Café de Nuit

Hi all,

I’m about to run this adventure as DM. I’ve not played ad@d2e (or any other version) for 25years so I’m a bit nervous and doing my best to get prepared for the session.

I’ve chosen a raven loft adventure as part of a Halloween festive vibe, it may just be a one shot/standalone session or it may continue with either the other adventures in that series or the mists may return the PCs to a different world and we carry on from there.

I have a few questions about the Night of the Walking Dead the more experienced dm’s could help with:

1> The adventure begins with the PCs on a raft in a swamp in their home world (as yet undefined, chosen or detailed) before the mists take them to Ravenloft. What adventure hooks have people used before to explain why the PCs are together on a raft in the first place?

2> Meeting Luc in the house in the swamp. It seems that the adventure assumes the PCs climb that rope ladder and meet him. How to deal with the situation if the PCs avoid that encounter entirely?
One could encourage / force it ( they raft about another day and get lost and keep coming back to the house) OR how to deal with the adventure if Luc is not with them?

3> What about a scenario where the PCs get to the village and proceed directly to the old cemetery? Sounds quite likely once they see the funeral encounter? They’d end up skipping straight to combat with the zombie lord marcel and miss all of the clues and narrative that flesh out the adventure ?

4>It says it’s suitable for 4-6 1-3 lvl PCs but suggests 9 total levels. I’ll have 4-6 1st level. Will it be too difficult?

5>Marcel has a special ability that kills on a 1 in 6. Sounds over powered ! Would you keep that as it is or amend it?

6> Any other tips from those that have run this before?

Thanks!

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am I’m about to run this adventure as DM. I’ve not played ad@d2e (or any other version) for 25years so I’m a bit nervous and doing my best to get prepared for the session.

First of all I hope you have a good game!

As I wrote in the forum introduction topic if you need to flesh out the adventure you can check the Fraternity of Shadows Gazetteer on Souragne found here:https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Lib ... etteer.pdf

This is good to be prepared when your PC's do something that is out of the adventure scenario, since most official modules of the time were based in railroading the adventure I believe this can be useful to have fun without forcing something on your PC's

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am I have a few questions about the Night of the Walking Dead the more experienced dm’s could help with:

I run it 28 years ago but still remember things that got wrong.

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am 1> The adventure begins with the PCs on a raft in a swamp in their home world (as yet undefined, chosen or detailed) before the mists take them to Ravenloft. What adventure hooks have people used before to explain why the PCs are together on a raft in the first place?

I didn't follow that and if it doesn't suit you neither should you. This was a time when Ravenloft adventures still had the vibe of a "Weekend in Hell" something that was later fixed with better world-building by additional products, mainly the 2e Domains of Dread.

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am 2> Meeting Luc in the house in the swamp. It seems that the adventure assumes the PCs climb that rope ladder and meet him. How to deal with the situation if the PCs avoid that encounter entirely?
One could encourage / force it ( they raft about another day and get lost and keep coming back to the house) OR how to deal with the adventure if Luc is not with them?

This is the railroading I mentioned before. You could just have them find him walking in the swamps with an alligator coming dangerously close to Luc. He is a lost one so he doesn't have really good reflexes so the PCs must save him. He may later lead them to his swamp house.

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am 3> What about a scenario where the PCs get to the village and proceed directly to the old cemetery? Sounds quite likely once they see the funeral encounter? They’d end up skipping straight to combat with the zombie lord marcel and miss all of the clues and narrative that flesh out the adventure ?

Marcel could be away during that time or they must realise what customs they have in Souragne thus the Gazetteer importance. Also the adventure mentions how to avoid that

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am 4>It says it’s suitable for 4-6 1-3 lvl PCs but suggests 9 total levels. I’ll have 4-6 1st level. Will it be too difficult?

Well it is a difficult adventure for 1st level adventurers I believe in my game they were 4 3rd level and still had a hard time, especially with the ju-ju zombie (although the 3 giant frogs are also deadly for 1st level PCs). If you want to make it a 1st level adventure you should tone down most if not all the battling encounters.

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am 5>Marcel has a special ability that kills on a 1 in 6. Sounds over powered ! Would you keep that as it is or amend it?

Yes I remember that my PCs were comfortably eating soup when one of them suddenly died face down in his soup before rising as a zombie and attacking the PCs. In 3e the Zombie Lord's aura affects all those who fail their saving throw with a contagion spell and it still kills and transforms those who lose their saving throw by 10 points or more (which is better than the 2e version I believe). In the encounter were the PC's are in the inn I would skip the deadly effect on the PCs and I would just let them witness what this deadly odor is able to do to another character as suggested in the adventure "at least one other patron succumbs", avoid killing PCs that way, it is not fun.

