Snowwhite
Snowwhite
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Contents
The Queenswood ...................................................................
3
Noteworthy Features.........................................................
3
Settlements and Sites..........................................................
3
The Castle............................................................................
4
Quedlinburg........................................................................
4
Rammelsberg......................................................................
4
The Forest...........................................................................
4
Queen Narcissa ......................................................................
5
Narcissa's Powers and Dominion......................................
6
Narcissa's Torment.............................................................
6
Roleplaying Narcissa..........................................................
6
Adventures in The Queenswood..........................................
7
Adventure Hooks for the Queenswood...........................
7
Queenswood Adventures...................................................
7
Other Works:........................................................................
11
The Queenswood
Domain of Vanity, Corruption, and Dark Forests
Rammelsburg
Narcissa's kingdom presents a glamorous, prosperous face Rammelsburg is the end of the road, the last major
to the world, concealing a dark and ugly truth underneath. settlement before the wilds of the Harz mountains and
Under Narcissa's rule, the kingdom's mining operations their forests. It is thus a center of mining and industry.
have expanded exponentially, and the consequent The miners, charcoalers, loggers, and other forest dwellers
expansion of trade has luxury goods pouring into the bring their wares to Rammelsburg to trade. It is a rough-
capital. The queen is canny enough to spread the wealth and-tumble place, full of hardscrabble miners drinking
around, and many families that used to be minor country their wages away. It is also the best source of information
gentry are funding new mansions loaded with beautiful, on the forests. The forest dwellers have decades of
expensive furnishings. The court life surrounding the experience coexisting with the fantastic creatures of the
castle seems be a life of ease and beauty. However, mountains. The average tavern in Rammelsburg has
Narcissa does not maintain power by wealth or charm people who can tell you almost anything you would want
alone. The true source of her iron grip on power is fear, to know about the mountains and the creatures that live
cultivated through magic, torture, and assassination. She there, and every miner or logger has a story about meeting
has an order of ruthlessly loyal secret police called the a spirit of some sort.
Huntsmen, and the same palace that contains her beautiful
throne room also contains secret dungeons and torture
chambers for anyone who breathes a word of disloyalty.
The Forest
However, power gained through fear is never secure, and
the paranoia and terror she has imposed on her people is
driving more and more of them against her.
The Castle
Narcissa's castle and the town built around it is the capital
of the kingdom, and the place where her role is most
absolute. The town is flush with the wealth of the nation,
and her court is full of pomp and gilded frivolity that hides
a culture of endless, hard-edged jockeying for favor and
status among the courtiers. The most coveted status in
the court is that of queen's handmaid, one of Narcissa's
personal circle of attendants. She recruits only the most Although the kingdom has rapidly expanded under
beautiful maidens of the kingdom in to the handmaids, and Narcissa's rule, the majority of the territory technically
many of them even come from non-noble lineage. Having under her rule is still the wild forest and mountains. These
a daughter accepted as a handmaid includes expansion of mountains border the Feywild, and the forests are full of
income and social status, and is the fastest way to climb Feywild crossings. Time itself seems to behave differently
the social hierarchy. As such, the competition is intense in the Forest, and one could perceive weeks going by
and sometimes literally cutthroat. The handmaids are within the forest when only a few days had passed in the
sequestered in the palace and not allowed any contact "outside world" or vice versa.
with their families or the outside world. The palace also
contains Narcissa's magical workshop, guarded by the The forest paths are thus full of spirits, dwarves, and other
undead remains of her victims. This is where she collects creatures of the Feywild. A traveler in the mountains
spells and magical items to use in researching new ways to can have all sorts of strange, dream-like encounters,
hold on to her beauty and her throne. from helpful spirits leading lost miners to safety, little
men dwelling under the earth, or a hag with a cottage
made of gingerbread. See "Legends and Tales of the Harz
Mountains" for some example encounters.
