Ravenloft - Quoth the Raven Issue 01

8/3/2019 Ravenloft - Quoth the Raven Issue 01

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Quoth the Raven

The Unofficial Netbook forRavenloft and Gothic Earth


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Issue 1 Reloaded

Take 2Welcome again to the first issue of Quoth the Raven, the online net magazine forRavenloft and Gothic Earth. Its been more than a year since this first issue waspublished, and what a ride its been! We have a lot of ups and downs, seen editors comeand go, and changed the format of our netzine with just about every issue. Still, wevebeen able to produce eleven issues with a wide assortment of articles. Not too shabby.

Long-time readers may notice that this copy of Issue #1 is very different from thefirst. When first published, QtR 1 used a strange three column format, which made thedocument impossible to print and tedious to alter. Needless to say, we dropped thatformat like a bad habbit. Its been a long time since that first shaky issue, and wevefinally developed a template that were happy with.

But that doesnt explain why were re-releasing this issue.The first issues format made it nearly unreadable. In the rush to create a second

issue, we didnt make any real attempt to amend the problems. After some consideration,I decided that the articles contained in this issue we worth reprinting, in a format thatmade them usable again. So here we are, back at the beginning.

Enjoy!

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ScS.


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Quoth the Raven

Quoth the Raven is a registered trademark of The Fraternity of Shadows.Any unauthorized duplication of this document will result in a public burning.

Ste. Ronges, RichemulotChateau DPenumbraCaf Du [email protected] no event is the Fraternity of Shadows liable for damages caused by the misuse of itsproducts.

Front-page photograph by Fred Voetsch, 2001. Used without permission.So sue me.

No, wait, I mean, please dont sue me.

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Table of Contents

FeaturesStakes and Sunlight 7 Corners of the Core 67The Secret life of Vampires

By Stephen ScS SuttonThe Living BayouBy Scott C. BourgeoisTactics and Techniques 17 Tainted Love 71

Feats for Vampire HuntersBy Stephen ScS Sutton

By Dmitri Zorin andShane GlodoskiCharacter Development 19 Children of the Night 87

A Man with Nothing to LoseBy Stephen ScS Sutton

KestrelBy Stephen ScS SuttonPerilous Pursuits 23 Shuraztun Kir 91

Hellstalker

By Jason True

Mansion of the Ghoul Queen

By Shane GlodoskiTools of the Trade 27 An Unwelcome Respite 95Weapons of the HellstalkersBy Jason True

A dangerous place to SleepBy Shane GlodoskiArkandale 31 Heinrichs Curiosities 107

Where Man is a BeastBy Stephn ScS Sutton

Items for Modern GentlemenBy Stephen ScS SuttonGrowls in the Night 41 Whispers in the Darkness 111

Beasts of the BogBy Stephen ScS Sutton

Magic and MadnessBy Stephen ScS SuttonCeltic Banshees 45 Extraordinary Expertise 115

A Variant of Groaning SpiritsBy Eddie Brennan

Vincintiaris InstrumentsBy Scott C. BourgeoisDread Nymphs 49 Sword, Fist and Mist 119

Corrupting BeautyBy Godbrain

Sword and Fist in RavenloftBy Mark GraydonMasque of the Red DeathTome of the Gaurdians 51 Those Who Delve the Dark 125

Evil Artifacts of RavenloftBy Stephen ScS Sutton

Classes for Gothic EarthBy Stephen ScS SuttonFear and Loathing in Lamordia 55 Denizens of Gothic Earth 137

Drugs in RavenloftBy Stephen ScS Sutton

ViyBy Dmitri ZorinCreditsFrom the Lab 63 Contributors 139

Active Ladies AttireBy Stephen ScS Sutton

Editors 140

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Stakes and Sunlight

The Secret Life of VampiresBy Stephen ScS [email protected]

Vampires are a well-loved fixture to

gothic horror and to Ravenloft. Playerscrave the thrill of a classic vampire hunt,silently going over the dozens ofvampiric weaknesses and the few knownmethods of destroying the nocturnalpredators. It is one of the cruel facts ofthe D&D system that vampires are so

powerful.Even in 3rd edition vampires are, assome have called them, ridiculouslypowerful. Even the most minor vampirehas the ability to crush the wills ofwarriors, use their gaseous form toappear and vanish without a trace, andwithstand the most vicious assaults fromhunters not powerful enough to possessmagical weapons.

Even ignoring the amazing power of

level draining attacks, the power of avampire is bewildering and confusing.Questions fly back and forth, questionssuch as: Why is every vampire sopowerful? Why do vampires have theability to take animal form if they are somuch more powerful in human form?The main problem arises when we noticethat every vampire seems to have thepowers delegated to the most powerfulmonsters in literature.

Dungeon Masters must wrestle witha terrible problem. Everyone wants tohunt a vampire, but not everyone wantsto hunt Dracula. Players want the thrillof fighting a vampire, but not a spell-casting monster that can evade everyattack, drain their life with a slam attack

and bring the whole party to its kneeswith a simple stare.

The purpose of this article is to givedungeon masters a new look atvampires. This article will examineweaknesses in vampires, which will helpto close the gap between vampires andtheir hunters. Many of the weaknesses

are minor; they are little more thanpsychological foibles. Others are muchmore serious weakness, which will helpa Dungeon Master explain theweaknesses in vampiric villains.

BiologyIt may seem like a contradiction, but

vampires have a complex biological life.A vampire is more than a dead bodyanimated by negative energy; a vampire

is much more akin to a living creature.Vampires are invulnerable to poisonsand to disease, yet they do require aconstant supply of food. Like everyother animal, a vampire must feed uponanother living creature to survive. Just astheir undead state protects them frommost of perils of life, their nonlivingbodies are susceptible to manyphenomena that living creatures take forgranted.

Chemical Vulnerabilities

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One of the many misconceptionspossessed by vampire hunters is thatvampires cannot be harmed by garlic.This is a fiction that clever vampireshave perpetuated by their discretion.Vampires always avoid areas thick with


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1the scent of garlic. This is because garlicacts as a powerful incendiary agent totheir undead bodies.

Garlic possesses a special organicchemical that interferes with a vampires

tissues. The chemical responsible for thedistinctive garlic aroma enters thevampires body through the eyes, lungsmouth, nose, and even the skin. Once inthe cell the garlic causes the cell torelease all of its undigested positiveenergy. This energy causes the cell burnon contact with oxygen. Effectively thebody is being set ablaze on the cellularlevel.

When a vampire enters an area thick

with the garlic scent he begins to feel theburning sensation. At this point thevampire is unharmed but is sufferingfrom an extreme irritation in his tissuesexposed to the air. Direct exposure togarlic plants is much more dangerous. Ifthe vampire is contacted with a pealedgarlic plant or with water in which garlicwas chopped and boiled then he isburned as if by acid. Direct contact withgarlic or a one vial of a garlic-water

mixture causes 1d6 points of damage.Different strains of vampirismpossess different vulnerabilities. TheChiang-shi strain is completely immuneto garlic, though rosemary and myrrhcause the same effect. Vrykolaka arevulnerable to garlic, but anise has thesame incendiary effect.

Mist FormOf the powers associated with

vampires, the ability to take a gaseous

form is the most underestimated. Thisability allows vampiric hunters to passthrough small spaces, to come and gounseen, to become immune to attacks, toevade pursuit and to penetrate the mostsecure defences. This ability givesvampires free access to places where nohuman could go. With this ability a

vampire could feasibly travel through acitys water pipes and emerge whereever he desired or burry his coffin inrock, leaving s tiny crack through whichhe can push his fog form. Vampires can

push their way through a phalanx ofstake wielding hunters just by assumingthis form, never fearing for a moment.Vampires can use this ability to fleefrom the dangers of holy symbols,laurels and even running water. Withsuch a potent ability it is a wonder howvampires can be destroyed at all. Yetthere is a quandary that has puzzledvampire hunters for centuries. For somereason vampires use this powerful ability

with a baffling reluctance.Instead of placing their coffins inplaces only a gas could reach, they leavethem in the open. Vampires rarely travelby gaseous form despite the stealthyimplications. The children of the nighttend to stand and fight rather thanfloating away as a cloud. For reasonsunknown vampires use this ability toonly a fraction of its potential. While themore shortsighted hunters prefer not to

look a gift horse in the mouth, the morewise stalkers have investigated thematter.

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Vampires describe the experience ofgaseous state as a oneness with anunexplained flow of energy. This energyseems to be unique to the land ofRavenloft, for vampires of foreign placesdescribe it as a very new and unsettlingsensation. The vampire enters gaseousstate by utilizing a portion of hisnegative energy to push most of his massslightly out of phase with the rest of thematerial plane. Scholars of the arcanebelieve that this extra dimensionalholding place is the border ethereal. Thisplace is a cold and misty flux, in whichthe vampires feel quite at home. All thatis left of their corporeal body forms the


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1wet moisture of the mist. Through theborder ethereal the vampire floats,dragging with him the remainingparticles in the material plane. Theseparticles are tiny, but they are critical to

the reformation process. The fogparticles make up an anchor or rather; apathway by which the vampiresremaining mass will re-enter the materialplane. Once the vampire has reached asatisfactory location, he shunts hismatter through the misty pathways,rebuilding his lifeless body.

