Music To Roleplay To: Ravenloft

Today's entry of Music To Roleplay To we're swept up by mysterious mists and deposited in the Demiplane of Dread, the realm of Ravenloft and other domains of horror ruled by the feared Darklords. Steel your nerves adventures, and pray you're pure in heart lest you fall under the influence of the Dark Powers that control this forsaken land, along with the Darklords that terrorise it!

This collection focuses on a single Domain of Dread and it's Darklord in particular, the titular realm of Barovia and it's vampire lord, Count Strahd von Zarovich. The compilation is general enough be used with the campaign setting as a whole, or be slightly adjusted to focus on other specific domains or similar games.

The Expedition to Castle Ravenloft campaign that ran over two years ago, was one of the first games I compiled a dedicated playlist for rather than use a random mix of fantasy tunes that I used to backdrop all my previous games. And actually, what really I meant when I said playlist, I meant playlists; I had them all sorted by location, such as:

• The Wilderness of Barovia - Svalich Woods, Ivlis Marsh, Tser Pool, Lysaga Hill, etc.
• The Village of Barovia
• The Vistani Encampment
• Castle Ravenloft - The grounds, Main Floor, Court of the Count, Rooms of Weeping, Spires of Ravenloft, etc.
• The Lower Levels of Ravenloft - The Larders of Ill Omen, and the Catacombs.

Or I based playlists around events or an emotion tied to a scene:

• Conflict & Combat
• Encounter with Strahd - (Epic Battle Music)
• Hope - When the PC's attain a difficult goal or find brief respite.
• Horror - When they face the truly horrific and terrifying.
• Sorrow - When the air is filled with despair and lamentations.
• Suspense - When the tension is thick enough to cut with a blade. 

My music library has grown exponentially since then, and now that we're picking up where we left off I've taken it upon myself to revise and update my collection, which given it's Gothic Horror theme, shares some of the same music from my previous MTRPT entries like the Unhallowed Metropolis playlist. I also added in a good amount of awesome music from the Castlevania video game series to spice things up.

Spicy...

If one is so inclined, you may organise your collection similarly to my own. The following album suggestions tend to have songs that fit around one or more of these themes, although a few don't really suit the atmosphere of the setting. Arrange as you see fit.

Original Soundtracks and Artists

• Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura by Ben Houge
• Born of the Night, Dungeons & Dragons, Realm of Shadows, and Vampyre: Symphonies from the Crypt by Midnight Syndicate
• Darklore Manor, Shadow of the Raven, The Dark Tower, and Transylvania by Nox Arcana
• Bram Stoker's Dracula by Wojciech Kilar
• The Bride Of Frankenstein by Franz Waxman
• Caravan by Kronos Quartet
• Castlevania: Curse of Darkness by Michiru Yamane
• Castlevania: Lament of Innocence by Michiru Yamane
• Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness by Masahiko Kimura
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow by Oscar Araujo
• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia by Michiru Yamane
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night by Michiru Yamane
• Darksiders by Cris Velasco, Mike Reagan, & Scott Morton
• Diablo and Diablo II by Matt Uelman
• Dracula (1979) by John Williams
• Dracula by Philip Glass & the Kronos Quartet
• The Gipsy Kings [Vistani Music]
• Gipsy Love by Kalyi Jag [Vistani Music]
• Inspired by the Witcher by various artists
• Mary Shelly's Frankenstein by Patrick Doyle
• May I Kiss Your Hand by Csókolom [Vistani Music]
• Nosfuratu by Popol Vuh
• Sleepy Hollow by Danny Elfman
• Thief: Deadly Shadows by Eric Brosius
• Van Helsing by Alan Silvestri
• The Witcher by Adam Skorupa & Paweł Błaszczak
• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings by Adam Skorupa & Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz
• The Wolfman by Danny Elfman

And as a bonus, here's a silly animated bat gif:

Leave a comment if you have any suggestions for additional listening! ^١^

Notes on Wax Sealing

As I've gotten back into crafting handouts and props for EtCR, I've been trying out a bunch of different things with wax seals. I've discovered a couple things from both reading and experimenting:

Sealing Wax Set

First off, candle wax does not make effective sealing wax. The wax needs to be of a specific consistency, especially if you're looking to make an impression in it.