Optional Rules: "The Wild Beyond The The inverse of this, however, is the legend
Snow White." that one who is pure of heart has nothing to
fear from the forest–which has birthed the
The Forest is meant to be a fantastic, fairytale like place. I
persistent rumor that Princess Snow White
suggest using the Feywild Magic rules from chapter 2 of
is still alive, living in the heart of the forest
the Dungeon Master's Guide to represent the way time
and tended by blights turned gentle as summer
and memory can unpredictably change in this mysterious
realm. If you have access to "The Wild Beyond the flowers. A Quedlinburg sang a poignant
bard in
Witchlight," it has many useful resources for running a song about how the Harz Mountains longed
Feywild- style setting. Chapter 2 of that book includes a to possess her forever, as she was more
"Transforming the Domain" chart to offer ways the forest beautiful than all their riches, and so they
could change in response to positive and negative emotions transformed her into a nymph so that her purity
which I highly recommend using for this forest. Chapter 3 and loveliness would never be lost. The next
is set in a "deep dark forest" Feywild domain and thus has
morning, the bard had vanished without a trace,
many random encounters and locations you could easily
his door hanging from a single broken hinge.
adapt for this forest as well.
One particular location of note is deep in the forest, the Queen Narcissa
Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz. Also called
"Bald Mountain" for its treeless peak, the Brocken is a "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall..."
dark and haunted place renowned for ghosts, hags, and
other forces of evil. The people of the kingdom avoid it Narcissa began her life as a humble miner's daughter
as much as possible, especially on certain times of year, whose beauty was only matched by her ruthlessness
whispering of great revels of the powers of darkness and ambition. On the night of the witches' sabbat she
on the bare slopes of that mountain. To even have the disregarded all the traditional warnings and journeyed to
shadow of the Brocken fall on oneself or one's land is the Brocken.
considered an extremely ill omen or sign of malignant
supernatural influence.
There she made a pact with two hags who were seeking "A Thunderbolt to Mix it Well. Now, Begin thy Magic Spell."
a third to complete their coven. Narcissa would share Through her dark pact with the hags, Narcissa has access
in their arcane power, and in 10 years she would be to all of her coven spells. She also has an extensive and
transformed into a hag and join them as the junior of their well-stocked arcane library and workshop to research
coven. Narcissa quickly used her new powers to assume Ritual spells outside of her normal spell list.
the guise of a mysterious noblewoman. She drew the
eye of the king, after poisoning his wife (Snow White's "Go On, Have a Bite." Narcissa has a crow familiar, and two
mother), and married him. Once she had secured her own magically bonded panthers that serve as her guards.
power in the kingdom she poisoned her new husband,
taking the throne as queen and regent for Princess Snow "Mirror, Mirror." The magic mirror in Narcissa's throne
White and bringing her land into Ravenloft. While room has the powers of a crystal ball of scrying. The
technically a placeholder ruler until Snow White comes of mirror can also be used once a day as an arcane focus to
age, Narcissa has seized power with the help of her magical cast any divination spell of 4th level or lower.
abilities and her secret police, the Huntsman. Any who
whisper disloyalty or question her rule are disappeared and Closing the Borders. When Narcissa closes the borders, the
tortured in her secret dungeons. forest becomes impassible, and seems to come to life to
attack those seeking escape.
Narcissa has even found a way to delay her debt to the
hags. She discovered a ritual in which she drains the lives
of beautiful young maidens, preserving her own youth Narcissa's Torment
and putting off her inevitable transformation into a hag.
However, the more she uses her magic to hold on to her Narcissa's torment springs from her vanity. Both her
power and beauty, the faster she ages, demanding more great beauty and her kingdom were won by, and are
and more "handmaids" to be recruited into her service maintained through, her magic. However, using magic
and never seen again. Some even dare to question the hurries her toward assuming her eventual place among
whereabouts of the daughters and sisters taken to the the hag coven she bargained with. She is able to delay
palace, and resentment against her violent and tyrannical joining the coven by sacrificing maidens, which is turning
rule is quietly growing. the kingdom against her. She can maintain control of the
kingdom through further magic, which brings her closer
The greatest threat to her Narcissa's power is the princess, to joining the coven.
