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My party is about to encounter the Smoldering Revenge event. Because I've drawn my maps on paper, I can't draw and erase fire that comes up during this event. So, I made this hot item: 1 inch by 2 inch figures of fire. I printed them in color on some cardstock and cut them out - this did take about an hour. After I was done, I just folded them down the middle so that the bottom edges of the fire could meet.
If anyone takes an interest in this, I'll try to keep the link up and secure for a year. If it doesn't work, for some reason, please message me.
Because I don't want any trouble, I did not create the original work, just the reverse copies. The original image can be found here.
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I also compiled this pdf of the big bads in the prison, including the secret weapons and pictures of each BBEG: The Villains of Harrowstone
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By the way, I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how the party can defeat the piper without his flute. Based on the phrasing of the Piper's haunt, he never actually manifests in such a way that he should be susceptible to positive energy - can't hit what you can't see, especially since it manifests as "a mournful dirge."
I've read through this as best as I could but found nothing of note. Perhaps I missed something, so does anyone have any advice?
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I played through this recently, and yes, being intangible does add to its difficulty. I would assume that channeled positive energy would still affect it, however, as would holy water splashed into the haunt's area of effect. My party decided to use some of the haunt siphons on it; that, alongside the flute, made short work of him.
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I played through this recently, and yes, being intangible does add to its difficulty. I would assume that channeled positive energy would still affect it, however, as would holy water splashed into the haunt's area of effect. My party decided to use some of the haunt siphons on it; that, alongside the flute, made short work of him.
Daniel has it - just unleashing positive energy in the Piper's zone will damage it.
If the Piper can hurt you, you can hurt it. See here for additional haunt rules.
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Ok since this is the GM/DM section, I need some advice on how to make the campaign a "horror" campaign instead of a "high fantasy" campaign from my end. This is what I got ideas so far.
Music-so far been putting together some music for the first module which includes music from the first silent hill and the video game Alice the madness returns.
Materials-all 6 books, using carrion hill to shift the atmosphere to book 4, rule of fear, and waiting to get paid for murmuring fountain and preordered the borrow adventure book, also been reading up on a lot of lovecraft.
So far it looks like 4 players and we have planned on starting at the end of August so I can get my hands on the horror book but tbh I wanna start sooner while I still have all these ideas in my head. 2 are new players who have played dnd for years but their very first pathfinder game they are playing.
So far, these are the ideas I have so far to make this a "horror" campaign and (cc is hands down my fav campaign yal have done so far) with ideas from this thread and forums a better experience.
1. Having the BBEG be at the funeral and use the letters idea, but tbh I don't really know what to do with him during the campaign. Should he be off screen and use the letters as the only gateway to interact with him or should he be visible in the background in some areas?
2. Using an insanity mechanic. I've told the group and they are okay with it and I'm gonna justify it by saying that Ustalav is walled in from other countries. The land is seen as cursed and while stuff that happens in Ustalav happens in other areas, the frequency and amount is off the scale when compared to other places.
-but I'm at a loss which insanity mechanic I should go with. I don't want one that's easily lethal because I will be using it thru the entire campaign, but I want something that slowly starts to unhinge the players and eventually leading to full blown insanity. Kinda like COC games but instead of players who rush in and end up going insane and dying easily, I want something where if the players are not careful will start becoming crazy over time. If that makes any sense.
3. Hiding the journal until they start researching about the prison/prisoners/Whispering Way. Gonna have his journal coded and if no one has linguistics, the have Kendra spend some days decipher it, so to curt tail heading straight to the prison.
-only problem is, how do I handle when they ask where he was killed at? I do want to show or give players a chance to see the results of circle of death to give a heads up for future battles, but any ideas on where they found the professor so that again my players don't rush into the prison ahead of time. I am thinking about guards set up or locked, but I don't wanna have my players feel so "railroaded" even though this isn't a sandbox.
4. Gonna use murmuring fountain and some other ideas to use within that 30 days to foreshadow the prisoners.
-fountain letters, have the ghost foreshadow the splatter man.
