Dog Fights
"It's gonna be a good one this year," Nathan Timothy said, kneeling in front of the cages. The dogs inside threw themselves at the wire gates, frothing at the mouth and snarling angrily, wanting to rip his face with their fangs. He stood and looked to the woman in the shadows. "How did you get them so vicious?"
"Trade secret," she replied, giggling sweetly. "Do you want to see the other combatants?"
"With pleasure," Timothy said, standing and taking the woman's arm. "Anton had promised me a tour of his dungeon. Let's make an even out of it."
The Dog Fights are a recent Carnival tradition, established by Nathan Timothy and two werewolf associates from Verbrek. Unlike most dog fights, however, these contests are conducted between a trained attack dog and a defenseless human, and the werewolves wager how many dogs it will take to bring down the prey. The Dog Fights have many visitors - some of them even human - who delight in such horrid sport.
The sadistic Commander Regess, who provides some of the victims from his townhouse dungeons, finds the Dog Fights exhilarating. Every year, the Midnight Stalker watches secretly from the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike at the evil crowd.
The Dog Fights are an event where the evil creatures of Ravenloft come to see and be seen. It is a place where dirty money changes hands and dark secrets are whispered. It is also the ideal setting for a brief adventure.
The location of the Dog Fights is a carefully maintained secret; the event moves on a yearly basis but always remains in the Falkovnian quarter, where Regess has supreme legal authority. On the first year, the Dog Fights were held in the Warehouse district (so that Nathan could feel comfortable with the proximity of the river), but the event was plagued by the Midnight Slasher, and the town watch arrived to interrupt the affair. Since the event has been moved to the Falkovnian Quarter, the number of unpredictable "accidents" has decreased substantially. The invited arrive at the Dog Fights with a well-armed escort to the attentions of the Slasher.
Only two people involved with the Dog Fights know of Gabrielle's and Malocchio's current lair in Cliff House. Both Scar Tabor and the Midnight Slasher have (independently) done enough snooping around the manor house to verify the repeated presence of Gabrielle and "the Boy in Black." The plot of this mini-adventure revolves around learning this key piece of information. Armed with this intelligence, the heroes will be able to search out and confront Gabrielle and Malocchio in the following chapter.
Because of the Dog Fights' secret location, the heroes need a sponsor to guide them to the event: either Nathan Timothy from the Dockyards (Area 2); Matton from the Wine Garden (Area 6); or Scar Tabor from the Maze (Area 8). Each of these sponsors have their own reasons for wanting the heroes to accompany them to the occasion; none of the sponsors' motives are altruistic, and none discuss the true nature of the event. Depending upon the mood of the Dungeon Master, the strength of the party, and their choice of a patron, there are three ways to run the adventure, each outlined below:
Recruiting Entertainment
The nastiest and most dangerous introduction to the Dog Fights would be for the heroes to choose Nathan Timothy as their patrons. As an organizer of the event, Timothy is interested in recruiting additional entertainment for the evening. If the heroes accompany the villain to the Dog Fights, he plans to make them participate. The soldiers and twenty werewolves attending the dog fights should be plenty to subdue even a powerful party.
Planning a Heist
Scar Tabor's plot to steal the bankroll for the Dog Fights should be appealing for the heroes, since it provides them with a specific mission aside from serving as simple bodyguards. In addition, an invitation for a caper may be too tempting for roguish heroes to resist. Scar Tabor plans to doublecross the party, but only after they have handed him the stolen treasure (see Area 8 in the previous chapter). Because of the treachery involved, this plot also requires a battle-ready party of adventurers.
Should the heroes keep accept Tabor's rendezvous at the Pale Rose, he lays out a map of 123 Bog Street showing the secret exit and the location of the treasure chest in Area 4c. The plan of the heist is simple: the heroes must arrive at the Dog Fights alone; they will be admitted after whispering the password into the guard's ear ("Arkendale Lives."). Tabor will be there. Once inside, they will wait for his signal to slip behind the curtain, subdue the guards silently, unlock the storeroom (4b); disarm and unlock the trapped chest; steal the gold; leave by the secret exit, finally overpowering the guards before they leave.
