Total Conversion: Curse of Strahd to Song of the Beast, an Over the Garden Wall-inspired 5e campaign
Foreword/disclaimer: This is a Total Conversion of Curse of Strahd 5e to an Over the Garden Wall inspired story and setting. And a long-term Work in Progress that I'll be adding to whenever I get the chance (like on a typhoon day like today).
If you've run Curse of Strahd 5e, whoohoo! You've already got a head start on running this (and I would be supremely grateful for any suggestion/advice on this conversion). If you've had any experience with modifying campaigns, knowledge of Over the Garden Wall, and/or interest in this, please feel free to contribute-I'll consider everything I can get.
The idea is simple (though I imagine this process will be less so, ahaha): use the mechanics and set-up of Curse of Strahd to tell an Over the Garden Wall type story. Creatures and encounters and all will basically just have different flavor and maybe ability alterations-that kind of thing. The biggest changes will be to the overlying story.
The process in general: I'll be starting in broad strokes and once I've got the whole skeleton down, go back and REALLY fill in the details with all the somewhat dark and whimsical magic of Over the Garden Wall.
Why Over the Garden Wall: If you're not familiar, Over the Garden Wall is a one-season mini-series that ran on Cartoon Network. It combines the whimsy and darkness of American folk storytelling with the powerful ambiance of eternal fall (a metaphor for the stagnation and decay of the world under the Beast's reign of terror) and some very tongue-in-cheek humor delivered as fact.
With October and the Halloween season coming up, how could I resist attempting this?
Goal: If possible, to finish at least one iteration of the conversation by the end of August 2017. That way, if people want to run/play this, they could start with the onset of fall in September for max atmosphere. And, if they cut out all but the most essential, hopefully they could run it through September up to Halloween like a special seasonal one-shot.
Cheers, everybody if you've read this far: And if you've got some input, anything at all related to: Curse of Strahd, adventure modifications, Over the Garden Wall, anything I've posted in this thread, feel free to give me your input. Apologies for the mess. I'll try to work out a clean and spiffy version once I've got enough material to work with.
Introduction:
Under the gray sky of bleak storm clouds, pregnant with rain and murmuring in thunder without lightning, a lone figure stands silhouetted against a stone wall. The weathered yet rough stones stand only as high as his shoulder but form the barrier around the entire world of The Unknown. The Beast, as his denizens call him, stares with lidless eyes of bewitching light at his forest of Edelwood trees. A cool, crisp wind spins their fallen leaves about him, billowing his cloak as though inviting the leaves into his protection.
Lightning flashes as white splotches in the clouds overhead but cannot pierce their smothering cover. The Beast tilts his antlered head to the sky, revealing the twisted faces and holes that stretch across his wood-like body. The toothless, tongueless hole forming his mouth contorts into a smile.
The massive Edelwood trees tremble at the thunder's deepening rumble. The Beast shakes his head with a father's quiet laugh and sings his children back to sleep with an opera of the last travelers to join his forest. The next pilgrims have crossed into the Unknown, putting him into the mood to perform. The Beast adds a timbrous second voice to his opera from a face on the side of his side. With every gentle splash of lightning and chasing thunder, he adds another face, another voice, to his story.
Welcome, welcome, my trees, my children
Running the Adventure
Total Conversation: Curse of Strahd presented here as a 5e adventure is for a party of four to six adventurers to take them from level 1 to 10. I'm not planning to have as many undead in this as the Source Material, so having spare Divine Casters is no longer so much of a necessity.
This thread is meant for GMs and is not self-contained. You'll need access to the ORIGINAL CoS (for the maps), Player's Handbook, DM's Guide, and Monster Manual.
There will be flavor text meant to be copy-pasted or, more likely, paraphrased when PCs first come to a location or under a specific circumstance. Indoor or nighttime descriptions are written under the assumption that the pcs are using a light source.
