This page is not safe for players. If your game master has chosen to run this campaign, reading any further on this page will spoil the fun.

This campaign is ideally the first campaign in your characters’ story, unless previous stories could have ended with your characters being imprisoned. If this is the case it probably makes the most sense for characters to lose all of their previous gear, which will likely upset them. Unless past stories already explain this, players need to come up with a reason why their character would be in prison. Players will not necessarily know each other going into the Prison, but they will meet along the way and will share living quarters. Ideally all of the players will have just been dropped off at the prison and the campaign starts on their first day. The amount of time they have spent in the prison could definitely change at the Game Master’s (GM) discretion. Some may have been here for weeks, months or even years when your campaign starts. Any player that has been in the prison for any period of time would know of disappearances that have been happening throughout the prison, but also knows that speaking of this seems to result in your being taken.

This campaign is written for more of a medieval or maybe even post-apocalyptic setting, but can certainly be adapted for something else. Perhaps instead of a crater-bordered-compound the prison could be an enormous building. Perhaps instead of a valley the players could be sent to an abandoned colony on a nearby moon.

If any players make some bad decisions in Act 1 and end up getting killed by a guard or another prisoner in a fight, there are plenty more prisoners in the prison that could easily work as a simple introduction of a new player character (PC). If any PCs wind up dead or insane in Act 2, the prison is always releasing more prisoners into the Vale, and this could be a source for a replacement PC, but keep in mind that if any PCs are insane and Kellor ends up being killed, they can be brought back into the game after being cured by Arennia’s song. More on this later...

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OUTLINE

ACT 1 - THE PRISON

The Hole, as the prisoners here refer to it, is more of a compound than an actual prison. It has been built in the center of a large crater with a very steep cliff going all the way around. The buildings inside the prison are crude and built by prisoners. Most of the buildings are large, dirt floored dormitories with several beds in each room. There is a large and unassailable fence built all along the top of the wall with archers posted in watch towers all along it.

There is only one point that could even remotely be viewed as an escape point. Near the entrance to the compound wooden planks zig-zag up the edge of the crater built into the cliff with a 40 foot tall draw-bridge that is only lowered to allow guards to move in and out and is heavily manned at all times. Any attempts to escape would certainly end poorly for any who try. If the cliff doesn’t kill them, the guards typically cut off a finger for first time offenders, an arm for the second offense and a head on the third. Corpses line the wall, most of which are missing extremities and/or limbs and all of which are headless.

The Prison is overcrowded and most of the guards never risk moving too far away from the nearest tower, so the center is effectively completely run by prisoners. Leanne is the leader of the prisoners. She has been in the prison for over a decade and most refuse to even speculate as to why she found herself in the Hole or how she came to power. Most prisoner’s are happy she is here as she negotiates with the Warden and has had a huge impact on ensuring that the prisoners have enough food and water to go around.

The mess hall is near the drawbridge entrance and all but the prisoner-manned kitchen is out doors. The entire section is walled off as a designated eating area with more archers posted along the top of the wall during meals. Several guards are also found on foot inside the mess hall during meals. This area is the largest section of the compound, but still is not large enough to ensure that everyone is able to eat. The guards are supposed to forbid any prisoner from taking food out of the mess hall, but Leanne’s negotiations with the Warden have led to the guards being quite lax with this rule as long as you make some attempt to hide it. In spite of this there is still at least one fight that breaks out every single day in or near the mess hall. Many of these fights stem from the fact that the guards at the gate will only let so many prisoners into the mess hall at a time. Any prisoners involved in an altercation are generally taken away for questioning and sometimes not seen for hours or even days. Multiple offenses by a single prisoner lead to the same punishments as attempted escape. Any offense leads to the prisoner being banished from the mess hall for a number of meals depending on how the questioning goes. Before each meal a line forms outside the mess hall and the guards determine when to cut-off entry. During the meal the guards will let more in as others leave. The guards will also sometimes seemingly arbitrarily refuse entrance to some prisoners regardless of their position in line.

CHARACTERS

Leanne - She is the head of the prisoners and speaks on their behalf. She often “holds court” in the mess hall during meals allowing prisoners to line up and present their complaints that she will then negotiate with the Warden at their weekly meetings. Leanne has dark hair and is a plain looking woman who is missing her left index finger. If approached by a PC she will likely give them a simple task to try and help out the greater good of all prisoners. A Task such as delivering food to a sick prisoner, spending time with an elderly or injured prisoner, or getting to know one of the new guards in the prison to determine if he is a good or evil person. Any ridicule or accusations against her is simply met with silence. Lem and Frell, he guards would appear quite enraged, but she would prevent them from attacking anyone, to a point.

Lem and Frell - Leane’s guards, both of whom are enormous physical specimen with an incredible loyalty to their so called Lady. Each of them would gladly sacrifice his own life to save her. This and their incredible size is the only thing they have in common. Quietly they have a great disdain for one another due to jealousy, though Leanne tries to treat them both equally.

Brill - an advisor to Leanne who is typically smelled before he is seen. He is a slimy, short, and frail man with only one arm who thinks himself far more important than he is. He has a powerful personality and is highly intelligent. His personality is great enough that it typically outweighs his unwashed stench. He is very likely to approach any new prisoners and introduce himself and do his best to make them feel at home.

“The Warden” - Prisoner who is clearly insane and thinks he is the warden of the prison. He often attempts to talk with Leanne to negotiate food shortages, but she always blows him off. He speaks with incredible volume at all times and is often heard demanding the guards perform actions they are already performing, like clearing the mess hall or taking a prisoner away for questioning after an altercation. Most of the prisoners leave him alone as he is great source of entertainment. The guards just seem to ignore him at all times.

The Warden - The actual warden of the prison. Other than on their first day the players will not see much of this man. In their brief encounter they would find him to seem to be a stern but reasonable man.

