Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion Thoughts of Darkness The Gothic Conversion Requires the AD&D RQ2 Ravenloft Adventure Thoughts of Darkness, to play by Igor Comunale
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 1 Thoughts of Darkness The Gothic Conversion Requires the AD&D RQ2 Ravenloft Adventure Thoughts of Darkness, to play by Igor Comunale DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2023 by Igor Comunale and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.
Introduction his conversion updates to the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons the AD&D Second Edition TThoughts of Darkness adventure set in Ravenloft. This adventure is suitable for characters from 12th to 15th level. This conversion assumes a four 12th level characters party, but can be easily adapted for lower or higher level characters. Adventure Summary For a number of years, the ulitharid High Master has sought a means to usurp the power and position of the elder brain. The High Master is confident that it has been able to shield its thoughts from the elder brain, yet it has been unable to find a key to greater power until recently, when it met a vampire named Lyssa Von Zarovich (a descendant of Strahd) and conceived of a dark and lunatic plan: it wants to become a vampire-illithid, with all the powers of both races! Lyssa promised to help on the condition that the High Master send the forces of Bluetspur against Barovia after the conversion was completed. Having no intention to honour the agreement, the High Master readily consented. Common attempts at turning the High Master into a vampire were unsuccessful. The essence of life energy in the ulitharid proved foreign to Lyssa, so she couldn't find a way to turn it. Furthermore, the taste of its blood left her horribly ill. The only way they were able to create a vampire-illithid was by inserting a mind flayer egg into the brain of a humanoid host and then converting the host into a vampire as the larva developed - such illithid tadpoles were wildly insane and uncontrollable from the moment they emerged from the host, and they had to be immediately destroyed. With all progress stalled, the High Master despaired of achieving his objective. The High Master's hopes were restored when a Barovian monk fell captive to the mind flayers. He proved to be psionically endowed and resisted all attempts to dominate his mind, so Lyssa was called upon to help identify her fellow Barovian and his only personal possession: a small holy symbol on a necklace. Lyssa instinctively flinched when the symbol was produced, but she quickly discovered that the small glass rod had no negative effect upon her; rather, it excited her greatly. She promptly made the monk a minion-vampire. Lyssa and the Barovian slave disappeared from Bluetspur for several months and returned with a two-foot-long crystalline rod and a very old book. The vampire explained that the book was recovered long ago by a group of heroes and kept hidden from Strahd Von Zarovich, to be used Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 2
against him if the means and opportunity ever arose. Through her efforts to take the Lordship of Barovia from Strahd, Lyssa acquired the tome from the heroes, in the sort of daring and untraceable theft that all vampires are capable of but few bother with. The book was a diary of Strahd's that explained how to build a machine to facilitate psychic transpossession - in effect, body switching - called the Apparatus. The rod was called the Rod of Houtras, and it was a key element in the completion of the Apparatus. The diary was useless without the rod. The Rod had been in the keeping of a secret order of lawful good monks called the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power, who long had been developing the science of psionics. Strahd had suffered them to live within the confines of Barovia so long as they did not directly challenge his authority (secretly, he was curious about psionics, so he allowed them to continue their studies unhindered). The Rod had become their icon, their symbol of hope against the forces of darkness that held sway over them, but they had no idea of what the object actually was or what powers it held. They only knew that it did have psychic power, so they psionically imbued it, over several generations, with the power to protect both its location and the minds of those who bowed to it. They called it the Sacred Barrier. The Barovian who became Lyssa's vampire-minion was a monk of the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power. From her study of the Apparatus manual, she had deduced the true nature of the holy symbol, and he helped her to steal the magical item from his former Order. With both the Rod and the Apparatus manual in their hands, Lyssa's and the High Master's course of action became clear: they would build the transpossession machine, hatch a vampire-illithid, and then use the Apparatus to trade bodies. The High Master, now in the body of a mind flayer "tadpole," would then join the Lord in its briny pool and suck the life out of it. In the meantime, the Brotherhood, determined to win back the icon of its faith, sent a powerful paladin, one Lord Drassak, after the renegade monk and his new mistress. Drassak took his friend Annitella the Rogue with him, and they tracked the vampires even through the Mists and so to the realm of Bluetspur and the caves of the mind flayers. Through stealth, the two were able to learn of the High Master's plot and steal the Rod, but Drassak insisted upon finding and taking the Apparatus manual, and destroying the machine, before they fled. Reluctantly, Annitella hid the Rod and they went after the book. Thus they met their downfall, and Drassak became the host of a vampireillithid which grows even as this adventure begins. Annitella's fate was equally hideous. She was both fortunate and unfortunate enough to be a psionic wild talent, with the ability to shield her mind from mental attacks. The illithids could neither enslave her will nor