DMJ's Carrion Crown

Game Master Jonasty1031

A game of horror and survival. Can you brave the hidden threats and evils of Ustalav?

Current Map


PC's current status:

Randu Dragomiir:
  • HP 9/9
  • AC 16

Alexei Dirven:

  • HP 8/8
  • AC 15

Perrah Snowenglen:

  • HP 8/8
  • AC 16

Mortimer Valdebridge:

  • HP 11/11
  • AC 17

Vharg Half-Man:

  • HP 14/15
  • AC 17

Ilya Oftwrong:

  • HP 8/8
  • AC 16

NPC's:

  • Professor Petros Lorrimor(male human): friend and companion of the PC's; reason all of you are here; DECEASED
  • Kendra Lorrimor(female human): daughter of Professor Lorrimor
  • Father Grimburrow(male human): town priest of Pharasma
  • Councilman Vashian Hearthmount(male human): what passes for a solicitor or barrister in town
  • Alendru Ghoroven(male human): owner/operator of The Unfurling Scroll, retired wizard-turned-teacher
  • Luramin Taigh(male human): moneylender who is co-owner of the Silk Purse
  • Quess Yearburn(female human): moneylender who is other co-owner of the Silk Purse
  • Sarianna Vai(female human): owner and proprietor of the Outward Inn
  • Jorfa(female dwarf): an older middle aged dwarf woman whose skill at the forge is easily noticable upon view of her wares
  • Jominda Fallenbridge(female human): a practical and somewhat distant woman who runs her own apothecary
  • Benjan Caeller(male human): Sheriff of Ravengro
  • Leromar(female human): part-time Ravengro deputy
  • Riff(female human): part-time Ravengro deputy
  • Trestleblade(male human): part-time Ravengro deputy
  • Vrodish(male human): part-time Ravengro deputy
  • Zokar Elkarid(male human): owner and operator of the Laughing Demon, a boisterous man who loves telling tall tales and jokes
  • Pevrin Elkarid(male human): son of Zokar, has unofficially taken on responsibility for keeping the Posting Polls around town updated
  • Luthko Avanaki(male human): co-owner and operator of the Ravengro General Store, married to Marta
  • Marta Avanaki(female human): co-owner and operator of the Ravengro General Store, wife of Luthko
  • Old River(male bloodhound): town dog

Ravengro:
Current Trust Score: 26 (Liked) = -5% discount to purchase prices, +2 to all Diplomacy checks with the locals, locals are more friendly to the party

Town Map

Map Key:

  • A - Town Square: contains a small gazebo, Old River the dog makes his home there most days
  • B - The Posting Poles: large poles embedded in the earth around town that contain notices of events and news
  • C - The Laughing Demon: a boisterous and light hearted tavern run by Zokar, with menu items that reflect this including "vampire steaks", "wolfballs", and "corpse chowder"
  • D - Ravengro Town Hall: typical town meeting place, little activity their most days although there's an attendant who works there to answer questions, currently unable to use the location for research
  • E - Temple of Pharasma: run by Father Grimburrow, research can be done here on all three of the major topics
  • F - Ravengro General Store: providing for the general needs of the town, most any supplies can be bought here as needed, doesn't generally have or sell any armor or weapons but it does have a set of Full Plate on display in the back of the store
  • G - Ravengro Forge: run by Jorfa, this forge contains a number of well made arms and armors in addition to providing the local farming equipment used by the townsfolk
  • H - Jominda's Apothecary: a well stocked apothecary that can readily provide spell and alchemical components, some potions are available but only to those of a certain character (specific Trust score required for potion purchase)
  • I - Ravengro Jail: a small jail compared to Harrowstone's former glory that often remains empty, mainly used to house the occasional drunkard or other such disturber of the peace
  • J - The Silk Purse: local bank/moneylenders run by Luramin and Quess, houses a small contingent of mercenaries that provide security for the Purse
  • K - The Outward Inn: run by Sarianna the food and drink of this establishment are top notch according to townsfolk, during the evenings local musicians and storytellers provide entertainment on the main floor and in the basement tavern, the inn has 10 rooms but more often than not no more than half are filled at any one time
  • L - The Unfurling Scroll: small magic shop and school, run by Alendru; can use the shop's lab/library for 10gp/day, can be used to research Harrowstone and the Five Prisoners
  • N - The Lorrimor Home: formerly the Professor's and now Kendra's home, used by the group during their stay in Ravengro
  • O - Harrowstone Memorial: 25 foot tall statue depicting the former warden of Harrowstone who gave his life to stop the rioting prisoners
  • P - The Restlands: local cemetary where the dead are housed
  • R - Harrowstone: the path to Harrowstone Prison

