The Bell at Midnight
The Bell at Midnight
Read aloud
The chapel bell rings at midnight, though its rope has been cut and the tower door is locked. By morning, a third villager is missing, and the reeve is offering coin to anyone who can explain the bell before panic turns into a witch hunt. A pale handprint has appeared on the inside of the chapel's highest window.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Discover who or what is behind the midnight bell and the disappearances.
- 2Find the missing villagers and establish the truth of the old Veyr bargain.
- 3Stop the attacks and decide what becomes of the village's relationship with the Veyr family.
- 4Secure the treaty evidence before either side can use it to control the story.Optional
The clock
The next midnight toll comes in three nights. Each night that passes without progress, one additional villager risks being taken by the spawn. If the party publicly accuses someone without evidence, a mob may form before the deadline.
Scenes
- 0:00A Bell in Daylight
- 0:45The Chapel Mechanism
- 1:45Names in the Ledger
- 2:45Under the Tannery
- 4:00Ashes of the Veyr Estate
- 5:15Terms at Midnight
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Tomas RillWitness
- Lady Ysabet VeyrAntagonist
- Sister HalenWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Read the hook aloud. Mara Venn receives the party in the reeve's cramped office as the chapel bell rings once in daylight. Outside, villagers crowd the square and argue over whether to search the houses nearest the chapel. Mara asks the party to investigate discreetly before the crowd chooses a suspect.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party through a trusted local or during a public meeting in the village square.
She offers a modest advance and asks them to keep the investigation quiet until they have evidence.
Rumours
Scenes
about 7 hours0:00
45 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Bell in Daylight
The reeve's office and the crowded village square
Mara presents the case and the crowd's fear becomes immediate pressure. The party can calm the square, secure permission to investigate, or earn suspicion by acting openly.
NextThe chapel keeper agrees to show the party the bell tower, or the party follows the crowd's clues to the chapel themselves.
0:45
60 min
exploration
2. The Chapel Mechanism
Bellweather chapel, bell tower, and cramped crypt
Examine the cut bell rope, the pale handprint, and the crypt mechanism. The mechanism shows that the bell can ring without anyone pulling the rope, but its trigger has recently been reset.
NextA trail of tannery grit and a witness's account point toward the abandoned tannery.
1:45
60 min
social
3. Names in the Ledger
The village archive, followed by the chapel vestry
Question Tomas and Sister Halen, then compare their accounts with the archive ledger. The party can uncover the donor arrangement and learn that Tomas's brother has been carrying messages.
NextA stolen ledger or a trail of bloody water leads to the tannery cellar.
2:45
75 min
combat
4. Under the Tannery
The abandoned tannery and its flooded cellar
Find the missing villagers and confront the spawn. The party can free captives and fight, bargain, or distract the spawn long enough to escape.
The Tannery CellarNextA rescued villager or recovered message reveals the route to the Veyr manor and the name of its mistress.
4:00
75 min
exploration
5. Ashes of the Veyr Estate
The burned estate grounds and the manor's surviving upper rooms
Approach the ruined manor, find a safe route through its unstable structure, and uncover the old treaty in the family gallery. Evidence there points to Ysabet's survival and the household's internal conflict.
NextThe party can confront Ysabet in the audience hall, use the treaty as leverage, or leave to prepare and return before the next midnight toll.
5:15
90 min
social
6. Terms at Midnight
The Veyr manor's ruined audience hall
Resolve the conflict through negotiation, combat, or a combined approach. The party must decide what to do with Ysabet, her remaining spawn, and the exposed treaty.
The Veyr Manor AudienceNextThe party returns to Bellweather to deliver the missing villagers and report their decision, or follows a surviving vampire to the hills.
Behind it
What people believe
Bellweather has suffered three disappearances in as many weeks.
Each has been preceded by a midnight toll from the chapel bell, which locals believe is an ancient warning of vampires. The reeve wants the party to investigate the bell, find the missing villagers, and stop the fear from turning neighbors against one another. Old records suggest that a family called the Veyrs once lived in a manor outside town, but no one agrees on what became of them.
Background
For generations, the village of Bellweather has kept a silver bell in its chapel tower.
Local accounts say its toll warns of vampires, but the bell was actually made to mark a treaty between the village founders and an isolated household called the Veyr family. The treaty ended after the Veyrs vanished in a fire. Recently, someone has been ringing the bell at midnight, and villagers have begun disappearing.
The stakes
If the party fails, more villagers will be taken, panic may lead to a deadly mob, and the village could either submit to a predatory arrangement or provoke a vampire household into open retaliation.
