Let's make MORDENT in 5e!
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- There's something strange in your Domain of Dread. Who you gonna call? Van Richten! Or at least some ghostbuster, because we're going to Mordent in today's video! It's a Ravenloft Domain based on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century ghost stories!
This man managed to pull out a Perils of Rosella connection. My all time favorite Kings Quest.
Howls in the Night is a great little adventure. With the 4 different options for the "truth" of the curse it has a lot of replay ability. Kudos to you for taking that and building up on it. Great job once again
KQ4 is one of my favorite titles in that series, too! (The other is KQ6.) You might have also noticed that my portraits were taken from Quest for Glory 4! 🦇
Yeah, I love how malleable “Howls in the Night” is; I have run it twice, using different backgrounds and resolutions. It’s a classic!
Thanks very much again for watching, and for such glowing praise! I look forward to seeing your next video, too. Best wishes, and cheers!
@@phdnd-drbowers Kings Quest taught me some brutal truths about consequences in RpGs/adventure games. Who would have thought not throwing a boot at a cat could lead to a failed game many HOURS later.
And I must admit I didn't play Quest for Glory 4. I only made it through 2. I think it was still called Heros Quest at the time. But I'm showing my age.
I know they may seem dated but there really fantastic games.
Wow! Got back from out of town just in time to catch the newest video. Liked this one a lot as I like the idea of using the House of Lament for the first installment as it is a straight up ghost story. I also anticipated some references to the Hound of the Baskervilles, but thanks for letting me know about an entire 2nd edition adventure built around it. These two adventures really seem to capture the mood and structure of a ghost adventure.
I can see how you kept the connections to each of the adventures pretty loose so one could pick out each peice to run separately. But if I were to run this as a full campaign/adventure arc, I'd sprinkle a few more connections in there: say the moor hounds from ACT 2 were a gift to the Wescote family from the Domain's Dark Lord, or the book they got the cursed song from being another gift from Godfrey, or even from the family from the House of Lament.
Oh, and I'm so glad you included Shemshime's Adventure from Candlekeep as this allows me to highly encourage using The watch chimes from the spaghetti western "A Few Dolloars More" as a base for Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme. I'd incorporate having the PCs' host during the day playing it on whatever musical instruments he has lying around.
Ah, those are all excellent suggestions! By following them, Godefroy would feel much less “tacked on” in Act 4. Good ideas!
I’m delighted that you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching, and for your suggestions! Best wishes, and cheers!
This is masterful! Thank you as always.
Thank you too! Cheers!
Duuuude, so many good media sources, I'm gonna be quite occupied with these for a long while! Ghosts became my favorite monsters the more I've played with em
Thanks so much for watching; I hope the sources are useful! Robert Aickman, M.R. James, and Algernon Blackwood are masterful ghost-story writers!
I really love ghost stories, too; they’re a favorite monster to include in my own games. Did you see “The Murmuring,” which is Episode 8 of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (speaking of sources)? It’s an excellent gothic ghost story set in the early twentieth century!
Thanks for watching and commenting, again! Best wishes and cheers!
Can't say I've seen Cabinet of Curiosities, but with your recommendation I'll make sure to check it out asap!
@@phdnd-drbowers
It's been a while since I last made a comment here, but I'm still around and checking every video! Howls in the Night is a great adventure, the hounds are terrifying if used right! I'm from Brazil, and we have a very large dog breed here called "Fila Brasileiro" which is kind of a mix between bloodhounds and mastiffs, I remember running an adaptation on this adventure using monstrous versions of these dogs.
Another thing I would like to know is your opinion on Lord Godefroy. His story is very dark and disturbing, and I was surprised they kept it almost the same in 5e, despite not going over the details. If I may suggest, it would be pretty interesting to see a video of your opinion on some of the Darklords, with some insights and references and a brief comparison between their older counterparts.
Oh, and about Mordent, recently I received a recommendation from a friend of mine, who's a writer, praising the freshly released game "Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden". The game follows a pair of ghosthunters in an XVII Century-styled depiction of New England, and I found the story and trailer of the game very good in terms of inspiration for the setting.
Once again, congratulations for picking up such nice references and for the amazing content! Cheers!
Thank you so much for watching, for your kind words, and for these excellent suggestions!
Doing a series on the Darklords would be a lot of fun, and would certainly appeal to my audience!
“Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden” sounds really cool; I will check it out!
Thanks so much again! Best wishes, and cheers!
Mordent is one of my favorite domains. I adore the ghosts and the rural countryside vibe for most of the land. In terms of changes between editions. I don't think that there are many changes between old Mordent and 5e Mordent. The fact that there aren't much changes means even if you stick to 5e canon, you could easily bring in the stuff from previous editions. The various other ancient houses, the Church of Ezra, the supersitions mentioned in the Gazeteer and so on.
