Hi all. I am new to these boards, and new to the MotRD setting. I don't even have any of the books yet, just fascinated by the idea. I would like to run MotRd as sort of a Victorian-era X-Files, I have already come up with a few basic adventure seeds. If I never get to play the game, at least others who do might make use of my ideas so, here they are. I would like to share them as an offering to the other posters and to serve as my greeting to you all.
Critiques of my crude ideas are welcome, as are and suggestions you more experienced Masque gamers may have.
The Electric Ghost
William Klemmer was the first man to die in the electric chair in Auburn Prison, New York, in August of 1890. Later that year, grisly murders in Auburn have stumped the police. The victims appear to have been burned to death, and a local engineer has claimed that the victims were electrocuted.
The Real Story: The strange energies of Klemmer's execution somehow unleashed a lightning quasi-elemental. Klemmer was executed by Edison's direct current (DC), rather than Westinghouse's alternating current (AC). For MotRD purposes, high voltage direct current has a slim chance of creating a lightning quasi-elemental when a human life is "sacrificed" with it. After the adventure, DC is no longer used for executions not only for that reason, but also because of the sheer brutality of Klemmer's death.
The Great Ghost Cats
Livestock is disappearing at a startling rate from local farms. No one is sure why, but the mutilated corpses of sheep and cattle have been found with no obvious cause of death.
The Real Story: A wealthy man has imported dangerous big cats and one (or more) have escaped ... I figure not all "monsters" have to really be supernatural if I play up the suspense!
A Soul as Black as Soot
Chimney sweeps are going on strike, afraid to work ever since a series of strange deaths by fire have claimed many of their comerades. They claim someone is specifically targetting them with flaming arrows, but no evidence of such attacks have been discovered.
The Real Story: The culprit is the ghost of a crooked chimney sweep. He robbed wealthy families by sneaking into their houses through the chimney, and has hidden his ill-gotten gain in random chimneys throughout the city. The ghost is able to cast the burning hands spell and is protecting his stash by killing those who get too close to his treasures.
I have a few others, but they aren't even as complete as these idea germs.
I'll post more ideas as I get more.
Last edited by Lady Ligeia on Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Lady Ligeia wrote:Hi all. I am new to these boards, and new to the MotRD setting. I don't even have any of the books yet, just fascinated by the idea. I would like to run MotRd as sort of a Victorian-era X-Files, I have already come up with a few basic adventure seeds. If I never get to play the game, at least others who do might make use of my ideas so, here they are. I would like to share them as an offering to the other posters and to serve as my greeting to you all.
Critiques of my crude ideas are welcome, as are and suggestions you more experienced Masque gamers may have.
1. William Klemmer was the first man to die in the electric chair in Auburn Prison, New York, in August of 1890. Later that year, grisly murders in Auburn have stumped the police. The victims appear to have been burned to death, and a local engineer has claimed that the victims were electrocuted. The Real Story: The strange energies of Klemmer's execution somehow unleashed a lightning quasi-elemental. Klemmer was executed by Edison's direct current (DC), rather than Westinghouse's alternating current (AC). For MotRD purposes, high voltage direct current has a slim chance of creating a lightning quasi-elemental when a human life is "sacrificed" with it. After the adventure, DC is no longer used for executions not only for that reason, but also because of the sheer brutality of Klemmer's death.
2. Livestock is disappearing at a startling rate from local farms. No one is sure why, but the mutilated corpses of sheep and cattle have been found with no obvious cause of death. The Real Story: A wealthy man has imported dangerous big cats and one (or more) have escaped ... I figure not all "monsters" have to really be supernatural if I play up the suspense!
3. Chimney sweeps are going on strike, afraid to work ever since a series of strange deaths by fire have claimed many of their comerades. They claim someone is specifically targetting them with flaming arrows, but no evidence of such attacks have been discovered. The Real Story: The culprit is the ghost of a crooked chimney sweep. He robbed wealthy families by sneaking into their houses through the chimney, and has hidden his ill-gotten gain in random chimneys throughout the city. The ghost is able to cast the burning hands spell and is protecting his stash by killing those who get too close to his treasures.
I have a few others, but they aren't even as complete as these idea germs.
I'll post more ideas as I get more.
I really like the first idea.
The second one is similiar to the Beast of Bodmin Moor, which stalks Devon.
"Blood once flowed, a choice was made
Travel by night the smallest one bade" The Ballad of the Taverners.
The Galen Saga: 2000-2005
Drinnik Shoehorn wrote:I really like the first idea.
The second one is similiar to the Beast of Bodmin Moor, which stalks Devon.
