I got an itch for vampires and undead hunting and my other campaign is more eldritch than gothic horror. So I bought a .pdf of I6 Ravenloft and was smitten, immediately deciding to run a “mini-campaign” with the module. In order to turn up the gothic dial, I decided to set the game on earth in the late 16th century. A time of transition between the familiar d&d renaissance era, and the baroque early modern period. Armor, guns, and religious strife with a veneer of ornate ruffs and dashing noblemen. An earth setting also allows the great drama and fiction of earthly faiths versus the undead, and should prove easier for characters to act within a familiar milieu.
Since the module is recommended for 6 to 8 characters of level 5 to 7 I granted the players 64,000 XP to start., putting most classes except the thief at level 7.
I had my regular five players show up and they made the following characters.
Anthaar Zweck a Dane. Level 7 Fighting Man.
Anthaar is a 18 STR fighter with heavy armor and a lot of HP. He proved to be quite formidable.
Dastur a Persian, Level 7 Cleric.
A Zoroastrian Priest, not exactly what I had in mind when I imagined Inquisitors versus zombies, but hey let’s go learn about a new religion!
Mellin Viete a Frenchman, Level 6 “Elf”
Mellin’s player had a definite character in mind , wanting to portray a diabolical French proto-libertine. He saw himself as a fighter with some occult powers, the b/x Elf was a perfect fit.
Nicolo Oliverio a Venetian , Level 7 Magic User
Nicolo’s player is familiar with Italy, and understands that the Venetians had their fingers in everything at this time. His elder wizard is the de facto leader of the company.
Reichsritter Ulrich von Reffner a German, Level 8 Thief.
Ulrich’s player had an idea for a pistolero and I suggested a thief. He is a womanizing ne'er-do well with a Knighthood from the Emperor.
I created a random d30 table for appropriate backgrounds, the Dane, Persian, and German were all rolled randomly. All in all quite a balanced and powerful party, with three spell casters and a combined 35 levels.
I generated spells and magic items randomly. The magic user lucked out and got fireball and lightning bolt. The Cleric has a bag of holding. The thief got a cloak of elvenkind, making him pretty much invisible. The elf has boots of Levitation. A smattering of +1 weapons and armor all around.
The setup is that the players are all members of the “dell’Aquila Rossa” a mercenary company that has spent the past 10 years in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. They fought Protestant Werewolves in Germany, Muslim Sorcerers in the Levant, and finally the Turk in Hungary. The company paid off and out of work scatters to the wind. Leaving the players with little money and a mercenary banner. They establish themselves at an Inn on the borders of the Habsburg and Ottoman empires and seek to recruit the fierce local Hadjuks so that they can venture south and sell their services to the Duke of Alba who raises a force to relieve the besieged Knights of Malta.
From this point the I6 module begins with the Gypsy delivering a letter from the Burgomaster of Barovia. Hard pressed for lucre , and with an enormous tab at the local Inn the players venture forth to save the Burgomasters daughter. In their company are three Moorish slaves turned mercenary compatriots, and five local Hadjuk recruits of dubious loyalty.
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