RAVENLOFT: Mist Hunters | 5th Ed. D&D

[PhantomPistoleer]

RAVENLOFT: Mist Hunters

a hyper-sexual gothic horror adventure using Dungeons & Dragons 5e rules

>>> SETTING

DOMAIN OF DREAD.  The Domains of Dread, sometimes collectively known as the Demiplane of Dread or Ravenloft, are a series of demiplanes located in a remote corner of the Shadowfell and hidden from the rest of the plane by thick walls of mist.  Our dread tale begins in Dementlieu, the Domain of Decadent Delusion.

DEMENTLIEU.  Every night brings another glittering affair in Dementlieu, whose citizens live glamorous and exciting lives. They enjoy the finest clothes, elegant jewels, grand ballrooms—and most extravagantly, the Grand Masquerade hosted by Duchess Saidra d’Honaire every seventh day at her island estate. Everyone who is anyone attends the duchess’s balls, and everyone who longs to be someone tries to wrangle an invitation or sneak in uninvited. But Duchess Saidra’s wrath upon those who dare to set foot where they don’t belong is truly horrible—and inevitably fatal.

The domain of Dementlieu consists of the city of Port-a-Lucine, which embraces the murky waters of Pernault Bay and Lucine Bay, as well as shifting scraps of fog-shrouded suburban areas around the city. Port-a-Lucine is a festering mire of rot and decay hidden beneath a glittering facade of decadent wealth. Everything appears more valuable, more solid, and more wholesome than the actuality, and everyone behaves as if the illusion of grandeur and prosperity were real.

Everyone in Dementlieu sweats to get by, but admitting to reality means social ruin. The poorest citizens struggle to maintain a middle-class appearance, scrounging through garbage heaps at night to find wares to sell in their shops in the morning. The members of the true middle class pretend to be titled aristocracy, but they wear much-patched and mended clothes, and starve for a week to host a ball that barely passes as lavish—by recycling table scraps into mysterious pâtés and cleverly disguised dumplings. The real aristocracy of the domain exists solely in its Darklord, Duchess d’Honaire.

Anyone who lets the mask slip meets a grisly end. When an “aristocrat” at the duchess’s masquerade loses a button from a fraying coat, the duchess pronounces the impostor’s doom and the unmasked pretender crumbles to dust. When a struggling merchant fails to keep up appearances, the resulting fall is less public but no less final. Left with no home and no livelihood, these wretches inevitably fall prey to the Red Death. This mysterious spirit haunts the poorest parts of town and drains every glimmer of life from its victims—and is embodied by Duchess Saidra.

>>> CHARACTER CREATION.

• LEVEL.  First.
• ATTRIBUTES.  Standard array or roll 4d6 and drop lowest.
• FEAT.  Bonus feat at first level.
• MATERIAL.  Only published material, no homebrew.
• GM INTERVENTION.  The GM will provide an unnamed boon to the character.

>>> CHARACTER SUBMISSION.

Character submissions should be simple and to the point.  No real history should be provided* (see note).  There should only be a deceit, a scandal, and a hook.  The deceit describes how the character is a fraud.  The scandal describes how the character could be blackmailed.  The hook describes a way that other characters might know them.  Example:

NAME:  Father Mauricio
TYPE:  Variant Human Rogue Acolyte

THE DECEIT:  Father Mauricio, the beloved priest, is not actually a priest.  He's learned just enough about being a cleric in the Temple of Ezra to pass as a devoted servant to the Lady of the Mists.  Though he doesn't believe half the things he says, he enjoys church life.

THE SCANDAL:  Though he's friendly and affable, the good priest is a notorious womanizer who sometimes abuses his position of trust by bedding mourning widows.

THE HOOK:  Loss in Dementlieu is very common.  You or someone you know has probably met someone who found comfort in the arms of this amorous priest.

* Note.  Your character emerged from the mists 1d6 months ago with amnesia.  You should know that the character has been cursed to wander the mists, but your character would not know that he/she/they has/have been cursed, much less why.

[PhantomPistoleer]

>>> NOTES.

