Domain of the Month
Lamordia
Adventure Hooks
Darklord: Dr. Victor Mordenheim
Lamordia info in 3e: RL3E / RLPH, Gaz 2, LotB
Second edition: Black Box (Realm of Terror), Red Box (RL Campaign Setting), Domains of Dread
Adventures: Adam's Wrath, Book of Crypts (Bride of Mordenheim), Chilling Tales (Surgeon's Blade)
Novel: Mordenheim
Other selected interesting sources: Darklords and Book of Secrets (Merilee Markuza)
Mad Skipper
Early last evening in Ludendorf a dishevelled mariner came ashore and checked into the Breaking Wave. Within moments of gorging himself on a plate of food, the feverish man began to mumble a most disturbing tale involving the disappearance of the Lamordian colonists on the isle of Markovia: bizarre experiments are being conducted by the island's inhabitants, resulting in the creation of hideous creatures neither man nor beast. The horrible fate of the colonists lies in the workings of these experiments, and this old skipper claims to bear witness.
The ghastly details of the experiments are proof enough for some of those that gathered around the rasping wild-eyed man. Furthermore, it was discovered by several of the Breaking Wave's staff that the deranged mariner had undeniable proof waiting for them on the dock. Differing versions of the old man's tale have spread throughout Ludendorf like wildfire, and it is said that the schultebott is planning a meeting later this morning to thoroughly discuss the matters at hand. But action is already being taken by one of the local supply merchants.
Werner, a young man whose brother had left with those colonists that dissappeared in 748 BC, and his younger sister Teresa have been busy all morning gathering locals that will crew an expedition to the island. The local authorities have arrived and are denying the siblings and their crew access to their waiting vessel, as they patiently await official word from the gathered schltebott. But with murder in the crew members' eyes and a growing mob gathering harbourside, things are looking to get quite out of hand...
Once the Forum
Ironclad: In Ludendorf, the PCs hear a massive crashing sound coming from near the docks. If they rush to the source of the noise they'll see that a huge steam ship mostly made of metal has smashed into a bank of ice just beyond the docks. A crowd has gathered near the water to watch the drama, and none of the locals have ever seen a vessel like it.
A frantic group of militiamen and would be heroes are trying to organize a rescue party to see if there are any survivors. The PCs are invited to help, but they must accept fast, as the vessel is beginning to sink. What's more, its own machinery is still functioning, pushing it further into the ice and threatening to tear it apart. The ship is completely enclosed, with no open deck, and is bristling with cannons. Its passageways are all either locked or jammed by sturdy metal doors, the damaged machinery throughout it constantly releases bursts of scalding steam, and the icy water flooding it is rising unpredictably.
Worst of all however is that most of the crew has gone mad for no discernable reason, and will attack those who came to help them. The captain is the only survivor to have maintained his sanity, mostly because he was knocked unconscious when they encountered the threat that drove the crew mad. He is seriously injured however, and will be bed-ridden for some time. When he is lucid enough he will explain that he is a minor nobleman from Leidenheim (made up town further south along the Lamordia coast) who created the unique ship (an ironclad) to hunt pirates. He has no idea what happened to the crew or why they crashed near Ludendorf...
NPC: Gatnom, paranoid fool and Useful Red Herring. Despite his perpetually sleepy looking eyes Gotnom is filled with barely contained manic energy. His every gesture is tersely melodramatic. He wears a heavily customized uniform of the militia, but in fact left the service a year ago. He now works as an assistant bookbinder.
Gatnom has deluded himself into believing that a moderately popular new book on philosophy called "Auto-Apotheosization" is really a tool of subtle indoctrination being spread by drug dealers from Sri Raji, who intend to brainwash the population of his beloved hometown. He recently saw a group of mercenaries purchasing an innocent book on elephant husbandry from a Sri Rajian merchant near the docks, and concluded that it was the latest edition of the insidious tome. He proceeded to steal the book (which he could not read since he does not understand Sri Rajian) and then attempt to burn it, but the exotic chemicals that had been used to weatherproof its pages resisted the flames.
