THE HORNED KING'S LAND

A RAVENLOFT DOMAIN OF DREAD BASED ON THE

PODCAST "WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS"

BY THOMAS AND RACHEL KOLAR

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Contents
The Kingdom of Annuvin is a Ravenloft Domain inspired The Kingdom Of Annuvin.....................................................
by the Podcast "Wonderful World of Darklords: Episode 3
39, The Black Cauldron." Noteworthy Features.........................................................
3
https://redcircle.com/shows/the-wonderful-world- Settlements and Sites..........................................................
of-darklords. 3
https://www.youtube.com/@WonderfulWorldofDarklord Caer Dalwyn........................................................................
4
Support our content creation on Patreon at The Marshes of Morva......................................................
https://www.patreon.com/ 4
TheWonderfulWorldofDarklords The Horned King's Castle..................................................
4
Patreon members get access to our Discord, bonus The Horned King's Powers and Dominion.....................
episodes, and free download links to all of our paid 5
bonus podcast content on DMsguild, as well as our deep The Horned King's Torment............................................
appreciation. 6
Roleplaying the Horned King...........................................
6
Adventures in Annuvin..........................................................
6
Annuvin Adventures..........................................................
8
Other Works:........................................................................
12
The Kingdom Of Annuvin Noteworthy Features
Those familiar with Annuvin know the following facts:
Domain of reanimated dead and evil sorcery
• The Land of Annuvin is a land at war. The Horned
King, a former general of the defeated dark lord Arawyn,
Darklord: The Horned King
has revived his former master's army and seeks to
conquer all of Annuvin.
Genres: Dark Fantasy
• The High King struggles to keep his bickering lords
united in the face of the Horned King's armies, a conflict
Hallmarks: Magic, war, conflict, curses, necromancy
some say the Horned King is deliberately inflaming.
• The Horned King seeks the Black Cauldron, an artifact
Mist Talismans: Apples, bones, grave goods
formed from Arawyn's prison, with which the Horned
King seeks to raise an army of Cauldron-Born, relentless
undead warriors.
Report 39: Annuvin
My first impression of Annuvin was a positive
one; although it lacks the raw natural beauty Settlements and Sites
of DunBroch, this is partly because it has been
more thoroughly settled, and I enjoyed the
It should have been easier for me to gain
information about a dread lord when his
thought of not spending any nights camping in
the forest. The mountains, forests, and valleys
minions believed that I outranked them, but
the mental acuity of those minions left much
are interspersed with villages and stretches
to be desired. They informed me that they
of farmland, giving an impression of bucolic
peace…at least, until one stumbles upon a farm
were the Horned King’s huntsmen (after a few
minutes of conversation with them, I believe
whose residents have been put to the sword and
that the sole qualification for this position
whose resources have been plundered to feed
is to identify the business end of a sword at
the invading armies of realm’s great enemy, the
least one time out of three) and that they were
Horned King.
bringing the corpses back to his castle to

My first encounter with those armies, however,

become “cauldron-born.” The Horned King did
was not one of those murderous raiding parties,
not currently possess the Black Cauldron, the
magic item that would allow him to reanimate
but a raiding party of a different sort. I
these corpses as his undead army, but he had
came across a large burial mound and a group
possessed it for brief periods in the past,
of men pulling the corpses from it. Grave
and the huntsmen were confident that he would
robbers, I thought with disdain ... but to my
eventually find it again. The huntsmen told
surprise, rather than stripping the corpses of
their valuables and leaving them behind, they
me that the Horned King commanded several
cauldron-born from previous times that he
dragged the corpses themselves to a nearby
had gained control of the artifact. From their
wagon. One of the men spotted me and shouted
descriptions, it seemed that the cauldron-born
for his compatriots, who immediately nocked
had the mindless obedience of zombies, but were
their arrows to run me off. I assumed my form
faster and hardier, immune to all non-magical
of dread in response. They cowered away from
forms of attack. I did not know at first whether
me–and immediately begged my forgiveness and
to credit this as truth or superstition–the
asked if I had brought them new orders from
credulous huntsmen also claimed that the
their master.
Horned King was a powerful necromancer, but
It seemed that, despite his lack of horns,
I saw no evidence that he had any magical
abilities whatsoever, and a necromancer
my patron bore a marked resemblance to the
would have no need of the cauldron to animate
dreaded Horned King. It was irksome that
the dead for him. Later encounters with the
anyone would believe I had such low standards…
cauldron-born, however, verified these claims.
but it could certainly be useful.