Snow White. Snow White is as pure and virtuous as
Narcissa is wicked and cruel. Furthermore, Snow White is Both Narcissa's appearance and the kingdom are a beautiful
the rightful heir of the throne and has beauty even greater surface concealing an ugly reality which pushes through
than Narcissa's. The queen sought to end the threat that surface like vines growing through cracks in a wall.
of Snow White by ordering her most loyal Huntsman,
Humbert, to kill her, but Snow White's innocence and Despite all of the sacrifices and evil she has committed in
goodness stayed his hand. Snow White fled deep into the name of beauty, Narcissa is not and will never be the
the forest, finding refuge in the home of seven dwarves fairest of them all.
who mine gems from the mountains. Like Humbert, the
dwarves were won over by the beauty and goodness of
Snow White's heart, and are her devoted protectors. Roleplaying Narcissa
Personality Trait. " And now, a special sort of death... for
Narcissa now seeks to conceal Snow White's escape from
one so fair."
the court, and to find some way to finish her off. She is
Ideal. "Silence! You know the penalty if you fail."
hesitant to go into the mountains herself, as the forest is
Bond. “Her breath will still. Her blood congeal. Now I'll be
the realm of the spirits and her curse grows stronger as she
fairest in the land!"
spends time within that realm.
Flaw. " Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest
one of all?"
Narcissa currently seeks marriage to an eligible prince to
distract the kingdom, expand her rule, and give her access
WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS | SNOW WHITE
6
Adventures in The Adventure Hooks for the
Queenswood Queenswood
I could not leave the Queenswood without
investigating the rumors surrounding Narcissa. Narcissa's kingdom is a major exporter of mineral wealth
Her handmaidens and ladies in waiting were and importer of luxury goods, and is thus a major center of
reluctant to share their mistress’s secrets, but trade. PCs have numerous reasons to come to this Domain
a few made catty remarks about how her current as part of a delivery or trade mission. It is also very well
favorite, Greta, would not be in favor for long. known that the mountains and forest are full of Feywild
It seemed like this was the way with Narcissa’s Crossings, so any PCs looking for resources or NPCs in the
favorites; I would have wondered why all of her Feywild have good reason to visit. Finally, the PCs might
attendants seemed to think that things would have a more directed reason to travel here. Perhaps an
end differently for them, but one can never NPC they are connected to has a daughter taken to be one
underestimate the power of self-delusion. of Narcissa's handmaids, and the NPC is suspicious enough
to reach out for help. If one of your PCs is a dwarf or there
Given the number of magical and mundane are any major dwarven NPCs, they could be contacted by
poisons in the castle, it was not difficult to the seven dwarves to aid in protecting Snow White.
ensure that Greta would be indisposed for a
time, and Mask of Many Faces allowed me to Queenswoods Adventures
assume her appearance. After an evening in
There are two core adventures in this Domain, depending
which the entertainment consisted largely of
on how much you want to engage with the forest or with
women praising Narcissa’s beauty while casting
the political situation in the castle.
subtle aspersions on one another, the queen
dismissed them and asked Greta–me–to attend
In the forest, the players have numerous options for
her in her personal chambers.
strange, fairy-tale like Feywild encounters, but the core
story is going to involve Narcissa's plans to kill Snow
As the queen led me to her chamber, which was
White. Perhaps the PCs are tricked into helping Narcissa,
dominated by an enormous mirror, a strange and
delivering a poison apple to Snow White, etc. See
subtle transformation gripped her. She seemed
"Narcissa's Plans" for some suggestions. Snow White
to shrink with every step, her back twisting
cannot be killed (she is a part of Narcissa's Torment) and
into the slightest suggestion of a hump. Her
perhaps the PCs can play the Prince Charming role and
hands were less slender than bony, with faint
revive her from the edge of death.
