Terrible Cults in 3 Steps

Yesterday I talked about the first of two super-simple techniques I have for prepping WFRP (or indeed any RPG with weird, uncanny encounters). Today, I'll talk about the second.

The best way I know to make a setting creepy, uncanny, and also humorous, is to use cults. Cults are a fantastic framing device: They allow us to distil ideologies, emotions, or even personality traits into a single organisation. That is very powerful, for a GM, and a great framing device for the other players to see the setting.

And just like yesterday, I have 3 easy steps to create cults.

Step #1 - Think of something mundane, yet important

E.g. Salmon migrate from the ocean, upstream, to spawn in the upper reaches of rivers.

It's best to think of something that the average person in your setting would notice and would care about. Aspects of the world that have conflict (supposed or real), or that are important phenomena. In the above example, when the salmon come to migrate, they would be much easier to catch, meaning there would be much more food available.

Step #2 - Make a reasonable, but incorrect, leap in logic

E.g. Salmon migrate to the rivers because they're running from a monster that wakes up in the oceans, annually.

Here, if there isn't already conflict in the idea, add it. Preferably one with agency behind it. Something does something else to the focus. This leap in logic should attempt to explain the phenomenon in ways that the average lay person could rationalise and agree with... Imagine a cultist attempting to recruit new followers: How would they use this leap in logic to sway new folks into their line of thinking? The more reasonable the leap, the better. But also remember, the more tension and drama in the leap, the more compelling it will be, and the more people will want to believe it.

Also, don't be afraid of making utterly ridiculous leaps in logic - even ones that everyone in the setting has already put to bed. Consider how widely prevalent the Flat Earth Society is in our modern day, and the arguments they make to support their fallacy (and the arguments that their recruiters make to gain more of a following). In fact, the Flat Earth Society is a fantastic example of a modern cult. They're well worth studying for the GM's toolbox (and for a laugh, and perhaps a cry, if you need it).

Step #3 - Make a further leap in logic, based off the first, that leads to an actionable step

E.g. If we eat better when the salmon are upriver, and the salmon go upriver because the ocean monster is awakened every year, we need to keep the monster awake constantly so that the salmon never leave!

Now we've got a cult that parade on the beaches with pots and pans, banging them together to keep the ocean monster awake...

This step is best done when the actionable step is simple enough that any lay folk could do it, without dedicating their entire lives to it. However, it should also have room to grow for some kind of extreme cult... Whilst the cultists convince the lay folk to bang on pots and pans, the upper echelons of the cult are working on a giant whirlpool machine, so that they can cause the ocean to be constantly in rapid motion, to keep the ocean monster awake forever!

You can even run this system several times on the one idea, repeating steps 2 & 3 over and over again, on the same premise. This is a great way to get sects within a cult, or to create conflicting yet equally ridiculous ideas.

This system works well to create anything from dangerous blood cults to silly folk-practices and superstitions.

"WFRP Weird" in 3 Steps

As you may know, I love WFRP. It's no great secret. I've been running it for years - coming up on a third of my life, actually...which is concerning.

In that time, I've developed two super-simple methods for prepping content. This is the first one: How to make encounters "WFRP Weird" in 3 steps.

What is "WFRP Weird?" You know... Smelling colours. Tasting anxiety. Hearing the itch of recognition pass between two people who've never met. Witnessing the echo of horrors past.

"WFRP Weird" is how you know something has gone WRONG in WFRP. It's how you know Chaos is afoot. It's how you know, without even looking at the sky, if it's Geheimnisnacht or not.

So, what are the 3 steps?

Step #1 - Think of something that would normally happen

E.g. A man walking down the road. This is as vanilla as it gets, folks. Literally nothing weird or even remotely interesting about this.

This step is best done when you think of something boring-as-hell. Think of the most mundane thing you can. The terror of the uncanny comes about when it should be fine, but it isn't.

Step #2 - Put it in a situation where it normally wouldn't be

E.g. In the dead of night, shrouded in mist, along the haunted cobblestone streets of Praag, far to the north. Ok, this is a little weird. Folks don't go walking around Praag at night - ESPECIALLY not alone.

For this step, try to think of a situation where the thing could happen, but if it occurred to you in the real world, you'd be unnerved, or at least, on edge.

Step #3 - Subvert some expectation about what would normally happen, in a way that couldn't exist

E.g. No matter how much the man walks away from you, or towards you, he never gets closer. No matter how much you approach him, or walk away from him, he never gets further away. No amount of light shone on him seems to illuminate him beyond a simple silhouette, out on the darkened street...

For this step, I like to think of the common methods we would use in the real world to dispel our fear or anxiety over the situation. We see some weird dude on the street. Our instincts would be to a) approach him to get a better look, b) walk away so we don't have to deal with him, or c) try to get more information about him from where we are, so we can make a better decision.

Next, make all (or many) of them impossible, or have them yield even more uncanny results.

And that's it! A simple way to add uncanny and "WFRP Weird" encounters to your game.

Note that the examples are heavily inspired by an encounter in Realm of the Ice Queen's Praag section, written by Steve Dee. I used this exact encounter many times during my own Praag campaign, Shadows Within Shadows. I think my players are still scared of The Man, Darkly.

On the Nature of Religion in Warhammer

The following article was inspired by a thread on /r/WarhammerRPG, concerning Orcs and why there seemingly aren't Chaos Orcs in the world. I had been thinking about this a lot recently, due to a conversation with one of my players before my last On the Edge of Exile session, as well as just in general. Thinking about Warhammer Gods is my jam, alright?!

A lot of time is spent examining the Gods and their Cults in the various Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition books, from the Core to Tome of Salvation and Tome of Corruption. But, like with most roleplaying games, something has always rubbed me the wrong way: Why would different races have different Gods, especially when the Gods are very real. In WFRP this makes a bit of sense: Most of the Gods are clear aspects of each other, and, realistically, they're not as easy to define as the minds of mortals make them. In settings like Faerûn, it's baffling. We know who the creator God is. Everyone does. And yet, for some reason, my Fake-Egyptians still worship Fake-Egyptian Gods, just…because.

But let's get back on the subject of WFRP (and maybe save the D&D bashing for another day), shall we?

I realised that the reason the different races have different Gods (in setting—the IP and real-world reasons are less cool) is that the different Gods reflect the psychologies of the races that made them, both in how the Gods manifest, and how they interact with the world. This also means that, whilst all the Gods are "real", they are more or less interested in dealing with other races, because those other races may not want to deal in the way the Gods are set up to deal… Let's take a look, shall we?

(Please note that everything in here is my opinion. Some of it is based on sources, others just on thinking about it too much. Nothing is canon. If you want canon, I dunno, read some Black Library books?)

Humans & Gods

Humans in WFRP have a very transactional relationship to the Gods. Human worship tends to be based on either fear or desire: They fear retribution for not worshipping the Gods, or they desire some benefit from worshipping the Gods.

