"The House of Lament" is an adventure for a party of four to six 1st-level characters, who will advance to at least 3rd level by the adventure's conclusion. The adventure's climax serves as a springboard into future adventures in the Domains of Dread, should you wish to take your campaign into those haunted lands.
Uncover the mysteries of an old and seemingly forgotten house, tucked away within a curious place deep within a shroud of mists. What stories does this house hold? What will you take away should you survive? ...What will you leave behind?
The house of Lament is a small adventure set in the ravenloft/domains of dread setting. I'm new to PBP and am looking to get my feet wet with D&D beyond only, no discord or other apps/softwares. I have run this adventure before and run curse of Strahd and home-brew ravenloft content consistently; so should this go well, I may consider running a longer campaign in the ravenloft setting as a continuation of this adventure, or separately. This adventure will progress daily, at maximum (If all PCs respond, DM will post results and new content once per day, if not all PCs respond, DM will wait an additional 24hr period). Recruiting is open, and will post on this thread once recruiting is closed, with a Direct Message to players who have been selected.
Recruiting PCs from the forgotten realms, greyhawk, and Barovia. I like to keep things lore friendly, so crack open those sourcebooks or do your online scouring for brownie points from me. PCs will be starting at 1st level, feel free to create a character and post the link below OR just type up a class/race/background and a solid backstory for me in a post. ravenloft is a horror setting so a nice bit of role-play will be expected. Fear/Stress rules will be applied so please select 2/3 (your choice) seeds of fear that fit your character! To save you some time, seeds of fear are just fears your character might have (from their own reflection, to tight spaces, or dark rooms). take a look at the roll table in the Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft or make your own.
Vaale Cinders is... no, was a slave consort to a small mercantile Lordship in the ruinous warrior nation of Chessenta. Day in and day out was rife with humiliation and torture. He was beaten worse than any mutt, used and abused by the entire twisted family for any and all their disgusting whims. They called him Immolta, a slur for weaklings. It meant to smolder, to burn low. From the day he was bought, he suffered their cruelty, to no end.
His grace, however, was not in his own weakness, but rather in his Master's carelessness. Or rather, his eldest son's carelessness. 'Surely a dog could not swing a sword at it's Master,' he said, strolling the grounds outside the manor walls. 'Surely it could not be so foo--' Before the young man's head could even fathom that his sword had been drawn from its sheath, or that said head had already been severed from his shoulders, the slave had already fled into the jungles of the Methwood and beyond.
He did not get far before the baying of the Master's hounds reached his ears. His was an escape fated to failure. At least, it should've been, if not for Her...
A beautiful woman, bathed in silver fire and enshrouded in robes as white as the purest alabaster, appeared before him just as the hounds were to fall upon him. From Her words, he was delivered an offer of service, a path to freedom. All She asked for was his devotion, a term he was all too happy to accept. In that moment Vaale took his final breath.
In that moment, I was born. I cleaved those onerous curs asunder, and strode from those jungles a free soul. In his memory, I bear his burden, but in my name, I bear his resolve. Vaale Cinders died as pathetic as he lived. I, Valerius Immolta shall inherit the rage he endured and live as he could not: in a blaze of fury and glory, all for my Lady.
(Fears are listed in Flaws section of Character Sheet)
his hair like all of Maxgigs is long and golden. He grew up in a small backwater town. His father was the local merchant who spent years saving money to send Radallion’s elder brother Chad to become a squire for the order of the gauntlet. Radallion had to grow up following his father’s trade while his brother became a grand paladin. His father had always told him that he would grow old selling tomatoes while his Brother would go and save the universe or something. Radallion the tomato merchant had other plans for his future. He left the family business because he hates selling tomatoes though he is rather good at it. He has a fear that his father was right and he will grow old as a tomato merchant also grasshoppers and cows those things are terrifying…
Very interested! Will muster up a true application tomorrow. Cheers
So I’ve come up with two characters that I’d love to play. Depending on what the party needs and dm wants.
