Adventure Project: Strangers of Heart Haven (Update 1) (Patreon)

While still in its initial stages, the adventure path that I am working on will be posted in text updates. This will change in time as I am working on it. For now see this as an introduction to the project, as well as the first planned steps into this nightmarish adventure!

You are welcome to comment, ask questions, and give feedback at any stage of this adventure creation. Further discussion of the supplement will be done over at the Patreon Discord!

Also let me know if you have preferences for how I can present this adventure in the future. As i said, this is the first time for me working on an adventure. So let's see what sticks!

Adventure Background

Alessandra Heathers lived a peaceful life with her family. It was her, her father and mother, living in a quiet town in the foothills. As she turned six her parents revealed grand news to her: they would move to the nearby city. There they would live a better life, her parents promised. Alessandra, or Lessa as her parents called her lovingly, was unsure at first, but the prospect of all the exciting things city life has to offer and plenty of new children to play with finally won her over. Little did little Lessa know that this journey would put an end to the life that she knew.

Misfortune struck when the family's wagon’s wheel broke when navigating the narrow cliffs leading to their destination. The wagon tumbled down hundreds of feet downhill. Lessa was the only one to survive the accident, suffering many injuries that left her bed-bound within the local Heart Haven Hospital.

The incident broke far more than just the little girl’s body. The sudden loss of her parents left the girl disturbed and troubled, and as a little girl she understands little of all the frightening medical procedures she has to endure within the hospital. She only understands that her peaceful life was ripped away from her and replaced with a painful existence bound within a strange place.

It was unbeknownst to any of the hospital staff that this trauma and pain caused something to awaken within little Lessa. Her disdain for the reality she finds herself in, her wishes to escape, and the pain and loss she experienced awoke her innate powers as a Oneirogen, a being that turns its own dreams into reality. Unfortunately the dreams of Lessa have been less than pleasant and the entirety of the hospital finds itself trapped within a realm that Lessa created unintended. This includes a group of unfortunate souls who were present at Heart Haven Hospital that exact time.

The Moon Butterfly’s Involvement

The entity introduced in my Forgotten Foes update “Moonkin”, the Moon Butterfly is invested in the fate of little Lessa. As such the Moon Butterfly will try to subtly aid the players. Since Lessa is currently trapped within a realm of her own creation, the Moon Butterfly’s influence is heavily limited. It is aware of the unique position of the players, though, and understands that they are the key to free Lessa from her nightmare. For what reason the Moon Butterfly cares about Lessa’s fate will remain a mystery for now.

The Moon Butterfly’s presence will be known within this adventure through the presence of a bright pale moon in the nightmare realm’s sky during the adventure's opening scene.

Nightmare Realms

Nightmare realm is a catch-all term for strange demiplanes that can come into existence through a variety of means. Either created by a powerful hag, brought into being through a heinous act, or through the influence of an outer being, these realms are twisted reflections of the material world which become more deprived the further you explore them.

One should not expect a nightmare realm to follow any of the known rules of the material world. Impossible vistas, strange skies, and horrific manifestations are to be expected when traversing a nightmare realm. The form a nightmare realm takes is always tied to its origin. Where hags might create their own realm of horror to serve as their sanctuary or base of operation according to their own wretched taste, a realm born from a horrific event is borne from the collective trauma of souls which reflects the atrocity that was committed.

The nightmare realm that will be explored in this adventure was borne from a single person with a connection to an elder being called Xoneri* the Dreamer. This connection turned the person into what is referred to as an Oneirogen (derived from the Greek word for dream and create). Simply put, an oneirogen is capable of turning their own dreams and inner thoughts into reality. Unfortunately the Oneirogen who is center to this adventure is a troubled individual, plagued with nightmares, and thus the moment their abilities manifested this nightmare realm was born. Anything the players will encounter in this nightmare realm will reflect the inner trouble of the Oneirogen. Careful observers will be able to learn alot about the Oneirogen in question which will in turn help them when finally confronting them.

*Depending on the setting in which you want to set this adventure you can freely change the elder being with whom the Oneirogen are connected to. Any higher being or deity with power over dreams can easily stand in for Xoneri. Though, I will continue to refer to Xoneri going forward.

