last year I ran a special one-shot game that was basically a game where the PC's were trapped in a mansion and had to hold out against a horde of zombies for a whole night.
I'd like to do something different this year, but I don't know what. Any ideas?
last year I ran a special one-shot game that was basically a game where the PC's were trapped in a mansion and had to hold out against them for a whole night.
I'd like to do something different this year, but I don't know what. Any ideas?
I made an original adventure a while back that was essentially a halloween themed game.
I'll write up a summary here for your inspiration:
The Castle of Baron Sedov
The player characters all recieve mysterious invitations to someone calling himself Baron Sedov. They're invited to his private castle somewhere in the woods of Karrnath in the Eberron Setting (but you can place it anywhere as long as it's far from civilization).
On the way to the castle by means of the Baron's carriage they encounter wolves and hear rumours of werewolves as well. They also pass through a very paranoid little village of Krim near the castle. When they finally get there things are strange. The Baron is away "on business" and the people in the household refuse to tell the PCs what the heck is really going on. They're guided to their rooms and during the night they recieve a mysterious note...
Next day they begin to explore the castle, to disastrous effects... Believe me :P
And then the Baron returns.
More detailed info:
The Baron, who is designed to APPEAR TO BE A VAMPIRE, is in dire need of help. His wife is affected by some kind of strange curse or something making her behave strangely. What actually is affecting her is the dominating power of an aboleth who lives in an underground lake beneath the castle.
People have been disappearing around the castle and the Baron gets the blame for this... And the werewolves. The werewolves hate the Baron, and the Baron hates the werewolves. And the aboleth kills people, but everyone think the werevoles/vampires do it!
The whole adventure is designed to basically throw the classic horror elements against the players in a humorous fashion. I'll list all the main points of interest of the adventure as a whole.
1: There is an elder horror... ie the aboleth. It's basically the final boss IF they find it.
2: There are werewolves (classic horror)
3: Vampire... Well the baron isn't really a vampire, but you can have fun with their paranoia. I also made a point of there being no garlic available in the kitchen. Don't forget the red wine either.
4: Ghosts in the cemetary
5: There is a flesh golem (frankenstein's monster) in the secret laboratory
6: There is a brain in a jar in the library beneath the secret laboratory (this one killed the party xD)
7: The whole castle is designed to be very gothic. Make sure to point out how it's always rainy or stormy.
8: There are gargoyles
9: There are bats
Aside from this the adventure is extremely free-form. The players will roam the castle for a few days until you decide it's time for the Baron to be back from whatever kept him away. When he gets back he briefs them on the situation with his wife. If you want extra fun you can have them meet her as well. She's locked up in one of the towers. The baron doesn't want too much attention be brought to the Baroness' situation, hence why he doesn't call in any locals to check up on her.
Also almost everyone in the village naearby believe the castle is cursed. Most of the original staff has fled the place, or died mysteriously.
Here's the cast I used:
Baron Konstantin Sedov: The baron. Pale skin. Describe him like you would describe a vampire (without using the word vampire)
Baroness Lilya Sedov: The baroness. Dominated by aboleth. Also looks a bit like a vampire.
Ockham: Halfling rogue. The butler. Has a glass eye. ultra paranoid. His robe is FULL OF KNIVES AND BLADES.
Orgrim: Half-orc fighter. Coach driver. Huge. Doesn't speak much.
Hannovar Fiste: Human fighter. Baron's body guard. Chaotic evil. Ultra-charismatic. Carries huge sword. Will take any opportunity to mess with the PCs. Smiles constantly. High charisma. Hits on any female PCs.
Elizabeth: Human commoner. Extremely plain appearance. She is supposed to look so absolutely plain that the very plainness makes her look suspicious.
Ebiscus Skinner: A short dwarf. The chef. Cheerful guy. Complains about how understaffed they are.
Also. To add some flair to the adventure I had a part of a poem written on a plaque in the main hall of the castle. It arose suspicion among the players... Ie exactly what I wanted.
"But here among the scorpions and the hounds,
the jackals, apes and vultures, snakes and wolves,
monsters that howl and growl and sqeual and crawl,
in all the squalid zoo of vices, one
is even uglier and fouler than the rest,
although the least flamboyant of the lot;
this east would gladly undermine the earth
and swallow all creation in a yawn;
I speak of Boredom which with readay teats
dreams of hangings as it puffs its pipe."
I think it was from a Baudelaire poem, but I'm not sure.
It hints in a delicious way that all the monsters and things you encounter aren't really the big problem here. The thing most threatening is that which you don't know is there plotting and scheming from below the castle itself.
That sounds amazingly fun Ganryu, awesome!
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There are strange thing going on at night, and creatures that shouldn't be on the Material(or even exist) have been encountered and fought by the city guard.. every time a creature is slain though, it's remains disappear...
Basically, there are a small group of people who are Summoners and don't know it. In their sleep, they are unconsciously unleashing nightmares upon the city.
This works out if you remove the part about the Eidolon going away while the Summoner is unconscious.
Sorcerers will also work.
Better yet, have it be the Golorian equivalent of Halloween. Originally, Halloween was a way to keep a vile spirit sated, placing sweet in bowl on the doorsteps to appease it's hunger and people wore masks to scare it off if they met it at night.
I really like the ideas I've seen here. thanks everyone!
Make sure there is an animate Scarecrow in the Pumpkin Field :)
Make sure there is an animate Scarecrow in the Pumpkin Field :)
Holy crap! I totally forgot that one when I ran my adventure. It's such a classic.
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ok here is what you do
Strange warped castle by dark means. Used to belong to Lord Maltus and his six daughters. Castle consists of a library, game room, citadel and stables. House has the ususal skeles, zombies, ghosts,golems and a couple gargoyles. The castle emits an aura that has been making the villagers near-by sick.
In order to stop the aura, the party needs to kill the ghost of Maltus. In order to do that, they need the six lockets from his daughters. Each daughter is in her bedroom and must be defeated. Each daughter takes the form of either a ghost, zombie, or ghoul.
Defeating Maltus will make the castle deteriorate and the party must escape quickly but cannot make it. The party must now find Maltus to create a portal to return back to the real world.