Ansur of the High Peaks
Class: Ranger or Barbarian (leaning towards ancestral barbarian
Race: hill dwarf
Backstory
Having grown up in the rugged mountains, a land known for its harsh winters and relentless orc raids, a warrior’s path was always in his destiny As a child, Ansur witnessed the destruction of his village and the rival orc raiders by a dark unknown monstrosity, leaving him orphaned and filled with a burning rage and confusion.
Surviving on his own in the wilderness, Ansur learned to harness his anger, channeling it into strength. He became a skilled hunter, tracking down game to feed himself and honing his combat skills to defend against any threats, including those that hide in the shadows.
Elara was raised in the temple of the goddess of the arcane deep in the wilderness, away from the nearest cities, where she learned the sacred arts of divine magic. As a devoted acolyte, Elara dedicated her life to serving her deity and tending to the sick and injured. However, when an accursed plague swept through her homeland, she witnessed the devastating effects of unchecked suffering and death. Fueled by a newfound determination, Elara now travels the land, investigating magical anomalies, bringing hope and healing to those in need, and vowing to vanquish the forces of darkness that threaten to snuff out the light
I´ll say that Terdul is a Mercenary, so he has wandered through many lands and he is travelling through some dark lands and looking for some experiences to gain and new enemies to defeat... also, he has been looking for his half-brother, Daven Sylenz, a Black Dragonborn, who has traveled as well in this dark lands as well.
I´m sorry if I don´t make a good backstory but I did it in order to just make a reason of why he´s in the adventure. I hope you´ll consider me for this small adventure
Pisgah was born during the height of a wild and violent storm into a nomadic tribe encamped in the wastelands. At the moment of his delivery a large slab of rock and mud broke away from the nearby hillside, tore down the slopes, and a number of tribe members died when trampled and mauled by animals fleeing the landslide. The tear in the hillside revealed a veined surface of matte black granite flowing with flecks of golden quartz across its surface. As the new mother delivered the child, she looked down and screamed as she saw a large dark skinned child with golden hued tendril like veins running through the surface of its skin and golden eyes pitted with black staring back at her. She named the child Pisgah saying, “You are a mountain that will never reach the promise, always crushing your brethren and causing them to stumble.” As she finished speaking the newborn uttered a guttural growl like a beast and his eyes filled with a lightening flash.
He quickly grew larger and stronger than the other tribal children did. His unusual appearance and a slow response to action, even to defend himself, left him ostracized and ridiculed by the tribe. Pisgah eventually became enraged at the incessant picking and prodding. Lashing out in a fit of rage, Pisgah’s black pupils swirled with streaks of lightening, like the skies on the day of his birth incorporating primal magic into his soul, as he struck the young man nearest him with a fist as hard as granite and knocking him to the ground. In retaliation, the man’s companion struck out at Pisgah, hitting him across the back with a staff. Feeling the blow crack across his shoulder blades unlocked something deep within Pisgah. A lashing spiny tail burst from Pisgah, knocking the man down and breaking the arm holding the staff. With two men down, the fighting stopped as everyone backed away quickly from the oddity in their midst. The tribal leaders, backed by the tribe’s hunters, then banned Pisgah, shunning him and forcing him from the tribal encampment.
Striking out on his own, Pisgah wandered the hills alone as he fought nature and the elements for survival. Along the way, he learned that not all who see him look at him with sideways eyes or expect him to be the cause of something bad or ill omened. Despite the few positive encounters had with people on the road, Pisgah is more relaxed and at home among the animals and outside of groups of people. However, living alone in the wilds is exhausting as well as dangerous and he soon realized the advantage of a tribe was protection within the larger numbers and the broader range of skills and experience. Pisgah is seeking to find a group with whom he can begin to rebuild what he was forced to leave behind.
I love Ravenloft and Gothic Horror in general! Always wanted to play the House of Lament. I'm the roleplay-focused type of player but I'm open to try new styles!
