Weihnachts terror

[Dmitry Rost]

An idea for possible “Christmas” DLC
(Unfortunately there’ll be no numbers for enemies and items)

Weihnachts terror
Major point: add date checking, add christmas/new year decoration for locations in north and middle biome, add “quests” in a form of contracts and ramdom events, add enemies, legendary location and a couple of new items.
The legendary location and the major part of the “quest” should be available only in december and january, but the new enemies follow standard game rules.

The main plot: Children disappear in the north. Sometimes it’s kidnapping for ransom, sometimes it’s wolves and sometimes it’s something worse. During the major quest, it turns out that some ancient evil from old legends has awakened (boss in a legendary location). This evil is Krampus (Santa’s New Year antipode), and he kidnaps children for some kind of ritual.

Decoration:
Game checks the date. If its december or january, towns in north become more snowy and have some christmas decoralion.
Add new place into some towns – christmas tree. There player may found a random gift with some chance, once for a game company.

Enemies:
Bartl/Cert – imp-like beast that has some intelligence but obeys Krampus orders (or cultist with special stick). More agile and strong at night. Inhabits north biome. Can use human melee weapons.
Kramp cultist (kramper) – a man that serves Krampus as an anscient god. Has less defence and attack against witch hunters, has higher attack and lower defence against monks, has higher defence and lower attack against Davkul cultists. Can control and summon bartl with “kramper stick”. Those who fear beasts react to the cultists as to beasts. Inhabits north and mid biome.
Grila/Pechtra – half witch (human) half beast. Peasants believe she is a wife of a snow giant, in reality she is a priestess of Krampus. She can cast some snow-related wizardry. If its not december or january, this enemy and contracts with it is inactive.
Krampus – the boss, may be found only in tbe legendary location. It is a leader of cultists that is infected with Krampus spirit. Through the ritual cultist transformes to a material incarnation of Krampus and with every victim of sacrifice he becomes more powerful and closer to the original form of Krampus.

Legendary location: a cave/den/lair of the Krampus. Opens (only in december and january) after a player collects 4 items: 3 anscient gremoires and 1 encrypted scroll.

New items: torn Santa’s hat, broken Santa’s staff, Krampus bag, Krampus cloak, Krampus hayfork, horn/tusk/claw/ of Krampus, horn/tusk/claw/ of bartl, kramp(/kramper) stick, kramp(/kramper) robe(loots from each kramper killed), anscient gremoire, encrypted scroll(loots from each kramper killed), ritual dagger, ritual bowl.

(if a player equips his cultist-companion with the stick as a weapon and encrypted scroll as an accessory, the cultist receives new skill “summon bartl”)