Inhabitants of Dementlieu know the following facts:

• The city’s decadent "aristocrats" keep a busy social calendar, fluttering like butterflies to multiple events each day: museum and art gallery exhibitions, concerts and play performances, orgies, brunches, luncheons, teas, dinners, and especially balls.
• Every week brings the preeminent social event of the city: the Grand Masquerade, hosted by Duchess Saidra d’Honaire. Invitations are coveted, and attendees outnumber the invitations.
• Nothing in Dementlieu is as it appears. Everyone pretends to be wealthier than they are. Magical illusions hide disrepair, and lies great and small fill everyday communication. Everyone knows these truths, but no one dares speak of them.
• The day-to-day administration of Port-a-Lucine rests in the hands of Lord Governor Marcel Guignol. He hears counsel from a group of five advisors drawn from the ranks of the aristocracy, including Duchess Saidra. With this council, he writes laws that a small city watch helps him enforce. He also serves as the sole judge when those laws are broken.
• Decorative masks are a common accessory in Dementlieu, worn at social events and in daily life alike. Many people know their neighbors by their masks better than by their faces.

[HopeFox]

Hyper-sexual? Ravenloft? 5E? Phantom? That's all I needed to hear! I'd love to get into this. I'll figure out a character by tonight. 

[Ixy]

*squee*

I'm glad you're rekindling this one-- I think it sounds like a lot of fun.

[shengami]

Isn't this something I saw a while back? I don't think I can invest again. I want to. But. Plate full? But I love this premise!

[HopeFox]

Name: Lady Violette Ampère
Type: Variant Human Artificer Entertainer

The Deceit: Lady Violette Ampère is a brilliant young scientist visiting from the Ludendorf University, here to spread both knowledge and wonder at the marvels of modern science, especially the exciting new field of electricity! She hosts "edutainment" events that both delight and educate her audiences.

Of course, Violette is neither a noble nor a scientist. While her history is hazy, she's pretty sure she's never been to Lamordia and doesn't have any kind of degree. She does know a bit of science, engineering and magic, but most of the academic lore she recites to her audiences is pure fabricated technobabble. She is also not nearly as wealthy as she presents herself to be - she is living in a room above a cheap tavern where she plays music for crowds and gives "private shows" to individuals to pay her rent.

The Scandal: Violetta's academic qualifications are completely fabricated. Her "degree" from Ludendorf University is a simple forgery - luckily one that very few have the knowledge to detect. Her knowledge of science is much more shallow than she lets on, too. And like everyone else in Dementlieu, her wealth is a façade.

The Hook: Many people have enjoyed one of her scientific demonstrations. Many others have enjoyed her tavern performances or sampled her body for coin. Hopefully, nobody has done both...

[PhantomPistoleer]

*squee*

I'm glad you're rekindling this one-- I think it sounds like a lot of fun.

Yay.  You know how it goes.

Isn't this something I saw a while back? I don't think I can invest again. I want to. But. Plate full? But I love this premise!

Yes.  It is a redux.

Name: Lady Violette Ampère
Type: Variant Human Artificer Entertainer

The Deceit: Lady Violette Ampère is a brilliant young scientist visiting from the Ludendorf University, here to spread both knowledge and wonder at the marvels of modern science, especially the exciting new field of electricity! She hosts "edutainment" events that both delight and educate her audiences.

Of course, Violette is neither a noble nor a scientist. While her history is hazy, she's pretty sure she's never been to Lamordia and doesn't have any kind of degree. She does know a bit of science, engineering and magic, but most of the academic lore she recites to her audiences is pure fabricated technobabble. She is also not nearly as wealthy as she presents herself to be - she is living in a room above a cheap tavern where she plays music for crowds and gives "private shows" to individuals to pay her rent.

The Scandal: Violetta's academic qualifications are completely fabricated. Her "degree" from Ludendorf University is a simple forgery - luckily one that very few have the knowledge to detect. Her knowledge of science is much more shallow than she lets on, too. And like everyone else in Dementlieu, her wealth is a façade.

The Hook: Many people have enjoyed one of her scientific demonstrations. Many others have enjoyed her tavern performances or sampled her body for coin. Hopefully, nobody has done both...