That was the inspiration. That and the Beast of Exmoor, Beast of Gévaudan, etc.
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
These are some good ideas. There's needs to be more ideas like #2, free of Red Death influence or great, dark conspiracies.
Idea #1 is somewhat similar to the writeup of William Kemmler in the Book of Souls (pg. 151-152) That article had the man animate a revenant bent on killing Thomas Edison for "murdering" him. As you might guess, the undead Kemmler had power over (and immunities toward) electricity. He could be slain, however by being dispersed by being submerged in a large enough body of water. Perhaps in a variant story idea merging these two takes on Kemmler's electrocution, you might decide that the lightning elemental has inhabited Kemmler's dead body and become warped to think that *it* is Kemmler himself and seeks revenge. Alternatively, the lightning elemental might have become warped and adulterated being called into Gothic Earth by an axe murderer's execution.
It might have gained some kind of template to make it evil in nature. Perhaps the necromental from Libris Mortis?
As for #3, why does the ghost kill other chimney sweeps? Revenge? Do they keep getting close to his stash?
The Lesser Evil wrote:
As for #3, why does the ghost kill other chimney sweeps? Revenge? Do they keep getting close to his stash?
That's the idea, pretty much. He burns those that get too close to where he hid his ill-gotten gain. The PCs can discover a pattern to the deaths that might lead them to investigating the homes, and find out about the robberies that way.
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
Orang Santu wrote:Right. Rather than just a run-of-the-mill lightning elemental, make it more "evil" like the Ravenloft (Dread, sorry) elementals.
Come to think of it, the Corrupted Elemental template from John Mangrum's article on New Ravenloft Monsters in the netbook section might be the perfect thing to use here.
Glad my little idea germ is starting to culture in the dish!
Here are more I've dreamt up.
A Dangerous Crossing
More livestock woes. A farmer is losing sheep after sheep at a river crossing. He has never seen any animal take the sheep -- one moment it is there, the next he hears it cry out and it's gone. The farmer says he once saw a drawing of a crocodile taking an antelope, and wonders if somehow one of those things has gotten into the river that winds through his farm.
The Real Story: The culprit here is an avanc, a water-beastie from British folklore. An avanc is a large, rat-like creature that lives in rivers near shallow fords. It can generate whirlpools to capture prey, which it tears apart with its claws and consumes. The PCs not only have to figure out what this thing is, but how to destroy it. They somehow have to get it out of the water where it is vulnerable, for in water it is invulnerable to physical attack.
The Dead Live!
A local cemetery has been the scene of some horrible sights of late. Graves have been opened -- seemingly from the inside! A constable was posted on guard, and he was found the next day clubbed on the head and doesn't recall what happened. All he can remember of the night's events is seeing a figure in white sheets like a burial shroud moving towards him.
The Real Story: The truth is, only one of the exhumed coffins shows signs of activity from the *inside*. All the others were broken into from the outside. A local doctor, desperate for anatomical study, has hired some ne'er do wells to acquire bodies for him. The constable's recollection of a white-sheeted figure is accurate -- but his memory of it stalking up to him is not. That is a side effect of a gravedigger's shovel to the head. And the coffin clawed from the inside? Some poor soul was mistakenly buried alive and died, only to be exhumed days later by the grave robbers. Again ... this one is not supernatural, but could be played up as such as the players run around gathering stakes, mallets, and garlic.
Last edited by Lady Ligeia on Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
The Lesser Evil wrote: Idea #1 is somewhat similar to the writeup of William Kemmler in the Book of Souls (pg. 151-152) That article had the man animate a revenant bent on killing Thomas Edison for "murdering" him. As you might guess, the undead Kemmler had power over (and immunities toward) electricity. He could be slain, however by being dispersed by being submerged in a large enough body of water. Perhaps in a variant story idea merging these two takes on Kemmler's electrocution, you might decide that the lightning elemental has inhabited Kemmler's dead body and become warped to think that *it* is Kemmler himself and seeks revenge. Alternatively, the lightning elemental might have become warped and adulterated being called into Gothic Earth by an axe murderer's execution.
I like the take on it. If I get a chance to run this, I was going to set it in Philadelphia in 1890. I figure that's a good hub ... within a relatively short distance by rail you have New York, Boston, Washington, etc. Edison lived in New Jersey, IIRC, so I could have the elemental-that-thinks-its-Klemmer's-ghost hunt him down there. It certainly would be a lot easier to get the PCs from Philly to New Jersey than all the way up to Auburn, New York!
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
Lady Ligeia wrote:A local doctor, desperate for anatomical study, has hired some ne'er do wells to acquire bodies for him.