I currently have two types of store-bought wax: the two wick-sticks on the left, one in matte crimson and the other in a lustre bronze. The other type is the solid, sky-blue stick on the right. Searching around town, these seem two be the only kinds I can currently get. I'm not sure of the manufacturer of the ones' on the left, but the one on the right is made by J. Herbin. Out of the two types, I prefer the latter for several reasons:

The brand on the left was what I got when I was first using sealing wax on some birthday invites many years ago. It appears to be of a lesser quality mixture because it tends to split when heated, causing the oil in the wax to seep into the paper. Although this does make a relatively soft seal that won't crack if you're looking to send it through the mail. Also the wax itself tends to catch fire when you try to melt it by burning the wick. Not a good thing dripping burning wax onto a paper letter you're trying to seal.

Whereas I found the J. Herbin brand much nicer to work with: First of all the mixture is much better quality. Their website claims it contains seven natural elements, one of which is pine resin, which becomes apparent when you melt the wax: It smells incredible. I picked up this wax a week or so ago, along with the ceramic melting crucible in the back of the photo. This traditional wax is more brittle and seems to have a higher melting point than the other brand. I found that the crucible worked decently melting the wax, but upon pouring the majority of it tended to stick on the inside of the bowl. I tried placing the crucible in a small amount boiling water to spread the heat, but it didn't seem to be hot enough. I might try placing the crucible in a small copper dish and putting directly on the stove element, but I'm concerned about cracking the ceramic.

I experimented with a couple things today. First was using a bunch of the many buttons we have as seals. I have two seals; a simple initial (left foreground) I picked up for invitations, and a stylized compass rose (right background in front of the candle holder, click here for impression example) that I found at a flea market. My search around town for more heraldic seals came up with nothing beyond letters. Searching the web for DIY sealing wax I came across this clever idea using shank buttons and chess pieces to make your own wax seals.

Button Wax Seals

Referring again to the above photo, you'll see that the flatter buttons made the best seals. Now all I need to do is find some old wooden chess pieces. :)

The other thing I tried out was using a heat embossing tool, which essentially functions like a focus, high-powered hairdryer. I worked quite well melting the wax, though it did tend to blow the wax around a bit, so still not the best tool for the job. I read that torch lighters are recommended as the best way to melt sealing wax, so I may eventually pick one up for use.

I'd like to attempt making my own sealing wax via this instructable. Also, I heard melted crayons might work as a sealing wax, but I am skeptical given their consistency is similar to candle wax.

If you'd like to learn more about wax sealing, I highly recommend the links provided on J. Herbin's website.

Cheers! ;{١

Music To Roleplay To: Zombies

today's entry in Music To Roleplay To seems oddly appropriate considering i was actually* bitten by some drunk bum yesterday on my home from a metal show!! guy was nasty looking and smelt awful! seriously rank. i managed to take a photo of him with my cell before i knocked him over and ran. check it out:

guy who bit me

i'm going to go to the police with it once i feel better. i washed the bite when i got home but i must've caught something from him as today i've been holed up here at home feeling like crap. come fall when the temperature starts to drop everyone seems to get sick...

anyway todays installment is about everyones favourite living dead: zombies! they just won't die and subsist on the flesh of the living. or brains.. sounds almost appetizing. im terribly hungry, but cant seem to keep anything down. i appologise for the quality of this post, i just cant think straight either.,.

heres the collection;

original soundtacks and musics

• 28 Days Later, and 28 Weeks Later by John Murphy
• Dawn of the Dead (2002) by Tyler Bates
• Dawn of the Dead: Unreleased & Incidental by Goblin and Dario Argento
• Day of the Dead by John Harrison
• Dead Space, and Dead Space 2 by Jason Graves
• I Am Legend by James Newton Howard
• Left 4 Dead, and Left 4 Dead 2 by Mike Morasky
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse by Jeff Danna
• Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D by Tomandandy
• Resident Evil: Retribution by Tomandandy
• Resident Evil: Degeneration (a.k.a Biohazard: Degeneration) by Tetsuya Takahashi
• The Return of the Living Dead
• Shaun of the Dead by Daniel Mudford & Pete Woodhead with various other artists
• Zombi (Dawn of the Dead) by Goblin
• Zombie Influx by Buzz-Works
• Zombieland by Dave Sardy

rPgs 2 play to... All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Dead Reign, Outbreak: Undead, indie-rpg Shotgun Diaries, War of the Dead for savage worldz. or perhaps lite-hEArTed game of Munchkin Zombies or Zombies!!!

leave comment or...brAiNs...   x_x

*No not really. j/k.

