Domain of the Month

Dementlieu

Adventure Hooks

Dementlieu info in 3e: RL3E / RLPH, Gaz 3. In second edition: Black Box (Realm of Terror), Red Box (RL Campaign Setting), Domains of Dread. Adventures: Chilling Tale (Taskmaster's leash). Novels: Tales of Ravenloft (The Vanished Ones).

Gonzoron adds other canon sources: Angel Pajaro adventure in CoTN: Werebeasts, Alexandre DuCire adventure in CoTN: the Created, Francois de Penible adventure in CoTN: Demons

Igor the Henchman

A famous explorer has recently returned from a dangerous expedition, bringing with him a bizarre monster he had captured. The creature – a dark naga, an evil genie, a demon or even dragon – has in fact let itself to be captured willingly, and, once it finds itself in the strange city of men, it escapes, more than ever hungry for human flesh…

Rumours tell of a great museum of Port-a-Lucine being haunted. In truth, the structure has been claimed as lair by a hungry pack of mimics. The evil creatures now use the museum as their hunting ground, dragging lonely innocents into their nest to be devoured.

Yaoi Huntress Earth

You could play with the aspects of psychological horror with Jean-Pierre Theroux's growing depression. When a foreign artist who is disgusted with how art that is truly meaningful and thought-provoking is being silenced exhibits a cruel and mocking portrait of Jean-Pierre at a salon, the PCs are left to help resemble the shattered pieces of the nobleman's sanity. For extra fun, throw in the Nightmare Lands wanting a piece of him.

Dominic's son is growing up to be quite the young man. It would be a shame if Jacqueline Renier's Becoming Plague were to claim him as a victim.

Shadowking

A madman is stalking and murdering beggars and other unfortunates who lived in Port-a-Lucine's slums district. Examination of the corpses shows the injuries were performed by a massive slashing weapon like a cleaver or an axe, and that the hits were directed to draw as much blood as possible. Also, all the killings were performed on soil rather than paved roads and were only performed in a certain part of the slums in the shape of a perfect square.

The truth is that the madman is a former Gendarme, driven insane by visions telling him to turn the slums' soil red with blood. As the blood is seeping below the earth it enters the crypt of an ancient, monstrous Vampire (at least of Eminent age category) driven into torpor by hunters in the domain's false history, who lay dead but dreaming for centuries.

As he feasts on the blood of the slain he slowly rejuvenates his devastated body, and only 2 people need to be murdered before he finally wakes up and unleashes his evil upon the unsuspecting world, an evil neither Dominic nor the Brain can hope to stop at their own. The murderer must be stopped in time and the PCs better discover the Vampire's crypt (well-guarded by magical traps and undead sentinels) and destroy him before he drowns Port-a-Lucine in blood.

Wiccy of the Fraternity

In the alleys a series or brutal killing are taking place, each time a body is found, parts of it are missing. The culprit has been suspected of being many things from a Ghoul to a madman who feasts on the flesh of his victims. Michelle LaBeau has recently taken to hosting extravagant dinner parties for a select few among societé, serving a host of unusual and imported meats. Those who eat this rare and expensive flesh have found themselves more vigorous and far healthier and stronger than they were before. Is a connection between these two seemingly separate acts?

The Butcher down the road was always a pleasant man, offering small pieces of meat to those who were destitute, but no one was it coming when he finally flipped after chopping up one to many sides of beef. They said he attacked a rude customer and killed all he met before the constabulary brought him down. They said he had Brain Poisoning. his shop has stood empty ever since, no one will live there, not with the strange noises of a meat being chopped at all hours of the days and night.

Stefanie Nagestsi is a wonderful, charming and joyous young woman, but she fears what chases her. Her twin brother, who was taken to be a vampire's bride and now he follows his sister wishing to give her the same gift he was granted. Stefanie would sail out to the islands but she fears the water as much as she fears her bother and she suffers from minor skin irritations from entering the sunlight, forcing her to spend only limited times outdoors during sunny weather. her favourite spot in the garden are the rose bushes, her she feels very close to the owners of the manor she now stays at while they tour the more barbaric eastern domains. Stefanie has recently become more paranoid of her brother's chase after killings where bodies are left drained of blood have begun in the badder parts of town.

Desmond LaRouche

The unthinkable has happened: Marcel Guignol, Lord Governor of Dementlieu, has died...of natural causes!