Check out Burke and Hare in the RL section of the Book of Souls. They were based upon real characters and could fit just as easily in Gothic Earth. I ran an adventure in which Burke and Hare not only returned after their executions, but Robert Knox (the anatomist) returned as a mummy who ordered them around!
"Up the cloose and doon the stair,
Buck and ben wi' Burk and Hare!
Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief
Knox the man 'at buys the beef!"
You can imagine my players scrambling to figure out the meaning of that rhyme. It was bad enough that it was babbled by an insane psychic in an asylum, but the police officer who heart it wrote it down wrong, so that it had lines like, "..here's the thief, knocks the man that buys the beef."
Okay, here's some stats for that corrupted lightning quasi-elemental. It uses base stats from the Creature Catalog and the Corrupted Elemental template from John Mangrum's "New Ravenloft Monsters" as well as his writeup of Kemmler in the Book of Souls. I'll post some stats for William Kemmler's corpse form later. I've dubbed this the electic ghost.
The electric ghost, Unique Corrupted Medium Lightning Quasi-Elemental; Medium Elemental (Air, Electricity, Mists); CR 7; Hit Dice: 10d8+20 (65 hp); Init +10; Speed Fly 60 ft (perfect) (6 squares); AC: 19 (+6 Dex, +3 natural), touch 16, flatfooted 13; Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+8; Attack: Slam +13 melee (1d8 electricity); Full Attack: Slam +13 melee (1d8 electricity); Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft; SA: Globe, electricity, arc, mournful wind; inhabit SQ: Elemental, traits electricity immunity, fire and acid resistance 20, water vulnerability, fog shroud, darkvision 60 ft; SV: Fort +5, Ref +13, Will +3; Str 12; Dex 22, Con 14, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 13; AL CE
Skills: Listen +7, Spot +8; Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative (B), Weapon Finesse (B)
Notes:
Arc (Ex): The lightning quasi-elemental may move up to 120 feet and make an attack by arcing from its current location to any grounded metallic object (including creatures holding metal weapons or wearing metal armor). This is treated as a charge attack.
Electricity (Ex): A lightning quasi-elemental is composed completely of electricity; therefore any creature touched or touching it takes 1d8 points of electrical damage. An opponent grasping or wearing conductive material (metal weapon, armor, and so on) that comes into contact with a lightning quasi-elemental takes 1d8 additional points of electrical damage.
Globe (Ex): A lightning quasi-elemental can discharge one globe, once per round, for each Hit Die it possesses. This globe will hover near the elemental until an opponent comes within 5 feet, at which time, the globe moves to the opponent and discharges; 1d6 points of damage, Reflex save (DC 17) half.
Mournful Wind (Su): At will as a standard action, the corrupted lightning elemental can loose a gust of mournful, wailing wind, carrying the distant cries of sorrow and pain. All creatures within a 30-foot emanation that can hear the wail must succeed on a Will save (DC 17) or be frightened for (1d6+1) rounds. This is a sonic, mind-affecting, fear effect and is Charisma based.
Fog Shroud (Ex): The corrupted lightning elemental can partially dissipate its body as a standard action, seemingly cloaking itself in a ring of mist with a 5-foot radius. This haze grants concealment to the corrupted elemental and any creatures in adjacent squares. The haze remains for a number of minutes equal to the elemental’s Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Inhabit (Su): This lightning corrupted elemental can inhabit and bring to unlive any the corpse of any character that died by the electric chair as a full round action. After it inhabits the corpse, treat it as a dread revenant with the special qualities given below for William Kemmler. The lightning elemental will flee the corpse if it is submerged in water or destroyed.
Water Vulnerability (Ex): A lightning quasi-elemental takes 1d8 points of damage per gallon of water it contacts. Being an unholy creation of malice, this lightning elemental takes damage from holy water as if it were undead.
Background:
The moment the switch was pulled to electrocute William Kemmler, something happened, something alien was brought into the world, something from a far off reality. The first zap of electricity that pulsed through Kemmler lasted 17 seconds, enough time to draw the elemental creature’s attention. As Kemmler lie moaning, the onlookers watched horrified as the executioners scrambled to give the murderer a second dose of electricity to finish him off. During this time, the creature of lightning felt a new world, what was it like? It prepared for a second summoning, and it did not prepare in vain. A second charge of electricity filled William Kemmler and finally killed him, or so it was thought. The man roasted alive and a disgusting smell of ash and filth filled the air. Nobody noticed how Kemmler’s body twitched just a little bit before they hauled his dead carcass away.
