Horror’s Harvest (spoilers!)

[Joël of the FoS]

I’ve always loved this Dungeon Ravenloft adventure, where the PCs face a doppelganger plant that has started to snatch and transform people.

I plan to use it in my next session - in 10 days. Anybody from this esteemed audience played it?

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However, I do not like the part where the players are asked to look after a comet fallen from the sky. I know my players have seen the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers and I fear they will understand too quickly what is going on in this small town, if they are looking after a rock from space.

For those who know of this adventure, any idea to bring them into town and ensnare them into the mystery? They will learn later, amongst other rumors, of the fallen comet.

Joël

[NeoTiamat]

I haven't played it. (I haven't even heard of it), but some information on the town and situation might be useful to let the rest of us help out.

Other then that, first thing that comes to mind is bandits. Town has bandit problems, PCs are called in to assisst, Doppelganger Plant lands, turns the bandits into its first slaves and uses them for defense.

More information would help though.

[Chaderick]

Hi, Joel,

I loved this adventure. I normally DM, but this was one of my few opportunities to experience Ravenloft as a player. The gradual degredation of the village was truly horrifying. In the end, we took so long that the village could really mobilize against us. My character had befriended Myrna Wulch (I believe that was her name), one of the elderly old ladies in town. She came trundling into the street once the fracas began, brandishing an arquebus, and at that point we knew that everything had fallen apart!

The manor house was also a very creepy experience, and one I still remember vividly.

The only advice that I would give, as both a player and DM, is to look carefully at the effects of the comet once the characters reach it. Some of them (I believe the character's skin turning violet, or his dietary needs changing so that he subsists solely on dirt?) seemed to lack a realistic approach. After such an awesome build up, it seemed less alien and more ...just weird...to have those bizarre effects hit the characters.

It was a lot of fun to play, and it's since been a lot of fun to run. Of course, it was by Christopher Perkins, and that goes a long way towards putting your faith in an adventure!

Hope my experience can give you a little help! I know your advice on other threads has helped me over the years!

[Chaderick]

Oh, and sorry...I forgot to say anything to your question!


I'm pretty sure that my group was just "passing through" when they got wrapped up in it. There are so many curiosities going on in Delmunster that any adventurer worth his salt is going to have his curiosity piqued within twenty minutes of getting to town...Even if it's just that everyone's "too friendly..."

[Mortepierre]

Aaaaaah, Delmunster.. the memories...

Aye, I remember it well as the best RL adventure I ever ran for my players. Very creepy and lots of potential subplots.

IMHO, the keys to make it an experience they won't soon forget are:

a) make sure your players befriend some of the villagers, including podlings (remember: they'll try to be nice to the PC.. at first)
b) use all the "false" adventure hooks provided (werewolf problem, undead infestation, etc..) so that they don't come too quickly to the right conclusion
c) delay their visit to the manor by having a podling tell them all kind of lies about the burgomeister; if possible, lies that will make him look like a prime suspect ("why, yes! One of our burgomeister's ancestor was a necro.. er.. an arcanist. Of course, he doesn't like people to talk about it. Family reputation and all that..")
d) use the "dead church caretaker" subplot to scare the living hell out of them. Heck, when I ran it, I gave an Animate Dead scroll to one of the podling casters and used it to necroanimate the corpse! The sound of the two priests caught inside the church with a zombie, screaming for help, was more than enough to divert their attention from the real problem
e) always keep the list of villagers (found in the mod.) at hand as reference. Made the DM's job a lot easier.
f) when they finally find the comet (and the mother-plant), make sure to fill the area with a bank of fog and describe the "birth" of a podling
g) describe in horrific details the "innards" of the first podling they kill

Since my players knew next to nothing about RL monsters when I ran it, they didn't suspect a thing. Actually, they thought I was giving them easy access to some kind of weird starmetal. If needed, use that hook with the astronomer
"I'll need to examine the comet but, if there is any metal in it, I'll give it to you afterwards"

The biggest problem I ran into was that the village is supposed to be in Falkovnia. Hence, no citizen but the militia can have weapons. That applies to the foreigners (aka PC) too! I solved it by placing the village just over the Borcan border. Thus, some locals are ex-members of the Falkovnian military that were hired by the burgomeister to help maintain order.

I didn't use this hook back then but if I ran the module today, I would include an encounter with a pseudo-natural animal in the forest. After all, the village isn't too far from the "dead trees" section of Falkovnia.

It doesn't need to be something big. Just something that the PC won't expect to turn into a hideous monster. That too can be used to prevent them from coming to the right conclusion immediately.

I wish you luck and a great session!

[CorvusCornix]

Well, to my shame I have to admit that I've got said adventure lying around here somewhere, but haven't read it yet - there's still so much RL-stuff to read... However, I've already been planning to use some form of psychic link between one of the PCs and an NPC to lure them into a town infested by Sea Spawns (or a doppleganger plant, I'll have to think about that, I guess they aren't too different).