read her mind to learn where she had hidden the Rod. In frustration and anger, the mind flayers sent her to their laboratories to pick her brain apart. She was experimented upon and tortured until she became a partly human, partly octopus-like greater broken one - a mockery of her "mentally superior" captors. Annitella went mad as a result of their horrible methods, but she steadfastly refused to reveal where she had hidden the Rod. Later, she was rescued by others who shared her fate, creatures who call themselves the Shattered Brethren. The Lord of Bluetspur has always been aware of the High Master's plot, but it has allowed its most powerful servant to continue with his plans because it will welcome the vampire-tadpole into its briny pool. If the High Master can turn the Lord into a vampire elder brain, so much the better. At any rate, the Lord enjoys the sport of pitting powerful heroes against its rebellious minister, and it possesses the power to crush the High Master, in any form, at its discretion. Running the Adventure To manage the adventure using this conversion, you need the main rules of Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual). You will also need the Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and Monsters of the Multiverse for informations about creatures. Non-player characters and monsters that are not present in these sources are presented in this conversion. Characters' Progression If the characters are at 12th level, they level up during the adventure with an event-based progression as follows: • They gain 13th level when they meet the Shattered Brethren, Encounter 10: Broken Ones. • They reach 14th level after they defeat Lyssa Von Zarovich in Encounter 14: Lyssa. • Characters obtain 15th level at the end of the adventure. Madness: Sanity Rules The madness system in the Dungeon Master's Guide was deliberately left vague. To establish greater precision in managing madness for characters, the Sanity system is introduced. This approach requires little book keeping and is not overly complex, simply simulating the descent into madness in Dungeons and Dragons. It is in no way a scientific method of classifying diseases and mental problems. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 3
Sanity Level This score represents the degree of fragility of the mind of the character. Most characters start from a sanity level of 5 (Healthy), although according to the DM new created characters may begin with a lower sanity level, although it is not advisable to start below level 3 (Stress). Sanity Level 5 Healthy 4 Shock (1 short-term madness effect) 3 Stress (2 short-term madness effects) 2 Trauma (1 long-term madness effect) 1 Severe Trauma (1 long-term madness effect with double duration) 0 Shattered Mind (indefinite madness) Stability Saving Throws Whenever a character witnesses an upsetting vision or is subject to an experience that represents an attack on the stability of its mind, the player must roll a Stability saving throw check. It is a DC 15 Wisdom or Charisma saving throw (the character choose the saving throw to use). If the check is successful, the character is impressed by the experience, but does not suffer any negative effect. If the check results in a failure, the character immediately loses one point of Stability, suffering the indicated effects (see the appropriate table in the Dungeon Master's Guide). If the character has zero sanity points, it makes the check with disadvantage, and if it's a failure, it suffers an additional indefinite madness. Healing Sanity A character’s Sanity can be cured. If the character does not have 0 sanity, and receives a lesser restoration or a greater restoration spell, it may immediately roll a new Stability saving throw (with greater restoration it gets advantage on When to Roll There are several situations that may require a Stability Saving Throw. Typically the DM will declare when a check is needed. Some situations that may require a Saving Throw from a character may include, but are not limited to: • establish mental contact with an aberration or fiend. • see a friend or close friend die before its eyes. • is subject to a magical effect which causes madness. • discover that an individual it thought it knew is not what it seems (i.e. doppelganger or werewolf). • suffers mental and/or physical torture. • is transported on a different plane of existence which has morphological characteristics or physical laws very different from the world of origin. • is reincarnated in a body different from that of origin. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 4
this check). If the check succeeds, its Sanity immediately increases by 1 point without any negative effects. If the character has 0 Sanity, only a grater restoration or more powerful spell may grant a new saving throw to cure the indefinite insanity. Regarding Psionics The illithid are masters in the use of psionic powers. In this adventure there are creatures that can use psionic powers innately: they are considered wild talents. When a creature is capable of using psionics, this is indicated in its statistics block. A psionic power simulates the effects of a spell, but doesn't need any components to be cast. Any use of psionic powers will alert the elder brain of the location and nature of the psionic creature. Special Items Some artifacts have a central role in this adventure. They are described in the boxes below. Magic Item: Rod of Rastinion Wondrous item, artifact This transforming crystal is the key to the Apparatus. To date, no other use has been discovered. Without this rod, the Apparatus can only exchange minds between bodies; it cannot split or rejoin a single psyche. It is a crystal shaft 2 feet long and a half inch in diameter. Silver sparks occasionally flicker inside, quietly crackling. If anyone deliberately tries to break the rod, it would need a DC 25 Strength check to do so. The secret of making the rod has been lost. According to legend, several were made, but only one has been recovered so far. Magic Item: Rod of Houtras Wondrous