Vampire Castle of the Evening Mist [90 x 130]

High in the mountains, across a yawning gorge stands a keep of old stone.

It stands occupied with hundreds of men and women serving the local lord/lady, charged with the defense of a critical pass through the mountains some distance to the north. Supplies are brought by horse, mule and wagon through the summer, with many years of provisions stocked within its lower hall.

The keep is intended to provide a variety of potential purposes:

Starting Location - Your party arrives at the keep as guards to a wagon caravan delivering supplies and rations for the winter. Once arrived, they meet with the local ruler and enter into contract service for jobs he cannot use common soldiers to complete.

Quest Hub - As your party adventures through the mountains, they arrive at the old keep and find its walls crumbling and people demoralized. They have been under attack by creatures appearing out of the mists and need help repairing their fortifications and fighting off the invaders.

Player Character Backstory - One of your characters was potentially assigned to this keep, or perhaps to the ruler now in charge of the castle, or perhaps they have a sibling or parent in service at the keep they need to track down and find.

Social Encounters - The ruler of the keep holds information, an artifact or key to something the party needs, and pleasing him or her is paramount to continuing the quest. The ruler will not concede the prize so easily, however, and may require something of them in return.

One-Shot Adventure - The Castle of Evening Mist can easily be set up as a one-shot adventure, where the party arrives to find the castle fending off a strange foe. Each evening, mists descend upon the castle from the surrounding mountains and, with it, dark creatures of ill intent that both attack the mind and body. Worse yet, it seems that each night some of the fellow soldiers go missing or start acting strangely. It may slowly become clear that something is amiss, when the ruler begins acting strangely and the party must act quickly to discover what is afoot and find an answer before it is too late!

Perfect for a Halloween or horror-themed evening!

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[Made in Dungeondraft with some assets from AoA, Birdie, Gnome Factory, Orcitecht, Geordie_LaForge, and BMM.]