This experience is described as beinga liberating, relaxing sensation forvampires native to the demiplane.

However, vampires from foreign worldsdescribe it as alien and unsettling.Though these outsiders use the samemechanisms on their own worlds, theyhave perceived a difference. Within theborder ethereal there is a gentle current,however within the Demiplane of Dreadthis current becomes like quicksand. Theeffects of this drain are subtle, but witheach use of the mist form a vampireloses a portion of his mass. This massremains attached to the vampire, but it istrapped in an ethereal state. Slowly, themass rejoins the body on the materialplane, yet with each use of mist formmore mass is trapped. As more and moremass remains ethereal, the vampireexperiences a sensation of emptiness. Asthe matter accumulates in the mistyborder between the material plane andthe ethereal plane it becomes more andmore difficult to pull that matter back. Ifthe drain is allowed to continue, avampire risks his very existence

SensitivityThe transformation into undeath

leads to many great changes to bothbody and mind. Vampires gain a greaterauditory and visual acuity than humanbeings, but they lose important nervous

pathways in their tactile senses.Vampires retain their ability to feel heat,cold, pressures and textures but none ofthese senses are not sent to theconscience mind. The sensory

information is sent directly to the short-term memory, completely by passing theconsciousness. The only sensations thatvampires physically experience are pain,hunger and the satisfaction derived fromsating their blood thirst.

By most standards this changesnothing. Vampires do not lose any oftheir manual dexterity, nor are theyignorant of pain. However they havecompletely oblivious to the emotional

context of the sensation. While this mayseem trivial, it has a major impact onvampire psychology. Biology has deniedthem the ability to feel comfort orphysical pleasures. The only benefit tothis state is that it allows vampires to restin coffins and tombs, which wouldotherwise have been unbearable.

SlumberVampires intake blood just as any

other animal take in food. Unlike other

animals, vampires convert the livingblood tissue into negative energy. Thisconversion releases a great amount ofenergy, which in turn powers thevampires amazing abilities. However,this transformation is not immediate.Young vampires require a very longperiod of time for their cells toassimilate the living tissue and convert itinto negative energy for storage andutilization.

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Despite even the most thoroughresearch, vampire hunters have yet torealize the true sleep cycle of a vampire.After feeding on blood a vampirebecomes drowsy. Though he or she isnot physically impaired, they arecompelled to rest. The young vampiresleeps for one day for every point of


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1constitution drained. At the end of theslumber period the vampire hasassimilated the energy. While thevampire is sleeping, his need for blood ishalted. In this manner, a fledgling

vampire really only requires 4constitution points every four days.During the day the fledgling vampire

is comatose, he or she is helpless andcannot be awakened. During the nightthis sleep is less deep, the vampire isasleep but can be awakened just as anyliving being can be awakened fromsleep. A fledgling vampire is veryunlikely to be active in the night whilehe or she is still digesting blood.

Though, nocturnal activity does notrequire another feeding until thedigestion of the currently storedconstitution points is through. In effect,if a vampire forces himself to be awakeduring his slumber period he can remainawake, though during this period hesuffers from 1 negative level, whichcannot be removed until the slumberperiod is over. Most fledgling vampiresloath activity during their slumber

period, only the threat of danger or thepromise of great rewards can force themout of their coffins. Whatever themotivation, no fledgling vampire canforce himself to remain awake during theday while in his slumber period.

Fledgling vampires cannot split theirdigestion time. If they do not drain atotal of 4 points of constitution in onenight then their tissues cannot begin thedigestion process. The blood sits unusedin the body until it coagulates andbecomes useless. In effect, a fledglingvampire must drain 4 points in one nightand then endure a slumber period foreight days. Failure to do this causes thevampire to incur one negative level eachday until it drains 4 points and enters itsslumber period.

When the living tissue is completelydigested, the vampires tissue begins tocrave more living tissue. The feedingcycle continues forcing the vampire touse the assimilated energy to obtain a

new dosage of living blood tissue.As a vampire ages his or her cellsbecome more efficient in theirmetabolism. Living tissue is brokendown at an increased rate and morenegative energy can be produced fromthe same amount of blood. At the secondage category a vampire must only sleepfor six hours for each constitution pointdrained. At the third age category thevampire requires only three hours for

every point. At the fourth age categorythis time drops to one hour, and at thefifth category the requirement is droppedall together. This increased metabolismallows older vampires to utilize muchgreater abilities than their youngercounterparts. However this is a mixedblessing. A vampire must feed again atthe end of the slumber period. In short,older vampires require a constant supplyof blood.

Fortunately for older vampires, thosewho need less than twelve hours ofslumber do not go into a comatose stateduring the day. Though they are notimmune to the effects of sunlight theyare free to remain awake and active. Thislittle-known fact has led to the untimelydemise of many an overconfidentvampire hunter.

Mist Corruption

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Each week a vampire must make a

Mist check. This check allows a vampirean attempt to resist the draining force ofthe misty border and pull his lost matterback into the material plane. The checkis a fortitude save against a DC equal tovampires mist corruption state plus thetotal number of times the vampire usedthe gaseous form that week. If the check


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1succeeds then the vampire has pulled thelost portion of his mass back into reality.If the check fails then that weeksportion of his mass becomes firmlytrapped in the border ethereal. In such a

case the vampire gains one step of mistcorruption. If, however, the checksucceeds then the vampire has partiallybroken the effects of the drain. On asuccessful check a vampire drops in onestage of mist corruption. All vampiresbegin at a corruption stage of zero.

When a vampire has reached the firststage of mist corruption the pathwaysbetween the material plane and theethereal plane are strong. A vampire in

this state can drain blood while in agaseous state. The vampire makes anattack roll and gains the benefits ofinvisibility to this attack. At the secondstage of mist corruption the vampiregains the ability to sleep in his or hercoffin while in gaseous form. Thevampire is invulnerable to attack, thoughholy water and sunlight still dealdamage. Should the coffin be destroyed,the vampire assumes physical form butremains asleep.

When a vampire reaches the thirdstage in mist corruption he becomesfirmly entrapped in the ethereal plane.Many vampires fear this state with thesame terror as they do the sun. Theyview this stage as the beginning of atransformation known as thevanishing. A vampire at this stage canonly feed or sleep by assuming gaseousform. Naturally, this causes a massiverise in the amount of gaseous forms usedevery week, which steadily ushers thevampire further into the next stages ofmist corruption. At the fourth stage ofmist corruption the vampire gains themist subtype and now holds only atenuous grip on corporeality. Thevampire cannot easily assume solid

form. Returning to solid form requires asuccessful fortitude save against a DC of10. This check can only be attempted atmost once per hour. At the fifth stage ofcorruption the vampire is permanently

trapped in mist form. The vampire muststill eat and sleep, but is incapable of anyother action. The mist vampire maycontinue to live for one more week, afterwhich even the tenuous mist pathwaysare lost and the vampire is swept awayinto the border ethereal. To where thevampires go from there, no one can evenguess.

Naturally, this effect causes wisevampires great pause before using their

gaseous form ability. Even youngervampires realize that something is awry.In most cases, a vampire never reachesso much as the second stage ofcorruption. The vampire becomes filledwith trepidation after the first stage ofcorruption and restricts his use of mistform to a more reasonable amount.

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Only the most careless and obliviousvampires ever reach the vanishing andthe wiser children of the night havecome to appreciate it as a way ofremoving the naturally lazy and stupidmembers of their species. The vanishingremains one of the few things vampiresfear, for once a vampire sets upon thepath it is difficult to return. Vampireswho are in some way bound to the land,such as domain lords, do not suffer frommist corruption. Nonetheless, most ofthese predators dislike the feeling of mistform and so use it only when underduress or when seriouslyinconvenienced. Should a vampire beslain in combat and revert to mist form,the transformation will count as a singleuse of the gaseous form ability. Theeffects of the spell gaseous form will notbestow mist corruption, even onvampires. Other creatures with the


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1ability to assume a gaseous form havebeen rumored to be susceptible to thiscorruption.

PsychologyAll vampires are driven by similar

needs and face common problems. Thepsychological makeup of a vampire isslowly twisted by the transformation intoundeath, producing a variety of mentaltraits common to all of their kind.

FeedingFeeding is the only physical pleasure

that vampires retain in their undeadstate. Naturally, this becomes an outlet

through which they explore the physicalworld. While the victim might viewvampiric feeding as a purely aggressiveassault, the vampire has a slightlydifferent interpretation.

Feeding has three differentimplications. The first is a simpleparasite relationship. This is the mostcasual and practical view of feeding. Thevampire overpowers the victim, drainsaway a portion of blood, and never gives

the victim a second thought. Vampiresview the ordinary human victim as ahost for their predations, nothing morethan an animal to be exploited.