I could learn little else from the huntsmen, so

after handing them a jar of spiced peaches and
informing them that the Horned King wanted
them to dig for corpses in Camp Green Lake,
I began gathering information from other
sources. It seems that the Horned King was
once the general of a ruthless conqueror named
Arawn, and that Arawn’s defeat centuries ago
culminated in his soul being forged into the
cauldron. The Horned King continued to lead his
armies on a campaign of violent conquest, but
without Arawn’s magic to support them, they

WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS| ANNUVIN

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 were massacred. So powerful was the Horned Legend has it, there was once a king so cruel and so evil, that
King’s will that he was able to return from the even the gods feared him. Since no prison could hold him, he
dead; his soldiers did not follow suit. was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron. There his
demonic spirit was captured in the form of a great, Black
When I later traveled to the Horned King’s Cauldron. For uncounted centuries, the Black Cauldron lay
castle, I was able to infiltrate the Hall of hidden, waiting, while evil men searched for it, knowing
Warriors, in which he kept the bodies of his whoever possessed it would have the power to resurrect an
former soldiers–all of which were preserved army of deathless warriors... and with them, rule the world....
with something close to tenderness, whereas
the corpses from the burial mounds were The land of Annuvin is a land of ancient and powerful
crammed into the catacombs beneath the castle magic. Fairy mounds lead to the underground homes
like garments in an overstuffed wardrobe. of the Fey, crumbling tombs hold lost magical treasures,
I cast speak with dead without much hope witches trade for enchanted weapons, and pigs are born
of success–surely the Horned King’s loyal with powerful divination abilities.
soldiers would refuse to tell me anything–
and was astonished by the results. For one The Dark Lord Arawyn tapped into that magic and almost
thing, the Horned King’s soldiers seemed to conquered the land. The High King's army was able to
be trapped in some hellish state between death defeat him, but the peace was not to last. Arawyn's chief
and undeath; they were not undead, as speak general, the Horned King, has risen to take his former
with dead would not have worked otherwise, master's place. The High King struggles to keep his
but they had a level of awareness of their restless and feuding lords united in the face of this new
existence after death, hoarded away like gold threat. Some say the Horned King's Huntsmen are not
in a miser’s treasury. For another, they had only raiding villages, but robbing graves, digging up the
no desire to continue serving their erstwhile remains of great warriors for some dark purpose.
general. They were dead and gone; they wanted
nothing more than to pass on to their eternal Caer Dalwyn
rest, particularly as they knew that what little
An oasis of peace in a war torn land, Caer Dalwyn is the
remained of their minds and memories would
small fortified village home of Dalwyn, a retired sorcerer.
be destroyed in the cauldron. As the Horned
The obscurity of the village and Dalwyn's protective
King had no magic with which to speak to them,
enchantments have so far kept the village safe from the
however, they could not tell him as much, nor
war. However, Dalwyn knows the Horned King's gaze
did they believe that he would listen if they
will inevitably turn on his home, as his unobtrusive village
could. Thus, he continued with his obsessive
is the hiding place of a great magical power: Henwen, the
desire to resurrect them, convinced that undoing
oracular pig. Henwen is a pig of unique divination ability,
the deaths he had caused was the only way he
and Dalwyn's chief mission is to protect her from the
could make amends to his beloved warriors.
Horned King. If the Horned King got hold of Henwen, he
could discover the hidden location of the Black Cauldron.
Thus, despite the requests of the High King, Dalwyn uses
Henwen's power as little as possible, lest the Horned King
notice the humble hiding place of the oracular pig.

The Marshes of Morva

This swamp deep in the wilderness is a dangerous place
that is avoided by most mortals, even the Horned King's
forces. It is the home of the Witches of Morva, a trio of
powerful, if quarrelsome, sisters. While dangerous and
capricious spellcasters, they are neither allies nor enemies
of the Horned King. They have their own goals and
interests, and a deeply alien sensibility that makes them
more dangerous in some ways than the Horned King.
One thing that is known about them is that they are great
collectors of magic items. They have scores of mighty and
legendary artifacts, and are sometimes willing to trade
those artifacts or other magical favors in exchange for a
new interesting or unique magic item.

WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS | ANNUVIN

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The Horned King's Castle Prydain operates under a feudal system, with a
High King and several vassal lords who govern
The Horned King has occupied an ancient, crumbling their lands–called cantrevs–with a sizable
castle as his own. There he gathers his forces and plots amount of freedom, often having vassal lords
the conquest of all Annuvin. The castle is full of ancient of their own. The cantrev lords often refer to
tunnels and forgotten chambers, and even the Horned themselves as “kings” as well, although they
King himself does not know every room or secret of the owe allegiance to the High King. I can almost
castle. Some say that the magical treasures of the original hear my patron rolling his eyes in monarchial
king who built the castle are in some ancient lost tomb contempt at the idea that anyone calling himself a
deep within the dungeons. “king” would be willing to swear fealty to a liege
lord; I can assure you that if that is the case,
The Horned King uses those dungeons to "interrogate" any such skepticism is well-founded. While some of

prisoners, many of whom he captured in hopes they had these cantrev lords are steadfast, most dream

some clue to the Black Cauldron's location. He also uses of becoming the High King or Queen themselves;

some of the cells to store his collection of magic items. He as each is able to muster a personal army from
their cantrevs, it is a miracle that the Horned
seizes, buys, or steals any magic item he can find for fear of
them being used against him or his forces. King has anything left to attempt to conquer. I
suspect that the only reason the kingdom has not
become engulfed in civil war is that the cantrev
The Horned King's necrotic energy has infected the land
lords’ vassals are as disloyal as their masters,
itself, and the region around the castle has a supernatural
transforming those “personal armies” into a
malignancy. Mortals perceive it as a sense of unease and hotbed of warring factions.
heightened fear. Fey creatures are more sensitive to this
malignancy, and actually sicken to Exhaustion if they stay Although the Horned King’s thirst for rulership
around the castle for too long. of Prydain would make him unremarkable among
the cantrev lords, he is not part of the kingdom’s
While most attribute that necrotic energy to the Horned feudal system. His realm, Annuvin, is politically
King himself, some say it radiates from the strange vaults a border realm of Prydain, even though they seem
of the dead within the castle. The Horned King sends his to be a single domain in the more…metaphysical
men to rob graves, not just of grave goods or treasure, but sense. Annuvin, which is dramatically called
of the bodies of warriors. Carts of skeletons roll into the “the Land of Death” by its citizens and those of
castle, and the bodies are piled up higher and higher in Prydain alike, is a desolate mountain waste, rife
the great halls of the castle. Many days the Horned King with necrotic energy that makes it inhospitable

roams those halls, speaking to the dead. to living things. Small wonder that the Horned
King’s huntsmen raid Prydain’s farms for
sustenance; it is difficult to imagine anything
growing in Annuvin, save the blighted trees of
the Forbidden Forest. Twisted creatures called
gwythaints, an uncanny blend of ravens and
wyverns, hunt the skies for any prey that is able
to survive in Annuvin; rumor has it that they
serve as the Horned King’s eyes, although if so, I
managed to evade their detection.

Other than the Horned King, the main individual

who seems to exist outside the feudal system
is the wizard Dallben–although for entirely
different reasons. I suppose that Dallben could
be considered a cantrev lord with no vassals,
answering directly to the High King, but his
“cantrev” consists of a single farm, protected by
powerful abjuration magic. I believe I experienced
the benefits of this magic firsthand when I spent
the night there. I do not know whether I attempted
to walk in my sleep; I tied my foot to the post of
every bed I used in Prydain and found the knots
secure upon waking, so if I did sleepwalk there or
anywhere else, it was literally on a short leash.
I do know, however, that at Caer Dallben my
sleep was untroubled by nightmares for the first
time in months.

WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS| ANNUVIN

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 On the subject of those nightmares…I have
considered my patron’s offer of something that
The Horned King
will remove the need for sleep, and it is tempting.
The Horned King, that black- hearted devil.
Even putting aside the sleepwalking, the dreams
alone…I am no stranger to nightmares, but
His true name has been carefully hidden for many years.
these….Apologies. I digress. I am concerned
about side effects. If this is, in fact, a result of
He was the chief general of the Dark Lord Arawyn, and
stress, then losing the ability to sleep hardly
seethed with resentment as Arawyn wasted the lives of his
seems conducive to relieving that stress, and I soldiers, using them as disposable resources in his quest
wonder how else it might manifest. And if there for power. When Arawyn was defeated, the general took
is some other cause…removing the need for command of the remainder of the army as the Horned
sleep seems like treating a symptom rather than King. He swore that he would be different, that he would
the underlying disease. I don’t know why this cherish the lives of his men and fight for them to live
is hap I thank you for the offer, truly, but it in a more just world. However, the war did not go well.
seems imprudent. For the time being, I shall carry Finally, he led his armies in a desperate attack, a reckless
on as I have. gambit for victory that wasted more of his soldiers' lives
in a single battle the Arawyn ever did, becoming the very
At any rate, returning to the subject of Prydain: thing he claimed to stand against, His gambit failed and
Although Dallben was cordial during my stay, his forces were slaughtered, and he himself was massacred
he was not terribly forthcoming, and I had the along with all of his elite guard. In rage and guilt he rose
sense that he was deliberately keeping me at arm’s
from the dead to continue his war, as the mists rose to take
length. His ward, a young man named Taran, was
Annuvin into Ravenloft.
decidedly less reserved, particularly when he
learned about the scope of my travels. He longed
for a life of adventure himself, and he soon began
to tell me of the magical properties of Caer
Dallben in the hopes of impressing me enough that The Horned King's Powers and
I would bring him along when I left. He claimed Dominion
that the Book of Three, Dallben’s magical tome,
told the past, present, and future of Prydain, The Horned King has stats similar to a Revenant. He
although anyone who attempted to touch it other also has the following special powers stemming from his
than Dallben himself would suffer agonizing pain, supernatural connection to the Domain.
particularly if their intentions were malicious. If
Taran was to be believed, however, there was an Oh, yes. Yes, my soldiers. Soon the Black Cauldron will be
even stranger magical presence in Caer Dallben: mine The Horned King has assembled a formidable army
Hen Wen, the oracular pig. Apparently, Hen in his quest to conquer Annuvin. He has gathered together
Wen’s powers of divination were so great that
hundreds of thugs and enchanted them to become his
she could even uncover the true names of magical
"Huntsmen." The Huntsmen are divided into bands, and
beings. I thought at first that Taran had come up
when any member of a band is killed, their strength is
with a particularly ludicrous attempt to capture
divided among the rest of the band. He has also magically
my interest, but he had barely begun speaking
bred a number of Gwythaints, flying, semi-intelligent
when Dallben appeared with a stern expression,
reprimanded Taran, and informed me politely but
creatures he can use as familiars.
firmly that it was time for me to be on my way.
Whether or not Hen Wen is truly a seer to rival
Now I call on my army of the dead! The Cauldron-Born!
the Vistani, there is some secret about her that Arise, my messengers of death! Our time has arrived!
Dallben wishes to protect. Several times in his decades-long war of conquest, the
Horned King has been able to briefly get hold of the Black
Cauldron and create a handful of Cauldron-Born. These
relentless undead are absolutely loyal to him and are
immune to any non magical bludgeoning, piercing, or
slashing damage.

Closing the Borders. When the Horned King closes the

borders, anyone trying to move through the Mists finds
themselves attacked by endless hordes of undead.

WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS | ANNUVIN

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The Horned King's Torment window to see two men bickering, each assigning
blame to the other for their capture, while a young
The Black Cauldron. So it does exist. Where is it? woman examined the walls in an apparent quest
for secret doors. I dropped below the level of
The Horned King searches desperately for the Black the window to eavesdrop for a while, and it soon
Cauldron. He knows that he could channel the power of became clear that they had come at the behest of
Arawyn trapped within the Cauldron and raise the dead to a man named Jafar–whose name I recall hearing
become his relentless Cauldron-born. This would not only from my patron–in the hopes of finding the
give him a powerful army to finally conquer Annuvin, but cauldron for themselves. This perplexed me; as far
let him atone for the wasted lives of his warriors. He could as I knew, necromancy was uncommon in
Agrabah
raise them to fight again at his side and end the gnawing (although I suppose that would explain why this
guilt over their sacrifice. Sometimes he is even able to Jafar had to seek it out in other realms).
get hold of the Cauldron for a brief time and raise a few
Cauldron-born, but it will always be lost to him, vanishing My patron will be unsurprised to hear that my
curiosity soon got the better of me. Agrabahnians
into the world, hidden again.
have been crossing my path for the better part
of a year, and I could not help but wonder why.
I stood, allowing them to see me through the
Roleplaying the Horned King window, and told them that I would be happy to
Trait: "My, such a brave and handsome crew! A pig boy, a free them from the Horned King’s dungeon–if
they told me more about why they were seeking
scullery maid and a broken-down minstrel! Perhaps it may
the cauldron in the first place. The men scoffed,
interest you to see what fate has in store for you!"
giving me various reasons why they would
rather take their chances with the Horned King
Ideal: "Oh, my soldiers. How long I have thirsted to be a
than face Jafar’s wrath, but the woman seemed
god among mortal men."
curious about what I had to say, and I focused
my attention on her. I knew little about Jafar,
Bond: "My beloved warriors have come to life. All the dead but based on what I did know, I could make some
of centuries past - never has anyone created an army like educated guesses about the rest.
this! Go forth, my deathless warriors!."
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
Flaw: "No! You'll not have me. My power cannot die!
Curse you! No! “Sadira.”