As the intelligentsia cries fowl, one of the non-Obedient members of the Council of Brilliance is appointed (by emergency vote) Acting Lord Governor (and it's not Dominic D'Honaire). A surface vacuum of power is thus set off, as the Darkord of Dementlieu must decide what to do next; to accept rulership of his domain publicly would arouse to much suspicion. A new Councillor must be appointed. The intricate web of alliances and manipulations d'Honaire has set in place have begun to fray at this unexpected turn of events.

The Brain, crimelord of Port-a-Lucine, begins machinations for the ultimate coup: to place one of his own agents on the Council of Brilliance to further toy with d'Honaire's mind.

Vlad Drakov also takes notice, and sends emissaries to find out if the rumours are true: Dementlieu is in chaos. An invasion force of Talons is placed on alert. Drakov finally believes that, with the death of the very visible 'leader' of the nation of fops will be finally ground under his heel, giving him access to more advanced weaponry he has long coveted. Dementlieu's traditional allies are touchy and refuse to commit themselves until the truth of the matter is solved.

Player characters could be contacted with a number of elite factions within Dementlieuse society who want the true story about the Lord Governor's death. Higher profile investigators such as Alanik Ray are passed over for less well-known, expendable (should the wrong information be discovered) foreigners, not tied to local police.

What the player character discover might mean the well-being of one of the most culturally significant domains of the Core, or its destruction.

Shadowking adds: The hook about the Lord Governor's death got me thinking- what if Vlad Drakov succeeded in conquering Dementlieu? Let him conquer another domain for once so the great fear he spreads is justified, but also make an active "Le Resistance" movement which slowly but steadily drive the Falkovnians out of the country through a guerilla war which will eventually force even the haughty mercenary to withdraw his forces or the Falkvonian army will collapse- make Port-a-Lucine Drakov's Staligrad, so to say. In the meantime, the situation of an occupied domain at war can create much intrigue and adventuring opportunities.

Igor the Henchman adds: This scenario works very well if combined with the aforementioned Guignol's death story. In Gaz IV, it is stated the Treaty of the Four Towers was signed among the four great families: Weathermay, Renier, Dilisnya and Guignol. If rulership of Dementlieu passes away from Guignol's family, Dementlieu's previous "allies" would have a pretext to ignore the domain's pleas for help in case of invasion. The PCs might be called to act as diplomats, in order to restore the old alliances before the country is completely overrun.

Wiccy of the Fraternity

The growing number of raving homeless is on the climb, the sanatoriums are quickly filling and the number of the insane seem impossibly endless. The only clue is an insane man who claims to have escaped from an island inhabited by strange monsters with heads that look like octopi. He has been seen leaving the scenes where several have suddenly become insane. A renowned telepath under the order of the Council of Brilliance was sent to track down this madman but was in turn found hugging himself in the gutter, utterly insane and screaming delusions of a world inhabited with squidmen. Agents from Dominia have recently arrived in Port-a-lucine showing interest in rounding up this lunatic before his madness spreads to far, but their motives appear far less than noble.

alhoon

Dementlieu has an RMR of 5. That means that the DC to resist spells gets a +2 and the saves against spells recieve a -2. So an adventure hook for low level characters could be:

In a village in Dementlieu with about 400 people, everything seems right. The people work the fields, the sheriff and 4 guards keep the peace, the mayor sends the taxes regularly to the noble family he serves etc. Until a beautiful woman arrives in the town along with her husband. She poses as a rich merchant but she is in fact a 3rd level wizard and he is a 3rd level rogue. She uses her spells to learn who is rich, help her brother steal him and then to cover the trail.

Give her a 16 intelligence and spell focus illusion. That would make the DC to resist her charm person spells 17 while the PCs and the NPCs have a -2 to their saves. Also give her a few powerful enemies. Perhaps she is hiding in the village because her brother stole something very powerful or valuable.

Gemathustra

Nowadays, anyone who is anyone in Dementlieu attends the party-exhibitions of the famed artist Pavo. Everyone raves about Pavo, and everyone loves how his entourage of pet gossips, the Harpies, model dresses based off his paintings. In fact, it seems as if no one can say anything bad about Pavo.

Perhaps it's because of his flawless talent... Perhaps it's because of his saintly charity-work... Or, perhaps it's because that Pavo's Harpies see to it that those who do have bad things to say about him wind up as social pariahs, insane, or even dead.

