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Heroes of Horror
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Contents
Sample Encounter:
Horror Adventures in
Threaten Friends, Allies,
Introducing New Elements
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Introduction
Heroes of Horror is a rules supplement for the D UNGEONS &
D RAGONS ® Roleplaying Game. It’s a player resource that gives
players the tools they need to build characters with dark
secrets in their past, paralyzing phobias, or an irresistible
urge to explore the forbidden side of magic. DMs can use this
book as a toolbox to build a horror encounter, adventure, or
campaign for the D&D game.
number of new spells, including corrupt spells that infl ict
ability damage upon their caster and oneiromancy spells,
which allow the caster to manipulate the dreams of others.
Finally, a brief section on artifacts and magic items describes
one useful item, the rod of sanctity , which might prove a
lifesaver to PCs due to its ability to cleanse taint, and three
malign artifacts, including the sinister Acererak’s robe , which
enables its wearer to convert the living into the undead with
simply a touch.
Creatures of the Night (Chapter 6): This chapter is
divided into two parts. The fi rst describes ways in which
to use traditional fantasy and horror monsters, such as
a vampires, giants, and dragons, in new and unsettling
ways. The second part details thirteen new monsters and
templates suitable for horror adventures, from the taint
elemental and the dusk giant to the tainted minion and the
unholy scion.
Adventure Sites: Heroes of Horror contains eleven
maps depicting various environments in which a horror
encounter or horror adventure could occur. Most of these
maps, such as the lich’s shrine (page 49), have supporting
text that describes locations within the site. Two of the
maps, the vampire lord’s castle (page 32) and Shadow House
(page 70), are stand-alone maps that a DM can use for any
appropriate purpose.
WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK
Heroes of Horror contains information for DMs and players
alike. The fi rst three chapters focus on advice for the Dungeon
Master on incorporating horror elements into a campaign.
The last three provide a variety of new mechanics to help
bring those horrifi c visions to life.
Dread Encounters (Chapter 1): Every horror campaign
starts with a single encounter. This chapter describes how
to make a D&D encounter horrific rather than simply
challenging. It also discusses suitable villains for such an
encounter and provides two sample horror encounters, “To
Grandmother’s House” and “Annalee’s Baby.” Finally, this
chapter presents a new demigod whose infl uence can provoke
horror encounters: Cas, the demigod of spite.
Dread Adventures (Chapter 2): Sometimes an entire
adventure will revolve around a horror theme. This chapter
describes moods, settings, and plots that make for horrifi c
adventures, as well as discussing ways of creating villains
who can dominate an entire horror adventure. Finally, after
several techniques to make an adventure more frightening
for the PCs, it provides a sample short horror adventure, “For
Hate’s Sake.”
A Horror Campaign (Chapter 3): An entire campaign
devoted to horror requires special trust between the DM
and players, since the PCs may not in fact end up saving
the day. This chapter describes ways to establish that trust,
as well as describing settings, plots, and villains that work
well in horror campaigns. Finally, after outlining a sample
campaign, “Nightwatch,” it provides rules for adventuring
in dreamscapes and nightmare realms.
Rules of Horror (Chapter 4): This chapter describes
new ways to use the rules of D&D to evoke a sense of dread.
It also presents a new rule set, the taint mechanic, to repre-
sent ways in which exposure to evil eventually causes both
physical and moral decay, known respectively as corruption
and depravity. Other new rules describe tainted locations,
haunting presences (poltergeists), and mortuary terrain, as
well as alternative alignment rules more suited for horror
gaming. Finally, it discusses ways that divination magic and
resurrection magic can be warped by the pervading horror
of the setting.
