Let's make DUTCHMAN'S CREEK in 5e!
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- Do you like horror stories about giant monsters? What about the most giant monster--the most immense thing in existence? Want to play an adventure featuring *that*? Then check out this video!
John Langan's "The Fisherman" (2016) is not only a captivating and beautifully horrific novel; it also contains a tale of terror, which we'll adapt--and hopefully not butcher--for a Ravenloft Domain and accompanying adventure!
As one more piece of Inspirational media I might mention the video game Dredge, which is all about exploring a body of water, doing the bidding of various quest givers including one mysterious man who lives alone in a dark mansion, and it features exposure to cosmic and magical horror as well as giant sea monsters thst will hunt your little boat
I'm seconding the recommendation of Black Salt Game's 2023 video game Dredge. I'd love to pull some of the descriptions of aberrant fish to describe the twisted sea-life in the presence of the waking Leviathan. Also the Night Angler, Serpent, and Phantom Shark (all enemies who attack your boat in the game) could easily be introduced here as enemies in the waters around the Leviathan.
Wow, not only does this sound like a REALLY fun adventure, but now I have like, several good book and movie recommendations as well. I honestly love sea monsters.
One of your best yet! I would love to see more books/movies from the horror genre adapted more directly into adventures.
Thank you so much, and thank you for watching! I intend to do so; I’m currently reading “The House on the Borderlands” for the first time! Best wishes, and cheers!
This certainly seems like an interesting adventure. I'm a little worried about the over-reliance on the skum as reoccurring monsters; I'm considering potentially replacing some of them with Kraken Priests, Deep Scions, or reskinned Sahaugin/Merrow. Honestly I'd love to see the action here stretch out a little further in time, showing the townsfolk coming under the sway of the Fisherman and turning into fish-hybrids (like in the 2001 film Dagon; or channelling Lovecraft's Innsmouth), and making this a bit more of a slow-burn horror.
I'd also consider having each PC describe someone they lost as part of their character creation, so that I could bring them back from the dead later. When the Fisherman raises the dead, it isn't just Helen that comes back, but ALL the dead in the area (Maybe the salthouse that processes the town's catches is now over-run with swarms of risen sea-life that swim through the air; quippers, sharks, octopus, ect.) Also, the Leviathian here seems pretty passive; other than some minor earthquakes, it isn't really destroying anything, so I'd describe a little more about how it's waking is leading to active destruction (is it actively mutating the people/fish, raking clean the fishing grounds, destroying buildings in town, swamping the land with giant waves and burning the farmlands with salt water?), show off some of those powers that the Fisherman is after.
Oh those are all *excellent* ideas! I wish I had thought of them, myself! You're right that a kraken priest would fit right into this adventure, and also those Lovecraft references, which lie very close, thematically, to Langan!
The idea for PC creation is a great way to invest them in the story, and the "gotcha" of having their lost ones show up as Leviathan-spawn is really clever! It's true that the Leviathan doesn't destroy too much in the adventure (thank goodness!); I personally like it that way, but I see where you're coming from, and definitely identify with the desire to see more.
(One problem, I think, with having more direct confrontations with the Leviathan is the danger of turning it into something that the PCs could just kill, like a tarrasque, etc. What are your suggestions for that?)
Thanks so much for your comments, again! I always look forward to reading them! Best wishes, and cheers! Happy New Year!
@@phdnd-drbowers Definitely I don't want the Leviathan to turn into an actual target for the PCs to attack. However giving more detail to it's abilities and how it is destroying the village and surrounding lands could make it into a more active force of nature that's encroaching onto the "civilized" world. Certainly with the scope of the creature it COULD destroy the world if it wanted to, so describe what effects it's having. It's thrashing is causing the sea to roil, smashing boats and sending great waves to drown and flood the town and scouring the surrounding lands until nothing remains but bald lifeless rock. Detail out how the Leviathan's actions are making this inhospitable and driving home the point that something needs to be done to have any hope of surviving (because the PCs are ultimately heroes). Do not give the Leviathan stats at all; it is as unkillable as a hurricane. Instead drive home the point that the conflict between the Fisherman and the beast is what is causing this rampage; and if presented correctly the PCs should conclude that the easier course of action is to end the conflict instead of killing the beast.