-thinking of using the freak show to foreshadow the piper
-still trying to figure out how to use the card haunt in the inn for the MM
-priest....I don't know. This one is like something to foreshadow him since he has one of the coolest haunts.
-the lopper I don't know. I'm okay if I can't think of anything for him because he's gonna be scary enough as it is lol.
5. The beginning. To spruce up the beginning and get characters to know each other and also to give that immediate impression to give that "cursed" land feel, any suggestions? I saw something about a carriage ride in this thread but can't find the material source.
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Contributor
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1) It depends on how likely your players are to peg him as the villain, or to get violent against him. You'll need to figure out the answer based on your players.
2) You'll want to check out the sanity mechanic from Horror Adventures, then. I think it might be just what you need. ^_^
3) Let them rush to the prison! Then let them rush back out when it turns out to be more than they can handle. That'll learn 'em.
4) I haven't read any of the third-party stuff, so I can't really address this question. Anyone else?
5) I don't know that there was a "source", per se... just the info in this thread. You might need to flesh it out yourself.
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1. I had the BBEG be the one who sends the carriage to get the players to start off the game, have him at the funeral leaving in that same carriage, and also have him be in Lepidstadt during the trial and talk to the players about how impressed he was with their efforts (after day 1). He then gave each of them a fine horse to use. Of course the saddles have a rune in them so that he can scry them easily. After that, I had him fade into the background and just interact with the letters. However, I only signed the letters with one A. The players were sure that A was Vroon until they found a letter on his body. :)
2. Didn't use insanity, but I may look into it as they just completed Carrion Hill and are off to book 4. I may foreshadow the start of using insanity based on horrid dreams after defeating the BBEG from Carrion Hill.
3. I agree with Kalindlara.
As an aside, I made Kendra blind. This made her much more sympathetic to the players and I used it as the reason why Lorrimar put the players in his will. She is actually an Oracle but only came into her power after the prison became unguarded. The spirits of the dead guards come to her after Lorrimar's death and granted her some ability to speak with spirits. Clouded Vision curse and Lore mystery. She sees through the eyes of spirits around her and they tell her things.
This enabled me to play up the weirdness. At one point I had her talking to the players and mid-sentence shout QUELL THE FIVE! and then complete her sentence without any memory of the incident. When the party was looking over some looted potions (early loot), I had her enter the room, stop, and ask if there were potions on the table. When they said yes guardedly, she asked if one was a Cure Light Wounds? (She identified it for them). It really played up the creep factor.
Also, her knowing things that she shouldn't is the reason why the BBEG decided that she needed to be under "protection" and brought her to Caliphas under the auspices of learning more about her condition. She is going to be the sacrifice for the end game. I may use the reason as given or I might link it to her spirit talking ability.
4. I did the fountain and it was okay. I linked the villain to the 4th book, but the party was confused with the diversion. I also used Fiddler's Lament. I changed the Piper to a Fiddler. This worked very well because of the Piper encounter in the prison. When they heard the ghostly fiddle start the first time, they panicked and ran. :)
5. I think that it was mentioned in a thread somewhere. I had the carriage meet the players at a village and during the ride I explained the countryside to them. Once they go the feel of the setting, I had them attacked by stirges. When they found them in the prison, they got concerned.
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Ok so hiding the journal and having it encoded has prevented my party from going straight into the prison and veered them more towards interacting with the town.
We have 4 people, a dhampir bard, dhampir draconic sorcerer, a half orc paladin, and a catfolk rogue. So they understood that they do stand out like a sore thumb so I'm half assing the respect chart, meaning just who they are they wouldn't be trusted so going off that and letting them roleplay to better or worse situations.
So far after 2 sessions and each one being 6+ hours long (great role players so happy with this new group ) we are getting Rdy to start day 4. This day they are being escorted by the sheriff up to the ruins that the professor lost his life and gonna use the slamming haunt at the very beginning or the scythe as a deterent of going in. Basically gonna ask if they know what they are to expecting inside this haunted prison, and with the info the priest gave on how to dispel the haunt of the murmuring fountain, maybe it will press them to research about the place.
