Last October, I ran a mini-campaign set in the world of Castlevania, loosely adapting the story of Castlevania 3 into a tabletop. My players took on the roles of Alucard, Belmont, Belnades, DaNasty, and Van Helsing, teaming up to slay Dracula in the mid-1800's.

For the week of Halloween, I'll be revisiting the setting with my friends. With Dracula defeated, his most loyal servants have banded together under the leadership of Death himself. Now, on the anniversary of Dracula's defeat, Death seeks to revive his master.

The players will be returning to the grounds of Castlevania, fighting through trials and solving puzzles along the way in order to halt Dracula's resurrection.

I've broken up the short campaign into three "levels." Level 1 is the forest of Codrii Vlasiei, which borders the grounds of Dracula's castle. Corruption spreading from Castlevania has caused the forest to spontaneously grow, and dark things have begun moving through the woods. The players will have to make Perception and Survival checks to get through the haunted forest, and avoid falling victim to the mischievous will-o'-the-wisps trying to lead them to their demise. As they exit the forest, they'll be confronted by a mounted Dullahan, guarding the bridge that leads to the grounds of Dracula's castle.

Upon crossing the bridge, the players will face Level 2, a dark mire full of gnarled trees and watchful crows. Questing through the swamp, the players will have to deal with decaying hands rising up from the bog, and fishmen attempting to drag them beneath the murky surface. As the players leave the mire, they'll be confronted by a rising army of rotten ghouls, forming the second boss fight: Legion.

With Legion defeated, the players will find themselves in the graveyard just outside of Dracula's castle. Shades and wraiths haunt the blighted grounds. As the witching hour reaches its peak, the players will find Death readying a rite of resurrection over the grave of Lisa Tepes, awaiting the last elements of his ritual. The magic of Belnades, to fuel the ritual. The blood of Alucard, to give flesh to Dracula. And the soul of Belmont, Dracula's killer, to exchange for the soul of the dark lord himself.

With all this said, I'm looking for further inspiration for puzzles in both the Swamp and Graveyard levels. I feel I have enough to railroad my players through the mini-campaign, but I'd love more ideas to help open up further options and exploration of these areas.

For the graveyard you could have various undead that can be reasoned with in some way. Going to different graves and meeting a bunch of different characters to roleplay with.

You could also fit a puzzle in using different tombstones as either a pattern or key. Perhaps some potential secret entrances to reveal.