I've been so interested in trying more Ravenloft/horror recently, and this looks like so much fun! I'm very flexible as far as character, so more than happy to adjust if it seems like there's a better party (or specific lore!) fit, but for the time being:
Character Sheet:https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120542060/k6N7xY Name: Rhykal Race: Human (variant) Class: Paladin Seeds of fear: Isolation; inability to hear / complete lack of sound; drowning; that she'll commit the same brutal acts of violence she once did (and that no amount of good she does will ever even those scales) Backstory: For as long as she can remember, Rhykal knew nothing but the worship of Azathoth -- whatever might have come before has always remained a mystery, though for much of her life, not one she was keen to solve. Raised within the community into which she has been stolen, she learned to long for Azathoth’s return, and for some kind of hive mind -- a life (or, perhaps closer to the truth, a death) that would mean so much more than her own. She learned to exact violence: gruesome, chaotic, delightful, all in his name. And she learned how to be an asset: where other Azathoth cults had become reclusive (and, frankly, quite insane) in his worship, the leader of her own community held a startlingly worldly eagerness for more and more followers. This could often be carried out through acts of bloodshed, and of kidnapping -- but there was also the matter of persuasion, at which Rhykal became increasingly adept.
In the end, it was not Rhykal, but her closest friend who began to have doubts -- who escaped into the daylight and brought back hushed tales of adventurers, of heroes, of a world more compelling by half than the dim system of caves they called home. Whether her death alone would have been enough to change Rhykal, she'll never know; it was only shortly after she was caught and put violently to death that the the closest town's local militia (long terrorized by the so-called cult in the caves), led by an adventuring party, stormed her home and chased away the life she had known.
They did not put Rhykal to death, however: in the face of all of her mistrust, they gave her a bed, and water, and the best meal she had ever had, and they promised not to hurt her. And they didn't. And it changed everything.
Now, Rhykal's trying to maybe do something good with her life. To be heroic, or whatever. She's not exactly sure what that looks like, but she's pretty sure it involves armor, and also probably a really big sword.
Thank you all for your submissions! The recruiting is still open, and I'm reading every single one. I'll most likely close recruitment tonight, but I'll be sending out messages so keep an eye out! as far as final character creation, and campaign rules, etc... it will all be included in messages.
Backstory:The House of Hildegoath is not a warm place. Not for decades past has it heard of birdsong, or children’s laughter, or of the sweet music sung to set pretty little babes to rest. Certainly not since Cornelius hung himself to death in the garden house, nor since handsome young Edgar flung himself from the library’s balcony. And that was years ago.
Now the only sounds that fill the air of Hildegoath manor are the screech of mockingjays and relentless ticking and chiming of decrepit clocks. There is a stillness in the house, but not one that feels at ease. The stillness is rather an absence of life--the empty sound of what remains when joy itself has departed, and left in its place only memories. Only sorrow. Only ashes.
It was here that Rufus grew up, surviving the torments of childhood under the eccentricities of a lonely, bitter mother, only to endure the agonies of pubescent boyhood without companionship. The van Hildegoath name, what was once a great and noble family, brought him no advantaged, shadowed and discolored by the shameful fate of his father and elder brother. Indeed, although they lived within a manor’s walls, there was no money. The servants and gardeners were sent away, for there was no money with which to pay them. There was barely food to eat.
Despite living in poverty, Rufus was a bright and self-driven student who devoured the books that remained in his father's library--those too blasphemous to sell for grain money. Books on history and philosophy, theology and magic, and even alchemy, in which Rufus took a special interest. And there were his father’s journals and notes, for the patriarch of House van Hildegoath himself harbored an appetite for...fleshcraft.
These notes served as a great inspiration for Rufus, fueling his own imagination and leading him to develop his own experiments, usually on wildlife and birds he could catch around the estate. Eventually he hit walls in his own experimentation, however, and so turned to the larger collections available at Candlekeep. He painstakingly copied some of his father's texts and notes to gain entrance. The tight regulation of the great library's more dangerous alchemical texts has been a continuing source of consternation...
Seeds of Fear: Rufus fears that he, like his father, is losing his sanity. In particular, Rufus fears his own fascination with fleshcraft, as it reveals a dark predilection for things some may consider unnatural and dangerous. Where will it lead him?