Gatnom has since been going around making wild accusations, becoming a laughing stock of the town in the process, since anyone who actually reads "Auto-apotheosization" quickly realizes it's just another dull self help book. His employer is almost ready to fire him, but the paranoid youth is just getting started. He is now engaged in a campaign of espionage on several key figures he believes to have been brainwashed, including the schepmeista, and with every scoffing dismissal of his theories he gets a little bit closer to doing something illegal…
The Oranger Greenhouse (location in Ludendorf): This ring shaped, single story structure near the center of Ludendorf is built out of glass and gleaming brass, and serves as a small public park that is very popular with the gentry. The temperature inside is maintained at a mildly tropical level through the clever use of steam powered heaters. Although orange trees are obviously the main attraction here (especially their fruits and blossoms, which the visitor must pay for), many other tropical plants imported from Sri Raji are housed here. Doctor Mordenheim frequently visits this structure during his trips to Ludendorf, as the orange blossom was his wife's favorite flower. The Steam Jet (location in Ludendorf): The Steam Jet is Ludendorf's most easily overlooked landmark in spite of the fact that it was intended to be its most visible one. This large machine near the town's main docks was designed to turn sea water into a continuous pillar of cloudy steam that would be visible for miles, but the lighthouse staff complained that it obstructed their light, and for safety reasons the mechanism was toned down.
Here's an atmospheric situation the players could encounter upon first arriving in Ludendorf: ...just as you were beginning to think no strife could possibly form in such a place, you hear the sound of mean-spirited, aristocratic laughter. The source of the tittering turns out to be a dignified cluster of local gentry, dressed in expensive but very subdued clothes that are bereft of color and adornments. This very orderly group is standing around a raised wooden stage in front of a solid, one story stone building. Upon the stage, a young man in handcuffs is standing dejectedly, absolute embarrassment inscribed on his downcast face. Next to him stands a white haired official with a pointing stick, who is using the implement to draw attention to each of the younger man's features in turn.
"Notice the wide amount of space between his eyes ladies and gentlemen," says the official with a theatrical arc of his eyebrows. "That is a sure sign of inferior breeding, which has resulted in a reduced intellect. I would surmise that this unfortunate boy's ancestry has roots in the deep south of the world, where people's minds are predisposed to dullness. The dirtiness of his brittle nails speaks for itself, but it might draw you attention away from the length of his hands, which indicate a tendency toward laziness and rebellion. I ask you again good sirs and madams, is it any surprise this wretch would stoop to petty vandalism? If we weren't keeping him in our jail he might soon be on his way to becoming a pickpocket!"
There is a gasp from the small crowd, followed by smug tittering.
Just some random bits of flavor text for Ludendorf:
- A very strong chemical smell reaches your nostrils, and you look around for its origins. You spot one of the cleanly dressed public sanitation workers carefully pouring a keg of some whitish liquid along a gutter. The word "Chlorine" is written in large white letters along the side of the container.
- For a moment you watch a young lady dressed in aristocratic furs trying out a strange contraption in front of a clockmaker's workshop. It resembles a parasol, like the ones gaining popularity in the cultured realms of Richemulot and Mordent, but this one is capable of folding down like a flower, and seems much sturdier.
- An enormous, shaggy dog with a small keg of alcohol tied around its neck comes playfully running up to you [One of the local rescue dogs, trained to find victims of snow accidents. The keg is for helping the victim to keep warm until a rescue party arrives.]
- You spot a clever device hanging from the roof corner of one of the houses. It uses mercury to measure the temperature outside, although you are unfamiliar with the unit of measure it displays.
- A strange shadow falls on you. You look up to see that the sun is being blocked by a hot air balloon flying overhead. One of the aristocratic pilots waves at you.