The next aspect of feeding isdestructive. The act of killing is cool andemotionless, the vampire is denied thepleasure of feeling an enemys bonesbreak within his grasp or flesh tearbeneath his claws. However vampireshave found a way to circumvent this

failing, they use their feeding ability todrain an enemy to a lifeless husk. Thisform of feeding is akin to great creatureswallowing a smaller one whole. Thevampire exercises his superiority overhis victim by devouring their life force.This manner of killing is extremelysatisfying to most vampires, for by

devouring their enemy they havecompletely obliterated he object of theirhatred. The most hated enemies of avampire often meet this fate. At the endof the feeding, the vampire takes

precautions to ensure that the victimdoes not rise again. More often than notthe victim is thrown into a body ofwater, but if one is not available thebody is either decapitated or is stakeddown in a place that will be exposed tosunlight.

The final aspect is much moreintimate to the vampire. Since thenocturnal creature is denied most formsof pleasure, residual sexual desires

remain unsatisfied. Vampires gain agreat deal of relief from these desires byengaging in feeding. When feeding inthis manner the hunter become veryselective his victims. Obviously, thevampire seeks out a victim that issexually attractive. This variety offeeding is the least damaging to thevictim and not particularly nurturing tothe vampire.

Forever YoungVampires are naturally immortal;

they are free of the ravages of time thatso many humans fear. This state elevatesvampires above mankind, marking themas superior, at least in their eyes. Themore intellectual vampires point to thisfact as justification of their feedings, forsurely mankind can spare a little bloodto support the epitome of evolution. Theless academically inclined vampireshave a different view.

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Newly created vampires experiencethe ultimate liberties. Through theprocess of death they have ridthemselves of all of their cares andconcerns. No longer must they preparefor death or the crippling effect of age.Instead they will forever revel in thepure joys of violence and bloodshed.


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Fledgling vampires and vampire

spawn are a violent, vibrant people.They revel in death, violence, drink,drugs and any other pleasure they canwrap their claws around. This unending

revel can last for a century for fledglingvampires, but for vampire spawn thecelebration never ends.

MaturationAs a vampire ages the initial thrill of

immortality disappears. By the end ofthe first century, a vampire has grownbeyond his life of bloodshed andpeaceful slumber. The creature spendsmuch more time awake and takes muchless enjoyment from killing.

Furthermore, the vampire finally realizesthe truth of immortality; that he isdoomed to walk the earth until such timeas he dies horribly. Under this stress thenocturnal predator either matures to amore stable existence or else falls into adeath wish.

Mature vampires begin to pursuemuch more sophisticated goals than theirfledgling kin. These creatures pursuearcane knowledge, artistic perfection,

divine grace, philosophical perfection orpolitical power. These vampires take thefirst steps on the paths that they willfollow for centuries to come.

Vampiric MatesVampires are incapable of distracting

themselves with physical pleasure, nomatter how much they might want to bedistracted. Whether they enjoy it or not,vampires are forced to seek a deeper

intimacy than those sought by theirmortal kin. Some mature vampires feelthe need for companionship and to satethis need they turn to mortal population.Vampires have an inherent distrust ofothers of their kind, born of thecompetition between nocturnalpredators. Thus vampires prefer to create

a mate rather than put their trust in anequal.

Different vampires look for differentqualities in their mates, but there aresome common themes. Firstly, great

beauty is the most common factor.Beauty is determined by more than justphysical appearance, but also by graceand confidence. Next, vampires choosemates who are similarly gifted.Intellectual vampires seek outacademically inclined mortals,combative vampires woo warriors, andso on.

Most vampires prefer to pickunspoiled mates. There seems to be a

preference for mates who are both chasteand naive. Innocents, as described by therules for powers checks, are particularlyattractive. Vampire hunters believe thatthis preference is a residual form ofguilt. The vampires believe that by beingloved by a purely good creature they canvicariously gain some of their matesinnocence. Alternately, some of themore pessimistic philosophers believethis preference stems from a aversion topurity and a desire to consume thatwhich is good and innocent.

Patterns of BehaviourThough each vampire is a unique

individual, these undead beings sharemany common mental traits. Thus,vampire behaviour is characterized bycertain patterns.

Competition

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As vampires grow into old age, theirneed for blood increases drastically.These old and powerful vampires findthemselves competing with othervampires over the limited resource ofhuman blood. Vampires with manyminions require a large pool of humanvictims. These victims must be carefully


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1exploited, or else permanent damage isinflicted on the population, or evenworse, the mortals are roused to action.

Vampires are so dependant upon thislimited resource that they refuse to

share. While a vampire might allow hisunderlings to feed on a given populationhe will not tolerate rivals or roguevampires to lay claim. Vampires areconstantly watching for potential threatsto their human cattle, lest a new predatorendanger the fragile balance of thefeeding system.

Vampiric rulers often keep vassalvampires to do their bidding. Thesevassals maintain their own vampiric

servants, and in some rare cases theseservants maintain minions of their own.This vampiric feudal system is highlydependent upon the head vampire, forwithout this single entity the wholeorganization would collapse into an allout battle.

Even with the existence of thevampiric ruler, the vassals are at warwith one another. Each vassal wants tosecure a stable food supply and expand

his own power. This results in a secretwar between vampire lineages. Vampiricrulers tolerate this behavior for two chiefreasons; first being that potentialusurpers are held in check by the othervassals and the second reason being thatthe vampire ruler does not possess thepower to keep so many predators fromfighting amongst themselves.

Death WishVampires who do not evolve into a

mature state fall into a spiral of angerand self-hatred. The vampire is terrifiedof the prospect of eternal life andsubconsciously wants to end itsexistence. After its first century of unlifethe vampire becomes obsessed withviolence. The nocturnal predator devotesits energies to destruction and death. The

loathsome creature despoils the landaround it and kills wantonly. Thevampire seeks to draw attention to itselfby any means. The ultimate goal of thevampire is to be slain and destroy as

much as it can.This philosophy often arouses thewrath of powerful vampires or anyoneelse who has an interest in keeping thehuman population alive. Vampires withdeath wishes dont last very long, thoughthe devastation they produce can belegendary.

PlotsVampires are both evil and

intelligent, and where these two qualities

meet humanity suffers. As a vampireages he spends more and more timeawake, with less and less to do with histime. Vampires are natural schemers; itis part of their nature. These nocturnalpredators crave challenges to their mindand to their power. This is part of theaging process, for as a vampire rises inpower, the minor challenges of undeathlose their thrill. Old vampires have lostthe ability to enjoy the chase; they are

denied the simple pleasures of killingand feasting. In many cases, oldvampires cannot even bring themselvesto mate, for they have become toocynical and withdrawn to romance amate. The only thing that gives purposeto a vampires existence are the webs ofplots and schemes that the fiend weaves.

Vampires are instinctively drawn tolong-term plots. These might revolvearound the destruction of a powerful

enemy, the creation of an artifact, theconstruction of a dynasty, a crusade inthe name of a great god of evil, or someother epic goal. The ambition of avampire grows with its age and theirplots are expanded to fit.

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complex plots. The intricacies of


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1manipulation and deception enrapturetheir minds and bring to them a joy thathas long been lost. They are so addictedto intricate plots that vampires willignore simple, direct solutions in favor

of long and elaborate plots. Thispreference of the indirect to the directhas cost many a vampire its life.

For example, a mature vampiremight learn that there is a party ofvampire hunters has entered his region,looking for new quarry. Rather than calltogether a force of its minions andpersonally ambush the hunters, thevampire might send a minion to infiltratethe group, lead them to an enemies layer,

use the party to destroy rivals and thendestroy them. To the vampire this planseems to be pure genius, though he failsto realize that he has only drawnattention that he might have avoided andassisted the party in their endeavors.

SpawnAs far as the mature vampire is

concerned, vampire spawn are anecessary evil. These creatures are

trapped in a perpetual youth; they neverreach maturity and are locked inbloodlust for eternity. In short, vampirespawn are a constant reminder of what amature vampire is losing with each

passing year.Vampires avoid creating spawn, bothfor their own feelings as well as for theconservation of the limitations of humanresources. When they do create spawn,they treat them as lowly servants. Thespawn are constantly reminded of theirinferiority to their vampiric master. Mostvampiric masters require their spawn towake each night, especially during theirslumber periods. This makes the spawn

very irate, though they are powerless toresist.Vampire spawn never socialize with

mature vampires, though fledglingvampires are less discriminating.Fledglings that spend their first centurywith vampire spawn tend to have a morelenient view to their lesser comrades andtreat them with more respecty.

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Tactics and Techniques

Feats for Vampire HuntersBy Stephen ScS [email protected]

Joshua has been staring into the hole

for quite some time before he noticedthat he wasnt going anywhere. He wasgazing into the blackness of the shaftbefore him, completely motionless.Before him was a simple ladder, leadingdown into the depths of the catacombs. Itshould be a simple matter to crouch,

grab the ladder and climb down. But itwasnt the physics of the act that waskeeping him frozen

At the bottom of that shaft was theendless labyrinth of the crypt. It was anancient maze of stonewalls packed withthe mummified corpses piled into theslits cut into the rock. Foul gassesemanated from the rotting bones,forming into a choking green mist thatshrouded the floor, concealing the

numerous pitfalls and shafts dug into thefloor. Yet as much as Joshua tried, hecould not convince himself that it wasthe crypt that held him in fear.