Guard Travek - The Veteran. He has seen plenty of warfare and killed more men than he can count. He regards all of the prisoners as valueless and is happy to crack some skulls with his truncheon any chance he gets. He will sooner spit on any prisoner than give them a moment to speak to him. Simply, he is a curmudgeon.

Guard Waters - The Rookie. This is his first week at the prison and he is generally terrified of the prisoners, but is also very lacking in social intelligence. If one of your players is particularly attractive he will likely stalk her throughout the prison, and possibly even put himself into danger following her too deeply into the prison and away from the walls. More seasoned prisoners would likely recognize his fear and any mistakes he makes and mock him for it. Some might even go so far as to physically harm him if he wanders too far into the wrong part of the prison. Stepping in to save him in such a situation could make him a worthwhile ally to avoid missing too many meals if a PC gets into trouble.

Armin - Caring prisoner who seems to be the leader of his group of friends which share living quarters with the PCs. Armin and his companions are quite friendly if approached, but typically try to keep to themselves as much as possible. Armin would speak for the group if spoken to and would also try and answer any questions the new prisoners have and genuinely try to help them find their place in the prison.

DAY ONE IN THE PRISON

The morning of the first day in the prison the player characters are brought to the edge of the crater where they can look down upon their new home. The Warden is there and warns them of the harsh punishments for fighting, stealing food from the mess hall and attempting to escape. These punishments range from isolation and loss of food privileges to dismemberment and death. They are then forced by 20 or more guards to go down into the prison and are escorted to their new living quarters.

The building is a dark, windowless, dirt floor dormitory that is sturdy but crudely built. There is only one entrance which is a heavy metal door. There are just enough empty beds for your characters and another group of prisoners that have taken all the beds near the back wall. These prisoners are currently sitting in a circle discussing something and do not pay any attention to the PCs entering the room other than a glance now and again. The guards would quickly tell the player characters to choose any bed they would like as long as they remain in this building. The guards will then promptly exit ignoring any further interaction.

If any players cause any trouble they would first be threatened with solitary confinement and then taken away to it. Solitary in the Hole consists of a small wooden-walled room with a dirt floor and no furniture. Water is slid under the doorway twice a day, and no food is provided here ever. The amount of time a PC would have to spend here would depend entirely on the severity of their transgression.

The beds are small and uncomfortable. While attempting to settle in, the PCs would likely overhear the other prisoners talking about disappearances in the prison. If the PCs interact with the group of prisoners they would find that the leader of the group is Armin. He would answer any questions he could, and even go so far as to talk about the disappearances in the prison. Speculation is that either Leanne or the Warden is behind it. Some people have gone so far as to say that there is another prisoner vying for power that is killing any loyal to Leanne. The craziest theory is that “The Warden” is behind it all.

Regardless of whether the PCs choose to interact with the other Prisoners, Armin would approach them at around lunch time and offer to go with them to the mess hall to show them the ropes. Half of Armin’s party would stay behind in the dormitory as everyone else leaves for lunch. Any players that choose to go to the mess hall with Armin would get in line and wait for the guards to open it up. If the GM chooses you could randomly roll and choose to have one or more of the PCs stopped outside of the mess hall. Any PCs that choose to not go to lunch would be free to talk with Armin’s companions which would be friendly and as helpful as they can, or can even venture out into the prison to explore.

Once inside Armin would point out Leanne and explain who she and her friends, Frell, Lem and Brill are. He would also discuss “The Warden”, The Warden, sneaking food out of the mess hall, and answer any questions he could for them.

Halfway through lunch a fight breaks out in the mess hall and one of Leanne’s guards, Frell, charges towards the scene. When the players get a view of what is happening they see Brill is unconscious and seems to have been attacked by several prisoners. His head is bleeding. The guards quickly rush in and start grabbing anyone that they think might be associated with the fight. More guards come in and “The Warden” commands all the prisoners to line up along the outer wall as the guards push him and the rest of the prisoners back away from the scene of the fight. Guard Travek attacks some prisoners who were clearly not a part of the fight and they, too are carried away with the rest. Some of the guards eye Frell before deciding to leave him alone and a couple guards carry Brill’s limp, greasy mass away. Brill does appear to still be alive, but would not return to the prison for 2 days.

The rest of the day is fairly uneventful other than if the PCs choose to go back to the mess hall for dinner, in which case the likelihood of them getting barred from the mess hall is greatly increased.

Throughout the day the PCs can choose to explore the prison and if they do they are likely to meet some guards, and all different sorts of prisoners. Feel free to come up with anything you would like or just pull from the pool of available characters and suggested encounters listed with some of them.

At night there is a loud bell and “The Warden” can be heard shouting for all prisoners to return to their quarters. and guards slowly work their way to the center locking the heavy door on all of the dormitories. The inside of the dormitory is almost completely pitch black. Any PCs with any special ability to see in the dark would be able to see, but otherwise PCs are nearly blind. Any PCs found outside of their dormitory after dark would be taken to solitary confinement and not released until after lunch on the following day.

DAY TWO IN THE PRISON

Regardless of any PCs staying awake or perception rolls the earliest anyone would notice something was wrong would be about 2 hours before sunup. Most likely the first time anyone would notice would be when the door is opened in the morning, or if someone decides to investigate around the room after this time. Whenever it happens, the PCs notice that Armin and his companions are gone. Regardless of what they do they are unable to find Armin and his friends. If any other prisoners are asked about it they would immediately clam up once they know the question is about a disappearance. The most anyone would say to them is to tell them to not talk about people vanishing. “It happens and you must move on, or you will be taken, too.”

Aside from lunch, dinner, a fight or two and the possible searching for clues about the disappearance of Armin and the others, the second day in the prison is quiet. If the PCs venture out into the prison they are likely to encounter Guard Travek and/or Guard Waters. The second night in the prison is also quiet and completely uneventful. Let the PCs get ready for their night and take any actions they deem necessary to try and avoid their own disappearance. Regardless of what they do, the second night passes quietly. If any prisoners try to stay outside of the dormitory they are captured and taken to solitary confinement and not released until after lunch on the following day. If this is their second offense they will not be released until after dinner on the following day and will be threatened with having their fingers cut off.

