Ravenloft Style Campaign

I am still in the starting area of running a Horror Campaign and trying to keep it slow and smooth. (Generally, my favorite style of Horror, where it is slow to get to the creep Factor and then hit with the full horror)

I'm going to try and keep this vague just in case any of my players happen to come to the board.

I'm running a Psychological Horror and the Baron of the land has the ability to re-write the memories of the people within his domain that are linger there too long. The Start of the campaign has the group joining the local Adventurer's Guild that is backed by the Baron and opposed by other nobles the region is at war with a Core Race which becomes off-limits to the PC's at character creation.

I'm planning on a cursed magical item that will block the Baron's powers of altering memories to start the ball rolling with that character starting to notice things since they will not be able to have their memories altered.

I'd like to give the characters the effect of questioning if they truly are who they think they are.

So any advice for slow to boil Horror Campaigns.

^Is the memory alteration obvious and supposed to be considered desirable ("Citizen, report immediately for memory updates!")?

Is the "cursed item" supposed to also do something bad? Preventing external memory rewriting sounds like a feature, not a bug.

^Is the memory alteration obvious and supposed to be considered desirable ("Citizen, report immediately for memory updates!")?

Is the "cursed item" supposed to also do something bad? Preventing external memory rewriting sounds like a feature, not a bug.

The Baron has the ability to memory alter through people's dreams/while they sleep within his domain. I was thinking of making the item a Cursed Ring of Mind Shielding (this way while worn they can't just get rid of the ring via selling it)

if i may, i'd like to suggest that the ring 'help' by not letting the character fall asleep -it allow him to prepare spells and rest enough to not be too tired but he is up all night wide awake.

this could lead to a LOT of rp options and behind the scene revolutions. is he walking out at the dead of night seeing wired shadows going into other houses? (representing the Baron invading their memories).Yet no1 else seem to notice or even care?
(OR he find some1 who does notice and is alarmed, a small child no one listen to who tries to warn people - Only a day after the child deny even knowing what he is talking about!)

he might develop a minor (or major) mental instability from deprived sleep if it accumulate too much. start hearing voices and see stuff not really there maybe even not from his own perspective.

- ARE they only things in his mind? the clerics treating him seem to think so. But.. maybe the memories which are purged have no where else to go?

one main thing in horror is to never give an absolute answer right away. the doubt and the unknown are amplifiers to the whole theme.

----

something else.
a great big warning sign for the characters would be finding a note talking about something important that happened, yet no1 seem to know about it (a dragon attack or an invasion from a different country or something). and when they really check it out it turn out it was written by one of the characters, in her own handwriting. it could even have been found in their own home or with their own gear, like crumpled in the bottom of their backpack (come on, when is the last time they cleared everything from the backpack and took a good look at the bottom?)

a good note, say for an invasion could be something like "...day 11 since the invasion. Tobi died last night from his wounds. Supplies are getting short, if this continue we might have to turn into more drastic measures..."

And of course no1 knows who Tobi even is.

Some random ideas:

1- you can make the ring having an ego that still not fully awaked. It may have some minor power but as it awake. it slowly transform it possessor into something else. And the players are put between 2 horrors.

2- they are acclamed as heros for something they didn't have done and some of their heroic actions are forgetten by the locals (or suffert to become alternative facts/fake news).

3- The locals begun to call them Trump or Biden (your call).

4- The ring protect, but ask to sleep 2-3 hours more that normal. Can exend it protection to other but they have to kiss the ring (commun pratice of some nobles in medieval time).

Eridalafar

one more thing i would like to suggest.

About the Baron invading and erasing the memoirs of the townsfolk -there should be a reason behind it beside 'keeping the peace'.

i think it's better if he is actually looking for something while he does this. a secret hidden in the people memories, maybe a weapon that can finish him off. or something he lust for. what ever it is he won't stop until he finds it . And if he does find it the future would be a lot darker. maybe then he won't need to keep the townsfolk alive anymore? he keep them alive and well for their memories, nothing else.
finding about the Baron's hunt and the reason behind (which should take it's own course) would then lead to trying to find the thing itself.

one more thing i would like to suggest.