Down at the center of that crypt wasa spirit. More accurately, a corpse. Acorpse that walked and talked, that liveda perverse mockery of life and coulddrain the life out of the living. It was aninhuman monster, capable oftransforming into beasts or even mist. Itwas a vampire, a plague upon allmankind.

The unnatural fiend was nearlyinvincible, for no mortal blade couldcleave its lifeless flesh. Its gaze couldbreak the will of the strongest warriorand even should it be cornered it couldvanish in a wave of evil mist. He knew

this to be fact, for he had thoroughlyread that most trustworthy source ofinformation upon the undead, VanRichtens Guide to Vampires.

With great reluctance, Joshua pushedhimself closer to the ladder. Silently, hewished that Van Richten had left a fewtips on courage.

Shot Through the HeartStaking an active and resisting

vampire is nearly impossible, especiallywith a missile weapon. Even whilemaking a shot with a staking crossbow,immobilizing a vampire is nighimpossible. However, vampires huntersare a stubborn folk, not the type to turnaway from a task simply because it isnearly impossible. With this feat a

character has learned the technique toplacing a flying stake into a vampireschest such that the creature isimmobilized.

Prerequisites: Point Plank Shot,base attack bonus +4

Benefit: A character with this featcan immobilize a vampire by using astaking crossbow bolt as a stake. Thecharacter must use a wooden bolt (orwhat ever material is needed to paralyze

the vampire) and loads it into a stakingcrossbow (no other crossbow isallowed). If the character makes asuccessful called shot on the vampiresheart, then the stake enters the vampireand effectively stakes it.

17Special: To use this ability the

character must be within a maximum


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Prerequisites: Iron Willrange of 30 feet from the target. This

ability can feasibly apply to othercreatures that must be pierced with ashaft of a particular material in aparticular part of their body.

Benefit: The character is immune tothe effects of a mind influencing gazeattack. This effect covers charm,domination, sleep and all other mind

influencing gaze effects.Suspicious Special: This feat offers noprotection to other gaze effects such asprettification or death.

A suspicious hunter is a long-livedhunter. Vampires have the ability todominate the wills of others and usethem as pawns by which they mightstrike their foes. A character with thisfeat gains the ability to sense the magicalinfluence of a vampires mind control.

Vapor TrailVampires often travel in gaseous

form, confident that they are invisible tothe eyes of hunters. While they mayappear to be harmless fog, anexperienced vampire hunter is never

fooled. With this feat a vampire huntergains the ability to spot vampires ingaseous form and even to follow theinvisible tracks they leave in gaseousform.

Benefits: A character with this featgains a +5 insight bonus to sense motive

checks to sense enchantments. Furthermore, if a successful check succeeds bymore than 5 the character can determinewhether or not the enchanted character isbeing controlled by the vampiredomination ability, or some othervampiric special ability. However thisability cannot be used to disprove theinfluence of a vampiric ability.

Prerequisites: AlertnessBenefits: With this feat a character

gains the ability to spot creatures ingaseous form. Spotting a creature ingaseous form is made against a base DC25, though if the vampire is actively

hiding while in gaseous form then hemay make an opposed hide checkagainst the character with a +10 bonus.

Special: While the bonus to thesense motive check can be applied to

discerning the effects of an enchantmentspell or some other creatures specialabilities. The character with this featcannot use the secondary effect of thisfeat to determine the origin of anonvampiric enchantment.

A character with this feat gains theability to track a creatures movement ingaseous form. The character learns torecognize the scent left in the airtraversed by a creature in gaseous shape.Thus, the character can follow tracks leftin places where the creature did not eventouch the ground. The wilderness lore

check to track a creature in this statesuffers a 5 circumstantial penalty.

Unblinking EyeThe gaze of a vampire is lethal, for if

one meets that gaze he or she may fallunder the spell of the vampire. However,vampire hunters are a hard folk, unfazedby the evil eyes of their quarry. With thisfeat a character gains a defense against adominating gaze.

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Character Development

Man with Nothing to LoseBy Stephen ScS [email protected]

Max stood in the shadows of the

alleyway. He was shivering in themidnight chill, but would stray no closerto the warm light of the oil lantern.Beneath the folds of his coat he checkedfor the handle of his pistol. Sure enoughit hadnt moved since the last time hechecked it.

His cold eyes never moved from thedoorway on the other side of the street. Ithad taken him a long time to find thisbuilding, to track the man who wasinside. Exhaustion was tugging at hiseyelids, but he wouldnt dare close them.He wasnt alone in the darkness, therewere other people waiting in there,inside his head. He stared into thedoorway, as if he could see right throughit if he looked hard enough. In the back

of his head Max could hear the soundsagain. He shook his head, tried to throwthe memory out of his mind. But theflood had broken the dam inside hismind; soon he was born aloft on the tideof sorrow.

Its your fault, Max. The voice wasback again. You should have beenthere. It was soft, painfully soft. Youcould have saved her, Max felt themisery well up beneath his eyes, a surgeof tears that would never escape hiseyes, that would just build up and upuntil he exploded. You got her into this,Max. He gasped out, his lungs feltempty. Its your fault.

The voice was right. It was his fault.The voice was never going to let himforget that. Every breath he took, every

time he closed his eyes, every momentsince that horrible night, the voice beenin his head. He couldnt eat, he couldntsleep, and he couldnt bear it anymore.He had to end the pain, before it drovehim mad.

Across the street the door wasopening. A familiar face emerged from

the darkness. The man was wearing anarrogant smile, the grin of a guiltlessman. Something inside Max burst. Withboth hands he drew the saber and thepistol. It was time to end the pain. Oneway or another, he would rest tonight.

Character Archetype

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One of the most classic characterarchetypes there is the man withnothing to lose. Characters of this

variety differ from the ordinary man inthe extreme, for where most people aredriven to preserve their own life the manwith nothing to lose is possessed by adeath wish. These characters have beenpushed too far by the cruelty of theworld. They are not strong willedsurvivors, nor furious avengers; they arenormal people who once were possessedof a mild manner but are driven to actsof violence. Cruel circumstance has

drained their life of meaning and filled itwith pain; they take no joy from life andcrave the peace that only death can bringthem. Characters like this are tickingtime bombs, doomed to self-destruct.They feel a powerful compulsion toviolently end their lives and while notactually suicidal, they are driven to


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1endanger themselves to the extreme.They do not deliberately kill themselves,but they ignore the most basic commonsense and throw caution to the wind.

Characters like this are not driven by

revenge or hate, for they cordiallyentertain the idea that they might bekilled and that their sacrifice might be invain. The idea that their deaths might bemeaningless does not trouble thesecharacters in the slightest, for they knowthat their lives are already pointless.These characters have decided to throwthemselves against the tide of evil; theywill risk all and die in the attempt tomake the world a better place. The only

solace that the character can take fromhis efforts is that he has tried to preventthe same tragedy that claimed his lifefrom consuming anothers. Whether thecharacter knows it or not, hesubconsciously hopes to die, whether itis in a heroic battle or in some pointlessaccident. Only death can end the painand misery that has made him this way

BackgroundCharacters like this were once

normal people, possessed of a normalpersonality. They might have been gruffand serious, or joyful and lighthearted.Often this is the result of a great loss,such as the loss of one's family but othercircumstances can arise to trigger thistransformation. Other causes can includethe loss of livelihood, property, honor,and dignity. Bizarre circumstances canalso bring about this character archetype,possible triggers include arising as an

undead monster, lycanthropy, being sentforward or backward in time orbecoming cursed.

Whatever the individualcircumstances, the character isconsumed by pain, and often guilt. Eachmoment of life reminds him or her ofwhat he or she has lost and will never

regain. Obviously, the loss or burdenmust be great and permanent. For acharacter to take on the traits of a manwith nothing to lose he must have nohope of recovery from his pain.

PersonalityThese characters are often morose,

cynical or reserved. Many of the traitsthe character possessed in his former lifeare still present. Gentlemen and ladiesstill behave politely, humorous peoplemight continue to joke, and reservedpeople continue to keep their sorrows tothemselves. Though they similar, theyare changed from the way they werebefore. These characters become darker

and more fatalistic. A man with nothingto lose cannot indulge in happiness, formoments of joy bring back the pain thatplagues them. Moments of levity causethem sorrow and a gentle touch bringspain. Where once someone was cheerful,they become bitterly cynical; while oncethey were gregarious they are nowremote. These characters push othersaway from them, for they do not want tohurt others when they inevitably self-

destruct. They are fatalistic and not shywith expressing their growing obsessionwith death.

PsychologyMoments of levity cause this person

sorrow, a gentle touch causes pain.These people are most often loners,because they fear to become close toothers. Often this is because they do notwant to hurt friends or family when they

inevitably die. Another important factoris their fear that they might lose theirloved ones again, compacting the pain.To them it is much better to be safe andwithdrawn, that way they can neither doharm nor be harmed.