So far they still have yet to capture the madman on the loose, had the town meeting yet, or researched any subjects yet. I'm thinking of having the mad man encounter on their next night if they don't go inside and then either have the town meeting the next night or have the players see the fires when they are at the prison at night time.
So far after the second day they have started having nightmares and each time someone has failed the save so while most of the party are having in and out nightmares but still getting rest while someone is either tired that day or exhausted.
Also I have been doing checks and having them either roll d4s or d6s to determine how many hours they are doing something, that way to keep the flow going and also having them being able to interact with the group instead of twiddling thumbs that whole day.
Has anyone gone ahead and tried to implement the Sanity rules from Wake of the Watcher into Haunting of Harrowstone?
Couldn't find this in here, so I would like to ask about Splatter Man and his Blood-Writ Haunt.
My party has a Paladin, who is now immune to fear effects, and grants his allies a bonus against that. So here's my question: would you consider the Blood-Writ name Haunt to be a fear effect?
See, I would because it's convincing them that their name is being written, in blood, on the wall, and name-writing is the modus operandi of the Splatter Man. I'd be scared out of my pants!
What do other GMs think about this?
Furthermore, if you agree that it should be a fear effect, chances are that the party is going to be quite resistant to the Haunt. If the whole party doesn't fail their saves for an entire round, then I'd say that Splatter Man bursts out of his hiding place and attacks, infuriated as he is that his haunt has done hardly anything to the party.
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All haunts are mind-affecting fear effects. So... yes. ^_^
Man... Splatter Man is not gonna be happy on Saturday. :|
Thanks, Kalinlara!
Hence why I removed immunity from my game and gave a +4 to that save.
Hopefully today my group heads into Harrowstone. Was thinking about having a mass dreams that foreshadows what's to await them inside without giving to much away and then have them awake and find a lot of the towns people gathered and worried about the place. Would that be to heavy handed?
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I've posted this elsewhere but I believe you need to keep the group INITIALLY away from the Prison. It should be a place of fear.
Oh wow...
I really wish I had thought of this when we started the campaign. If I ever GM this again in the future, THIS is what I'll do.
Just a question about Survival checks in the adventure. At one point the PC's get to follow a suspect's tracks. My question is how did the DC get so high? It should be 5 lower than the text says by the Survival table. One of my PC's is a 1/2 orc Inquisitor with Scent so tracking this individual is ridiculously easy (and not really a problem for the group), but how do they show Shariff Caeller if they can't find the track visually?
--Vrocky Terrain
Question about this. Can PCs take 20 on the check to follow these tracks? I'm unclear on this, but it can have some pretty drastic impacts on how long it takes this particular event to resolve.
I'm also unclear on how the scent the ability can factor in if there is an animal companion involved.
Were there supposed to be fire marked for Ravengro Town Hall? It indicates specific squares are marked for where the fire starts but there's nothing on my map in the book or the interactive maps.
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I know I am reviving an old thread, but this is Carrion Crown, so it seems fitting.
Thanks to everyone for their advice and wisdom. A few details I added to my game (because of this thread and my own ingenuity):
1. The characters all have nightmares (3 currently per PC, a few generic untailored nightmares) and 1 good dream per PC, printed out on paper and wrapped in color coded ribbons (the good dream has an additional multi-colored ribbon).
2. I use the nightmares to introduce AA from book 6 in book 1.
3. I encoded the poem from book 3 and left it in Harrowstone
4. I added Troy Gildenstern and Abed Rosenkrantz - two NPC who are doomed to die. Troy is a clueless paladin of Ragathiel and Abed is a medium (when Abed said this, Troy said he was more of a 'large, extra large kind of guy' and inappropriately winked at Kendra).
5. I created Mad Libs or Groetus Sentences.
For your use:
A _______________________________ of ____________________ was __________________ and
(class) (god) (gerund)
came across a __________________ who was _______________ with ___________________.
(race) (color) (emotion)
They said, 'What's the matter with you? _________ got your ___________?'
