter Five: Noises in the Night explores the horrors that prey upon even the wariest people in the dark of the night. A Lamordian folklorist discovers to his regret that some tales are more rooted in fact than fiction and that their subjects don t appreciate prying scholars. The DM s Appendix provides new rules, monsters and magic, spotlighting new feats and other rules, spells, magic items and monsters that are introduced in the previous chapters. Chapter Format Each chapter follows the general structure outlined here. Some chapters are weighted more heavily toward one element or another. The appendix collects rulesrelated material in one place, organized by chapter. The Story Here you ll find a legend a tale told around campfires or in taverns when the moon is dark and the wind is howling outside. Some of these tales have more truth than others. The material that follows allows you as DM to let your storytelling abilities shine. Tell your story or legend as if you had an audience. Any number of possibilities exists for starting your chapter to create the proper atmosphere for horror. The Truth This section of the chapter reveals the truth behind the legend, which is sometimes quite far 5