20Characters like this are not just in

pain, they are haunted by guilt. They


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1blame themselves for the tragedy thathas transformed them; they hatethemselves for living while their lovedones died. A life of violence andadventure is meant to be a form of self-

punishment. They hope that the pain oftheir dark life will atone for theimagined wrong they caused, that theguilt will be expunged and the ghosts ofthe past be laid to rest. Yet for the mostpart, pain does not bring them the peacethey desire. They become trapped in avicious cycle of suffering, for nosacrifice seems to be enough. Theyknow that only death can bring them thepeace they want, but they are reluctant to

escape the pain of living. This reluctanceto commit true suicide is based equallyon the insuppressible drive for self-preservation and the masochism thatdrives them. As a form of escape fromthe guilt, suicide is the last option.

PatternsCharacters like this are highly

predictable. Drug and alcohol abuse is acommon occurrence amongst thesecharacters, both to stave off the pain and

guilt and for the compulsion to harmones self. Characters of this archetypeare waiting for an escape; they gravitateto dangerous places and mingle withdangerous people. If a character of thistype is given the option between an easyway and a hard way, without hesitationhe takes the hard way. At heart, allcharacters of this type are dreaming of afinal stand. There the character willconfront the cruelties of life, most often

in the form of an evil enemy of greatpower. The character will fight with allhis strength to destroy the foe, but thebattle is chosen to be futile. In the finalmoments the character is slain, hopefullyachieving the peace that he has sought.

Adventures are a means by which acharacter of this type hopes to expunge

his pain and guilt. These quests usuallyinvolve pain and hardship, but notalways. The adventure is a means todistract the character from his sorrows,so the character tends to take them less

seriously than others. The character isreally looking for his last stand, so hemight become distracted from anadventure if he thinks that he has foundan appropriate challenge to sacrificehimself against.

Role-playingThese characters are dark, cynical

and fatalistic. They may still behumorous, creative, sensitive or caring,

but they are shrouded in darkness. Thesecharacters take risks without reason andpurposely neglect their own safety. Theydo not lack common sense, but ratherthan heed it they contradict it. Characterslike this would rather climb by hand thanuse a rope; he might discard heavyarmor to go to battle more quickly. Hemight attempt to hold off a vampire witha burning log rather than retreating.

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Characters like this are looking for a

last stand. Whenever they fail a fear,horror or madness check it is appropriatethat they ignore the potential negativeeffects of the failed save, stand theirground and fight to the finish. DungeonMasters may view this as an unfairadvantage, but it is important to realizethat the character is most likelyunprepared and under equipped. Whenin a final stand there is no force that candissuade the character from combat. A

dungeon master is advised to grant thecharacter a circumstantial bonus to savesagainst fear, horror, madness and anyother mind controlling effects at thispoint, while at the same time giving thecharacter an equal circumstantial penaltyto his armour class.


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Classes and Prestige classes

The fighter and rogue classes makethe best choices for a man with nothingto lose, though monks, rangers, psionsand wizards are also acceptable.

Barbarians, bards and sorcerers makepoor choices, for both classes requireconfidence and spirit to sue theirabilities, two things that characters ofthis archetype lack. Paladins and priests

of any kind are inappropriate for thisclass.

Levels in the avengers prestige classmake an excellent choice for charactersof this archetype, as does the class witch

hunter. Classes that rely uponcompassion, innocence, passion orconfidence are not appropriate for thisarchetype.

Suggested Feats: Courage, Jaded,Back to the wall, Dead man walking.

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Perilous Pursuits

HellstalkerBy Jason [email protected]

Ethan looked up at the high priest

with the expression of shock apparentupon his face. Clenching at the burnmarks upon his chest, the young priestfell to his knees as pain wracks his body."Why would you do this? You spreaddissent between our followers, and youopenly attack me in our own church.

Why?"The high priest grins evilly at thewounded youth even as his body shiftsand changes. "Not everything is alwaysas it seems, my acolyte... Pink fleshsloughs away from the high priest's faceand arms revealing the red scalesbeneath it. Black horns sprout from thefiend's forehead. Large, scaly wings,which cast dark shadows around thesanctuary, protrude out from its back.

Ethan clenches his fists as hescreams in horror. The fiend merelystands and watches the young manscream. As the screams echo throughoutthe church, the fiend mockingly laughsat the youth. A chorus of screams andlaughter fill the alcoves.

While the fiend enjoys the irony ofthe moment before killing the priest, itmisses the slight movement in theshadows behind him. A figure lunges outof the darkness and drives a thin bladedeeply into the fiend's throat. Thecreature of evil flails violently andsputters curses, but the stranger finishesoff the fiend with a second slash.

Ethan, panting for air, slowly rises tohis feet. "By Ezra, what was that thing?"

The stranger says nothing. He merelypulls his weapon from the dead fiend'sthroat and begins wiping the black ichoroff the blade. Seeing the young prieststill standing in shock, the strangerbegins walking away. "If you really wantto know the truth, then follow me. Thereis a lot to be learned, and the fiend is not

completely destroyed. Not yet at least..."HellstalkerWhile some lands have their paladins

to destroy demons and devils, not allplaces have this luxury. In theDemiplane of Dread, humanity does notalways have the divine power or arcanemight to back stalwart adventurers, whowould destroy these embodiments ofevil. These are the times that the

Hellstalker becomes an important asset.The Hellstalker combines finesse and

subtly in their fight against fiends. TheHellstalkers draw upon a variety ofextraordinary skills to help them huntdown and get close to their foes. Byintensely studying and training to fightthese infernal creatures, a Hellstalkeralso learns an assortment of abilities tohelp them slay the fiend.

While a Hellstalker knows that a

fiend can come back even from death,the fight to save humanity is foreverthere driving force. Bringing an end to afiend's evil, a Hellstalker knows that thecommunity can rest easier even if theycannot do so themselves.

23Most Hellstalkers are bards, rangers,

or rogues due to the nature of the


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1society. It is not uncommon for fighters,monks, sorcerers, and wizards to alsoadd their particular skills and abilities tothe Hellstalkers cause. Clerics andpaladins typically dont become

Hellstalkers due to the differences inideology, but it is not completelyunheard of for one of their number totake on this prestige class.

Hit Die: d8.

RequirementsTo qualify to be a Hellstalker (Hls), a

character must fulfill all of the followingcriteria.

Alignment: Any non-evilBase Attack Bonus: +4Feats: Blind-fight, Jaded, TrackSkills: Knowledge (outsider lore) 6

ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks, SenseMotive 4 ranks.

Special: An active member mustinitiate the character into the Hellstalkersociety. This initiation typically occursafter the character has some sort ofsignificant encounter with an eviloutsider.

Class SkillsThe Hellstalkers class skills (and

key ability for each skill) are: Alchemy(Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str),Concentration (Con), Craft (Int),Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex),Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex),Innuendo (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge(outsider lore) (Int), Knowledge (planes)(Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex),Read Lips (Int), Search (Int), Sense

Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), andWilderness Lore (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Intmodifier.

Class FeaturesAll of the following are class

features of the Hellstalker prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: AHellstalker gains no proficiency withweapons except for what is listed below.A Hellstalker gains proficiency in lightarmor. Note that armor check penalties

for armor heavier than leather apply tothe skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist,Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket,and Tumble.

Hellrazor: When a person isinitiated into being a Hellstalker, theyare given a special weapon called aHellrazor [see Tools of the Trade]. Thisweapon is both a tool to combat evil anda sign of membership in this order forgood. The Hellstalker is trained in using

this weapon and gains the exotic weaponproficiency (Hellrazor) at 1st level. TheHellstalker continues to extensively trainwith this special weapon and thereforegains weapon focus (Hellrazor) at 3rdlevel and weapon specialization(Hellrazor) at 5th level. Finally at 7thlevel, the Hellstalker learns to make themost of each strike with his weapon andgains improved critical (Hellrazor). AnyHellstalker may buy these feats earlier,

but they lose the class related versions ifthey already have them.

24

Fiend Hunter: At 1st level, aHellstalker gains a bonus against eviloutsiders due to his extensive study andtraining in the proper techniques forcombating them. The Hellstalker gains a+1 bonus to Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive,Spot, and Wilderness Lore checks whenusing these skills against evil outsiders.Likewise, he gets the same bonus toweapon damage rolls against eviloutsiders. A Hellstalker also gets thedamage bonus to ranged weapons, butonly against targets within 30 feet(cannot strike with deadly accuracybeyond that range). The bonus does notapply to damage against creatures thatare immune to critical hits. The fiend


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1hunter bonus increases by +1 at everyadditional three levels after the first (i.e.4

th, 7

th, and 10

th). The bonus from this

extraordinary ability stacks with arangers favored enemy bonus.

Hidden Goodness: At 2

nd

level, theHellstalker gains the ability to sneakattack evil outsiders (see Rogue sectionin Players Handbook). His attacks gain+1d 6 damage to evil outsiders and anadditional 1d 6 every other levelthereafter (i.e. 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th).If the Hellstalker already has the sneakattack ability, then the damage bonusesstack against evil outsiders. If theHellstalker attacks anything else besides

an evil outsider then only the sneakattack has an effect. Hidden Goodness

doesnt work against beings that arentevil outsiders or against creatures thatare immune to critical hits.