Index
Chap 1: Intro
Chap 2: The Unknown
Chap 3: The Village of Adelaide
Chap 4: The Elder Edelwood
Chap 5: The Town of Tavern Town
Chap 6: The Old Grist Mill
Chap 7: Inn of Whispers
Chap 8: Pottsfield
Chap 9: Winter Road
Chap 10: The Overgrown Manor
Chap 12: The Mulch Fields, starts here
Chap 13: Winter Place, starts here
Chap 14: The Seed Garden, starts here
Chap 15: The Landboat of Frogs
Chap 16: Epilogue
Chap 17: Appendix A: see Marks of Horror, below
Chap 18: Appendix B: Black Turtle House
Chap 19: Appendix C: Treasures
Chap 20: Appendix D: NPCs and Monsters
Chap 21: Appendix F: Handouts
*Appendix E does not appear in this total conversion because information about tarot is easily found online.
Story Overview
PCs from our world (any decade/time period but recommended from the present to get the most out of the humor element) find themselves in the Unknown, a mysterious realm surrounded by a relatively short but impassible stone wall and in the thrall of the Beast, a twisted fey sentience. Using a deck of tarokka cards (any deck of playing cards or tarot cards but something fall-inspired like The Medieval Cat tarot recommended), a fortune-teller named Ms. Evangeline sets them on a dark course taking them to many corners of the Unknown and culminating in a Beast hunt.
Ms. Evangeline's people are the Fungais, a tribe of Deep Gnomes that the Beast grew from the mulch of the Edelwood trees. They travel the Unknown in wooden wagons pulled by human-sized turkeys gathering anything they believe will enhance the mulch of the Fungai Fields.
The Unknown is a land of fey, anthropomorphic animals, and eccentrics. The wilderness hides many secrets, including the story of the Beast as well as those of the souls he has collected and devoured. Though in shambles, PCs who explore the wilderness will find these sites not so much abandoned as repurposed.
For the denizens of the Unknown, there is neither reprieve nor escape. Tavern Town stands forever on guard against the Beast and his servants, but it's not the sanctuary it purports to be. The village of Pottsfield lies near the edge of the Beast's domain, its pumpkin-headed residents under the...claw...of the CN cat Enoch.
Of all the settlements in the Unknown, the village of Adelaide is by far the most oppressed. Many shops are closed and draped with multicolored threads, home only to many watchful birds. The Beast desires to add the burgomaster's adopted daughter, Irene Kole, to his forest. The villagers neither protect nor harm her, lest they incur the Beast's wrath and whimsy. Few know that Irene bears an uncanny resemblance to the only soul to escape the Beast.
The village of Adelaide cowers in the shadow of the Elder Edelwood, the living tree the home and fortress of the Beast. The god tree of the forest sits atop a great spire of rock, its roots choking and crushing the stone with unchecked glee. Every night, thousands of sentient, formally-attired bats fly out of the Elder Edelwood to feed on the energy of those they trap and onto whom they force their conversation. None may walk safely at the night while the bats fly.
Once the Beast becomes aware of the adventurers, he and his spies watch them closely. When the time is right, he invites his guests to the Elder Edelwood. He aims to turn them into Edelwood trees themselves by stripping away their hope of escape. Those who despair fall into the Edelwood Slumber, a sleep from which one never wakes and slowly converts the being into the tree. The Beast's woodcutters harvest the black-sap leaking Edelwoods for oil to feed the Dark Lantern, which houses the Beast's soul and keeps him alive.
The PCs's best hope of defeating the Beast is to learn his secrets, for his body is immortal while the Dark Lantern burns. Guided by Ms. Evangeline's card reading, they must scour the Unknown for magical artifacts unearthed but lost by past travelers who turned to Edelwood trees before they could destroy the Dark Lantern.
Adventure Structure
Much of the action is driven by the clash between the PCs's decisions and the Beast's goals, all caught in the strands of fate represented by a special card reading detailed in chapter 1, "Into the Unknown". Before you run the adventure, conduct the reading to determine the location of the key story items and one location to find the Beast.
Chapter 1 also outlines the Beast's goals and includes the adventure hook. Characters have the Haunted One background available to them, although see the Marks of Horror section on why it could be redundant. If the PCs are first level and need to get accustomed to the milestone award system, the mini-adventure "Black Turtle House" has been provided in appendix B.