This is also active worship. A Human changes their normal behaviours to fit the edicts and designs of the God they worship so that they can avoid what they fear, and attract what the desire. A person may worship Sigmar because they fear what will happen to their soul as a good Imperial if they don't, and they desire to keep safe their people from the depredations of Orcs. A person may worship Rhya because they fear their pregnancy will turn badly, and they desire a healthy, strong, child.

But, as I say, this is very transactional. Humans believe that if you input the actions and beliefs the Gods want you to, that the Gods will output their benefits. Whilst this is sometimes true for Sigmar, Rhya, etc., it is definitely not always the case. This is also why so many Humans turn to the worship of the Chaos Gods, because the fears they prey on (violence, disease, hopelessness, and joylessness) are very pressing in the Old World, and the desires they can grant are immediate, measurable, and, sadly, all to often granted. Praying to Shallya might work to thwart the spread of plague, but you better believe that Nurgle would be all too willing to open His arms if you come calling. He won't heal you, but He'll make it OK…

This makes Humans a prime target for Chaos: Force those in league with you to spread problems that grow fear, prey on the fears of the people, convert those people to becoming in league with you, repeat. Or, alternately, grant their ambitions and desires…

This is also the reason why Norscans and the Northern Tribes fall to Chaos: They're no more evil than folks in the Empire. But they get it. They get how difficult their lives are. How terrible the land is that they're forced to live in. Folks of the Empire couldn't comprehend how terrible life would be for the Northern Tribes if they didn't get assistance from the Chaos Gods. Life would be impossible…

Dwarves & Gods

Dwarves have a whole other form of divinity, completely different from that of Humans. The Dwarves venerate the "Ancestor Gods"—real, physical, historical figures from their people's past. These Ancestor Gods were, and are, paragons of their chosen fields. Grungni was the greatest miner. Valaya was a fierce guardian of her people's well being. Grimnir was the greatest Dwarven warrior the world has ever seen.

But the Dwarves don't have priests. Why? Their Gods actually existed—no one contests that. The answer is, they don't need to. They know that the Ancestor Gods won't grant miracles, nor will they intervene when the going gets tough. Nor, I think, would most Dwarves want them to. It's too counter to their culture. Instead, the Ancestor Gods are held up as symbols to aspire to. They are figures who inspire by example.

The Dwarves dig deep because Grungni taught them how. But Grungni also taught them restraint in their mining, and the folly of their greed. Valaya taught them how to govern well, and to heal the sick. The two of them represent the ideal man and woman in Dwarven society.

To be pious is to be Grungni-like, Valaya-like, Grimnir-like.

This is why you don't see many Dwarves fall to Chaos—the idea of taking a short cut is foreign to them…except for the Chaos Dwarves, right?

Wrong. The Chaos Dwarves fell to Hashut not because it was convenient, but because the teachings of the Ancestors no longer applied. They were in a situation where emulating the Ancestor Gods didn't work. Their paragons were, apparently, wrong. So they went looking for something else to guide them—and they were preyed upon by Hashut. Yes, now the Chaos Dwarves are just as scheming and terrible as any corrupted by the Gods of Chaos—but the reason they fell is far from the reasons given by most Humans.

Elves & Gods

The Elves see the Gods as truths about the world, but as Teclis has explained, they're phenomena, not deities. The Gods are stories personified. A story doesn't like nor dislike you: But it does support and maintain an ideology.

Let's look at a common story (one many reading this will be familiar with): The Lord of the Rings. That is a story that relies on bravery, of overcoming darkness, and of defeating evil despite the fact that all hope, constantly, seems lost. This is a very fine story—but it supports some uncomfortable ideology. The West is always good in The Lord of the Rings, whilst the East is bad. Industry is inherently evil, under Sauruman and the Orcs, whilst knightly virtues, and country living, are aspirationl. Kings are destined to save their people, and they hold divine right… Whether you believe in the messages of The Lord of the Rings or not doesn't matter (for this discussion), but what does matter is that you understand that the story inherently carries this ideology. You don't need to subscribe to it to enjoy the story, or to learn from it, either.

That is what the Gods are to the Elves. The Gods represent stories of people and places, actions and events. They talk of ways to comport yourself, or things to avoid, or truths about the world. Most Elves don't dedicate themselves to these stories, but everyone takes parts of them and uses them to guide their lives. Some Elves do, however. They don't become priests, gaining miracles from their Gods, but they do become living embodiment of the stories (and ideologies) that they carry.

Let's look at Hoeth, Lord of Wisdom. He is said to be the embodiment of erudition, and patron of all who search for greater understanding. The Elves tell stories of how Hoeth gifted them with much of the knowledge and wisdom that their people take for granted, and that make them great. But many debate that the knowledge this brought also brought with it progress, and progress leads to the breaking of traditions and eventually ruin. It's said that Asuryan, chief of the Elven Gods, rebuked Hoeth when he did this, and torched much of his great library…and yet, there are Loremasters of Hoeth—Elves dedicated to his image—who seek to collect knowledge and share it with those who have the wisdom to use it. They use Hoeth as an example and a cautionary, inspirational, tale.

Khaine, Lord of Murder & War is another great example, because very few Elves dedicate their lives to his story, and yet there are a lot of Elves who employ his teachings when they fight. Khaine is as much a demon in their mythology as a God: He is who you channel when you need to fight, but if you embody him too much, you'll destroy yourself. This is exemplified in the stories of the Altar of Khaine, and Phoenix King Aenarion the Defender (look them up, they're super cool).

So why do some Elves turn to Chaos? Why are there Witch Elves among the ranks of the Druchii? Because Slaanesh whispered a better story: A story of supremacy, of desire, of experience. The Elves have been fading for a very long time, and Slaanesh offered a chance to be vital, to hold back the fading, and to experience life once more. Sure, it's tainted, and it comes with a lot of baggage, but to the repressed Elves, I can understand how they'd see this as a fair price to pay. After all, it's only Humans who you have to hurt, right?

Orcs & Gods

Lastly, I'll talk about the Orcs—the ones who started me on this journey.

Orcs are not Humans, Dwarves, or Elves. Orcs don't worship their Gods. They don't hold their Gods as examples, nor do they see them as stories and aspects of the world. No. Orcs know the truth of their Gods: That neither Gork nor Mork give the slightest of shits about anything other than being Cunningly Brutal and Brutally Cunning.

Just as the Orc Gods are impressive, they are easily impressed. Kill something in a brutally cunning way, and Gork will be impressed. Twist something in a cunningly brutal way, and Mork will be impressed. Maybe erect a totem in their honour as well, because that's just what you do when you have a pile of skulls and dung lying around that's not doing anything.

When the Gods are impressed, they may bless you, or not. Who knows. But it's always better to be impressive, instead of getting stomped, so you keep doing it. The more impressive you are, generally the better you do: You grow bigger, stronger, more deadly. You gain followers, massive Choppas, loot, ale, maybe a lair. It seems like the more you impress the Gods, the more impressive they make you…

But remember, the Gods don't like you, and as soon as you stop being impressive, things will go wrong. Or is it the other way around? Do you lose the battle because Gork is less impressed with you? Or is Gork less impressed with you because you lost the battle?