DAY THREE IN THE PRISON

Day three is very similar to day two. Food, fights and possible guard and prisoner encounters. Other than that the day is quite uneventful other than events the PCs make happen.

During the night of the third day the players are completely subdued and taken. If they are found outside of their dormitory after dark they will be taken to solitary confinement and in the night they will be subdued and taken. If any PCs were awake they remember a hard crack on the side of their heads before this, but otherwise all PCs wake up and are completely blind, gagged, tied up and chained to seats in a carriage. They can work out that they are in the back of a moving carriage with other prisoners (all PCs). The carriage continues to travel for the better part of a day before finally stopping in the afternoon.

ACT 2 - THE VALE

The Vale is formed by two mountain ranges converging into one. Once it was home to a hunting village that was growing into a town. The village was based along a shallow river in the Vale with one road leading towards it. There were no passes out of the vale through either mountain range. A family moved to the vale with the hopes of earning a living selling potions. The father, Kellor, was a wizard who helped empower the potions with magic. The mother, Abril, was the alchemist in charge of the creation of the potions. They also had two children, a boy and a girl. The father wanted to teach his son, Dylan, to use magic, but their daughter, Arennia, had more of a talent for it. Their father always resented this fact as he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. His resentment turned to hatred and madness when his wife was killed by one of her own potions.

As Kellor sank further into madness he began to force his son to use magic, and forbade his daughter from its practice. From the darkest corner of Kellor's mind came the idea to punish both Dylan and Arennia when he found out that Dylan had been secretly helping Arennia to practice magic. Kellor forced Dylan to use his acidic magic to burn the face of Arennia. He forced Dylan to do this anytime he even suspected that Arennia had used magic from this day on until one day Kellor attempted to cast a powerful spell on his daughter to prevent her from ever using magic again. But in his madness the spell was not what he intended. It destroyed the minds of all the people in the Vale. They were left with only the most base of impulses and no control over these impulses. Their impulses for violence, sex and food were all they now knew. The town tore itself apart. Most of them killed each other, but some of them formed up into small groups finding it easier to survive together than alone. News of the Madness in the Vale spread to nearby towns and guards were setup to prevent the Madness from spreading outward. A great reward was posted for anyone who would dare to go in and face the evil that waited inside the Vale and bring back the head of Kellor The Mad. All the mercenaries that attacked Kellor fell to his madness, but they did manage one good deed which was to force him into hiding, leaving Arennia behind. Dylan escaped from him during one of the attacks, but had already lost hope that Arennia could have survived the Madness. All those who entered the Vale rarely came back, and those that did came with tales of the Crazed, cannibalistic people living inside and the madness that overtook the minds of their friends who became like the Crazed

CHARACTERS

Kellor the Mad - Mad wizard of the Vale. He is the cause of the madness within the Vale and this same madness, or at least a form of it, has also taken his mind. He views the Crazed as his kindred and desires nothing but to stay in the valley, live among the Crazed and see their numbers grow.

Arennia - Daughter of Kellor. Arennia has an enormous natural talent for magic. She has been left alone in her family home for a few years now, but is very playful and still behaves like she is six years old in spite of being almost 10. Her face is horribly scarred as if it has been burned with acid over and over until nothing is left but tear ducts, two holes were a nose should be and a twisted mouth. She is completely blind as her eyes are entirely scarred over, and her long black hair doesn’t start growing until about the middle of the top of her head. She has taken almost complete control of the house she lives in through her magical talents and is able to move freely through the house being lifted from floor to floor by boards bending and moving to her whim. She is able to control the house as if it is a part of her body, moving floorboards to open up holes, moving curtains to grab onto and tie around things according to her wish. She uses the house as a toy with which to lure and and play with her “friends”, the Crazed. Most of them are afraid of the house and won’t even come close to it anymore. She never hurts anyone in her home on purpose, she just uses it to toy with people in what she views as a playful and wildly entertaining game, though to the uninitiated it may seem that the house is alive and trying to kill you. With groups of people she often thinks it is funny to remove one quietly from the group and hide them somewhere in the house while the others search for them. She also will take food and water from those that wander into the house in order to survive. If they treat her nicely she will typically not take any or at least not all of their food. If they are mean she will take it all and throw them from the house back into the Vale. Arennia is able to cure one manifestation of the Madness using a spell in the form of a song. The words of the song are unintelligible to anyone who listen, but the song fills their minds with joy. This song also reduces the stacking percentile likelihood of manifestation of the Madness by 10 percent. She would only do this for PCs who are very kind to her and she considers to be her friends. She also has in her possession one potion that can permanently remove all of the Madness from one person and allow them to start back over at a 10% chance to manifest the Madness as if they have just entered the Vale. This potion is only usable by one person and there is only enough for one dose. She would only give this to a PC who is extremely kind to her, saves her life somehow (perhaps from other players who are wanting to kill her), or perhaps one who goes out of their way to play with her.

Dylan - Son of Kellor - He has managed to escape from his father and is using his knowledge of magic to stay hidden by manipulating a series of tunnels under one of the mountain ranges. He is able to move these tunnels as he pleases, though it can take a great deal of time and effort on his part. He could even create a pass through the mountains and leave, but his love for his sister has kept him here, he is hoping that he will find her body or perhaps being able to kill her to end the madness that has surely overtaken her and she can rest in peace. The only desire that burns in his heart more strongly than the hope that he will one day lay his sister rest is his vengeful lust for his father’s blood. Dylan has, through an enormous amount of practice in his childhood learned to control nature around him. For the sake of a damaging spell it manifests as a spray of acid shooting from his hands. Otherwise it makes plants and plant life malleable to his whim. Roots are what he uses to carve the tunnels through the mountain. He can take complete control of plant life and even cause it to move and change shapes. This is a skill he learned through the discipline of his father’s teachings, unlike his sister’s natural ability with her magic.