“Sadira. I Horned King will be any more

doubt the
Jafar,” I said. “If you don’t escape,
Adventures in Annuvin merciful than
you’re going to die here, and it won’t be a good
death. I think you know that–I saw you looking for
I did not want to leave I did not want to leave a way out. And if he manages to find the cauldron,
Prydain without a more thorough examination death won’t even be the end of it. Are you really
of the Horned King’s castle. As ominous as it going to suffer that for Jafar? Why? He doesn’t
looked from the outside, the lackluster talents of care about you; you’re a pawn to be sacrificed for
the huntsmen made it relatively easy to infiltrate. an interesting magic item, and once you’re gone
I used Mask of Many Faces to look like a will he even remember your name? You can stay
musclebound, bearded lout and acted too drunk to here and die failing to serve a master who doesn’t
stand; within the hour, half of them were swearing give a damn about you, or you can tell me what
they had known me for years. As mentioned, I was he’s squandering your life on and have a chance of
also able to steal away to the Hall of Warriors; surviving. The choice is yours.”
although the locks were excellent, the protections
against, say, an intruder assuming gaseous form Sadira did not have to think about it for
and gliding through a keyhole were minimal, long.”He’s been finding all the criminals and
further confirming my hypothesis that the Horned street rats he can and offering us jobs. He’s
King was no spellcaster. The catacombs were looking for enchantment and necromancy. I don’t
scarcely secured at all, but the bodies had no know why. I got stuck with necromancy. I came
grave goods beyond weapons and armor; I suspect here because it was either going to be here,
anything else of value was plundered, but the arms Darkon, or Barovia, and I’m not walking into
were left behind for the corpses to use upon their Castle Ravenloft.”
reanimation.
Smart woman. “Did he send people there, too?”
As I explored beneath the castle,I heard voices
shouting in familiar accents, and I fought the “If he hasn’t yet, he will.”
urge to roll my eyes. Agrabahnians. Again. I
crept through the corridors toward the sound and I pressed her for more details (on both Barovia
found myself outside a sturdy door with a small, and Darkon, in order to seem no more interested
barred window. Whatever the Agrabahnians had in one than the other), but she had none to offer;
done, they had gotten themselves thrown into she had chosen Prydain, and she knew nothing
the Horned King’s dungeon. I peered through the

WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS| ANNUVIN

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 about the other missions. Given the quality of the In this game, I highly recommend trying to have a section
Horned King’s minions, it was not difficult for of the adventure in the Horned King's castle. It's one of
me to acquire one of their keys and release the the most memorable locations in the movie, and it makes
prisoners. I left the men to fend for themselves, a perfect D&D Dungeon. It's a crumbling castle with
but brought Sadira with me. guards, monsters, magic swords for the taking--what more
could D&D players want?
It Jafar’s agents are of no interest
may be that
to you,Yensid; perhaps you have already dealt You can, if you bring in other material, have a much longer
with them, or perhaps they intend to come to campaign in this land. The source material books of the
Darkon and obtain items through innocuous, legal movie, The Chronicles of Prydain, is a five book series so
means as they did in Gravity Fell. Regardless,
that gives you numerous other plans and minibosses you
this seemed like information worth knowing.
could attribute to the Horned King before your PCs have a
final campaign-ending showdown with him. That books
series also draws much from Welsh mythology, so you can
Adventure Hooks for Annuvin also go the source material's own source material and look
for cool encounters, quests, monsters, or villains from that
Annuvin is a land at war, and so the war might bring mythos. The Horned King from the movie is kind of a
the PCs there. If they are do-gooders, they may hear of generic "dark lord" villain, but that also means you could
Annuvin as a land in need of heroes like them. If they are have him as the Sauron-like big bad and send your PCs
more mercenary, the High King may seek them out to hire on quest after quest to foil his various plans and battle his
them. Only magic can hurt the Cauldron-born, so PCs various lieutenants.
with spellcasting or magical weapons would be greatly
desired (and well compensated) as mercenaries. However long the middle of your adventure is, I do
think the logical and narratively satisfying climax for
The PCs also might come to Annuvin looking for a specific an adventure in this Domain is a showdown with the
magic item. Both the Witches of Morva and the Horned Black Cauldron. It's the climax of the movie and one of
King collect and hoard magic items, so either of those the most memorable scenes of that movie (or indeed the
might have the magic item the PCs need. If the Horned entire Disney 80's). If you want to have a climax similar
King has it, that immediately gets the PCs entangled with to the movie's, you do need to make some adjustments
him. If the Witches have it, they might be willing to trade to the story.
it for another magic item, which might involve sending
the PCs on a quest that entangles them with the wider In The Black Cauldron movie, the heroes (our PC
setting. If the Witches demand the Black Cauldron in analogues) discover the Horned King is searching for the
exchange for whatever the PCs are after, that would get Cauldron and decide to find it and try to destroy it. They
the PCs immediately engaged with the overall adventure of do find the Cauldron, but unknowingly lead the Horned
the setting. King's minions to that Cauldron. In my experience, PCs
are going to be too suspicious for this kind of plot. They
One final unique setting element that might inspire the are much more likely to suspect the Horned King is using
PCs to journey to Annuvin is Henwen, the Oracular Pig. them to find the Cauldron and thusly not necessarily seek
The PCs might need a specific bit of information and it out ("why don't we just leave it hidden?") If they do end
travel to Caer Dalwyn to consult Henwen. If those PCs up leading the minions to the Cauldron, that could feel
bond with the people there, they could be motivated to frustrating and unfair--no PCs like to discover they were
help rescue Henwen from the Horned King. Taryn wants being manipulated by the bad guy, and you have to use that
to be a great warrior and would be drawn to any warriors kind of story very carefully.
in the party, following them around and trying to impress
them. If he then lost Henwen, he would come crying I suggest giving them more direct reason to seek out the
to the PCs to help look for her, and that could get them Cauldron as you approach the climax of the story. Maybe
pulled into the story. they discover the location at the same time as the Horned
King, and it's a race to find it. Maybe they get specifically
Annuvin Adventures tasked by someone like the High King or Dalwyn to find
it. Maybe they believe they know how to destroy the
The setting that we see in the movie "The Black Cauldron" Cauldron and either discover they are wrong or lose the
does not have very much world building, and an adventure Cauldron before they are able to destroy it. Either way, be
based specifically on the movie is going to be basically aware of this potential narrative issue if you are planning
a one shot that follows the story of The Black Cauldron. to follow the story of The Black Cauldron movie.
The PCs are going to in some way get entanglesd
with the Horned King and the search for the Black
Cauldron, leading to a climactic showdown as he raises
Cauldron-born.

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The Black Cauldron can never be destroyed.
Only its evil powers can be stopped.

In both the movie and the books, the Cauldron cannot be

"defeated" (its evil power ended) until someone willingly
sacrifices their life by leaping into it. This could work
in a The Black Cauldron-inspired game if the PCs have
befriended a Gurgi-like NPC who is willing to sacrifice
themselves. However, we do not want to make that the
only way for the PCs to "win" the adventure (this isn't
Death House).

If the PCs met with a magic-user NPC like Dalwyn or

the Witches of Morva, perhaps that NPC gave them a
ritual to destroy it, and the PCs have to battle their way
to the Cauldron to cast it, One possibility of a ritual is
one that demands a sacrifice from the PCs (keeping to a
major theme of the movie). Perhaps they need to take a
Lingering Injury or a Long-term Madness (both from the
2014 DMG). Perhaps they need to lose a level. The ritual
can unite the PCs so that it does not fall on a single PC to
pay the price of banishing the Cauldron. You can decide
the duration for which the PCs must suffer their "sacrifice"
depending on how serious their sacrifice was. It might be
fun for everyone to have to drop down to level one for a
single session, as long as it is just a single session.