Give the Leviathan a few more notable abilities, stuff like the mind-warping devotion to the Leviathan, bodies warping into fish-like features, control over waves/seawater, or even some weird breath weapon (mechanically those could be lair actions for act 5); and have those be the powers that the Fisherman is certain he can steal if only he can sink a few more magical hooks into the beast via ritual magic. Perhaps the Fisherman has finally hit on the idea that if he performs his ritual WITHIN the beast itself then those hooks are sure to connect. Act 5 then becomes a race through the beast to try to stop the Fisherman before he lands all his hooks, perhaps facing off against him multiple times. Whatever those abilities of the Leviathan are, I'd give versions of them to the Fisherman (as Legendary Actions) when the PCs square off against him. The final ritual would ensure the Fisherman had control over the Leviathan itself, so clearly the PCs need to stop him before that happens.
I am TOTALLY cribbing parts of this for my ongoing Ravenloft campaign - one of the PCs is a hexblood whose geneology is a take on the Triton race, in that she's an ancient "siren" creature who was taken by an eldritch power and made into a Hexblood. Now that she's been taken from her underwater home, she wants revenge - and I think this domain is the perfect place for her to find the source of her curse! Thank you Dr. Bowers!
@@SlicesnDices Thank *you* for watching and for commenting! I'd love to hear about how your campaign goes, once it's been drenched with the waters of the Leviathan's black ocean! Do let me know, please! Best wishes, and cheers!
Great ideas Dr Bowers!
Thank you for saying so! I’m glad this adventure is well-received! I wasn’t sure, since it’s not an existing Ravenloft Domain or anything! 😅 Best wishes, and cheers!
I stumbled across the 4e adventure "The Last Breaths of Ashenport" in Dungeon issue 156; and I think a lot of it could be utilized if you wanted to stretch out this adventure and detail out a bit more of the relationship of the villagers and the Fisherman, and add in some religious horror and a bit of mystery. Or if your group is a bunch of outsiders and not locals, some of it could serve as the hook to get the party into Dutchman's Creek.
Ah, thank you so much! I'll take a look! Thank you also for watching, as always. Best wishes, and cheers!
Oh man this is very cool. Immediately had to order a copy of the book. I just started a new campaign (I had pitched a Ravenloft game to the group, but most people wanted other ones), but I'll be eager to adapt some of your adventures such as this one into it, which I think will work since the campaign will be horror adjacent.
Ah, wonderful! You won’t regret ordering Langan’s novel. 🎣 It’s incredible, and I must confess that he’s now one of my favorite contemporary fiction writers! His short stories are amazing, too.
I’d love to hear how your campaign goes, as you adapt this! Best wishes, and cheers!
2 vuds in the last 6 days?! Damn this is awesome!! Im just upset my feed didnt tell me dooner XD and this domain is epic. Keep up the great work with these homebrewed and established Ravenloft domains, love this series 👏 👍 😀
Thank you so much; I'm delighted you love the series! If you take a look, I just now uploaded another Ravenloft adventure video! ruclips.net/video/Nm4BDBucD0E/видео.html Cheers!
I really feel like this is more cosmic horror than kaiju, as the focus is more on the mystery and strangeness happening around the PC's rather than the focus being on a gargantuan, unstoppable force of nature and the disaster left in its wake.
That being said, i think this adventure sounds like a ton of fun, and I'd love to run it myself.
One other thing I feel was missing from Ravenloft was religious horror. Something where the threat is societal pressures, uncritical adherence to traditions, dogmatic ways of thinking, and the extreme atrocities that faith can bring out in even the kindest of people.
Thank you so much for watching, and for the feedback!
I agree that the horror of this adventure leans "cosmic," for sure! I also think, personally, that (1) kaiju horror often (but not always!) shares a conceptual space with cosmic horror, and (2) that when it does, the giant monster is only present for a brief part of the story. (Is Cthulhu a kaiju? Interesting question! If so, then so can be the Leviathan.)
As for religious horror, I agree, although there was a Domain in 2e called Nidala, which was ruled by a fanatically religious paladin. The people were always looking out for heretics, and especially on the lookout for anyone the Darklord (Elena Faith-Hold iirc) would see as a heretic. Spooky stuff!
Best wishes, Happy New Year, and cheers!
@@phdnd-drbowers Happy new year to you as well. I hope to see this channel continue to grow even further this year!
Whenever I think of kaiju as the focus in a horror story, I tend to think of Cloverfield as the prime example. Yes, the creature itself features very briefly for the runtime of the film, but the effect it has on the narrative is omnipresent. Almost every obstacle the protagonists come across is a direct result of the monster's rampage. I'd love to see (or perhaps build my own) iteration of this concept based on that. Something for low level adventurers, where the goal is simply to survive the monster's attack on the city.
Perhaps the Darklord of such a domain could be someone who once lead their people in a devastating war. They resorted to unspeakable actions to win quickly and brutally. While they won a pyrrhic victory, their deeds caught the attention of the Dark Powers who now punish them with a monster that no amount of extreme measures can destroy.