(beast) (body part)
The only response was ____________________
(barnyard noise)
A ______________________ made of _________________________ was used by a _____________
(weapon) (special material) (job)
to _____________________ the ___________________ at ________________.
(verb) (noun) (town)
A ___________________ won't ___________ you if you _________ it _______________ !
(undead) (verb) (verb) (ordinal adverb)
A magical __________ is a good investment against _________ and other ______________ foes.
(equipment) (undead) (special quality)
Also:
∫∏⊎⊍ ⊕∟= ±&∟=⊍ ∏±⊕∟∬±⨔& ⊕∼=±¬
&⊎∩⊕ℸ⨔, ±& ⊕∟= ∬∟∞&∏=∼=¬ ¬=±¬.
±& ⊌⊎∼⊕±ℸ ∩ℸ=&∟ ¬⊎⊕∟ ∼⊎⊕ ±⊍¬ ∩±∞ℸ
⊕⊎ ℸ==∔∟ ±⊍¬ ⊌±∪∪⊎⊕, =∓∓∞⊍∪ ∩∼±∞ℸ.
∫⊍∟±ℸℸ⊎∬=¬ ∬⊎∼¬& ∔±⊍⊍⊎⊕ ∓= &∏⊎ℷ=⊍,
∬∞⊕∟ ∬∟∞&∏=∼=¬ ⊎±⊕∟, ¬=±⊕∟ ℸ∞=& ∓∼⊎ℷ=⊍.
&∟=¬ ∩=±∼, &∟=¬ ℸ∞∩=, &∟=¬ ∏±∞⊍, &∟=¬ ⊕∞⊌=,
=⊕=∼⊍∞⊕⨔ &=∞⨖=¬ &∟±ℸℸ &⊎⊎⊍ ∓= ⊕∟∞⊍=.
∩∞∼&⊕ &∏∞∼∞⊕ ⊕⊎∼⊍ ∩∼⊎⊌ ∪∼±⊥=-ℸ±¬⨔’& ∪∼±&∏
∓= ∼=⊍⊕ ±⊍¬ &⊎∬⊍ ±& &⊎∫∼=¬ ±&∟.
&⊎∩⊕ ⊕∟= &∏∞∼±ℸ &⊎⊍∪ ∼=⊥=∼&=&,
ℶ∫¬∪⊌=⊍⊕ ℸ⊎&⊕, ¬±⊌⊍±⊕∞⊎⊍ &∫∼∪=&.
ℷ==∏=∼ ⊎∩ ⊕∟= ¬±⊌⊍=¬’& &⊎∫ℸ ⊕±ℷ=,
∬∞⊕∟ ∏±∔ℷℸ⊎∼¬’& ∟=±∼⊕ ⊕∟= ∓=±&⊕ &∟±ℸℸ ∬±ℷ=
±⊍¬ ∩ℸ=&∟ ∓= ∬∼⊎∫∪∟⊕ ∞⊍ ¬∞&±∼∼±⨔—
&⊕∞ℸℸ∓⊎∼⊍ ∔⊎∔⊎⊎⊍, ⊕⊎ ∓ℸ=&&=¬ ¬=∔±⨔.
± ∟∫⊍¬∼=¬ &ℸ±∞⊍ ℸ∞= ∞⊍⊍⊎∔=⊍⊕,
∪∼∞⊍¬ ∓⊎⊍= ±⊍¬ ⊌±∼∼⊎∬ ⊕⊎ ∔=⊌=⊍⊕.
∔∼±∩⊕ ⊍⊎∬ ± &ℷ∫ℸℸ ⊎∩ &∏ℸ∞⊍⊕=∼=¬ ∪∼±⊥=&,
∫⊍⊌±ℷ= ℸ∞∩=, ∫⊍⊌±ℷ= ⊕∟= &ℸ±⊥=.
