Café de Nuit

Hey guys. So I'll thinking of creating a running series here (if it goes well) where we fix problems in our favourite modules so other DMs can use it in their campaign. I've seen variations of this theme in several posts, but never a dedicated one.
So the idea is to post ideas and changes you've made to the module to suit the campaign you're running, things that don't make sense, ideas to improve, or general filler fluff.
We don't need to do big essays, just dot points - unless of course it makes sense to expand.

We're kicking things off with everyone's favourite starter module; Night of the Walking Dead!

- The old cemetary. Every time I mention it the players automatically want to go there. It's the ultimate (and obvious) tease. I've personally had the graveyard keeper very superstitious and won't hand over the keys willy nilly. But that just adds to the obvious key plot point. What are we thinking here? Maybe instead of the old cemetary, perhaps just remove having it walled off, have the Tarascon mausoleum the centre of Marcel, but don't make it obvious. This gives the players freedom to explore the cemetary, and assuming they're not gonna explore every mausoleum, without giving away the obious plot point.
- Jean Tarascon. Hasn't been seen for several weeks. Depending on the interrogation of the priest, the players could get a killer clue about who's behind it. Maybe he's actually an active NPC. Hiding in plain sight.
- Fluff. The adventure takes place over several days. I struggled to keep my players interested without speeding up events. Perhaps a side quest, couple red herrings, etc...

Those are my starting ideas and I hope this becomes a thing!

- Mordu: At least in my interpretation I think the module hints that Jean is trying to frame Mordu via the use of the licorice. It' mentioned that in Jean's room in the plantation house or the townhouse that he has a stash of it so it makes sense in my head, but it's never actually brought up in the module. I actually went with this option and tried to frame him in the last time I ran the module.

Epically wrote:- Fluff. The adventure takes place over several days. I struggled to keep my players interested without speeding up events. Perhaps a side quest, couple red herrings, etc...

Working from memory as my mods are unavailable at the moment...

Sourange is more or less an expy of the 'French Louisiana'. So prehaps steal a few things from there.
The two which immediately come to mind are Mardi Gras and Day of the Dead (though this is more a Mexico thing) - they can cover 'things to do', 'why the cemetary' and Jean.

Sticking with DoD (as it is more 'Ravenlofty'), everyone is busy preparing for the big celebration, hence there will still be a _lot_ of things going on leading to the big day

*People rushing around - nobody has seen Jean because they are busy and assume he was a s well
*Colourful garlands decorating the tombs and offerings to the deceased, family picnics at the family tomb - a lure to check out the cemetary and look around. People may even happily tell tales of the tombs occupates (they are family after all)
*Things to do - party time...until the zombies show up.
*People try to continue as normal after the murder so as not to ruin the big day.
*Red licorich - They find the candy has been specially ordered for the celebration. Maybe if they as around the find out who ordered it.

While the town only as 300 or so people (from the wiki), throw in a few iterant travellers, friends etc and you can pad the numbers a bit. This does somewhat shift the pacing of the module somewhat. Instead of constant gloom from start to finish, things start fine and may be enjoyable for a while until things hit the fan.

And it will get even messier when the PC's have to save a half drunk crowd of people dressed in weird costumes when the zombies attack. PCs running aorund screaming about zombies will probably be mistaken for travellers who have drunk a bit too much, laughed at, and told to have a lie down. Until the _real_ zombies join the party....

no time for a detailed reply right now, but:
- the standard advice is to include Chicken Bone (from RLMCII) somehow
- another frequent suggestion is to comb the FoS Souragne Gazetteer (available in our Library) for useful tidbits and added flavor

I disliked the railroaded morality pet kid/ghost (Marcel?)

Buzzclaw wrote:I disliked the railroaded morality pet kid/ghost (Marcel?)

Luc.

Pick some ideas from the greatest bayou movie of all: Scooby Doo on Zombie Island

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:no time for a detailed reply right now, but:
- the standard advice is to include Chicken Bone (from RLMCII) somehow
- another frequent suggestion is to comb the FoS Souragne Gazetteer (available in our Library) for useful tidbits and added flavor

I used Chicken Bone to replace the Vistani reading in the beginning of the adventure. That worked out because I used that Vistani troupe as a contact for the PCs before the adventure happened (and to make the Vistani more than a random encounter).