traces of liver spots along the knuckles, and
her cool green eyes began to bulge from their
In the castle, you can do a more political story about
sockets. When I stepped back, repulsed, from
opposing Narcissa. Rescuing one or more handmaids
the creature that was half a woman and half a
from her before she drains their life could be excellent
hag, she cackled and performed the words and
combination of social/court intrigue (to discover where
gestures for a spell that should have frozen
the handmaid has been taken) and dungeon diving into
me helpless to the spot. My patron’s ring
Narcissa's secret workshop. You could also do a version of
went cold on my finger as the spell passed
the Humbert story and convince a reluctant Huntsman to
harmlessly through me, but I feigned paralysis.
disobey/rebel against Narcissa.
The witch approached me, her features twisting
and aging further with each passing moment,
You could combine these core stories by having Prince
holding a jeweled dagger. “You are fair,
Charming locked in the dungeon for rejecting Narcissa out
Greta,” she leered, raising the dagger over my
of love for Snow White. Snow White gets successfully
heart, “but with your youth and beauty, I’ll be
poisoned and the PCs have to free the Prince from the
fairest in the land . . .”
dungeon and deliver him to Snow White to revive her.
I had seen enough. I released my disguise,
A final interesting story could involve the hags Narcissa
assuming my form of dread, and unleashed an
made her original bargain with. They could be the ones
eldritch blast. The next few moments are ..
who bring the PCs to the domain, to hurt Narcissa and
. somewhat muddled. I was conscious of no
destabilize her kingdom. This will force Narcissa to use
thoughts beyond destroying this monster, of
more and more magic, bringing her closer to her future
causing her as much pain as she had caused the
hag state. The hags could be a good "you are evil but
women who died helpless and terrified in this
powerful and we have a common enemy" set of NPCs to
room, for no better purpose than to feed the
help and guide the PCs.
vanity of this loathsome parasite. It was not
until I felt the agony of her claws and teeth in
my flesh that I realized I was outmatched, and
used gaseous form to flee.
3 She magically causes some danger of the forest to target Snow White, such as a tree collapsing.
4 She magically sends a storm to threaten Snow White, who is wandering the forest.
3 On certain special nights, blue flames appear over the site of a buried treasure. However, the treasure must be dug
out and removed in absolute silence or it disappears.
4 A giant roams the forest, dressed in furs and carrying a tree trunk for a club. He will grant wishes, but those wishes
are always fulfilled in a dark and fearsome way.
5 In one part of the forest is a valley grows a magic flower that can heal any ailment of body or soul. The flower only
blooms one night a year.
6 The mine monk is a friendly spirit dressed in archaic miner's clothes who is said to wander the forest, helping the pure
of heart.
7 A white stag roams the forest, a great prize sought by many hunters. He is actually a prince under a curse, and if you
catch him without shedding blood, you break the curse.
8 A certain farmer in the mountains has a small copse of trees that seem to talk sometimes. They are the hosts of a trio
of dryads, who will magically aid anyone who can convince the farmer not to cut the trees for firewood.
9 A fierce and wild people live in the mountains, who have built a mound of skulls around the grave of their greatest
leader. They say that leader was buried with his powerful enchanted weapons and armor.
10 Deep in the forest is an old, abandoned temple built over an ancient sacred place. In the ruins of the temple there is a
rose-crested goblet full of holy water, which when drunk cures any ailment.
11 The farms around a particular manor are nightly raided by small, invisible creatures from under the earth stealing the
crops. The lord of the manor would reward anyone who could catch and stop these invisible thieves.
12 The Wild Hunt roams the mountains at night. If you come upon them, the lead huntsman will ask you to hold his
horse so that he can rest. If you are able to hold on to the fierce beast for one hour, the huntsman rewards you
greatly.
D
.
such a person exists beyond the imaginings of the
peasantry, she would be as rare as an alluring hag.
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