∬∟=∼= ∟∞&⊕⊎∼⨔ ∔∟∫∼⊍& ¬∼=±⊌ ⊕⊎ ∓ℸ∞&⊕=∼,
⊍=∔∼⊎∏∟±∪⊎∫& &=∔∼=⊕& ∬∟∞&∏=∼
⊕∟∼⊎∫∪∟ ∔∟∼⊎⊍∞∔ℸ=& ⊎∩ ∼±⊥=⊍’& ⊕⊎⊍∪∫= -
± ℸ=∪±∔⨔ ⊎∩ ∩=±∼ ∫⊍&∏∫⊍.
∓ℸ⊎⊎¬ &∏∞ℸ⊕ ±⊕⊎∏ ⊕∟= ∞∼⊎⊍ ⊕∟⊎∼⊍
∞⊍⊥⊎ℷ=& ⊕∟±⊕ ∬∟∞∔∟ ∔±⊍⊍⊎⊕ ∓= ∓⊎∼⊍.
±∼∞&= ⊕∟= ⊕⨔∼±⊍⊕ ⊍⊎∬ ∫⊍∓⊎∫⊍¬,
∓=±∼=∼ ⊎∩ ⊕∟= ∔±∼∼∞⊎⊍ ∔∼⊎∬⊍!
Running this wonderful AP. Does anyone have any idea the exact ritual that was conducted to tear the warden's spirit from harrowstone? Read all the books and it seems like there is 0 information about it. My players are obsessed with figuring it out. I was thinking of creating my own custom occult ritual if there is no mechanical answer in the written ap. Any help would be appreciated.
There's no mechanic for the ritual because it's happens before the players arrive, so feel free to make something up.
The runes themselves are written in Varisian, and among numerous magical incantations, repeat the name Lyvar Hawkran dozens of times. Although the runes no longer radiate magic, a DC 20 Knowledge (arcana or religion) check is enough to determine that they seem to have been part of a larger ritual that involved both abjuration and necromantic magic. Determining that the runes were used to capture and imprison Warden Hawkran’s ghost requires a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) check—likely beyond the capabilities of the PCs for now but if they take notes on the runes (a task that requires an hour of work by someone who can speak Varisian) or come back here at a later date, they can determine this whenever they gain enough ranks in that skill and make a successful check at some point in the future.
So it was me filling in the gaps, I'd base it around the Trap the Soul spell.
Players studying the runes could detect ground gemstone, ectoplasm and blood in the ink.
Decoding the runes proves difficult, but they do decipher the name Lyvar Hawkran repeated, and cimmon words used in necromancy and abjuration spells.
But that's just a suggestion.
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Encounter idea.
After the PCs find the cursed items in the prison, when they return to the safety of the Lorrimor residence, have the Lopper through his axe posses Kendra as they sleep one evening, one of them can awake to see her standing over their beds, grinning wide eyed, clearly not herself and then force the players to save her without harming her.
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I had a bit of humor happen in Event 5. Smoldering Revenge.
I had taken the trouble to create pawns for 60 towns folk as well as the Councilmen and the Sheriff and ... most of the other NPCs. And so while setting up this encounter I have the players set up their figures at the back wall behind the Councilmen addressing the crowd...then task them with helping me put out the NPC pawns on the tactical map... as they do this there is the normal Player Chatter...
Player Comment #1: "Grid lines appear, not that that is any indication of impending combat or anything" (sarcasm dripping from tone of voice)
Player Comment #2: "The sheriff looks real trustworthy ... not! Heck, this place is going to be standing room only, you sure we shouldn't squeeze more than one of these guys in each square?
GM comment: "yeah - and there is even more people packing the halls outside the room."
Player Comment #3: "I thought this was a SMALL town! There is no way this can be in Code..."
Player Comment #4: "Yeah, this place is a real fire trap, just waiting to happen... wait...S&#+!"
GM with evil smile sets out a stack of Fire Markers and starts rolling random locations for the fires to start. I then hand out "player rule sheets" to the players listing the rules for the little sub-game we are going to be playing in this encounter...
Players look at crowded room... Grim comment... "We're all gonna burn..."