Heroes and Antiheroes (Chapter 5): This chapter pres-
ents two new standard classes, the archivist and the dread
necromancer, as well as half a dozen new prestige classes,
from the fi end-blooded, who embraces the evil inherent in
her ancestry, to the purifi er of the Hallowed Doctrine, who
strives to stop the spread of taint. This chapter also details
more than thirty new feats, some of them powered by taint
and others useful in fi ghting tainted creatures, and a like
TAIN T
One of the principal new mechanics is a revision of the
taint system originally presented in Oriental Adventures
and updated in Unearthed Arcana. At its heart, the taint
system is based on the idea that exposure to horrific
evil—even if that exposure is limited to fierce combat in
an unceasing crusade against the forces of darkness—has
a corrupting inf luence on even the purest of hearts. This
idea is a staple of fantastic horror literature and film. Some
heroes of horror will continue to struggle against that
corruption until they take their dying breath, but others
will eventually embrace the darkness, becoming sinister
figures who resemble the monsters they hunt perhaps a
little too closely. This book is intended for both kinds of
characters, as suggested in the title of Chapter 5: Heroes
and Antiheroes.
A number of prestige classes, feats, and other elements rely
on the taint system. Even so, if you choose not to incorporate
the rules for taint into your game, there’s still plenty in this
book for you. Both of the new standard classes work fi ne
without the taint rules, and many of the feats, prestige classes,
spells, and other mechanical elements do not rely on taint.
Our aim has been to give you the tools you need to run or
play in a D&D game that incor porates horror elements—how
you use those tools, as always, is up to you.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY
Heroes of Horror makes use of the information in the three
D&D core rulebooks—the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s
Guide, and Monster Manual . In addition, it revises and updates
material originally presented i n Oriental Adventures , Unearthed
Arcana , and Book of Vile Darkness. Though possession of any or
all of these supplements is not necessary, they can enhance
your enjoyment of this book.
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ordek gripped his waraxe tightly, his jaw set and his hollow
eye sockets gleaming with green light, as the vampire
spawn circled to surround them. Mialee clenched her
dagger, pressing its point into her skin as she prepared
to draw the blood she would need to fuel her next spell.
They stood back to back, shielding Lidda’s stiffening body
from the approaching monsters.
The spawn had them surrounded and began to close in hungrily.
They took only a few steps, however, before they stopped in their
tracks, shuffl ing uneasily, some glancing back over their shoulders.
Tordek snarled, “Come on, you beasts! I’m ready for you!” but
Mialee’s bony hand clutched his arm tightly. He wheeled to face
her, then turned his eyeless gaze to follow hers.
Silence spread through the gathered vampire spawn, and the
horde seemed to part like water as their master strode forward.
His heavy armor clanked against the cold stone fl oor.
“My old friends!” purred the vampire lord’s voice. At the sound,
Tordek let his axe clatter to the ground. “The years have not been
good to you, I’m afraid. But as you can see, I am in my very prime.”
The vampire stood close to the elf and the dwarf, towering head and
shoulders above them. He smiled, revealing needle-sharp fangs in
a threatening welcome.
Tordek was struck speechless, but Mialee managed a gasp, her
lips forming a name she had not spoken in years.
“Jozan? ”
Why should you want to play a horror game?
Well, why not? Chances are, if you’re playing D&D
you’re already exploring a world full of dark sorcerers, evil
cultists, monstrous undead, and bizarre monstrosities.
The line between horror and fantasy is not always easy to
draw. Some of the authors whose work laid the founda-
tions of the D&D game—such as Fritz Leiber, Robert
E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith—wrote tales that
could as easily be called horror as fantasy, and many of
the spells, characters, and monsters that appear in the
core D&D rules are quite horrifi c.
A horror adventure or campaign is not, in the end,
all that different from a standard D&D game. Just like
more standard fantasy fare, a horror game is full of
terrible monsters, evil necromancers and malevolent
sorcerers, nightmarish landscapes, and cunning
fi ends. What sets a horror game apart is its atmosphere,
which presents all the horrifi c elements of a fantasy
game in their worst possible light, emphasizing the
dread they inspire.
Why emphasize this dark side of D&D’s heroic
fantasy? Primarily because it’s fun. The continu-
ing success of fi ction, movies, and TV shows that
make use of horror elements is testament to the
fact that we like to be scared—at least, many of us do.
If you’re reading this book, it’s a good bet that you fall
into that category.
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