The Dragon and the Wolf

Details

Pages: 9

Author(s): John W. Thompson

Artist(s): (none)

Setting: Dark Ages Wroxeter, England

Appears in: Bride of Halloween Horror

Summary

A cool autumn wind shakes leaves from the trees as you enter the village of Wroxeter. It is said that this was once one of the largest Roman cities in Britain. Now, fragments of a great wall and some crumbling foundations are all that remains. Interspersed within and around these shadows of yesterday’s greatness is a humble village of just a dozen or so families. They watch you cautiously as you approach, men, women and even children with a bow or knife at hand, ready to fight. These villagers are hard, strong folk of Saxon heritage. These are the ones who stayed after the more fearful have fled to Shrewsbury. Yet, even in their eyes, you can see the hint of fear. This Black Wolf must be a fierce beast indeed to trouble these folk.

Links

• Malcojones' review on YSDC

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

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In the year A.D. 1000, the Church predicted that the Millennium of Christ would bring about the beginning of Armageddon. As if this was not enough to inspire fear in the common people, the land is wracked by the raids of the fierce Viking Northmen. In the village of Wroxeter, tales of disappearances and a phantom Black Wolf have reached the Count of Shropshire. The Viking threat and an influx of people seeking safety keep the Earl from sending his own men to see to Wroxeter, so he has instead issued a reward of 500 deniers for the pelt of the Black Wolf, while the the village leaders, seeking to improve the morale of the villagers, are planning a celebration for All Hallows Eve. It is assumed that the Investigators arrive in Wroxeter seeking the reward.

References

Player Handouts: (none provided)

• Gerhard's Story (not presented as a handout, but could be printed/copied and cut out for use as a handout)

Locations:

• England, Wroxeter village and surrounding environs (near Shrewsbury and Shropshire)

Creatures:

• Werewolf
• Hunting Horror
• A human cultist/sorceror
• The Horned Man, an Avatar of Nyarlathotep
• The Wild Hunt
• Old Ones/Faeries (Elves) (red herring)

Tomes and Artifacts:

• Aelfred's Journal (no details included in the scenario, but seems to include Mythos knowledge and spells shared by a Hunting Horror servant of Nyarlathotep)

Campaigns / Scenarios: (none)

Comments

List dedication, trivia, images, anything else of note.

Keeper Comments

Comments to Keepers about this scenario; Possibly how to run it successfully. Keep general DISCUSSION on the talk page.

Setting: Dark Ages England; could probably be adapted to other Dark Ages locations with little trouble.

Special Notes: No maps of Wroxeter are provided for the scenario, and could have been a nice inclusion, though pretty much any English Dark Ages village would work as an alternative setting, or at least would likely include maps that could be modified to represent Wroxeter. No description of the journal (with Mythos Tome content) is included; the keeper may wish to detail this (a minor Mythos knowledge/Sanity exchange, perhaps, and one or two Nyarlathotep-related spells or spells known by Aelfred).

Dependence on Halloween: Minimal - All Hallow's Eve is mentioned as a celebration that town leaders hope will raise the spirits of the townsfolk (and thus will serve as an opportunity to get all the townsfolk together in one location for the villain's mischief), and a little background information is provided on some of the rituals and activities that result, but these could be adapted to more or less any local holiday/festival from history or the keeper's imagination. In any event, no real "buy-in" or knowledge of Halloween is required to run the scenario.