To help in the heist, Tabor hands the party leader a ring of skeleton keys (which open the various locks in the warehouse) and pouch of black flight powder (see below). Tabor cautions the heroes to sprinkle the powder on their boots before they leave, since it has a limited duration. The darkling explains that the powder is necessary since the Falkovnians use guard dogs to track escaped prisoners. Although this is true, he is much more concerned about an unwelcome visit from a pack of angry werewolves. Finally, once the heroes reach the Pale Rose (using an indirect route if possible) and hand over the gold, Tabor promises to answer all their questions.
Skeleton keys. As detailed in Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani, the manufacture of skeleton keys is an attribute associated with the Corvara, Scar Tabor's former Tasque. The skeleton key provides a rogue with a +25% bonus to his or her Open Locks ability. Furthermore, any traps - magical or otherwise - which would normally be activated by failure to use the proper key does not go off when the skeleton key is used. Each key works only upon the lock for which it was constructed.
Flight powder. This dark peppery mixture is another of the darkling's secrets learned as a Vistani. When sprinkled on boots, this powder enables one to leave no footprints or scent by which he can be tracked, (similar to pass without trace, the first level clerical spell). The effects last for 2d6 turns.
Bodyguards
Perhaps the easiest way to the heroes to the Dog Fights is as bodyguards for Matton Blanchard, who desperately wants to locate his beloved Gabrielle Aderre. He is well aware that the Dog Fights is a werewolf hangout, where others are only tolerated. Given the bitter enmity between werewolves and wolfweres, Matton realizes his chances of survival will be improved by hiring bodyguards. If the heroes are reluctant to approach Matton at the Laughing Maiden, the noble hires a crier to advertise that he is looking for bodyguards.
The heroes probably do not wish to associate with Matton, given their unpleasant previous encounters. As noted in Chapter One, Matton is a rude, arrogant, and condescending snob who treats his hirelings like furniture. However, astute players will have noticed that he does not doublecross his henchmen: the six retainers that accompanied Matton on his hunting expedition (as noted from Dead Man's Perch in Chapter Two) were seen riding with the nobleman into town in Chapter Three.
When they arrive seeking employment, Matton tells the heroes nothing of this true motives, although they may be able to guess given the stories told by the Zarovan. By now, the heroes should also realize that the Dukkar can probably be found in the vicinity of his mother; Gabrielle would obviously be a good source of information about her son. The heroes may also hope to question Matton's source of information at the Dog Fights.
As the heroes move through the streets of West Karina, they feel as through they are being watched. The street lamps are placed further apart, casting flickering shadows that seem to move.
Crossing Tower Street, you notice a tall, slender figure standing on a street corner a block away, leaning up against a building near a street lamp. He wears a wide-brimmed hat and a billowing cloak of some dark fabric that seems to drink up the night, making him hard to see. A dark scarf covers the lower half of his face. The man abruptly steps out of the lamplight and is swallowed silently by darkness. Where he was standing, a crumpled piece of parchment lies on the cobblestone sidewalk by the street lamp.
The cloaked figure is the Midnight Slasher, an element of random violence in the adventure, whose sole aim is to break up the Dog Fights. His first goal is to discomfit the guests, either by threats (in the case of a well-armed party) or by murder (in the case of a single person wandering alone). The Dungeon Master should review the Slasher's history and background in "Dramatis Personae."
If one of the characters picks up the crumpled paper, they find it contains a severed human finger, still wearing an iron signet finger carved with the Falkovnian hawk (recently harvested from one of Regess' soldiers). The paper is scrawled in blood (undoubtedly using the finger as a writing implement):
The darkness is mine.
The anger is mine.
The vengeance is mine.