Backstory: Long long time ago, the dusk elf maiden Svetlana refused the offers of love from a powerful magic-user who really had an obsession with her. Her rejected lover took revenge by turning her into a statue: the last words that Svetlana had heard were: "Since your heart remains of stone, I will give you an existence that is entirely suitable for you!" Svetlana doesn't know why, much much later, the spell breaks. Is it perhaps a whim of the dark forces that dominate Ravenloft? Or... or have been the voices that have finally succeeded in that? Yes, the voices... for Svetlana hears voices in her mind. So many voices. Voices of female dusk elf. Her voices tell her that they are the female dusk elf slaughtered by Stradh. Svetlana learns that a very long time has passed and that now she is the only female dusk elf left alive! Strahd had all the female dusk elves put to death around four centuries ago as a punishment! She escaped death only because she was a statue at the time of the slaughter. Horrified by the Count's cruelty and forced to be wary of members of her own kind (what would they do to her if they discovered her? Would they keep her prisoner as their only hope of not extinguishing the race? They would hand her over to the Count to please him and allow him to complete what had begun?) Svetlana is forced to begin a wandering existence, always trying to keep her elven ears well hidden...
Seeds of Fear: To be discovered/hunted by Stradh or his agents. To be discovered/hunted by other Dusk Elves To never be able to get rid of the Voices in her head
Hello friends! Recruitment for this adventure is now closed. I will promptly be sending out invites to the campaign, and more details. Expect a message from me (If you your character has been selected) no later than tomorrow evening. Thanks for participating!
"The House of Lament" is an adventure for a party of four to six 1st-level characters, who will advance to at least 3rd level by the adventure's conclusion. The adventure's climax serves as a springboard into future adventures in the Domains of Dread, should you wish to take your campaign into those haunted lands.
Uncover the mysteries of an old and seemingly forgotten house, tucked away within a curious place deep within a shroud of mists. What stories does this house hold? What will you take away should you survive? ...What will you leave behind?
The house of Lament is a small adventure set in the ravenloft/domains of dread setting. I'm new to PBP and am looking to get my feet wet with D&D beyond only, no discord or other apps/softwares. I have run this adventure before and run curse of Strahd and home-brew ravenloft content consistently; so should this go well, I may consider running a longer campaign in the ravenloft setting as a continuation of this adventure, or separately. This adventure will progress daily, at maximum (If all PCs respond, DM will post results and new content once per day, if not all PCs respond, DM will wait an additional 24hr period). Recruiting is open, and will post on this thread once recruiting is closed, with a Direct Message to players who have been selected.
Recruiting PCs from the forgotten realms, greyhawk, and Barovia. I like to keep things lore friendly, so crack open those sourcebooks or do your online scouring for brownie points from me. PCs will be starting at 1st level, feel free to create a character and post the link below OR just type up a class/race/background and a solid backstory for me in a post. ravenloft is a horror setting so a nice bit of role-play will be expected. Fear/Stress rules will be applied so please select 2/3 (your choice) seeds of fear that fit your character! To save you some time, seeds of fear are just fears your character might have (from their own reflection, to tight spaces, or dark rooms). take a look at the roll table in the Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft or make your own.
Welcome to the mists.
Very interested! Will muster up a true application tomorrow. Cheers
Valerius Immolta
Fire Genasi
Warlock/The Archfey
Character Sheet: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120516266
Backstory:
Vaale Cinders is... no, was a slave consort to a small mercantile Lordship in the ruinous warrior nation of Chessenta. Day in and day out was rife with humiliation and torture. He was beaten worse than any mutt, used and abused by the entire twisted family for any and all their disgusting whims. They called him Immolta, a slur for weaklings. It meant to smolder, to burn low. From the day he was bought, he suffered their cruelty, to no end.
His grace, however, was not in his own weakness, but rather in his Master's carelessness. Or rather, his eldest son's carelessness. 'Surely a dog could not swing a sword at it's Master,' he said, strolling the grounds outside the manor walls. 'Surely it could not be so foo--' Before the young man's head could even fathom that his sword had been drawn from its sheath, or that said head had already been severed from his shoulders, the slave had already fled into the jungles of the Methwood and beyond.
He did not get far before the baying of the Master's hounds reached his ears. His was an escape fated to failure. At least, it should've been, if not for Her...
