The Dedication of Silver Bridge

The Dedication of Silver Bridge was the "Halloween Game" hosted by The Dark DM in 2025

Thank you to everyone who played and everyone who showed interest over the years.

The Opening Monalogue

We set the stage on the Kingdom of Forbannet. In ages past it was known as the Lands of Eternal Autumn. Back then the land was ruled over by a tyrannical Scarecrow King and horble curses and monsters ruled the land. But that was long ago. The world is growing more ordered by the day but there are still... things lurking in the darkness. Heroes are still needed. And Adventureres still try to make a living adventuring. But unfortunatly freelancing dries up from time to time... and so our Adventureres are down to their last few coins and spending time in a tavern.

When into the tavern walkes a Courier. He looks around the room before his eyes land on your table. Briskly he walks over and deposits a Black Envelope on the table in front of you.

Request From Lord Woade

The Cryptid Barrow

After 5-7 hours of navigation through the pine swamps the heroes come upon an old crypt barrow. The road approaching reveals a barb-wire fence on one side and a brackish pond on the other.

4-7 Jackalopes and one Hodag. One of the Jackalopes has a scroll tied to its wrist that says "We are those who live with death. We are the cryptkeepers. We are the Cryptids!"

If the adventurers are kicked into the barb-wire fence they must make a Dexterity Save DC13 or take 2d4 piercing damage and become grappled. Half as much and no grapple on a successful save.

⊕ - "The clock is ticking, keep up the pace." "Make sure you have all of the puzzle before you try to solve it."

∆ - "The hodag is not able to be charmed!" "Whiskey cures their madness!"

Inside the barrow the heroes encountered a cold crypt converted into poor living arrangements.

Woodhaven Plinth Puzzle

Inside the inner chamber is a large cavern with glowing silk and a large cocoon that lays open.

On the floor is a dead jackalope wearing an amulet. Next to the body is a journal the reads "We know from the shadows in our dreams that the current gods of this world are false! They are outsiders playing in our world after slaying the true deities of this realm. Deep here in our barrow did we find the crypt of one of the true gods of the land. We prayed for months to its sleeping remains and were rewarded with the whispered steps to a ritual of rebirth. Now we must make the world right for his reascension to the ranks of the gods. Our great plan has been plotted in the chapel of the lonely graveyard. In that place is where our grand plan will come to fruition!"

The Lonely Graveyard

I gave each party the chance to have a puzzle or combat.

• Combat

3 Chupacabra 4 Jackalopes

on initiative count 20 Roll 2d10. Two of the nine sections (as indicated by the die roll) would rotate to most harass the heroes. If I rolled doubles then I get to swap two tiles locations.

• Puzzle

There's a note stabbed into the church door.

The basement is a rootceller. On one wall there are bones, one wall there are broken jemstones, and on the backwall are 6 ponykegs of Feywild infused gasoline. [| Of course it would be here]

The room smells loamy... and there's an odd smell of gasoline. Two journals lay on the ground.

• One says "The Silver Bridge is being inlaid with runes that block our lord from returning! We must find a way to destroy that blasphemous structure. I have plans for four devices that will channel energy from the Feywild into an explosion powerful enough to destroy that foul bridge. We will surround the sites with a magical barrier that can only be bypassed by the amulet of our faith. If this barrier is somehow breached before the devices detonate then our newly awakened lord will defend the devices until they can complete their work and allow our god to regain his full terrible glory!
• The other says "Deactivation Sequences (I don’t remember which one we didn’t use)

Ruby Amethyst Sapphire Emerald

Emerald Amethyst Ruby Obsidian

Citrine Sapphire Spinel Obsidian

Ruby Citrine Zircon Obsidian

Sapphire Emerald Zircon Amethyst

The odd gemstone out is the detonation trigger so don’t press it!"

⊕ - "A handdrawn array of letters and shapes""Eat the bones fight the secret boss. Blow up the church with torch first. Also you can charm the Hoedang! =)" "Only one? Only one! Odd one out, There's only one!" "Eat the bones then rest on the graves. DRUID SPEAKS UNTRUTH" [| SO IT BEGINS]

∆ - "Jackalopes jump as high as you fly" "Don't listen to the rogue. bones = yucky gross bad. YOU WILL DIE"

Silver Bridge

Once the heroes return to Woodhaven they see a glowing red sphere of energy around the center of the Silver Bridge. To breech the barrier the party must all grip the amulet and walk through.

Once on the bridge the final fight against Mothman begins.

The party also had to contend with 4 Boxes armed to magically detonate attached to 4 of the uprights on the bridge.

If the party vanquishes the Mothman and saves the bridge then they are truly Heroes!

∆ - "Thunderbolts and Lightning, very very Frightning"

⊕ - "Ride the Lightning" "Like a moth to the... Burn him up to win the game!" "Move with Haste! Time is the enemy! Focus on the boxes"

Secrets and Silliness

∆ - denotes a druid note

⊕ - denotes a rogue note

• KNEED - knead is more appropriate for what was depicted but kneed is aparently archaic spelling and was used.
• The method to discover the secret boss was discovered really early and almost derailed the ENTIRE month. Seriously, so many people got a whiff that there's a secret boss then they threw caution and good sense to the wind. The Wendigo is not to be triffled with.
• The whole chapel was meant to invoke imagery of a magical bomb making shack. Unfortunatly the players looked at the three parts as individual puzzles and not as a whole scene. It was intentionally meant to invite scrutiny but with the player notes it devolved into a mess with me having to ask the players questions like "are you digging up a grave" "Are you eating the wierd rune covered bones" "are you really wanting to defile this church"
• The idea of a hidden boss got player into the mind of video game players, trying to break the code, rather than being roleplayers, seeking the deeper lore of the setting. I'll have to hide the next secret boss more thouroughly.
• Groups wasted so much time trying to figure out what was happening with that rogue note. I blame that note for at least 2 of the timeouts.
• Pictures of the Swag!