The last verse is still moist. The heroes' patron blanches visibly at the sight, although he does nothing except urge the party to hurry. If asked about the Slasher, the patron tells them to shut up and walk faster. They reach 123 Bog Street, the location of the Dog Fights, without further incident.
The Dog Fights begin after midnight at 123 Bog Street. A map of the warehouse and environs is included on the inside of the cover for the adventure. The entire area is guarded by ten Falkovnian soldiers (designated by S on the map) and three vicious war dogs (D). Equipped with silvered blades as a precaution against lycanthropes, the soldiers remain at their posts unless called away by Commander Regess. The large mastiffs are chained in a specific locations, mainly to sniff out concealed or invisible intruders. Important areas and defenses in the warehouse are detailed below.
Falkovnian soldiers (10); AC 5; MV 9; F3; hp 21 each; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon (short sword: 1-6); AL LE; THACO 18. Scale mail, shields, silvered short swords.
War Dogs (3): INT Semi- (3); AL N; AC 6; MV 12; HD 2+2; hp 14 each; THACO 19; #AT 1; Dmg: 2-8; SZ M (6' long); ML 10; MM/57; XP 120.
1. Ground Floor
From Bog Street, the warehouse's most obvious entrance is a pair of sturdy wooden double doors over ten feet wide, large enough to accommodate a horse-drawn cart. To the right of the cargo doors, a single door is recessed into the stone walls of the warehouse; a narrow street to the left wraps around the building, leading to its back door.
The ground floor of the warehouse has been secured like a fortress to guard against unwanted intrusion, primarily from the Midnight Slasher. All of the single doors are locked and barred from inside; a peephole enables guards to survey visitors. For added security, windows have been shuttered and bolted from the inside. If heroes listen at the doors or windows, they can hear faint cheers and sounds of dogs barking.
Inside the front foyer (la), where workers commonly hang their cloaks on a row of pegs along the wall, two soldiers watch the front entrance, accompanied by a war dog by the light of a guttering lantern. They will admit any visitors who know the password ("Arkendale Lives."). A similar security team guards the back door.
The soldiers guarding the entrance are under orders to disarm visitors, meaning that they do not permit any large weapons into the Dog Fights. The guards to not perform a rigorous body search of the guests, so it is easily possible to smuggle in small weapons, provided that they are modestly concealed. Confiscated weapons are kept in the chest in (la) and will be returned upon the heroes' exit. Soldiers direct disarmed guests to the stairs leading down to the dog fights (Area 3).
The stone floor of the warehouse (1b) is stacked with crates, containing assorted mundane goods, including huge casks of wine for export to Silbervas. The stacks and crates loom up into the darkness beyond the scant illumination provided by the guard's lanterns. A pitch-dark (locked) office (1c) contains the business records for one of the Falkovnian merchants. In addition to papers and ledgers (detailing business transactions between Silbervas and Karina), the desk contains a curved dagger and a branding iron with a hawk insignia for marking new slaves.
2. Escape Route
The warehouse next door to 123 Bog Street has been fitted with a secret trap door, leading to the bar area (Area 4c). The windows, front and back doors have been secured as in Area 1. The escape route is guarded by two soldiers and war dog. Expecting a quiet night, the guards are passing time by playing cards under the light from a single lantern. The rest of the warehouse is pitch black and filled with towering casks of Shriek, a red wine produced only in Karina.
3. Dog Fights
The stairs leading down to the basement are wrapped in clammy darkness, except near the bottom where a crack of light seeps around heavy wooden double doors. Two soldiers open the doors, double checking visitors for visible weapons.