Who knows. Who cares. Stop arguing about it, and get back to FIGHTIN'!

Petty Magic for Petty Matters—Part #3: Hedge

We've spoken about Arcane magic, and then Divine… Now it's time for Hedge!

Petty Magic (Hedge)

Petty Magic (Hedge) is the weirdest of the three we're discussing because a) it's by far the most dangerous magic of the three, and the most touched by Chaos, and b) it's by far the most accepted and integrated into normal everyday life, already! Many Hedge spells are more along the lines of Old Wives' Tales (given form). They're little peasant superstitions, except they're real.

Many villages, especially further away from larger towns and cities, contain a Hedge Witch of some sort—whether they're just a local guardian of the Old Faith, or they're actually attuned to the Winds of Magic, and have gone untrained and unnoticed by the Colleges of Magic. Either way, they live in an uneasy halfway between civilisation and the wilds—hence "Hedge", for they live along the hedgerow between the worlds.

Where Hedge Witches are found, you'll also find excuses as to why they should be tolerated. The Hedge Witch is often a healer, or a puller of teeth, or a warder of bad spirits. Whether they're actually doing a good job at this, or not, is up to the individual…but it always seems like villages with Hedge Witches do better than those without (though what are they trading for their prosperity?)

How does this prosperity manifest? Let's have a look.

Protection from Rain

The Witch is protected from rain and other precipitation, regardless of how heavy. This one, at first, seems like a weird spell…until you consider that most folks wouldn't have parasols or umbrellas in this age, and that to catch a cold is to flirt with death!

It may be disconcerting to see an old bent-over woman emerge from the driving rain whilst being bone dry, but I'm sure you'll forget your unease when they reveal your child, safe and sound, and unmarred by the rain. You'll be thankful when the Witch is able to guide your sheep back in, safely, when a flash storm occurs during the rainy season, or when they're the only one able to find a lost trinket out in the storm.

Plus, it doesn't hurt when nasty things come calling, to have a weirdly serene being standing among you, who has even made the rain afraid to fall on them…

Magic Flame

The Witch creates a small blue flame in their hand. In a world without lighters or easy access to fuel, being able to conjure even small flames would be a massive time saver. Sure, the fire is blue, and the edges of it look like skulls, and the back of your teeth taste like last Marktag when you were sure you heard a whispering of grey and worms and shattering and SOMETHING IS GETTING CLOSER!

Ahem. Excuse me.

Yes—the flame is weird, but it's flame. No need to dry the kindling, to labour over the spinning sticks, or to spend all your time tinkering with the flint and tinder.

Gust

The Witch creates a light gust of wind through an area, strong enough to blow out candles and scatter paper, but not to knock over objects of any weight.

Field work is tiring and very exposed to the elements. If the day is particularly hot, and there is no breeze, it would make toiling all the more difficult. Further, days of low-wind would aid crows and other scavenging birds to pick at a farmer's fields, and maybe allow larger raptors to steal young animals!

Quick, sudden, and unexpected changes in the weather, would be disconcerting to any who are paying attention (which would definitely include farmers and birds in the area), which would cause them to scatter and go elsewhere… So, whilst this might seem like a great idea to do over a farm, make sure the farmer knows the Gods are protecting them (or some other convenient lie).

Ghost Step

The Witch leaves no visible tracks for an hour, no matter where they move through.

Whilst the potential benefits of getting behind attackers who are coming to raid a village are unmistakable, I'm more interested in animals, here. There are plenty of situations where tracking animals could come after villagers: a bear has wandered into the area, the wolves of Winter are starving in the forests and are hunting closer to the village, or the Lord has discovered a theft and has unleashed their hunting dogs!

Ghost Step would aid in circumventing these dangers, and could be used to lure them away from the village, and throw off their trails. Perhaps it wouldn't be enough to stop them altogether, but it would buy time for the village to prepare: to hide the stolen goods, to gather their bows and head to the keep, or to lock their doors and hold out the hunting bear!

Ghost Step is also one of the least uncanny spells on the list: it is a talent that is conceivable to be trained (or at least, to trick a peasant that it is trained). This might require some deception on the part of the Witch, but it would be a strange Witch that didn't have to lie from time to time.

Ill Fortune

The Witch enchants an item, so that its bearer is cursed with bad luck.

This one is a little more obscured, but just remember: bad luck for one person is good luck for another. Sort of. The life of a farmer is a competitive one, and one measured in individual days. A single day of missed opportunities may mean the difference between surplus to be sold at market, and just scraping by through the Winter. Thus, cursing someone with failure, even for a day, could disrupt their whole year!

Further to that, the price of grain (as with all things) is set by the supply versus the demand. If the supply drops, and the demand is bumped up (by a farmer not having surplus, and indeed being dependant on purchasing more grain), then the farmer with the surplus will command a higher price!

There are all sorts of other uses: curse the local Lord, so they're less likely to notice their peasants short changing them, or curse the travelling merchant so they're not as savvy with their hard bargaining.

Of course, these curses are very wide-reaching, and they could have massively disastrous effects! The cursed farmer might not just be unable to work the fields properly, but might break their neck! The cursed Lord might take issue with the bad luck, and assume it's the entire village being cursed for harbouring a Witch! The merchant might get robbed on the road, and now the village will never get them back again to trade!

Ill Fortune is perhaps my favourite spell on the list: it's the most Witchy, it's the most unspecific (which means it'll cause the most drama when used at the table), and it's got such versatility. It's also, due to it being the most Witchy, the one most likely to cause the Witch strife if discovered. This sort of thing is why Witches get burnt at the stake, so be careful with its use!

Shock

The Witch touches and stuns one person.

Shock is a relatively straight forward spell: whether you need someone to stop, it has its uses. And there are definitely those times in provincial life… A man gets too drunk and disorderly at the local pub: that's a Shock. A dog goes rabid and pounces towards a young child: that's a Shock. A cow starts acting flighty, and is at risk of setting off a stampede: oh you better believe that's a Shock!

Again, however, this is a spell that looks off. It's not calming them, it's not making them drowsy: it's stunning them via a shock! If someone sees you doing this, they'll be very wary of you, and will start to spread bewitching rumours. Beware!

That's the end of our series! Make sure you read through the first two parts, Arcane and Divine, as well. I hope you enjoyed this little look into how magic can be expanded into the mundane, to make it even more dramatic and exciting!

Petty Magic for Petty Matters—Part #2: Divine

Last time we talked about how Petty Magic (Arcane) could be used by a Magister to improve the lives of the smallfolk—peasants, merchants, etc. This time, we're looking at Priests and Petty Magic (Divine)!

Petty Magic (Divine)

Petty Magic (Divine) falls into a weird grey area, for me. On the one hand, I tend to have Divine magic much rarer, in my WFRP, than Arcane magic. Divine magic is literal miracles, and rarely, if ever, is it exact or reliable. Petty Magic, on the other hand, is more along the lines of blessings, which I can forgive as being rare, but no more so than secular wizards (which are super rare, anyway).

