Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Murder at Blackbriar Hall
A Gothic Fantasy Mystery for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 e
Play-by-Post Campaign Recruitment
The storm began three nights ago.
By the time your carriage reaches the gates of Blackbriar Hall, the moors have become a sea of mist and mud beneath a bruised autumn sky. Lightning flashes across distant hills, illuminating twisted blackthorn hedges and the looming silhouette of the Sinclair estate.
The invitation in your possession was written in a hurried hand:
You arrive too late.
Before the night is over, Lord Sinclair is found dead in his private study, slumped forward in his chair with a ceremonial dagger buried between his shoulders.
The door was locked from within.
The servants whisper of ghosts in the walls.
The family physician insists the timeline is impossible.
Every guest hides secrets.
And somewhere inside Blackbriar Hall, a killer walks freely among you.
The storm has washed out the roads.
No one can leave.
About the Campaign
This is a roleplay-heavy gothic mystery campaign inspired by:
Expect:
Combat will occur occasionally, but this is primarily a mystery-focused adventure where observation, roleplay, and theory-building matter far more than dungeon crawling.
Tone & Themes
Think:
Character Expectations
Characters should have a believable reason to accept Lord Sinclair’s invitation, such as:
Characters with:
will thrive in this campaign.
Campaign Details
What Lies Within Blackbriar Hall?
Will you uncover the truth before the killer strikes again?
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Hey! Just saw this - I'm very interested!
What are you looking for in an application? You didn't really specify.
Name: Myles Ravencroft
Species: Human
Class: Wizard
Background: Sage (Occult investigator)
Backstory: WIP
Interested. I do love a good mystery.
Name: Vanamir Barax
Species: Kalashtar
Class: Fighter/Psi Warrior
Background: Guard
Backstory:
Vanamir Barax or just Vana to her friends was raised by her aunt Fediora, a seeker of obscure objects and knowledge. Some say she was an archeologist and others say she was a raider of tombs. Vana did not care for the rumors and delighted in her aunt's stories and the trinkets she brought home. Now Vana herself was indeed raised to be curious of the world but to live under proper manners and etiquette as that was her father's last wish. So, her life revolved around the 3 R's, reading writing, and arithmetic. Though aunt Fedior also taught her how to defend herself as well. Her Aunt being gone for long stretches of time is common, but 2 years went by without a single letter. The money ran out and even her house had to be sold. The only thing she kept was a locket intricately made and care worn.
Vana traded her dresses for practical clothing and followed the only lead she had. In the past her aunt mentioned working with Lord Cedric Sinclair and so she sought him out. They spoke at length and he shared what he believes where her aunt could be. Vana soon took off and begin piecing together the clues. A raucous evening at a tavern, climbing gear bought from a provisioner, a coachman that had a case of amnesia until a few coins were pressed into his hands. When money ran low, she took jobs as guards for goods and people. Then she found her aunts base camp at the foot of a mountain or what was left of it with the tent in tatters and scattered debris around it. After a few days she found a skeletal hand still wearing her aunt's favorite bracelet. Numbness washed over her and she tried to find the rest of her to no avail.
She needed help and so came back to Lord Cedric Sinclair for aid. He immediately offered his help and through magics found her aunt was in a city by the sea. The magic was inconclusive whether she still lived. Together with the lord they traveled in haste with her heart filled with aching worry. After finding recluse informants and questioning people of night she found her aunt Fediora in a lab of sorts her body limp fused with some glistening artifact and experimented on by ... What came next was a blur filled with the clash of steel and the spilling of blood. It took several slaps from Lord Sinclair to bring her to her senses. He forcibly escorted her away promising to give her aunt a proper burial. She blinked and there she was standing over her aunt's grave with Lord Sinclair. Tears came spilling out and it seemed it would not stop. Cedric sat her down and told her what she did would not be forgotten as that vile bastard was a person of means and influence. He promised he would not speak a word on the matter and helped her piece back her life. So, she worked as a guard again and when she received the letter she rushed to his house hoping fate would offer some small measure of mercy.