The warehouse basement is a long barrel vaulted chamber, perhaps thirty feet wide and seventy feet long with a sooty 15 foot high stone ceiling. The southern part of the hall - dimly lit by flickering candlelight from iron candelabras and swinging chandeliers - is dominated by a deep pit built up against the western wall. The pit is surrounded on the remaining three sides by a low iron railing. Chairs and tables have been pushed up to the three sides of the pit, and a number of spectators stare with fascination into the depths, where harsh guttural growls, barks, and yips burst out in staccato bursts of ferocity. Along the eastern wall, an wide arch leads to a crowded bar. The dark, northern part of the hall is discreetly blocked off by a heavy black curtain, hanging from an thick iron bar that spans the width of the chamber.
Two more soldiers, armed with spears, stand at the back of the chamber, hidden behind the curtain. In addition to the soldiers, the heroes may recognize Commander Regess and Scar Tabor (with two of his accomplices). The Dungeon Master should refer to the previous chapter for a description of these two characters.
Nathan Timothy arrives 1-4 turns after the heroes (unless he serves as a guide). Note that since the dog fights are greater than 100 yards from the river, the former dark lord cannot regenerate, and he loses 1 hp/hour until he returns to the Virago (see Chapter One).
The dogfights are administered by a square-shouldered brute with a callous disposition named Pitmaster Frand. One of Timothy's old associates from his halcyon days as dark lord of Arkendale, Frand is a werewolf who currently resides in Verbrek. Currently in human form, he wears a black studded leather and matching bracers. Frand also carries the keys to the dog kennels (3a) and the prison (3c) on a chain around his neck.
The Dungeon Master may showcase any number of dark celebrities from any of the domains; otherwise, the dog fights are attended by 2-16 werewolves, all currently in human form, with statistics similar to those of Pitmaster Frand. Finally, Matton Blanchard is not present unless accompanied (i.e., protected by) the heroes. Wolfweres are not welcome at the dog fights.
A locked door on the west wall leads to the dog kennels (3a), where over twenty vicious war dogs (game statistics in Area 1) are stored in box-like pens that can be easily lowered into the pit by rope. The dogs are only the first part of the program. Behind the dark curtain in the back of the hall, near a tall stack of empty crates and a pile of torn dog corpses (3b), another locked wooden door is recessed in the west wall (faints sounds of weeping and crying can be heard if one cares to listen). The door leads to a temporary prison (3c), where Regess has chained 3-18 human prisoners. A few are old slaves, too feeble to work productively any longer, some are snatched beggars and children from the Maze, but most are visitors or tourists visiting Karina for the Carnival. All are zero-level humans with 2-5 hit points.
As the night progresses, the prisoners will be lowered into the pit (perhaps with a dagger) along with a ferocious war dog. Sometimes, one or more of the werewolf patrons will jump into the pit to satiate his moon-driven passion, but most of the lycanthropes have already fed for the evening. The dog fights are for entertainment, not nourishment.
Commander Regess: INT Exceptional (16); AL LE; AC 3; MV 9; F5; hp 42; THACO 15; #AT 1 (3/2 with sword); Dmg by weapon +1 (strength bonus) SA Specialized with long sword; SD Nil; SZ M; ML 18; Plate mail, bastard sword +2, mace, light crossbow.4. Belly Up to the BarPitmaster Frand (werewolf): INT Ave (10); AL CE; AC 5; MV 12 (15); HD 4+3; hp 27; THACO 15; #AT 1; Dmg: by weapon (2d4 in wolf form); SA: Surprise; SD: silver or +1 weapon to hit in wolf form; SZ M; ML 16; MM/240; XP 650; studded leather +2, prison keys.
A 15' wide arch in the west wall of the long hall leads to a smoky bar, busily tended by two lovely women in simple dresses, their white blouses seductive and revealing. The patrons at the bar seem to be spending as much time drinking as placing wagers on the outcome of the dog fights.
Everyone at the bar, including the female bartenders, are werewolves. The bar patrons try to intimidate any humans who approach for a drink. One man flashes his canine jaws in a feral smile, another taps the bar top with monstrous claws. The bartenders (named Amanda and Caroline) swat the brash offenders, ordering them to "lay off the paying customers! You're cutting into my tips." Unless a generous tip is forthcoming, Amanda and Caroline will not restrain the patrons in the future when humans return to the bar. The Dungeon Master should refer to Area 6 in Karina for a description of the various exotic drinks available at the Carnival.