Whilst everyone in the Warhammer world would have been blessed at some point, and most of them often and repeatedly, few would encounter true blessings in their lives (and very very few multiple times throughout their lives). But the big thing to note is: believers think that every blessing they receive is a true blessing. Every "spell" below represents what occurs when the blessings seem to have tangible effects. These would be welcomed, if misunderstood, by the people who receive them, and would give common folks a heightened sense of faith in their Gods.

Blessing of Courage

The Priest speak inspirational words, emboldening the audience to shake off fear and terror.

Whilst there are plenty of chances to use a prayer like this in combat, there might not seem to be as many chances outside of it. You'd be wrong. Consider the moments of your life which are scary or terrifying, in which people freeze up, or don't have the courage to act quickly…

A bully is harassing the children of a nearby school, and the kids don't have the courage to stand up for themselves. A fire is raging in a local tavern, and everyone is frozen with indecision about whether to rush in and save the folks inside or not. Someone needs to go down into the dark well and fish out the bucket that got cut loose.

These moments may seem inglorious, but then many instances of folk prayer are. They're not asking the priest to embolden them before battle, but to aid them in simple tasks which are made not-so-simple because of the circumstances. A priest whose words seem to miraculously lift the hearts of the people would soon find themselves beloved of the smallfolk.

Blessing of Speed

The Priest touches the beneficiary, who moves faster and with more agility.

Delivering a message just in time. Running for cover out of a terrible storm. Or just having the chance to get everything you need to get done in the few hours of the day you have to work (because peasants rarely have time to be idle).

The Blessing of Speed could be used near constantly by anyone in the Old World, and their lives would be better for it. Obviously, such flippant use of miracles would come with the ire of the Gods, but perhaps Taal would look kindly on a Priest who blessed the running of a hunter, or Rhya the busy work of a nurse maid, or Sigmar to speed of the blacksmith, to ready weapons for the coming Greenskin Waaagh!

Blessing of Fortitude

The Priest touches the beneficiary, who becomes tougher of body and mind.

This is the catch-all "please help guide me" prayer that the smallfolk ask of so many Priests. A blessing like this could aid them in choosing the wisest course of action—which grains to grow, or where to send their sheep. It could aid them in passing uncooked or spoiled food, or accepting the death of a loved one, or… You get the idea.

This would likely be the most requested blessing, and also the least understood. Because it's only a small boost to Toughness and Will Power characteristics, often the results might never be observed. Did the peasant do better because of the blessing? Or because they were more confident? Maybe both? To the simple mind, though, correlation is easy to draw, and a Priest who dispenses these blessings would be very popular.

Blessing of Healing

The Priest touches the beneficiary, who heals a single Wound.

I don't think I even need to go into why this would be useful. It's only a single Wound, so it's not a huge difference, but it is significant if tipping the balance between Heavily Wounded and Lightly Wounded (and that's a difference of getting better in a single day, rather than two).

Even speeding healing by one day is enough to separate a peasant who starves (and potentially dies) and one who doesn't. Not to mention if the healing comes during harvest season…the lack of healing could have follow-on effects for the rest of the year, or longer, if the peasant needs to sell themselves to a Lord in exchange for the extra food that is missing.

Blessing of Might

The Priest touches the beneficiary, who becomes stronger and more skilled with a blade.

Whilst clearly focused on battle, here, there are situations when being stronger would aid in the day-to-day work of a peasant. Carrying bundles of hay, back and forth, would be much easier with this little boost. Being able to thresh grain from wheat stalks more effectively. Being slightly less tired from hauling enough water back from the well…

This blessing is similar to the Blessing of Fortitude, in that when it works, it's not certain if it's thanks to the Priest or not. But most folks would be thankful for the blessing, regardless.

Blessing of Protection

The Priest bestows the protection of their deity upon the beneficiary.

Now, this one requires a bit of GM fiat. Whilst the prayer's description is entirely focused on combat, that doesn't make too much sense for most of the Gods. Why would Rhya care about a battle? Why would Ranald care about protecting from sword swings?

Instead, I would rule this prayer gives, essentially, narrative proof against the areas of influence of the chosen God. Either the GM should choose a new target for the foulness, or should roll at a -10% to see if it affects them, or the character gains a +10%, or… You get the idea.

Maybe Rhya gives a +10% bonus to gathering food, or against food spoilage, or makes sure a mother's child isn't targeted (but perhaps the mother is targeted instead?) Maybe Ranald makes it so a thief thinks twice before taking your purse (rolls a Will Power at -10%, or chooses another target). Maybe Ulric has less snow fall on your house and your fields, not destroying your crops quite as much as your neighbours.

As you can see, Petty Magic (Divine) sometimes needs a little more thinking through than Petty Magic (Arcane), but such consideration is good! You'll get more of an idea how priests fit into your game world, when you examine how their blessings would be received and even misinterpreted. Next time we'll touch on Petty Magic (Hedge)!

Petty Magic for Petty Matters—Part #1: Arcane

With On the Edge of Exile in full swing (I'm still trying to figure out how to write it up and present it, so watch this space!) I've been thinking not just about Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition a lot, but also the lives of the common folk—much of the campaign revolves around the humble backwater of Dunkeldorf in the Border Princes, and the lives of the people there.

This ruminating has resulted in me figuring out what A Day in the Life of a Dunkeldorfer would look like. But more recently, I've been thinking about how magic could influence that life. Whilst magic is anything but mundane in WFRP, we do have a Magister in the party (Apprentice Astromancer Glory Bramblewish), and she is of the more humble sort, caring about the lives of the peasants…

Below, I've written up a short description of each spell from the Petty Magic Lores from the core rule book, as well as potentially unconventional and interesting ways how these spells could influence the lives of ordinary folk…for better or for worse.

I've broken it into 3 parts. For now, here's Part #1: Petty Magic (Arcane).

Petty Magic (Arcane)

Petty Magic (Arcane) is the one Glory has, as she's a Magister of Azyr, the Celestial Wind. These spells are your standard "Cantrips" from Dungeons & Dragons, though filled as well with the usual terror of WFRP magic…

Glowing Light

The Magister causes an item to glow with light for an hour, whilst held.

I don't think, in the modern day, we give as much credit to non-burning light sources as we should. Consider, truly, how dangerous it is to be carrying a fire in a thatched-roof house, or in a mine shaft, or on a sailing ship!

Whilst the item has to be in the hands of the Magister, I daresay there would be many in a village who would find this non-burning-torch-wielding person to be VERY useful, late at night…

Sounds

The Magister makes a phantom noise, from a whisper to a roar. Any type of noise, excepting speech.

This one is riddled with uses. From sound effects in a play put on for the local children, to calls used to lure out animals on a hunt, all the way to a rallying signal when no one has a bell to hand.

Sounds is an incredibly useful spell that, whilst likely disconcerting, could be used to liven up and aid in the day-to-day minutia of village life.