The White Tailed Wolf - This is an ethereal manifestation of Anneria and Dylan’s mother. Her spirit has for whatever reason stayed behind and appears as a wolf to any who seek to help her son and daughter. The wolf looks completely normal in its appearance other than it has a perfectly white streak down its spine and a pristine white tail. It will not attack PCs but rather guide them from Arennia, to Dylan and even towards Kellor if they so desire. Arennia and Dylan are unable to see the wolf, but any players who seek to reunite Arennia and Dylan, or help Dylan in his quest to kill his father will see the wolf. It does not speak, and any attack made against it will pass through it as if it is not there and it will disappear and never show itself again to the attacker. Any future appearances will not be visible to any PCs that have attempted to attack the White Tailed Wolf.

The Crazed - Some of these are remaining residents from the original town, some of them are mercenaries and guards that came into the town seeking the reward for Kellor’s head. Most of them are prisoners who have been forced to come here and sought to kill Kellor for their own freedom. All of them have been driven completely mad by Kellor’s spell. They have no impulse control and feel nothing but a desire for sex, food and violence. If they see anything that could satisfy any of these needs they will aggressively attack it to fulfil these desires caring not for their own lives. In these attacks they will use whatever weapons they were accustomed to using in their previous lives. If they were not the weapon bearing type they will simply use their hands and teeth to attack their prey. They seem to not feel pain and unless disabled or killed will stop at nothing to get what they desire. They can no longer speak or communicate in any way to anyone around them. Many of them travel alone, but some have realized that they are more able to survive to satisfy their desires if they travel with a group. They will also attack, have sex with and eat each other, though they typically seem to prefer to attack non-crazed humans or what few animals remain in the Vale. The Madness does not seem to affect the animals that are left in the Vale, but slowly works its way into the minds of any people who stay in the Vale for too long.

The Madness - After any encounter with, or even just seeing one of the Crazed, the PCs have a stacking 10% chance to manifest the Madness. Meaning the second encounter would cause a 20% chance and the third a 30% chance and so on. This eventually stacks up to a 90% chance and almost guarantees that they will start to gain manifestations of the Madness. This stacking percent never goes down unless Arennia sees fit to remove one stack and one manifestation of the Madness from the PC. It is important that this is tracked on the character sheet or an additional piece of paper. After each encounter with the Crazed, each character must make a roll based on their stacked chance to manifest the Madness. So if this is their third encounter with the Crazed they will have a 30% chance to manifest the first level of the Madness. If they do manifest the Madness it does not go away, and each time they manifest a new level of the Madness it is more severe than the last. The Madness starts off small in the form of nightmares in which the PCs lose control of themselves and start attacking, killing, and raping their friends during their dreams. These images stick with the character at all times and happen every time they sleep. The next level of the Madness would be fantasies of committing these acts while the character is awake. These are fantasies that the character would not act on, and at this stage these fantasies would upset the PC. The next level of the Madness is voices encouraging the PC to perform these actions during the fantasies, and during these daydreams the PC feels excited about the idea of committing these actions. The next level of the Madness is sleepwalking in which the character attempts to attack their friends. This is immediately stopped upon the character being awoken from their sleep, but is very likely to happen any time the character chooses to go to sleep. The next level of the Madness causes the character to lose control of themselves for 1-2 hours at a time during the day and either run off into the woods, or attempt to attack their friends unless subdued or killed. The next level of the Madness is a complete loss of control, but the character can still be recovered through magical means provided by Arennia. Once this level of the Madness is reached the PC is considered one of the Crazed and all other PCs that witness their actions must make another roll at the 10% increased chance to manifest a new level of the Madness. If another level of the Madness manifests the character is forever lost to the Madness unless Kellor is killed.

ENTERING THE VALE

After the carriage carrying the PCs comes to a complete stop movement can be heard outside and several muffled voices can be heard as well. A few minutes later the back door to the carriage will be opened, blinding the prisoners with the day’s light. One by one they will be unchained from the carriage, led out into the light, and their bonds and gags will be removed. The prisoners find themselves standing in a forest on an overgrown road surrounded and greatly outnumbered by prison guards with weapons in hand. The road continues to wind into a forest following alongside a shallow river into the foothills of a valley between two mountain ranges. Miles ahead the mountain ranges merge into one. About a hundred feet down the road there is another carriage with its doors wide open and no horses or guards near it.

Directly ahead of the prisoners in the entrance to the valley there are dozens of corpses hanging by their necks from high up in the nearby trees. Most of them missing limbs and fingers. The corpses continue every 20 ft forming a line perpendicular to the road and stretching both directions as far as anyone can see. One of the guards points to the corpses and starts to speak. His tone sounds as if he has said this many times before and his words are rushed and thoughtless (similar to how a theme park employee tells the visitors on their ride to keep their hands and arms inside the ride at all times), “This line represents the edge of your new crater. Once you go in, anyone who tries to leave will face the same fate as anyone who tried to escape the Hole. The only difference is, instead of losing your head, it gets to hold you up as a marker.

“There is a man living in this valley. His name is Kellor. He is a criminal. He is bald, has a black beard and wears robes. He fancies himself to be some sort of wizard. If you capture or kill him and bring him, or at least his head here all of your crimes, no matter how severe, will be forgiven. You will be free to leave this place and can keep anything else you bring back with you. You will find equipment in the carriage ahead. As of right now, you appear to be attempting to escape as you are on this side of that line,” again gesturing to the corpses. “Anyone who wants to keep all of their limbs should probably get moving. You have 5 seconds.”

In the carriage players will find low quality weapons, a 50 foot long rope, canteens full of water and nonperishable rations for up to a week if used sparingly. The line of corpses seems to continue up into the mountain range, though the corpses do get further apart. If they continue to follow the corpses they would find that they seem to surround the valley high up into the mountain. With successful perception rolls they would also find that there are guards posted all along the line as well. Any attempts to move behind the wall would be met with a shouted warning, or an extremely well placed arrow warning them to go no further. This arrow could go so far as to remove part of a finger from one of the PC’s hands. Actual attempts to escape would result in capture, loss of fingers and getting thrown back into the valley.

