With help from Big Chungus, I talk about the OSR adventure "The Child Eaters", plus some news about my upcoming book!
As someone who's a fan of horror stories that pull no punches and a HUGE fan of The Wicker Man (the original, not that memed-to-death Nicholas Cage abortion) this adventure sounds right up my alley.
Last year I was running a Swords & Wizardry campaign and found that half of the players elected to be clerics or paladins. That caught me flat-footed. All I had prepped was a standard dungeon crawl so I downloaded three of pundit's adventures: The Child Eaters, The Secret Order of the Red Lady, and The Defilers. All are good fodder for lawful characters looking to root-out some evil heresy in a medieval setting.
Although I didn't actually run them, they are well-written and worth the price. Compared with other OSR adventures I've purchased, these are less about combat and more about diplomacy and investigation. They include a general situation and details about the relevant NPC's and their motivations. How players approach the situation is wide-open. There is no predictable sequence, no rails. That may or may not be what you want.
The Child Eaters may be a bit edgy for some (there is nothing metaphorical about the title). Know your group :-)
Quote from: Vidgrip on November 19, 2020, 10:14:17 AM
The Child Eaters may be a bit edgy for some (there is nothing metaphorical about the title). Know your group :-)
I should note: the plot is based on an actual medieval legend.
Quote from: RPGPundit on November 19, 2020, 05:23:37 AM
With help from Big Chungus, I talk about the OSR adventure "The Child Eaters", plus some news about my upcoming book!
Awesome video
Did you get my PM about the next episode of Inappropriate Characters I mentioned in the video?
Recommended some fans from this very forum who I think would make great guests for that episode since Venger will be absent.
Specifically, I think Spinachat, SHARK, or jeff3719 would all be good picks.
Quote from: RPGPundit on November 19, 2020, 04:06:56 PM
Quote from: Vidgrip on November 19, 2020, 10:14:17 AM
The Child Eaters may be a bit edgy for some (there is nothing metaphorical about the title). Know your group :-)
I should note: the plot is based on an actual medieval legend.
Do you have a link to a good place to read the legend? Is it also called the child eaters?
Quote from: RPGPundit on November 19, 2020, 04:06:56 PM
Quote from: Vidgrip on November 19, 2020, 10:14:17 AM
The Child Eaters may be a bit edgy for some (there is nothing metaphorical about the title). Know your group :-)
I should note: the plot is based on an actual medieval legend.
I LOVE FOLKLOREPlease tell us more! Where is this legend from? Where can I read more about it?
Quote from: Slambo on November 19, 2020, 04:56:10 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit on November 19, 2020, 04:06:56 PM
Quote from: Vidgrip on November 19, 2020, 10:14:17 AM
The Child Eaters may be a bit edgy for some (there is nothing metaphorical about the title). Know your group :-)
I should note: the plot is based on an actual medieval legend.
Do you have a link to a good place to read the legend? Is it also called the child eaters?
No, what I mean is that it was a very common medieval legend, definitely popular in the north but also in many other places, to have stories of witches stealing children to ritually sacrifice them and cook them (usually in a stew) to gain demonic power.
So what I was suggesting is that in the real medieval world no one would be shocked at this. I get that it is more sensitive subject matter to our modern (wussy) world, but back then these were the types of stories they told each other routinely.
Oh i see i thought you meant it was a specific story 9f some sort.
Quote from: RPGPundit on November 19, 2020, 04:06:56 PMI should note: the plot is based on an actual medieval legend.
I've used those child eater legends in Warhammer. I ran it as a convention one-shot and I started the session by having the PCs roll D3 for number of kids and then had them name the kids...then I began the game and informed them what happened when they returned to town after being away a few days...
There's even a famous statue in Germany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindlifresserbrunnen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindlifresserbrunnen)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/4377_-_Bern_-_Kindlifresserbrunnen_am_Kornhausplatz.JPG/800px-4377_-_Bern_-_Kindlifresserbrunnen_am_Kornhausplatz.JPG)
In fact, The Child Eaters combines a couple of very common medieval legends: the idea of child-eating witchcraft with the idea of witchcraft being used to curse one land in order to bless another.
Probably goes all the way back to the old religions. The Romans leveled accusations of child sacrifice against the Carthaginians.
