Joël's campaign (now: Har'Akir desert arc!)

[Jennifer]

Hey Joel,
I dont think i will be starting a new campaign anytime soon. I am playing right now in a warhammer campaign, also rather dark, but a bit more brutal than ravenloft.
I am a wannabe housewife turned widow and on the fast track towards inquisitor, to scourge evil from the land.

But visiting here has really gotten my ravenloft juices flowing again

Perhaps some day, with a new party

Jennifer

[Joël of the FoS]

Session 17 and 18 are online (now in PDF for smaller size): http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/TheV ... _15-18.pdf

Session 17:
- Dramatic ending of the nightmares that were plaguing one of the PC and Tara.
- Then start of Howls in the Night (but the players will switch direction in next session, putting this adventure on ice).

Session 16:
- The players decides they want to get rid of Nathan Timothy, in order to try to cure the two PCs afflicted by lycanthropy.
- But a surprise awaits for them on full moon.
- The rest of the session is a trip from Mordent to Invidia, ending with a battle with Mallocio's ogres.

Comments welcomed!

Joël

[Band2]

Session 17:

Session 16:
Comments welcomed!

Joël

Session 17
Great nightmare scenes. Very creepy. I have never used the nightmare court in a campaign before. Probably because my copy of the nightmare lands as many misprinted pages. You did a good job with it. Makes me consider dusting off an old idea I had for an adventure a while back.

The way you handled the opening of the Howls in the Night sounded smooth, if the player did not realize that a new adventure was starting.
But man, what happened when they just decided to leave and not finish it. I hate that when the players do that. Were you prepared for it?


Session 18
Interesting use of Godfrey. Did you offer any hints to the players? Such as telling one of them they felt a sudden cold draft or chill when Godfrey entered the room to unlock the cells. Or just a dog start barking nearby?

And now they are chasing after Nathan. Can't wait to see what happens there.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Very nice! (as usual)

Glad to see the nightmare plot come to a conclusion. Very creepy and exciting. Hope the players enjoyed it. i know you labored over how to execute it. I liked how you implemented the LotB rules after the fact, too.

So strange to see the players abandon an adventure completely half-way through. Good to see you were able to adapt. I love all the behind-the scenes manipulations with Godefroy and the Weathermays.

Where are you leading them with the Virago? Into trouble, no doubt...

[Joël of the FoS]

Session 17
Great nightmare scenes. Very creepy. I have never used the nightmare court in a campaign before. Probably because my copy of the nightmare lands as many misprinted pages. You did a good job with it. Makes me consider dusting off an old idea I had for an adventure a while back.

Thanks! Please go for it and let us know of your idea

IMC, I really wanted an nightmarish feel where anything can be expected. I think the players liked it a lot. I think they were expecting major permanent wounds from this encounter… but in the end, it’s glory for heroes

The way you handled the opening of the Howls in the Night sounded smooth, if the player did not realize that a new adventure was starting.

Well it was so smooth they decided to go somewhere else

But man, what happened when they just decided to leave and not finish it. I hate that when the players do that. Were you prepared for it?

Not at all. I knew they were planning to go after Nathan someday, but I didn’t expect it would be so soon! They send a message in game to Westcote, telling him they would be back soon to help him. They rationalized (between themselves, not to Westcote!) that he waited a few decades with his curse, so he can wait a few weeks more.

I’m confident they will pick it up where they left, eventually …

Session 18
Interesting use of Godefroy. Did you offer any hints to the players? Such as telling one of them they felt a sudden cold draft or chill when Godfrey entered the room to unlock the cells. Or just a dog start barking nearby?

No, nothing at all. I preferred spooking them with mystery instead of the supernatural.

And now they are chasing after Nathan. Can't wait to see what happens there.

Me too

Very nice! (as usual)

Hey thanks!

Glad to see the nightmare plot come to a conclusion. Very creepy and exciting. Hope the players enjoyed it. i know you labored over how to execute it. I liked how you implemented the LotB rules after the fact, too.

Well I felt I needed to give the player a little advantage for messing around with his PC for a while. We’ll see how this Von Zarovich thing develops in the future.

I’d like to tie him closer and closer to Strahd, with the Tatyana / Tara dread possibility. Strahd doesn’t have to make an appearance, just his shadow can terrify the players

So strange to see the players abandon an adventure completely half-way through. Good to see you were able to adapt.

Well a good RL DM should be able to burn his scenario during the game and work to someplace else I have a folder of dread possibilities that I plan to use when the circumstances are calling for them.

I love all the behind-the scenes manipulations with Godefroy and the Weathermays.

This is something that will / should be explained later to the players, when they come back to Howls-itN.

Where are you leading them with the Virago? Into trouble, no doubt...

Well they will probably face the most terrible threat so far in their adventurer career, as Nathan is a big guy with lots of friends. Suggestions welcomed. I haven’t decided if George WF will be present. Perhaps, since it will allow me to threw in a larger number of baddies. I haven’t decided yet in the implication of the Karina Falkovnians, Nathan’s friends. Maybe the PC’s old pal the Midnight Slasher will come back at the end, to push the odds to the PCs’s side. Suggestions welcomed!