Despite this, Kemmler survived. Or at least something inside his body did. The foreign being of lightning drawn into this alien world and into an even more alien body, went mad. Somehow its strange psyche fused with the lingering madness of a jealous lover turned murderer. The elemental pondered strange thoughts, what is this I feel? Hatred, rage, murder… So in one swift moment as William Kemmler died, he was also reborn.
What caused this unnatural event to happen is uncertain. Was it Kemmler’s seething anger and jealousy buried beneath the outwardly calm exterior he exuded before his execution? Did something go wrong in the execution procedures that went on despite knowing little about the human tolerance for electrocution? Or was it Edison’s desire to make Westinghouse’s AC current look like a vile instrument of torture? Regardless, the thing that now dwells within Kemmler’s body believes it is Kemmler, and it has one thing on its mind: revenge against its “killers”.
Current Sketch: The creature now stalks the people of Auburn Prison, looking for those responsible for its death. It will ultimately seek out Edison and kill him. But even if it accomplishes this, the twisted elemental will not be done with its gruesome work. Even if William Kemmler’s spirit is laid to rest, the elemental will not be so easily gotten rid of. It will seek new “hosts” for its essence and its vengeance. Where ever there is the electric chair, so too will the electric ghost.
The electric ghost is itself without identity. Warped and twisted by its close mingling with Kemmler, it seeks a purpose and identity by wreaking vengeance on the living, on authority. It can phase into and merge with anyone who died of electrocution, and Kemmler will not likely be the last one who takes his turn in the hot seat.
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
The Hounds of Hell
The wife of a wealthy man hires the PCs to act as bodyguards for her precious son. She explains to them that her son is being stalked by … believe it or not! … spectral hounds. Although she knows how insane this sounds she is absolutely certain of this for she has seen them herself: large, wolf-hound like curs that actually float several inches above the ground!
The Real Story: A wealthy but insane man has hired a magician to summon yeth hounds to kill off the sons of his enemies. His wife knows of the plan and she is as mad as he is and rather likes the idea of spectral hounds doing the dirty work. She hires the PCs to guard her son because he is actually the son of one of her husband's enemies! Should her husband's wicked plan be fully carried out, her own child would be at risk! Not only that, but her husband, a wicked and cruel man, would find out about her adultry with his hated rival. This could be doubly bad for her. To try having the best of both worlds, she hires the PCs to be her son's body guard, telling them about the hounds but not revealing the whole story. That way, the killings of the rival sons could go on, and her own son could be protected.
Down in the Dirt
Something is attacking employess and passengers of New York City's proud new subway system. The only evidence left behind is a sickening pool of filth and slime. Police suspect squatters hiding away in the tunnels, but even they have abandoned tunnels for fear of the gruesome killer.
The Real Story: A lazy city sewer worker somehow managed to capture an otyugh he found living deep in a dank pit far below the city. He set it free in the city's massive sewer system, thinking it would save him a lot of work catching rats and cleaning clogged pipes. Unfortunately, it found a way into the subway tunnels and has discovered that human flesh is much tastier than human waste.
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
Parris in in the grips of the worst weather it has seen in over a decade. Flash thunderstorms have caused thousands of Fanks in damage due to flooding and lightening damage. The largest and most violent of these storms seems to be centered over the Eiffel tower in the center of the city...
The real story-
When it was built in 1889 Gustav Eiffel's tower was built to be more then just a marvel of enginerers art- it was built to function as a huge Mystic cage. For centuries the Eiffle family had been cured by the actions of thier crucader ancestor. During the battle of Damietta this ancestor broke a seal on a Muslam temple and freed the captive storm demon Aldinach. Due to the law of Allah the demon was forced to offer the crusader a single wish. The crusader, a christan man, had studied the old legends and knew that if he made the wish the demon would once again be free to raign evil upon the land. He refused causing the demon to become enraged and cause his name. The demon swore to never allow the crusder, nor his decendents a moments peace untill they made the wish. Over the next generations the demon kept his promace, sending down hail to ruin crops and storms to drown the live stock.
By the time Gustav came of age and inherited the curse he had long been planning a way out. While studying in the libraries of greator Paris he came upon chared and allmsot unlegable book- a copy of Van Richten's guide to Fiends.
Using the knowledge he gathered from the book he was able to create a cage large enough to hold the demon forever but he needs help.
If the PCs are opening known to the occult comunity or memebers of the Watchers Gustov will recruit them to lure the demon to the tower and hold it there while he activates the towers magical defences, trapping it in the very iron.
"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish it's source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."
Anais Nin
But if Eiffel designed his famous tower to capture Aldinach, what about the Statue of Liberty, also designed by Eiffel? What secrets did he have in store for her?
This one has good potential for a sequel.
"Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA."