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am 6> Any other tips from those that have run this before?

Well my PCs had a hard time with Luc he seemed to be there only for railroading them, without actually offering too much in the adventure. I had the same problem with his serial killer brother, everything was done in encounters. The whole adventure seemed off without the PCs actually connecting the dots between the brothers. They were more focused on the prophecy while I believe it should be the other way around. I mean PCs don't necessarily have to believe in the prophecy until they witness the red moon verse happening. The main problem is that the murder mystery is written more as an encounter than a mystery, so I believe this needs some work to be done to create an atmosphere of mystery rather than plain encounters. In general there wasn't much info to flesh out the domain at the time and so you miss all the role playing that could b fun in the adventure. The colonial New Orlean's vibe of the domain is missing from the adventure and that is I believe were someone has to focus on to make it a more remembered experience (OK dying for no apparent reason while eating soup and being animated as a zombie is a rememberable experience but leaves a bad taste, and no its not the soup), especially for Halloween. The Loa and Voodans should play a key role in the atmosphere of the domain even if no Loa's are present in the adventure probably changing the church of Shaman Brucian into something resembling more the details we have for Souragne in 3e ike the following from Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends.

The voodan are the dominant mystical power in Souragne, and while some worship kind loa, many more adore spirits of a more primal, more malevolent aspect. Few in Souragne worship gods, leaving the voodan the only divine casters whose services can be regularly acquired. How might the players react, sessions after hearing this tale, when they enter the shop of the only man who can heal their injured companions, only to see a serpent-headed decanter of gleaming green fluid on the counter?
To make full use of Souragne as a setting,consider this. The loa are spirits, with no true physical form of their own. In many celebrations, worshipers leave themselves spiritually open, allowing the loa to temporarily possess them, serving as “mounts” while the spirits enjoy the sensations of the flesh.

Most voodan come from relatively rural or wild environments. Worship of the loa is far more common in small villages on the edge of civilization than it is elsewhere; only a handful of sizable cities claim the faith as their dominant religion.

Voodan do not congregate in great church hierarchies. Most temples to the loa are maintained by a single voodan, or perhaps a voodan and his students. While all voodan respect one another as servants of the loa, they feel no intrinsic sense of loyalty, and two powerful voodan might be bitter rivals as easily as they might be allies.

The Loa of Souragne As mentioned above, the religion of the domain of Souragne does not make use of any loa worshipped in true Vodoun, but a pantheon unique to the Ravenloft setting. The loa of Souragne number in the thousands, representing all manner of natural forces, locations and concepts. Many communities worship their deceased ancestors as loa.

Here is a selection of the greatest loas of the Souragnian faith, equally useful in a Ravenloft campaign or any fantasy game with a Vodoun-bent. Your DM may, of course, create others as she chooses.

The Maiden of the Swamp: One of the two most widely worshipped loa in all Souragne. She holds dominion over healing, those lost in the wild and growing things.

The Lord of the Dead: Is the single most dominant power of the entire faith. All those who die in Souragne are left unburied for four days, so that the Lord of the Dead may claim them as his own, should he choose.

Brahmbei, the Oracle: The shaper of fate and the seer of all things to come, Brahmbei was once the most powerful of the loa Souragne pray to him for luck and knowledge. he has been known to deceive those seeking knowledge, if he doing so serves to direct them toward their eventual destiny.

Kurkva, the Wailing One: Kurkva is the rain, the clouds and the open sky. Followers pray to him for all matters relating to rain and weather.

Lethede, the Lady of Roads: The wanderer and patron of travelers, Lethede is not an especially powerful loa, but she is very widely revered. Those far from home, those lost, and those whose loved ones are absent pray to Lethede.

Madris Orundi, the Dancer: Easily one of the most popular of loa, if not the most popular, the Dancer is the patron of artists and lovers. She is muse, inspiration and matchmaker.

Ohuwaghnn, the Serpent King: Reviled as few other loa are, Ohuwaghnn represents the dangerous beasts of the swamp and, by extension, the hazards of the wild in general.

Ovun Borundir, the Warrior: Evoked by those who are going into battle, professional soldiers and brawlers alike, Ovun Borundir is the patron of all who live and die — and kill — by violence.