Chapter 2, "Lands of the Unknown" provides an overview of the Beast's domain and includes special rules for it and its people, including the magical Fungais. Chapters 3-15 detail areas that correspond to places on the CoS ORIGINAL map of Barovia in chap 2.
The epilogue offers ways to end the adventure. Appendix C details special items of the campaign. Appendix D provides the stat blocks. If needed, consult the CoS ORIGINAL appendix E for tarokka cards. Appendix F contains handouts to show the PCs.
Character Levels
The adventure is meant for characters level 1-10 and includes threats for those levels and beyond. The Beast can be an especially deadly challenge at these levels. It is assumed that the characters will gain levels, acquire allies, and magical objects to tip the scales in their favor. Characters who head directly to the Elder Edelwood without increasing their power will likely die.
You can award experience for defeat of foes, as milestone awards, or a mix of both. Given that much of the adventure involves social interaction and exploration rather than combat, it'll be easier to award exp via milestones. Examples of award moments:
-Finding Artifacts
-Defeating Villains
-Accomplishing Story Goals
Be prepared for the fact that the adventure is exceedingly open-ended. The card reading in chap 1 and the adventurer's choices can lead them all over the map. Handy summary:
AvgLvl Area Chapter
1-3 Adelaide 3
4 Tavern Town 5
4 The Old Grist Mill 6
5 Pottsfield 8
5 The Mulch Fields 12
6 The Schoolhouse 11
6 The Seed Garden 14
7 Inn of Whispers 7
7 Landboat of Frogs 15
8 The Winter Road 9
8 The Overgrown Manor 10
9 The Elder Edelwood 4
9 Winter Place 13
Sometimes PCs may simply have to flee or hide when out of their depth. If combat feels too easy, end it as quickly as possible or increase the threat by raising enemy hp to max, adding monsters, traps, or both.
Marks of Horror: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Pseudo-Background Addition
There's no scary like personal scary. Which is why I highly recommend having ALL the players create a Haunted One-like background addition to add to their standard backgrounds. That way, you can draw on what scares the PCs and make it personal for them (especially for random encounters). Here is a template for Haunted One as an additional background:
HAUNTED
Everyone has made mistakes in their lives, but you've had the misfortune of entering the Unknown where these errors and regrets will come to life and haunt you.
Skill (special): Investigation checks to recall past events you've experienced are made with advantage
Language: Song of the Beast, you hear the voice of the Beast inside your mind (singing) and may attempt to converse back by singing at the DM's discretion
Equipment: One trinket of special significance from the list below
Harrowing Event (pick one or create one):
1. Your actions (unintended or otherwise) led to the suffering/deaths of dozens of innocents.
2. You under close watch all your life and now feel their stares everywhere you go.
3. A ghost haunting your family for generations now haunts you. You don't know what it wants, and it won't leave you alone.
4. You once tried to contact an occult plane. You succeeded.
5. You lost a member of your family as you watched helplessly.
6. You were instructed by your superiors to perform a deed that brought harm to others and for whatever reason obeyed them.
7. You discovered that you were not adopted but kidnapped and raised by your kidnappers.
8. You learned a terrible secret about someone you trusted most.
9. You were possessed as a child and locked away until a long stretch of time without an outburst.
10. You did terrible things to avenge someone you love.
You can also pick from Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws from the Haunted One background.
Trinket list:
1. A picture you drew as a child of your imaginary friend
2. A spinning top carved with four faces: happy, sad, angry, dead
3. The unopened letter to you from your dying family member/friend
4. A dream diary you've filled with your nightmares
5. A small mirror that blurs the face of its reflected image
6. A key to the family crypt
7. A porcelain doll's head whose eyes follow you
7. A bone carved into a whistle
8. A small, worn book of nursery rhymes
9. A vial of perfume whose scent only you can detect
10. A broken pendant (any depiction) that's always cold to the touch
Marks of Horror
The Unknown: Mechanical Tricks
Horror is born from fear of the unknown. It's not the monster but its shadow that breeds horror. The more we know about a monster, the less we fear it, so try to keep your monsters out of the light for as long as possible.