In order to safeguard their patron's reputation and ego, the Harpies constantly manipulate events to destroy all those who run afoul of Pavo, whether they are hated rivals, annoying critics, or even rude street riff-raffs. Usually, they achieve this by spreading rumours, lies, or making subtle bribes and threats. If they need to hire thugs and assassins to get their point across, they don't hesitate to do so.

And so, it seems that an influential official, who is also a friend of the PCs, had recently attended Pavo's latest unveiling last month, and commented about how the exhibition was "the pinnacle of vapidity." Now, the PCs must prove that their friend is not the ringleader of a gang of kidnappers, despite a host of incriminating evidence, and discover who is responsible for framing him.

One more thing: while it is common knowledge that Pavo was once a mere portrait-painter who was barely able to eek out a living in Port-a-Lucine, no one seems to know anything about the Harpies' past, other than them helping to elevate Pavo. In fact, the best anyone can do is to shrug, and suggest they may have came from Richemulot.

hida_jiremi

The world of stage magic just got a lot bloodier. Everyone knows that stage magicians hate revealing their "tricks." Now, a mysterious masked magician is putting on public performances to blow open the magical world, explaining how every aspect of the illusionists' art works, from sleight of hand to the actual arcane sorcery. Le Societe de Legerdemain has decided that this rogue magician is a dangerous element and must be unmasked and then removed - permanently. The PCs can come in on either side of this, working for Le Societe to bring down the masked magician, or hired by the masked magician to act as bodyguards. He's quite good at narrow escapes, but even the best magician needs assistants...

ScS of the Fraternity adds: Yep; Of course, were he a smart magician, he would add on an extra illusion - he isn't the masked magician - he isn't even a he at all.

Years ago, a young girl traveled the world with her father, the Great Garizmo. Though a mage of small talent, the Great Garizmo was a showman supreme. For years he traveled the core, practicing a combination of slight-of-hand, escape artistry, and illusions with the help of his young assistant. After years of labouring in obscurity, the Great Garizmo earned a coveted appearance in Port a Lucien. However, disaster struck when the well respected Dominic D'Honaire yawned during the performance. Now officially declared "unwatchable", the Great Garizmo was a pariah. Immediately, Le Societe de Legerdemain cast the shunned magician out of their ranks and forbade him to perform in Dementilieu. In despair and drunkenness, he committed suicide.

For years, his daughter Sharella has sought revenge. She has worked as the "beautiful assistant" to hundreds of magicians in Le Societe de Legerdemain. Never considered to be a real magician, she has been privy to all the greatest secrets of the society's mages. In secret she has fostered her own sorcerous abilities and plotted her revenge.

Rather than risk her own neck, she has recruited a dupe. A magician of mediocre talent and monstrous ego, Lucky Pierre, was easily manipulated into the scheme. He is so convinced of his own genius, that he remains under the belief that he really knows how to make the magic. He thinks nothing Sharella's constant hints and preparations.

Still, Sharella can feel the sharks circling. She has protected her own identity with a false name, a revealing costume and a dye job (no one ever pays close attention to the beautiful assistant, or at least not her face ) Nonetheless, she requires some new guardians to help stall for time until she can put her final plan into motion. If Pierre suffers from some misfortune, one of her new dupes can wear the mask (as she says, the show must go on) and no one will be the wiser.

Living on borrowed time, Sharella just needs to put on a few more shows before her final act. Once Le Societe de Legerdemain is angered enough, she'll have the Masked Magician perform at their grande stage during their annual meeting of all members. Just to show there are no hard feelings, the masked magician promises to not only reveal his identity, but he will also perform a new trick that is sure to astound the collected membership of the society.

Sharella is going to make her audience disappear. Permanently.

Gemathustra adds: Perhaps Sharella is getting help and motivation from a certain gentleman friend?

DeepShadow of the FoS

Dinner Party in Dementlieu: Okay, I'm reworking one of my old games for my MENSA group this weekend, and I want to throw in lots of red herrings, gossip and distractions for them. The setting is a very exclusive dinner party in Dementlieu, and there will be lots of gossip around the table. So anyone got ideas? I know what the main plot will be (Jaqueline Montarri will be collecting heads) but I need a bunch of guests, each with a brief bio and a couple of rumors.