Regardless, unless you have some highly amoral players, child murder is going to get everyone good and ready for some old fashioned smiting.
Does seem to be one of the few things that is universally considered BAD/EVIL.
Still surprising how few people want to deal with "Real Life" type of Evil in their games.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on November 20, 2020, 09:36:05 AM
Probably goes all the way back to the old religions. The Romans leveled accusations of child sacrifice against the Carthaginians.
Regardless, unless you have some highly amoral players, child murder is going to get everyone good and ready for some old fashioned smiting.
Then I guess the Romans were justified in killing every man, woman and child in Carthage to stop child sacrifice.
:-\
Carthago delenda est!
Quote from: Shasarak on November 20, 2020, 03:00:04 PM
Quote from: Ghostmaker on November 20, 2020, 09:36:05 AM
Probably goes all the way back to the old religions. The Romans leveled accusations of child sacrifice against the Carthaginians.
Regardless, unless you have some highly amoral players, child murder is going to get everyone good and ready for some old fashioned smiting.
Then I guess the Romans were justified in killing every man, woman and child in Carthage to stop child sacrifice.
:-\
I said they leveled accusations. I didn't say they were true or verified.
Quote from: Spinachcat on November 20, 2020, 02:50:07 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit on November 19, 2020, 04:06:56 PMI should note: the plot is based on an actual medieval legend.
I've used those child eater legends in Warhammer. I ran it as a convention one-shot and I started the session by having the PCs roll D3 for number of kids and then had them name the kids...then I began the game and informed them what happened when they returned to town after being away a few days...
There's even a famous statue in Germany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindlifresserbrunnen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindlifresserbrunnen)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/4377_-_Bern_-_Kindlifresserbrunnen_am_Kornhausplatz.JPG/800px-4377_-_Bern_-_Kindlifresserbrunnen_am_Kornhausplatz.JPG)
So what was the culprit, a Chaos cult or monster? How did the PCs take vengeance?
Quote from: Ghostmaker on November 20, 2020, 05:12:25 PM
Quote from: Shasarak on November 20, 2020, 03:00:04 PM
Quote from: Ghostmaker on November 20, 2020, 09:36:05 AM
Probably goes all the way back to the old religions. The Romans leveled accusations of child sacrifice against the Carthaginians.
Regardless, unless you have some highly amoral players, child murder is going to get everyone good and ready for some old fashioned smiting.
Then I guess the Romans were justified in killing every man, woman and child in Carthage to stop child sacrifice.
:-\
I said they leveled accusations. I didn't say they were true or verified.
Even if true, kill them all and let God(s) sort them out?
Quote from: CRKrueger on November 20, 2020, 07:06:47 PMSo what was the culprit, a Chaos cult or monster? How did the PCs take vengeance?
I pulled out all the classic tropes.
PCs hail from a village at the edge of a haunted forest.
The PCs are the "men of action", but a traitor's lies led them away from their homes on the fateful day.
While they were gone, a Chaos Cult raids the village and steals the children.
Into the forest our heroes go, meeting strange NPCs and tracking down their kids while cutting down foes who dare stand in their way.
And when midnight is nearly upon them, they stumble into a weird grove where the cultists have summoned a grotesque demon. One by one, the hypnotized children wander into its gnashing maw.
And now, in a climactic battle, our heroes must hack down the cultists and the demon and hopefully fast enough before their own children meet their terrible fate.
It was brutally awesome. A few PCs couldn't get to their children fast enough and watched them die which sent them into berserk frenzies. One father bullrushed the Chaos Wizard into the demon's maw to avenge his daughters, grappling the mage so he couldn't escape. One PC died in battle saving their kids and the kids were adopted by one of the surviving heroes who made sure to keep their father's weapons for the day they could avenge him.
Quote from: Spinachcat on November 21, 2020, 05:22:58 AM
It was brutally awesome. A few PCs couldn't get to their children fast enough and watched them die which sent them into berserk frenzies. One father bullrushed the Chaos Wizard into the demon's maw to avenge his daughters, grappling the mage so he couldn't escape. One PC died in battle saving their kids and the kids were adopted by one of the surviving heroes who made sure to keep their father's weapons for the day they could avenge him.
And the Award goes to ...
Spinachcat!
* The games that are remembered.