They way I've planned it so far is this:
1) During some kind of arcane ritual (in my case the PC will be shown The Weave) something goes wrong, and for a few seconds the PC sees everything through the eyes of some NPC in a distant village.
2) Later on, in irregular intervals, these visions return, showing the PC that something isn't quite right in said village. Also, step by steps, he/she gets hints of where this village is, until he/she can finally put the pieces together and go save the day. Maybe the visions also stop abruptly, hinting that something has happened to his/her "friend".

And Mortepierre, thanks for all the advice, I'll bear it in mind when reading the adventure.

[Mortepierre]

And Mortepierre, thanks for all the advice, I'll bear it in mind when reading the adventure.

Eh, pleasure

Actually, something I forgot to add was that if your PC are of the "blast-them-first-and-loot-the-corpses-later" school, do remind them that this is a village filled with ordinary innocent civilians (for the most part). Just because they're suspicious doesn't mean they have been given leave to torture, mind-search, and kill at random.

If they pull such a stupid stunt, then arrest them and confine them to the jail. That will make them easy prey for the plant (especially if the militia has been replaced by podlings).

Hmm.. come to think of it, this might be the best way to make it a horrible experience (in the RL sense of the word, of course). The village is in Falkovnia so, when they arrive, they'll have to surrender their weapons (+ armors if you really want to make them sweat).

Having to solve this adventure with nothing but clubs and staves (+ some weapons looted on dead podlings) will make it that much harder but will also heighten their feeling of dread

[Band2]

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However, I do not like the part where the players are asked to look after a comet fallen from the sky. I know my players have seen the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers and I fear they will understand too quickly what is going on in this small town, if they are looking after a rock from space.

For those who know of this adventure, any idea to bring them into town and ensnare them into the mystery? They will learn later, amongst other rumors, of the fallen comet.

Joël

I don't have the adventure (Though I hear it is a good one.) so I cannot offer much advice. But as an avid fan of your campaign journal - could you use George Weathermay to lure them to the village? The characters had tried to bring him in on their quest to kill the werewolves and he never showed up. What if van Richten receives word that George was on the trail of someone or something and was either in Delmunster or nearby. Would that make the PCs curious enough to go see why he did not join them for the werewolf hunt.
Or not knowing the outcome of the werewolf battle, did any of the werewolves escape and flee north towards Falkovnia?

[vipera aspis]

Where can one obtain this adventure? Are there any download sites? It sounds really. really cool..

[The Giamarga]

It's from Dungeon magazin #38, and thus in 2nd Edition mechanics. But converting it shouldn't be too hard.

HORROR'S HARVEST
AD&D RAVENLOFT adventure, 4-8 characters of levels 2-4
Written by: Christopher Perkins
Artwork by: P.L. Wolf
Town/Forest, temperate
21 pages

Description: A mysterious comet falls from the sky, forever changing the
people of Delmunster.


Horror’s Harvest (RAVENLOFT; 2-4) A bad seed has been
planted in the dark soil of Ravenloft, and now it’s time
to harvest the crops.;


Ebay may be your best bet, though you can get a mint copy from the hitpointe.com for $ 7

[Joël of the FoS]

Thank you all for your geat comments and suggestions!

Hi, Joel,

I loved this adventure. I normally DM, but this was one of my few opportunities to experience Ravenloft as a player. The gradual degredation of the village was truly horrifying. In the end, we took so long that the village could really mobilize against us.

This adventure has lots of potential to be creepy, indeed!

My character had befriended Myrna Wulch (I believe that was her name), one of the elderly old ladies in town. She came trundling into the street once the fracas began, brandishing an arquebus, and at that point we knew that everything had fallen apart!

Unless your DM changed names, Myrna Wulch is already a podling at the start. I guess you mean the old lady, the school teacher gossip font? Ezra Crumsen?

The only advice that I would give, as both a player and DM, is to look carefully at the effects of the comet once the characters reach it. Some of them (I believe the character's skin turning violet, or his dietary needs changing so that he subsists solely on dirt?) seemed to lack a realistic approach. After such an awesome build up, it seemed less alien and more ...just weird...to have those bizarre effects hit the characters.

I wanted to remove this part indeed. It felt too Gamma World and not Ravenloftish enough. I’ll probably remove the radiation effects unless I think of a creepy effect.

Hope my experience can give you a little help! I know your advice on other threads has helped me over the years!

*blushes*

Oh, and sorry...I forgot to say anything to your question!

I'm pretty sure that my group was just "passing through" when they got wrapped up in it. There are so many curiosities going on in Delmunster that any adventurer worth his salt is going to have his curiosity piqued within twenty minutes of getting to town...Even if it's just that everyone's "too friendly..."

There is this scribe in town (a podling at the start). I was thinking of having Van Richten sending them there for an errand / having this scribe write to VR for advice when the crisis start (when the PCs arrive, he got this surprising “no, everything is fine here” attitude, triggering something is wrong.).

Or the Mordentshire Ezra church gets a strange message from the Delmunster church, and it sends the PCs to investigate.

While I know Delmunster is set in Falkovnia, the location of the village isn’t set yet IMC. The PCs are now in Mordent, so I’ll locate the village in a remote location around.

Aaaaaah, Delmunster.. the memories...

Aye, I remember it well as the best RL adventure I ever ran for my players. Very creepy and lots of potential subplots.