Drop

The Magister compels someone to instantly drop what they're holding.

A thief is taking off at a run with stolen goods? A young child has picked up something dangerous—a snake perhaps?!—and their parents are out of reach? A careless worker is about to imbibe a waterskin filled with befouled wine? Sounds like you could use the Drop spell!

This spell might seem like it's intended to cause all manner of nuisance, but there are plenty of times when people would rather not be holding onto something.

(A modern-world situation may be if the target is holding onto a live electric wire, and being electrocuted…but that's outside the scope of WFRP.)

Marsh Lights

The Magister summons a bunch of distant bobbing lights that follow their commands.

Usually lights like these are surrounded by superstition, with folks fearing to tread into a bog when they see them…and that's, honestly, a good use for them as well. Marsh Lights work as a simple deterrent—keeping the peasant's mind ignorant of the perhaps terrifying horrors outside the village, whilst also keeping them hemmed in and safe.

Marsh Lights may also be used to help search for a missing child in the woods—more ground is covered by the bobbing lights, so the child might see them better. Or they may look like torches in the forest, making the village seem better defended than it really is, acting as a deterrent for bandits and beastmen from coming closer…

Whilst Marsh Lights mightn't win the Magister any favours (or love) from the peasants, they are certainly useful in a multitude of circumstances.

Magic Dart

The Magister summons a small magic missile to attack.

This one is straight forward—whenever the villagers would need to shoot something, like on a hunt, or to kill vermin (because magic missiles rarely miss!), this would come in handy. Not much else to say, really.

Sleep

The Magister puts someone to sleep.

Now, this one might require a bit more GM fiat, but I'd rule it that, whilst the spell puts them to sleep for 1d10 minutes, it doesn't necessarily mean they wake up after that point. If the person is already prone to sleep (such as lying in bed), or tired, they may not wake up again afterwards…

Anyone with children will immediately see where this is going: a perfect spell to get a sick child to sleep, or just one that's having trouble getting down for the night. Whilst this is, perhaps, ethically questionable, I think most parents would agree that sometimes their kids just need to go to bed. Besides, imagine how much more you could do with your day if the kids went to bed when they were supposed to!

This would be a favourite spell among parents and healers, with the ability to control one's sleep being miraculous and celebrated.

Next up, I'll explore Petty Magic (Divine)! Until then, give some thought to how the spells use din your game could, and would, change the everyday lives of the people!

D&D 5E: Legendary Resistance Revamped

I've discussed this before, but it's so pressing for me whenever I run D&D 5E battles, that I think about it often. I dislike Legendary Resistance. A lot. It is probably my least favourite thing about D&D at the moment, and I've never been a massive fan of the system. I like 5E more than most, and am now coming to the end of my 3rd year running it, but Legendary Resistance keeps me mad.

I won't labour the point, but the main reason I dislike Legendary Resistance is that it needlessly takes away a player's shiny thing. They get to use an ability, and the GM just gets to tell them that it doesn't work.

I tried, in my last article on the subject, to fix this with a few different methods. I've now scrapped all of those workarounds, and come up with a new alternative which I prefer a lot more.

Legendary Resistance (3/day). [Creature] gains advantage on a saving throw of their choice. This advantage may be in addition to advantage they already had, allowing them to roll up to three dice, and choose the highest result.

Simple.

Sorted.

And just in time for Strahd.

Extra Little Worldbuilding Questions

Because my On the Edge of Exile campaign has had to be delayed for a few weeks, I've been going 'round in circles thinking about it. What this tends to mean is I write far too much about it, realise I don't want to plan/plot everything out, and then perform a cull. I'll add stuff, then trim it back, over and over again.

During this process, I've been thinking about some worldbuilding questions that rarely come up in guides to flesh out a settlement. These are pretty minor things, and not every settlement needs them all answered, but having an idea of them will help you stretch the verisimilitude of wherever the PCs go. Also note that for larger settlements - towns and cities - you can answer these per district or neighbourhood.

• Who cuts the people's hair? 
• A barber; 
• The lord's ex-manservant; 
• A communal hair-cutting circle; 
• Everyone's Nan?
• Who pulls teeth when they break or hurt? 
• A barber-surgeon; 
• The bartender (because they have a heavy door and string); 
• They get in a brawl at the tavern; 
• The local priest of the healing god?
• Who maintains the well? 
• A young chap with nothing better to do; 
• A chartered guild of well-workers; 
• The guards; 
• A retired mason?
• Who settles disputes? 
• A travelling judge; 
• Whichever outsider merchants are in town; 
• A Mafioso; 
• The lord's children, learning their command?
• Where do people go when they want to relax? 
• A back-alley dice game; 
• A local pub; 
• A drug den; 
• A serene garden?
• Who do people turn to when they have a problem? 
• A local crime boss; 
• The constable; 
• A wise village elder; 
• A kindly priest?
• Who does everyone know you can rely on and trust? 
• An honest bar fly; 
• The bouncer at the pub; 
• The sergeant of the guard; 
• The Robin Hood-esque local pick-pocket?
• Who does everyone revile or make fun of? 
• A known thief; 
• A disgraced ex-guardsman; 
• The noble lord; 
• The opportunistic mayor?

As a general rule of thumb, think about the things you do every day, and how the people in your world would fill those same roles. Every time you're out and about, think about how someone in your world would do the same. Where do you buy groceries, or do you grow your own? Who do you turn to when a button falls off your shirt, or do you stitch it back on? Where is everyone getting the thread, and the needles, if everyone sows their own buttons?

As I say, these aren't necessary questions to answer - but they are a useful tool, and they can make boring errands in your everyday life less boring! 

#200WordRPG: DOGMA

#200WordRPG is one of my favourite yearly traditions, despite how young it still is. This is my second year entering - last year's entry can be found here. If you're not sure what #200WordRPG is, well, it's a challenge to write an entire tabletop roleplaying game in 200 words or less, with no graphics or special formatting. It's all about the words (all 200 or less of them).

This year, I present to you DOGMA!

You and at least two others (there is no maximum) are an entire religion, throughout its timeline - from inception, to corruption and subversion.

Your religion is growing. It will do great things... Before it is twisted, and made rotten. We play to see it fester.

The first player describes a moment of SPIRITUALITY: a fact about the religion at its founding.
//Thou shall not kill.

The second describes a FABLE that explains it: written long after, it obscures the spirituality from morality into rote learning.
//St. Cain didn't kill the sinner, but cut off their hands, feet and tongue so they could never sin again.

The third describes a MISINTERPRETATION: long after the fable is written, how is it subverted and corrupted for personal gain?
//King Auger cut out the tongues of all non-believers, stating they were now, or would become, sinners. He declared their exsanguination was God taking their deaths into Her own hands.

A player who hasn't described a Spirituality begins again. New Spiritualities must reference or retaliate to a previous Myth or Misinterpretation.
//Suffer not the sinner to live.

The religion stagnates when everyone has misinterpreted something.
//Religion fades when spirituality is forgotten.

Record everything.

