Suitable Campaign Age: Any, adjust for tone

Adventure Tone: Macabre, Action-Adventure  

Recommended Power Level: Classic 

Content Warning: Santa Spoilers for players who believe. This adventure involves paranormal and occult elements which may not be appropriate for some Silver Age games. The adventure is intended to be a fun romp, and maybe a reminder that cultures can, and do, celebrate the same holiday in very different ways.

Overview 

Krampusnacht has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean everyone is safe. When the heroes wake up in a twisted winter wonderland, they must figure out what has happened to them, and how to escape. If they’re lucky, they might even figure out how they got there. 

Goodnight Hero

Allow the players to describe the evening before. This can be anything from street patrols to an evening with their loved ones. Give everyone a bit of spotlight time, just note where they are at 3:14 AM. For most people, this will likely mean asleep, but for heroes, who knows. 

Awake During the Witching Hour 

For heroes awake at 3:14 AM, there is a blinding cold snap, before an intense burning sensation. The world seems to shrink away, then go dark. 

Waking Up In Winter 

When the heroes wake up, they are inside a simple bed, in what looks like an unassuming cabin. There is a simple table and chair, but little else in the room. What will become readily apparent is that everything, from the bed to the furniture and walls is made from ceramic. The heroes are dressed as they would have been at 3:14 AM. 

The material is dense and super tough, it has an effective Armor of 12, before it can be harmed, and seems to regenerate if damaged. 

Walking out of the cabin, there are other homes. They appear to be made of gingerbread and decorated for Christmas. However, they are all made out of the same material. Each of the heroes have their own little home, in what seems to be an ever expanding winter village.   

The Weather Outside Is Frightening 

It is extremely cold, and snowing in the village. If the heroes do not have protection from the elements (the Armor Boon or equivalent), they take 1 Damage each time they make a roll. This is to indicate the frigid environment. However, GMs may want to come up with their own ways to reflect the cold. 

What’s Happened? 

The heroes can gather some information from the environment they awaken to.

Where Are We? Wisdom + Education + Study: Ornaments (Or Other relevant Study), Expert (20) Difficulty 

• Failure: Even the ground outside is made of ceramics. The only thing that seems to be different is the snow, which seems to constantly keep whipping around never settling. 
• Partial: It seems like the heroes are in some type of display. 
• Success: Based on the materials and nature of the village, the heroes are in a reconstruction of a snow globe. 
• 1 Degree: If they are in a snow globe, there must be an exit. 

What Happened Last Night? Wisdom + Concentration, Advanced (25) Difficulty

Heroes who were away gain a free Degree of Success. 

• Failure: The heroes can’t recall anything. 
• Partial: There is a blinding coldsnap, before an intense burning sensation. The world seems to shrink away, then go dark. 
• Success: There was a moment of guilt, this may have been a feeling or some nightmare. Players should describe an event over the last year that triggered regret. 
• 1 Degree: There is a moment of lucidness before everything goes black where the world seems to be expanding around them under this intense heat.
• 2 Degrees: As they continued to shrink, there was a goat’s eye looking at them, then a massive hand, then darkness. 

Stop The World, I Want To Get Off

To escape, the heroes will need to find the edge of the world, AKA the edge of the snow globe. As they press into the frozen terrain, the bitter cold gets worse. More so, the landscape seemingly revolves around them displaying a twisted Christmas village that seems to never end. 

Escaping Krampus’ Globe 

• Stakes: The heroes become convinced there is no end to the frozen world, becoming part of the landscape around them to find the edge of the snow globe and break free. 
• Size 4 – The Christmas Village.
• Ferocity 4 – Along with their warmth, the snow globe saps their sanity. 
• Target 45
• Damage 4 Penetrating Cold Damage or 6 Sanity Sapping Psyche Damage. 
• Success Threshold 13
• Starting Advantage 6
• Notes:
  • 1. The Blizzard of Odd: Unlike most disasters, there is no stopping the snow or cold. Heroes can make rolls to keep warm, or navigate the terrain. However, the blizzard itself is a construct of humanities beliefs, as an extension of the Krampus. Allow the players to be creative in their solutions, but make the stakes clear, it is escape, not stopping the storm.  
  • 2. The Power of Friendship: If there is a character the GMs want to spotlight in this scene, each Turn offers a different hero 2 Willpower, if they accept, they turn to ceramics, becoming part of the landscape. Once all other heroes are frozen, they may each offer the enduring hero a support Talent for their roll. This can be anything that inspires or bonds the surviving hero to them. Give the surviving hero 1 Willpower on this Turn. Once freed, all the heroes are restored. 

