I'm prepping Ravager of Time scenario by Graeme Morris and Jim Bambra (who helped write WFRP1e).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravager_of_Time

"As a TSR UK production, it features a notably different expository style, non-player-character types, atmosphere, and situations than many of the game modules created in the U.S."

~ hence, it works well for WFRP. Remove the "random" monsters in there, and it's really a quite scary scenario for the PCs. I think running this before Ravenloft: Requiem will soften the blow a little.

Going from "aged" to what happens in Requiem will be a blessing

Characters are: Mootlander Smuggler, Azgaraz Pit Fighter, Nordland Navigator, High Elf Mystic

Any thoughts on running it are welcome.

jh

Oh that was a goodie yes, I ran it twice and incorporated the entire region of Ffenargh (the Fens, Arghhh!) into my campaign in D&D years and years ago.

It never occurred to me but yes the whole vibe of it would work very, very well in Warhammer. Oooooh, so tasty. Now I just have to find where I put the thing…., lying as it does under several geological layers of gaming history, with my notes on it. If I can find it and my notes, I will let you know.

One thing to have is an "Aged" condition card made up for what happens to you if you get mojo'd as described in it. Something that affects phyiscal/mental characters equally to be fair.

Yea, I posted the request for "suggestions" on aging in the Rules forum.

Normally I don't like scenarios with duplicates (including Hulgedal), but we'll see if the group can stand it. I prefer this method of duplication because it drains them rather than equals them.

jh

So I found my copy - good memories - alas my notes (typewritten pages circa 1988 - where did I get the time - oh yes, had no social life) are all about how to link up with my then Drow-esque overarching campaign and not so handy warhammer wise or story wise. My one "huh" note on the story was that the rogue's corpse has the robe - what is the rogue still doing with the the robe after he delivered it and it was used? Some coins or something on the corpse to bring out more story - even if it's just an old "Brand" for being a thief might help.

Re-reading the adventure's table of old age effects, oh yes, how could I have forgotten, they scream "condition cards" (I think that was the most fun for me back then, encouraging them to roleplay retirement home escapees). Though looking at them, several could be modelled by existing Critical Wound cards. That is one way of handling aging - select Critical Wound cards that can represent aches, pains, crippled knee etc. and perhaps even similarly insanities that represent getting cantakerous etc., and have players pick 2 of the first and 1 of the 2nd randomly - these are "permanent" while the aged condition lasts. The critical wounds in effect make characters "frailer" as they are closer to dying. I think that's better than adjusting stats which plays havoc with all the standard dice pools rather than adding modifiers.

On duplicates, and generally, I would love to see how you adapt if translating creatures etc. into WFRP-canon ones (e.g., the dead husband becomes a ghost or what, a Stilchelm-like creature [cf Gathering Storm ]?). In WFRP, the duplicates could be a couple of things. Daemons is one but I think a more gothic one suitable to the feel of the Ffenargh is that some sort of Hedge-Witchery creates swamp-constructs with the likeness of men etc. Perhaps she has a profane artefact that helps in this, a corrupted standing stone or whatever you call the pair with lintel stone. So a duplicate sometimes leaves a puddle or water or faint bad smell, and when original slain collapses into muck etc. (first time you see that disturbing process should be a Fear check).

The easiest way to explaing the "returning couple" is if they are vampires (she was one, in destroying her he became one etc.) and bringing back vampires is of course always feasible in WFRP, but other approaches are probably more narratively satisfying (or perhaps it's just me that dips too often into vampire-well and needs to look elsewhere).

Clavados sounds like a Morrite in WFRP, if he arrived quick enough on scene of murder there's the official Morr card to ask questions of the "just deceased".

valvorik said:

Great ideas. Do not forget the Status Effect cards though. You have some there as well that could work the same way.

After a long trek through the wasteland swamps, narrowly avoiding a Fenbease, they came across Elylea. The first encounter is to send them down into the treasury..so I equipped them with whatever they wanted and send them down. They loaded up with plate mail, halberds and a bonus-yellow die short sword.

I put a slightly weakened dragon instead of the guardian daemon in there.

One PC died (they're Rank 1), and one suffered a permanent severed leg (he rolled hip). The irony was that the dragon was dead and the character died of a MORTAL WOUND from Hero's Call as his final critical..and during healing no doubt…

Now they're actually going to get to the dangerous part…

jh

Emirikol said:

Haha! Ouch.

Just a quick review of this scenario:

* It is a very appropriate WFRP scenario. It is in-depth plot that superficially, I didn't think would work. The extreme situation of the murder and legal things that occur (the accuser will hang if they don't solve it), as well as the swamp situation creates a nice, dark, gloomy situation. Throw in a manipulative Fimir (or 10), Fenbeast, and skip the D&Disms of wandering monsters, and there's a nice murder mystery.

* The maps in here go way over the top. The entire swamp palace is detailed even though it's not necessary. I'd forgotten what it was like to have excessive cartography with a scenario

We're plodding through the last of this railroad scenario, but it's not terrible. We're losing characters left and right though. Last night's episode was set in Myrkfast isle where the zombies had overtaken the keep and their master, Leovani, was using them to keep Lady D'Arcy captive.