item, artifact This two-foot-long clear crystal rod is the key power conduit in an Apparatus machine, and the device cannot perform a transpossession at all without it. The Rod also gained a number of psionic powers while in the keeping of a lawful good order of Barovian monks who developed and practiced psionics. The Rod makes telepathic contact with its possessor impossible, rendering the mind impenetrable, even to the Lord of Bluetspur; such a character is mentally invisible to spells and effects like detect thoughts. The item also is immune to all location and detection attempts, including magical ones. However, the Rod glows when any psionically-endowed lawful good character approaches within 20 feet while actively seeking it. Magic Item: The Apparatus Wondrous item, artifact This huge machine stands over 30 feet tall, and is a 20 feet wide at the base. A glass globe, 15 feet high, rests upon a massive tripod made of wood and steel. The tripos lifts the globe 15 feet from the floor. The globe encases a great, spinning ball of sulphur. A network of rings, made of cold-forged steel, tops the enormous glass sphere. Two smaller globes, each the height of a man, are suspended below the large one. The pair is linked by a narrow glass neck, like an hourglass on its side. A 3-footwide trap door opens from the bottom of each smaller globe. A steel, tubular arch links each smaller globe to the mother sphere above. A third, still smaller, series of globes rings the entire base of the tripod, linked together like a chian by thin glass tubes. A bewildering array of metal and glass – rods, wires, and plates – joins the circle of spheres to the two man-sized glass chambers. Lightning energizes the apparatus. The steel rings on top focus electricity into the mother globe. To fully charge, the apparatus requires 12 lightning strikes within the span of 3 hours; over a longer period, the charge fades. The energy in converted into a magical force by the spinning ball of sulphur within the globe. This contraption can cause the exchange of minds between two intelligent creatures. The subjects must stand in the man-sized glass globes. On the twelfth lightning strike, the psyches of the two individuals are exchanged (swap the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores between the two creatures, the creatures retain their classes and levels, as well as their alignment). Both subjects fall unconscious for 1 hour. Any attempt to determine the alignment (magical or otherwise) or true nature of a transposed subject fails. The second function of this machine requires the Rod of Rastinion. When the rod is placed in the glass tube connecting the two man-sized chambers, a subject's personality can be split in two. An intelligent subject must stand in one of the man-sized globes. On the twelfth lightning strike, the psyche splits. In a flash, a duplicate of the subject appears in the adjacent chamber. Physically, they are almost twins. Mentally, they are unique. One of the creatures is inherently evil, the other is deeply good. The other part of its alignment remains the same. The “dark side” described above is a being of such evil that the Dark Powers will envelop it, granting it a lordship of a domain. The Apparatus can also rejoin the psyches it has divided. Both halves must occupy one of the globes, with the Rod of Rastinion in place. On the twelfth strike, their psyches will join, and the original subject restored. Theoretically, two normal subject might be forced to share one body through this process. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 5
his section describes the necessary updates to play the adventure with the rules of Dungeons & Dragons 5 th Edition. The updates follow the same order and have the same title as the parts in the original adventure. If a reference to a part of the adventure is absent, then it means that it does not require any modification and can be used in its original form. T The text appearing in this way is intended to be read or paraphrased to the characters when they arrive at a certain place or certain events occur, as described in the text. The text that appears in these boxes contains additions to the adventure and game recommendations for the DM. Introduction Thoughts of Darkness During their stay in Bluetspur, the characters' dreams will be plagued by way too real nightmares. In these dreamlike encounters, the heroes risk their sanity and, in some specific cases, even their lives. Every character who dies in these dream encounters must succeed on a Stability saving throw, or loose one Sanity level. Other events in this dreamscapes may require other Stability saving throw at the DM's discretion. Every wound and even death sustained by the character's in their dreams is healed when they wake up. Every resource or spell used in the dreamscape are considered lost normally, even consumable magic items and item's charges. If one or more characters are awake on watch when the nightmare begins, they are drawn in the dreamscape to fight along their companions. When the nightmare ends, these characters retain every sustained wound. This is the only case that can provoke the characters' death due to the nightmare attacks. These characters, if they survive the encounter, must make a Stability saving throw as above. Variant: We Can Win This! The Thoughts of Darkness rule make rest difficult for the characters, and can even wound, kill, or make them go mad. Pair it with fights they cannot hope to win, and you can make the players easily feel frustrated. To avoid boredom, try to make these dreamscape encounters challenging and interesting. The characters should have the impression of difficult fights, but with a chance to win, even if slim. You could even consider a reward in inspiration or recovered Sanity levels if they win a fight. Variant: The Nightmare Never Ends if you wish, you can play Thoughts of Darkness as the final chapter in the Grand Conjunction campaign. After the events of Night of the Walking Dead, Touch of Death, Feast of Goblyns, Ship of Horror, From