I also did pretty it up a little, and uploaded it here (and put it on my portfolio here).

If you play it, let me know!

A reply to a reply to a discussion about Losing

Some good stuff happening over at RPG YouTube right now. Matthew Colville began by discussing Losing in an RPG, and +John Harper followed it up with an add-on/challenge to that topic. I've posted both below, but also expanded on John's wisdom, based on how I've seen, run, and played games for the past many years.

Hold on to your characters lightly. When your characters experience adversity, that isn't happening to you as a player. Take the good with the bad, and accept that everything that happens to your character is part of the story. Look for how that can be interesting and dramatic, rather than good or bad, winning or losing.

This isn't to suggest that you shouldn't enjoy winning, but rather to encourage you to also enjoy losing, because even when you lose you can create great story. The Force Awakens would be a worse film were Han not killed (as gut wrenching as that was). Boromir wouldn't be as interesting a character had he not sacrificed himself. A Game of Thrones would not have been as compelling if Ned wasn't decapitated.

However, to cap this all off, I'm still a firm believer in what +Adam Koebel has now popularised: killing a character is the least interesting thing you can do to them. They can lose, and sometimes death is the logical result of a loss, but more often than not you can scar them, or defeat them, and allow them to live (and struggle) another day for a better story down the line.

Finally, regular readers may not that it's been a month since my last This Week - this has been somewhat intentional. I've needed a break, to refuel and to reorganise my thoughts. It's been very needed, and I feel a hell of a lot better after it all. I should be getting back into regular programming soon!

My Advice for Running D&D 5e Monsters?

Run 4e Monsters...

No, seriously.

I, like many, bounced off Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, because I found the rules overly complex for what they were trying to do, and moving ever further away from roleplaying and back into wargaming. Now, there's nothing wrong with wargaming, and there is definitely a place for it (a place that I enjoy as well!) but for me that isn't in my roleplaying.

(Images from Wizards.)

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition reverted a lot of those changes, and brought the game to a point simpler than 3rd Edition, which meant I was once more interested. Whilst I have many (many) gripes remaining about D&D as a whole, I have gotten almost 3 years of mileage out of 5e, and I can see a lot of merits in it.

But, in those 3 years I have noticed one thing: the Monster Manual is flat... It's, honestly, very bland. When you boil each monster down, they are merely sliders on the same variables. This one has more HP, that one has a higher damage die, etc. The descriptions given often work well to tell you where the monster may be found, and generally what it is like, but they fail miserably with the one key note that is vital to D&D (given that it's a game about braving dungeons and fighting dragons).

There are no TACTICS.

(Image from Wizards.)

We know where a monster may lair, and what it looks like. We know who probably made it, and where it comes from. We know, sometimes, how it communicates with its fellows, and which monsters it hates.

But we don't know what it does. When it is cornered, how does it fight? We can see that it might claw an opponent, but when and why? Does it just run at the opponent and claw them until it is dead? Does it claw, then run away, then growl, or something else? It might. We can say that it does. But there is nothing in the book to suggest what it should be doing.

This, ultimately, leads to pretty static fights. Unless the GM does a lot of prep before hand, most fights will likely end the same - with monsters moving in, and the two sides grinding down until one has lost.

(Image from Wizards.)

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition did not have this problem!

4e, when you crack open the Monster Manual, is filled with monsters that are accompanied by tactics. Each entry tells you not only what they can do in a fight, but how, and in what order. For most of them, this is just a small paragraph. This means, when you need a monster, or you don't want to prep much, you can open it up, turn to the monster entry, read very quickly, and have an interesting, game changing, way to run that monster.

Here is a cross example between the two books:

Whilst running Curse of Strahd, I needed to use 8 Gargoyles in an encounter in Castle Ravenloft itself (those of you who have played it will know the bit I mean). I read the entry in the 5e MM, and all I came up with was a straight forward fight. There was nothing particularly interesting there.

Then, I had the idea to read the 4e MM, and that spawned an idea of the Gargoyles flanking the PCs, some engaging in melee, and others grappling them to lift them to the ceiling (which is quite high up in this bit) and dashing them onto the floor to kill them. This utilised their abilities which the PCs couldn't match - flight - as well as adding their cruel natures into the mix. This change in tactics was inspired by their flyby ability. I didn't have to change the 5e entry at all, I just had to think about them differently.

(Image from Wizards.)

Note, even, that this tactic isn't the one in the MM. All that happened was thinking about the tactics, rather than the abilities, got me thinking about encounter design differently.

Now, whenever I need a set-piece combat, I turn to the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Monster Manual first. I encourage you to, as well.

It has come to my attention that Matthew Colville, a GM who does YouTube videos on how to run Dungeons & Dragons has talked about very similar topics on the following video. His videos tend to be awesome, and this one is no different. He's also a great author, and you should check out his books here and here!

Have you used this method before? Which monsters did you reverse engineer in this way? Which monsters do you think could be improved in 5e?

Curse of Strahd #2 - Into Death House...

Please note this is a continuing campaign diary. If you haven't read the first session, you should start there. Also, like last time, if you're intending to play in Curse of Strahd you shouldn't read this series. Whilst I've changed a great many things, and tweaked it like any GM will, this write-up will still give away many many spoilers for those wishing to play the game.

If you missed Session #1, please find it here!

(Image from Mike Schley.)

Face to face with a looming townhouse, with not another soul around except for two lonely and frightened children, our heroes had little choice. Though they were cold, wet, and injured from their journey through the woods, they could not ignore the pleas for help from the children - Rose and Thorn. They'd heard the sound of monsters in the basement, and their baby brother was still in his room in the attic... The party couldn't turn away.

Asimi scaled the front of the building, attempting to get to the top landing - in and out - with the baby. However, when she made it to the second story, a raven flew onto the perch she was hanging from. At first it cawed and danced back and forth, but when Asimi tried to shoo it away, it nipped at her ear. Arkaeous sensed magic emanating from the house and the bird, and shot at it with his Eldritch Blast, but the bird evaded and flew away. Seconds later, a great wind and a grim presence, spread over the area and threatened to tear Asimi away from the building and dash her against the ground. She managed to pry open the window shutter and slip inside to relative safety.

(Image from Wizards.)

Arkaeous also noticed that the two children were in fact illusions, and secretly gave this information to Rowena and Mizhena. Informed, yet playing along, they entered the house and instructed the children to wait outside. When they turned back around, the child-illusions were gone.

Inside the house, they discovered that all the rooms were dark. Everything seemed in good repair, but abandoned. Quickly, they began to ascend the central staircase to reconnect with Asimi, but on the way Mizhena inspected some of the wall hangings and moulded plaster scenes decorating the walls. Each one at first seemed beautiful - depicting scenes of youths dancing among orchards, or animals frolicking in the forest - but the longer Mizhena looked, the more darkly twisted they became. The youths weren't dancing, but fending off bats as they bit at their hands and faces. The animals weren't frolicking, but running from hungry wolves. Further, the more she looked at these scenes, the more she became convinced she heard them - the fluttering of bats wings, and the howling of wolves.