Sehkelo, the Queen in Gold: Mother of the rebellious and violent Tonthomba, Sehkelo is revered as the sun, the disperser of darkness, the queen of the sky. (She is also mother of the loa of the moon, but he is not considered a primary loa and is not included here.)

Tonthomba, the Burning Man: One of the wildest of the loa, Tonthomba is as capricious as the flame he represents. He is vital to civilization, providing light in the dark and heat in winter, but he is also one of the world’s greatest destroyers, easily angered, difficult to control. He is particularly worshipped by pyromaniacs and devotees of chaos and destruction.

Ulwaddithri, the Consuming One: The Lord of Death may be the most feared of the dark loa of Souragne, but Ulwaddithri is the most reviled. The Consuming One represents the poisonous air of the deep swamp, the wasting touch of sickness, the hollow suffering of famine. She is plague and want and all things unwholesome. Many Souragnians pray to her, not to invoke her, but in hopes of assuaging her and directing her attentions elsewhere.

PS
Dragon Magazine, issue #349 has an article with the title Beyond Sasserine that details the area surrounding Sasserine in the world of Oerth. There it contains a brief mention of Anton Misroi, establishing Oerth as his and Souragne's world of origin.

Platations: Just outside Sasserine, nearly 25 miles of jungle and swamp along the Thunder River have been cleared for use as sprawling, privately owned plantations. Providing food crops and exports for the city, the river's seasonal flooding makes the land particularly rich, although those who farm it constantly battle reincroaching jungle vegetation and beasts. Cassava, coffee, cotton, millet, rice, sugarcane, and tea - as well as some more traditional farm crops- make up Sasserine's plantations most abundant products. Aside from their products, a few particular plantations bear noting.
Budinot Platation: ...
Dromdal Platation: ...
Misroi Platation: A cursed place, this untended plantation and burnt-out manor house once belonged to one Anton Misroi, a cruel man who murdered his wife by drowning her in a nearby quicksand bog. When her corpse returned to slay her treacherous husband, the plantation's fearful workers burned the manor house and forever fled.

Other things to check is Children of the Bayou from the Kargatane's netbook Book of Sorrows.
And there is a source of information in 3e Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends Chapter Five: To Honour and Obey.

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 9:01 am Any other tips from those that have run this before?

I found also these reviews for you

Now this is an adventure for PC levels one to three but make no mistake that I've had to bring in an NPC priest for healing more then a few times for even experienced groups of players. The reason is the increase in the sheer number of undead. They continue to build & grow in monster numbers. PC's are going to have their backs against the wall in no time. The fact that this is only a thirty two page module speaks volumes about it.

from http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/ ... night.html

A fairly good introduction to Ravenloft for DMs and players, but yet seems to fail to provide the necessary level of horror that the writers of Ravenloft materials are always stressing. Certain elements seem glossed over, and other suggestions are impossible to carry out. A chase scene is called for, but based on the map, it seems hard for a chase scene to ensue--there is much space between houses and one does not get the sense that in this small town anything resembling an alley or a wrong turn could actually exist. Despite an attempt to create an atmosphere of horror, the action seems largely driven by a gradual increase in number and strength of opposing creatures. There are other adventure modules for low level players still in print that are also more interesting. The one benefit of Night of the Walking Dead is its brevity--it can be completed in two or three sessions.

by Adam Morris

One advice before running this module: the final graveyard (Marais d'Tarascon Cemetery) should not be easily found early in the adventure, change it into an older, forgotten cemetery, perhaps on private land. The cemetery close to the village could perhaps be a more recent graveyard.

The reason is that it is far to easy for players to jump to the conclusion that something evil is going on in the cemetery instead of following the events in the adventure. But, if the source of undeads is NOT the public cemetery, the players will have no choice but to follow the events and collect clues and perhaps read somewhere that there is an older cemetery somewhere.

We played this adventure in the mid 90's. From the moment we learnt about the zombies and witnessed the burial of a chain-wrapped coffin, we knew we had to check out the cemetery the following night. And of course jumped straight to the zombie lord, skipping 95% of the adventure.

by janhjelle

I'm planning on running it this week with quite a few changes.

The biggest changes I've made are around the plot itself. It has holes. Mostly around Jean. I found it quite unbelievable that Jean would decide to just go around murdering people to give bodies to his undead brother. If your brother dies, you'd definitely be sad - distraught even, but at no point do people go "Welp, I guess I better start murdering random people now to feed to my undead brother." No. That doesn't happen.