the Shadows, and Roots of Evil, the characters must survive a last nightmare if they wish to return home. Having played through the Grand Conjunction adventures, the characters should have a level suitable to face the terrors of Thoughts of Darkness. This could be the end of your Ravenloft campaign, with the characters finally returning home at the end of the adventure, or it could be just another horrible nightmare, foreshadowing the future coming of deeper horrors. This is also a wonderful opportunity to bring back defeated enemies due to the Thoughts of Darkness effect which rules over Bluetspur. Make Marcel d'Tarascon, Senmet, or even Azalin Rex return in the characters' nightmares... with a following of unnamable illithid horrors! You can find 5th edition adaptations of this villains' statistics in the Gothic Conversion products on DMSGuild. About Bluetspur Each time a character casts a spell, there is a percentage chance equal to twice the level of the spell cast that the use of magical energy attracts the attention of mind flayers, causing an arcane resonance. 1D4 rounds after the DM makes a successful detection roll, 2d6 mind flayers teleport into the area and attempt to take prisoners. Using spells in combat doesn't summon additional mind flayers. The Shattered Brethren There are many slaves and children of slaves of the mind flayers who are psionic wild talents, or who became psionic after they were experimented on by the illithids. These creatures have the Tower of Iron Will trait which grants them advantage to saving throws against psionics, and they have broken the mental bonds that held them and escaped into the countless cracks and fissures that honeycomb the lower reaches of the mind flayer complex. Twisted of body and warped of mind, they live by stealth outside the realm of their former masters. Starting the Adventure Each character must fight a dream adversary alone. Should any character defeat its enemy, it hears the sounds of combat all around it, but may not find anyone. Allow such character a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check to locate a fellow party member. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 6 Conversion
Variant: This is MY Dream! Since in their encounter with the dream adversary the characters are fighting in their own dream, you can make the encounter more interesting by making the character try a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw at the beginning of the fight. If the characters succeed, they realize this their dream. During their turn, they can use a bonus action to call a copy of one of their items inside the dream. The characters have only those items that were directly on their persons when they began their rest. Horror Opportunity: Give Me Back My Face! Whenever a dream adversary strikes a characters with an attack, tell the player that its opponent seems to slowly steal their character's own features. As dream adversaries looks like strong men with a featureless face, describe how slowly the creature is changing to mirror the looks of the character it's facing after each strike. When they wake up from the dream-fight, the characters must succeed on a Stability saving throw, or loose one sanity level. Explain to the players that the characters who were on watch (or otherwise awake) have sustained real damage from the battle, while those who were asleep show only light scars where they were hit, but they have sustained no damage from the fight. Every character suffer one level of exhaustion. First Reaction When the characters realize the surrounding alien landscape they find themselves in, every character must succeed on a Stability saving throw, or loose one sanity level. The water is indeed safe to drink, but anyone who looks into it must roll a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check to spy reflections in the water that are not theirs. If any character succeeds, tell them that they catch for a moment a glimpse of something strange and alien in their reflection. The character must succeed on a Stability saving throw, or loose one sanity level. Whenever a character looks into a body of water in Bluetspur, prior to discovering the presence of remnants (a new monster), make the same check. The drone is psionically created by the elder brain, and it will haunt the party throughout their stay in Bluetspur. It cannot be silenced even by magical means, since it sounds directly in the characters' minds. Ignore the part about the message from the characters' gods. Just tell to clerics, paladins, and similar divine classes that they feel the connection with their gods faded and difficult to perceive. Horror Opportunity: Destination? Madness! Thoughts of Darkness is an adventure focused on cosmic horror and the characters' descent into madness. You can enhance these themes making the characters check Stability often. Devise descriptions on how alien and impossible Bluetspur's landscape seems, and make them check every time the place show itself as crazy and difficult to comprehend to a sane mind. Also, the continue elder brain's psionic drone should force the characters to check Stability at the end of each day. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 7