Fitting your campaign: Dependingon the number of evil outsiders you tend

use in your campaign, the Hellstalkermay either be underpowered oroverpowered. If there are a lot of eviloutsiders, then you may wish to changethe abilities to affect only fiends (i.e.baatezu, gehereleth, tanarri, andyugoloths). If you tend to rarely use anysort of evil outsiders, then theHellstalker might not be of practical useat all. In this case, you may wish toconvert all the abilities to cover

something more commonly found, suchas a type of lycanthrope.

The Hellstalker

25

Level BaseAttack

Bonus

Fort

SaveRef

SaveWill

SaveSpecial

1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Exotic weapon proficiency (Hellrazor) Fiend Hunter +12 +1 +0 +3 +3 Hidden Goodness +1d63 +2 +1 +3 +3 Weapon focus (Hellrazor)

4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Fiend Hunter +2 Hidden Goodness +2d65 +3 +1 +4 +4 Weapon specialization (Hellrazor)6 +4 +2 +5 +5 Hidden Goodness +3d67 +5 +2 +5 +5 Fiend Hunter +3 Improved critical (Hellrazor)8 +6/+1 +2 +6 +6 Hidden Goodness +4d69 +6/+1 +3 +6 +6

10 +7/+2 +3 +7 +7 Fiend Hunter +4 Hidden Goodness +5d6


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Tools of the Trade

Weapons of the HellstalkersBy Jason [email protected]

The stranger walked with Ethan athis side. Neither one of them spoke forseveral moments, but the silence wasfinally broken as Ethan coughed. Thestranger merely looked at the as hepulled out the short but razor sharpweapon with which he killed the fiend.

I am a Hellstalker, which is a

profession dedicated to killing fiendslike your previous high priest. Fromwhat you went through today, I thinkthat you might want to consider joiningour ranks as well. Many of us dont havethe divine powers of the clergy or thearcane might of a wizard to help us inour battle. Someone like you mightprove to be an asset. You might be ableto stop what happened to your churchfrom occurring again.

I want to show you a couple of ourtools that we use in our battles.

HellrazorThis will be both your main weapon

against fiends as well as your insignia asa member to this organization. We willtrain you in how to use it, and you willlearn how to make this blade adangerous extension of yourself. Out ofall the inventions and tools, this item

will be the most valuable one that youwill ever possess.

Hellrazor (small melee)Cost: 30 gpDamage: 1d8Critical: 19-20/x2Weight: 2 lbType: Slashing

Craft: weaponsmith (18)A hellrazor is a thin, foot-long blade

attached to a six-inch handle. Throughthe use of specific blacksmithingtechniques, the weapon is made with astrong, sharp blade but weighs only asmall amount. A hellrazor will be ofmasterwork quality, but it can also be a

magically enhanced version or even justa regular type (if one had to be made in arush).

WristlauncherAfter our numbers began to grow

and differentiate, we realized that not allof our members are fond of the up closestyle of combat. Therefore, a Gnomeengineer designed this little contraptionfor those who prefer to attack from a

distance. Hidden underneath your coatsleeve, you can launch darts or otheritems with just a flick of you wrist.

The wristlauncher is a strangeamalgamation between a hand crossbowand a buckler. Using a several springsand a couple different pieces of metal,the designer was able to create a pair ofsix-inch tubes that strap to a personsarm. By moving their wrist in a certainfashion, the wearer can launch one or

both of the projectiles. Darts are thetypical projectile, but some Hellstalkerstend to use specially made syringes filledwith holy water as well.

Wristlauncher(Small ranged)Cost: 150 gp

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Critical: x2Range: 30 ft.Weight: 2 lbCraft: engineering (18)

CaltropsWhat have you never seen a caltrop

before? Yes? Well, these are caltrops just like youve seen before. The onlydifference is that these are made ofsilver, which some fiends areparticularly vulnerable to. Scoff if youwant, but these things can be veryvaluable when you need to make a quickescape. Just like yourself, fiends tend tounderestimate simple things like a

caltrop. Throw some in the fiends path,and theyll do the rest if youre lucky.

Silver caltrops work the same asregular caltrops (see Players Handbook)except for the material of what it ismade. Cold wrought iron can be used aswell, but silver is the much morecommonly used metal. Due to theunusual metal being used, these caltropscan also be used against other creaturesthat are vulnerable to silver or cold iron.

Caltrops (silver)Cost: 5 gpWeight: 2 lbCraft: blacksmith (15)

Mist CandelThis is one of my favorite items to

use against a fiend. It is called a mistcandle due to the vapors that it puts intothe air while it burns. We are working onother types, but the two most commonare the acid and holy water varieties.Both tend to cause a fiend discomfort,but the acid one also tends to affect us aswell. Oh, I also want to make mentionthat some types of fiends seem to beimmune to acid. My suggestion is to use

the holy water mist candle unless youhave no other choice.

Using a special type of wax thatis capable of absorbing large amounts ofaqueous fluids creates a mist candle. By

mixing the liquid into the wax, thecandle will then vaporize that liquid as itburns. A mist candle is typical amount afoot in height and three inches indiameter. It burns slowly (8 hours) as itreleases the liquid absorbed in the wax.The mist disperses through the air, but ithas a concentrated effect within atwenty-foot radius of the candle.

An acid mist candle releases afine acidic vapor into the air about the

candle. While the acid is too dilute tocause any significant damage, it is potentenough to aggravate a creatures skin,eyes, and lungs. Any creature, which isvulnerable to acid, entering the radiusaround a burning mist candle (acid)gains a 2 penalty to their attacks, AC,and any skill or ability requiringconcentration.

A holy mist candle releases a finewater vapor into the air about the candle.

While the holy water is too dilute tocause any significant damage, it is potentenough to aggravate a creatures skin,eyes, and lungs. Any creature, which isvulnerable to holy water, entering theradius around a burning mist candle(holy) gains a 2 penalty to their attacks,AC, and any skill or ability requiringconcentration.

Mist Candle (acid)Cost: 15 gpWeight: lbCraft: candle making (12)

Mist Candle (holy)Cost: 30 gpWeight: lb

28Craft: candle making (12)


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Flour Bomb

Heres one last little item that Iwant you to see before you decide to runoff and get yourself killed. No, therearea a lot of other items that weve got in

the works. I just dont have the time toshow them all to you. This here is whatwe call a flour bomb. While the name isnot very original, it is much moreeffective than what you might think. Bylighting the fusing and giving it a goodtoss, the small amount of gunpowder inthe bomb explodes and releases the flourall over the place. You then have a wayto temporary blind opponents and coverinvisible foes.

A flour bomb is composed ofthree sacks of flour sewn togetheraround a small amount of gunpowder. Afuse burns to the center compartment ofgunpowder, which explodes and releasesthe flour in a large cloud. The size of the

cloud depends upon the amount of flourused to create the bomb (DMsdiscretion), but the effects of theexplosion should be treated as amundane version of the Glitterdust spell.

Flour BombCost: 5 spWeight: 3 lbCraft: alchemy (15)

All right, enough talking for now. Ineed to get back to finding that fiend andfinishing it off for good. You need tomeet with some of our other membersand get properly inducted into your newcareer.

29

Ethan didnt say anything inresponse. The young priests headmerely spun from all that had occurredthat day, and he didnt see things gettingany less hectic anytime soon.


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1Arkandale

Where Man is the BeastBy Stephen ScS [email protected]

ArkandaleHistory: The year is 785 by the

Barovian Calendar and the land ofVerbrek has changed. Beginning in theyear 760 a series of terrible wintersstruck the land of Verbrek. The wintersbrought massive rainstorms that flooded

the banks of the Musard and the otherrivers that ran through the domain.While the mighty trees of the forestsurvived the cold and flood, the shrubsand grasses began to wither under theharsh conditions. The deer that onceflourished in the domain were starved bythe death of their food source. Diseaseand weakness spread amongst them, andwhere there is weakness in prey, thepredators thrive.

The population of werewolvessoared throughout the years, as deer preyrapidly declined. By the year 764 therewere nearly two thousand werewolvesand not a single deer to be found. Thewerewolves quickly began to starve, andas they hungered the bitter winters tooktheir toll. The werewolf numbersplummeted and disease spread like wildfire. The werewolves struck hard againstthe humans in a desperate attempt to

feed themselves. The rampageslaughtered the vast majority of the menwho still lived in Verbrek, yet even theblood of man was not enough topreserve the ravenous horde ofwerewolves.

Prey of any kind became scare andof turned against wolf. The last few

natural wolves were slain and devouredby their werewolf brethren, and fromthere the cannibalism spread. The packsthat once hunted as one now warred withone another, culling the weak and strongalike. Alfred Timothy, high priest of thewolf god, fought to retain order amongsthis followers. Yet the wolves of Verbrek

were ravenous and had no mind for afaith that could not keep them fed.Timothy turned to force, but found hiown pack to weakened to fight. Indesperation, he sought out foreignassistance from the lycanthropes beyondhis domain. Timothys call wasanswered by a small loup garou pack.These lycanthropes were alien toTimothy; they were filled with humanideas and traditions such as the wearing

of cloths and the building of homes.Nonetheless, Alfred required soldiers inhis war against the rebellious clans. Toseal the pact, Timothy took a mate fromthe loup garou pack and to his Alfredssurprise, produced a son.