Possible guests:
The Council of Brilliance
Marquis de Penible
What other NPC's are in the various books?
Who would be escorting who?

Nathan of the FoS :

gonzoron :

The setup was an exhibition of artists, one of whom would receive a grant from the university. The complication was a bunch of behind the scenes intrigue and a murder mystery.

My guest list was:

• The whole Council minus the Councilor of Trade (name escapes me) (Gaz III)
• Lord-Governor Guignol (Gaz III)
• Lord Balfour de Casteele and his wife, Cassilda (VRA)
• Captain Reynard, head of the town guard (CotN: Created) and his daughter, Antoinette (homebrewed).
• Marcos Vedarrak (Book of Sacrifices) & Anton Regress (The Evil Eye), Falkovnian ambassadors looking to set up a trade enclave like the one in Karina. (Secretly also making a deal with DuSuis: A list of Falkovnian rebels in exchange for a cache of seized rebel muskets.)

• Angel Pajaro, werefox opera diva (CotN: Werebeasts)
• Alexandre du Cire, wax sculptor (CotN: Created)
• Francoise de Penible, transpossessed writer (CotN: Demons) and his fiancee Marie Delacourte (CotN: Ghosts, although their relationship is my addition)
• Lady Veronica Blackstone, poet (Book of Souls)
• Raphael Vetighetto, painter (homebrew, imposter son of Borigia Vetighetto from the Book of Souls)
• Hugues Maigney, caliban "abstract metal sculptor" (RLDMG, secretly gunsmith brought in by DuSuis to examine the guns, secretly controlled by The Brain (Gaz III) to murder Regress halfway through the party)
• Conrad Shadowlands, stone sculptor (homebrew) & his wife Cynthia DeGrieves, vorlog (homebrew)

The Giamarga:

gonzoron : isn't there also that wereboar painter guy from Cotn:W? (or is he richmuloise?) And maybe the Bastion of P-a-L, or one of her rival successors?

lordsathien

Culinary Carnage in Dementlieu

So I've come up with what I think is a very interesting MO for a serial killer. This is a recurring villain, indeed the grand mastermind of my campaign for them. They still haven't figured out what he is exactly, just that he can suck blood but doesn't scald from holy water.

Anyway, the Chaotic Evil Mnsr. Andre Fillacrioux has decided to test the PCs by arranging seven murders with each one actually being a pun off a pastry or drink.

1. A morbidly obese woman is killed, the only other characteristic that stands out is her face is made up more clownlike than a Peasant's Quarter whore might be caught in. (Blubbery Tart)
2. A man is found dead pressed between 2 doors in a woodworking shop when it opens up for the day. A garrote also seems to be placed around his neck. The garrote's tightness is not quite to the point it would be impossible to breathe, only enough to make it very difficult to do so. (Rasp Bury Jam)
3. A young man is found dead, the only injuries are intense and prolonged burns along his back. (Back Lava)
4. A respected gardener is found one day in his shed with hundreds and hundreds of dime-sized holes along his face and chest. Further examination will show that the holes are exit wounds, concluding that insects of some type must've gotten into his system and buried outward (Crawler = Cruller).
5. A man is struck by a sniper mage's lightning bolt. (Eclaire is French for lightning).
6. A dockworker is found dead with jagged plank of wood impaling him. Injuries point out he was beaten to death before he was impaled. The plank retains some of the shipping information painted onto it. (Mostly as a hint to mean this was obviously from a crate; Tear Crates = Pear Crepes)
7. A woman is found killed by a very sloppy murderer. She's decapitated, with a bloody scythe--obviously the murder weapon--only a few feet away from her body. A single set of footprints leads to and from the crime scene. Lastly, a black robe is loosely draped atop the scythe, the interior happens to be pale white. (Death's classic images = A Pale Rider = Apple Cider).

All he wants to hear is the appreciative laughter for such wit from the human protagonists. In short, a quest for man's laughter winds up as a trail of manslaughter.

The main reason I bring this here (besides giving back for so many awesome ideas I've gotten from this forum) is I'm worried that some of them may be too vague for the PCs to get. My current solution to such a worse case scenario is just bringing Alanik Ray in. Thoughts?

Rotipher of the FoS : Definitely, the puns would be too obscure for your players to pick up on without help. You'll need to give them substantial clues to work with.