Thoughts of Darkness f the party, for any reason, decides to travel in any direction other than toward the scream, lead them to the border, where thick Mists curtain off their view. If they venture into the Mists, attack them repeatedly with mist horrors until they are forced to retreat back into Bluetspur. I Encounter 1: Rescue When the characters investigate, they discover 8 duergar, 10 drow, 2 drow mages, and one human standing in a rough circle around a creature lying on the ground. There are also 20 giant spider mounts. These creatures stand off to the side. The human's name is Bonespur (he owns important magic items described in this page in the boxes), while the part human, part beast creature on the ground is Annitella (both detailed in Who's Doomed). Bonespur can call anytime his nightmare mount. If the characters attack these creatures, a large duergar blows his horn and three rounds later, 6 more drow, one more drow mage, and 6 more duergar arrive on their 13 giant spiders. Bonespur's chain contingency medallion is triggered if he falls unconscious while wearing it. At that time, the stored spells are activated: a teleport spell takes him to a place of safety, a heal spell cures him 90 lost hit points, and he receives a lesser restoration spell. Note that Bonespur's shapechanging knife does extra psychic damage due to the weapon's own powers and to the latent wild psionic talent of its actual bearer (see Bonespur in Who's Doomed). Encounter 1A: Slinker The creature, a broken one named Slinker, appears to notice the party, but it is in too much pain to react. The administration of any curative spell greatly aids its regenerative powers, allowing it to speak through gasps of pain Magic Item: Chain Contingency Medallion Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement) This golden medallion can store up to three spells of 8th level or lower. These spells will be released under certain conditions decided at the moment of its creation, such as being hit by an enemy or be reduced to 0 or less hit points. When this condition occurs, all three spells are cast immediately in the same turn. The medallion can be used up to three times, then it looses all its magical proprieties and crumbles into dust. Magic Item: Shapechanging Knife Weapon, legendary (requires attunement by a chaotic creature) The Shapechanging Knife is a magic dagger empowered with psionics by the ulitharid High Master to serve as a powerful weapon for its servant Bonespur. You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. When you hit a creature with an Intelligence of 3 or higher, that creature takes an extra 2d6 psychic damage. It has the following additional properties. Heightened Awareness. When you hold this weapon, you are considered to have a 25 passive Perception. You have advantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks. Change Shape. You can use your bonus action to make the Shapechanging Knife transform into a shortsword, a longsword, or a greatsword, or to make it transform back into a dagger. Sentience. The Shapechanging Knife is a sentient chaotic neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 13, a Wisdom of 18, and a Charisma of 18. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. The weapon can speak, read, and understand Common, and can communicate with its wielder telepathically. Its voice is whispering and unctuous. While you are attuned to it, the Shapechanging Knife also understands every language you know. Personality. The Shapechanging Knife speaks with a slow and deliberate voice, inspiring its wielder into acts of mayhem and chaos. The sword purpose is to saw chaos just for the sake of it. The sword hates controlled and law-abiding people and can rebel itself if its wielder seems too respectful of laws and fearful to ride the wave of chaos. In this case, a conflict between it and its wielder occurs immediately. almost immediately. Otherwise, Slinker needs an hour of rest before it can communicate effectively. It has 15 hit points when the characters find it. Unless the party is willing to move at a rate of 10 ft., Slinker must be carried. It also needs to regain at least 50% of its total hit points before it is capable of travelling. Even so, it is exhausted and demands rest before taking the party on to the entrance to the complex. Encounter 2: Annitella Tell the party to each roll a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, tell them that something is moving behind a nearby rock. There is nothing there when they go to investigate - the Darklord is merely taunting them with its psionic powers. If the check fails, just say: "Never mind." Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 8
Encounter 3: Storms On the first and second round, the lightning storm spreads rapidly toward the party. On the third round, a bolt of lightning strikes dangerously near the party. On the fourth through sixth rounds, have the characters roll DC 18 Dexterity saving throws; failure indicates that a bolt of lightning has struck close enough to cause 8d6 lightning damage, or half as much damage on a successful saving throw. Following the sixth round, the characters' saving throw to avoid being struck must be made with disadvantage until they get to the cave. The cave is the only sufficient cover. Roll secretly for Annitella, always saving. If she is struck as a consequence of her proximity to another victim, she may be rendered unconscious, but not killed. Encounter 4: Traitors Make each player roll a Wisdom saving throw. At the end of the adventure, there are six identical messages that are titled "In the Cave: Unaffected". These should already be photocopied and cut apart, one for each player. Don't say the character if the saving throw was successful or not, Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 9
choose a slip (pretending that each has a different message) and then hand it to each player, instructing him to keep the message to himself. Repeat the process until all the players have a "secret message". The effect is to make the characters think that at least a few of them have been controlled by Annitella. Even though all of them retain power over their actions, announce, "Those of you who are controlled, be sure to role-play the situation". Similarly, if a character begins to make any signs to signal his real condition or to call for peace, ask the signalled characters to roll 1d20, then write them a quick message that says, "Your long association with (character's name) tells you that he is acting suspiciously. Don't trust him". Inform the party that they must roll for initiative. In the first round, they should each write on the back of their DM message what their action will be and whom it will be directed against, and then hand it back to the DM. Annitella will not attack, and any attack against her will pass through her body without causing damage, eliciting