The main thing that obviously is missing is the foreign relations. In 3rd edition, Mordent was part of the Treaty of Four Towers along side Dementlieu, Borca, and Richemulot against Drakov's Falkovnia. the D'honaires of Dementlieu hail from Mordent, as do the Reiners and to a degree the Dilisynia. And the fact that Mordent was bordered by Valachan and Verberk and the Sea of Sorrows.
Also the usage of the old Howl of the Night adventure is great since it is adaptable, and one could run it several times with some minor changes but with the backgrounds vastly different. You have a version where Westcote is the scoundrel and the big bad, one where Anne is the evil and big bad, one with them both evil, and one where neither is evil but the bog itself laid a curse upon them both. Personally I like the last one where the players have to work out that things aren't as they seem and then get the two spirits to reconcil but again you can run this 4 different times and be different.
As for the end with Godfrey, I probably wouldn't do it here. Like with my general thoughts on Domains. I like the idea I can run many adventures here without proceeding to the darklord till the end of a rather long campaign. There are many ghostly stories one can run in Mordent without proceeding to the House on Gryphyon Hill right away.
Indeed, “Howls in the Night” presents different ways to resolve the mystery; I have run it twice so far, and will likely run it again in the future!
Yes, the inclusion of Godefroy is one that doesn’t draw much on his past or his personality, although that could certainly be foreshadowed in Acts 1-3, as well as within Act 4 itself. Fortunately, for those who want to save the Darklord for later, the Act 4 dungeon can be re-skinned and put in many places in Mordent.
Thanks as always for mentioning the 2e lore! Although I am familiar with it, I don’t focus on it in my videos, so it’s neat to add in the discussion! Best wishes, and cheers!
King's Quest is a wild suggestion and I wasn't expecting it, lol
Yeah, that’s a very specific deep cut! 😅 Really, it’s just the haunted house from KQ4 that I’m thinking of, although the Isle of the Dead from KQ6 could also serve as some inspiration-if not for Mordent, then for Necropolis!
Thanks for watching and for your comment! Best wishes, and cheers!
Dude...I bow to your fantastic presentations. Especially great are cyre1213 and vhague agency.
Looking forward to listening to mordent in 5 minutes...
Ah, thank you so much; I bow to you as well in thanks! Yeah, I’m very proud of the Cyre 1313 video, although the PCs might level too frequently as I present it in the video 😅 The Vhage Agency also has a ghostly feel to it, since it’s “lost” and obviously, dangerously supernatural as a location.
I hope this video could live up to the same standards those others met! Thanks for watching! Best wishes, and cheers!
Cool video! For other inspirations I’d suggest The Haunting of Bly Manor and Crimson Peak.
Also I think the players should get some kind of buff or reward for destroying any remains. Currently there doesn’t seem to be any incentive to destroy them. Maybe temporary hit points, the Dedication effect from the Ceremony spell, or being able to bottle up the fleeting life essence for a truly morbid healing potion. Now the PCs have to choose between information, morality, or something that will help them in their next fight.
Ah, yes, those are both excellent recommendations! I planned to use “Crimson Peak” as an inspiration for Blaustein, for sure! Bly Manor would also have been fun to work into this adventure-or maybe to base a whole Mordent adventure on! And ideas on how you would do it?
Those are really good suggestions, when it comes to an incentive for destroying the remains; I love it, and wished I had thought to include it, myself! 😅
Thanks so much for watching, and for your suggestions! Best wishes, and cheers!
@@phdnd-drbowers Thanks! And hey if you hadn’t thought of the destroying vs burying mechanic first, I never would’ve put much thought to it. Keep up the great work!
@@phdnd-drbowers Blaustein is one of my favorite domains so eager to see what you dow ith it.
@@jokreil5076Excellent to hear! I'll be drawing on the original folktales concerning Bluebeard, as well as Magpie Games' amazing product, "Bluebeard's Bride" (which I'll do a separate video about)!
Great adventure Dr Bowers! Mordent is my favorite domain of dread, and you really did it justice.
Thank you so much for saying so, and thank you for watching! I’m glad I could do this Domain justice; it’s a very popular one with lots of potential! Best wishes, and cheers!
This is great! I love the various ghosts in the manor and how they're tied to objects. Super cool idea! This is definitely going into my next Ravenloft campaign.
Many thanks for watching, and for saying so! I’d love to hear how it plays out at your table. Do you have any thoughts on how to subtly encourage the PCs to interact with the ghosts in Act 2? Let me know if you do! Best wishes, and cheers!
I'm still enjoying this Ravenloft series XD also i wonder if there will be a vid on your own spin on Barovia or Curse of Strahd as a finale to this series. I know theres still a good few Domains of Dread left in the book but still a Dr. Bowers spin on Barovia and Strahd using media and "re-Vamp-ing" (pun intended) the iconic domain.