A beautiful woman, bathed in silver fire and enshrouded in robes as white as the purest alabaster, appeared before him just as the hounds were to fall upon him. From Her words, he was delivered an offer of service, a path to freedom. All She asked for was his devotion, a term he was all too happy to accept. In that moment Vaale took his final breath.
In that moment, I was born. I cleaved those onerous curs asunder, and strode from those jungles a free soul. In his memory, I bear his burden, but in my name, I bear his resolve. Vaale Cinders died as pathetic as he lived. I, Valerius Immolta shall inherit the rage he endured and live as he could not: in a blaze of fury and glory, all for my Lady.
(Fears are listed in Flaws section of Character Sheet)
Radallion the Fabulous
human male bard
his hair like all of Maxgigs is long and golden. He grew up in a small backwater town. His father was the local merchant who spent years saving money to send Radallion’s elder brother Chad to become a squire for the order of the gauntlet. Radallion had to grow up following his father’s trade while his brother became a grand paladin. His father had always told him that he would grow old selling tomatoes while his Brother would go and save the universe or something. Radallion the tomato merchant had other plans for his future. He left the family business because he hates selling tomatoes though he is rather good at it. He has a fear that his father was right and he will grow old as a tomato merchant also grasshoppers and cows those things are terrifying…
Oops forgot to add the link
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sheet-pdfs/The_Archsage_Gander_Gongowogoll_120579297.pdf
For this, I will find a way to make time.
Application to follow!
Ooooops*2 wrong link my bad
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120579297
Nice submissions so far. Recruiting still open friends!
So I’ve come up with two characters that I’d love to play. Depending on what the party needs and dm wants.
Ansur of the High Peaks
Class: Ranger or Barbarian (leaning towards ancestral barbarian
Race: hill dwarf
Backstory
Having grown up in the rugged mountains, a land known for its harsh winters and relentless orc raids, a warrior’s path was always in his destiny As a child, Ansur witnessed the destruction of his village and the rival orc raiders by a dark unknown monstrosity, leaving him orphaned and filled with a burning rage and confusion.
Surviving on his own in the wilderness, Ansur learned to harness his anger, channeling it into strength. He became a skilled hunter, tracking down game to feed himself and honing his combat skills to defend against any threats, including those that hide in the shadows.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120594043
Priestess Elara Moonshadow
race: high elf
class: Cleric - Arcana Domain
backstory:
Elara was raised in the temple of the goddess of the arcane deep in the wilderness, away from the nearest cities, where she learned the sacred arts of divine magic. As a devoted acolyte, Elara dedicated her life to serving her deity and tending to the sick and injured. However, when an accursed plague swept through her homeland, she witnessed the devastating effects of unchecked suffering and death. Fueled by a newfound determination, Elara now travels the land, investigating magical anomalies, bringing hope and healing to those in need, and vowing to vanquish the forces of darkness that threaten to snuff out the light
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120595488
fears (would be the same for both):
- I hate the feeling of being isolated or alone.
- deep water will be the end of me
Ok I might be interested... so here it is mine.
Terdul Nyemphes
Red Dragonborn Monk
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/119227327/0djxdj
I´ll say that Terdul is a Mercenary, so he has wandered through many lands and he is travelling through some dark lands and looking for some experiences to gain and new enemies to defeat... also, he has been looking for his half-brother, Daven Sylenz, a Black Dragonborn, who has traveled as well in this dark lands as well.
I´m sorry if I don´t make a good backstory but I did it in order to just make a reason of why he´s in the adventure. I hope you´ll consider me for this small adventure
How do you want to handle ability scores? Is it roll 4d6 and drop lowest or standard array?
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120597511
Pisgah
Earth Genasi Barbarian
Backstory:
Pisgah was born during the height of a wild and violent storm into a nomadic tribe encamped in the wastelands. At the moment of his delivery a large slab of rock and mud broke away from the nearby hillside, tore down the slopes, and a number of tribe members died when trampled and mauled by animals fleeing the landslide. The tear in the hillside revealed a veined surface of matte black granite flowing with flecks of golden quartz across its surface. As the new mother delivered the child, she looked down and screamed as she saw a large dark skinned child with golden hued tendril like veins running through the surface of its skin and golden eyes pitted with black staring back at her. She named the child Pisgah saying, “You are a mountain that will never reach the promise, always crushing your brethren and causing them to stumble.” As she finished speaking the newborn uttered a guttural growl like a beast and his eyes filled with a lightening flash.