Sorry if this has already been asked and answered somewhere...this AP has a long history and there are a lot of posts in this thread.
One of my players just asked Kendra a very good question that I don't really see an answer to in the book.
"Well-traveled and wise as the Professor is, why did the two of you put down roots here in Ravengro? Surely there are better towns and cities with a more enlightened population, that would be more amenable to leaving you in peace?"
Anybody have a good answer for me? My initial thought is for Kendra to just play it off as not knowing...or maybe Petros came to Ravengro specifically to study Harrowstone and its reported haunting?
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Sorry if this has already been asked and answered somewhere...this AP has a long history and there are a lot of posts in this thread.
One of my players just asked Kendra a very good question that I don't really see an answer to in the book.
"Well-traveled and wise as the Professor is, why did the two of you put down roots here in Ravengro? Surely there are better towns and cities with a more enlightened population, that would be more amenable to leaving you in peace?"Anybody have a good answer for me? My initial thought is for Kendra to just play it off as not knowing...or maybe Petros came to Ravengro specifically to study Harrowstone and its reported haunting?
I think Lorrimor's journal really tells most of it. They settled in town 10 years before, when Kendra was only 15. Lorrimor's journal indicates a fascination with Harrowstone built upon his suspicion that the Whispering Way were in some way interested in the haunted prison. I think he ended up in Ravengro primarily to keep an eye on the prison (at least in canon).
Additionally, I understand that Lorrimor himself studied and maybe grew up in Lepidstadt just to the north, so in a way his residence ended up staying quite close to his roots, which may explain why he hadn't settled in other parts of the world after so much travel.
Grant you that 10 years is a long time to stay in a town only not to be ready when the Whispering Way do actually make their move. It is possible he had other, non-canon reasons for picking such a tiny town where people undoubtedly would be superstitious about his field of study--one popular non-canon answer is that he may have wanted to give Kendra a small village upbringing and keep her safe and hidden from forces who may discover her identity (also popular non-canon: the idea that Kendra is adopted and returns in Book 6 instead of a certain count).
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I was checking the cost of the Splatter Man's spellbook, and my math shows it with less value than the listed value. Have I been shorting my players with spellbook values? (They haven't sold any yet, but in principle.) Or is the listed value just... not according to the usual cost of a spellbook?
Listed value = 1265gp
Calculated value:
Blank spellbook = 15 gp
20 Core cantrips = 100gp to scribe + 50gp to purchase = 150gp
3 lvl.1 spells = 30gp + 15gp = 45gp
3 lvl.2 spells = 240 + 120 = 360gp
2 lvl.3 spells = 540gp + 270gp = 810gp
1 lvl.4 spell = 640gp + 320gp = 960gp
Total value: 2340gp/2 = 1170gp, or 95gp less than the given amount. It's not a lot, but I'd rather be sure I'm not missing anything.
The cantrips weren't listed, but I added them on the assumption that they must be the missing amount... but it still doesn't add up. :( What am I getting wrong?
There is a TON of great info here, thank you all!
Does anyone happen to still have a copy of Windspirit's resources for this adventure? Unfortunately it looks as though his link is dead (https://langenhan.info/RPG). I PMed him directly but it doesn't look like he's been active on the forums for about 6-7 years.
From what I've seen from discussions on the forums here, he put a LOT of work into them, and add a lot to fleshing out the town!
hey there, first time DM here. I am running the haunting of Harrowstone and I am doing some prep for the various Events outlined in part 3: strange days in Ravengro. I have noticed that almost all of them have a recommendation for when they can be encountered by the players, but the fifth event (smoldering revenge) has no such recommendation. I don't figure my players are anywhere near it as we have only had one session; but they have progressed quickly through things so far, despite some very entertaining shenanigans, so I want to be prepared in case they get there sooner than I anticipate.
so when would be an appropriate time to introduce this event?
I appreciate any advice you all can give. Thank you.