A large sum of money passes over the bar. While Amanda (dimples, long honey-colored hair woven in two braids, hazel eyes) is chiefly concerned with mixing and serving drinks, Caroline (loose chestnut hair, blue eyes, never smiles) takes care of the bets. Despite their gorgeous appearance, both Caroline and Amanda are vicious killers (hp 30 each, same stats as Frand). Caroline keeps a heavy crossbow of speed behind the bar, along with a supply of 14 bolts +2. The key to the bank is in her bodice. Amanda has a brace of six silvered daggers, envenomed with sleep poison. Even Pitmaster Frand wisely heeds their bark. The bartenders are close associates of Nathan Timothy and like Frand live in Verbrek during most of the year.
The heroes are free to place a wager on the outcome of the fights. The odds range from 1:1 (50% chance of winning, pays back original bet) to 2:1 (33% chance of winning, pays back double the original bet). Caroline keeps a tabulates wins (or losses) and pays from the bank upon departure. Those who welch on their bets are stripped, tossed into the pit, and pitted against one of the werewolf patrons.
The store room south of the bar (4a) contains casks of alcoholic beverages; while the store room north of the bar (4b) contains the bank: a large locked iron box, trapped by a pair of envenomed scything blades (#AT 2, THACO 15, Dmg 2-8 + Poison (E, 20/death)). The trunk contains (in 100 coin sacks) 4,200 cp, 2,400 sp, 5,000 gp, and 5 bloodstones (each worth 500 gp). In the north corner of area 4b, an empty crate conceals a secret door, leading to escape route via area 2.
Given the violent nature of the Dog Fights, the Dungeon Master must be careful to avoid turning the scenario into a gorefest. At first, the Dog Fights must seem to be simply another brutal sport, where a group of cruel humans gather to watch dogs tear each other to pieces in a deep bloody pit, surrounded by cheering onlookers. The Dungeon Master should keep in mind the techniques of terror, detailed in the RAVENLOFT Campaign Setting, to build the drama and horror of the scenario.
First focus on details leading up to the fight. Fraud enters the storeroom, hauling out two crates, each filled with a barking dog. The crates are slowly lowered into the pit, and then a release mechanism opens the door allowing the dogs to spring out and attack. Since the fights take place in a pit surrounded by an imposing curtain of people, they are kept discretely out of sight, although the sounds are easily discernible. Fraud hauls the bloody remains and empty crates, disappearing behind the curtain at the back of the hall.
Slowly, the truly monstrous nature of the event should become frighteningly clear. A trip to the bar may reveal the identity of the patrons, while the sudden arrival of Nathan Timothy - someone they supect a werewolf - should make them realize that they are completely surrounded by monsters. The true magnitude of the horror should be obvious when Frand hauls out the first human prisoner - a terrified young woman - from the cell behind the curtains and lowers her screaming into the pit.
There are many posible resolutions to this adventure, depending upon the party's choice of patron and their actions once they arrive and are conforted by the horror around them. The Dungeon Master can award the party up to 8,000 XP for braving the perils of the Dog Fights and discovering the location of Gabrielle's lair. Reduce this award by half if the adventurers did not even attepmt to save any of human prisoners or acted in a cowardly or unheroic manner. he DM should reward heroes for their initiative and role-playing with individual awards of up to 800 XP.
Captured!
Heroic attempts to save the human victims (or the choice of Timothy) will find the party subdued by the werewolves and locked into the holding cell until they, too, are tossed to the dogs. Assuming the party has the resources to escape, they may be able to sneak out the secret exit.