- Everything stinks of whale oil!
daffy72
Once the Forum wrote: he is a minor nobleman from Leidenheim (made up town further south along the Lamordia coast) who created the unique ship (an ironclad) to hunt pirates. He has no idea what happened to the crew or why they crashed near Ludendorf...
Leidenheim isn't a made up town. Dr. Mordenheim began his practice as a hospital surgeon there in 671. (or '03) by the Lamordian calendar. [M pp. 62-4]
The captain could tell details about Lamordia in ('91). Prehaps in all that time there has a lot of new scientific discoveries and there is new equipment on the ship to hunt the pirates? He would also be surprised to hear where he is since those places disappeared. 'Ludendorf? LUDENDORF did you say? But that disappeared 76 years ago!'
Since the domain was pulled in in November I would hazzard a guess that '15 was one of the worst winters on record. (Think 'Stephen King's Storm of the Century') These towns disappeared without a trace. The Dr. Might want to get his hands on this survivor or want equipment and materials retrieved from the ship (think old school deep sea diving suit and diving bell if it sinks).
This could also be a nice way to bring more advanced technology to the Core as many fans seem to like the idea of a more enlightened setting. Since this inventor is not a nut, maybe some of his ideas will catch on. Modern-day Lamordia '91 could be as advanced as Paridon was.
This idea might even be tweaked to the ship is just grounded in the ice, and some of the crew has crossed the ice for help. Or maybe it wasn't even after pirates in Prime material Lamordia but is a scientific vessel? Or a large carrier shipping cargo? The ship could be 'run-of-the-mill' in present day prime material Lamordia. It's a nice 'fit' to add in some inventions for those that want a more scientifically advanced setting.
Scientist or learned survivor: 'What do you mean Neufurchtenburg is cut off for the winter?' What about using an airship to get over the mountains?'
Lamordian: 'What's an airship?'
Survivor: 'It is the latest incarnation of the hot air balloon my good man. Do you not know?'
Lamordian: 'What is a ba- looon?'
Survivor:*Sigh* 'You have any whiskey by any chance?'Factoid:
On July 2nd, in the year 1900, The people of Friedrichshafen, Germany came out to witness a momentous occasion. For two years a huge floating building had been anchored on lake Bodensee and in this building, the local Count, Ferdinand von Zeppelin had been spending all his time and resources with a small band of engineers and builders. As the building had progressed, the Count was often made the object of ridicule and jokes. Many thought that the count was squandering his family's savings on a ridiculous idea that could never work. That afternoon, the people of Friedrichshafen would get a glimpse of the future. A steam launch chugged over to the shed and slowly proceeded to draw out a huge cigar shaped airship.
Although air ships had been flown for almost 50 years, this was a special airship. This was the very first of the ridged airships. The first to have a skeleton built around bags of lifting gas. The Count's reasoning for attempting this new and radical design was for several reasons. First, the Count reasoned that a solid outer shell would allow an airship to travel at much greater speeds with out worrying about air pressure buckling in the nose of the airship. Second, he hoped that this design would make for a solid long range scout ship capable of military service. Something that could be used for missions of great duration and could bring it's crew home with vital information from the enemy lines. Another reason for the aluminum skeleton, was to make the airship strong enough to fly through less than ideal weather conditions with out deforming or simply folding in on its self. Something that was a very real threat to the nonrigid ships being flown at the time.
As the Count and his workers had the airship towed out of it's hanger on the water, the crowd got it's first glimpse of the LZ 1. "L" stood for "luft", the German word for air, and "Z" for it's inventor. The first flight on that early July day was not very impressive for the thousands who crowded the shore of the lake to watch the "Crazy Count" try out his new flying machine. Although the LZ 1 was a marvel to watch as the 416 foot long ship glided into the air, trouble erupted almost immediately and after only 18 minutes the ship settled back down on the water and was towed back to its shed. During the flight the engines had proven to be temperamental and worse, the frame had been bent in several places and would need to be fixed.