little more than a laugh. As each character's initiative turn comes up, read their written intention aloud and then allow them to perform it. As a character is "killed", it dissipates into vapour. Continue the battle until there is only one character left standing, then tell that character that the vapour clouds of its former companions reform before its eyes. Tell the characters that everyone but the winner of the battle has full hit points and spells and have them make initiative rolls to begin the battle anew. Every character must succeed on a Stability saving throw, or loose one Sanity level. Then proceed to Encounter 5. If the party steadfastly refuses to raise arms against itself, award Inspiration, for such a display of loyalty. Remember, those who were not resting retain any damage suffered when the encounter is over. Encounter 5: Vampires The characters are attacked by 4 vampiric mind flayers. Encounter 6: Ambush Annitella takes the characters directly to the lake, a one hour trip. Along the way, ask the characters to roll a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. If any of them succeed, tell them that they hear a scratching noise behind them. Investigation again proves fruitless as the elder brain continues to tease the party. If they all roll higher, just say "Never mind". There will be no encounters along the way (if the party is still fairly strong, the DM may insert a second encounter with 2 vampiric mind flayers along the way.) When the characters spot the remnants in the water, Bonespur lead an ambush on his nightmare, at the head of 2 drow mages, 10 duergars (or 6 stone giants, if you want to keep the encounter similar to the original), and 10 mind flayers. Characters stepping in the water or adjacent to it are grabbed by remnants. Grabbed characters are dragged into the water. Encounter 7: Remnants 30 remnants drag the characters deeper and deeper down the water. When the characters come back to their senses, they are involved in a dream battle. Their enemies are 1 mind flayer, 2 drow, 2 vampires and Strahd Von Zarovich (see Who's Doomed). Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 10
Each player face this encounter using the character's sheet of the player to his left side. The conscience of the character has been transported in another character's body. The player can use every feature of the new character, but to cast spells it needs to succeed on a DC 15 Concentration check. When the battle is over, the party awakens in darkness. Each character must succeed on a Stability saving throw, or loose one Sanity level. Encounter 8: The Guardian While they travel through the water, ask the characters to make a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check. If they succeed, tell them that someone is trying to locate them magically; otherwise, just say "Never mind”. The remnants can be released through the casting of a bless spell on their remains. The characters are attacked by a blood elemental. Should any character smash any of the four red glowing crystals, the blood elemental is freed and its humanoid form dissipates immediately into nothingness. Otherwise, it fights until destroyed, thus freeing itself by being banished back to the mists the Dark Powers sent it from. Treat the crystals as AC 18 opponents with 25 hit points. Encounter 8A: Reunion When the party has climbed out of the pit dump, tell the characters to make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check; those who succeed spot Annitella hiding in the shadows of the room. Encounter 8B: Inside the Complex Have the first character to climb out of the pit dump roll a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. If the check is successful, the character catches a glimpse of something disappearing through an exit; on a failure, just say "Never mind". If the party chooses to rest, a 2 mind flayers will lead 5 human slaves (commoners) carrying dead bodies over their shoulders into the cavern. If there are any surviving slaves after the last mind flayer is killed, they will fall to the ground, unconscious. If revived, they will stare blankly and be unable to answer questions. Casting a detect thoughts spell reveals that the mind of a slave is held captive, but the caster is not able to penetrate the hold to read thoughts. Suggestion and other mind-controlling spells have no effect on the alreadyenslaved mind. Casting a dominate person spell establishes a telepathic link with the slave, allowing the caster to communicate with the slave, but it does not break the mind flayers' hold on the slave. Remember that spell use may cause an arcane resonance that draws the illithids' Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 11
attention. Casting a mind blank or wish spell also frees the slave's mind, but the slave is confused and unhappy in either case. He can communicate normally with the party, but his information is limited. He recalls his former life in a neighbouring realm of Ravenloft and the day he was captured by a large, bald man and brought, in a cage, through the Mists, to a strange and desolate land. After that, his memories grow unclear. Encounter 9: Recovering the Rod Tell the players to roll a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. If any succeed, write a message that reads: "You notice that Annitella's (and/or Slinker's) shadow is apparently that of a much larger creature, with fearsome claws". Pass the message around to those who made the proper roll. If everyone fails, say "Never mind". The elder brain is at work here, toying with the party's suspicions. Just before the party arrives at the area labelled the Crystal Cave on the complex map, the corridor widens sharply, creating a 40 foot by 40 foot by 20 foot area that opens to a large cavern. This cavern is crystalline from wall to wall, with many razor-sharp edges. Torchlight reflects and seems as bright as daylight. The area is roughly 40 feet tall and 80 feet across. This cave's floor is considered difficult terrain. Anyone attempting to walk at full speed through this room will