Also, thank you for the recommendation, I'll be sure to check out Nidala whenever I have time.
This seems revolting and terrifying- I want to run this immediately! 😂 I am happy to see two videos in one day - amazing work!
When I first saw the title, I thought of the flying Dutchman and thought it was a ghost ship setting. That would be cool idea.
The Sea of Sorrows would be where you wanna set that. Its dark lord is the ghostly Capain Pieter van Riese of a ghostly ship, the Relentless. Cursed to roam the ever shifting and unmappable misty seas of western ravenloft in a hopeless search for a way back to his home world of gothic earth and a northwest passage.
Ah yes? Perhaps this is a request? 😉
Yeah there use to be a 2nd edition ship of horrors adventure which could in that, but I do like the idea of am actual ghost ship, ship of horrors was not so much the adventure but the vessel (quite literally) to the adventure 😊
@@phdnd-drbowers oh if we’re doing requests then mine is Dominia. I love a good creepy evil asylum.
would love to see something similar for G'Henna
Ah, good suggestion! I wonder if perhaps another Langan tale could help shape that one? Perhaps "Blodsuger" from "Screams From the Dark," edited by Ellen Datlow? Hmm.... I'll think on it! G'Henna was always a favorite Domain of mine as a child. Thanks for the suggestion, and thank you so much for watching and commenting! Best wishes, and cheers!
Ooh this is great! I love this!! I'm going to see if I can slip this into my current Call from the Deep campaign!
Ah, thank you for watching and for saying so! If you do bring some of it in to your CftD campaign, please let me know how it goes! Best wishes, and cheers!
This is a cool adventure, it is also easily slot in able to any other domain of dread provided they have some form of a coast. I rather enjoy this one,
Wonderful to hear! Thanks so much for saying so; I highly recommend Langan’s novel, of course, too! 🎣 Cheers!
I love this so much! Definitely taking at least the first 2/3rds for my dark nautical adventure. Thank you as always for such incredible work!
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words! And for helping the channel grow! I’d love to hear how it goes, when you bring some of these ideas to your table. Best wishes! 🎣
This video is chocked full of great stuff! Lots of analysis, research, inspiration, and serious creative work. I wish you'd do Call of Cthulhu videos and write adventures in that system (please?). I look forward to adapting your Dutchman's Creek scenario for Call of Cthulhu--your scenario is rich with serious horror.
Hey there! Thanks for the double-drop.
I might have started following this channel for the DM tips, but the incredible media recommendations make this one of the best DnD channels in the game!
Thank you so much for such glowing praise! I'm very glad my media recommendations are useful! I hope to make more videos, at a more rapid pace, in the coming year. Stay tuned!
Best wishes, cheers, and Happy New Year!
Been intrigued by The Fisherman for years but haven't got around to it. Just ordered it and I will come back and watch this after I've read it.
Oh, you're in for *such* a treat! I have read the novel twice, now, and listened to it in audiobook form two more times. It must be one of my favorite novels, ever. I hope you enjoy it! Please do check back and let me know what you think. Thanks for checking out my channel, and for commenting. Best wishes, and cheers!
@@phdnd-drbowers will do!
btw you have a lot of great shirts.
@@phdnd-drbowers well I tore through pretty quick! Really great, disturbing but so much humanity.
@@unclestaple Ah, that's excellent to hear! I couldn't help but read the novel a second time as soon as I finished it--something quite unusual for me! Langan was really delightful when I briefly met him at NecronomiCon 2024; we talked for a bit about the idea that the Leviathan is a symbol of the world's unfairness. I'm so happy that you enjoyed it! Langan is a real treat; you can't go wrong with any of his stories!
@@phdnd-drbowers cheers! yeah i'll be looking for more of his stuff.
Pretty much all of the elements you're describing here (including the Leviathan and a pretty good characterization of the Fisherman) are present in the video game, Dredge.
Clickers by J.F. Gonzales would be another great source of inspiration for this adventure.
Thnaks for the recommendation.
...and thank you very, very much for watching and commenting!
"The Fisherman" continues to be one of my favorite horror novels of all time. The way that Langan portrays grief is moving and feels so authentic, which in turn adds a lot of emotional heft to the book's more fantastical elements.
Please let me know what you think, if and when you get around to reading it! Thanks again, best wishes, and cheers!
DOUBLE DROP :D
You watched Hbomberguy plagiarism video, as well./ I mean this a joke.
Ha! Indeed I did! And what an excellent video. As collegiate faculty, I am both familiar with, and constantly irritated by, people passing off other people’s ideas or work as their own. Thanks for watching, and cheers!