Eldrich Bridges

[vipera aspis]

Has anyone done anything with an of the bridges in Ravenloft? Maybe trolls, ghosts, hauntings or even the fey? I was thinking about the phantasmagoria post and was wondering if anyone had ever haunted a bridge or done anything odd with them.

[NeoTiamat]

Can't say I have, but they'd probably a very good place to introduce all sorts of evil aquatic creatures without any problems. (Why didn't I think of this before?!?!)

Trolls are a little fairy-tale-ish, but RL has Dread Trolls, so knock yourself out.

Ghosts & Bridges are a classic. After all, where else is the unhappy lover going to drown himself? Ponds are all well and good, but theres nothing like jumping off a bridge for style (except maybe a cliff, but you have more bridges then cliffs).

As for Fey, well, I can think of two ideas. One is the Guardian Fey. Perhaps there's a bridge the PCs absolutely HAVE to cross, and fast. Except the nearest bridge over this extremely fast and un-swimmable river is guarded by a Fey Knight, who demands either a token or a fight before he lets them cross.

Alternatively, some kind of siren-esque creatures might live there, like Rusalkas?

[vipera aspis]

or what about those undead thingies that look like three little girls drowning(?)or crying(?)

i wish i could remember the wretched name.

and is there a bridge on the Horseman's road?

[Brandi]

or what about those undead thingies that look like three little girls drowning(?)or crying(?)

i wish i could remember the wretched name.

Drownlings, oddly enough.

[NeoTiamat]

Horseman. *Palm-hits head*

The original Headless Horseman legend featured a covered bridge, didn't it?

[Garudos Celestar]

The original Headless Horseman legend featured a covered bridge, didn't it?

Yeah, if the person being chased made it over the bridge, the Horseman couldn't follow.

Unfortunately, Ichabod didn't quite make it in time...

[vipera aspis]

drownlings....why the hell couldn't i remember that?!

but yeah, I always thought the Horseman's road should have a covered bridge on it at the edge of sight(say three to fve hundred feet) and if you could make it past, you could escape.

[VAN]

Maybe this is a silly question, but why the Horseman cannot pass the bridge?

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Running water, apparently. Not that Washington Irving's Horseman had anything to do with vampires, mind you; it was just a generic evil-spirit-type weakness from folklore.

[Jadeite]

In medieval times bridges and rivers were to negotiate as they were neutral ground. How about a haunted bridge that had been used for some kind of ambush or treason? It may be haunted by the victim, the traitor or some kind of guardian spirit who was tainted by the treason.
Another option would be a cursed bridge whos builder felt cheated by the person who ordered the building of the bridge.

[NeoTiamat]

For that matter, a bridge could be the scene of a rather unpleasant disaster. Large poorly built bridge, perhaps in a city or major thoroughfare, too many people, bridge collapes, hundreds of people die.

Perhaps theres a bridge in Lekar that people don't dare cross at midnight, because thats when the spirits that died relive their terrified plunge, and anyone on the bridge will end up joining them.

[vipera aspis]

Good call neo-tiamat. Good call jadeite. Both driping with good ideas. I wonder if Godfrey stuck some poor soul in any of Mordent's?

[HuManBing]

Perhaps once Drakov massed his army at a perilous crag in preparation to invade a neighboring country. (It could even be old Arak, back when it was a mountainous domain.) The soldiers, fearful for their lives, did not want to cross the bridge, as the unseen enemies sent mystical and ghoulish servants to fly and howl through the army ranks.

However, the commander was proud and stubborn and ordered them onwards, and the enemies waited until the army was on the bridge before setting fire to it at both ends and watching as the hapless soldiers plummetted to their deaths below.

[vipera aspis]

Could a vampire chill out under a bridge during the day? All day? Be a great place for a vampire assassin to live.

[LouisVendredi]

I had a Troll Bridge in my campaign. We did a whole fairy tale theme for a while. Little Red Riding Hood, the Troll Bridge, Hansel and Gretel.