Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Vol Three (AD&D 2nd Ed Fantasy Roleplaying, Ravenloft)

290 Pages·1997·40.38 MB·English

by  Steve Miller

5i&ns&Drasons;.
ACCES 50RY

.................... .....
Prologue 5 DUNGEOMNA STERA"p pendix 86
How to Use This Book .......... 6 Creating Fiends ............8 6
What is the RAVENLOFT@Se tting? 6 Writing Fiend Adventures .....9 1
. . Additional Information ........6 Major ADED" Game Notes
on Demons
Section. The First: Demons ......7 Transposition .............1 8
Introduction ................. 8 Repulsion ................2 3
The Inheritance .............8 Redemption ..............2 5
A Personal Note and Warning . . 11 Altered Powers ............4 0
.
Chapter One: Entering the Lands 13 The Power Ritual
The Origins of Demons ......1 4 and Corruption ............5 6
Transposition .............1 4 The Blood-oath Ritual .......6 3
Reversal of Transposition .....1 8 Fiendish Possession .........6 6
Summoning ..............2 5
....
Alternative Theories of Origin . 28 Section. The Second: Vistani 95
. . ................
Chapter Two: Observed Powers 30 Introduction 96
.
Common Powers ...........3 1 Chapter One: History and Legends 100
Ethos-based Powers ........4 1 The Vanquished Conqueror . . 101
Chapter Three: Demons The Forlorn Wanderer ......1 01
and Our World .............4 5 The Spiteful Gods .........1 03
Reality Wrinkles ............4 5 Chapter Two: Vistani Life ...... 105
Unwilling Entrapment .......4 9 Rituals .................1 06
The Gaining of Power .......5 0 Tribal Organization ........1 11
Chapter Four: Demons and Everyday Life ............1 13
the People ................ 58 Nomadism ..............1 16
Rivals for Power ...........5 8 Dark Neutrality ...........1 18
Prey to Power .............5 9 Law and Justice ..........1 18
Cults .................... 61 Punishment ..............1 21
Possession ...............6 4 Communication ...........1 22
Bargains .................6 6 Conclusion ..............1 24
....
Chapter Five: Chapter Three: The Tasques 125
Demons Among Us .........6 9 Overview ...............1 26
The Black Duke ...........6 9 The Kaldresh .............1 27
Drigor., .................6 9 The Boemians ............1 39
ElseDeth .................7 0 The Manusa .............1 47
lnajira ...................7 1 Conclusion ..............1 58
The Whistling Fiend .........7 2 Chapter Four: Curses
Demons of Chateaufaux .....7 2 and the Evil Eye ........... 159
Malocchio ................7 3 Curse Types .............1 59
The Gentleman Caller .......7 4 Focus Items ............. 163
Malistroi .................7 4 Breaking a Curse ..........1 64
Baltoi ...................7 5 The Evil Eye .............1 65
....
Chapter Six: Battling Demons 76 Chapter Five: Salient Abilities
Detecting the Demon ........7 6 and Vulnerabilities ......... 167
Gathering Information .......7 7 Prescient Sight ...........1 67
Phylacteries ..............7 8 Mist Navigation ...........1 71
The Mystick Cage ..........7 9 Tracking Magic ...........1 72
Fighting the Demon .........8 2 Vista-chiri and Other Minions . 173
Defensive Spells ...........8 3 Powers over Monsters ...... 174
Bibliography ..............8 5 Static Burn ..............1 75
. . .. ......... ..........
. .
....... I
Chapter Six: Conclusion 177 Chapter Three.Witches. Warlocks.
n
The Last Steps ........... 177 and Hedge Magicians ....... 238
A Final Farewell .......... 180 Witches and Warlocks ......2 38
Glossary of Vistani Terms ...1 81 History and Legends .......2 39
DUNGEOMN ASTEARp pendix .....1 82 Society and Secrecy .......2 41
. .
Vistani Character Background 182 Spellcasting and the Weave 242
.... .....
Vistani Universal Abilities 183 Relations with Churches 243
Vistani Universal Drawbacks . 183 Major Enemies ...........2 44
...... ..........
Vistani Tribal Abilities 184 Hedge Magicians 249
Major ADED Game Notes Chapter Four: Witch and
...........
on the Vistani Warlock Covens 257
............... .......