IMHO, the keys to make it an experience they won't soon forget are:

a) make sure your players befriend some of the villagers, including podlings (remember: they'll try to be nice to the PC.. at first)
b) use all the "false" adventure hooks provided (werewolf problem, undead infestation, etc..) so that they don't come too quickly to the right conclusion
c) delay their visit to the manor by having a podling tell them all kind of lies about the burgomeister; if possible, lies that will make him look like a prime suspect ("why, yes! One of our burgomeister's ancestor was a necro.. er.. an arcanist. Of course, he doesn't like people to talk about it. Family reputation and all that..")
d) use the "dead church caretaker" subplot to scare the living hell out of them. Heck, when I ran it, I gave an Animate Dead scroll to one of the podling casters and used it to necroanimate the corpse! The sound of the two priests caught inside the church with a zombie, screaming for help, was more than enough to divert their attention from the real problem

Interesting advices!

I was tinkering with the zombie plague mixed with it, for fun and confusion. One podling could indeed be raising the dead to go after the players.

e) always keep the list of villagers (found in the mod.) at hand as reference. Made the DM's job a lot easier.
f) when they finally find the comet (and the mother-plant), make sure to fill the area with a bank of fog and describe the "birth" of a podling

Cool scene indeed!

g) describe in horrific details the "innards" of the first podling they kill

Never hesitate to trigger horror checks, indeed!

Since my players knew next to nothing about RL monsters when I ran it, they didn't suspect a thing. Actually, they thought I was giving them easy access to some kind of weird starmetal. If needed, use that hook with the astronomer
"I'll need to examine the comet but, if there is any metal in it, I'll give it to you afterwards"

I’ll probably remove the astronomer adventure hook, or have him pop in town himself if the players are far from finding the truth.

The biggest problem I ran into was that the village is supposed to be in Falkovnia. Hence, no citizen but the militia can have weapons. That applies to the foreigners (aka PC) too! I solved it by placing the village just over the Borcan border. Thus, some locals are ex-members of the Falkovnian military that were hired by the burgomeister to help maintain order.

I do not think the players will ever go back casually to Falkovnia So to make it easier, as I said I’ll relocate the village.

I didn't use this hook back then but if I ran the module today, I would include an encounter with a pseudo-natural animal in the forest. After all, the village isn't too far from the "dead trees" section of Falkovnia.

It doesn't need to be something big. Just something that the PC won't expect to turn into a hideous monster. That too can be used to prevent them from coming to the right conclusion immediately.

Interesting idea for another red herring.

Actually, something I forgot to add was that if your PC are of the "blast-them-first-and-loot-the-corpses-later" school, do remind them that this is a village filled with ordinary innocent civilians (for the most part). Just because they're suspicious doesn't mean they have been given leave to torture, mind-search, and kill at random.

If they pull such a stupid stunt, then arrest them and confine them to the jail. That will make them easy prey for the plant (especially if the militia has been replaced by podlings).

Another good idea if they are too careless, but I doubt it will happen, knowing them. But if it does, I’ll remember the idea. Or perhaps a NPC could do this, and when the PCs visit him/her in jail, he has changed attitude completely as a podling.

I don't have the adventure (Though I hear it is a good one.) so I cannot offer much advice. But as an avid fan of your campaign journal - could you use George Weathermay to lure them to the village? The characters had tried to bring him in on their quest to kill the werewolves and he never showed up. What if van Richten receives word that George was on the trail of someone or something and was either in Delmunster or nearby. Would that make the PCs curious enough to go see why he did not join them for the werewolf hunt.
Or not knowing the outcome of the werewolf battle, did any of the werewolves escape and flee north towards Falkovnia?

Bringing George back in this could be an interesting lead! (and I’m glad you like my journals. Comments like this makes me want to continue writing it! Expect sessions 21 and 22 soon!)

Joël

[Mortepierre]

Where can one obtain this adventure? Are there any download sites? It sounds really. really cool..

Hmm.. Paizo lists it as currently unavailable
http://paizo.com/store/magazines/dungeon/issues/1992/38

As Giamarga said, ebay is your best bet.. at least until Paizo finally goes forth with their plan to turn old issues into pdf.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

For the radiation effects, how about going realistic? Look up some real radiation poisoning symptoms. Losing hair, teeth, etc. Strange unexplained "burns"

[Chaderick]

That's an interesting, Gonzoron. If anybody comes up with some game-specific radiation rules, please post them!

Joel, I'm pretty sure my DM swapped those names by accident, and they just stuck out so vividly in my imagination that I had forgotten. I do vaguely remember a "what the heck?" moment when I first read the adventure from a DM's perspective...

[Mortepierre]

I too didn't like the radiation subplot. At the time I ran the mod., I didn't use it at all.

If I had to run it again, I would change it to what follows:

Given the comet is like a seed of pure evil, why not replace radiation by taint? (from Heroes of Horror)

Exposure to the comet's taint means 1 pt of corruption AND 1d3 pt of depravity. Prolonged exposure would double that amount.

That would account for the burgomeister's physical and mental "problems", and it would be more in keeping with Gothic horror.