Planned Synopsis (so far)

When the powers of Lessa awakened, the player characters staying within the Heart Haven Hospital are drawn into the nightmare realm of Lessa’s creation. As the player characters are non-entities within Lessa’s mind, they do not become fully integrated within her nightmare realm. Instead the player characters are Strangers to Lessa and as such none of the player characters have any memory of themselves when they gain consciousness.

First the players will find themselves within a transitory plane while the nightmare realm is forming (See Enter the Nightmare). Within this plane they are bound to meet on their way as they navigate the strange landscape, guided with the help of a pale moon illuminating their path to the distant Heart Haven Hospital. Arriving at the hospital’s precipice the group is drawn into the nightmare realm and will awaken within.

Starting out within the hospital’s mortuary their fight for survival within the twisted realm begins immediately. Starting out from the hospital’s cellars they must navigate their way through the nightmare realm that is a twisted reflection of the Heart Haven Hospital, learning about the origin of the nightmare, Lessa, and breaking the nightmare, thus escaping it.

Get to know your characters

In this adventure your characters will start out without any of their memories. As this adventure is meant to be an intro adventure for a new group this will allow players to relax and not stress about their character’s personalities for the first few sessions of the campaign. The only thing your players would have to know is that their characters begin this adventure within the hospital without their memories.

Over the time of this adventure players are free to explore their characters. A few questions can be asked about the characters such as why are they in the hospital in the first place? Were they injured? Were they visiting someone? Were they there by chance or for business? The answers to these questions can be slowly discovered over the course of this adventure.

At several locations within the upcoming adventure the players might find hints at their past, such as finding cabinets with documents that talk about them, or meeting other survivors within the hospital who share a history with them (though they might not fully remember them).

Chapter 1: Enter the Nightmare

Strangers

Read or paraphrase the following out to your players so set the scene for the player’s introduction to the nightmare that lies ahead of them.

You are gaining lucidity, as if awoken from a long lasting stupor. You find yourself stumbling through alleys formed by smooth gray slabs of rock - your mind feels heavy and sluggish. The ground is barely visible through a thick carpet of fog rolling through the labyrinth ahead of you. As you raise your gaze towards the sky for any semblance of direction, there you see it. A shining white orb piercing the dark clouded sky: a pale moon shines your way. Though, you are unable to discern where this moon is guiding you, within this strange vista its light promises safety. Through twists and turns you continue your way until eventually the corridors open up to a path, but more importantly, you find that you are not the only unfortunate soul lost within this labyrinth.

The players all cross paths at the same time, stumbling out of different sections of the twisting alleys of this strange place. None of them have any recollection of who they are and how they got here. Allow the players to interact for a moment and at least attempt to make sense of their situation.

For one, none of the player characters carry any of their gear. The only clothing they wear are white gowns. Any weapons, armor, or objects within their inventory are absent at this point in time.

Now being within an open area, the players can see that the gray rock formations around them resemble buildings, though none of them feature any doors nor are any of the windows more than square shaped depressions. The buildings seem to be arranged in illogical patterns, forming a perplexing maze for them to traverse. This plaza was formed through the crossing of several of these wanton paths. The light in the area is dim, as the sky is covered in dark clouds and the moon visible within a gap is the only source of light. The fog within the area though blocks the sight, making it impossible for the players to see further into the twisting streets further than 20 ft. of themselves.

Unbeknownst to the players, the faux cityscape that they are traversing is of Lessa’s creation. The girl was never allowed to leave the hospital and could gaze upon the grand city surrounding the hospital from its higher levels. But due to the distance Lessa’s idea of the city is blurry and abstract at best - a confusing collection of houses made out of brick and rock, as far as she understands. This lack of understanding is reflected within this labyrinthine vista.

From here there are different ways on how you can run the remainder of this scene. If the group continues to follow the guiding moon and refer to its light as their guide, continue with the Guiding Moonlight section. If one or more players of the group refuse to follow the moon, or are unable to decide how to continue, follow the Lurking in the Fog section.

Guiding Moonlight.

If the players follow the moon’s guidance they will be aided in navigating the cloudy alleys of the fake city. Along their journey the group will find words scratched within the otherwise featureless buildings around them, pointing them towards a place that is called “Heart Haven Hospital”. These words will be automatically seen by characters proficient in Perception, or characters that succeed a DC 12 Perception check. The name will ring familiar to all of the player characters, though they do not know exactly why. This should further motivate the players to seek out this place.