The LZ 1 would not be ready to fly again until October 17 of the same year. This time, as the long ship was towed out of it's dark, floating hangar, the people watching on the shore were mostly locals who wanted to see if their count could make his invention work. As the engines were started up and the ship slowly lifted off the surface of the water the crowd of towns people cheered. The LZ 1 slowly spiralled its way up in to the sky and cruised over the middle of the lake.
Actually as I type this post, I think we found the 'Ravenloftian' version of a floating castle!
THAT would be an interesting pocket domain. A giant airship. Or a GHOST airship with tears and such, something that just should not still be able to fly. A strange recluse who was paranoid. As the years went on he became more unstable. He even killed a few of his servants/crew.
Eventually they mutinied, weapons fired, the skin on the ship was ruptured and they began to decend, went into a cloud... and now the ghost airship is in Ravenloft.
Anyway, there are some funky ideas for y'all.
Once the Forum: I always thought the entire sky of the core would make an interesting domain. Imagine, ruling so much and yet so little and never being able to return to the ground. A suitably frustrating prison methinks...
ScS of the Fraternity: The airship idea is a neat one, and its not without its precedent - what with the Lemont's theatre, the Horseman's road, or the Phantom Lover's bedroom. It might seem a little silly looking if it was to pass over the Core - perhaps a little too steam punk. However, if the airship was always shrouded in storm clouds it would fit in perfectly. Few people would bother to look up into the grey nimbus of the roiling sky, and even those who do catch a glimpse of the behemoth within might dismiss it as a trick of the eye. Thus, no one knows of the great sky-castle, forever denying the Luft-lord the fame he so desires. Still, it does leave one to wonder how the players would get on such a contraption. I'm guessing one idea would be for them to encounter it kind of like in Gulliver's travels.
The PCs, lost at sea, are near death. The storm clouds gather, causing the despair to deepen, when suddenly, they hear a horn from far away. The low mournful trumpeting calls again, louder and closer as the storm approaches, and soon the PCs can detect a throbbing hum over the lapping of the waves. A sharp eyed player suddenly detects a rope through the mists, dangling as if from thin air. They hear a call "ahoy!" and suddenly a mighty grey behemoth breaks through the cloud front like a giant whale breaching.
The PCs are pulled aboard the fantastic air ship, rescued by the eccentric Count Luftwald, who wines and dines them upon his lavish floating castle. Little do the PCs suspect that beneath the veneer of luxuries lies a hidden corruption.
daffy72: Perhaps once a year (on the anniversary of the mutiny) a landing rig appears. For that one night its like the cursed ship in Ship of Horror... the ship looks to be in perfect shape, he's looking for a crew... players might get on because its so unique...
As the day is about to end a 'storm' rolls in and it gets dark. I like the idea of the players on the ship in the storm... I'd look to the rules for Bluetspur lightening strikes for what to roll, dangers etc.
I don't know about other RPG groups but we always always had lots of rope or cat gut with us. so getting down might not be that hard. perhaps if players break the curse they are 'rewarded' with a fully functional pristine airship.
alhoon
A madman that studies the abilities of the mind and how it is brought to insanity. He is a loner, a psion/scientist living in a cold cavern a few hours from a small village in Lamordia. Every once a while he kidnaps travelers or beggars and performs horrible experiments on their minds. The PCs have to stop this man.
The "children" of this madman are like "mental" broken ones. While their physical bodies are almost humanlike (although they are tough), their minds are wrecked. They all suffer from at least a lost madness effect but have gained some mental abilities from this. Their former personality is almost unrecognisable, as the madman transforms their minds, reversing some aspects of their personality, leaving others the same, erasing some aspects and adding some at whim.
When the PCs go to the cavern to stop this evil man. . . They discover two mind flayers instead of a human.
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