The Village of Nachtgarten

CONCEPT.

A 2024 5e adventure set in a remote medieval, alt-German forest town. Witches, werewolves and other horrors roam the endless woodlands. The town's famous Nachtgarten Company have been called to war by the Elector, leaving the place with few defenders. Unlikely young heroes emerge to track down threats and identify the source of the village's ills. The adventure aims for a cosy (not cosmic, eldritch) gothic horror theme, in a quaint 'fachwerk' Grimm's tale setting. To maintain the gothic feel the setting mythos is Medieval Christian, with saints, holy wells, etc. 

Players start out as youthful but promising level one naïfs. If we manage a longer campaign, their level progression can reflect their transformation into older and gnarlier veterans.  

EXPECTATIONS

Three or ideally four evenly spaced posts/ week. Some lapses are inevitable but  please withdraw (at least temporarily) if the pace is not sustainable. 

The game has a couple of house rules--please check you are ok with these before play.  

We'll play a single adventure to start with --we can play more if we enjoy ourselves! 

PbP is not quite the same as irl gaming : please avoid ‘high admin’ spells like web, entangle, etc. Please also self-police rules, rather than relying on the GM to impose boundaries (e.g. acknowledge that a Thunderwave spell sent from the back of a melee will catch friends; also  that walking through a melee might trigger Opportunity attacks).

SUGGESTED SPECIES( with SPECIES 'skins')

Human.  

Wolfchild/ Wild Man (using Orc?) : feral foresters or abandoned children gone wild.    

Riese ('Giant'; use Goliath, Stone Giant variant): from a family of local giants, frequently blacksmiths or builders.   

Dwarf. More like ‘Seven dwarves’ dwarves than Tolkien’s grim trogs. They work flinty mines and trade in gems (suggest using Gnome). 

Witch-blood. Born from a line of hereditary witches. Feared because of their uncanny powers and their tendency to transform into hags in later life. Have the following species abilities:

·         INSTINCT: can ‘read’ others’ motives and feelings. Proficiency in intuition, upgrade to Expertise if they already posses this proficiency.  

·         NATURE EMPATHY: proficiency in Survival, Animal handling or Nature.

·         WILD MAGIC: L1: druidcraft L3: longstride L5: pass without trace 

Imp (Gnome, but baaad): Rumpelstiltskin-like little grump, perhaps ill-tempered and morally ambiguous

SUGGESTED CHARACTER CONCEPTS ( with CLASS 'skins')

Mundane Concepts

Wildman: wild or mad forester (use Barbarian)

Blacksmith: forge giant wielding a mighty hammer (use Fighter, may also use Goliath as Species)

Wandering Ritter: wandering upholder of justice (use Fighter, advantage on horseback, good armor)

Yeoman: commoner capable with the staff and bow (use Monk)

Forester. A hunter or ranger in the kingdom’s deep woods (use Ranger)

Knave. A cutpurse, card sharp or thief (use Rogue)

Magical Classes

Note: Although magic is common in the setting, I'd prefer an 'origin story' for spell-using abilities:  e.g.:  a minstrel able to use Bard spells possesses a magical instrument or has been trained by a mysterious teacher.

Strange Jester. A wandering fool whose jokes and rhymes mesmerise friends and foes (use Bard; origin: born under a ‘weird star’ or during the Saturnalia)

Magic Minstrel. A wandering fool or spell-binding songster (use Bard; “arcane source”  is that they possess a magical instrument or have received a Fey blessing)

Holy Friar or Nun. A wandering dispenser of justice and holy kindness.  (might use cleric? Or use Monk for the staff fighting vibe; “divine source” is the character’s Vow.

Knight of the White Order: a knight who has taken vows with a holy order (use Paladin:  “arcane source” is their Vow and Vigil) 

Witch: practitioner of the darker arts, lending their hand to aid the folk against more present evil (use Warlock; “arcane source”  is the patronage of Hecate, Spirit of the Mirror, or similar shadowy figure).

Court Wizard: archetypal wizard in pointy hat and starry robes (use Wizard; “arcane source” and  focus is the Seal of Solomon, Staff of Merlin, Wand of Simon the Magician or such).

Jewel Gazer: wealthy burgher following a new fad, a mystical fascination with crystal balls and splendid gems that cast colorful spells (use Wizard, perhaps Diviner subclass, costly jewels serve as arcane focus; if all spells memorised are notably ‘colorful’, gains one extra slot at each usable level).    

WEAPONS AND ARMOR

Black powder weapons get a power up in the setting. range, cost, etc as per core rules but:

• Pistols do 2d6 damage, muskets 2d8

• ignore 2 points of armor if target's AC is higher than 10+DEX

• are common weapons  

All armour types are available, but note the vulnerability to firearms described above. 

LANGUAGES

Note that characters are illiterate unless they are educated through Latin  

Waldsprach (=Common, local dialect)

Hoch Deutsch (fancy German)

French (lingua franca)

Sorb

Italian

Latin

Greek

Hebrew

Hunter's Signs 

HOUSE RULES

Fear rules: players monitor a fear track, on the same lines as 5E's existing Exhaustion ladder. Characters make a Will save versus spooky situations and critters (generally 12+ monster CR). A failed save pushes them one step along the track below. Finishing a long rest or spending a short rest in holy place reduces the track by one. 

Level 1: Unnerved (no mechanical effect) 

Level 2: Disadvantage on all ability checks

Level 3: Gains Frightened condition 

Limited/swapped weapon mastery: Cleave, Graze, Nick and Vex work ok in PbP but Push, Sap, Slow and Topple are harder to rule. Please switch these WMs to Vex or ‘Punch’ ( weapon does half damage die as minimum damage)

Powerful Firearms: see above