Friday Fantasy: The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh

The poor village of Hendenburgh stands in the middle of the Kryptwood, an ancient forest steeped in legend and history. For years, the Kryptwood has encroached upon the village, covering the walls of its whitewashed cottages with ivy, but pulling the tendrils of the evergreen climber from the walls of their homes is something that the villagers can easily handle, whereas the most problem thing to beset Hendenburgh is one that they are ill-equipped to deal with. Murderous demon hounds haunt the Kryptwood, ripping apart anyone who dares enter its reaches and even snatching lone villagers from the streets of the small settlement. An attempt to drive the spectral hounds from the Kryptwood, led by Ulvar the Poacher, resulted in failure and the death of several villagers. The demon hounds and what they are, are just one of the dangers and secrets to be found in and around the village of Hendenburgh. Highwaymen lurk in the forest, ready to pounce on Hendenburgh’s misfortune; a coven of witches wants everything to be returned to normal; the old silver mine stands abandoned, infested with monsters that drove out the miners and sowed the seeds of Hendenburgh’s poverty; a Bridge Troll has gone on strike after a drunken pixie failed to pay the toll; and at its heart, the Tomb of the Tyrant, the last resting place of the Kryptwood Tyrant, a despot who ruled the region a thousand years ago.

This is the situation in The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh, a scenario published by The Merry Mushmen, best known for Black Sword Hack: Ultimate Chaos Edition and A Folklore Bestiary, as well as the fanzine, Knock! An Adventure Gaming Bric-à-Brac. Funded via a Kickstarter campaign along with Raiding the Obsidian Keep, it is designed for Player Characters of Second to Fourth Level, it is adaptation and expansion for use with Old School Essentials of an earlier scenario, Hounds of Hendenburgh, written for use with the microclone, Cairn. It is essentially, a hexcrawl with multiple locations—some twenty-four of them, occupying half of the hexcrawl’s forty-eight hexes—and multiple, often interlinked plots. These plots will pull and push the Player Characters across the Kryptwood, ultimately to the scenario’s three big locations. These are the ‘The Infested Silver Mine’, ‘The Ancient Villa’, and ‘The Tyrant’s Tomb’. As written, it is also linked to Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, the first adventure module published by The Merry Mushmen. Thus, it can be run, if not as a direct sequel, then as the next scenario in the Player Characters’ adventures. Alternatively, it can simply be dropped into a Game Master’s own setting and used without any links to Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow.

As with Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, this is another digest-sized scenario which comes as a thick seventy or so page booklet in a wraparound card cover. The trade dress echoes that of classic TSR, though the artwork is more cartoonish. The cover has been purposely distressed and inside are maps of the three main adventuring locations in the Kryptwood, all done in a white on blue style that again echoes classic modules for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition. The cartoonish style of artwork continues throughout in a duotone of blue and grey, depicting the sense of gloom and horror that pervades the region—and the adventure.

The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh is a very traditional in terms of its design. It begins with the ‘classic village in peril’ set-up in which Hendenburgh and its inhabitants are endangered by a major threat, that is, the demon hounds. Added to this are a handful of other, lesser threats—a band of highwaymen, the cause of the silver mine being abandoned which has led to the region’s decline, the village pastor having been defrocked for heresy, and so on. Understandably, the villagers are rightly worried about the danger that the demon hounds represent, but these are not their only concerns. There is the winsome and inappropriately young wife of the senile Lord of Hendenburgh, who wants to restore the village’s fortunes, but is also fascinated by the new learning, and regards the attacks by the demon hounds as peasant superstition, blaming them on a particularly vindictive badger. The pastor could be of great help to the Player Characters, but has become a spiteful drunk after being denounced by his flock! The town miller is in deep mourning for his wife, killed by the demon hounds, so no grain is being ground for flour, and thus there is no bread being baked, whereas in fact, his wife has run off with the highwaymen! The blacksmith cannot work out why the Widow Winstaple reviles him so, despite him loving her very much and having dosed her tea with a love potion he acquired from the three witches in the woods. These NPCs—and in fact, all of the NPCs in The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh, because there are also many to be found across Kryptwood Forest as well—are really great. Not only will interacting with them garner the Player Characters knowledge, but it will also create some great roleplaying between the players and the Game Master.

Beyond the limits of Hendenburgh, Kryptwood is rife with yet more encounters and locations. There is the aforementioned coven of witches and their squadron of flying monkeys, a fashionably employed hermit, that troll bridge with the striking troll, the Highwaymen and their louchely charismatic leader, and even ‘The Thirsty Sprite’, a tavern deep in the woods that caters to pixies and other creatures. Then, of course, there are the scenario’s three main adventure sites, ‘The Infested Silver Mine’, ‘The Ancient Villa’, and ‘The Tyrant’s Tomb’. These are not large, but they are highly detailed and they will keep the Player Characters busy for multiple sessions. They are also dangerous, if not outright deadly, and any party rushes into unprepared will find its numbers potentially severely depleted. These three locations, as well as the witches’ coven, are where the horror elements of scenario come to the fore. For make no mistake The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh is a horror scenario. Primarily that horror is folkloric and gothic in nature, but ‘The Infested Silver Mine’ feels like the film Alien as well. There is a touch of whimsy too, such as the drunken Pixies and bored Ogre bartender at ‘The Thirsty Sprite’ or the reluctant, but fashionably employed hermit. The combination is reminiscent of Hammer Horror film with a touch of bawdy grubbiness that will make the Game Master want to cast the scenario’s many NPCs and villains with their favourite character actors.

The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh is also very well supported and organised. It breaks down the various factions in the scenario, gives a handful of hooks to get the Player Characters there, provides tables of encounters for all of the main locations, and at the end lists what will happen to Hendenburgh once the Player Characters have left. This includes if they do nothing as well as the possible consequences if they get involved. Appendices list all of the scenario’s NPCs, new magical items, and potential retainers and/or replacement Player Characters. Again, these are all very good, the magical items in particular being unique and interesting in each and every case, such as a Clockwork Canary that attaches to the belt and sings whenever poisonous or explosive gas is detected or the Agoniser, a dagger that can inflict excruciating pain sufficient to paralyse temporarily the person stabbed!

Physically, The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh is very well presented. The writing is succinct and laid out in an easy to grasp style, whilst the artwork is entertaining throughout. The cartography of the various buildings and caves and dungeons in the scenario feel slightly grubbier than in Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, but are still not as detailed as they could be. This will not hinder the Game Master running The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh, but none really help their locations come to life either.

The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh is a great horror hexcrawl, brimming with flavoursome detail and plot, populated with a fantastic cast of NPCs that the Game Master is going to enjoy roleplaying, and rife with adventure possibilities. It is a genuine joy to see how well this is designed and put together, but at the table, The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh is going to be so much fun to run, let alone play.