However you end up deciding the PCs can "defeat" the

Cauldron, in the source materials this ends its power to
raise Cauldron-born. In the movie, this also destroys all the
previously raised Cauldron-born. In the books it does not
(we've still got more of the series and need stuff for the
heroes to fight). It is up to you if you want the defeating
of the Cauldron to also defeat all the "monsters" in the
encounter or not.

Either way, we are changing what "defeat" means. In our

version of this story the Black Cauldron's power is a part
of the Horned King's Dark Lord torment, so its power
cannot be ended. Instead, "defeating" the Cauldron causes
it to vanish, lost again somewhere in the vast wilds of this
land, restarting the Horned King's endless search. It is
up to you if there are secondary, "boss fight climax" style
effects when it vanishes. This could be a good way to
immediately end the encounter, or to shift to a different
type of climax. Perhaps the Cauldron-born "die" and the
floor starts collapsing, ending the combat and giving the
PCs a desperate last escape from the collapsing chamber.
As always, do what's best for your scene in your game.

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 I can see why an army of near-mindless and
obedient undead would be appealing to one from
The Black Cauldron is indeed a powerful relic
Prydain; it seems to be the only guarantee steeped in necromancy. The ability to create an
of anything resembling loyalty, and in the
Horned King’s case, they would be noticeably army with absolute loyalty to their master and
more effective and intelligent than his current
forces. However, he is doing his former
immune to mundane weapons would tempt any
soldiers no favors by forcing them to serve
under him once again. He led them to their
belligerent warlord. Perhaps there are a few
deaths; now he will not even allow them to reap lesser necromancers that would be tempted by
the rest those deaths should have earned them.
the creation of an undead minion whose caliber is
I Sadira Wyvern;
slightly above the average skeleton. However, the
took to it was a city large
enough that even if Jafar learned she had
traveled there, he would be unlikely to find her.
I confess that I also hoped to take advantage
majority schooled in the art would find a means to
of a few of its amenities before traveling to
the next domain on my itinerary–if stress truly
do so without the Black Cauldron’s aid.
is the cause of my nocturnal troubles, a little
relaxation would not be amiss. I discovered
a sweetshop stocked with all manner of My little witch is correct: the Horned King does
not have the finely attuned senses of a spellcaster,
confections and decided to enjoy a few myself
before sending the rest to my niece.

Thank the gods I opened the one I did. Thank he merely plays the part as a thespian upon the
the gods I did not send it to her.
stage. Though I despise such falsehoods, he is
As I peeled away the paper wrapper from the correct in believing that playacting as a powerful
chocolate in my hand, I glimpsed a flash of
gold, and I froze. No. I knew what I held, and I mage will strike more fear into the hearts of his
knew it was non-transferable–not that I would
ever be so cruel as to foist it upon another. enemies than if they knew what he really was: a

I’m sorry,
Yensid. My next assignment will revenant that crawled out of his grave to seek
have to wait. I have no choice in this. I know
precisely where the Mists will take me the
vengeance against a master who is already dead.
next time I enter them, and precisely where I
will awaken tomorrow if I do not enter them
before then. If the Black Cauldron could be utilized to bring
Because I’ve got a Golden Ticket. true life back into his dead soldiers, his goal would
be a noble one. To force them to linger only to
regards,
bring them back as hollow corpses with no memory
of their former life is, indeed, a cruel fate. But if

D true life was possible? For them to return to what

they once were, is that not the greatest gift one
can grant? A second chance at life...a chance to
undo past mistakes...

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Jafar’s search for the Black Cauldron is expected.
I have already personally dealt with a few street
rats the disloyal vizier sent into Darkon seeking
relics of my own making. These ruffians did not
have the intelligence of your Sadira and attempted
to break into Castle Avernus. Rest assured, I have
put them to good use. I suspect that Jafar’s quest
mirrors that of another dread lord’s. Jafar desires
nothing less than phenomenal cosmic powers...the
ability to transform his world as easily as snapping
his fingers.