The quest:
1) “Weihnachten gifts” – a standard contract of returning a stolen item (a townsmaster asks mercenaries to return presents he baught for his family, that had been stolen by thieves), that turns into a battle with kramp cultists, who stole presents because of an anscient book. Player loots an anscient gremoire. If the player has a thief or a raider among his battle brothers, he may also loot a kramper stick and encrypted scroll with some chance.
2) “Wolves! Wolves!” (reference to the fable about a shepherd boy and wolves) – If a Player has a hunter or a poacher among his companions, he takes a contract from a town governor to check if there are wolves near the town, because one of local shepherds always alarms villagers about wolves. A player “patrols” the territory around the town and find a few wolves.
If the player also has a brawler among his companions, he will find no wolves but a lone bartl. And before the paymentis done, the brawler will say that he may “talk” to a shepherd for an addition payment, as his neighboring village had a similar situation: A shepherd guy cried “werewolves”, but that was just a joke. The guy repeated his stupid trick a couple of times, so when werewolves really came, noone believed a boy. As a result half of a village had been killed. Towns govenor accepts brawler’s offer, The player may decline the proposal, but if he accepts, there will be duel without weapons between the brawler and the local shepherd.
3) “Wolves! Or worse?” – A Player takes a contract in a town which is terrorized by something. Children is disappearing. Sometimes they just vanish with suspicious circumstances, sometimes villagers found bodies torn to pieces and tracks, that sometimes look like a wolf footprints. So peasants think its a flock of wolves. If the player has a hunter or a poacher among his companions, there will be an alternative answer while taking the contract (companion will say its definitely not wolves and the payment should be much bigger). The enemy is a group of bartls(certs) with a kramper who controls them with a kramper stick. Kramper tries to avoid the melee battle and escape if all the bartls are dead. Player loots an anscient gremoire if he kills kramper(only in december and january) and also encrypted scroll with kramper stick.
4) “Farm on fire” – Right after a player leaves a town (if some of his companions became drunk in tavern), a drunk man comes to him with a “contract”.
He is a local miller. He askes mercenaries if they can resolve a problem with his enemy. Miller tells a story that someone set a fire on his house, everything burned out but he still has 400coins if mercenaries will kill a local butcher with his sons, who miller suspects.
If there’s a butcher in the squad, he suggests the player to talk with the butcher. (Picking this variant, the player gets butcher’s testimony and returns to the window with the choice. It reveals that the miller was a family tyrant and a couple of years ago his whife died suspiciously and the butcher was her distant relative).
If there’s a killer in the squad, he can offer to make a fast and quite assasination.
If there’s a monk/beggar in the squad, he can suggest the player to talk to the local people (Picking this variant, the player gets more testimonies and returns to the choice, it reveals that the miller is a widower, he lived with 5 children and they disappeared in fire, but miller told nothing about them).
If there’s a hunter/poacher in the squad, he suggests to make an investigation at the mill. Here the player receives the location just as while a contract, he kills wild animals there and receives more testimonies. It reveals that children set fire on the mill by themselves and then ran away to the forest (make here a reference to the Sodder children disappearance). Here player may find an encrypted scroll.
4) “Noble’s son” – The player takes a noble contract in the north/mid biome. A local noble asks a player to save his kidnapped son (he knows the place, but can’t use his own man for some secret reason). The player tracks the kidnappers. It’s kramp cultists, but the problem is that noble’s son wasn’t kidnapped, he is the leader of cultists instead. If the plyer kills the noble’s son he ruins the relations with the noble, if the plyer abandons the contract he loses the reputation and relation. The Player loots an anscient gremoire and a ritual bowl.
If the plyer plays with a cultust and in his ranks, there should be an event after the battle and killing of the noble’s son, when cultist-companion advises to simulate, that cultists killed their leader for some ritual before you could save him. And it helps to receive a payment and save relation and reputation.
If the plyer has an adventurous noble, there will be a positive event if the player abandons the contract.

And the rest of the “quest” I’ll leave to Casey’s imagination :)
But here are some interesting stories:
5) “Anscient legend” – A player may buy an anscient gremoire in a town market. If he did, there should be an event when someone try to steal the book and when the attempt failed he incites bartls on the player. Small special events for Historian, Cultist and Minstrel companions.
6) “Cannibal” – story with Grila. Stories of Hinterkaifeck, Lizzie Borden or Lisa Montgomery might be useful. Special events for Witchhunter. Here a player loots an anscient gremoire and a ritual dagger.
7) “Kidnapped kid” – retelling the story about Ursula Hermann. Special event for Manhunter, Gravedigger and Bastard.
8) “Lying witness” – retelling the story about Laurie Show and Lisa Michelle Lambert. Special event for Apprentice or Monk.
9) “Hunted beast” – retelling the story of Fritz Haarmann in mixture with Svetlana Batukova and Maude Julien. Special events for Wildman, Beasthunter and Witchhunter. Here a player loots an anscient gremoire and an encrypted scroll.
10) “Ritual masks” – retelling the Lead Masks Case. Special event for Vagabond or Hedge Knight.

In addition there should be a random event after finding a first grimoire, when the player meets a strange and suspicious old man in a forest.
The man sits next to a fire with a grilling meat and invites mercenaries to join the meal.
This old man (at the event illustration and his “speech”) should have some signs of being a Krampus, but not direct evidence. (Like red robe, bag or hood, barely noticeable small horns under sloppy grizzled hair)
It is Krampus himself, and while the conversation he may give something useful or dangerous (for example item that will attract groups of bartls) to a player.

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