I’d like to see them succeed in destroying Nathan, it would give them a boost in their search for cure against lycanthropy.

This said, if they succeed, I’d like to tie in the First Lady of werewolves, Mrs Vorishkova. I really like the dread possibilities sketched by Rucht as a serial killer recruiter. She can be an top grade recurring villain, IMHO, with the her links with Nathan, as well as with George WF and (Gennifer WF, of course )

I have this recurrent evil idea of kidnapping Gennifer WF, and a PC, and locking them in a room, while Natalia controls Gennifer to werewolf … I love moral dilemmas…

Joël

[Jennifer]

Hey Joel,
I just read the last sessions of your campaign and it is still a fascinating read! well done.

I have this recurrent evil idea of kidnapping Gennifer WF, and a PC, and locking them in a room, while Natalia controls Gennifer to werewolf … I love moral dilemmas…

No you dont, you love to horribly torture your players. This i a very good idea by the way. I would love to see how this one playsout.

Jennifer

[Jennifer]

Hey Joel,
I have read the latest additions to you campaign and it is good to see you went on with the abduction of one of the twins. I love to see how this plays out.

Jennifer

[Joël of the FoS]

Hey thank you!

So two new journals are now online!

Session 19 was a fun trek for information, with the Ezra church and the Midnight Slasher involved. The players going near the Falkovnian enclave were uneasy...

The Hala monastery in session 20 was a fallback position I had designed, in case they needed one when fighting the werewolves.

---

I got a bit late this last Fall on my campaign journals. But two more are being written (sessions 21 and 22) these days and should be on the site soon.

Will our intrepid heroes succeed at saving Gennifer?



That was a cool battle, let me just say that ...

Joël

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

A nice read, as always. Neat idea to dissect the lashweed for spores. I'll have to remember that in the future. I'm always on the lookout for herb stuff for my herbalist pc. I'll have to go through the carnivorous plants and see if anything else could be used similarly.

I laughed out loud at the note they left for the boats. Always nice to be polite.

I like your maps of the party's route too. I may have to do something similar for my campaign.

[Band2]

Will our intrepid heroes succeed at saving Gennifer?



That was a cool battle, let me just say that ...

Joël

Damn these cliffhanger endings!

As always it is interesting reading, Joel.

[Joël of the FoS]

I forgot to thank Llana for scrubbing these last sessions - thanks!

A nice read, as always. Neat idea to dissect the lashweed for spores. I'll have to remember that in the future. I'm always on the lookout for herb stuff for my herbalist pc. I'll have to go through the carnivorous plants and see if anything else could be used similarly.

Yes! Did you look at the Infusion concept in Masters of the Wild? The druid in my campaign (and VR) are using it. It's a fun add-on to the herbalist profession IMHO.

I laughed out loud at the note they left for the boats. Always nice to be polite.

That was quite funny indeed. If they knew what kind of people dwell there

I like your maps of the party's route too. I may have to do something similar for my campaign.

Thanks, I got the source from Mordent Carto Society and CC2. It's fun to tailor the map as you need them.

And I removed from them the domain borders. It's a concept players should guess but not have access to, without some experimentation.

Will our intrepid heroes succeed at saving Gennifer?



That was a cool battle, let me just say that ...

Joël

Damn these cliffhanger endings!

As always it is interesting reading, Joel.

Thank you !

Joël

[Joël of the FoS]

Just to let you know sessions 21 and 22 are in

In 21, it's the end of Nathan Timothy (DM tears here)
In 22, they are back to Howls in the Night.

In 22, you'll see how I modified the Moonchild class. Let me know of any comments!

Joël

[Joël of the FoS]

Sessions 23 and 24 online!

Session 23 is the end of Howls in the Night
Session 24 is a mix of many things happening in Mordent.

Joël

[Band2]

The update was good, but I feel like I just watched an episode of Lost. Lots of "Huh?" and "What?" moments, and "I hope they explain what the hell that means next time".

The Horor's Harvest adventure sounds good. I have never read it, but was always interested to see how to use the doppleganger plant in an adventure. I like it so far.

[Joël of the FoS]

The update was good, but I feel like I just watched an episode of Lost. Lots of "Huh?" and "What?" moments, and "I hope they explain what the hell that means next time".

*lol* That's why it's called "more weird things in Mordent"
Indeed, you need to know these threads to see what's coming in this game

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Foru ... sc&start=0

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Foru ... php?t=4108

At the start of next journal, I'll make a DM note explaining this. I hope it still interesting to read?

The Horor's Harvest adventure sounds good. I have never read it, but was always interested to see how to use the doppleganger plant in an adventure. I like it so far.

It's pretty cool for the DM to play a creature that possesses many others, with hive mind, so everybody possessed know what the other said. It's a great tool. That's why the players are often confused: they get the same info pound with a hamer many times (by the pods), then get contradicting info (by normal people)

Joël