*Somewhere, lost in the shouded realms of death, lies a land of endless night where long-forgotten horrors are revealed to those who travel through the mist.
*There, in a crooked house lives a Crooked Man with a crooked grin. He raises crooked arms to a Crooked Tree at the edge of midnight and hears the whispers of the Old Ones.
*They Speak of a beast that stalks the darkest woods and darkest hearts, a crown of horns upon its head. If you lose your way and feel a warm breath that chills you to the bone, run.
*Follow the songs of harvest time and, before long, you'll find revelry in the dancing shadows of blazing wicker. No matter your story, these lonesome, misty rails will deliver you to where the hallowed cannot save you.
Now is the time to brave the dark wood, beware the witching hour and weave your own dreadful folktale underneath the Crooked Moon.
What Do I Need to Know?
What Mechanics Can We Expect?
This adventure is built on the D&D 2024 rules, with some homebrew elements to feed into the folk horror themes (more on that later). This adventure is designed to start at level 1 and end at level 14 (with some room for post-campaign adventures!); this campaign is also has an emphasis on roleplay and uses milestone leveling. Another thing I will be using is Fateweaving (see more in the character creation article); but these are essentially individual story threads unique to each PC that will unfurl over the course of this campaign.
Themes and Tone
It goes without saying, The Crooked Moon is a Folk Horror Adventure.
Content Warnings
As this is a horror campaign, you can expect frightening and disturbing moments; but I don't want them to be distressing for you. So in no particular order, some content warnings that are included but not limited to;
- Graphic and gory violence.
- Depictions of mental health issues.
- Cultural and religious conflict.
- Endangerment of children and animals.
- This may include the death of children and animals.
- Grotesque body horror.
- Family trauma and Domestic Horror/Violence.
- Allusions to suicide.
- This may include more visceral descriptions.
- General horrific and at times gory descriptions.
- And more that aren't mentioned in this list!
Fateweaving & Threads
Fateweaving is an optional framework from this adventure book designed to intertwine the characters’ individual stories throughout the adventure of The Crooked Moon, allowing for a more personalized experience that does not require heavy alterations to the broader narrative.
Prior to the Session 0, I'll get you to choose one of thirteen threads that you can use to weave into your character's backstory. If you are unsure, you're more than welcome to ask for advise and/or finalize your choice in the Session 0.
The main goal of this is to connect you guys to the story in a deeper way rather than being passive observers.
How it Works
Select a Goal
Each player picks a Thread of Fate from the list of thirteen presented below, which provides a specific goal for their character. Each character should follow a different Thread so they can experience their own unique story.
Personalize
I'll work with each player to incorporate the Thread of Fate into their character’s backstory and motivation. They (or myself) will need to make one major choice to customize the Thread to the specific character.
Running in Game
Each thread has its own touchpoints for me to keep track of in the narrative; each time these come up in game I will shift the spotlight to the character it relates to. Then its up to the player how they respond (they may even get a reward for doing so!)
Finishing the Thread
By the end of this adventure, you character will have reached the emotional Catharsis of their overall arc.