(Image from missquitecontrary.)

Eventually, the party reconnected with Asimi who had found herself in an old yet elegant ballroom with an ornate harpsichord in one corner. She had been inspecting the harpsichord and had discovered that several of the keys were rigged up to trip lines throughout the construct. She didn't know what the mechanisms did, but made a mental note and they continued upwards.

The party reached the third floor, where they discovered that the well-kept nature of the lower two floors did not reach the third. Thick dust, as if from centuries of disuse, covered everything. The floor was rotten and spongy below their boots, and the walls were faded and damaged from mould. Furthermore, they were confronted by a black suit of armour fashioned with a wolf's head helmet. Asimi moved to investigate, and the armour animated and began to attack. The fight was short but brutal, ending in an incredibly frustrated Rowena striking the helmet from the gorget, and destroying it entirely. Asimi recovered some valuable-looking armour shards and they pressed on.

(Image from enjin.)

The party found a large portrait of the Durst family - the owners of the house - showing the two children they had met, standing in front of a stern looking couple who were obviously their parents. The father held in his arms a small bundle which was obviously a baby - the children's baby brother. The mother, however, looked at the baby with obvious scorn on her face.

Mizhena continued to investigate the wall mouldings, and discovered a scene of writhing snakes. As she stared at it, she began to hear hissing and, pressing her hand into the wall discovered that it was a secret door that slid back to reveal a staircase into the attic. Without wasting time, the party journeyed upwards.

Upstairs in the attic, the wear and tear on the house was even worse. Cobwebs covered every surface, and the air around them was heavy with dust, spores, and the stench of ancient death. The party discovered a door held closed with a padlock that had rusted and fused into a brittle clump. With little effort, Mizhena was able to push into the room.

(Image from Andre Govia.)

On the other side, the party discovered a cell, with a barred window in the back, two small beds, a chest of toys, and a to-scale dollhouse of the house they were in. In the middle of the room, they also found the small skeletons of two children, as well as the shreds of clothes they recognised - these were the bodies of Rose and Thorn.

The party began to investigate the room when Arkaeous reached for the toy chest. A ghostly hand reached out to stop him, and the party were startled by the apparitions of Rose and Thorn. Arkaeous examined the ghosts and found them to be entirely different from the illusions - these were real, yet good-natured, undead.

The ghosts talked to the party, and told them that they had been locked in here by their parents, and had starved to death. Their parents spent a lot of time in the basement of their house, and must have forgotten about them. They also talked about their baby brother, who they revealed was stillborn. Further, as they talked, the party realised that the baby wasn't in fact their full brother, but their half-brother - a bastard child of their father and the house keeper...

(Image from Wizards.)

The party wanted to put Rose and Thorn to rest, but Mizhena declared that it would be impossible without putting them in their correct tombs. Rose told them that they had a crypt in the basement built for their family, and pointed to the dollhouse which showed the layout of all the rooms, including many from the basement. Rose instructed the PCs on how to access the basement - a code to be played on the harpsichord downstairs that would unlock a secret stairwell in the attic. The PCs decided to take the bodies with them to be interred.

When they tried to leave, however, Rose and Thorn became scared. They didn't want to be left alone again, and pleaded with the party to let them come with them. This, naturally, meant they needed to possess two of the party members. Feeling compassion for the children, Arkaeous and Rowena agreed to have Thorn and Rose possess them respectively. Whilst the two of them retained their own minds, they began to become agitated - Arkaeous became frightful, and Rowena became bossy (even more so than usual).

The PCs travelled back to the ballroom and played the notes. As each note chimed, apparitions were summoned into the room. First of twirling aristocrats, dancing to the tune. Second of a caped and regal figure, standing in the doorway to the room, looking in balefully. Third of a massacre, of the caped man moving blindingly fast throughout the room tearing throats and bowels from the revellers.

(Image from Halloween on Earth.)

After the third note, a loud clunking sound could be heard above as the secret door was opened. The party, terrified of what they'd seen, travelled upwards, entered the musty and cramped secret stair, and began their descent into the basement of the haunted townhouse... But not before Rowena caught a glance of her reflection in a strange mirror, seeing her face withered and aged beyond recognition. The vision lasted for a blink of an eye, but left her shaken. A portent of what was to come? Only the land of Barovia could know for certain...

The party made it to the bottom of the stairwell, and found themselves in a rough-hewn, clay-cut warren. They followed the sketched floor plan they had created by copying the dollhouse, and discovered the family's crypt. Inside, they laid down the bones of the children, and Mizhena gave them their final rites. A hush fell over the party, and the spirits of Rose and Thorn left Rowena and Arkaeous. The children were at rest, but the monster - the thing in the basement - and the constant chanting they could hear remained...

(Image from megalithic.)

The party continued to explore the warren, and discovered several sleeping chambers for far more than just a family. These chambers included the possessions of what seemed to be cultists, not servants, and spoke of potential blasphemous rites that the Durst family had been undertaking. Eventually, they found several locked boxes which Asimi threw open with the flick of her thieves tools. Within they discovered several objects of a fell disposition, as well as a silvered short sword and a sack of silver pieces.

Continuing on, the party came to a ritual room, dominated by a wooden statue of a man with pale skin and striking angular features - the same man they saw in the vision who butchered the revellers in the ballroom. With one hand, the statue held the collar of a wolf. In the other, he held a misty-coloured orb. Around the room were pillars upon which hung chains from which dangled the broken remains of a score of sacrifice victims.

(Image from Tribality.)

Arkaeous inspected the orb, but in his curious haste, fumbled it and it shattered on the hardened clay floor. Instantly, living shadows melted from the walls and began to attack. The shadows proved immune to the weapons of the party, save for the silvered short sword. Asimi tried to figure out a solution to their problem, as they were quickly being driven back, when Mizhena fell to the ground clutching her wounds. All seemed dire, when Rowena lay her hands on Mizhena, and then put two and two together: the silvered short sword repelled the Shadows, so she instructed Asimi to scatter the silver coins along the floors to create a wall. This delayed the Shadows long enough that with the aid of fire and spells, they were able to defeat them or drive them from the room.

The party, nearly broken and exhausted, slumped to the floor. They would set camp in this room, defend the doorways, and rest for a few hours before they pressed on into the Death House.

And that concludes the second session of our Curse of Strahd campaign! I hope you enjoyed it, and that you come back next time for more.

Edited by Amelia Sarif.

Curse of Strahd #1 - Enter, our Heroes!

A little backstory before I get into this... 

As I mentioned last week, I had never really intended to play Curse of Strahd so soon after Ameshirel: A World Undone, but found myself in a state of 'No Campaign Madness'. I collected a good group of friends, we made adventurers, and set off into the lands of Barovia. 

This is their story.

Note: If you're intending to play in Curse of Strahd you shouldn't read this series. Whilst I've changed a great many things, and tweaked it like any GM will, this write-up will still give away many many spoilers for those wishing to play the game.

I had to get into a Strahdy mood. It may have gone too far...

