Sootwyn Barrow, The Accursed Village
You've been stricken with the Sootwyn Stain, a curse that afflicts any who cross through the Unsanguine Gate into the haunted town. Those with the stain are technically immortal, but they are gradually sapped of their lifeforce. Victims slowly lose their skin, their muscles, their humanity, and their soul. Eventually, all that's left is a skeletal wretch in the employ of a wicked sorceress. Until then, however, you cannot die. Can you use that strange magical twist to find a way to undo your curse?
Sootwyn Barrow is a city and a roguelike adventure all in one. Players are unlikely to complete the adventure in one go, but once they all die, they are revived the following sunset. Random tables and an evolving narrative combine with the unique revival mechanic to create a nightmarishly compelling adventure. The central plot hook creates a unique gameplay rhythm that encourages creative stragies from your players. Adventurers are rewarded for investigation, stealth, and—of course—combat prowess.
Eventually, your players will try to unmake the curse, decoding and eventually defeating the ancient magick that has sullied this village. Sub-dungeons within the city provide unique challenges in a gothic, Bloodborne-esque setting. Plus, you'll have plenty of opportunities to drag and drop smaller horror encounters throughout. Want to add a headless horseman to the skeleton-filled cemetry? Go for it!
Four lords rule Sootwyn Barrow, and the players will come face to face with each.
- Beshik and Haun, the Sporting Beastmen
- Ingrid Drethi'al, the Unlying Necromancer
- Vasile Abescu, the Vampire King
Maps
Sootwyn Barrow is divided into three sections:
The city is where players will enter the town. Once afflicted with the curse, they'll do everything in their power to just try to escape… of course, that's when the beastmen will try to take them out. Nestled back alleys, layered rooftops, and narrow sightlines make for maximally tactical combat encounters.
The middle of the map is dominated by a cemetery. Players have a tricky choice to make: do they make a beeline for the tomb, or do they follow the path? Random encounters will make this cemetery staggeringly dangerous and newly threatening for each new night of terror. The flowing water raises questions about the vampire's true identity. Would a vampire king actually live in a tomb astride a churning river?
The lonesome cemetery culminates at the barrow and the grandiose tomb of Vasile Albescu. The complex rooftop has many nooks and crannies, perfect for hiding special treasures or additional enemies lying in wait. A cairn behind the the tomb bestows special gameplay benefits if the players choose to offer a benediction.
Finally, Sootwyn Barrow is best when you utilize our interior maps. The Champion's Grotto is a cellar lair for the beastmen. The Twilight Bethel is the starting point of each adventure, where the adventurers will meet other cursed NPCs and learn basics of the lore. Ingrid's lair hides within the illusory brambles in the cemetery. Finally, the tomb is one complex, winding dungeon that you can build yourself using our modular dungeon assets. This is a roguelike, after all! It needs to shuffle each run!
Music
Our Sootwyn Barrow EP features two of our best boss tracks “Beastmen” and “Abomination,” both frantic and terrifying for epic, gothic battles. Horror should be frightening and explosive. “Unsanguine” is slow-moving dungeon music that is ideal for trekking through the cemetery. Our Patreon offers variant tracks for each, so you can march through the city with the tense version of “Beastmen,” battle skeletons to the combat version of “Unsanguine,” or uncover freaky-ass lore while listineng to the creepy version of “Abomination.”
