I am writing this in January 2022, but it was played over 4 sessions around March / April 2021, so this update is to serve as a reminder for the players what happened before we return to Death on the Reik following Daniel's D&D campaign.
The games were played remotely on Roll20 then Foundry, and some progress levelling-up wise was lost to Foundry's updates fucking up the server (Forge VTT - great when it works but oh boy is it buggy) - a one off as we are no longer using that server and it's inability to keep up, everything is now on my laptop safe, and we will not be using the VTT for anything other than maps, the calendar, rules reference and NPC stats.
So moving back to in person gaming and character booklets that are printed means some characters will have a lot of XP to spend, so there will be a Session 0. That session will be going through this blog in detail and ensuring they have all the items and info.
I shall write in this blog post the things that happened as I remember them, found items are all listed in the adventure so there will be nothing lost.
That said, here is what transpired...
The evening following the adventurers’ arrival, a force of 20 guards led by Kratz, the Sergeant of the Guard, rides down to the wharf. While eight guards board the adventurers’ vessel, the other twelve cover the Characters with their crossbows.
‘This boat has been impounded because you didn’t call at the castle to pay the toll for use of this splendid wharf. Before you ask, it’s too late now to pay, even if you wanted to.’ A few of the guards laugh at this witticism. ‘Move along peacefully and no one will get hurt. Or of course, we could always
feed you to the beggars.’ Disturbingly, the beggars look excited at this, and a few of them take an eager step forward.
Their boat is taken through the castle’s water-gate. Kratz explains, ‘We’ll need some time to calculate the full scale of your fine. We’ll need to get the big abacus out for you lot.’
Having already discovered that Lady Margritte is kidnapping villagers after getting them hooked on rotgut, the PC's are angry. They know only that there are Outlaws who might know a way into the castle, and it is time for them to get their boat back and take revenge.
THE OUTLAW CAMP
The outlaw camp lies just over a mile from the village, and is well concealed. The forest surrounding the village is dark and sinister. Tall trees spiral upwards to the sky, blocking out the light. The floor of
the forest is covered with sickly-looking fungal growths, and tree roots seem to reach out to snag passers-by. When they arrive, they discover the camp is being attacked by Beastmen. Helping out means they meet the Outlaws, led by Hilda and Sigrid, an ex-priestess of Rhya,
There are 20 outlaws at the camp, led by Sigrid. They offer the adventurers their hospitality, and Sigrid
provides directions to a cave that she believes leads into the castle. She warns against going there, however, calling it a 'den of madness and death.' She has been into the cave, but the strange, unnerving gibbering she heard drove her back.
When the adventurers are ready to leave the camp, Hilda will guides them to wherever they wish to go. After travelling for 30 minutes the adventurers see Kratz leading a group of six guards. The guards are accompanied by a Beastman, heading towards the Castle.
Hilda leads them to a cave system she says leads to the Castle.
Following Sigrid’s directions, they come to a dark cave that leads to a network of tunnels running beneath the Outer Bailey. Fighting their way past a mutant, some rats and bats and lashworms, they discover a narrow, winding staircase leading up to a ruined outbuilding in the Outer Bailey. This leads to a courtyard full of beggars and guard houses... they go back to the Outlaws and draw up a plan.
The castle is big, with an Outer Bailey filled with guards on one hill, a bridge with guard stations leading to an Inner Bailey where the Von Wittgenstein family live.
Cutting a very long story down to it's basics, the PC's stormed the Outer Bailey with help from Sigrid, Hilda and the Outlaws - in the process killing all the guards as a thunder and lightning storm raged. This allowed them access to the Inner Bailey where they went room by room, and murdered the family, with one exception - Gotthard Von Wittgenstein, who they discovered has gone to Middenheim to join a Chaos Cult devoted to Slaanesh.
They managed to loot a fair few bits and pieces, and discover what happened to the family...