Perhaps you could set up your campaign arc by sending the PCs to a formal Dementlieuse banquet, where they meet a number of NPCs who'll become either victims or suspects in the killings. They receive engraved invitations and a schedule for the event, complete with a guest list and location: a country manor or (better yet) a small island, that will keep them isolated and narrow the pool of suspects, when the guests begin to turn up dead. You can give each player a handout of the invitation and schedule ... which also includes a dinner menu.

This may mean re-writing some of your puns to suit a complete meal -- even the most decadent of Dementleuise probably wouldn't hold an all-dessert banquet -- and making up one or two other NPC suspects who can serve as red herrings. Note that you should probably establish early on that English = High Mordentish IYC, for purposes of pun-making, so that no finnicky player objects that your clues would be lost in the translation; having the event kick off with a round of word games among the NPCs would do this, while evoking the right "salon" atmosphere of witty, self-satisfied intellectualism.

I would recommend reading And Then There Were None for inspiration, if you haven't already, as Agatha Christie pretty much invented the concept of "themed serial murders" in her novel.

High Priest Mikhal : Bad puns are the meat and potatoes of the gleeful insane. These are sick, twisted, evil ways to kill people around a theme. In short, I LIKE IT!

If the villain is a chef that specializes in desserts I don't think that a change is necessary regarding the "meal." Plus this is a madman we're talking about. Logic is futile. But yeah, more obvious clues regarding what each murder represents is a good idea.

Joël of the FoS: or you could have the PCs go to an asylum to ask patients for clues to understand the mind of the crazy killer.

ScS of the Fraternity : This whole murder plot reminds me of an old cartoon where contestants in a food-themed beauty pagent are murdered and made into the dishes they represented. One by one the women were made into soup, baked inside of tanning booths, and fried in corn batter.

Best part of it, at each scene, one of the investigators would pop a bit of victim into his mouth and offer up a clue: "Hmmn... jalapeno. Its delicious. But its not Southern."

A G Thing : (Blueberry Tart) "Okay, for this one I think more reference to blue in the makeup, or perhaps severe oxygen depletion turning her blue as well... As for the tart reference perhaps she should be dressed as a 'tart' and left in a mans quarters... Perhaps a man who she is associated with in some illicite activity... Kinda like a rich lady and her pool boy lover stereotype..."

(Rasp Bury Jam) Rasp and the garrote would work, but also make the fact that in an autopsy or such he has caused damage to his throat by 'trying' to scream until horse... A slow death should also seem likely... Next make the doors and corpse hard to get to... Perhaps 'buried' under or behind other things and only the blood leaking from under the pile gives any clue to the location of it... And if you have most of the body crushed severely, you can possibly drop hints... Not too direct but the substance and quality of his body if not obvious to point it out... Mentioning 'as if he was jam between crackers...' could be a last resort line...

(Back Lava) I have to say this is the largest stretch of them all... Well first I would make his body resting on hot stones that leave a trail from a rather large bonfire as if spilling from the center of the ash pile... This can connect to a clever mind hot stones spilling from a mound... I honestly see less way to connect this then others... Perhaps it is after a bonfire for a party and since heating stones for warming beds was a common practice to some, so it is plausable... I guess! Like I said it is a hard connect...

(Crawler = Cruller) Huh... Well if the insects crawl such as worms, centipeds, milipeds, and such, may work but holes by themselves don't indicate a crawling insect... Perhaps broken and bleeding legs or just binding him severly to the point where no other option is possible but to crawl... That may impede his ability to exit to safety from the swarm and adds his own crawl marks but, if the 'insect burrowing out thing' is your choice as the only clue you should make it obvious that the only sort of insects involved were crawling ones... Trails in the dust and slime trails in crawling patterns should indicate this as well...

Rotipher of the FoS : Why not just have some of the creepy-crawlies be found dead at the scene? Presumably, if the victim is still able to crawl when he's left to the bugs' tender mercies, he'd also be able to crush the first wave or two of them before being overwhelmed.

(Eclaire is French for lightning) Pretty straight forward... But perhaps it should be done in some confusing fashion, like making the victim die in a crowd on a sunny day, or even more confusingly in a storm... The snipers perch should be a great clue to give but there needs to be some connect without the villian risking discovery too much... If detected to early by a magic user the PC's could possibly catch or discover him early... Of course this depends on your pacing... This maybe a good reveal point as well... This could be where the chase begins in earnest and trying to stalk the villian is more personal to the foe...