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 Other Works: For the podcast, I adapted the classic story "Legend of Sleepy
This domain write-up is based on Episode 39 of our podcast Hollow" into two adventures. Setting Neutral ("Sleepy Hollow")
"Wonderful World of Darklords." It's a monthly podcast where and Curse of Strahd ("Headless Horseman of Barovia").
we adapt a Disney movie into a Ravenloft Domain of Dread.
You can find it on spotify, apple podcasts, youtube, and most https://www.dmsguild.com/product/411750/Sleepy-
podcatchers. Hollow?affiliate_id=241770

https://redcircle.com/shows/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords https://www.dmsguild.com/product/410729/The-Headless-
Horseman-of-Barovia?affiliate_id=241770
https://www.youtube.com/@WonderfulWorldofDarklord
That was a project that came out of the podcast, and we did
Our most recent work is an adventure based on Tron. another project for our "Treasure Planet" episode. "The Raven
Nebula" is a conversion of Ravenloft into a Spelljammer setting
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/486305/ with a number of plot hooks for sailing the Astral Mists.
End-of-Line-Adventure-of-the-world-within-the- https://www.dmsguild.com/product/418215/The-Raven-
machine?affiliate_id=241770 Nebula?affiliate_id=241770

For the podcast, I've also written an adventure based on the Toy If you’re the kind of person running spooky adventures, and
Story Trilogy, available here. you know kids, there’s a good chance you’re in the market for
Halloween and spooky stuff that’s kid friendly. I’d like to pitch
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/450987/To-Barovia-and- Rachel’s amazing Halloween Mother Goose book.
Beyond-A-Story-of-Toys?affiliate_id=241770
https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Ghost-Nursery-Rhymes-
For more "adapted media into horror gaming." I’ve adapted Monsters/dp/1585363928/
John Carpenter's 1980 nautical horror film “The Fog” for three
adventure settings. Something in the Fog is setting neutral, Fog For more D and D specific spooky kids stuff, Rachel and I wrote
Over Saltmarsh for Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Fog over Barovia for a guide to children’s horror games. We go through each of the
Curse of Strahd. “Genres of Horror” from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
and discuss how to adapt them for young players. We look
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/387249/Something-in-the- at examples of each genre from books, shows, or movies of
Fog?affiliate_id=241770 children’s horror, and then discuss adapting a couple famous
children’s horror stories into D and D adventures. This is
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/359994/Fog-over- going to very useful for running any of these Disney Ravenloft
Saltmarsh?view_as_pub=1 adventures for kids.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/359997/Fog-Over- https://www.dmsguild.com/product/369751/Ravenloft-Gives-
Barovia?view_as_pub=1 Me-Goosebumps-Genres-of-Horror

Speaking of John Carpenter, I also adapted the original 1978 On the topic of kid’s horror, I did a guide to running a more
"Halloween" for two settings. "You Can't Kill the Boogeyman" is young player friendly version of Curse of Strahd with guidelines
setting neutral and "Barovian Boogeyman" is for Curse of Strahd. on horror-themed games for young players (ages 8-12) called
“Strahd gives me Goosebumps.” It can be useful for running with
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/385363/You-Cant-Kill-the- adults if you have some players who are not comfortable with all
Boogeyman?affiliate_id=241770 the child murder.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/385365/Barovian- https://www.dmsguild.com/product/348639/Strahd-Gives-Me-
Boogeyman?affiliate_id=241770 Goosebumps?view_as_pub=1

A final note on John Carpenter, I also adapted "Prince of Speaking of Curse of Strahd I’ve also got a re-write of Death
Darkness" (1987) for two settings. Setting Neutral ("You Will House for Curse of Strahd on the DMs guild. It’s made to be a
Not Be Saved" and Strixhaven ("Prince of Annihilation." better introduction for new players. It’s a totally new, tighter,
less lethal ghost story (the chambermaid is the stepmother is the
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/409219/You-Will-Not-Be- murderer is the boss ghost, no cult, no dungeon) with ghost PC
Saved?affiliate_id=241770 rules and resurrection at the end.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/409215/Prince-of- https://www.dmsguild.com/product/311769/Another-Death-
Annihilation?affiliate_id=241770 Another-House

Just to prove I don't only do John Carpenter, I've als adapted

Happy Gaming!
"Event Horizon" (1997) and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984).
Event Horizon is for Spelljammer, and Nightmare on Elm Street
has both Curse of Strahd and setting Neutral variants.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/485392/
Black-Horizon-An-Eventful-Spelljammer-Horror-
Adventure?affiliate_id=241770

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/534715/Never-
Sleep-Again?affiliate_id=241770

WONDERFUL WORLD OF DARKLORDS | ANNUVIN

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