Return to Ravenloft

As some of you may have guessed from my previous posts, my group and I have decided to pick Ravenloft up again! Huzzah! We had our first session last night, and I think it went great.

The adventurers dispatch a pack of werewolves

Since we have only 50% of the original players in our group, we weren't quite able to pick up where we last left off two years ago. But we've also chosen not to eliminate all the previous characters' hard work and history by rebooting the campaign and starting again from scratch.

So the basic premise we came up with is this:

It was late autumn when the band of brave heroes who saved the village of Barovia from an undead siege, made their expedition to Castle Ravenloft with the intention to confront the source of the lands' evil: Count Strahd Von Zarovich. Six months have passed hence, and their fate remains a mystery. But the harsh lives of the villagers of Barovia have not been made easier since then, evil still plagues Barovia, and much more worrisome is the Count's brief reappearance a month ago. Ashlyn, paladin a who swore an oath to protect the villagers of Barovia, dispatched a missive to the Lightbringers, entreating aid from the organization of undead fighters. Her plea was answered by four adventurers who are willing to brave the mysterious mists and face the horrors of Castle Ravenloft.

I guess this makes it "The Subsequent Expedition to Castle Ravenloft." :p

Our current hero roster is as follows:

• Brother Yons - N Human Cleric of Fharlanghn, played by Fraser
• Ellywick - CG Gnome Rogue, played by Laura
• Thain-el - NG Elf Ranger, played by Mike
• Sallah - CG Fighter, played by Hayden

I'm rather excited to be playing this campaign again; some of that excitement comes from prospect of finishing my prop ideas, and some comes from possibly playing this campaign all the way to its conclusion. But I think the majority of it stems from how much fun we all had crafting great stories the last time we played.

I'm hoping this game is as if not more enjoyable than the previous.

;{١

Ashlyn's Missive

Could it be? Is it possible... 

Hail to you, noble members of the Lightbringers:

I pray this message has arrived unto your hands swiftly and unmolested. I, Ashlyn, paladin of Ayailla and member of the Lightbringers, send this missive to report on my fellowships' status and on behalf of Ismark Indrovich, the burgomaster of the village of Barovia, to entreat further aid from our organization.

My companions and myself ventured to the land of Barovia seeking a legendary weapon of undead-bane, the Sunsword. It fell out histories long ago but is rumoured to lay within these lands. After a long journey we arrived at the settlement, to discover it under siege by undead! Fighting through the hoard to the town centre, we took shelter with remaining townsfolk in the tavern. I regret to inform my superiors that my companions; Thendrick, faithful servant of Pelor, and Mathilda, fighter of great renown, ventured out to investigate the local church that was rumoured to be the cause of the undead pestis. They failed to return.

A few days following, whilst the undead seemed to multiply in number, another group of adventures fought their way through the town to the tavern. A motley but brave bunch; Tim, faithful scribe and archivist of Ehlonna; Sir Draven, steadfast member of the local Knights of the Raven; and Thoreck, mighty orc-blooded barbarian. After taking rest and speaking with Ismark on the matter of a dispatch supposedly sent by his late father, (one Kolyan Indrovich), their number was soon joined by a peculiar and unsavoury elven mage by the name of Reial.

The group set forth for the church to discover the source of the plague of undeath and the fates of my companions. After a fierce battle with the horrors that lay within the once-hallowed grounds, they succeeded where my companions failed in ridding the font of necromantic blight.

These adventurers, nay heroes, stayed in the village for several weeks assisting with the disposal of the fallen, the rebuilding of the town, and the welfare of the folk. Ismark rose to take up his father's title as head boyar of the village at the heroes' insist.