As they follow the signs the players will hear hushed whispers originating from small lights within the fog. Their whispers are unintelligible. These lights will follow the group, but will always remain out of reach if approached. Their whispers become more urgent as the group progresses towards the hospital.

These lights are three Moon Lanterns that shadow the group to ensure their safe arrival at the hospital and the nightmare realm proper. Their powers are greatly diminished while within this transitory plane, causing their telepathic messages to only arrive as strained whispers. A character can see the true form of these lights through the fog with a DC 15 Perception check, though the fog will impose disadvantage on the check.

Distribute the following message to the players, either in the open or in secret while they journey through the fog:

“Wake the dreamer.

Save the girl.

Escape the nightmare.”

After the message has been conveyed, the path will clear up again once more. The players arrive at the sight of a looming building ahead of them surrounded by a mighty wall. The building’s proportions are twisted and bloated, making it appear closer akin to a castle than a common building. Unlike the fake buildings the players navigated past, this building has windows, balconies, and most importantly: a gate. Past the gate the players can see a twisting path leading to a set of mighty double doors. Over the gate the name “Heart Haven Hospital” is presented in crooked letters.

In the moment any of the player characters touches the gate, the mighty doors of the distant hospital open to release a torrent of thick milky fog, which swallows the players and the entirety of the faux city. The players have now fully entered the nightmare.

Lurking in the Fog.

As an alternative scenario to the players following the moon’s guidance, this serves as a more action oriented turn of events, either to be used in case players refuse to follow the moon light, or you as the DM deem to turn up the pace of the scene and force the players into action.

The player or players' attention are drawn to approaching steps from the fog. Any player with a passive perception of 10 or higher will automatically hear the approaching creatures. Read or paraphrase the following.

Emanating from the fog drenched alleys of this twisted place you hear approaching footsteps. With strained eyes you make out vaguely humanoid shapes pushing their way through the gloomy haze towards you, but as they part the fog and approach their silhouettes fade away.

The creatures that stalk player(s) are a reflection of the city’s inhabitants that Lessa could only make out as indistinguishable dots in the far distance, manifesting as Pale People within this transitory plane. 4 Pale People attack the player(s). Any character that will remain and fight will be attacked and most likely defeated by the Pale People in the ensuing combat. The Pale People will fight to kill the player characters, but as this plane is a transitory plane, any character slain in this fight will not actually die (more about that in the next Scene “The Morgue”).

If the characters reasonably decide to flee from Pale People the Moon Lanterns appearing as dim lights in the fog will attempt to guide the player’s way. Ask any player fleeing from the Pale People to perform a DC 10 Athletics check, any character proficient in Athletics will succeed automatically. On a failed check one of the Pale People will catch up with the fleeing character and make a single melee weapon attack against the character. The first time the Pale People attack the fleeing character should not reduce them to 0 hit points if they are at maximum hit points, so reduce the attack’s damage accordingly if you hide your rolls. Frame these checks as a frantic chase through the labyrinthian cityscape, with each failure on the athletics check representing a close call of being caught by the Pale People. After the Athletics checks every fleeing player must make a DC 12 Perception check. On a successful save the player will hear one piece of the Moon Lantern’s message elaborated on in Guiding Moonlight.

After the Perception check it is for you to decide whether any fleeing player must make another Athletics check as the chase continues. If you deem the players can deal with another check for the chase, or the Moon Lantern’s message is not yet complete due to failed Perception checks, continue the chase. At the latest, once the complete message of the Moon Lantern’s has been received, allow the players to arrive at the gates of Heart Haven Hospital. As they are still pursued, the players will most likely try to open the gates leading to the hospital, causing the fog to swallow them.

The Morgue

As the players regain consciousness, they find themselves in a dimly lit room, laying on wooden tables and bound by tight leather straps.

The only light in the room is an oil lamp sitting next to Sister Frey, which the shadowy outlines of her gruesome acts upon the wall. Next to Sister Frey is a table holding horrific surgery implements: scalpels, butcher knives, pokers, and other pointed implements stained in blood. In front of her is another wooden table that holds the mangled body of her current victim. The body is lifeless but occasional jabs by Sister Frey cause it to twitch. The players themselves are barely illuminated by the lamp. Any player without darkvision sees just enough to understand that themself and their companions are strapped upon wooden tables.