He quickly grew larger and stronger than the other tribal children did. His unusual appearance and a slow response to action, even to defend himself, left him ostracized and ridiculed by the tribe. Pisgah eventually became enraged at the incessant picking and prodding. Lashing out in a fit of rage, Pisgah’s black pupils swirled with streaks of lightening, like the skies on the day of his birth incorporating primal magic into his soul, as he struck the young man nearest him with a fist as hard as granite and knocking him to the ground. In retaliation, the man’s companion struck out at Pisgah, hitting him across the back with a staff. Feeling the blow crack across his shoulder blades unlocked something deep within Pisgah. A lashing spiny tail burst from Pisgah, knocking the man down and breaking the arm holding the staff. With two men down, the fighting stopped as everyone backed away quickly from the oddity in their midst. The tribal leaders, backed by the tribe’s hunters, then banned Pisgah, shunning him and forcing him from the tribal encampment.
Striking out on his own, Pisgah wandered the hills alone as he fought nature and the elements for survival. Along the way, he learned that not all who see him look at him with sideways eyes or expect him to be the cause of something bad or ill omened. Despite the few positive encounters had with people on the road, Pisgah is more relaxed and at home among the animals and outside of groups of people. However, living alone in the wilds is exhausting as well as dangerous and he soon realized the advantage of a tribe was protection within the larger numbers and the broader range of skills and experience. Pisgah is seeking to find a group with whom he can begin to rebuild what he was forced to leave behind.
I love Ravenloft and Gothic Horror in general! Always wanted to play the House of Lament. I'm the roleplay-focused type of player but I'm open to try new styles!
Character:
Name: Isabel
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Wizard (Divination)
Background: Haunted One
Origin: Barovia (Vistani)
Link to the character sheet. I put the Backstory and Fears in the Notes section.
I've been so interested in trying more Ravenloft/horror recently, and this looks like so much fun! I'm very flexible as far as character, so more than happy to adjust if it seems like there's a better party (or specific lore!) fit, but for the time being:
Character Sheet: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/120542060/k6N7xY
Name: Rhykal
Race: Human (variant)
Class: Paladin
Seeds of fear: Isolation; inability to hear / complete lack of sound; drowning; that she'll commit the same brutal acts of violence she once did (and that no amount of good she does will ever even those scales)
Backstory: For as long as she can remember, Rhykal knew nothing but the worship of Azathoth -- whatever might have come before has always remained a mystery, though for much of her life, not one she was keen to solve. Raised within the community into which she has been stolen, she learned to long for Azathoth’s return, and for some kind of hive mind -- a life (or, perhaps closer to the truth, a death) that would mean so much more than her own. She learned to exact violence: gruesome, chaotic, delightful, all in his name. And she learned how to be an asset: where other Azathoth cults had become reclusive (and, frankly, quite insane) in his worship, the leader of her own community held a startlingly worldly eagerness for more and more followers. This could often be carried out through acts of bloodshed, and of kidnapping -- but there was also the matter of persuasion, at which Rhykal became increasingly adept.
In the end, it was not Rhykal, but her closest friend who began to have doubts -- who escaped into the daylight and brought back hushed tales of adventurers, of heroes, of a world more compelling by half than the dim system of caves they called home. Whether her death alone would have been enough to change Rhykal, she'll never know; it was only shortly after she was caught and put violently to death that the the closest town's local militia (long terrorized by the so-called cult in the caves), led by an adventuring party, stormed her home and chased away the life she had known.
They did not put Rhykal to death, however: in the face of all of her mistrust, they gave her a bed, and water, and the best meal she had ever had, and they promised not to hurt her. And they didn't. And it changed everything.
Now, Rhykal's trying to maybe do something good with her life. To be heroic, or whatever. She's not exactly sure what that looks like, but she's pretty sure it involves armor, and also probably a really big sword.