The party consists of four adventurers, all from the Forgotten Realms:

• "Rowena" (formerly Jane Hull), a Human Paladin of Sharess – the Goddess of Seduction and Life's Pleasures. She's a vain, jealous person, who wants to evoke beauty and joy in the world... So long as it includes, and is somewhat focused on, her. Played by Alex.
  
  
• Asimi Naftikos, a Human Rogue and former Ship's Girl, turned Mutineer, turned High Seas Pirate, turned Treasure Seeker. She's a greedy, treasure loving adventurer, through and through, who wants to seize enough riches to purchase her own ship. But she has a heart of... perhaps not gold, but something shiny. Her pirating ways are dominated by a desire to stand up for the rights of exploited sailors working under terrible captains and overly affluent merchants. Played by Amelia.
  
  
• Battle Sister Mizhena, Stalwart of Tempus, a Human Cleric of Tempus, the Foehammer. She's proud and boastful, and quick to action. As the good Lord Tempus demands, she's fair in a fight, eager for adventure, with a lusty desire for glorious battle! Played by Danny.
  
  
• Arkaeous, a Tiefling Warlock, addicted entirely to the magic gifted him by his patron – a terrible Pact Devil, beholden to the Demon Queen of Spiders Lolth! In his heart, he yearns for atonement for terrible sins he has committed in the lust after his magic, but yet he is unwilling to give up the baleful energy coursing through his body. Played by Sam.

Danny knows of the Forgotten Realms. Mention of Strahd and Lolth does not a confident Danny make!

Our adventure began in a nameless hamlet on the edge of civilisation, far to the north of the Dalelands. Here, our adventurers had been called by a friend of a friend, to come to the aid of Father Rennic – the local priest – to aid in matters of the undead.

Though at first they feared a necromancer, or other such evil, the adventurers were only able to find five lonely zombies in the woods. Dispatching them easily, and after weeks of searching, they concluded with the Father that their job there was done. Still, the mysterious, and thoroughly dated, ruffed clothing they wore, and the lack of evidence from where they came, continued to confuse everyone in the sleepy little hamlet.

On the night before they were to leave, there was a cry from the edge of the woods. Fearing another zombie, the villagers called on the heroes to investigate. They discovered it was no zombie, but a man named Arrigal, wounded and dressed in similar clothing to the zombies. The heroes questioned him, but he knew nothing of the undead, and had his own problems which needed their urgent attention.

(Image from Wizards.)

Arrigal told the story of his people - the travelling Vistani – who were beset by a pack of three werewolves. They had been attacked, but Arrigal lured the werewolves away. His Baba – priestess of their people – put a spell over their caravan which meant that until morning no outside eyes could see them.

Arrigal pleaded with the party to hunt down the werewolves before dawn, whilst he sought out his caravan. The party – foremost Rowena – distrusted Arrigal, and wanted to either go with him to his people, or to await the morning. Arrigal, however, was sly, and produced reason after reason to lure them into the woods. Unable to confirm their suspicions about Arrigal - and unwilling to let innocents be slaughtered, they set off... Not without first extracting promise of payment in treasure from Arrigal.

"How about this? I am a famous juggler among my people. I propose a wager – we Vistani have much treasure, and I shall juggle it all when next we meet. Any treasure that I drop, is yours to keep!"

With that, Arrigal disappeared into the woods, and the party set off in the direction he told them.

After many hours of walking, they became enshrouded in mists, first ankle, then knee high. Arkaeous determined that the mists were supernatural, and that they were growing behind them, preventing them from turning back. The party was now certain that they had been betrayed, and that they had been spirited away into a land unlike their own.

(Image from Dragon+.)

The howls of wolves began to punctuate the air, giving credence to at least part of Arrigal's lies. There were werewolves in these woods – at that revelation, a form moved through the trees and dashed out onto the road. Before they could see it clearly, it was gone - dissipated into the mist.

The party made their way to a great gatehouse, crossing a path that had formed in the woods. Wrought of black stone and cold iron bars, they journeyed through the gatehouse, into the other side. Arrigal sprang from the other side of the gatehouse, and locked the gates before they could move. They had fallen into his trap! All of a sudden, the great walls of the gate were gone – crumbled to nothing. The structure seemed to blink forward in time thousands of years in desolation. Arrigal himself, gone completely...

But they were not alone. 

On the road ahead of them, a great snarling sounded and they spun to confront a werewolf. Rushing into the fray, Rowena set up a strong position between the beast and her companions. Asimi was about to loose an arrow towards it when another werewolf launched from the forest and began to gore Rowena.

Pardon the orc and gnoll - we proxy a lot of our minis!

Finally, another huge werewolf (in wolf form) padded onto the road, but didn't engage – merely watching as its other pack mates fought. After several rounds of combat, the werewolf that had gored Rowena broke and fled – fearing the divine might of Mizhena. The fleeing werewolf called out to the other that was still engaged with the party, calling it "Emil" and begging it to flee as well.

The third, larger werewolf sprung on this opportunity, and dragged the fleeing werewolf away, preventing it from hesitating and getting back to Emil as he was cut down. The screaming werewolf transformed back into a human, a woman, and fought the large wolf dragging her away – confusing and building mystery for our heroes... Which was somewhat resolved when, picking over the corpse of Emil, they discovered a wedding ring with the name Zuleika etched into the band. With a dead werewolf on the road, and two very living werewolves somewhere ahead of them, the party didn't have time to rest. 

The momentary peace was punctured when Asimi stumbled upon a skeletal rider atop a skeletal horse, fully animated, watching them from the woods off the road. The rider looked to have once been a knight, given its torn and destroyed clothing, and the barding on its horse.

(Image from Tribality.)

The rider, unable to speak without lungs or a tongue, clacked and attempted to communicate with the party – Rowena in particular. It made the motion of a shield, and pointed at Rowena. It pointed west along the road, then back east the way they'd come through the mists. It shook its head in warning. Then it turned and rode slowly back through the trees.

Mystified by this encounter, the party pressed on – believing that Arkaeous's suspicion was correct. They could not leave this realm until they performed some deed to reverse the spell: started in the woods, and ended with the locking of the gatehouse. 

They made their way to a large grassy plain beyond the woods, but still upon the road. A few more hours, and they saw the gloomy shapes of a settlement in this forsaken land. Bunching up tight, they stepped into the shadow of the buildings, and noticed no one was around – even though it was early, perhaps 6'o'clock in the morning. They expected someone at least to be out. Worse still, Rowena was able to sense the presence of undead within some of the buildings...

Then, a cry. A young girl, dressed in rather fine yet strange attire, ran from her house to the heroes. She held the hand of her younger brother, and they both looked frightened and concerned.

"Help! Our parents are not at home, and there's a monster in our house!"

The party looked towards the daunting yet proud townhouse, with its swinging open iron gate, and felt dread for their adventures to come...

(Image from Wizards.)

And that concludes the first session of our Curse of Strahd campaign! I hope you enjoyed it, and that you come back next time for more.