sustain 1d4 slashing damage for every 5 feet of movement. When Annitella recovers the rod, an army of 50 human slaves (commoners), controlled from behind by 5 mind flayers, pours into the cavern behind the party. Also Bonespur on his Nightmare, Lyssa Von Zarovich, and the ulitharid High Master make their appearance during this fight. Their goal is to recover the rod while the characters are busy fighting with their minions. Bonespur will not attack, he has the order to kidnap Annitella. Lyssa will fight the characters until reduced to half her hit points. The ulitharid High Master will take part to the fight using Mind Blast on the first round and every time the ability recharges until Annitella is secured. Then, the High Master will leave the fight. These enemies are impossible for the characters to face together, remember that their goal in this part of the adventure is to take Annitella and the rod. They are not still interested in killing the characters. Encounter 10: Broken Ones After the fight, allow the party 1d4 rounds to act. If they stay where they are, they will be attacked again with an equal force of 50 human slaves (commoners) and 5 mind flayers. If they remain after a second battle, the force sent against them will be composed by 100 human slaves (commoners) and 10 mind flayers on the next assault. If the characters win every fight or if they flee the mind flayers, they meet Symbiont (shattered brethren). The other members of the Shattered Brethren have all similar statistics, also if they have each a different appearance. If the characters drink the broken ones' potion, they must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. If they succeed, they are healed 3d8+5 hit points. If they fail, they are poisined for 1d4 hours. Furthermore, on a success, the background hum that has haunted him since his arrival in Bluetspur seems to fade into the background and all his muscles relax. Tell the player that he never even realized how tense his character was until after he took a drink from the skin. Any spellcasting character that succeeds on the saving throw, recovers two spell slots of its choice. If the party rests now, those who successfully saved against poison after drinking the potion will rest without suffering any nightmares, and they will awaken as if they had rested normally in a safe place, thanks to the disgusting potion. Encounter 12: Slave Pens The slave pens are three large caverns approximately 100 feet wide, 200 feet long, and 80 feet high. The caverns are connected with wide, mined out corridors fully 20 feet wide and 10 feet high. There are large crystals, each about one foot square, set in the walls at 10 foot intervals. The crystals glow a dim red from a constant psionic activity which the elder brain maintains to light and heat the complex. Cavern A: Holding Pens In this room there are 2 mind flayers and 90 slaves (commoners). If an illithid escapes the battle, it returns in 1d6 rounds with 10 drow, 4 drow mages, and 10 duergar from Cavern B: Elite Slaves. The mind flayers have the usual chances to spot invisible characters. The terrain is considered difficult due to the ankle deep trash on the floor. Horror Opportunity: Impossible Anatomies During the stay with the Shattered Brethren, you can enhance the sense of horror by playing on the impossible anatomies of the broken ones. Describe vividly the strange and alien bodies of these creatures, creating a disturbing comparison with their civilized and almost “normal” manners. Let the characters understand that these creatures once where humanoid beings as themselves. The realization of the horror the mind flayers imposed on this poor creatures can be enough to call for a Stability saving throw. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 12
Cavern B: Elite Slaves If they have not been called to Cavern A: Holding Pens, in this room there are 10 drow, 4 drow mages, and 10 duergar. Any enslaved character will be here among these slaves. Cavern C: Special Slaves Almost every cage contains a single occupant. About half of them contain enslaved women in various stages of pregnancy (commoners). Another five contain various freewilled broken ones who have developed psionic resistance. Missing kidnapped or killed characters will be found here, chained at the wall with 0 hit points and unconscious. Encounter 13: The Laboratories The level directly above the slave pens contains the mind flayer laboratories. There are four connected caverns that Horror Opportunity: Alien Experiments The laboratories are the perfect place to set something of horrible and frightening for the characters to see. The illithid are cruel creatures with an utterly alien mind. Be creative and describe dissected but still living creatures moaning in pain or humanoids strapped at chairs with their heads opened and their brains exposed. The goal of showing these horrible views to the characters is to let them feel all the horror the min flayers represent. And they should also realize that this fate could also be theirs if they are defeated. Seeing these horrible experiments should call for a Stability saving throw. make up the facilities, numbered 1-4. Labs 3 and 4 contain various experiments and equipment, but nothing of direct interest to the adventure. Lab 1 The contents of this room call for a Stability saving throw. In this room there is a mind flayer scientist. Lab 2 Annitella is kept in this laboratory. Bonespur and 2 drow are waiting the characters for an ambush. 5 mind flayers are working around Annitella. The mind flayers tries to flee if the battle is going badly for their side. Encounter 14: Lyssa In this cavern, the characters face Lyssa Von Zarovich, Bonespur, and 10 drow. Bonespur will call his nightmare to help him in this fight. Encounter 15: The Apparatus The spiral passageway up to the Apparatus chamber is completely dark, due to the multiple darkness psionic spells placed on crystals along the walls at 20-foot intervals. Smashing these crystals negates the power; the darkness spells can be dispelled magically one by one. The lower half of the passageway is dotted with spiked pit traps every 50 feet. The traps span the width of the corridor. The first one is 10 feet across, but each one following is five feet wider than the one before it. There are five such traps along the way. When the characters are about halfway up the passageway, the background drone that has been with the party since it arrived in Bluetspur abruptly stops. In its highly charged state, the Apparatus will explode if it sustains any damage whatsoever, scattering glass shards like darts. Anyone within sight of the machine sustains 14 (4d6) slashing damage, and anyone within 50 feet sustains an additional 14 (4d6) fire damage. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 13