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Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd drop mention of the town hall meeting right after the stirges, so they know they can/should bide their time for one more day to bring the issues up and pressure the council in public about letting them go investigate. Of course they won't know but they'll also get a chance to be seen as heroes in town at the same time
Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd drop mention of the town hall meeting right after the stirges, so they know they can/should bide their time for one more day to bring the issues up and pressure the...
does it seem that close? they are dammned curious, sure. And like i said, they did all the research right off, but they haven't even found the first letter left by the splatter man yet. They did a lot on the first day of the campaign, i was even rolling dice to see how much time had passed. When one of them was going to a research point they passed a group of children, which led to the skipping song event, then after getting ALL of the research done at once (such studious little boys), they went back to the restlands that night to dig up the professor's body and raid the false crypt and the restless dead event was triggered. then they went back to Kendras home and went to sleep right around the time Gibs was going to do his vandalism. They are going to hear about the first case of the splatterman's work first thing tomorrow afternoon. So far as i can tell, they have barely thought about going to the prison. i was also going to throw a couple side quest hooks their way, too. some stuff i thought up to give a more 'strange things are happening' vibe to the place, just in case they were moving things along too quickly.
...Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd drop mention of the town hall meeting right after the stirges, so they know they can/should bide their time for one more day to
Ah, sidequest vibes sound good. To me it sounded like they had basically completed town activities (in one day no less!) and were almost ready to move on to the prison, but it sounds like that estimate wasn't accurate. You know your table best! If they're not bustling to go to the prison yet, by all means let them enjoy their stay in sunny sunny Ravengro (I mean, the sun has got to be around here somewhere, right?)
...Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd drop mention of the town hall meeting right after the stirges, so they know they can/should bide
well, to be fair they have completed a lot of the pre-defined town activities, it's true, and yes on the first day. They just happened to do things in the right order to achieve it and were lucky with a couple of the rolls i did to see how much time something took. But they seem cautious about the prison still. one wants to try and do more research (even though they currently know everything there is to find in town) [chuckles]. i was thinking i would have the Splatterman do the first letter, then throw a couple custom sidequests and encounters their way to fill a couple days between letters and try and distract them a little bit so they don't piece things together too fast. And i was also thinking i would maybe toss in a few of the creepy events too, like the barred windows dream or the random gravestone with a pc's name on it, things like that.
once these have been done, it feels to me like enough time will have passed for the town council meeting. does that sound reasonable?
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...Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd drop mention of the town hall meeting right after the stirges, so
That all sounds great! Looks like you got this covered!
...Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd drop mention of the town hall
Hey, one last question. At the back of the book there is a segment guilty blood: common ashes. When am I supposed to refer to this? I can't find any instance in the adventure where the players happen upon any journal entries from here, so what is it for?
...Personally, I had the council restrict access to Harrowstone, so as the haunts in the town are reaching a fever pitch and zombies are crawling out of the churchyard, my first party wanted to press council to lift the restriction, whereupon I announced that there was to be a meeting. Then at the meeting the council conceded to let them investigate as if it were their idea to hire them.
Given the pace the towns went for me, I feel like it should probably happen about a week after start unless the party see particularly quick and anxious to press forward
thanks for that idea. my players haven't made a move toward the prison yet, they did ALL of the research in one big orgy of knowledge gain and went to dig up the professor's grave and raid the false crypt. Due to percentage rolls, they've encountered the skipping song, the restless dead, and are about to encounter the musical stirges tomorrow night at session.
if i might ask for some more advice: if they make their way toward the prison, should i just have a couple town guards stationed at the start of the path to harrowstone as the town's way of enforcing the restriction? does that sound like a reasonable approach?
That seems reasonable, though for want of guards, you could use a couple of the deputies. You could also have Kendra warn them in advance about the ruins being off limits.
In my game the party had a bit of personal animosity with the sheriff, so I might have the sheriff approach them to 'remind' them not to go mucking about if they head out to the south. My party were concerned about not being able to get back into town to protect Kendra if they were caught, so that was enough deterrent until they could attend the town hall.
Addendum: it seems like your party is right on the cusp of going in, so I'd
More info: I have found another part of this guilty blood segment in the second book I really have no idea what to do with these. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!