Encounters
2The Tannery Cellar
Combat or social
A cramped cellar beneath a disused tannery, with waist-high vats, hanging hides, a single stairway, and a drain channel.
Foes
2 vampire spawn, custom creatures using appropriate vampire spawn statistics for the campaign
4 charmed villagers, noncombatants who flee or defend the cellar rather than fight to the death
ComplicationThe cellar floor is slick with runoff. A character who rushes across it may lose footing, and a toppled rack of tanning tools can block the narrow exit.
ScalingFor a party of 3 or lower-level characters, use one vampire spawn and have the villagers flee as soon as threatened. For a party of 5 or higher-level characters, add one vampire spawn or increase the number of obstructed escape routes. The charmed villagers should be easy to free through conversation or a suitable action.
The Veyr Manor Audience
Combat or social
A decaying manor hall with a split staircase, tall curtained windows, a gallery, and several doors that can be barred or opened.
Foes
Lady Ysabet Veyr, a vampire using the campaign's vampire statistics or a custom, reduced-threat vampire version
1 vampire spawn, her sworn attendant
ComplicationAt the end of each round, a loose section of gallery railing gives way. A creature nearby must react or risk falling to the lower hall. The party can stabilize it with suitable tools or a successful check.
ScalingThis encounter need not be a fight. Ysabet will negotiate if the party presents evidence and offers a credible way to end the old arrangement. For a party at level 3, use the reduced-threat custom vampire version, omit the spawn, and let Ysabet withdraw if badly injured. For a stronger party, use the standard vampire statistics only if appropriate to the campaign's intended challenge.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, Bellweather reeve
WantsWants the disappearances stopped without provoking a panic or exposing her own past dealings with the Veyr household.
““Find the hand ringing that bell before the village decides the answer is to burn every house with a shuttered window.””
Tomas Rill
Witness, village archivist
WantsWants to protect her younger brother, who has been secretly carrying messages for someone at the ruined Veyr manor.
““I copied the old records because no one else would. I did not know they were a map.””
Lady Ysabet Veyr
Antagonist, vampire matriarch
WantsSeeks to restore the Veyr family’s standing and secure a continuing supply of willing donors, rather than prey on villagers by force.
““I have no wish to rule the living. I only ask that they remember what they promised.””
Sister Halen
Wildcard, chapel keeper
WantsWants to keep the village calm and conceal that she has been supplying blood to Lady Veyr in exchange for protection from a rival threat.
““A little blood is a small price for a quiet night. That is what the old family used to say.””
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A silvered handbell from the chapel stores, a custom item with no magical properties unless the GM chooses to give it one
A sealed vial of restorative draughts supplied by the reeve, with quantity and effect set to fit the campaign
On a win
The missing villagers are recovered or their fate is confirmed, and the attacks stop.
The party's chosen resolution determines whether Ysabet is destroyed, driven away, restrained by a new agreement, or accepted under strict safeguards. Bellweather is left with evidence of its history and a difficult decision about whether to make that history public.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot prevent the reeve's deadline from passing without presenting credible evidence or a clear lead.
- The villagers organize a search party and storm the manor. Ysabet escapes through a concealed passage, while the village suffers injuries and the party loses the chance to negotiate a controlled end to the disappearances.
- The party abandons the witness trail or fails to protect Tomas after he reveals his connection to the case.
- Tomas's brother is taken to the manor as leverage. The party may still rescue him, but Ysabet gains time to destroy the treaty records.
- The party attacks or removes the bell without investigating its origin or consulting the chapel keeper.
- The midnight bell is silenced by force, damaging the chapel tower and causing the village to blame the party for destroying its warning system.
Complications (d6)
- 1A storm swells the millstream, cutting off the footbridge to the eastern district until the party finds another crossing or waits for the water to fall.
- 2A crowd of frightened villagers mistakes the party for agents of the reeve and demands that they name a suspect before anyone is allowed to leave the square.
- 3A missing villager returns at dawn with no memory of the previous night and a fresh bite mark. They insist that the party keep the wound hidden.
- 4Tomas's archive ledger is stolen while he speaks with the party. A muddy bootprint leads toward the old tannery.
- 5The chapel bell rings once during daylight. Every nearby shutter slams closed, and Sister Halen refuses to explain why she looks terrified.
- 6A local hunter recognizes a party member from an unrelated incident and publicly accuses them of bringing danger to Bellweather, complicating efforts to question witnesses.
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