On the first night, regardless of whether or not the players choose to make camp, they will get attacked by one of the Crazed who will target and attempt to rape and kill (and not necessarily in that order) any females in the group or the most attractive male. He is not stealthy in the least in his assault. It is more of an all-out charge. Depending on the size of the group, this Crazed could be accompanied by a few more, but this encounter should be more of an introduction of the idea of these animalistic humans, and less of a high risk encounter. After this encounter all characters will have a 10% chance to manifest the first level of the Madness. Any players who manifest the Madness will experience the nightmares while they sleep on the first night.

A HAUNTED HOUSE

On the second day in the valley late in the day the characters notice stormclouds forming and heading towards the valley. It appears that they will arrive shortly after nightfall. Just before nightfall, the PCs would see a clearing in the distance and, in it’s center, a two story home. Once a very nice place, the house is now seemingly abandoned for at least a few years as vines and plant-life are starting to overrun it. It appears to be a good place to seek shelter from the storm.

If the players choose to go inside the house they can settle however they would like, and as they do one of them will notice outside a group of the Crazed that seems to have followed them close to the house, but have now stopped several feet away and appear to be frightened of the house. The Crazed will soon thereafter leave, but all players who looked at them must again make a roll on their chance to manifest the Madness (assuming this is their second encounter with the Crazed it would now be a 20% chance).

If they choose to try to avoid the house they will be attacked by a small group of the Crazed and would have to roll their chance to manifest the Madness. The sound of the battle would draw the attention of a large group of the Crazed that outnumbers the PCs and would drive them towards the abandoned house and again cause them to roll their chance to manifest the Madness. As the players move closer to the house they would notice the Crazed slowing and behaving as if they are frightened to go very close to the house.

Once inside the players would find the house to be completely abandoned and emptied of anything valuable including food. The second story is what appears to have been four different bedrooms, three of which have damaged but functional beds. The fourth bedroom is completely empty. The ground floor consists of a kitchen, dining area and a large living space all filled with scattered and broken furniture. Some of the chairs would still be functional enough for sitting. The house has plants growing up through the floor and one side of the house is completely covered in vines to the point that you cannot even see out of the second story windows much less the windows on the lower level. An extensive search of the place would also find that there are stairs down into a small storage closet/basement under the kitchen that appears to have been completely ransacked and most of the shelves have been broken. This would only be found if someone is looking around quite diligently.

Shortly after entering the home the sun will set and the storm will roll in. Heavy rain and thunder are the only sounds to be heard. Nothing is seen out any of the windows but a rainy night in the surrounding forest. Don’t forget the manifestations of the Madness if any players need to experience their nightmares or even begin sleepwalking at this point.

During the night, One of the PCs (likely the one on watch, if any are) will hear the sounds of a child laughing from a nearby room in the house (Arennia). No one else can hear it, but just the one PC. However they choose to investigate, Arennia will continue to try and get to group to separate. She will quietly use the house to take one of the players, gag them, and hide them in the basement. As the others search for their friend she would try and frighten them. Her voice will be heard throughout the house saying things like, “I love having new friends to play with”, “Where did she go?”, “Not that way”, “Isn’t this fun!?” She would start out slow with things like slamming doors behind them, grabbing them with curtains, and causing strange sounds throughout the house. She would eventually escalate to causing them to fall through the floor into the rooms below, moving rooms around so that they are not the same as they were last time they were looked at, and toying with staircases to make them seemingly endless. She would even completely change the layout of the house to prevent players from finding their friends or attempting to leave the house. She would show brief glimpses of herself, a small horrifically scarred child, to those that search the house.

Rather than hide someone in the basement she may split the group in half and toy with them as they search for eachother. If anyone attempts to flee they will be foiled by the house changing to stop their exit, or possibly she will appear and attempt to frighten them back inside, or they could even be grabbed by the house and forced to stay. Eventually after at least 30 minutes of “Playing” with her “new friends” she would allow them to find each other. She would then show herself to them, a laughing child that seems to be having the time of her life being lifted by the house through the floorboards, or maybe walking in from the other room. She would keep a safe distance and prevent any attacks against her by manipulating the house.

She would question the PCs as to why they are here and what they are doing. Her goal would be to continue playing games with them and she would initially ignore any questions about her appearance, Kellor, or who she is. She would refer to the Crazed as her friends who sadly will no longer play with her. “It has been a long time since I have had any friends.” If they are nice to her, she will slowly warm to one or more of the players and if they ask her what happened to her or continued to mention Kellor she would fall into their arms weeping and eventually fall asleep and sleep through the night unless the players attempt to hurt her or leave. In either of these cases she will awaken and hide herself and “play” with them and try to talk them into being her friends. If they continue to be aggressive towards her she will throw them from the house into the storm after using the house to forcible take from them some of their food and water.

If thrown from the house the players need to be driven back to the house to eventually become in some way friendly with Arennia. Without her help it is extremely likely that they will simply be driven to Madness unless they happen to stumble upon her brother, in which case they could possibly escape this place and the Madness would fade as they get further from the Vale.

If the PCs are eventually friendly she will tell them they are safe here, and put them in a room with no doors or windows and enter through one of the walls as the boards bend out of her way. She would then talk with them for a while and leave with, “hopefully we will play more tomorrow, but for now you are safe and can sleep here,” as she says this beds will slide in through the walls as boards move aside and then back into place reforming the walls. “I will make sure nothing bad happens to you. Good night friends!”