Sister Frey does not notice the players waking up since all her attention is focused on her current ‘patient’. With sister Frey distracted, the players can attempt to break free of their bonds and either escape their captor, or get the jump on her. Encourage players to be creative to solve their current predicament using their character’s skills or unique traits. Handle this situation within an initiative order similar to a combat. Any character that ‘died’ in the previous scene remains within a deep stupor and must succeed a flat DC 11 Saving throw at the end of each of their turns to wake up. During each of the player’s turns allow them to attempt to deal with the situation at hand. Here are some examples for what actions a player can take to escape their bonds:

Acrobatics. Using the flexibility of their body, a player can attempt to wind out of their bonds.

Athletics. Using brute force, a player can attempt to break the leather straps that hold them.

Innate Spellcasting. A spell a character can innately cast comes in handy to solve the situation.

Natural Weapon. If the character possesses claws or similar natural weapons, they can use them to slowly break the bonds.

Sleight of Hands. Using their superior dexterity, a character opens straps that bind them.

Any check to escape their bonds has a DC of 12. As long as none of the checks are 5 or less, or score a natural 1, their attempt goes unnoticed by Sister Frey. If Sister Frey notices a player’s escape attempt she will tell them to “not be so impatient, you will get your treatment soon”. On a second time a player catches Sister Frey’s attention she will stop her work on her current ‘patient’ and will deem that the player is in need of urgent care, at which point Sister Frey reveals her truly monstrous visage to the players. Once Sister Frey’s attention is on the players, another player can attempt to gain her attention with a DC 12 Diplomacy or Deception check. On a success the player will distract Frey with conversation, while the other players will have one more round to escape.

If the players are unsuccessful to escape and gain Sister Frey’s attention, she will provide urgent care to whoever character caused the last distraction and will deal 1d4 damage to the character through prodding and cutting with her gruesome implements each round and will continue to do so until the character dies or until she notices another character escape.

Once Sister Frey sees another character out of their bounds, she will attack. The ensuing fight will demand the players to find a solution to deal with the monstrous Sister Frey without having any of their gear. Any of the plenty of implements found within the Morgue can be used and has the same statistics as a dagger. The oil lantern can also serve as an improvised weapon that can be thrown at Sister Frey. On a hit Sister Frey 10 (4d4) fire damage and will be set on fire, causing her to take another 2 (1d4) fire damage at the end of each of her turns until she dies. Alternatively Sister Frey can be subdued by forcing her upon one of the wooden tables and restrained. To do so a creature must first forcefully move her within 5 ft. of one of the tables. Sister Frey then must be knocked prone while within the area to cause her to fall on the table and then a creature must use an action to bind her.

If the players would prefer to flee from the monstrous nurse, they can do so as well, as the door into the Morgue can be locked from the outside with a powerful bolt lock that Sister Frey will be unable to break.

Creatures. The blood soaked creature tending to her current ‘patient’ is Sister Frey. Before Lessa’s awakening as a Oneirogen the Nurse has been working in another part of the Hospital, causing her to rarely cross paths with Lessa. One unfortunate encounter that caused Lessa to remember Sister Frey was when she met Sister Frey just after she had to tend to the unfortunate victim of a beastial mauling. Sister Frey did the best she could, but her patient succumbed to his vicious wounds. At that moment Sister Frey was drenched with her patient’s blood which terrified Lessa, causing her to believe that Sister Frey murdered her patients. This wrong assumption caused Sister Frey to be transformed into a manic butcher who delights in the mutilation of patients.

Conclusion. This initial encounter should set the tone of the nightmarish hospital the players will have to navigate. A few tasks lie ahead of them: first among them is finding their missing gear or finding weapons to defend themselves. Next will figure out who the girl is the Moon Lanterns urged the players to find. The path ahead of the players will be filled with the twisted Lessa’s twisted creations, with few allies along the way.

For now this is the initial beginning to the adventure path that I am aiming to write. The next update will provide a small outline of the Heart Haven’s cellar that the players must explore before entering the Hospital proper.