Ludwig von Wittgenstein
The Head of the household lives in his own tower. The steps leading to the entrance are broken and worn, and the paint on the door is cracked and peeling. All the windows have been bricked up. As the adventurers enter, the black carpet of this room seems to heave and move. Something crunches underfoot and each step leaves a dark-red stain. Then suddenly, a clear patch of stone flooring is revealed as thousands of cockroaches scamper for cover. The door leading to the tower is also covered in cockroaches, which have to be brushed off the handle before it can be turned.
The Portrait Room
The furniture here is blanketed with cockroaches, although they seem to avoid the walls and ceiling. A bookcase contains books on plants and flowers, art, and architecture.
Visible behind the cockroaches on the walls are portraits of past and present family members. One shows Lady Ingrid, another Lady Margritte when she was ten years old, a third is of Margritte’s brother Gotthard, and a fourth is of Ludwig himself — labelled ‘Head of the Family’. Ludwig’s portrait is quite disturbing, as although he looks more or less normal, his jacket bulges oddly from the armpits and his skin seems very shiny. Protruding from the edges of his mouth are two small, black teeth.
Ludwig's room is also filled with cockroaches, but the adventurers’ attention is caught by the sight of a human-sized cockroach, seated on a stool and playing a harpsichord with its forelegs. The creature wears a powdered white wig, and has a pair of spectacles upon its almost-human head. A gold pocket-watch hangs from its chitinous body, and a white lace handkerchief is tucked between two of its body plates. This is Ludwig von Wittgenstein.
As the adventurers enter, he stops playing and turns towards them. ‘Ah, visitors!’ he says, his mandibles clicking slightly as he speaks. ‘It has been so long! Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable.’
He issues a series of clicks, and the cockroaches hurry off the furniture, revealing a comfortable-looking sofa and three chairs. ‘Please do not be disturbed by my appearance,’ he continues. ‘May I offer you a drink?’ He indicates a table with a decanter of brandy and six glasses.
Ludwig happily talk about the castle and its occupants, art and philosophy, and is eager for news of recent events in the Empire.
Ludwig deplores the behaviour of the rest of the family, which he credits to what he calls ‘the von Wittgenstein curse’. ‘It all started with Dagmar von Wittgenstein,’ he explains. ‘My great-grandfather, built the observatory up near Grünburg. He became obsessed with a shooting star — couldn’t rest until he found it. Well, he brought it back, and things have never quite gone right for us since.’
They leave him and then set his tower on fire.
Baronette Ingrid von Wittgenstein
Lady Ingrid’s pale complexion and white hair make her look only barely alive. Her fine clothes are covered with cat hairs and marked by muddy paw-prints, especially on her lap. She has been the head of the family since her husband Ludwig’s metamorphosis.
Lady Ingrid’s furniture is ragged and torn by innumerable claws. The curtains hang in ribbons, and there are deep claw marks marks on every available wooden surface.
Around the walls are hunting trophies from Lady Ingrid’s younger days. Stuffed heads peer down, each with an engraved brass plate: ‘Peasant – 2490', 'Roadwarden – 2492', 'Beastman – 2493', 'Imperial Tax Collector – 2496,’ and lesser prey such as deer, boars, bears, and goblins.
The room is filled with mutant cats - Some have long ears or long tails, some are strangely coloured
(bright blue, red and yellow stripes), others have human-like hands, or long fangs, or multiple limbs or eyes. Ingrid has no useful information.
Kurt von Wittgenstein
Kurt is insane, and spends all his time mounting and stuffing corpses of all kinds. Kurt loves his stuffed ‘friends,’ and talks to them as though they are still alive. He openly admits that he would like everyone in the castle — no, in the whole world — to become his ‘friends,’ and becomes quite disturbingly excited at the thought. Recently, the servants have refused to enter this room, as the last one to do so is still there, hanging on the back of the door. She doesn’t bring any more meals, but Kurt thinks her conversation is far more interesting now.
Gotthard von Wittgenstein
Although there is no sign of Gotthard other than the portrait in the portrait room, and the fact Ludwig told them he has moved to Middenheim, they do find a letter from him when they search Lady Magritte's room:
Considering they had also found a temple devoted to Slaanesh in the castle grounds, the players are free to deduce that he has gone to Middenheim to join a cult.
