Howls in the night

[kottakinge]

Hello fellow DM,
I'll run this module in a few days.
I will love to have any advices/suggestions about DM who already run it.
I have Gaz3 so i can incorporate some background elements about Mordent in it (cause this is a short module).
And another thing is how can i manage to get my PC to Mordent?
They're actually in Invidia and just finish "the evil eye" module.
I'll plan to get Toben the many make a brief apparition during the game, in order to use him as a recurrent villain.
Thanks.

[kottakinge]

One more thing:
My players are mid level, so i need challenging bogs hound or other nasty enough encounters
Thanks!

[Malus Black]

Well, there's quite a lot of countryside (or forest, if you go through Verbrek) between Invidia and Mordent, so they're unlikely to go there out of wanderlust. The best way to get PCs anywhere is to put something they need there, or have them chase someone there. Since you're going to use Toben the Many, he could fit in the second category.

Now, if I recall correctly (my copy of VRGttWD is miles away), Toben can only cross domain borders if he does so with all his bodies at the same time. This means there's two ways you can do this. Either have him cross the border (to Borca, probably. There isn't much for Toben to do in Verbrek) en masse, with scores of Toben zombies, and really show the PCs what they're up against. Or you could have him somewhat depleted; perhaps a number of his bodies were destroyed by an adventuring party, or perhaps he's deliberately whittled down his number of bodies to make crossing the border easier. This could mean that he's actually worried the PCs can kill him after he does whatever gruesome things you've planned, and that's why he's actually fleeing. This way is probably better, as you could start with only a few dozen bodies and have him pick up more as they chase him through the domains.

While I don't have DoD, I don't think advancing the bog and moor hounds sufficiently should be a problem, and bog dwellers like shambling mounds or assassin vines (in groups) are actually quite dangerous. Add a few patches of quicksand, and the encounters become quite tough.

[kottakinge]

Thanks Malus.
Did u ever adapted this module for 3ed?
I think that some shambling mounds can be lethal in a bog (nearly invisible in such area) but there is one thing that annoy me:where are thier jaws (or mounth)?It said they're carnivorous plant but how they eat?I see only a bush with legs and two big sort of tentacles?
Where are the orifices?
Another thing we play before the GC so they can go by boat to Mordent through Arkandale's river.

[Malus Black]

Thanks Malus.
Did u ever adapted this module for 3ed?

Yeah, I did, back when I planned to run it for my current group. It didn't really take much work, as the hounds aren't the most complex creatures to update.

I think that some shambling mounds can be lethal in a bog (nearly invisible in such area)

Yup, that +12 to Hide is nasty.

there is one thing that annoy me:where are thier jaws (or mounth)?It said they're carnivorous plant but how they eat?I see only a bush with legs and two big sort of tentacles?
Where are the orifices?

I assume it works like most other carnivorous plants. Basically, it captures its prey, immobilizes it in some way, and drains all the nourishing juices out of it before discarding the dried-out husk. In-game, you could have the shambling mound grapple one of the PCs (+15 grapple makes non-combatants cry) and retreat into the mire, where its captive will most likely run out of breath before it does (17 Constitution).

Another thing we play before the GC so they can go by boat to Mordent through Arkandale's river.

Sure, the Musarde stretches through nearly a quarter of the Core, so river travel should, if anything, be more prevalent than travel by land (with the exception of the nerve-wracking journey through Verbrek and Arkandale). And what better way to encounter Nathan Timothy?

[NeoTiamat]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shamblers are plants, yes? So they probably wouldn't need to worry about breathing. But the grapple idea is decidedly interesting.

[Malus Black]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shamblers are plants, yes? So they probably wouldn't need to worry about breathing. But the grapple idea is decidedly interesting.

Y'know, that's what I thought, too. But, according to the SRD, "plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep." 'Course, if this particular kind of shambling mound's habitat is mainly underwater, you could always give it the aquatic subtype, which gives it the ability to breathe underwater and a swim speed.

[Kel-nage]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shamblers are plants, yes? So they probably wouldn't need to worry about breathing. But the grapple idea is decidedly interesting.

No no no! Humans and plants respire! Plants photosynthesise as well, however that only produces glucose - not energy, so the plants then have to respire to obtain the energy from the glucose. As most plants release the oxygen created through photosynthesis through pores, they effectively "breath" oxygen in for the respiration.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

The "breathe and eat" statements for various creature-types are really just shorthand for "has biological and metabolic needs", IMO. Plants will die if you expose them to hard vacuum, and most will drown if you leave them underwater; they also need to take in nutrients and water from their environment, and will die for lack of same if they can't. For purposes of the game, "eat" (which presumably also includes "drink") means they can take in potions -- though most would do so via their roots rather than an orifice -- if they need to.