(Mostly as a hint to mean this was obviously from a crate; Tear Crates = Pear Crepes) Perhaps tear is not the best connect... Perhaps there should be a double murder as a step up event but also to fit the pun... Two is a Pair after all and if they are either known to be together often or are killed in the same fashion and/or posed in similar fashion then they could even be found in different parts of town... They may also be related to the destination of the crates or some conspiricy involving the crates such as smuggling which could be a red herring!

Rotipher: Or, if you'd like to amp up the gore level with each killing, there's always "pare", i.e. to strip the skin off of something. Perhaps the killer has skinned a pair of victims (twins?) and left their remains stuffed in identical crates. (Ick!) They could even be wrapped in crepe paper inside there, to make it a double pun for both words.

(Death's classic images = A Pale Rider = Apple Cider) Well the Pale Rider is a hard connect but it could work. Another addition could be to have only one 'side' of the victim be damaged to connect both rider and side into. Also you could have the damaged side have a riding boot on that is painted white... Could work as well! Apples however need to play into it perhaps... The scythe could come from someone related to apples in some fashion... Or you could also try and connect the location to a small area that while not obvious had some connection to apples in the past... An abandoned and long dead and overgrown apple orchard. A press house that makes multiple drinks but is perhaps the lone producer of Apple cider in town. Perhaps a home of someone with an apple tree in the yard or such...

Rotipher: A single set of hoof prints would be better, if you want the "Rider" part of the gag to be evident. Plus, it'd be a bit of a clue that the killer is a shapeshifter -- something you'll need to reveal sooner or later -- if the culprit can change his/her feet into hooves.

On the thing as a whole: well since he can take a different form at will he may be able to be at all the crime scenes to watch and listen... Perhaps if no laughter or appreciation is made then he can get angrier and more murderous... Or if one of the PC's does have the dark appreciation of such then he can begin to want to share his joy at his enjoyment and see's a sort of like comrade in such endevors... If you add Alanik Ray leave him out of the killers focus as the PC's should be the ones to be the target of his focus... It is thier rival after all!

Alanik Ray would bring out the clues in force if the PC's are not able to do such... Definitely a last resort but if you keep him only to respond as if inspired by what the PC's say or to begin tying together the peices if they cannot... Make the PC's appear as contributors and have Alanik follow up on one of thier leads even if it is a Red Herring, just to let them appear to have a similar train of thought... This is however only if Alanik needs to be a part of the adventure. If so then he should be connected so as not to overshadow the PC's. If brought in half way in it may seem as if they need help... If however there from the beginning less resentment may be directed at the PC's unless they support him as well when the killings begin to escalate...

The first death I plan on involving is the Crawler/Cruller one.

LONG ADVENTURE MATERIAL TEXT BELOW!!! The initial adventure for these 4th level characters has them doing a job as members of the gendarme. They're given instructions from Josephine Chantreaux (actually Andre in Disguise, he's got +47 to the check so it's pretty unlikely they'll notice), indicating they are to function as body guards for some anchorites who plan on converting some of the forest to the NE of Port-a-Lucine as a new graveyard. They're to serve as defenders against any encounters as well as to stamp out any nasties occupying the forested area to be sanctified.

The truth is this is one of Andre's ploys to have the PCs eliminated. The anchorite party actually consists of 2 conwomen with a thug posing as the coachman. Andre hired the thug to eliminate the two players, rewarding him with 100 gp a head (a simple daguerrotype capture will be enough for proof). The thug felt he couldn't do it alone so he offers the conwomen the job if they pose as anchorites. Eventually the players make it to the woods, and after fending off a large swath of bloodroses along the narrow trail they reach a densely-forested canopy area (akin to the Woods that housed the Master Sword in LoZ: a Link to the Past) which happens to be the den of a mated pair of Large monstrous trapdoor spiders.

Satisfied that the players are deep enough in the woods that it'll take a while to return to the coach, the coachman; whom decided to stay back and watch the coach "in case of brigands" will pull out his custom Mackie Rifle and take pot shots at the players. Of course, with that much cover/concealment from the leaves and trees it should take several rounds for the coachman to kill one of the players (enough time for the players to close in enough to see him). The coachman will panick when they close in and consume a special potion given to him by Andre. This potion is actually the agent that kills the coachman, as he screams in agony when the vermin squirm out of his body, shock killing him.

