Sorcerous Scrutinies: Came the Monsters of Midwinter

 Came the Monsters of Midwinter

DCC Holiday #11, A Level 2 Adventure by Brendan LaSalle

Goodman Games

The bridge sways precariously over the vast chasm beneath you.  You cling to the worn ropes in terror and squeeze your eyes shut, cursing the Sovereign.  “Why do I always have to go first?” you call back to the party behind you.

Mandalf the Mischievous Mage smirks at you.  “Because you’re so nimble.  Keep going, and stop looking down.”

You immediately disobey the strange wizard, and light from your torch gleams off of something deep down below.  “I think there’s something down there,” you call back.  A massive buffet of wind hits you, rocking the bridge.  Your companions go silent.  

You look back at a massive creature looming over your companions, the tarnished silver of its cratered hide reflective of your dancing torchlight.  You see only fury in its deep, ancient eyes, and the wisps of frost begin to emanate from its bared fangs.

“Shite.”

What It Is

Came the Monsters of Midwinter brings your players to the idyllic town of Star Notch on the most important day of the year, Sovereignight.  Trouble brews amidst the celebrations, the players intervene and find horrors beyond their wildest imaginings!  The module is both a festive 2022 DCC Holiday module and a worthy level 2 adventure in the Shudder Mountains setting (the Chained Coffin box set, DCC #83), containing a town setting, a brief rural adventure, and a quick dungeon delve.  The module also features a charming advent calendar scratch-off mechanic to reward players.

The brutal danger present in the finale of the module makes me postulate that this was designed more as a one-shot than a campaign-oriented piece, but it could absolutely be modified to fit in any mountainous setting.  This is the second module by LaSalle that I've run for my tables, Hole in the Sky was also exceptionally good.

At The Table

Midwinter is a festive romp with an excellent gimmick in the scratch-off calendar, my players loved it.  The intro encounter calls players immediately to action, and then the fun really begins on the Hendershot Farm (but don’t skip Event 2, my players adored Wilbur).  I tried to play up the unease factor on the farm, which resulted in a tense confrontation inside the farmhouse and a horror movie reveal that led to an exciting encounter with the Changeling Gang (in hindsight I regret not having at least half of them flee and lie in ambush on the land bridge).  

     Once inside the Quarry, the delve felt very concisely designed and my players enjoyed searching their way through the corridors.  A botched roll sneaking past the opening to the Moon Dragon’s lair led me to ambushing the party upon the chasm bridge, which was an extremely memorable and deadly encounter.  The conclusion was satisfying thereafter, with the party Cleric rolling hot.  

 

Play Highlights

The Changelings are just a blast to use as a menacing set piece throughout the exploration of the farm.  Try to have them spy on the players, pickpocket precious items to inspire chase (towards their favorite place, the land bridge), and generally make players uncomfortable!  

The ne’erseen was a great encounter for my players that encouraged creative use of the items they had on hand.  Their solution involved a ten-foot pole, a bag of flour, and an improvised lasso; the encounter was hilarious.

The Moon Dragon is an awesome, hallmark encounter, and a massive challenge for the players to tackle.  I chose to move the fight into the rope bridge chasm to make the breath weapon a bit more deadly (it has a random 10-15’ push effect in addition to its deafening and lethal properties), and that paid off for my group.  We had ropework, hidden rogues dropping from improbable heights, enlarged bite attacks, and one dead dragon (with a heavily depleted party).  

In perhaps one of the greatest moments of DCC gonzo at my tables, the party Cleric freed the captured Shudfolk beyond the chasm and inspired them to march into the Spoilfire chamber as a helpful mob.  Mandalf, the party wizard, won the initiative and decided to shoot a Magic Missile over the mob into the heart of the Spoilfire.  Natural 1.  Misfire.  Disastrous luck in his next rolls.  He sends an explosion of over 100 missiles at the 23 peasants and his companions, each doing 4 damage.  His companions watch in horror as he inadvertently slays the entire mob.  “Oops.”

In the aftermath of the adventure, Mandalf dances with the celebratory shudfolk back in town with a wide smile on his face, while the party drinks their secret sorrows away and vows never to tell the truth!  Legendary.

Art Spotlight

Poag’s cover is an absolute all-timer!  The surprise of the unfortunate peasants is matched by the overpowering menace of the Moon Dragon, who towers appropriately above them.  Flip the cover over to the players when it’s time to roll initiative.  I also have to mention the care that went into the scratch-off calendar, this thing was made with such detail and imagination, my players loved it to pieces. 

  

Judge Takeaways

Scratch Away!

The scratch-off advent calendar is way too much fun to use sparingly, I would make a point to reward each player with one blessing early (for a worthy deed), and then tighten the restrictions thereafter.  If you’re running the module as a holiday one-shot, go insane with them, the finale is totally brutal and players need all the help they can get.  

Move the Masses

If you’ve seen the cover, you’re at least partially prepared for what awaits the players in the final act of the module, and it is a tough fight.  There is a large gang of peasants in a room deeper into the complex than the Moon Dragon, consider shifting that layout so that players encounter the horde first, potentially giving them some expendables to absorb the first hellish blast!  

On a related note, be heavy handed about the explosive device the players find, and how it could be carefully moved to a new location.

Feed the Flame

This could just be me, but I wanted a bit more mechanical crunch from the final encounter with the Spoilfire.  I had it channel influence through Lorvil Crobb and huck spells like Burning Hands and Fireball at the party as they approached (with their peasant army).  Once Lorvil was downed, I had it attempt to charm the mage of the party to continue pestering the remaining adventurers with its dark flame.  

Regarding the vague details of the Spoilfire’s destruction, I decided that each successful Turn Unholy check would quench the flame (a percentage tied to the Cleric’s result), the breath of the Moon Dragon would also quench it if the party positioned properly and pulled the beast into the Spoilfire chamber, or magical attacks (ala Magic Missile).  The fight was great, and felt like a summative challenge for the party that wasn’t a straight fight like the Moon Dragon.  

Conclusion

Came the Monsters of Midwinter is a fantastic module to fire up when old buddies come back into town around the holidays and are itching for adventure.  The adventure would be great without the scratch-off calendar, but its inclusion makes the experience even more memorable to players.  Holiday modules should be self-sufficient one-shots, and this is, but I think it is a positive that it fits in the Chained Coffin setting or could very easily be plopped into any DCC adventure path with neighboring mountains.

Midwinter has drawn me towards the wider Shudder Mountains setting, and I think I’ll start an adventure path sometime soon with all the Chained Coffin modules now that I’ve dipped my toes in!  

So venture to the town of Star Notch, but beware the festive brews and the hidden horrors nearby. Don’t be the first to cross a bridge in the Shudder Mountains — and never stand in front of a Mage named Mandalf.