Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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DeadReborn
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Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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8/3
Our merry band of adventurers found themselves transported by a mysterious mist to an unknown swamp. After fending off a crocodile, the party happened upon a Vistani camp and were invited to join them. The party was given a "reading", the results of which frightened the Vistani. The gypsies quickly turned in for the night, allowing the group to stay by the fire. Valana, who read the party's fortune, warned them to "beware the madman, beware his blood." In the morning, the Vistani had disappeared. The group pressed on, finding a house on silts further into the swamp. Inside the house, the party found a single occupant, fresh food and water, and two dozen lit lanterns. The man, who cradled a book in his arms, only responded with strange words. After stocking up on food and water, the adventurers departed, followed by the strange man. The party's Ranger discovered a path which led to a nearby village. Upon arriving, the group noticed a group gathered in front of what appeared to be a church. The Ranger moved in for a closer look and witnessed something very bizarre. As a priest was saying a few words over the coffin, which was sealed with heavy chains, there was a muffled bang from inside. The crowd seemed to noticed this but chose to ignore it. As the procession moved toward the cemetary, the banging increased. Once the cemetary was reached, the crowd slid the coffin into an open vault and abruptly sealed it. Afterward, the group of villagers dispersed, going on about the rest of their day. The party decided to find an inn before investigating further.
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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8/18
At the Full Moon Inn, the party found out about the recent events that were troubling the town. They included disappearances, murder, and the dead not being inclined to stay that way. It all began two weeks prior to the PCs arrival in town, beginning with the murder of Marcel Tarascon, the brother of the strange man that is following the party. Marcel was brought to the villiage priest by his brother Jean. The shaman attempted to ressurrect Marcel, but failed. Jean left with the body and disappeared. The party offered their help to the town's constible, who accepted it. The next day, the PCs found a murder scene. The only clues were some tracks leading to the Tarason townhouse and a single piece of licorice. The party's investigation led them to Mordu, the town's eccentric. He welcomed the PCs, offered them licorice, and told them his theroies of a cult who worships an evil swamp god. He believes the recent events are tied in with this cult. He loans the party a book tiled The Cult of the Swamp God and sends them on their way. The PCs then went to the Tarascon house. There was no answer and the door was locked up tight. There was, however, light coming from a window on the first floor. Looking through the window, they saw a ghastly sight; ghouls preparing to feast on a corpse. The ghouls noticed the party and moved to attack. A short battle ensued, with the party emerging victorious.

On a side note, this is my first time running C&C and the first game I've run in a few years. I was a little shaky at first, but part of the beauty of this system is its simplicity. I've never felt more comfortable running a game or had more fun. I'd like to give a big thanks to the Troll Lords for giving us this wonderful rule set. :D
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

Post by Relaxo »

Check with Vinny, but I think we have open seats if anyone wants to join our party.
Bill D.
Author: Yarr! Rules-Light Pirate RPG
BD Games - www.playBDgames.com
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.ph ... rs_id=5781

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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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9/1
After dispatching the ghouls, the party noticed they were being watched. Confronting the witness, they learned his name was Swifty, a Gnome who happened into town the same way as the party; deposited there by the Mists. They party, with Swifty joining them, decided to search the Tarascon residence. The house appeared empty, save for the grizzly scene in the dining room and some dusty furniture. On the second floor, hidden behind a book shelf, the PCs discovered a hooded cloak with licorice in the pockets and a scroll tube. Inside was some parchment with cryptic writing, which the party recognized as the gibberish that their strange companion Luc was muttering. After reporting what they had found to the constable, the party decided to unwind at the inn before retiring for the night. While sitting in the common room, the party was overcome by a foul stench, which seemed to eminate from outside. Everyone was accounted for except Duncan, the only other guest at the inn. The party went to his room and as he got up from his bed, the PCs noticed something was not right. Duncan was now a zombie and he was shambling toward the party, arms reaching for them. The Cleric stepped forward, brandishing his holy symbol. The creature tried fleeing, but it was trapped. The party quickly dispatched him and investigating his body, it appeared he died gasping for air. There were no marks on his neck and his airway was clear. The party then decided to go back outside and try to discover the source of the stench. All they found were bits of rotten flesh and ichor on the path in front of the inn.
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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9/22
Following the trail of rotten flesh, it seemed to lead toward the cemetery. At the gates, the party noticed two men attempting to break into one of the crypts. Svfandir, the Cleric tried to sneak closer, but was spotted by the men who rushed toward him. As they approached, their identity became clear; they were ghouls. The PCs emerged victorious. The party then found an older cemetery that appeared rundown and no longer in use. Swifty the Gnome climbed the outer wall to take a peek inside the older graveyard, while the rest of the party decided to break the lock in order to gain entry. While on the wall, the Gnome noticed a path through the overgrowth leading from a large crypt to a statue within the old cemetery. After a lenghty discussion, the party decided to return in the morning to investigate the large crypt. At sunrise, the adventurers made their way back to the graveyard. They were approached by the Dwarf Deruno who runs the general store. Hearing that the
party was doing what they could to help the townsfolk, he gave them a sack of goods to thank them. Inside was a longsword, six arrows, bracers, and three healing potions. Swifty used his arcane powers to check the items and found that the sword, the arrows, and the potions had magical auras eminating from them. Before departing, Deruno told them of a port town north of Marais d'Tarascon and warned them of a manor house just off the main road that was rumored to be haunted.
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