Instead, what I'm doing is changing the narrative a bit. I also removed the Hyskosa scroll because that's dumb and weird, and I hate it - and I'm definitely not running the other 5 modules in that series. Instead, Marcel fell prey to a planted rumor of an old magical item of power in the old crypts. There, he encounters a wight who kills him. A death by wight results in zombification in 24 hours. Jean saves him and Luc from the Wight. Thankfully, they were attacked during the day, where wights have disadvantage to attack. I introduced another character - a voodoo priest in the swamp. Jean consults the voodoo priest. The voodoo priest does some mumbo jumbo and informs Jean that his brother will wake up a new man. (this also solves an other plot hole - why the 2nd level cleric/shaman in town has a couple of raise dead scrolls, which, for some reason, didn't work when Jean tried one on Marcel)

Marcel wakes up all right, but now he's a zombie lord. Jean catches him eating the maid. Jean traps him in the plantation house. Marcel flees to the townhouse in the city. This new wrinkle leaves Luc catatonic, and he goes to the swamp in a daze. Jean is now at odds with himself. Meanwhile, Marcel breaks out of his room, and kills the other servants, and is now wandering the countryside. Jean is primarily interested in keeping his brother alive, so he's tried digging up some graves to provide him with some meat, and even acquired a large amount of meat from the butcher, but is kind of at a loss as to what to do. He's hoping that, by some miracle, Marcel will regain his senses, and things will go back to normal. Jean is very concerned about his family's reputation and the plantation.

The rest of the module more or less happens as-is, without all the random murders by Jean. The PCs will still trace this problem to him, although he'll try to deny any knowledge or involvement, but eventually might crack. Meanwhile, the zombie lord keeps killing people, though is smart enough not to attract attention towards himself as well.

In the climax, the PCs will need to deal with the zombie lord Marcel, his zombies, possibly the wight inhabiting the old crypts (Which, at the suggestion below, I've placed in a separate location), and might even have a reckoning with the voodoo priest in the swamp. Should be good stuff!

by der_kluge

Hi Mephisto,

Thank you for taking the time to write such a considered response!

First of all I hope you have a good game!

Yes, main aim is to have fun! We’re all friends and they know I’ve not played in a long time. At this stage we’re just going to enjoy having a go at an adventure.

Due to the fact session one is tomorrow and I’m still familiarising myself with the basic rules and the base adventure I will be hard pressed to read the other resources in their entirety before session one, that said I will endeavour to cover and incorporate some of it.


Adventure Hook ..

As for the raft, it’s not a problem. I just need an idea what brought the PCs together in the first place. Remember this is a first game for players and characters. It is just because I do not yet know whether this will be a standalone or whether we continue the Hyksos scroll adventures or I return the PCs back to another world leaves me without the knowledge edge to decide why they are all gathered there and taken to the swamp, they’re just going to start on a raft. Perhaps they were travelling from A to B in another world and the mists took them. Perhaps they just find themselves there with no memory of anything prior, like a bad dream…and they have to find their way back out of the nightmare over the course of some adventures.

This is the railroading I mentioned before. You could just have them find him walking in the swamps with an alligator coming dangerously close to Luc. He is a lost one so he doesn't have really good reflexes so the PCs must save him. He may later lead them to his swamp house.

Perfect suggestion!

Marcel could be away during that time or they must realise what customs they have in Souragne thus the Gazetteer importance. Also the adventure mentions how to avoid that

Yes, also good! What do you mean by customs in this context? Will check out Gazetteer.

Well it is a difficult adventure for 1st level adventurers I believe in my game they were 4 3rd level and still had a hard time, especially with the ju-ju zombie (although the 3 giant frogs are also deadly for 1st level PCs). If you want to make it a 1st level adventure you should tone down most if not all the battling encounters.

Maybe they get 2 frogs not 3 ! I’ll be starting them all on max HP for class instead of rolling to make them as resilient as possible.

Yes I remember that my PCs were comfortably eating soup when one of them suddenly died face down in his soup before rising as a zombie and attacking the PCs. In 3e the Zombie Lord's aura affects all those who fail their saving throw with a contagion spell and it still kills and transforms those who lose their saving throw by 10 points or more (which is better than the 2e version I believe). In the encounter were the PC's are in the inn I would skip the deadly effect on the PCs and I would just let them witness what this deadly odor is able to do to another character as suggested in the adventure "at least one other patron succumbs", avoid killing PCs that way, it is not fun.

Hilarious to read though! Good idea on the odour, not in the inn but may allow in final combat.