In the morning, Arennia will enter the room and begin singing a song in a language they do not understand. Any who slept and previously had manifested the Madness will notice that they did not have nightmares or any other of their manifestations while in this house and all who sleep will awaken to this song. This song will also remove the most severe manifestation of the Madness from each PC that Arennia would consider to be her friend and also reduce these same PCs chances to manifest the Madness by 10% for future encounters. If they continue to be kind to her, she will tell the PCs of the Madness of her father with tears streaming from the tear ducts near her scarred-over-eyes, though she still will not discuss the what happened to her face. She will also tell them of the existence of her brother, Dylan, and his power over nature. The last thing she knows of him is that he fled from their father and that she misses him very, very much. If any one player is exceedingly nice to her or volunteers to play with her (or whichever character seems to be the kindest) she will offer to them a potion and tell them to only use it if the situation is dire, but that it will cure the Madness from whoever drinks it. She will try to encourage the players to stay as long as they want. With a lot of investigating players would find that she seems to be getting food and water from taking it from prisoners who are not friendly to her. Evidence of this would be several canteens and rations that are very similar to their own down in a part of the basement that was previously hidden.

INTO THE VALE

If they players choose to try and stay, Arennia will be more than happy to have them, but they will quickly realize after even a single day that their rations will not last long. If they try and take her with them she will refuse as she is completely mortified of leaving her home due to her blindness. Arennia will continue to mention that she is worried about her brother and wants to know if he is still alive. She will always avoid talking about her father, other than to say that he is bad, and will never talk about her scars. Mentioning her mother seems to do nothing but make her sad, and if prodded enough she will say that her mother is dead. As the players leave she will say, “Please come back and play as soon as you can. If you find my brother, tell him I miss him and need him to come see me right away! He would have gone up into the mountains to get away from Father’s Madness. I hope you find him.” and she would start to cry, and basically be swallowed up by the house and out of sight. She would not respond to any more interactions, but her sobbing can be heard throughout the house.

As the players leave and begin to head into the Vale they would be likely to start having encounters. If they move towards the mountains and stay away from the center of the Vale the likelihood of an encounter with the Crazed is lessened, but if they are doing as Arennia asked and seeking out her brother the likelihood of an encounter with the White Tailed Wolf is increased. These encounters can be determined by dice rolls or by the GM depending on how much control you need to take over the story's progression. The closer to the river in the center of the valley the PCs stay, the encounters should be more frequent and more dangerous. Any encounter with the Crazed always needs to increase the chance of manifestation of the Madness by 10% and a roll needs to be made by each player to manifest the next level of the Madness.

If the PCs intentions are to find Dylan, the White Tailed Wolf would appear to them in the distance, look at them and start to head towards Dylan. The first time they see it, if they follow, it will travel on for up to a minute before disappearing from sight. and continue to appear at least once per day, leading them towards Dylan. If they stray from the path towards Dylan it would appear again, pointing them in the correct direction. If they ignore the wolf or do not follow, it will appear again to them further down their path and again head towards Dylan and continue to do this until they follow it. Anyone who tries to attack it is no longer able to see it in future appearances, and any successful attacks simply pass through the wolf as it disappears.

If the PCs in no way intend to find Dylan, they should notice fairly quickly that the further towards the river and the center of the valley the higher the likelihood of encountering the Crazed. This should be used as a tool to convince them to stay higher up into the mountains, hopefully before the Madness sinks too deep. If the PCs stay higher up in the mountains they could stumble upon a cave purely by chance.

No matter how the PCs travel it is likely that they will stumble upon the remains of a battle between the Crazed. The bodies from this battle have had nearly all of their clothes ripped off, are torn to pieces and appear to have been cut up and eaten raw. If the players are following the White Tailed Wolf and come upon this scene they will sense a great deal of sorrow as they pass by the scene as if sadness is lingering in the air over the battle.

If the players immediately and continuously follow the White Tailed Wolf it will take them 3 days of travel and they are likely to only encounter one group of the Crazed along the way. Without following the White Tailed Wolf the likelihood of an encounter goes up to at least once per day (more if they head down from the mountains and towards the center of the valley), and the players are unlikely to find Dylan in less than one week. The number of encounters and amount of time should be adjusted by the GM with the intention of giving the PCs a chance to survive and also encouraging them to stay up in the mountains so that they can “stumble” upon Dylan’s cave.

The entrance to Dylan’s cave moves regularly, so there is no guarantee as to where it may be. Dylan is also killing some of the crazed that get near him, so it is possible that along the way to finding him the PCs could come across the remains of a battle in which none of the dead appear to have been eaten, but rather just appear to have been burned with acid, entangled by plants and left where they died. If encountered by PCs who are following the White Tailed Wolf, this scene will have the same feeling of sorrow hanging over it as the battle between the Crazed This is another encounter that could be randomly rolled or chosen by the GM for the sake of story.

DYLAN'S RAGE

When the player’s do find the cave they find it in battle. Dylan is seen by the players taking on at least 10 of the Crazed. Entangling them with the plants of the forest and then crushing them with said plants. Some of them are swallowed underground by the roots that grab them, all of them are dead before the PCs get to Dylan. If the PCs choose to try to avoid Dylan he seeks them out and finds them by the end of the day. Either way, when they speak to him he invites them to come to his cave where they will be safe. Either back in the cave or where Dylan found them he will discuss with them the evil that his father has committed and be filled with rage as he tells them of his desire to kill the man that caused all of this. Dylan believes that the same spell that caused the Madness also killed his Sister. Once informed that she is alive he will weep with joy (Highly perceptive or socially adept PCs may detect some fear and sadness in his tears as well, though Dylan would simply explain this away as tears of joy if questioned). This will also be the first time that Dylan has heard of any possibility that the Madness could be cured. He would explain that if his sister could lessen its effects it is possible she could remove it completely. He would be deeply troubled by all of the people he has killed that might have been saved. Dylan also has zero knowledge of any White Tailed Wolf and no insight into what it could mean if asked.