Examples:
-Until the PCs retrieve the All-Seeing Monocle, Insight and Social Skill checks made to interact with the denizens of the Unknown are made with disadvantage, blocked by the Beast's mists and fog of mind
-Until the PCs retrieve the All-Seeing Monocle, all checks to gather information about monsters are made with disadvantage, blocked by the Beast's mists and fog of mind
Foreshadowing: Mechanical Tricks
Foreshadowing is about finding clues to a horrible truth yet to be revealed.
Examples:
-Allow the PCs to dream of possible deaths/monsters while resting and remember their dreams
-Allow some of the nearby denizens to embody the kind of damages a monster/encounter might cause
Fall: Mechanical Tricks
The Unknown reflects and embodies everlasting fall, a symbol of the eternal decay but endless unrest of the Beast. Everywhere the PCs go, they should be reminded of this stagnation and how it may eventually affect them.
Examples:
-Describe things in terms of cycles, endless cycles, and repetitions-including having the eccentric denizens repeat themselves/their actions
-Allow the PCs to experience deja vu on a somewhat larger scale by occasionally 'resetting' a town after they leave and re-enter or having them experience a non-combat encounter again (including when the Beast appears)
Light: Mechanical Tricks
A tale forever dark will rapidly lose interest. Monsters and other terrors should be offset by kind and lovable creatures.
Examples:
-Animals of the Unknown may behave as the fey creatures that they are and act with atypical sentience and even friendliness, so feel free to allow the PCs to make animal friends/take pets
-Make sure the PCs encounter the honest, friendly, and helpful NPCs
Personification: Mechanical Tricks
Ascribing human characteristics to inanimate objects is one way to turn something ordinary into something eerie. Consider the objects as characters with their own auras and agendas.
Examples:
-Take it as though objects you describe want to be interacted with (beckoning with any alignment)
-Allow the PCs to detect the compulsions of the objects from the Unknown, although they don't HAVE to follow through with them
Details: Mechanical Tricks
It's easy to go too heavy or too light on details, so a good rule of thumb is to tell the PCs what's important (people, places, things) and what's interesting (what makes the people, places, things interesting). In a straight horror story, taking time to describe an object in detail draws attention to it and makes one suspicious. Fortunately, in this total conversation you can draw on both the darkness AND the whimsy of Over the Garden.
Examples:
-In a given encounter, pick one object or feature to describe in some detail. Don't forget to balance the horror with your own tongue-in-cheek take for both humor and extra interest
-Keep passive Perception and other skills in mind when describing details, allowing PCs to notice things that fit their skills/interests/backgrounds (again, making it personal)
-Keep track of the details and changes to the PCs and allow the NPCs to react to those, too
Humor: Mechanical Tricks
Humorous situations will naturally occur (poor rolls, joking personalities, PCs's reactions), but you made need to induce a situation if the horror atmosphere and tension are wearing on your PCs.
Examples:
-The majority of denizens in the Unknown are eccentric, so let them be ridiculous and extravagant in their eccentricity (Lady loves cats? She's got nine and keeps three of them in her hair like it's the norm)
-Really capitalize on those low rolls. No one, not even the Beast, should be immune from indignity. (1 on a Dex check? The Beast trips over his own cloak)
The Horror of Whimsy: Mechanical Tricks
Yes, this is a conversion of Curse of Strahd AND a horror adventure, but a good bit of the thematic horror in Over the Garden Wall doesn't come from standard blood, guts, and monsters fare. It comes from exaggerations of the norm, pushing the familiar until it becomes a caricature, and thus 'creepy'. Not everything has to be outlandish, though, and the players may appreciate finding those 'normal' people/things.
Examples:
-Unusual/disproportionate reactions to mundane things, especially breaking into song
-Cartoon physics (NPCs moving/contorting in somewhat impossible ways, surviving things that might not typically be possible, etc)