Post by old school gamer »

Looks cool. What are the PC's playing?

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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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old school gamer wrote:Looks cool. What are the PC's playing?
The Night of the Walking Dead module. It's one of my all time favorites. It used to be available for free from WotC, but it appears they have taken it down. :x

The party consist of a Human Ranger, Human Barbarian, Dwarven Cleric (who didn't make it, as you'll read below), and a Gnome class and a half Rogue/Wizard. We're looking for a couple more people, if your interested. The guy playing the Cleric had to drop out due to real life commitments.
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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10/4 & 10/18
As the party was set to enter the cemetery, a woman's scream pierced the morning. They sprang into action, making a b-line toward the scream. Torbort the Ranger arrived first. He saw a man in a hooded cloak brandishing a dagger standing over the woman he had apparently stabbed. The Ranger called for him to stop and the man ran off. After a short chase, the man removed his hood and revealed his identity. It was Jean Tarascon, who had been missing since his brother Marcel was killed. He attacked the party, but they quickly overpowered him. Swifty decided to knock him out rather than kill him. The party tied him up and carried him to the Constable. The woman was brought to Shaman Brucian. The Constable decided that all the town's trouble was behind them, but the party was not convinced. Meanwhile, the Shaman tended to the woman's wounds and informed the party that she was the inn keeper's daughter. The inn keeper thanked the party and offered to throw a huge party in their honor. During the celebration, the storm that had been brewing finally broke. The shaman recounted the night Jean brought Marcel's body to him. He too was sure the troubles were not over. As he finished, the front door burst open. A man, soaked from the rain and out of breath, announced that an army of zombies was marching on the villiage. The constable, joined by the party, went to investigate the man's claim. Though it was hard to see in the down pour, the party witnessed a terrifying sight; no fewer than thirty zombies slowly making their way toward the village. The Constable asked the party to head back to the inn with him in order to set up barricades. Shaman Brucian urged them to take a different course. He told them to go to the old cemetery. He was sure the key to this nightmare lied within its walls. The party chose the latter, and made haste to the large crypt they discovered the night before. Upon arriving, Roq the Barbarian opened the great stone doors of the crypt. Inside the well lit crypt, the party saw a man who greaty resemebled Jean Tarascon, save for the fact he was now one of the undead. He ordered the party to turn over the scroll or suffer dire consequences. Out of the shadows, dark figures moved toward the PCs. Four zombies emerged, one staying by Marcel's side. The stench emminating from the crypt was too much for the party to endure, save for the Barbarian. He held his ground and fought off the walking corpses while the rest of the party regained their composure. As the battle raged on, Swifty tried to taunt Marcel, annoucing that if he wanted the scroll, he had better come and get it. The Gnome then climbed to the top of the crypt. Marcel stayed put and ordered his minions to press on. As the fight continued, lightning struck the large glass dome on top of the crypt. Through the new opening, an awesome specticle was brewing; the moon was blood red and looked as though it was being swallowed by an unseen behemoth. Marcel and his undead lackeys stared up at the sight, oblivious to everything around them. Luc started to recite another cryptic verse, only this time it was not non-sense; it was the last line of the scroll. The party took full advantage and took the fight to Marcel and the zombies. After a few moments, Marcel snapped back to reality and entered the fray with a scream. Swifty, who was still on the roof, tried again to get under Marcel's rotten skin by igniting a piece of parchment, not the scroll itself, and dropping it into the crypt. By this time, the battle was going in favor of the heroes, but Marcel had a few tricks up his sleeve. He looked right at the Cleric and started chanting. Svafnir dropped dead where he stood, but it was too late for Marcel. With his minions dispathced, Torbort delivered them killing blow to Marcel, seperating his head from his shoulders. From the roof of the crypt, Swifty noticed the zombies marching on the village had lost their drive and wandered off into the swamp. The PCs had put an end to the nightmare that was plauging the townsfolk.
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Which means...I AM A LEVEL TEN WIZARD!"-SpongeBob SquarePants

