Ravenloft Campaign based on Modules

[Nyarlathotep]

Also, I noticed after posting that the website does have an adventure Timeline, but Adams Wrath doesn't seem to be on it. Where does that fit in (I know it is after Bride of Mordenheim)?

[Mangrum]

Also, I noticed after posting that the website does have an adventure Timeline, but Adams Wrath doesn't seem to be on it. Where does that fit in (I know it is after Bride of Mordenheim)?

I placed Adam's Wrath in 739 BC in my old annotated timeline, though apparently DoD placed it elsewhen. Bride of Mordenheim was presumably 735 BC, based on year of publication.

[Nyarlathotep]

Thanks.

Another question that I have is, is it reasonable to move "When Black Roses Bloom" to an earlier time (around 733-735) without adversely affecting the story? I haven't read the adventure yet, so I don't know if it requires a later date.

I ask, because my tenuous idea at the moment is to start the campaign with House of Strahd (moved forward to around 548), followed by Castles Forlorn. The idea being, the PC's walk into Forlorn in 548, when it is the only other domain and walk out in 735, with the surrounding area completely changed. From there, I want to run Feast of Goblyns (and maybe Jacks House of Horrors or the Howling Clan). It would be easiest to place Black Roses at this point, then run them up the coast for Howls in the Night, Bride of Mordenheim and Ship of Horror.

It might also bear mentioning that I am planning to convert the setting over to BRP rules, so level ranges are less important in my game.

P.S. What about House on Griphon Hill? It doesn't get mentioned much. Did it get updated under a different name like House of Strahd?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

One question though is, is there a hard chronology for the adventures as written (without making alterations to make them fit)? Which adventures have a hard and fast timeframe and which can fit in anywhere?

There are very few with a hard and fast timeframe. And even those that do have one can be moved around with a small-to-modest amount of effort.

Roughly speaking, there are two major events to schedule around: The Grand Conjunction and the Requiem.

The Grand Conjunction takes place in From the Shadows/Roots of Evil. The Requiem takes place in Death Triumphant, from the boxed set: Requiem, the Grim Harvest. Ostensibly, the GC is the culmination of events from the four adventures that lead up to it (Feast of Goblyns, Touch of Death, Ship of Horror, and Night of the Walking Dead), but the links are tenuous at best, and you can really run any of those four completely divorced from the GC metaplot if you like. Death Triumphant is the culmination of events in Death Unchained and Death Ascendant (and is followed by the unpublished Death Undaunted) and those are much more linked together.

Since the Grand Conjunction made major changes to the geography and political structure, adventures set before it may need changes to work after it, and vice versa. Since the Requiem had major impact on Darkon, some Darkon-based adventures need to be set before it or after it.

Other than that, there are a few sequel adventures here and there. (Hour of the Knife/Shadow of the Knife, "Bride of Mordenheim"/Adam's Wrath, Thoughts of Darkness/the Lyssa chapter of CotN:V, Vecna Reborn/Die Vecna Die, the Bollenbach adventures from Chilling Tales and CotN:C...) But for the most part, you can set things whenever you like without too much trouble.

A second question I have is, which Adventures, if any, feature Rudolph Van Richten? As my PC's don't know Ravenloft, I want to maximize their contact and sympathy for him before killing him off in Bleak House.

Very few. Outside of Bleak House itself, I think there is only the Chilling Tales anthology, which focuses on him. In my campaign, I had the same intention, and solved it by having him pop in and out at the periphery of things, while introducing the friends of his that will eventually haunt Richten Haus.

My campaign is about 50/50 homebrew and modules, with many used "out of order," and with homebrew stuff and characters woven into the modules. (the list below looks more like 75/25, but some of the homebrew stuff is really quick, and the modules are often long.)

"Pity the Child" from CotN:G
Homebrew: The Clockmaker's Legacy
"Seepage" from CotN:C
Homebrew: The Mordentshire Miser (*Van Richten and Geddar appearance*)
Homebrew: The Sinister Secrets of Southmoore
The Evil Eye
Homebrew: Van Richten Revealed (*Baron Metus, Van Richten and Davvyd appearance. Geddar dies offscreen, Davvyd dies in a homebrew encounter*)
"Undying Justice" from Chilling Tales
Feast of Goblyns (run as a flashback via Scaena)
Homebrew: All the World's a Stage
Homebrew: Feasting with the Falcons
Homebrew: Lost Love's Legacy (*Appearance of Baron Metus*)
Homebrew: Property of the State
Homebrew: Some Soul of Goodness in Things Evil
Homebrew: The Voice of Azalin Rex
Homebrew: Deus ex Machina
Homebrew: The Return of Van Richten (*Appearance of Van Richten and Allannthir, and Porren (who replaces Samuel in my version)*)
Homebrew: Seeing Double (*Appearance of the Thinker*)
Homebrew: Into the Shadows (*Appearance of Tavelia*)
From the Shadows (Run as a 2nd attempt by Azalin to fix his first botch)
Homebrew: Night of Many Visitors
Homebrew: A Shadowed Past
Homebrew: Before I Wake
Homebrew: Dream and Dream Again
Homebrew: The Knight's Captive Pawn
Homebrew: Pawn takes Bishop
The Created
Homebrew: An Untimely Frost (*Appearance of Van Richten, Metus, offscreen death of Ottelie Farringer*)

You can see from the *'s that I've seeded Bleak House throughout, and now I'm almost ready to run it.

Also, I noticed after posting that the website does have an adventure Timeline, but Adams Wrath doesn't seem to be on it. Where does that fit in (I know it is after Bride of Mordenheim)?

The one Mangrum mentions is his masterwork here, which, as he said, places it at 739. You might have found this one: http://fraternityofshadows.com/wiki/Timeline , which is very much a work in progress, with a lot still missing.

Another question that I have is, is it reasonable to move "When Black Roses Bloom" to an earlier time (around 733-735) without adversely affecting the story? I haven't read the adventure yet, so I don't know if it requires a later date.

The story itself probably doesn't change much at all. It's been a while since I read it, but IIRC, like most adventures, it's mostly self-contained in one domain. Since Sithicus forms in 720, you don't even have to change that. Soth doesn't really do anything of note between Knight of the Black Rose and this adventure. (I think his only canon appearance in between is the short story "Rigor of the Game" from Tales of Ravenloft, which, while nice, is largely irrelevant, and also easily moved in time.)

The only issue you may have is that now you're running it before the Grand Conjunction, so the maps won't be right, but that's not a big deal.

The idea being, the PC's walk into Forlorn in 548, when it is the only other domain and walk out in 735, with the surrounding area completely changed.

Neat!

P.S. What about House on Griphon Hill? It doesn't get mentioned much. Did it get updated under a different name like House of Strahd?

Nope, never updated. It's one of the few modules with a built-in timeframe locked in the past, but it's easily run as a flashback via the "fever dream" device right from the module.