When the players arrive back at "base" (one of the players owns a home), there's a woven basket of crullers hanging on the door. Any ideas for what I should make as a note inside it?

A G Thing: Well considering this is a complete change to the discription then this needs completely different steps... Most of this is usable as is Rotiphers ideas but since it is being used as a scene, and if witnessed it will cause Horror checks most likely... It is also a double cross and silencing act and could be interprated by a canny PC... If they are aware of their rivals existance then they may put it together who the killer is before the chase even starts... Since the tack has changed your killer seems slightly more chaotic but less confident relying on others and chance to a degree... Making it a potion suggests that the Thug believes it is magic and is perhaps a superstitious or been magically cowed or intimidated in some fashion... Perhaps he should flee with the coach instead back to town, and once the PC's track him down in some fashion (Like say sales of alleged magical protection charms...) he then with no resort left drinks the potion before they get inside to him and that is when it happens... This will delay his killing yes but it can still happen and it will give the PC's the thrill of the hunt... This could help establish further tie in's to other victims... This murder unless the Thug had a legitimate connection that leads the PC's to another act is just a random occurance by perhaps an old enemy. This is fine but it leaves little rhyme or reason for establishing motive other than a personal one to the PC's themselves... This can lead to suspicion and fear by townsfolk and also fear for the PC's if they fear for the lives of people near and dear to them, but then again you need a pattern for them to follow, and eventually outfox the killer... Also when supernatural effects happen early it makes other killings later less dramatic... A woman strangled to death no matter how horrilble it is, is not as dire a fate as being eaten in to out from crawling insects... The basket seems obvious... Perhaps inside the house on the table is a meal set out and the desert is covered... This lets the killer invade the private setting and set the veiled clue... This of course depends on which killing actually happens first... As for a note well perhaps just something to single the dessert out from the other courses...

I've been rethinking my murders and decided to try and stay away from rhymes and stick to homonyms or slight changes between the food's name and the murder.

1. A morbidly obese woman is killed, the only other characteristic that stands out is her face is made up more clownlike than a Peasant's Quarter whore might be caught in. (Blubbery Tart) Change: Instead of using a fat woman, the murder will involve a prostitute gone missing and found fed to death, the skin taking a bluish tinge as a hint.

2. A man is found dead pressed between 2 doors in a woodworking shop when it opens up for the day. A garrote also seems to be placed around his neck. The garrote's tightness is not quite to the point it would be impossible to breathe, only enough to make it very difficult to do so. (Rasp Bury Jam) Change: I like the ideas about the doors being like crackers with the blood oozing out enough to make that what I'll be using.

3. A young man is found dead, the only injuries are intense and prolonged burns along his back. (Back Lava) Change: Not going to use it.

4. Andre's hired hand dying after consuming an "aid" and spiders, maggots, and other creepy crawlies eat him from the inside out. (Crawler = Cruller). Change: I plan to keep this. Regarding Andre's MO, it's not so much that he's "cowardly" enough to rely on others to do his work for him so much as wanting to help someone out with their homicidal urges in a manner that helps himself in some way.

5. A man is struck by a sniper mage's lightning bolt. (Eclaire is French for lightning). Change: None, going to keep this one with some alterations as mentioned higher in the thread.

6. A dockworker is found dead with jagged plank of wood impaling him. Injuries point out he was beaten to death before he was impaled. The plank retains some of the shipping information painted onto it. (Mostly as a hint to mean this was obviously from a crate; Tear Crates = Pear Crepes) Change: Not going to use it.

7. A woman is found killed by a very sloppy murderer. She's decapitated, with a bloody scythe--obviously the murder weapon--only a few feet away from her body. A single set of footprints leads to and from the crime scene. Lastly, a black robe is loosely draped atop the scythe, the interior happens to be pale white. (Death's classic images = A Pale Rider = Apple Cider). Change: Definately not going to use it.

I've also come up with two new murders to break away from the pastry/desert monotony.

New Murder 1: 2 LOUD gunshots are heard, by the time the PCs track down the source, they find a dead body. 2 large caliber bullets are found in his torso, but even more disturbing is the fact his skull seems to be pulverized into the wall the body is slumped against. (Bangers and Mash)

New Murder 2: Just a concept right now, but I want to do something with "Toad in the Hole."

Any thoughts on these or ideas for a more rounded "buffet?"

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