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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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11/1 & 11/15
Shortly after the party dispatched Marcel and his minions, they were approached by two travelers; Donagan, a Human Transmuter, and Farlyn, an Elvin Anchorite who hailed from Sithicus. They were, like so many, swallowed by the Mists and deposited in the swamp near the village. Making their way through the pouring rain, they arrived at the Full Moon Inn while it was under attack by Marcel's army of the living dead. Shaman Brucian popped out the back of the inn and told the two to head for the cemetary. They did so and met up with the rest of the party. After seeing that their fallen companion Svafnir got a proper burial, the party rested up and, with Donagan and Farlyn, headed for the port town to the North. After traveling for the better part of the day, they came across a small trail off the main path. At the end of the trail was the manor house that was rumoured to be haunted. Being the bold adventurers that they are, they decided to check it out. Inside, they found the house to be undisturbed for some time. Most everything was covered in dust, but the party did happen upon some footprints inside that looked to have been made fairly recently. After searching several rooms and finding nothing of interest, they noticed a woman on the second floor. She just stood there, watching the party. Torbort called out to her, but she turned and disappeared. The party decided to stay on the first floor. The party entered a dining hall and discovered some old bloodstains, several footprints and the message "Soon, dear cousin, I come for you" written in the dust. The party's
Ranger couldn't determine exactly how old the tracks were, but ventured a guess of no more than a week or two. From there, the PCs discovered a nursery, marred with bloody handprints that appeared quite old. Searching the room, they found a doll in one of the cribs, its head cut from its body. In the toy chest was a bag of marbles that Swifty identified as being made from gemstones. The next room they entered had a large bath filled with nasty, rancid water. The party decided to throw one of the toys in to see what would happen. As soon as the water started to settle, it started to stir up on
its own and one by one three skeletons arose from the bath. The first one out went for Roq the Barbarian and attempted to drag him into the tub. Roq shrugged him off quite easily and started to take the fight to the undead. Farlyn held out his holy symbol and envoked the power of Our Lady of the Mists. The skeletons were no match for the Anchorite's Divine powers and cowered in fear. The party then made short work of the skeletons. They probed around the tub with a spear, but found nothing else beneath the surface.
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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11/29 & 12/13
Moving on, the party entered a sitting room and encountered a young woman sitting in a chair with a raven perched on her shoulder. She resembled the woman the party saw on the second floor balcony and she appeared incorporeal; the party could see right through her. She ignored all attempts at
communication and as they approached her, the raven flew right toward them. It turned into a shadow that passed right through the party, chilling them right down to the bone. Afterward, the girl and raven had dissapeared. Back outside the room, the party was approached by an Elf. He introduced himself as Legirel. He was traveling with a Halfing and became light-headed and faint after eating some rations. They staggered into the manor house and passed out in a room on the second floor. When Legirel awoke sometime later, his companion had disappeared. He and the group decided to join up and the investigation continued. As the party passed through the hall on the first floor, they once again encountered the ghost of the young woman dancing alone. She noticed the group and began talking to Roq, refering to him as Tommy. She asked him where he had been and tried to get him to dance with her. He declined, and the party decided to head down stairs. They entered a room and were greated by a stuffed Black Dragon, apparently a trophy. Sitting between the Dragon's front legs was the young woman and the raven. She told the party to leave several times, which fell on deaf ears. The trophy then reanimated and attacked the party. Moments before the dragon turned the battle in it's favor, everyone in the group noticed, for a brief moment, a strange man was present in the room. He was frail looking with almost skeletal features, but what stood out the most was the intricate crown upon his head. The party also noticed that he didn't seem to be actually there, that he appeared incorporeal. He was gone seconds later, then everything went black. The group was awakened by a nervous young man with red hair. They found themselves in the outskirts of a forest. On a nearby trail was a colorfully painted, enclosed wagon drawn by two mules. An elderly woman with dark hair
that was streaked with white was in the driver's seat.
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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1/10
As the party gathered their wits, they discovered a new person amongst them; Lars Homage, a human Cleric of Lathander. He was traveling in his homeworld when he was swallowed by the Mists. While in the swirling fog, Lars was attacked by a strange creature that seemed to be composed of the Mist itself. As the battle was starting to look grim, the Cleric noticed the same man as the party and everything went black. The party also noticed that Farlyn was unaccounted for. The woman driving the wagon introduced herself as Ursula and the young man Petar, her grandson. They were making their way to Barovia with a group of fellow Vistani when they became separated and lost their way. Ursula suggested that they set up camp, as it was approaching nightfall. The group agreed, and set out to gather firewood. The party couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched and heard rustling in the bushes. Investigation revealed nothing; it appeared to be the group's imagination. A moment later a large group of a dozen grotesque humanoids moved out of the surrounding foilage and moved to attack. The creatures seemed to focus on Petar. Swifty used his magic to make it appear as though a battle was taking place in the East, creating the illusion of swords clashing and people carrying lanterns toward the fight. A great deal of the creatures fell for it and made their way toward the illusionary battle. Petar, seemingly out of nowhere, caused some of the creatures to become entangled, which came as a shock to his grandmother Ursula. Donagan cast a spell on the creatures that struggling against the vines and caused some of them to fall into a slumber. One of the monsters made it to Ursula and attacked her. It landed two blows with its filthy claws and got a hold of her throat. She instantly collapsed as the creature started biting her repeatedly in the face. As night began to fall over the land, the battle continued...
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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