Encounter 16: The High Master's Quarters The High Master's room has two entrances: one of them provides access to the Apparatus chamber and the other leads back down to the general illithid living quarters. Both entrances are protected by a pit of cold death trap that the High Master merely levitates over when going to and from his private quarters. Pit of Cold Death Trap Magic Trap This magical device is a combination of spells. The pit itself is not hidden. It is a 15-foot-deep hole with a subtly beveled rim, flooded with 10 feet of water. When a creature steps onto the beveled surface next to the pit, a ice storm spell is tripped in a 20-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centred on the creature. Each creature in the cylinder must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 2d8 bludgeoning damage and 4d6 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Hailstones turn the storm’s area of effect into difficult terrain until the end of your next turn. Also, the floor becomes icy and slippery, causing anyone on the beveled rim to fall into the pool of water. As soon as the creature falls into the water, a cone of cold spell is tripped. Each creature in the trap must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. A creature takes 8d8 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature killed by this spell becomes a frozen statue until it thaws. The spell freeze the pool solid, and the characters risk suffocation. A detect magic spell reveals the presence of the magic trap. Two consecutive successful dispel magic (DC 18) spells cast on the pit destroys the trap. The characters can find the hidden manual on a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. Encounter 17: The Lair of the Elder Brain The characters must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw . Those who successfully save have resisted the elder brain's command, but they must use all of their will to do so, so they will not be able to take any other action. If a character fails his save, he immediately begins to plunge the weapon it holds or that he usually fight with into his body, automatically hitting and taking critical damage from its own weapon. When the round is over, tell the characters to repeat the saving throw for the same results in the second round. During these first two rounds, the Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 14
party will be powerless to cast any spell or take any other action to help themselves. They are completely at the command of the elder brain. After reading the first box, have the characters roll the saving throw again, and assess damage against those who fail. After Drassak invokes the barrier, 10 mind flayers, 20 drow, and 8 drow mages appear. If Bonespur has not exhausted his medallion's power by this time, he will also appear on his nightmare. If the characters are teleported outside by the elder brain, they risk to be hit by lightnings like in Encounter 3: Storms. The characters have still to fight the drow, while the mind flayers and Bonespur flee the scene. If the characters are still fairly fresh and strong after all of this, five vampiric mind flayers will appear and attack. Concluding the Adventure The DM may insert one or more encounters with groups of 5-6 vampiric mind flayers before the party reaches the northern reaches of Bluetspur, if he chooses. The elder brain wants to make the characters escape, too damaged to be able to fight them again. Whenever the characters reach the realm's northern edge, the Mists rise before them. They may enter the Mists and pass to another domain of the DM's choosing or they may successfully reach Barovia. If they seek out the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power and relate their story, the Order will treat them graciously. The Apparatus manual fascinates them and they reward the characters for bringing it to them; the nature of the reward is up to the DM. If Annitella has promised the PCs that the Order can grant magical wishes, then it is up to the DM whether this is true or whether Annitella lied, in her deranged state. Continuing the Adventure After the defeat of the ulitharid High Master, the adventure can continue with the journey of the characters to reach the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power. In Barovia, Strahd keeps always an eye on the brotherhood activities. He surely doesn't wish them to become a serious menace to his power, so he will try to slow the characters' travel, or even send his minions to attack them and recover the manual. Perhaps this events could bring the characters to play through a higher level version of Curse of Strahd. They are in Barovia now, and defeating the evil Strahd could be their only mean to escape Ravenloft. If you played Thoughts of Darkness as a final chapter for the Grand Conjunction campaign, you could also let the player make a journey to the brotherhood to discover they are the keepers of a portal to go finally back home. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 15
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 16 Who's Doomed
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 17
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 18
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Thoughts of Darkness - The Gothic Conversion 19