A shambling mound might "eat" its victims by mashing their remains into a mulch, then extending tiny rootlets into the mess to absorb nitrogen and other minerals. That's what IRL carnivorous plants get from their "prey": not food (= energy), but fertilizer.

[kottakinge]

Malus can you help me in updating this hound to 3rd ed, and what about the Moor Hound?
Thanks all for all ur precisions about carnivous plant, i will enjoy myself to put those bushes against them
One more thing: in gaz3 the sheriff of Mordentshire is a high level lantern-bringer (not remenber the name of this prestige class) i really love to use the NPC from Gaz to interact with my players, but with such a high level NPC that'll be no fun, maybe he'll be on business elsewhere (a flakovnian patrol was seen elsewhere or something like that).
What about the Wescote's case?
With all that important NPC like Van Richten and the sherriff how is it possible that the hound threat won't be finished yet?
I mean if the curse last during near a century that's strange that nobody deals with it?
An Wescote getting so old never minded the inhabitant?that's a bit strange even if he's a bit recluse.
How u deal with that to make the story more believable by my PC?

[Rotipher of the FoS]

First of all, just because the module says people throughout Mordent know the story of Burton Westcote, this doesn't have to mean they believe it. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ghost stories and curse-tales in Ravenloft, and many of them really are fiction. As the events in question happened a hundred years prior to the adventure, no one who was there to witness the curse's origins will be alive to tell what happened first-hand; any investigations would have taken place shortly after Campbell's death, not recently, so Van Richten and so forth wouldn't have been involved.

Second, there's nothing concrete about the hounds' attacks that proves they're not the work of ordinary dogs. It's quite possible -- perhaps even likely, given that it's sheep-country and herd dogs can turn aggressive if they're abandoned to fend for themselves -- that feral dogs really do endanger people and livestock in this domain, from time to time. You could even toss a quick encounter with such mangy sheep-killers into the adventure as a red herring, to get the players off their guard before the real scares begin.

And third, Westcote himself probably hides his longevity and curse from any neighbors he might still have. Either he's a villain deliberately hiding his evil from the world's judgement, or he's ashamed of his terrible past and can't bear to let outsiders find out about it. Probably, he allows the world to believe his mansion is wholly abandoned, while mailing the occasional letter (under the name of a non-existent son or grandson) to make sure that his family's claim to the old estate isn't annulled in his "absence".

[Malus Black]

Malus can you help me in updating this hound to 3rd ed, and what about the Moor Hound?

Certainly, but I seem to recall that there's some sort of copyright restrictions on this kind of stuff. That could just be my faulty memory, so I'd be grateful if someone could confirm or deny my suspicions (preferably deny).

Also, it shouldn't be too hard using the 2E to 3E (and then on to 3.5) conversion booklet from Wizards' site.

[Mangrum]

I wrote up 3.5 versions of bog hounds (Medium construct [Mists], 2 HD, CR 2, always neutral evil) and the Moor Hound (Large Magical Beast [Mists], 8 HD, CR 6, always neutral evil) -- along wirh an advanced Great Moor Hound (Huge Magical Beast [Mists], 20 HD, CR 11), but yes, I'm working under the assumption that copyright prevents me from releasing them.

[Malus Black]

I was afraid of that. I, too, made the bog hound a CR 2, 2 HD NE Medium construct, but my moor hound was a CR 5, 8 HD NE Medium (at 7 feet it falls within the 6-8 ft. range) construct (it's "made of the vapors of the bog").

Also, kottakinge, to convert it yourself, use the booklet at the bottom of this page (admittedly, that's 3.0, but if you use the 3.5 MM as a basis, that shouldn't be a problem).

[Joël of the FoS]

The twist I plan to give to this adventure is based on the "new" role of Godefroy as written in the Gaz. The ghost of Ann is feeling the pull toward House on Gryphon Hill, and is very afraid of it.

When the curse will be lifted, she will be happy, as Westcote will.

But suddenly, something eerie will pull at her insubstancial form, and drag her toward the House, while she cries for help.

I don't know what to do with it, but I like the feel of it. Also, it opens a wide range of adventure hooks for the future, along with hints they will get on the WF twins' mother spirit fate.

Joël