Kampus’ Workshop 

Escaping the snow globe the heroes will find themselves in what looks like a boiler room. There are old shelving units lining the walls and creating rows. Each of them with lumps of coal, some bigger, some smaller. It also should become clear that once free, this is what they escaped from. 

In comparison to the world around them, the heroes are still tiny. 

At the end of the room, near the boiler sits a being that appears to be over two hundred feet tall, with blackened red fur, and a goat-like head. To it’s right is a sack of coal. The creature idly tosses a lump of coal from the sack into the boiler as the fire surges before they return to their writing. 

Once the heroes make their way off the shelf the being will address them without turning to face them. 

“Hmm, in all my years, I’ve seen many wicked beings. It’s true, I’ve been accused of being overzealous at times, but never did I think there would be children so impudent as to refuse my wonderland.” Signing there is a plume of soot. “Although, I am surprised you were on my list this year.” 

From here the heroes can continue to talk to Krampus, or attempt to fight them. If doing so, Krampus has a +30 to all their roles due having turned the heroes globe sized. (Krampus’ stats can be found here.)

Tricking Krampus, Expression + Subterfuge, Very Laborious (40) Difficulty 

The heroes can try to talk their way out of punishment if they attempt to trick them into believing they made a mistake. 

• Failure: Krampus has heard it all before, and will place the heroes in a new lump of coal. This can begin combat. 
• Partial: Seeing that the heroes are trying to worm their way out of their punishment, Krampus will tell them why they are in the globe. Explain the event as described in Krampus Tricked, and allow the heroes a second roll. 
• Success: As the heroes try to beguile Krampus, he will look to the fire for a moment, allowing the heroes to make a Stealth roll with the same difficulty to hide. If they can succeed three more rolls against Krampus’ 34 Dice 4, they can escape his basement, restoring them to full size in an unmarked alleyway somewhere in their hometown. Otherwise, should Krampus catch them, he will explain why they have to be punished as above, which allows for a roll as well.  
• 1 Degree of Success: Reduce the number of Stealth rolls required by 1 for each Degree of Success. 

Krampus Tricked, Expression + Subterfuge, Very Laborious (40) Difficulty 

If the heroes engage Krampus earnestly about why they were imprisoned, they will explain the event that put them on the naughty list. Take a past storyline and swap the hero and villain roles. Having the villain of the adventure defeat the heroes and save the day.  They can then attempt to explain to Krampus that they have been deceived. 

Note: The heroes gain 1 free Degree of Success if they Completed Naughty or Grand Theft Sleigh. 

• Failure: Krampus is not buying it, back in the globe. 
• Partial: There seems to be a hint of truth to what the heroes say. Krampus will take out a snow globe and look in on the villain who has somehow tricked the heroes. Seeing that they have been deceived, Krampus will send them to write the wrong. 
• Success: As above, Krampus will join the heroes. 
• 1 Degree: Krampus will bring a Minor Mob of Imps with them. Increase this to Typical and Major for each additional Degree. 
• 4 Degrees: See Ephemeral Constant of Justice below. 

Mastermind? 

The GM will need to pick a past villain, placing them in someplace appropriate for their victory dance. Additionally, give the villain the following Twist: 

Memory Mirror 

The villain has acquired a device that can swap their image with someone else’s in the target’s memory. They may spend an action to affect the group causing heroes to attack the wrong person. This works like a Protect Others Action, except that the villain is effectively hiding behind the heroes allowing them to take the Damage on a Successful Defense Roll. 

This might be a technological mind control helmet, powerful magical artifact, spell, or something else that suits the larger campaign. 

Ephemeral Constant of Justice

If the heroes successfully rallied Krampus and all of their forces, there is no escaping justice. Allow the heroes to narrate how they arrive… before the villain is swarmed by imps, caged and turned into coal. Krampus will then pick up the coal tossing it into their sack. 

Aftermath 

Having escaped the snow globe and Krampus’ boiler room, the heroes can return to their lives, just remember to be good. 

If the heroes showed Krampus that they had been deceived they can take Contact: Krampus 1 or increase the existing Contact by 3.