Fall grew late and the snows began, and despite trepidation, the group took it upon themselves to journey to a nearby encampment of nomads called Vistani, seeking wisdom of their seer Madame Eva. They also made mention their intention to visit the castle that looms from upon high and meet with the lord of Barovia, one Count Strahd von Zarovich XI. Ismark's sister, Ireena, joined them, claiming she had business with the Count on her brother's behalf.

They met with Madame Eva at the Vistani camp who provided them with the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, a relic of much power and sacred meaning to Draven's order, and knowledge of the location of the Sunsword, which they promptly retrieved from the church's spire. I bade them to take the blade to reforge and unlock it's power for their protection. I again bid them farewell and godspeed upon their journey.

It is now six months since then, and I have received no word on their state, beyond what I have been told by Sir Urik, a fellow member of Draven's order: They returned to the encampment and met with a wandering swordsman named Crixus Stark. Taking him into their fold, they made for Castle Ravenloft.

From what Sir Urik later gathered from the dour Vistani, was that apparently some sort of ill tragedy befell the group at the Tser Falls crossing, for scribe Tim was soon discovered washed up downstream near the encampment by the half-folk ranger Sygnus Stillwater, half-drowned and near death. His comrades returned soon afterwards, both overjoyed to find Tim alive, but dispirited over Crixus' noble death in trying to save Tim from drowning in the frigid waters of the Ivlis River.

After much rest in the camp, this resolute and perhaps foolhardy group, guided by Sygnus, again made for the summit and the castle. Since then no one claims to have seen nor heard anything from these brave adventurers, even with the spring thaw and the passes becoming less treacherous. Sir Urik searches for the widths and breadths of the land still for any sign, but to no avail so far.

But the loss of such great heroes is not our only concern here in Barovia: the villages' livestock, already small in number from the undead siege, are being torn asunder and mutilated. Several of the villagers have also gone missing, and the folk whisper tales of werewolves in the Svalich Woods. These folk are a highly superstitious lot, but I am inclined to believe them on account of what I've seen and heard during my time spent in this forsaken land.

There is also strife amongst the villagers, many of them accuse others of witchcraft and being responsible for the queer light that can be seen on Lysaga Hill on nights of the new moon. It dismays me that I've been forced more than once to cease the townsfolk from burning one of the accused at the stake that has been erected in the town square. I believe such superstition and vigilantism stems from the lack of strong faith and reason these people have been robbed of ever since their priest because tainted and their church fell to ruin. They seem to defer to my judgement, although I am unsure if it's out of respect or fear. At least Ismark and the militia the heroes assembled before they left have my ear and are trust-worthy and honest.

And there is still the matter of the lord in his castle. The villagers hate both of them almost as much as they fear them. I'm not saying I'm supporting treason or overthrowing one's sovereign, after all I am just a stranger in a strange land, and I have no right to say such things. Yet it gnaws at my very soul to see these people suffer through such hardships and live in fear of the one person that could make their lives better. I can only imagine what this place must have been like before myself and those courageous adventurers arrived.

What I request on my own and Ismark's behalf, is stout members of our order to help rebuild Barovia and rid it of the evils of this land. People to meet with the Count, and change things for the better. To shine light over this dark land.

For the good of all these people, I swear this must be done.

Praying for aid...

Ashlyn

Paladin of Ayailla and Lightbringer

A Mysterious Missive...

"Today, a swarthy nomad dressed in colourful garb brusquely entered our headquarters, strode confidently up to the desk where I was sitting, and with little ceremony, threw a letter down in front of me.

In a thick accent he claimed he was to be paid handsomely for insuring this missive arrived swiftly and untampered. Before I could raise a question he uttered the phrase: "Thendrick and Mathilda Snuffed. Ashlyn Flickers".

I picked up the epistle, ensured the seal was intact, and nodded to the attendant standing nearby. He produced a coin purse, bulging with a modest enough sum that would satisfy even the greediest scoundrel, and handed it to the stranger. The uncouth drogher snatched the wallet from him, and was counting his gains as he was escorted from the premises.

After they had gone, my eyes again fell upon the missive on my desk. The code-phrase the messenger spoke meant the contents of this letter were very urgent. With a deep breath I cracked the seal, unfolded the message, and began to read..."