Name: Archibald Dundee
Race: Halfling
Class: Bard/Sorcerer (if you will allow it)
Background: Criminal (Acquirer & Collector of Rare Books)
Backstory: Archibald Dundee (Archie in familiar company) started out a no name thug working for a small gang of cutthroats. Early on he realized he needed to move on from his associates, due to their blood thirsty nature, and into a more lucrative, less violent business. Then came the day he was found by the Wizard Vincent Chesslow. Chesslow needed a book a rival had. Archie swore he could get it, for a price. An agreement was reached & Archie completed the job easily, and without killing a soul. Archie worked for Chesslow for the next 7 years and got a taste of the finer things in life. He received an education in a variety of things and learned he had a talent for magic & music. Chesslow's library grew and grew. Chesslow was caught by the authorities and arrested, over a book of course & Archie left town immediately. He's been in the area of about a year now, running a small book shop all the while scoping out the area for personal libraries and rare collections. That is what brought him into contact with Lord Sinclair. Archie charmed his way into the Lord's favor and he and Sinclair would meet about once a week over tea and talk about everything from the news of the day to history, the arcane or what ever came to mind. All the while Archie would slip in questions about the Lords personal library. Things were going according to plan till the carriage pulled up and Archie, and the others, find out the Lord is dead and no one can leave. Archie's certain he didn't kill the old man but there is a library to explore and money to be made, if his hunch is right.
Mercy Bell
Halfling warlock (great old one)
Haunted One (Whispers)
Mercy Bell is a small, pale halfling woman with white curls, washed-out blue eyes, and a faint tilted smile that makes her look like she’s listening to something pleasant no one else can hear. She dresses like a gothic little adventurer, dark vest, cloak and a black-edged deck of omen cards always close at hand. Most of the time Mercy seems distracted by small things — lost animals, strange buttons, cracks in the wall, whatever her pet dragon is hissing at from her satchel — but when the whispers line up, she becomes the party’s psychic receiver, calmly saying the awful little truth everyone else missed. Smudge, her catlike bat-winged pseudodragon, is half pet and half warning bell: usually asleep, occasionally biting, and very still when something unseen enters the room.
Mercy does not remember the house properly, which is part of the trouble. Some nights it was a manor with crooked halls and velvet curtains; other nights it was a chapel with wet stone floors and bells that rang under the ground. She remembers being lost. She remembers rooms that changed when she looked away, mirrors that showed doors where no doors stood, and a stairway that kept leading her back to the same little table. On that table was a black-edged deck of cards, scattered as if someone had left in a hurry. Mercy picked them up because one of them had a picture she liked. That was when the whispers noticed her. After that, she remembers very little clearly except Smudge: a small dark thing with bat wings and angry eyes, hissing from beneath a broken chair. He bit her when she reached for him, then showed her the way out. Mercy has never been certain whether she escaped the house, or whether the house simply let her leave with its cards.
Excellent! As an aside, when I originally posted this, it was instantly marked spam for some reason and deleted. A moderator found out that I hit a button and did that somehow - anyway, glad it could be saved.
In regard to what I’m looking for - a complimentary crew that is interested in an investigation, a mystery in a spooky setting. This is an idea that I’ve had and I’m getting some AI assistance in generating it.
Characters have received an invitation to the Blackbriar Hall, the home of Lord Cedric Sinclair. Your character should have a backstory and a reason to be there.
Who Was Lord Cedric Sinclair?
Lord Cedric Sinclair is a retired adventurer, explorer, and minor noble whose fortunes were made not through inheritance, but through a lifetime of dangerous expeditions.
In his youth, he:
By middle age, he had become wealthy enough to purchase and restore Blackbriar Hall, transforming it into a gathering place for scholars, adventurers, artists, and political figures.
Over the years, Sinclair earned a reputation for three things:
His generosity.
Many people owe their careers, fortunes, or lives to him.
His discretion.
He could be trusted with secrets.
His curiosity.