Whispering Way Knowledge (complete):
  • The Whispering Way is a sinister organization of necromancers that has been active in the Inner Sea region for thousands of years.
  • Agents of the Whispering Way often seek alliances with undead creatures, or are themselves undead. The Whispering Way's most notorious member was Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, although the society itself has existed much longer than even that mighty necromancer.
  • The Whispering Way itself is a series of philosophies that can only be transferred via whispers - the philosophies are never written or spoken of loudly, making the exact goals and nature of the secretive philosophy difficult for outsiders to learn much about.
  • Exact details on the society are difficult to discern, but chief among the Whispering Way's goals are discovering formulae for creating liches and engineering the release of the Whispering Tyrant. Agents often travel to remote sites or areas plagued by notorious haunts or undead menaces to perform field research or even to capture unique monsters. Their symbol is a gagged skull, and those who learn too many of the Way's secrets are often murdered, and their mouths mutilated to prevent their bodies from divulging secrets via speak with dead

Harrowstone Knowledge (complete):
  • Harrowstone is a ruined prison - partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it's haunted, and don't enjoy speaking of the place.
  • Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison's underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. The prison's warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy - that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.
  • Most of the hardened criminals sent to Harrowstone spent only a few months imprisoned, for it was here that most of Ustalav's executions during that era were carried out. The fire that caused the tragedy was, in fact, a blessing in disguise, for the prisoners had rioted and gained control of the prison's dungeon immediately prior to the conflagration. It was only through the self-sacrifice of Warden Hawkran and 23 of his guards that the prisoners were prevented from escaping - the guards gave their lives to save the town of Ravengro.
  • At the time Harrowstone burned, five particularly notorious criminals had recently arrived at the prison. While the commonly held belief is that the tragic fire began accidentally after the riot began, in fact the prisoners had already seized control of the dungeon and had been in command of the lower level for several hours before the fire. Warden Hawkran triggered a dead-fall to seal the rioting prisoners in the lower level, but in so doing trapped himself and nearly two dozen guards. The prisoners were in the process of escaping when the panicked guards accidentally started the fire in a desperate attempt to end the riot.

The Five Prisoners Knowledge:
  • Originally, Harrowstone housed only local criminals, but as the prison's fame spread, other counties and distant lands began paying to have more dangerous criminals housed within this prison's walls. At the time of the great Harrowstone Fire, the number of particularly violent or dangerous criminals imprisoned within the dungeons was at an all-time high.
  • The five most notorious prisoners in Harrowstone at the time of the great fire were Father Charlatan, the Lopper, the Mosswater Marauder, the Piper of Illmarsh, and the Splatter Man.
  • The Mosswater Marauder(aka Ispin Onyxcudgel): Only 5 years before his hometown of Mosswater was destined to be overrun and ruined by monsters from the nearby river, Ispin Onyxcudgel was a well-liked artisan and a doting husband. When he discovered his wife's infidelity, he flew into a jealous rage and struck her dead with his hammer, shattering her skull and his sanity with one murderous blow. Wracked with shame and guilt, Ispin became convinced that if he could rebuild his wife's skull she would come back to life - but unfortunately, he could not find the last blade-shaped fragment from the murder site. So instead, Ispin became the Mosswater Marauder. Over the course of several weeks, the cunning dwarf stalked and murdered nearly 20 people while searching for just the right skull fragment. He was captured just before murdering the daughter of a visiting nobleman from Varno, and was carted off to Harrowstone that same night.
  • The Lopper(aka Vance Saetressle): When the Lopper stalked prey, he would hide in the most unlikely of places, sometimes for days upon end with only a few supplies to keep him going while he waited for the exact right moment to strike. Once his target was alone, the Lopper would emerge to savagely behead his victim with a handaxe
  • Father Charlatan(aka Sefick Corvin):
  • The Splatter Man(aka Hean Feramin):
  • The Piper of Illmarsh(real name unknown)

Harrowstone Grounds Map