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2/7-2/22
During the battle, Swifty's magic caught the attention of two adventurers to the South East. Investigating the lights, they found the party locked in combat with the hideous monsters. Filhara, a Dwarven Cleric, and Elinora, an Elven Druid, quickly rushed to aid the PCs. Filhara noticed Ursula, who was no longer in the clutches of the creature, was still alive. He called upon his divine power to heal her. With the new additions to the battle, the party made quick
work of their foes. After some brief introductions, Ursula thanked the party profusely and offered the party a couple of things. First, she offered to pierce one of each party member's ear with a gold hoop. She claimed if the Vistani would know the PCs helped out one of their own and would not be so quick to swindle and cheat them. Next, she offered to read the party's future. Petar came out of the Vardo with a pan and some stones. Roq recognized them as the same thing the Vistani in the swamp used to give them their reading. Finally, she offered to draw a map of the area they were in. The attack by the creatures gave Ursula a clue to where they were. The party headed North a little ways and then decided to set up camp for the night. During his watch, Roq noticed some wolves approaching. Upon closer inspection, they were in bad shape and appeared to have wounds that should have been fatal. He quickly decided to wake the rest of the party. The Cleric Lars brandished his holy symbol and the undead wolves fled the area. In the morning, the party headed slight North East toward a mountain that could be seen nearby. There, the party happened upon more of the creatures that attacked them the previous day. Two of them were on the ground dead, with their claws at each other's throat. The third was behaving erraticlly, first dancing about, then picking up a large rock and bashing himself bloody with it. He noticed the party, snarled at them, and waved them over. As they approached, the creature moved to attack.
"My simple card trick has turned you into an ice cream cone!
Which means...I AM A LEVEL TEN WIZARD!"-SpongeBob SquarePants

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Re: Crusades of Terror: C&C in Ravenloft

Post by Ancalagon »

Night of the Walking Dead is a great little starter adventure! I've run it using AD&D and converted it to Warhammer Fantasy RP 2e for a romp in the swamp.
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