Dylan’s main concern would be to kill his father, Kellor. Second to this would be his desire to go back to his home and get his sister so that she can be safe here with him. Finally he does not wish to see any more people lost to the Madness so he would be willing to make a passage for the PCs to escape through the mountains and leave this Vale behind forever. The only other option would be for the encounter to go poorly in which case Dylan would try to simply subdue the PCs, place them in his cave and force them out of the Vale by giving them no other options short of trying to dig their way out. So depending on how the conversation goes there are four possibilities. Keep in mind that the thing Dylan desires most and would fight for the most would be convincing the PCs to help him find and kill Kellor.

OPTION 1 - KILL KELLOR

The PCs choose to help Dylan hunt down and kill his Father, Kellor, Dylan would be able to use his magic to help narrow down the location of his Father. He would also be able to handle any groups of the Crazed smaller than 10 that they encounter with little to no risk. Rather than killing them he would subdue them fully and place them in underground cells marking each one with the plant life above by forming it to look vaguely like a human. The main concern in these encounters would be that for each encounter the PCs must make their rolls for their chance to manifest the Madness and their likelihood of gaining the Madness will increase. With Dylan’s guidance it will take the players 5 days to find Kellor. The first two days the likelihood of an encounter is low, but still possible. The next three days it is highly likely that they will encounter the Crazed at least one time per day.

Any PCs that have manifested the level of the Madness that causes them to lose control for a short time will be subdued by Dylan during this time and carried along with the group by plants that Dylan has shaped into a humanoid form. As soon as their purpose is served the plants would go back to just being plants. Any players who become fully crazed are subdued by Dylan. He would also bury them in underground prisons and mark them in the same way as the rest of the Crazed that he subdues. The only way to convince Dylan otherwise would be to present the potion that Arennia gave to one of the PCs, and any PC who imbibes this potion would be completely cured of the Madness and start their rolls back over from zero.

As the PCs continue to travel with Dylan he would explain to them the power of his father’s magic. They would know that when they engage him they should try and think as rationally as possible. It is very likely they will see things before them that are not real and it is important that they maintain a grasp on reality if they are to succeed. “And when the time comes for him to die, leave him to me.” The one thing that is a constantly present in Dylan’s personality and demeanor is his strong drive to kill Kellor.

As the hunt for Kellor continues, Dylan would mention that they seem to be headed straight for the back corner of the valley, where the two mountain ranges begin to meet. Dylan is keeping them up in the mountain as they travel, avoiding going down into the valley as the number of the Crazed increases as you move towards the center. Remember to take advantage of the manifestations of the Madness in the PCs as the days and nights pass.

As they continue to travel the White Tailed Wolf would continue to appear to all who have seen it in the past, other than any who have attempted to attack it. The wolf seems to be leading them in the exact same direction as Dylan, but Dylan is unable to see the wolf. On the morning of the fifth day they would come across one of the many creeks that feed into the river. They would cross to the other side of the creek and begin to follow it down into the Vale.

As the day passes the PCs begin to feel Physically exhausted. Any of them that are currently experiencing any level of manifestations of the Madness begin to get dizzy spells every hour in which they completely lose coordination and must make a percentile roll to gain additional manifestations of the Madness, but for each of these rolls the chance for a new manifestation does not increase by 10%, but rather, just stays the same as the PCs current rate. This will happen every hour for four hours.

After the fourth hour the GM needs to ask all PCs for what their current chance is to manifest a new level of the Madness. The next fight will seem to be physically happening to the players, but in reality Kellor is channeling the Madness directly into the minds of the PCs and forcing them to have a horrific vision. Dylan is facing the same challenge, but will more easily overcome it and be the first to start attempting to attack Kellor directly. Kellor will be able to avoid all of Dylan’s attacks. As soon as the first player manages to escape the illusion and see what is actually happening, a single attack against Kellor would distract him enough that Dylan would be able to fully subdue Kellor by entangling him with the nearby plant life.

After the fourth roll for the manifestations on the fourth hour, all of the PCs, regardless of their level of the Madness (unless they go completely mad, in which case Dylan will subdue them immediately) notice that it appears the sun is setting even though the day is nowhere near over. As the sky goes dark the players immediately realize that they are alone in the dark forest. All that remain in their party have disappeared from sight. They see ahead of them a dark figure. It was just walking passed, but seems to have stopped and turned towards them. They immediately recognize the movements of one of the Crazed as it starts running towards them. If they choose to try and run the Crazed that is chasing them is faster than they are by about 50% and will continue to gain on them and attempt to tackle them when it finally gets to them. Any damage that it would do to them manifests in their minds as actual physical damage from the Crazed attempting to eat them alive, but in reality it acts exactly the same as a normal encounter with any of the Crazed, only in this case the GM makes the rolls. The GM should tell the players the result of the attack in the form of their physical manifestation in the PCs mind, however the GM needs to make a roll for a new manifestation of the Madness according to the each players prior rating plus the 10% for each time the player is hit. Any player to successfully attack the Crazed in their vision five times is able to escape the vision and see the reality of Kellor standing before them channelling a spell onto them and their friends.

With each successful attack against the Crazed, they PCs would get a small glimpse of reality. With the first hit it would appear that their weapon strikes the Crazed, but as it does the image flickers. With each successful strike the flicker would last longer allowing the PCs a vague hint at the reality. By the fourth hit they would clearly see a man matching Kellor's description as their weapon passes harmlessly through the imaginary Crazed before them and the image fades briefly from before their eyes. After the fifth hit the vision would disappear completely and they would see the reality before them. The PCs would notice that Kellor is focusing most of his attention on stopping Dylan from attacking him directly. It would take one action for any PC to gain their bearings, but on their next action they are able to attempt to attack Kellor. If they make one successful attack on Kellor at any point, they would see Dylan’s next attack fully subdue Kellor with roots coming up from the ground and digging deeply into his body.