Thank you all for your submissions! The recruiting is still open, and I'm reading every single one. I'll most likely close recruitment tonight, but I'll be sending out messages so keep an eye out!
as far as final character creation, and campaign rules, etc... it will all be included in messages.
Good luck everyone! Lots of great characters here.
Rufus van Hildegoath
Class: Artificer
Race: Human
Background: Investigator
Backstory: The House of Hildegoath is not a warm place. Not for decades past has it heard of birdsong, or children’s laughter, or of the sweet music sung to set pretty little babes to rest. Certainly not since Cornelius hung himself to death in the garden house, nor since handsome young Edgar flung himself from the library’s balcony. And that was years ago.
Now the only sounds that fill the air of Hildegoath manor are the screech of mockingjays and relentless ticking and chiming of decrepit clocks. There is a stillness in the house, but not one that feels at ease. The stillness is rather an absence of life--the empty sound of what remains when joy itself has departed, and left in its place only memories. Only sorrow. Only ashes.
It was here that Rufus grew up, surviving the torments of childhood under the eccentricities of a lonely, bitter mother, only to endure the agonies of pubescent boyhood without companionship. The van Hildegoath name, what was once a great and noble family, brought him no advantaged, shadowed and discolored by the shameful fate of his father and elder brother. Indeed, although they lived within a manor’s walls, there was no money. The servants and gardeners were sent away, for there was no money with which to pay them. There was barely food to eat.
Despite living in poverty, Rufus was a bright and self-driven student who devoured the books that remained in his father's library--those too blasphemous to sell for grain money. Books on history and philosophy, theology and magic, and even alchemy, in which Rufus took a special interest. And there were his father’s journals and notes, for the patriarch of House van Hildegoath himself harbored an appetite for...fleshcraft.
These notes served as a great inspiration for Rufus, fueling his own imagination and leading him to develop his own experiments, usually on wildlife and birds he could catch around the estate. Eventually he hit walls in his own experimentation, however, and so turned to the larger collections available at Candlekeep. He painstakingly copied some of his father's texts and notes to gain entrance. The tight regulation of the great library's more dangerous alchemical texts has been a continuing source of consternation...
Seeds of Fear: Rufus fears that he, like his father, is losing his sanity. In particular, Rufus fears his own fascination with fleshcraft, as it reveals a dark predilection for things some may consider unnatural and dangerous. Where will it lead him?
Name: Svetlana Dinteina
Race: Dusk Elf
Class: Barbarian
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Background: Haunted One
Backstory: Long long time ago, the dusk elf maiden Svetlana refused the offers of love from a powerful magic-user who really had an obsession with her. Her rejected lover took revenge by turning her into a statue: the last words that Svetlana had heard were: "Since your heart remains of stone, I will give you an existence that is entirely suitable for you!" Svetlana doesn't know why, much much later, the spell breaks. Is it perhaps a whim of the dark forces that dominate Ravenloft? Or... or have been the voices that have finally succeeded in that? Yes, the voices... for Svetlana hears voices in her mind. So many voices. Voices of female dusk elf. Her voices tell her that they are the female dusk elf slaughtered by Stradh. Svetlana learns that a very long time has passed and that now she is the only female dusk elf left alive! Strahd had all the female dusk elves put to death around four centuries ago as a punishment! She escaped death only because she was a statue at the time of the slaughter. Horrified by the Count's cruelty and forced to be wary of members of her own kind (what would they do to her if they discovered her? Would they keep her prisoner as their only hope of not extinguishing the race? They would hand her over to the Count to please him and allow him to complete what had begun?) Svetlana is forced to begin a wandering existence, always trying to keep her elven ears well hidden...
Seeds of Fear:
To be discovered/hunted by Stradh or his agents.
To be discovered/hunted by other Dusk Elves
To never be able to get rid of the Voices in her head
Hello friends! Recruitment for this adventure is now closed. I will promptly be sending out invites to the campaign, and more details. Expect a message from me (If you your character has been selected) no later than tomorrow evening. Thanks for participating!
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I figured this would close before I got a chance to post a character. My best to all those who were chosen.
OTeophylus, if you ever decide to run this again I will be eagerly waiting. Sounds like I really missed out on a good one!