With this post, let's introduce the summer campaign for 2026!
The module and the system
My group and I will play in person the module Nightmare over Ragged Hollow using the Dolmenwood system.Some changes to the module and to the system have been made to accommodate our personal taste and the merging of the two settings.
This is the campaign House Rules Document.
The premise and the setting
Ragged Hollow is a quaint town tucked away in a remote corner of the northwestern reaches of the Dukedom of Brackenwold. Isolated and self-reliant, it is best known for two things: the Shrine of St. Sedge, which draws a steady trickle of pilgrims throughout the year, and its thriving flax industry.
Flax is at the heart of life in Ragged Hollow. It is pulped into fine paper for the scribes of St. Sedge Abbey, where books are carefully copied and bound, or spun into cloth and pressed into oil. Nearly every household owns a loom and an oil press, and during the long winter evenings, the steady rhythm of weaving and pressing fills the town.
Ragged Hollow is home to roughly 500 inhabitants, governed by a council of priests from the St. Sedge Abby. There is no standing army or formal town guard; order is maintained through faith, tradition, and the community's close-knit nature.
The land surrounding Ragged Hollow is as formidable as it is isolated. To the west rise the barren, desolate mountains dominated by Mount Mourn. To the north, across the Upper Hamet River, lies the Gloam Wood—a vast, shadowed forest few dare to enter. Southward stretch the ill-famed Wailing Hills, though a narrow trail winds through them toward a handful of distant frontier villages, some three days’ journey away. To the east, the wider Dukedom begins. Even so, Ragged Hollow remains far removed from such concerns. Fort Vulgar, the closest notable outpost, stands more than a week away, leaving the town largely to its own quiet, watchful existence.
Most residents of Ragged Hollow seldom travel farther than a day’s walk from the town and back. The only exception is the Halloo, a journey that, for many, will be the only true adventure of their lives. By all accounts, this suits them well enough. Life in Ragged Hollow is rustic and laborious, yet, on the whole, peaceful and deeply rewarding.
In Ragged Hollow, as in many towns and villages across the region, the Halloo marks the passage from youth into adulthood. When the time comes, young men and women take up their walking sticks and set out into the wider world for a span ranging from a few weeks to as long as a year. They follow winding roads and quiet trails, lodging at roadside inns or sleeping beneath open skies in meadow and field. To sustain themselves, they take on odd work wherever they can—helping farmers with the harvest, assisting craftsmen in their workshops, or performing simple tasks in exchange for coin, food, or shelter.
It is a time remembered with fondness: a season of freedom and lightness of spirit, when strangers become fast friends and fellow hallooers share in fleeting but meaningful companionship. In time, they return home, taking up the same lives their parents led before them. As the saying goes, “All too soon the Halloo ends, and youth is over.”
The party is composed of such individuals—young villagers returning from their Halloo, or the companions they met along the road who have chosen to join them on their journey back to Ragged Hollow.
The team and the hooks
In this adventure, the party’s main objective is the safety and well-being of Ragged Hollow and its people. Whether you were born here or have only just arrived, your character should care deeply about the town. Make sure your character's motivation reflects this. The experience system will also reward actions that support this goal. Alongside this shared purpose, each character has a personal hook:
Ash (She) will play Kristi McCornem, a Mage. Former poacher, native of Ragged Hollow.
A letter from home brings troubling news: a wizard named Jethra has turned your Uncle Ben into a toad. The wise man you consulted says only she can undo the spell. Rumour places her in the Wailing Hills, in the company of Bogdan, a notorious bandit with a 500 GP bounty on his head.
Marcus (He) will play Lament-of-Broken-Bones, an Elf. Former ice sculptor, long-time resident of Ragged Hollow.
During your Halloo, you freed a sprite from a spider’s web. In return, she gave you a green feathered hat, saying that if you wear it at a goblin fair, you will be recognised as someone of importance. And you’ve heard of the Goblin Market in Gloam Wood…
Ythan (He) will play Sigurd, a Fighter. He grew up with his family in Ragged Hollow, helping with their flax farm.
Paper production at Naomi’s mill has ground to a halt - something is intercepting her caravans on the road to Fort Vulgar. If she can’t sell paper, she will not buy flax, and that puts many families' livelihoods at risk.
Nick will play Rodger Wolder, a thief. He grew up in a family of wagon builders in Ragged Hollow, helping with the family business before his Halloo. He is now on his way back home.
Hurry up. In two days, it's your cousin Tobias' birthday, and you're bringing this pair of beautiful red leather boots for him!
Violet (She/They) will play Gwendolyne, a hunter. She grew up in Ragged Hollow, running with the town's shadier crowd, where she developed her real passion: gambling.
A couple of days ago, on your way back from the Halloo, you sat down for a game of dice in a smoky tavern - just for old time's sake. And you won big. The deed to Windler Mansion, an abandoned house on an island just north of Ragged Hollow, is now yours. What will you do with it?
Callum (Any/All) will play Shank Weavilman, a bard with a shadowed past as a former outlaw of the Ragged Hollow criminal gang.
At the end of your Halloo, a persistent headache has been gnawing at you for weeks. You’ve felt this before, long ago in childhood. The only healer who could give you respite was the old witch of Gloam Wood. You may have to make another visit.
Kyle will play Julius, who was once a humble hog farmer from the distant town of Prigwort in the depths of Dolmenwood. Recently, he became the squire or Sir Aldric Vane, a hard-eyed knight sworn to Lady Harrowmoor.
Sir Aldric has sent you to Ragged Hollow carrying an urgent sealed letter for Lady Constance, a high-ranking member of the Military Order of Saint Sedge. You do not know what the message contains, only that it must be delivered into her hands alone. You were told to expect that Lady Constance would accompany you on the journey back to Prigwort.
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