Dread'ed Sale

My copy of Dread arrived today! Huzzah!

I dreaded not getting Dread

Aside from that small announcement, I'd also like to inform everyone out there that Dread's publisher, The Impossible Dream, is having a Hallowe'en sale!

Grab the book from them 20% off or get it on PDF for $10! It has to be one of the most perfect games to play this season.

I also have a special announcement that I'll save for next post...

Cheers! >:{١

Toy Fair 2012 Swag

Today this missus' and myself attended Victoria's Ultimate Hobby & Toy Fair. Tons of great toys and stuff I really didn't need/couldn't afford. I was there to scope out cheap & rare finds, namely the small amount of RPG material that the vendors' bring with them.

I saw a couple things, but I settled on this little gem:

1E AD&D module I4: Oasis of the White Palm, from the Desert of Desolation adventure series. This is the sequel to I3: Pharaoh, a copy of which I found in a used bookstore. If I'm lucky I'll also come across the last module I5: The Lost Tomb of Martek. I'd like to run these modules using an OSR system, as there are a couple systems I'm itching to try out like D&D Rules Cyclopedia, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, or Labyrinth Lord.

I also picked this up for a buddy of mine who got us tickets to the MacBeth opera:

He's a fan of White Wolf's Vampire line, so I thought he might get a kick out of Vampire: Dark Influences. We might even get a chance to play it tonight.

Cheers! ;{١

Ravenloft Props

The Expedition to Castle Ravenloft campaign I ran over two years ago was one of the first games I took time to craft props for. I like handouts and props in RPGs, they give you tactile immersion into the game that is hard to match with good oral description, background music, and/or images. They are in fact one of the things that really like about Call of Cthulhu, as so many of the scenarios are rife with player handouts. I wanted to bring that feeling into my Ravenloft game, so I made out a few handouts, with plans for a few more grander ones that I may create some day.

Letter from Barovia (closed)

The very first handout I made was the letter (also the hook) that the PC's receive at the beginning of the adventure. I typed it up on an appropriate font and printed on a handmade printer-friendly paper, and created the purposefully indistinct seal by placing a large coin medallion underneath the letter and rubbing some charcoal over it. I then folded it up using a fern letterfold, then sealed it with sealing wax.

I originally wanted to handwrite the letter, but I also wanted it to be legible and look uniform as my handwriting was rather poor at the time (but I have been practising), so I went with a typed up version:

Letter from Barovia (open)

I wanted the player's/PC's to have a map of Barovia so that was next handout I fashioned. I took the map image from the book, photoshopped out the 'secret locations', and printed it lightly on the same paper. I then aged it a bit by crumpling and distressing it, tearing off the edges, rubbing with tea, and drying it in the oven. I then rolled it and tied it up with twine. I wasn't then nor am I now really happy with how it turned out, as the image I had available was of a small size and resolution, so on closer inspection you can notice a degree of pixelation from having to resize it larger. Also it printed lighter than I hoped, leaving the map a little too faded and lacking contrast. I decided it's not worth bothering posting an image of.

The next handout I really enjoyed making, though I'm not a 100% happy with the result. But I learned a thing or two for next time. After investigating a local church and dealing with what they uncover, the PC's find a fragment from the Liber Blaspheme, a terrible manuscript that the corrupted priest used in a attempt to revive his dead son. The result was the creation of an undead horror known as a Blaspheme, which the PC's had to deal with.

Liber Blaspheme page 69

As the fragment is not detailed much beyond the mechanical requirements for crafting a Blaspheme, I had the opportunity to add my own lore. I decided on and typed up the specific required materials/alchemical apparatus (which was simply provided in the book as 15,000 gp worth), the special reagent, and the required spells. After that I searched the web for a suitable Gray's Anatomy-esque image of a skull or jaw, and I blacked out the teeth (a bit too much though).