Anyways, our halfling survives the zombies, barely, having suffered unconsciousness from stress prior to being eaten; then saved by our Dockhand..but then get's blasted off the wall by Leovani's pistol. Of our original party in 7 sessions, 3 characters of 4 have died horrible, horrible Grim-Dark deaths.

The age-trap is pretty contrived so I figured our mystic would have "magic sighted", but he said he was deliberately NOT lookign at the the winds at that moment, fearing a daemonic or witch's possession…

..so there is the party, aged to the point of elderly (-2 blue to all physical and multiple age-related effects as defined in the scenario).

My only beef with this scenario is that there aren't realistic options. It's too railroady and I've not haven't had the gumption to integrate more.

After they escape the age-trap, the scenario directs that they feebly wander the swamps back to Ealya castle and there is a series of optional encounters, but they imply that the party would bother to stop at these locations and save villagers. Screw that. They're going to want to get back to the castle and the heck out of the swamp (unless their senility prevents it or roleplaying warrants it).

We shall see how it goes.

jh

..

Thanks for update. The "you get trapped and aged" thing is the most "railroady" to me - and is the centrepiece of the thing. Otherwise it can be looked at as a big "situation" for players to get caught up in. Do you see it being irretrievably railroady otherwise?

Rob

Well, they are tasked to go hunt down some clues to try the murderer, but they aren't given more than one place to go. There are local villages, but Myrkfast is really the /only/ clue place.

Our group hasn't realized that it's not D'Arcy's wife that knows who the "others" are, but instead it's the staff..because the woman was trapped in her room and only "heard "things. Ideally, there would be 1-2 other places to follow up on leads before going to Lorge hall.

There should also be some lead up or clues about the fact that they're going to be affected byt the aging+duplicate spell and perhaps maybe given some superstitious ways to protect themselves (so when it inevitably happens, they at least feel they had a way to mitiagate some of the effects).

Also, if it wasn't for players volunteering to make Folklore checks knowledge of Nuala and Rugohlor wouldn't have otherwise been purposely revealed..there should be other clues with this.

I reduced most of the monsters (margoyles and crap like that), but made the "environment" more of their enemy. I put nasty things in the swamps, ghostly hands in the rivers, crappy quality boats, etc.

I kept the vapour rats, but as part of a scary mist that surrounds Lorge hall.

I gave all the Juju zombies disease, but otherwise were jsut zombies, and made Leovani their "master" as kind of a mindless commander himself.

So far so good.

jh

Thanks again. You are inspiring me to want to use this at my own WFRP table sometime but reminding me of a good principle whenever adapting stuff even from earlier editions of doing a "ground up" analysis of "how it flows" to make sure there are lots of "entry and exit points" for players to major scenes etc. not just "one door out of each scene into the next".

The closing episode of the scenario:

The group was turned old and locked behind the gates of the slime golems (I had the golems still trying to steal their lifeforce to selfishly become clones themselves). The other option of the group was to try to climb up the opposite door (I added one) up a well and out (with darkness below). They chose to try to push through the slime golems.

The effect of severe aging (even for the elf) was -2 to all physical and +2 to fellowship with roleplaying effects from the physical and personality table (rolled randomly).

The vapor rats were even a threat in their weakened condition. Further out into the swamp, 2 nurglings were a major threat (inside swarms of mosquitoes).

They debated on tracking the mystic's sight to either the old corpse of Nuala (I made her a doppleganger corpse as well) under the isle of the hag or go back to Elyea to plead their case..or an even tougher option, to try to fight through the zombie horde from the previous episode to see if perhaps any survivors of Miles' wife were still alive. In any case, there was no easy option.

They chose to chase their own dopplegangers and nuala back to town (with Myles in tow). I didn't have miles die until the end of the scenario btw.

Once they got there, they were too late, Clavados had been sentenced and their dopplegangers had declared Myles innocent. Nuala and their dopplegangers had gone to Vipen Isle to gather the FIMIR ARMY.

They were too weak to physically make the journey, so they inquired about using the GUARDIANS. The high priest infused thier minds into the beasts and they set across the swamp to lay seige to Vipen Isle castle and the army of FIMIR and Nuala.

The players chose: WYVERN, TREEMAN, and MANTICORE as their assumed beasts. They lay seige upon the castle and got in, killing Nuala, the FIMIR scattered. What they quickly found out however was that if they killed their own doppleganger, they lost thier guardian and were pulled back to Eylea castle. This happend to the Wyvern. The Manticore was petrified by a spell from Nuala. The Treeman was able to strike the final blow before the FIMIR burned him to the ground.

Back in Elyea castle, they regained their vigor..but the original corpse of Nuala still rests under the watchful, hateful eye of the HAG of the Isle…waiting, patiently.

This session the following also happened:

• The mystic lost his mark of slaanesh through self-sacrifice
• the watchman was so old and weak he had to leave his armor behind
• the dockhand was the strongest old man with strength of 2 (most were at 1..and one had a penalty to boot!)
• They were diseased, mutated and insane from the ordeal through the swamp…
• …but finally got paid…

jh