About the Baron invading and erasing the memoirs of the townsfolk -there should be a reason behind it beside 'keeping the peace'.

Keeping absolute power would be reason enough, but that is not mutually exclusive with . . .

i think it's better if he is actually looking for something while he does this. a secret hidden in the people memories, maybe a weapon that can finish him off. or something he lust for. what ever it is he won't stop until he finds it . And if he does find it the future would be a lot darker. maybe then he won't need to keep the townsfolk alive anymore? he keep them alive and well for their memories, nothing else.

This could be happening already. At a convenient time for the Baron after finishing with one of the townspeople (going through all the memories not yet modified), the Baron turns them into an Undead minion. Of course, this often requires modifying memories of other people . . . .

finding about the Baron's hunt and the reason behind (which should take it's own course) would then lead to trying to find the thing itself.

Bonus points if part of the reason behind it is that if the Baron gets hold of the MacGuffin, this enables the Baron's escape from the Ravenloft Domain, to wreak havoc upon the rest of the multiverse.

a lot of good ideas.

The Baron in charge is actively looking for his brother "So that he can take the lead of his land and allow himself to 'retire' away like he is supposed to. However, most of the adventurers and nobles are not really looking for the noble's brother. At least publically and it is what the people believe in the area, and that the nobles dislike the current Baron.

The main enemy ironically of the campaign is the Elves & Half-elves. (Immune to sleep spells and effects with a high resistance to enchantment based magic & Effects)

I was debating having the group meet someone with the item that seems to know them. (makes me happy I have a group of players that don't put a lot of work into backstories)

Example: A Goblin Pirate (Finesse Fighter) Woke up in a crate two weeks travel from the nearest ocean in the landlocked Baron's city and don't find it strange in the slightest that they slept the entire time, nor died from lack of food and water.

oh, btw since this is a horror setting.

i'd leave the option that letting the group that fight the baron win - might not be the best idea for the overall peace and prosperity of the town and or the characters. they might hate the baron but their plan on what to do once they achieve victory might not be any better.

- "All hail your new Ruler\dictator grand elf-sama, also and your new owner, - Villainthian Necrograndiun, The assimilation process will commence momentarily"
-"..."
- "...You know, on retro thought, his name should have tipped us off.."

XD I am doing something like this. :3 re-working from the book "Villain Codex" I have the Arcane Society, Although changed the SpellQueen out for an Elf - Fey Based for no Aging. Leveled up a Corrupt Scrivener to her CR She seeks Magical Knowledge and items of Unique as do her minions. She'd likely let the City rot or allow her Necromancers to experiment on the populance.

Does it have to be Ravenlofty? Maybe you should look into the

I still want to run it as a sequel to my Gnome Liberation Front adventure, where gnomes have to rescue their petrified buddies from the gardens of the big folk.

Does it have to be Ravenlofty? Maybe you should look into the ** spoiler omitted ** I think it works best if you start with a rather mundane adventure and then introduce the horrible horrible twist. I think it would work really well with a cutesy setting like Humblewood or My Little Pony.

I still want to run it as a sequel to my Gnome Liberation Front adventure, where gnomes have to rescue their petrified buddies from the gardens of the big folk.

This is sounding amusing indeed, have to look it up

Does it have to be Ravenlofty? Maybe you should look into the

Spoiler:

False Hydra

I think it works best if you start with a rather mundane adventure and then introduce the horrible horrible twist. I think it would work really well with a cutesy setting like Humblewood or My Little Pony.

I still want to run it as a sequel to my Gnome Liberation Front adventure, where gnomes have to rescue their petrified buddies from the gardens of the big folk.

Why is that thing wasting its time just eating people, when it could go into politics?