Adventure paths, as their nature, are brief inspirations and a set of encounters to play a campaign from, with plenty of room to flesh out for your game. After 18months of running Harrowstone and Legendary Adventures two gothic interludes, I have some ideas.
Some background. The cultists responsible for Lorrimor’s death wouldn’t have appeared from thin air. So an unknown noble from Caliphas has sent his agents, led by Auren Vrood, to Ravengro.
When Harrowstone was built they mined the stone from a quarry to the south. With the prison built and the town turning to farming, this quarry has been long abandoned. Seeking to reopen the quarry as an investment opportunity is an excuse for the cultists to be in town and also an investigative hook for players that want to pursue that.
Now, about Auren Vrood. His character is a bit weak, so lets turn it up a notch. He was left among the dead at a young age and went a little mad until Nine-Eyes found him. So we’ll turn it into an obsession. He needs everything and everyone around him to be dead. It’s what drives him in this adventure and what leads him to do the sadistic things he does at Carmoc Crossing.
He see’s the abduction of Warden Hargrave’s spirit as underming the dam preventing the spirits flooding and destroying Ravengro, but he wants to be sure. They must all die. He needs them to be dead. Their living is a personal affront to him. But he has an important task to achieve and can’t get involve, at least not directly.
Enter Legendary Game’s Gothic Compilation and Fiddler’s Lament. Before arriving in Ravengro he commissioned the construction of the fiddle which would become Rebec Malevolenti. Upon leaving, he delivered the fiddle to the dark stranger and pointed him to the direction of Alhindri with the intent that they would revisit Ravengro. Unfortunately for Auren and the stranger, the Players are now on the scene.
Speaking of the players, they have arrived for the funeral. But having them sit in the town for 30 days without any solid goals is a big ask for some groups. It certainly was for mine. That all changed when the fire nation attacked I adapted the research rules from ultimate intrigue. Instead of asking the players to sit with his adult daughter, he asks them to help sort through his notes and letters so as not to leave the burden to Kendra alone. Once the players have reduced the households knowledge points to 0, they are free to go.
With luck this will eat a few days while you slowly slip in the events from the book. Bad dreams, stirges, Lamenting Fiddles, ect…
For my own contribution some point before the players head into Harrowstone Sarianna Vai holds a party for the Outward Inn. This should cover a 4hr session and let the players make some friends in town if it goes well, or divide the town if it doesn’t.
And now the final hook for later books, involve the Palatine Eye. Kendra takes after her father, so it’s natural to assume should would make a good candidate for the order. In the professor’s notes they’ll find the draft of a letter addressed to Adivion Adrissant, identifying him as a high ranking member of the Palatine Eye and putting forth Kendra as a candidate for membership.
The players should encounter Adivion Adrissant at the end of the month as he arrives in person to collect the professor’s body. As a high member of the order, the Professor is to be mummified and interred in the Order’s vault with other former members.
Ramblings aside, I have some resources for GMs running this adventure.
Ravengro NPCs in character sheet and stat block formats, powered by HeroLab. I've got everyone with a listed class, from the Council Members to example clerics
Research and Libraries I made a library out of the professor's home based on Ultimate Intrigues rules and converted the Town Hall, Temple and Magic shop for good measure
Last for now are a series of maps I made with DungeonDraft of the town locations. These work great with Roll20
I hope this can be of assistance to someone, and when next I post I'll have details on how to throw a party at the Outward Inn, an opportunity for low stakes roll playing for your players to see what the town has to offer
This is how I've handled the Professor's papers and Researching in Ravengro. Each topic is it's own pdf stored on google drive here.
The papers are a mix of journal entries featuring the players, research as monster descriptions and the stuff your supposed to learn in the adventure from his library.
While the Professor made several preparations for his untimely demise, organizing his work was not one of them, and before Kendra can decide if she is to stay or leave Ravengro, his papers need to be put in order.
Lorrimor’s Notes CR3
XP 800
Complexity 19 (average)
Languages Common
Research Check Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (Religion); Knowledge Bonus +2
Knowledge Points: 120
Research Thresholds
Every 6kp the players resolve, roll a d20 and consult the table below for their findings
1 Journal entry
2 Journal entry
3 Journal entry
4 Journal entry
5 Journal entry
6 Journal entry
7 Journal entry
8 Journal entry
9 Letter from Balthus Hunclay
10 Letter to Adrissant (unfinished draft)
11 Whispering Way I
12 Whispering Way II
13 True Names
14 Ghosts
15 Haunts
16 Ghouls
17 Mummies
18 Vampires
19 Werekin I
20 Werekin II
When all the knowledge points have been resolved, the players are free to leave Ravengro.
Ravengro has had the good fortune of being able to preserve all of it’s town documents, and many that were saved from the prison before the fire got out of hand. Here the players can glimpse the history of the town and prison
Ravengro Records CR2
XP 600
Complexity 18 (average)
Languages Common
Research Check Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (Local); Knowledge Bonus +2
Knowledge Points: 50
Research Thresholds
Every 6kp the players resolve, let them pick a topic to learn about below.
21 Harrowstone I
22 - Harrowstone II
23 Prisoners
24 - Father Charlatan
25 - The Lopper
26 - The Mosswater Marauder
27 -The Piper of Illmarsh
28 -The Splatter Man
The temple of Pharasma has a well-stocked library built over the years. It can be used to research some undead as well as the history of Ravengro and Harrowstone.
Temple of Pharasma CR2
XP 600
Complexity 18 (average)
Languages Common
Research Check Knowledge (History), Knowledge (Local) or Knowledge (Religion); Knowledge Bonus +4
Knowledge Points: 90
Research Thresholds
Every 7kp the players resolve, let them pick a topic to learn about below.
21 Harrowstone I
22 - Harrowstone II
23 Prisoners
24 - Father Charlatan
25 - The Lopper
26 - The Mosswater Marauder
27 -The Piper of Illmarsh
28 -The Splatter Man
14 Ghosts
15 Haunts
16 Ghouls
17 Mummies
11 Whispering Way I
12 Whispering Way II
The temple of Pharasma has a well-stocked library built over the years. It can be used to research some undead as well as the history of Ravengro and Harrowstone.
Unfurling Scroll CR2
XP 600
Complexity 18 (average)
Languages Common
Research Check Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (Local); Knowledge Bonus +2
Knowledge Points: 25
Research Thresholds
Every 5kp the players resolve, let them pick a topic to learn about below.
21 Harrowstone I
22 - Harrowstone II
23 Prisoners
24 - Father Charlatan
28 -The Splatter Man
13 True Names