Prastonata 107 History and Legends 257
Doroq ..................1 08 The Structure of Covens ....2 58
Lunaset .................1 10 Joining a Coven ..........2 59
The Giorgio ..............1 12 Magical Powers of Covens ...2 59
Vistani Geist .............1 15 Coven Membership Changes . 261
....
Vishnadd ................1 19 Chapter Five: Hunting Hags 264
............ .........
Naiat Carnival 144 Finding the Scent 264
............ .....
Canjar Zsalev 154 Battling Individual Hags 268
. . . . . . . ...........
Canjar Moon Jewelry 154 Battling Coveys 269
.... ..............
Canjar Evil Eye Amulets 155 Final Words 270
Mishamel Curse ...........1 62 Dungeon Master Appendix .....2 72
............. .........
The Evil Eye 165 WitchIWarlock Kit 272
............
Fortune.telling 167 Using Warlock
.............. ...........
The Dukkar 170 and Witch Kits 278
........... .....
Mist Navigation 171 Special Notes on Spells 278
Vista-chiri ............... 173 New Spells ..............2 81
.............. ........
Static Burn 176 New Magical items 287
Major ADED Game Notes
....
Section, The Third: Witches 187 on Witches
...............
Introduction 188 Hags with Class Abilities ....1 97
About This Book ..........1 90 Advanced Rules for Hags ....2 12
Chapter One: Hag Minions .............2 19
Hags and Their Kind ....... 191 Spectral Hags ............2 29
A Question of Origins ...... 192 Hag Coveys .............2 31
Birth and Infancy ..........1 95 Hag Covey Spellbooks ......2 32
Early Life ...............1 96 Hag Covey Rituals .........2 33
The Change .............1 98 Hag Eyes ...............2 35
................
Maturity 208 Churches in Van
Procreation ..............2 21 Richten’s World ..........2 44
Night Hags: The Final Stage? . 225 Sorcerous Witches .........2 49
Spectral Hags: The Undead . . 227 Eremites ................2 54
......
Chapter Two: Hag Coveys 230 Redhead Spellcasting Abilities 255
............. ......
Hag Coveys 230 Coven Spell Selection 259
Covey Spells .............2 31 Coven Magical Powers ......2 62
Covey Rituals ............ 232
...............
Hag Eyes 234
..........
Spawning Rituals 236
A

I
This volume is a compilation of two instead, the Dungeon Master describes
, ,
ADGD@ products previously published as them. Tell the players how dark the room is,
Van Richten's Guide to Fiends ITSR #94771 and what the heroes hear, smell, and see,
and Van Richten's Guide to the'vistani [TSR but do not make accurate identifications for
#9496]. These RAVENLO@ products, once them.
out of print, are back, reedited and correct- For example, never give the true name
ed, and with new art, a new graphic treat- of any creature the players' heroes
ment, and a new format. As a bonus, a pre- encounter. "The form of the huae ash-arav.
viously unpublished manuscript is present- dog warps and shifts until the Geature-
ed: Van Richten's Guide to Witches. becomes a bipedal monstrosity so large that
The Van Richten's Guides redefined vari- it towers over you all!" is much more effec-
ous categories of horrific monsters and vil- tive at creating thrills and suspense than
lains in the ADGD game to make them saying, "Thew erewolf now shapechanges
more effective and interesting opponents for into its hybrid form." Use of the game terms
player-controlled heroes. By giving each '"werewolf' and "shapechanges" break the
monster a history, personality, plans, and suspenseful mood you tried to create by
goals, it gains depth and flexibility, even a reminding the players that this is, after all,
certain element of realism. Such a villain only a game. Other useful guidelines appear
inspires rich, exciting adventures. Such a in Chapter Thirteen of Domains of Dread.
