🕯️ THE BLACK BELLS OF VIREMONT

A Gothic Horror Campaign Framework

In the mountain city of Viremont, the cathedral bells toll every night at midnight—though no one admits to ringing them. Each toll is followed by a death, and each victim rises days later as something almost human.

The ruling noble house claims divine sanction, the Church insists the bells are a test of faith, and the people whisper that the city itself is alive. As the party investigates, they uncover a centuries-old pact between the nobles and a forgotten saint whose body is entombed beneath the cathedral—still conscious, still suffering, and still answering prayers.

Stopping the bells may save the living, but it will also condemn a holy martyr to eternal torment… or unleash them upon the world.

THE NEAR-DEAD — PLAYER-FACING RULES

If a PC dies and bells ring before resurrection:

They return as Near-Dead with:

• One permanent scar or visible mark
• Advantage on death saves
• Disadvantage resisting bell magic
• A secret directive whispered by the saint

Session 1: 

What Your Character Knows

In Viremont, a mountain city ruled jointly by a noble house and a powerful church,  people survive more than they live- if they are lucky enough to remain “people” at all. Faith is heavy and controlling rather than a source of comfort. Authority is feared, neighbors are not to be trusted, and death is not always the end. The bell tolls at midnight, but when they chime across the city at an unplanned time, you know that someone has just discovered what truly lurks in the shadows. Always watching, waiting for a time to strike. It could be you next. 

The citizens gather for public funerary rituals hoping to gain some sense of control over what happens to themselves and their loved ones after the bell tolls. Something behind the eyes of the Black Bells, a feared enforcement group operating under the Church’s authority, tells you their attempts are in vain. 

 

🏙️ THE CITY OF VIREMONT

A mountain city ruled jointly by a noble house and a powerful Church.

Known for:

🔔 Bells that toll every midnight
⚰️ Public funerary rituals
⛪ Massive cathedral dominating the skyline
🌫️ Fog that never fully clears

Travelers say:

• The city is cursed
  
  
• The bells mean someone has died
  
  
• The dead do not always stay buried
  
  

🚫 IMPORTANT SOCIAL RULES

Your character would know:

• Do not interfere with Black Bell operations
  
  
• Do not ask about the bells loudly
  
  
• Do not wander after midnight
  
  
• Do not mock the Church publicly
  
  

Breaking these rules brings attention — and attention is dangerous.

🔔 THE BLACK BELLS

A feared enforcement group operating under Church authority.

Recognizable by:

• Iron bell badges
  
  
• Black uniforms
  
  
• Ritual procedures
  
  
• Silent escorts of prisoners
  
  

People disappear after being taken.

No one asks questions.

🌫️ THE STARTING DISTRICT — GRAVESWARD

Where you are entering the city.

Characteristics:

• Old stone buildings
  
  
• Undertakers and coffin-makers
  
  
• Small shrines on every corner
  
  
• Streets too narrow for sunlight
  
  

This district handles the city’s dead.

🧭 WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE

Each of you has your own reason for arriving.

You are strangers.

You are not yet allies.

But something about tonight will change that.