This is a VERY good submission.  I like it a lot.  I think I will provide you with some rolls, and if the character is accepted, you can take another shot at rolling out attributes on DNDBeyond. Sound good?

[HopeFox]

This is a VERY good submission.  I like it a lot.  I think I will provide you with some rolls, and if the character is accepted, you can take another shot at rolling out attributes on DNDBeyond. Sound good?

Yes, that sounds great! Thank you, I'm glad you like her. I'm so lucky to have found this picture for her, too.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Yes, that sounds great! Thank you, I'm glad you like her. I'm so lucky to have found this picture for her, too.

Very well.  14, 14, 14, 14, 13, 9.  Not great, but very solid, IMO.

[HopeFox]

Very well.  14, 14, 14, 14, 13, 9.  Not great, but very solid, IMO.

Very nice! I can definitely work with that. Those are the sort of numbers that will give her a decent social basis as well as being an effective artificer. I'll think her sheet over while we see who else we get for this!

[PhantomPistoleer]

Very nice! I can definitely work with that. Those are the sort of numbers that will give her a decent social basis as well as being an effective artificer. I'll think her sheet over while we see who else we get for this!

Sure.  I will give the game until Monday.  If nothing develops by then, I'll strike it.

[pdragon]

Name: Dame Vivi Marion
Type: Variant Human Bard (Masquerading as a Ranger)

The Deceit: Vivi is lauded as a breakout star in the big game hunting scene. In just a few months she's seemingly come out of nowhere and has racked up over a dozen trophies of fearsome beasts even the most experienced hunters wouldn't dare challenge, even including a pair of wyverns. This is of course a complete farce. In truth her trophies are all harvested from the corpses of already dead beasts she finds in the wilds. The wyverns in particular were fighting each other in territory dispute and she just happened to get lucky to witness them kill each other. Her only real skill is her impressive knack for taxidermy, not just preserving the trophies well but able to alter the wounds on the bodies to make them look as though they had been taken down by blades and arrows, or whatever means fit her made up stories.

The Scandal: Vivi has oft been pressed by other aristocrats to join her on her fabled hunts, so that they might witness her skills in person. Obviously she does everything in her power to worm her way out of such arrangements, but on one occasion she was pressured by a noble whom she simply could not refuse. When things predictably went poorly Vivi panicked and offered up her body to the entire accompanying group to buy their silence and save her reputation: 8 men in total.

The Hook: After each "successful hunt" Vivi hosts a party where she makes a grand display of her newest kill, along with the rest of her collection. These parties are a big hit with those with a taste for the adventurous, or those easily wowed by tales of suspense and danger.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Name: Dame Vivi Marion
Type: Variant Human Bard (Masquerading as a Ranger)

The Deceit: Vivi is lauded as a breakout star in the big game hunting scene. In just a few months she's seemingly come out of nowhere and has racked up over a dozen trophies of fearsome beasts even the most experienced hunters wouldn't dare challenge, even including a pair of wyverns. This is of course a complete farce. In truth her trophies are all harvested from the corpses of already dead beasts she finds in the wilds. The wyverns in particular were fighting each other in territory dispute and she just happened to get lucky to witness them kill each other. Her only real skill is her impressive knack for taxidermy, not just preserving the trophies well but able to alter the wounds on the bodies to make them look as though they had been taken down by blades and arrows, or whatever means fit her made up stories.

The Scandal: Vivi has oft been pressed by other aristocrats to join her on her fabled hunts, so that they might witness her skills in person. Obviously she does everything in her power to worm her way out of such arrangements, but on one occasion she was pressured by a noble whom she simply could not refuse. When things predictably went poorly Vivi panicked and offered up her body to the entire accompanying group to buy their silence and save her reputation: 8 men in total.

The Hook: After each "successful hunt" Vivi hosts a party where she makes a grand display of her newest kill, along with the rest of her collection. These parties are a big hit with those with a taste for the adventurous, or those easily wowed by tales of suspense and danger.

That is a very good submission.  I rolled stats for you if you want them.  If you're accepted (and if the game runs), you may reroll or keep these stats.  17, 13, 13, 13, 11, 10.

[pdragon]

I'll take it