31

Alfred took it to be a good omen sentby the wolf God and became determinedto stamp out the rebellious packs. Fromthat point on the war only became worsefor the priest. The presence of the loupgarous only drew the attentions of theother packs, and while they neverstopped fighting and killing one another,every one of them focused their attackson their former lord. In the winter of 766the strongest rebel packs joined forcesand captured the stone circle. As the


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Timothy family fled Alfred wasdevoured by his enemies.

Alfreds wife tried to flee Verbrek,but her progress was slow for she wasforced to carry her child while fleeing

the relentless trackers on her trail. Atevery turn the she wolf was blocked bythe rampaging packs, so she headed westto the Musard River, where she hopedshe might build a raft or find someforeign humans to assist her. The womanwas overjoyed to find a massiveriverboat paddling up the Musard.Though the she wolf had thought shehad found salvation, she had onlybrought herself into greater danger. For

the master of the boat was none otherthan Nathan Timothy.Nathan was mildly amused to find

that his weakling son had perished, yethe was much more interested in thewidow. Nathan had always had an eyefor women and was never one to bediscouraged by a ladys objections.Though Nathan was terrible and strongthe she wolf resisted. In the end, Nathanwas forced to slay the woman. Furiouswith frustration, Nathan decided to makesome sport out of the situation. He tookhis six-year-old grandson and explainedeverything to him, right from his fathersdesertion of the ship and culminating inthe death of the boys mother. As theboy screamed in misery Nathan pickedhim up and threw him into the river.

Thus Nathan Timothy regainedlordship of Arkandale and claimed thelands that were once was known asVerbrek. Since that moment Nathan hasdevoted himself to the conquest of thelands that were now within his grasp. Hehas since made contact with Borcanmerchants and formed the Musard RiverCompany. This company has investedheavily in the development of the landsof Arkandale, by building villages on the

banks of the river and selling land towealth merchants and noblemen for useas plantations. The land has since beenflooded with new human settlements.The human natives of the forests have

recovered in their numbers and are noengaged in trade with the newcomersfrom Borca. Yet at the same time thewerewolves have made their ownrecovery. The heir of Alfred timothysurvived the swim to the riverbank andhas since grown to manhood. By theyear 795 he has grown to manhood andresurrected the religion of his father. Hetook the name Noah and crusades torescue his people from the starvation and

devastation that destroyed his fathersdomain. Now the Church of Fenris hasunified the packs under a more civilizedregime, the wolves now strike a balancebetween their lives as wolf hunters andtheir ability as humans to create.

Cultural Level: Dark Age (5) toEnlightenment (10). The hamlets andvillages of the native population remainat the Dark Age level, with the exceptionto the common use of firearms. Thevillages, plantations and docks of theriverbank are at technological level 10.At the enlightenment technological levelfirearms become commonplace and aretreated as martial weapons. Primitivesteam powered boats have begun toappear in the colonies, though thistechnology and the metallurgy requiredfor it are just barely within the grasp ofArkandale and Borcas most masterfulengineers. These advances areimpossible to duplicate without theassistance of Nathan Timothy or one ofthe Company engineers he haspersonally trained.

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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1The Landscape: Full Ecology

(temperate and subtropical forests, hillsand swamps). Arkandale is a vastwilderness, filled with massive trees.The forests of Arkandale are the thickest

in the Core; the land is noticeablywarmer and more humid than otherlands, even in the winter. The summermonths are terribly balmy andmosquitoes plague all forms of life. Thewinters are cooler, and the occasionalcold snap brings snow. More oftenthough the winter brings rains. Thesecold deluges herald the flooding of theriverbanks and havoc wreaked across theriverside. It is these floods however that

makes the land so fertile, with so manynutrients being brought forth from theriver bottom.

The fall and spring are much morepleasant, a happy medium between thetwo extremes. The woods of Arkandaleare lonely expanses. The trees form adense canopy, but are sparsely spaced onthe ground, creating a cavernous forestfloor beneath a ceiling of green. Thereare thin, worn paths that lead betweenthe farming villages and the river towns,though a non-native stands a greatchance of getting lost on the trail.

The forests of Arkandale team withanimal life not found anywhere in thecore. Strange marsupials known to thenatives as possums share the trees withan infamously irritating invader knownto the colonists as raccoons, named afterthe Lamordian word for burglar. Aclever mammal named beaver has beendiscovered to dam the tributaries of theMusard and Noisette rivers. Tinycreatures called minks stalk the muskratsin the reeds and wetlands that grow bythe riverside, while huge deer creaturescalled moose have emerged from theprimal forest to gorge themselves onaquatic plants. Naturally, this massive

pool of exotic animals has spawned atrade in furs. Wolves exist in the forests,despite the claims by the natives that nonatural animal by that name yet lives.Big cats such as the cougar have

immigrated into the forests fromValachan, yet they have not yet migratedfar beyond the Noisette. Along with theplethora of mammalian life, there is avast pool of avian life forms. Owls arecommon in the forest, as are millions ofinsectivores such as the blue jay, carrionbirds like the crow, seedeaters, fruiteaters and even humming birds.

The mighty Musard River dissectsthe land of Arkandale. The waters of the

river are usually warm, but they run fastand furious during the winter. The rivershost a wide variety of fish life, includingthe catfish, a popular dish amongst thebackwards natives and Borcanrestaurants alike. The river bottom is amassive store of natural treasures. Everyyear a sizable quantity of silver and evena small amount of gold is brought to theriver surface.

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Major Settlements: Arkandale hasexploded since 767, after the creation ofthe Musard River Company. TheCompany has placed down nearly adozen villages and ports on the banks ofthe rivers. The largest settlement isknown as New Levkarest, built on theNorth East shore of the river delta wherethe Musard splits in two. It is a growingboomtown built as a service port for theships of the Musard River Company asthey ferry furs, lumber and silver intoBorca. New Levkarest is also known asthe most lawless city in the core, for it ispacked with taverns, gambling housesand brothels. This city of vice is theunofficial base for the Musard RiverCompany, for Nathan insists that allmeeting take place on his steamboat that


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is often in New Levkarest harbor. Asidefrom New Levkerest are the Companytowns of Woken, Freedomton, NewBurry and Moonglow. The riverbankalso features several plantations owned

by wealthy merchants and Borcannobles. The biggest three plantations areAnderson Farm, the HammondPlantation, and the Grundy Estate. Thenatives of Arkandale live in tinycommunities. There are three truevillages in the woods of Arkandale,known as Stonebrook, Silverwood andTomestone.

The Folk: 1150; humans 99%, other

1% 495; werewolves 99%, lowland loupgarou 5%. Languages Balok,Mordentish

The people of Arkandale are dividedup into three distinct groups. The firstgroup is the colonists, the foreignersfrom Borca, Invidia and other domains.These people live mostly on the villages,plantations and logging camps upon thebanks of the Musard River. These peopleare an impoverished folk, treated littlebetter than slaves by the Company or bythe plantation owners. Villages belong tothe Musard Company; they are thetrading posts through which theCompany trades with the plantations andgathers furs and exotic items collectedfrom the natives of the forests. Thesepeople came to the colonies to escapepoverty, only to be trapped in debt to thetyranny of the Company. Though it is aharsh life, most colonists still preferbeing employees rather than being landbound serfs.

The plantations are manned bypeasant laborers who have escapedBorca by signing labor contracts with theowners of plantations. The loggingcolonies are free and lawless places.These harvesting camps are populated

by single men from all corners of theCore and led by a few Companyoverseers. The men are paid in room,board and a hand full of coppers eachweek. The lumberjacks spend their pay

as quickly as they earn it, in the brothels,gambling houses and taverns of thecolony villages. Near to the lumberjackcamps are panning operations. In theseplaces men pan the river for the smallquantities of silver found in the bottomof the Musard River. This silver is tradedat the company store and sent up toBorca.

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The natives of the domain make upthe second group. They are described as

a queer folk; most of them have darkbrown eyes, slightly darker skin thanBorcans and always have dark blackhair. A fair number of the indigenouspeople resemble the Richemulot peoplein appearance and speech and there is atradition of intermarriage between thetwo ethnicities making the true origins ofany woods person all the moreconfusing. They are a strange people,dressing in deerskin leather and clothsmade from wild cotton. These people area superstitious folk, they whisper ofghosts and giants and other things thatlive in the deep woods. The natives livein scattered hamlets and a fewbackwards villages, most of which aresurrounded by muddy moats. Thevillagers make their living by trappingrabbits and mink, hunting deer as well aspicking berries and farming smallvegetables in tiny plots deep within thewoods. Each day is a constant struggle tosurvive, but if pressed they confess thatlife for their ancestors was much worse.These people profess that they are thesurvivors of a people who were long agodevoured by evil wolf spirits. This, theysay, is a new age, where the wolf spiritsare quieter and less voracious. Yet there


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1is nothing that terrifies these peoplemore than the howling of a wolf in thenight. They refuse to travel by night, andnever go out without their trustyflintlocks. These people still cradle the

ancient firearms of their ancestors,though the Musard River Company hasmade great gains in sales of newerfirearms. Every man, woman and childknows the secret of gunpowder and hasbeen taught to forge bullets from theonly metal to which they have access,silver.