Edit: this thought originated from when you mentioned House of Lament and that led to me pondering if you could do the same with Barovia somehow using classic media like Bram Stoker's Dracula, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, the movie Van Helsing, etc etc.
Oh yes indeed, I am already researching for a Barovia video! Carmilla is in the to-read list, and I have also been enjoying some modern vampire tales like “Sunbleached” by Nathan Ballingrud and “The Wide Carnivorous Sky” by John Langan. Hopefully I can put together a worthy adventure for so venerable a Domain! Thanks so much for the suggestion, and for watching! Best wishes, and cheers!
Howls in the Night is one of my favorites Ravenloft Adventures, and House of Lament [the classive version] one of my favorites Darklords/Domains. Great combination of adventures. As always, amazing list of media source inspiration.
Why is nobody talking about that incredible shirt
I’m wearing it in the next video, too 😅
You my guy are amazing. I have watched a couple of your videos. I am super impressed in your ability to incorporate multiple mediums of entertainment and elements from those pieces of entertainment. I am now a subscriber and can't wait to incorporate these adventures in my own campaign.
Thank you very much for such glowing praise, and thank you for subscribing! I'll have more content this week, with more Ravenloft on the way!
If you'd like to support the channel, please consider backing my original TTRPG, "5 Acts: The King in Yellow RPG," which is on Kickstarter now!
bit.ly/5actskiy
Thank you once again, too, for watching and commenting. Best wishes, and cheers!
This is such a fun Domain of Dread, I look forward to watching the whole of this video. Thank you Doctor Bowers!
My pleasure! 👻 Thank you so much for watching and supporting the channel!
Yes! I love Mordent! So happy you made this one.
Awesome! I hope it didn't disappoint; there's a lot of material in this video! Thank you for watching, and best wishes! Cheers!
I like the ending with Lord Godefroy, if only because if you're running D&D 5e it can be great to just lean into a good dungeon crawl and boss fight- saving it for the end of a series of investigative quests seems appropriate.
One thing I'm concerned with is the choice between putting a body to rest vs destroying it. Simply put, I see no reason why thr PCs would choose the latter over the former- the only time it does something meaningful is the very last encounter in the sequence which only has negative effects. I personally would struggle to find a way to make the choice of whether to lay a body to rest vs destroying it meaningful.
She thanks the PCs for allowing her to escape ((the mirror)
Yeah, glad to help, but thank yous ring a little hollow when the help was compulsory via literal spirit possession.
That’s a fair point; how would you fix that apparent issue? Perhaps the ghost should apologize instead of just saying thanks? Or would you leave out the possession entirely? Thanks for watching, and for this critical feedback. Best wishes, and cheers!
@@phdnd-drbowers Well, that was more snarky observation than actual critique, but first and foremost, I'd have the ghost, as you say, apologize, and confess she did what she did out of pure desperation, as not only did she possess the victim, she walked his body into a dangerous, potentially lethal situation with the Annis.
Maybe the trapped spirit had tried on previous occasions by just giving visions of the shack in the reflection, but years passed with no results, and she got desperate, maybe even begging for forgiveness before she goes on to afterlife judgement.
Excellent suggestions! Many thanks! 🦇 🦇 🦇
@@phdnd-drbowersFor all the lore and great ideas you provide, I'm really happy to help. For added punch, as the possessed person takes the mirror down and heads off into the woods, they just quietly repeat something like :"I'm sorry, I have to. I can't stay like this", mumbling over and over like a mantra for the rest of the party to hear, but offering no further explanation.
I like this but personally, having to move to Gryphon Hill for one fight feels tacked on. Especially being Godfrey has nothing to do with the adventure. I just add another level to the Firefly Cellar and run the Shifting Library there.
Ah, that’s a good idea as well! I originally didn’t plan on including Godefroy, but the opportunity was hard to resist, especially since I needed a powerful ghost lord who lives in Mordent and haunts a library 😅
I like your option of just placing the Shifting Library in the same building as Act 3 has! It could be like the dungeon itself has the Mythic Trait, and presents new dangers after the original ones are dealt with.
Thanks very much for watching, and for your feedback! Best wishes, and cheers!
Very nice!!! Thanks for sharing!!
And thank you for watching! I hope this adventure sketch proves to be a useful resource at your table! Best wishes, and cheers!
Yay! Shemshime! I ran that one shot just last week
It's such a spooky ghost-story, which can be adapted for many different levels and run as a one-shot. I can't believe it's not more clearly labeled as a horror adventure! I'm glad you're also a fan.
Thanks very much for watching and commenting. Best wishes, and cheers!