He never stopped investigating mysteries.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
This is interesting. Will you share content? I ask so I can make a character that is way more on theme with the campaign (I only have the free stuff, so I would have to get very creative).
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
Hi Twombley,
Don't know if you've had enough of me. But, if not, I'd love to get into this game. I'll post this in the recruiting thread as well.
I'm thinking a knowledge domain cleric or an Investigative style Rogue (but since it's 5.5, they'll just be a... rogue, I guess. But I'll build them with those investigative style skills.
Of course, if you're allowing the new Ravenloft material, I'd do the Spirits bard.
Let me know if you want me in the game. No hard feelings if you're looking for a different group!
Anyway, ere're my three pitches, in roder of preference - happy to use whichever makes the best balance.
Ms Flavisham - Stood up at the altar by her vampire paramour. She is a dhampir spirits bard medium with some secrets of her own. And some firm ideas on manners and what makes a worthy suitor.
Brother Elroy Figgins - A Cleric of the knowledge domain. What he wants most in the world is to become one of those cosy mystery vicars in his own picturesque village with a disproportionately high murder rate.
Lord Wynn'thrup Scatters - A Tabaxi Phantom Rogue gentleman detective. Well, he aspires to be... He's looking to start his own gentleman's detective agency. Just needs to make a name for himself.
Cheers, Godster1
I love it Godster, that sounds good, and I like the character ideas.
I plan to share content for the campaign, and intermittently use DnD maps for creation of maps for the party. I await the new Ravenloft material, so that should be available to those who are accepted to the campaign.
I'm looking for 4-5 players and plan for recruiting to go 7-10 days or so. I would like to have a compliementary group of characters that are well suited to the campaign.
Cheers!
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Name: Garrett Donaghy.
Race: Human.
Class: Sorcerer (Aberrant Sorcery, when the DM shares their content I'll be able to finish the character sheet. Sorry, I only have the free stuff.)
Background: Haunted One.
Backstory: He was a young boy raised by very odd parents in a very odd town. His parents showed him love one day, and the next they beaten him almost to death. And the rest of the people in the town were no different, hurt him so bad he wanted to die, but the next day treated him like a king.
When he was 15 he learned why he was treated this way. Turns out that the town he was born in belonged to a cult that worshiped some unfathomable being from another plane, and Garrett was "destined" to be it's vessel to influence the world. And for it's vessel to be ready, the vessel needed to have engraved in their mind every emotion and sensation (good and and bad) before the ritual could be done, which was due that day. Fortunately for him, a group of soldiers from outside the town (helped by Lord Cedric Sinclair) interrupted the ritual before it could finish, saving his life.
After being saved, Garret was sent to the clergy, as he was now an orphan from a cult. For years, while he was there learning about the Gods, he was plaged with nightmares and voices in his head with a language that wasn't from this world, yet at the same time he could understand the emotions and feelings in those words and nightmares.
Lord Cedric Sinclair came multiple times to visit him. He knew why the Lord was interested in him, but he never told him (or anyone) about his conection to the unknown. He kept lying that all his magic came from being part of the clergy, hoping to convince everyone (and himself) thatit was true.
Now as an adult, he was called to Blackbriar Hall, like many other days to visit Lord Cedric as a member of the clergy, without knowing that something sinister was about to beging.
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
I'll roll for stat here:Ability scores: 12 13 13 15 11 12
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
Not the best, but not the worst either.
Also, do we start with magic items or not?
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
Let me try again so the rolls don't say that they were manipulated.
Ability scores: 14 14 10 13 16 14
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
Those are better. I still have the same question about magic items.
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
Sorry, let me clarify - - point buy for Ability Scores.
No magic items, just standard equipment.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Fair. I hope I get chosen.
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett
@Twombley, do you expect we'd be levelling at various points throughout? Or will the whole adventure play out at just the one level?
Cheers
In here it says that we might progress to level 5.
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Tiefling blood hunter Albus, Wood elf druid Charis, Human fighter Garrett