The final group is made up of thewerewolves. The werewolves were oncea proud and savage people but their

voracious appetite consumed all of thelife in the forests. The result wasmassive starvation, which led to battlesbetween packs and terrible cannibalism.This period of bloodshed claimed the lifeof Alfred Timothy, the priest of the WolfGod. After a time the werewolves nearedextinction and many fled the forests formore fertile ground.

As the werewolves left, new lifereturned to the domain. A wide varietyof animals, never before seen in theforests emerged to fill the gaps left bythe extinct prey. A new leader emergedto lead the remaining werewolves. Theheir of Alfred Timothy taught the savagelycanthropes to farm, to build homes andto live in a better harmony with theirprey. Under the guidance of the Churchof Fenris the werewolves began torebuild their packs, though now theyorganized themselves into hamlets andvillages. The wolf-people remain insmall numbers, they are much toocautious to remake the mistakes thatdoomed their ancestors. These wolvespick berries, foster small orchards offruit trees and raise root plants andmushrooms in cellars. They carefullyhunt to deer and moose that live in the

forests, adding human meat to their dietwhen they feel that numbers of thehuman predators have grown too high.The lycanthropes are cautious with theirdread disease; they hunt out any infected

lycanthropes and exterminate them. Thewolf people worship at the Church ofFenris several times a year. A largechurch has been erected over thestanding stones of the circle; it is used asthe place of worship where the wolvesgo to hear the wisdom of the trinity.

The Law: The only authority inArkandale is the Musard RiverCompany. This is a loose organization of

nobles, merchants, and plantationowners led by Nathan Timothy. TheMusard River Company has beengranted full rights by Ivana Boristi, and alimited sovereignty recognized by theDukar of Invidia in trade treaties. Thevillagers of the towns on the riverbanksare all employees of the Musard RiverCompany. These people work on thedocks, maintain the lumbar barges, smithmetal, build firearms, run the assayoffices, pan for silver in the river andconduct trade with the natives. They areforced to rent property from the MusardRiver Company, buy food and goodsfrom the Company stores and areforbidden to engage in independentcommerce. Employees are forbidden toassemble and are constantly watched bythe ruthless Company enforcers. ACompany overseer governs each village,maintains a stockade for criminals, andhas the authority to assemble a militia ofvillagers and lumberjacks and equipthem with company firearms.

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The plantation owners are sovereignover their lands, much like the landedaristocracy of Borca. The ownermaintains a number of men as a securityforce to watch over the laborers. The


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farm laborers live on the land, pay rentto the landowner and are paid a pittance.In effect, peasants in Borca can escapingthe oppression of their nobles by signingon as laborers and living under the

slightly different tyranny of plantationowners. The Musard River Companymakes a tidy profit arranging contractsbetween landowners and the laborers, aswell as ferrying the people and the goodsback and forth. Laborers who want tostart their own farms are given anopportunity; by appealing to the ownerof the land around the plantation theycan be granted a small plot of their own.These laborers are then trapped in a legal

arrangement known as sharecropping,under which they rent land from theplantation owner and have no chance ofpaying off their debts, inevitably placingthe burdens upon their children while thelandowner grows fat from their labor.

The werewolves are governed by theChurch of Fenris. The brutal NoahTimothy heads this church, and throughit he controls the wolf people ofArkandale. Noah enforces a loose seriesof guidelines designed to prevent overhunting. His work as a priest has beenfocused more upon the advisor andleader to the wolf people, rather than thetraditional priestly role as a healer. Noahbelieves that only the strongest of thepack deserve to survive, so healing thewounded is reserved for emergencies.The Church of Fenris is dedicated instriking a balance between the threeaspects of werewolf life, man thecreator, Fenris the destroyer and Orionthe hunter. Noah is locked in a cold warwith the Musard River Company. Heknows that the over development ofArkandale will lead his people to thesame disaster that destroyed his father.Noah despises his Grandfather, for heembodies all of the evil and hypocrisy in

civilization. Noah and the Church areslowly undermining the Company,stirring discontent in the Companyemployees and attacking the villages,plantations and logging camps as often

as possible.

Trade and Diplomacy: Resources antlers and horns, berries, cotton, exoticfurs, exotic meats, firearms, fish, gold,leather, root vegetables, silver, timber,velvet. Coinage nightshade (gp),hemlock (sp), foxglove (cp). Trade hasexploded in recent decades. Theplantations make huge profits sellingcotton to the growing textile industry in

Borca and Richemulot. The villageshave boomed on the sale of furs toBorca, especially mink and beaver furs.Firearms are the currency traded to theArkandale natives, who are tooenamored with the power of the modernguns to realize that they trading awayfortunes in pelts. Timber is felled incamps on either side of the Musard andshipped up stream by barges to mills inWest Borca. All other goods travel backand forth on one of the Companysmiraculous steamboats.

The colonies of Arkandale arerecognized as under the protection ofBorca, and Borca is free to import goodsfrom the colonies without duties. Thenation of Invidia enjoys a similarlyhelpful trade pact, in exchange for theirrecognition of the Musard RiverCompany and their lawful claim to thelands. Richemulot trades with thecolonies as well, though imports comewith fees that go directly into the coffersof Borca.

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Characters: Classes aristocrats,barbarians, commoners, experts,fighters, rangers, rogues. Skills craft(gunsmith), hide, listen, move silently,profession (farmer, fisherman, lumber


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Quoth the Raven: Issue 1 jack, shipman, trapper) wilderness lore.Feats alertness, skill focus (wildernesslore), weapon focus (any firearm).

Characters from Arkandale may takeproficiency is firearms without taking

the feat exotic weapon proficiency(firearms). The natives of the forestshave been using firearms for hunting fordecades and the colonists represent atechnological level where firearms aremore common that any other missileweapon. Rifles and blunderbusses areconsidered martial weapons and pistolsof any kind are considered simpleweapons.

Nathan Timothy, Darklordof ArkandaleMale human werewolf Ari4/Exp4:

CR 9; SZ M Shapechanger; HD4D8+4D6 +12; hp 52; Init +1(+6 aswolf/hybrid); Speed 30 ft. (50 ft aswolf/hybrid); AC 11 (touch 11, flat-footed 10) [13 (touch 13, flat-footed 10)as wolf/hybrid]; Atk +10/+5 melee(1d6+2, bite); SA Curse of Lycanthropy,

Trip; SQ wolf empathy, damagereduction 15/silver, regeneration, Scent(as wolf/hybrid); SQ Curse; AL LE; SVFort +5, Ref +6, Will +12 (Fort +7, Ref+8, Will +12 as wolf/hybrid); Str 15(+17 as wolf/hybrid), Dex 12 (16 aswolf/hybrid), Con 12 (16 aswolf/hybrid), Int 14, Wiz 14, Cha 12.

Skills and Feats: Bluff +12,Diplomacy + 12, Listen +13 (+17 aswolf/hybrid), Navigation +7, Intimidate

+7, Profession (gambler) +13,Profession (ship captain) +13, SenseMotive +13, Search +6 (+10 aswolf/hybrid), Spot +19 (+23 aswolf/hybrid), Swim +9, Wilderness lore+2 (+6 as wolf/hybrid); Alertness, IronWill, Lightning Reflexes, weapon focus(bite), Alternate form, Blind fight,

Improved initiative, weapon fineness(bite)

Languages: Mordentish, Darkonese,Balok.

Nathan Timothy appears as amoderately fat man in his latefiftiesdistinguished by a fierce blackbeard and eyes that shine with schemingmalevolence. When he desires, Nathancan be a charming gentleman. In private,however, he becomes a cruel andabusive man. In this state his voicemodulates from a self-superior mockingchuckle to a furious roar that rivals thethunder of a winter storm. Nathan wears

a finely made blue uniform, adorned ingold buttons and an ornate trim. He isfond of a wearing a blue hat, though heremoves it in the company of ladies orimportant business partners.

Background

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Nathan Timothy was born on a worldvery different from most in themultiverse, though the same world fromwhich one of the domains of Ravenloftwas once a part. Nathan was a struggling

merchant. He owned a steamship that hehad won in a crooked poker match, theVirago. From the moment he laid eyeson the magnificent ship he knew hecould never let himself be parted from it.Despite Nathans business savvy, hisgambling got the better of him and hisbusiness began to fail. The creditorscircled, and it looked as though he mightlose his beloved Virago. Rather than letit be taken from him, he reluctantly sold

it under the condition that he would becaptain. His partner was Jonathon True,a wealthy but naive gentleman farmermarried to a beautiful woman namedAnnabelle. The moment Nathan saw thewoman standing on the bow of thenewly christened Virago; he knew hemust possess them both. Nathan wormed


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his way into his partners life; using hisknowledge of commerce to supplementthe gentlemans own inexperience. Atfirst it was his plan to steal enough ofTrues money that he could buy his

partner out. But while Jonathon wasinexperienced, Annabelle was muchmore wily. She convinced her husbandto give his ownership of the boat as

Ravenloft - Quoth the Raven Issue 01

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