Well my PCs had a hard time with Luc he seemed to be there only for railroading them, without actually offering too much in the adventure. I had the same problem with his serial killer brother, everything was done in encounters. The whole adventure seemed off without the PCs actually connecting the dots between the brothers.

Sounds important to make sure the PCs see the note from Marcel in Lucs book of poetry that evidences they are brothers.


Love the stuff on voodoo and Loa, will read up. Shaman Brucian needs to be voodoo !

WerePiggy wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2024 2:41 pm Love the stuff on voodoo and Loa, will read up. Shaman Brucian needs to be voodoo !

In addition to that...

I introduced another character - a voodoo priest in the swamp. Jean consults the voodoo priest. The voodoo priest does some mumbo jumbo and informs Jean that his brother will wake up a new man. (this also solves an other plot hole - why the 2nd level cleric/shaman in town has a couple of raise dead scrolls, which, for some reason, didn't work when Jean tried one on Marcel)

I would definitely use Chicken Bone from Monstrous Compendium II - "Human, Voodan (The Chicken Bone)" (Monstrous Compendium I & II - pp94-95)

Chicken Bone is a Voodan that resides within Maison d'Sablet in Souragne. More specifically he resides on island on the edge of Lake Noir. He is said to be able to grant meetings with the Lord of the Dead.

Given time Chicken Bone is able to employ any number of magical spells. In order to invoke any given power however he must perform a complex ritual. Given enough time the old man can cast any spells from the schools of Necromancy, Enchantment/Charm or Greater Divination. The ritual required to invoke these spells is quite involved and requires no less than 1 hour per level of the spell. During this time, the Voodan must be left undisturbed. The rituals by which he invokes his spells requires him to set alight numerous candles, burn certain incenses, and offer up the lives of one or more small animals as sacrifices - to what, he will not say. In addition to to whatever material components the actual spell may require, Chicken Bone must have a sympathetic token from both the person hiring him to cast the spell and the person to be targeted by it. These tokens can range from things like a lock of hair, some nail clippings, or a drop of blood to personal possessions like a favourite weapon, a wedding ring or an important lucky charm. Range is not a consideration, for the use of the sympathetic item negates all such concerns.
Neither of the sympathetic items are destroyed in the casting of the spell and Chicken Bone retains them afterwards as part of the contract for his services. In this way, he is able to cast spells on his patrons if they later threaten or refuse to pay him.

Rumor has it that a terrible curse will strike anyone who harms the Voodan. As payment for his services the Voodan required only for the supplicants to perform some service for him. As a rule, these services were minor. On rare occasions, however, the task required might be quite extreme. The severity of the required payment seemed to have no relationship with the action Chicken Bone performed.
When someone hires Chicken Bone to cast a spell, the task that he requires of them should be decided upon ahead of time by the DM. This can be used to promote the overall flavor of the game and to drive the plot forward. It is important to note that the old man does not reveal his price intil after his ritual is completed and the spell is cast. The price for his services, he insists, comes during the ritual.

https://ibb.co/r3xyG4J

PS
Maybe Jean as the weird person he is decided to not pay Chicken Bone and thus his brother was raised as a zombie lord (technically the spell was cast, Marcel failed his save as in 2e rules ). So when Jean refused to pay Chicken Bone, the Voodan made it clear that whatever happens after that will be Jean's fault. When his brother became the "new man" that he is the traumatic experience and guilt Jean felt was externalised driving him to start his killing spree. As a spree killer he commits murders with no cooling-off period, in contrast to serial killer, where there is a period of time between killings.
Well all brothers were plantation owners (owning slaves is not a good start for a human being anyway) and we know that Marcel is evil or else he wouldn't have become a zombie lord (it is one of the prime requisites in 2e), Jean could as well be evil but was still traumatised by what happened to his brother. Luc on the other hand was not as cold hearted as his brothers and this is the reason his trauma made him catatonic.

Beware of the Zombie Lord instant death ability that may ruin the final battle and is simply too much. You can replace it with this or something atmospheric but not just instant kill and zombify.

Death Stench (Su): 30-foot radius, Will save negates. Whether the save is successful or not, a creature is immune to the death stench of that zombie lord for one day. On a failed save, the opponent suffers one of the following effects (roll 1d6 below).

1d6 Result

1 Deals 1d4 points of temporary Strength damage
2 Filth Fever (see Disease, page 74 in the DMG)
3 Deals 1 point of temporary Constitution damage
4 Contagion (as the spell)
5-6 Nauseated for 1d4 rounds

the original
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/zomblord/