Any player who fully succumbs to the Madness during this fight thinks they go completely unconscious from the damage of the attacks made against them by the Crazed in their vision. But in reality they lose control and would attack nearby PCs until Kellor is subdued or they are subdued by another player. These attacks would be normal attacks using whatever weapons are readily available without the use of any special abilities, and if not stopped they could kill whichever PC they choose to attack, which would most likely be the nearest PC to them. As soon as Kellor is subdued, Dylan would also subdue any players that have now become one of the Crazed. If none of the PCs are able to break free of their vision, they and Dylan are taken by Kellor and his Madness - Game Over.

If the player in possession of the potion from Arennia has not yet used it and chooses to use it during the vision being forced on them by Kellor, it ends the vision and allows that PC to attempt an attack on Kellor on their following action if they so choose.

If any one of the players succeeds in a successful attack against Kellor, Dylan will subdue him and the vision ends for all other players who can now see the reality that is before them. The next thing that is seen after Dylan subdues any Crazed PCs is Dylan rushing forward as Kellor’s mouth is forced open by the plants impaling him. Dylan shouts at the top of his lungs as acid shoots from his fingers and into his father’s mouth until Kellor dies and Dylan falls to his knees in tears.

As Dylan is crying the White Tailed Wolf walks up behind him and sits down. Any who have attempted to attack the wolf are still unable to see it. Dylan tries to regain his composure, stands, and turns around. As he turns he looks directly where the wolf is standing and gasps, “Mother… How are you-” he is cut short as all hear a voice on the wind, “Go to your sister, She can cure your father’s Madness, then you must take her far from this place and kill no more.” Just before the voice stops speaking the wolf fades from sight. After a long pause Dylan says, “Let’s go.” and starts heading back up into the mountain. As the PCs follow him a cave mouth opens up before them and they all go inside.

They travel through the mountain for three days back towards the house. Any highly perceptive or socially adept PCs would again have a chance to notice some apprehension in Dylan's movements with each day as they near the house. This would be noticed by everyone as they are approaching the house on the final day. Dylan would not give an answer other than to say that he is just excited to see his sister. As the PCs and Dylan approach the house Arennia would open the door for them. As soon as Dylan's feet hit the porch her voice can be heard echoing out of the house, "You brought a new friend?" she asks.

Dylan would burst into tears, "I'm so sorry, Renni" he would sputter as he falls to his knees.

His crying is quickly drowned out by a shrill scream of, "Brother!" as Arennia with great glee literally flies out of the door towards her brother as if she was thrown by the house. Dylan would catch her in his arms, hold her, and weep for several minutes.

Over the next day any PC’s who were lost to the Madness would be carried in by humanoid shaped plants and left, unconscious on the doorstep of the house. As they are brought in Arennia would sing to the PCs and their madness would be cured. Several hours later they would regain consciousness. PCs who were lost to madness would remember nothing that happened during the Madness. To their knowledge they lost consciousness until awakening several hours later. They would distinctly remember hearing Arennia’s song shortly before awakening. Each day Arennia could sing her song again to the PCs and any other crazed to remove another level of the Madness.

More and more of the Crazed would be brought in from the forest by humanoid plants to be cured by Arennia over the next few days. The PCs would at this point be able to choose to have Dylan forge their escape through the mountain or to attempt to bring the head of Kellor back to the guards outside of the Vale. They could also stay with Arennia and Dylan until all of the Crazed have been cured (about two weeks) at which point they could travel with Dylan and Arennia out of the valley. No matter which option they choose, they would gain their freedom and be ready for the next adventure.

OPTION 2 - REUNITE ARENNIA AND DYLAN

Dylan would travel with the PCs through the mountain almost the entire way to Arennia. Dylan would be able to handle any groups of the Crazed smaller than 10 that they encounter with little to no risk. Rather than killing them he would subdue them fully and place them in underground cells marking each one with the plant life above by forming it to look vaguely like a human. The main concern in these encounters would be that for each encounter the PCs must make their rolls for their chance to manifest the Madness and their likelihood of gaining the Madness will increase.

The PCs and Dylan travel through the mountain for three days back towards the house. Any highly perceptive or socially adept PCs would have a chance to notice some apprehension in Dylan's movements with each day as they near the house. This would be noticed by everyone as they are approaching the house on the final day. Dylan would not give an answer other than to say that he is just excited to see his sister. As the PCs and Dylan approach the house Arennia would open the door for them. As soon as Dylan's feet hit the porch her voice can be heard echoing out of the house, "You brought a new friend?" she asks.

Dylan would burst into tears, "I'm so sorry, Renni" he would sputter as he falls to his knees.

Once reunited with Dylan, Arennia would again sing to the PCs reducing their chance to have a manifestation of the Madness by 10% and also removing the most severe manifestation they are currently experiencing. Dylan and Arennia would then travel with the PCs, allowing them to pass all the way through the mountain before offering their sincere gratitude and parting ways with the PCs. Each day with Arennia she would be able to sing her song and reduce one level of the Madness from all PCs. Each day outside of the Vale the PCs lose one level of the manifestation of the Madness.The PCs are now free and ready for their next adventure, other than any PCs lost to the Madness, who will remain forever mad.

OPTION 3 - CONVINCE DYLAN TO LET YOU LEAVE

Dylan travels with the PCs through the mountain (a two day journey) and allows them to escape to the other side. Each day outside of the Vale the PCs lose one level of the manifestation of the Madness. The PCs are now free and ready for their next adventure, other than any PCs lost to the Madness, who will remain forever mad.

OPTION 4 - FIGHT DYLAN

Dylan will subdue the PCs and try to convince them that he means them no harm. If he is successful proceed to Options 1, 2 or 3. If not Dylan will place them inside the mountain inside a cave. The PCs notice the cave seems to be slowly moving in one direction and they are forced to follow it as there is no other option. Eventually the cave will open up on one side to the other side of the mountain. Each day outside of the Vale the PCs lose one level of the manifestation of the Madness. The PCs are now free and ready for their next adventure, other than any PCs lost to the Madness, who will remain forever mad.

This Campaign written by Jason McCracken with concept support and editing from Jacob Woods and Rachel McCracken.