foe is the kind that the players look forward
to fighting, running from, and battling until
they finally overcome it in the campaign. Adqioml ;Information
Fear, horror, and madness checks are sim-
ple, optional mechanics unique to the
RAVENLOFTs etting. While Chapter Six of
The RAVEN LO^ campaign is the classic hor- Domains ofDread gives full rules for these
ror setting for the ADGD game, founded on checks and their effects, a simpler method
well-known tales of horror and mystery is presented here. When the text or the
such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Dungeon Master says the time has come for
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. By a check, each affected hero must make a
various means, the campaign suggests, saving throw vs. paralysis. Effects of failure
rather than blatantly displays, an atmos- are left for the Dungeon Master to deter-
phere of suspense and terror. When an mine, to include fleeing, rage, obsession,
ADGD game player thinks of the RAVEN LO^ and shock. These checks are optional; use
setting, a likely image is that of a lonely, them only when the players' roleplaying
mist-shrouded castle atop a dark moor, lit falters.
only by a cloud-obscured moon. Things are Information directly pertinent to a
not as they seem, and the unexpected can RAVENLOFTc ampaign is set aside in boxed,
bring a terrifying death. gray-screened text throughout this book. In
The original RAVENLOFTse tting takes addition, an appendix at the end of each
place in an otherworldly land referred to by section is given solely for the Dungeon
game players as the Demiplane of Dread Master's use in creating adventures suitable
("Ravenloft"). Here, various realms are gov- to any Dungeon Master's RAVENLOFTc am-
erned by evil monstrosities of skill and intel- paign. Players should learn of this material
ligence. However, a Dungeon Master can only through game play.
apply the basic rules and guidelines of the The powers ascribed to various monsters
RAVEN LO^ campaign to any other world or herein are those that belong to natives of
setting to gain a similar atmospheric effect. the RAVENLOFTc ampaign. Refer to the
Locations from the accursed demiplane are MONSTROUS M ANUAL'^ tome for more infor-
used as examples in this work. For more mation regarding these beings as they
about the RAVEN LO^ setting itself, pick up appear in standard ADED campaigns.
Domains ofDread (TSR #2174), the hard- References to some out-of-print ADGD
bound rulebook for running full-fledged and RAVENLOFTc ampaign items are given in
RAVENLOFTc ampaigns. square brackets in the text, in the event that
Several key elements define a good the reader has access to those materials.
RAVENLOFTs cenario, the most important of Compilers' notes from the Weathermay-
which is description. When the players' Foxgrove sisters, acting for the editor, bear
heroes explore a ruined castle, a talented the sisters' initials lGWF or LWF) and
RAVENLOFgTa me Dungeon Master does not appear in italics.
a
merely list the contents of each room,
f3

I ...,
FIRST:
;~ECTIGIN7,1 .1E
!
"Jy m somefhi2q was ririsn yu hrous h fhe middie of ihe 'defense.' c7f rose wiih a sfeady
s
4
rnovemenf. J caw if Yale and h3e hrou h the whiriin funnnel of cloud-a mondrous pa/-
/id cnouf risicnq ouf of ha/ unhnowabh abyu. $f row hciq her and %her. chrosh a
hinni2q of the c/oud curfain c7 taw one sma// eye. . . ."
-William Hope Hodgson
"The Hog"
Demons possess not only brute
IrnOPUCTXO N
strength that is almost beyond
; is Dr. Rudolph Van comprehension, but they have the
1, and I have spent power to insinuate themselves into the
,If my lifetime very minds of the unwary or the wicked.
ig the darkest places Further, their lives span centuries,
d and its people have perhaps even millennia, and thus they
I fancied I knew the draw on experiences that cover the rise
. '
extent of evil, that II h ad plumbed its and fall of civilizations. Finally, unlike
depths. As I have di:j covered during the the ghosts, vampires, and werebeasts
last year, I was wron 19. There are things that plague us, demons have no link to
out there, things so foul that I now believe the mortals who dwell around them. On
the philosophers wh o maintain that evil some level, the lesser horrors wish for
itself can be made rn anifest in the world. the continued existence and prosperity
I have battled ev il in its myriad of both our world and mortals who dwell
forms, from the ca(l averous mummy to here; after all, their existence is tied to
the vampires who f irst set my feet on both in a twisted fashion. Demons have
the road I now travse l. Through it all, my no such connection and no such desire.
keen powers of ob: iervation, the support To the demons that wander our lands,
of able and brave c: ompanions, and the we and our homes are at best toys, and
fact that I was fight. ing the good fight, at worst obstacles to rip apart until we
kept me going. Yet in the face of these are lost even to memory.