During their escape, the heroes encounter the Midnight Slasher lurking in the shadows either behind the curtains (Area 3b) or in one of the storerooms. Instead of attacking the party, the Slasher helps the heroes escape with the surviving prisoners, guiding them out the secret exit, and past the mutilated corpses of the guards in Area 2. Before melting into the darkness, the Slasher tells them to seek out the witch and her boy at Cliff House.
The Heist
If the party decided to perform Tabor's heist, the theft may be complicated once they see the first human prisoner being lowered into the dog pits. If the heroes do nothing and merely continue with the caper, the Dungeon Master should have each character make powers check once the unfortunate is torn to shreds by the dogs, and then create a number of minor complications to raise tension. For instance, while the party is subduing the guards behind the curtain, one might make a sound; fortunately the patrons are too distracted by the dog fights. The greatest moment of danger in the caper occurs when they have to open the treasure chest. If one of the bartenders from Area 4 were to enter, she would smell the heroes unless they have applied the magic powder early. The final complication is Tabor himself, who plans to kill the heroes with the help of eight accomplices once the gold is delivered. True to his word, the darkling reveals Gabrielle and the Dukkar's location, but then springs the ambush.
Bodyguards
Finally, if the heroes serve as bodyguards for Matton, they find him to be a surprisingly unpopular figure at the Dog Fights. As soon as he enters Area 3, the Pitmaster approaches him, growling "You are not welcome here!" Matton responds that he will not stay long, and only wants to speak with Tabor, who is sitting at a table in the corner. Frand lets Matton and the party enter, but the wolfwere continues to attract angry stares from almost all of the patrons.
Matton drops a pouch of gems on the table and asks Tabor where Gabrielle is located; the heroes may ask questions too, but must pay for their own answers. By the end of the questioning, a group of three patrons from the bar (hp 25 hit points each), unable to contain their animosity, assume half-wolf form and charge Matton while the rest of the patrons watch the combat with interest. Unless the heroes defend him, Matton changes into half-wolf form but is promptly slain. The heroes may either use the confusion of combat to escape (deserting Matton to his fate, which may call for powers checks), but if they fight off the werewolves, the rest of the bar patrons do not attack providing that Matton and the heroes leave immediately. Otherwise, the exit will be barred, Matton will be torn to pieces on the spot, and the heroes will be captured.
If the heroes leave the Dog Fights with Matton, they escort him back to the Laughing Maiden at the Wine Garden without incident (unless the DM wishes to challenge them further with encounters of his own devising). Matton rewards each of the party members with a pouch of 100 gp and attempts to hire them for his investigation of Cliff House tomorrow (he promises a similar reward). As a bonus, he pays for their lodgings at one of the inns at the Wine Garden so the heroes can rest for the remainder of the night.
Regardless of how they learn the crucial information, the heroes must wait until after moonset (just before dawn) before attempting to reach the Vistani encampment. If the heroes foolishly try to contact the Zarovan during the full moon, the DM should device a few vicious encounters with night creatures or even the vengeful Leyla to dissuade them. Exhausted after their own nocturnal activities, the Zarovan sleep until noon. When they wake, the heroes can relate their news of from the Dog Fights.
The Vistani prepare a lavish noonday meal, during which Marcella narrates a story from Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani and heals their wounds with more of her bitter potions. At the end of the meal, she presents them with a fist-sized black iron ball, a sphere of binding, to use against the Dukkar at Cliff House. The sphere binds the Dukkar to Invidia, neutralizing his ability to teleport beyond the Mists and hence eliminating him as a threat to the Demiplane. When they encounter Malocchio at Cliff House, Marcella advises them to hurl the sphere at his feet. She tells the heroes nothing of its powers; divinations cast by the player characters reveal nothing.
Raul apologizes for not accompanying them to the Dog Fights; he was busy all night forging the sphere of binding before its enchantment by the Zarovan. Raul will join the party for the adventure in Cliff House. Before the party leaves with Raul, Marcella calls after them: "Return to our camp before midnight; tonight all curses shall be broken."