Lady Margritte von Wittgenstein
Lady Margritte is young and beautiful, but her researches into necromancy are taking their toll.
Obsessed with death and dead things, she is also taking on a cadaverous appearance; her skin is pale and beginning to stretch thinly over her bones. She disguises this with make-up, and has so far succeeded in maintaining a somewhat normal appearance.
As the players enter her laboratory, the electrical storm is at its height. Lightning arcs overhead, momentarily flooding the room with stark light. They see a network of glass tubes filled with glowing, multi-coloured vapours, linked by a series of brass rods. Five human corpses and skeletons hang on hooks around the walls in various states of decomposition. Glass tanks along one wall contain preserved body parts: legs, liver, kidneys, a brain, and so on.
A large wooden platform is the dominant feature of the room. At each end stands a steel column, about 10 ft high and 2 inches in diameter, and between them is a solid wooden table. Ropes run to the four corners of the platform from a huge block and tackle, enabling the platform to be raised to roof level, and a system of levers and rods opens the roof to the elements. A large kite hangs nearby, trailing four wires to the columns, and from there down other wires to a metal skull-cap.
Rain falls through the open roof to sputter and spit on glowing items of equipment, and the coloured glass tubes pulsate in an uneven rhythm. The kite can be seen through the roof opening, and Lady Margritte is pulling on the ropes that raise the wooden platform.
The adventurers take all of this in as they enter. Before they can act, a deafening and blinding lightning-bolt strikes the kite. The metal columns quiver with power, and the stench of burnt flesh fills the
room as Lady Margritte begins to wind the table down. It is shaking and swaying, and
above the noise of the storm, a moaning sound can be heard.
She has been kidnapping villagers to experiment on them, and had built herself a monster. The monster stands 8 ft tall, and its body is a patchwork of scars. It has dead-white skin with green discolouration on the cheeks and lower jaw. The players kill it, and her, before descending into the Dungeons.
The Dungeons
Nothing much down here but a crazy torturer who they kill, and some prisoners who they rescue (who turn out to be the PC's that some of the players played first time we ran this campaign - Harbull, Rowlocks, Wanda, Kirsten et al) but they do manage to make their way to the Warpstone Chamber, where Dagmar had stored the warpstone meteorite.
However, the players were beaten to it. Skaven warriors are posted here and a fight ensues.
The chamber’s walls, floor, and ceiling are all unnaturally blackened. A fresh, 3-ft-wide tunnel leads down through the floor. In the centre of the room is an empty lead box, 3-ft long on each side. A lead lid lies beside it, and there are no traces of warpstone left anywhere in the chamber. A table against the
southern wall holds thick gloves and some grinding equipment.
The sound of squeaking voices can be heard coming from the tunnel, but fall silent as soon as anyone enters the passage. Large, rat-like footprints cover the floor, leading in both directions.
The Fissure is 12 ft high and has a recently dug tunnel leading off from it. Five Skaven warriors stand at the entrance to this tunnel. They retreat as soon as the adventurers enter the crack, only fighting in self-defence.
As the Skaven back off, a crash is heard from further along the passage. A dense cloud of dust sweeps toward the adventurers. The dust moves slowly, so it can easily be avoided. As this billows forth, a tremor runs through the foundations of the castle.
As the tremors grow stronger, dust and rocks fall from the ceiling. The skaven are destroying the castle to cover their escape. The adventurers head for their boat, reaching it as rocks crash down into the water around them and they make their escape to the River Reik.
As they sail out of the water gate, without any time to check whether or not their cargo is intact, The castle is reduced to a pile of rubble, and the horror of the von Wittgenstein's is ended for all time…
Or is it?
There is at least one living member of the von Wittgenstein family who is ‘having a wonderful time’ in the city-state of Middenheim, which aside from being Gotthard's playground, is also the headquarters of the Purple Hand.
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