monstrosities, whic: h fellow scholars call
Compilers' Note: While Dr Van Richten
"demons" after old folk tales and
attests that few demons have invaded
religious legends, rn y skills amounted to
our fair home, my sister and I haue
naught. Not since t: he loss of my come to believe that the number is far
beloved wife and SIo n have I felt despair greater than a half dozen. Just as
weigh so heavily 0'n my heart. I have vermin hide beneath a cool stone, SO do
faced a single dem on in mortal combat,
demons conceal their presence on our
and my defeat has resulted in a loss
world. For evil to reueal its presence is
that will be felt by many in our land. to court the attention of champions of
I cannot, howev er, allow myself the light. Thus, we suspect, demons hide
luxury of succumb ing to despair. I must
like spiders in the cracks and shadows
press ever forward, and I must alert all of society, spinning webs of deceit to
that dwell in our la nd to the threat
trap and corrupt mortals who stray
presented by these? demons. from the goodly paths.
Based on my stu dies, 1 doubt that in -GWF
all the time that cj.v ilized peoples have
lived on our world, more than a half
dozen demons ha\r e blighted our TnaJ~rnn-
homeland. This rn ere handful of
creatures has spre ad more suffering I became aware of the existence of
than all the Falkoim ian invasions of demons through a library bequeathed to
Darkon combined.
I ! me by Aimon Davidovich, a respected
, . .- ..
colleague and fellow expert on the Still adjusting to this realization, my
unnatural. It took Aimon’s servants tired eyes^ fell on a series of tomes. The
three wagons and one weeks labor to books, sixteen total, were written by a
transfer the contents of his vast library clan of purported mystics over the
from his home in Darkon to my own course of centuries. It seemed that in
small establishment in Mordent. each generation, one member of the
Although I had known Aimon for many family would continue the writings of his
years, I had not realized the true extent uncle or father. Aimon had labeled this
of his collection. series the Madrigorian, for the
Along with the basic tomes on medi- Madrigore family that was responsible
cine, alchemy, philosophy, mathemat- for its existence.
Although the works were extensive,
ics, and natural studies that all truly
educated possess, Aimon’s library con- they appeared to be the collected
tained a treasure trove of information on ravings of a family cursed with
the arcane. In documents ranging from hereditary insanity. At first, Aimon felt,
the uncommon to the utterly obscure, they were not worthy of further
Aimon had carefully catalogued texts inspection. However, his final note made
by mystics, adventurers, wizards, me turn to the strange series of works.
priests, and others whose writings cen- In the margins of his workbook,
tered on their experiences with crea- Aimon had written: “Despite no
tures who defied all known types of evidence of formal education, the
categorization. In addition to his meticu- members of the Madrigore family write
lous cross-referencing, Aimon was cre- with a surprising facility and seemingly
ating a thesis of his own regarding these instinctive grasp of vocabulary and its
individual manifestations of evil and proper usage. Even more intriguing is
malice, which he called “fiends.” the amazing symmetry in writing style
At once horrified and intrigued and penmanship found among the
by Aimon’s theories, I immediately authors across the generations. 1 must
plunged into my own research, index- consult Farringer on how such
ing his library, determined to come to symmetry of thought and style could be
my own conclusions. I confess that I achieved across so many years.”
hoped Aimon’s legendary mental In reading these notes, scrawled
acuity had begun to fade in his declin. awkwardly in my old friend’s ever-
ing years, and that his final, unfinished abysmal penmanship, 1 was reminded
work was the combined result of a life- of the writings of the vampires, liches,
time studying evil and the paranoia that and other creatures that live far longer
sometimes affects the old and sickly. than the normal span of a mortal life.
These thoughts were unworthy of my
fond memories of Aimon, but if his
postulations were correct, an evil
beyond all that I had yet fought was
loose in our world.
I should never have allowed such
doubt to color my thoughts, for it
slowed my ability to absorb and accept
the truth of Aimon’s observations. Still,
after three weeks ensconced among the
dusty parchments that were the final
testament to a valiant man’s time on
this earth, my intellectual training and
experience could only lead me to the
conclusion that my old friend’s thesis
was correct: There were beings from
another world among us!
, I