Liber Blaspheme page 70

On the reverse I outlined the gruesome process of creation that takes a week. I ended it with the chant 'My Blood, My Blaspheme' in an Infernal script (in a cthulhu mythos font I found). After printing I aged the paper the usual methods, but I made the mistake of splattering it with store-bought fake blood, which dried quite bright and didn't look natural. I also wrote the name of the priest's son on it in blood, using a mixture of sepia ink that dried the appropriate colour. Alas, both kinds of fake blood clash now. Oh well, live and learn.

I used full tarot deck for the scene of Madam Eva's reading of The Fortunes of Ravenloft. The book also suggests how to use regular playing cards or a Three-Dragon Ante deck, both which I had access to; the tarot deck seemed much more thematic. Initially, I was fortunate to come across a used copy of the AD&D 2E Ravenloft: Forbidden Lore boxed set, which contains a full Tarokka deck (the Ravenloft version of tarot). Alas, to might great dismay, when I opened the box I discovered whomever got rid of it kept the Tarroka deck (also the Dikesha Dice). I would have liked to incorporate those two accessories into my game.

The game ended before I had time to begin working on my most ambitious prop: The Tome of Strahd. The book that the PC's find is so old, damaged, and filled with small, cramped handwriting that much of it is entirely illegible, apart from the last page. I was intending that after the PC's find the worn tome and the nearby page, they would have the option to restore the book to a legible state via a Mending or Make Whole spell. The restored tome would be a copy of I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire by P. N. Elrod in hardcover that I own, with the final page written and printed to size to fit in the book's epilogue. Thus any of the players that wish to do so have the option of learning more about Strahd's history by reading an actual physical written account!

Of course I also wanted them to have a decrepit copy to handle before restoring it. So my plan would require two hardback copies of I, Strahd; (which a local used bookstore has several): one in good condition, one in poor condition. The good copy would just be the linen hardcover book sans the dust jacket with select pages removed, anything not related to the story itself like publishing information or About the Author. If I was feeling really ambitious I also might've painted something on the cover and/or spine.

Now for the poor condition copy I had read some tutorials online on how to age/dirty whole books. I have since lost the bookmarks for those and would have to track them down again, but I do recall one method in particular: You essentially bury the book in the ground and leave it there for sometime, watering the area frequently. This method/result might be a bit too dirty, but it sounds effective for rending the book illegible. Plus the tome smelling of (grave)dirt would be awesome!

Cheers! ;{١

Music To Roleplay To: Unhallowed Metropolis

We kick off the first day of October with a terrifying playlist! In this entry of Music To Roleplay To we don our gasmasks and step into the dark, plague-infested world of Neo-Victorian, Gothic Horror that is Unhallowed Metropolis!

Zombies, vampires, and Frankenstein-esque monstrosities feature heavily into this game along with horror less supernatural in origin, so I find it only fitting the majority of my suggestions are horror film soundtracks. It also comes as no surprise many of them are based upon the big vampire himself: Dracula. You can keep a good undead monster down. At least, not for long.

Artists & Composers

• Philip Glass & The Kronos Quartet - Dracula
• Jill Tracy - Diabolical Streak; and Into the Land of Phantoms (Nosferatu Score)
• Vernian Process - Behold the Machine (The third track of the album is called Unhallowed Metropolis! Can't get much more perfect than that!)

Original Soundtracks

• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Henry Jackman
• Bram Stoker's Dracula by Wojciech Kilar
• Dawn of the Dead (2002) by Tyler Bates
• Dracula (1979) by John Williams
• From Hell by Trevor Jones
• The Hammer Film Music Collection Vol. 1 & 2 by Various Artists
• Interview With The Vampire by Elliot Goldenthal
• Mary Shelly's Frankenstein by Patrick Doyle
• Sleepy Hollow by Danny Elfman
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim
• Thief: Deadly Shadows by Eric Brosius
• Van Helsing by Alan Silvestri
• The Wolfman by Danny Elfman

Other RPGs these tunes could work well in: I can think of a few specifics; as this collection is best suited to Victorian/Gothic Horror-themed roleplaying games like Cthulhu By Gaslight, GURPS Screampunk, Ravenloft's Masque of the Red Death, Dark Harvest: Legacy of Frankenstein, or Savage World's Rippers. Mayhap some still play the Bram Stoker's Dracula Role Playing Game?

Leave a comment if you have any suggestions for additional listening! ;{١