The Chapel on the Cliffs is an adventure by Joseph Crawford of Goblin Stone for 3rd level characters with a gothic horror theme.

The fishing village of Kennmouth has been abandoned for many years now, after a curse suddenly descended upon it, undead rising from their graves and driving the villagers out. However, an enterprising businesswoman by the name of Kathryn Reed is interested in putting the wharves back in business, and has offered a sizeable reward for clearing out the village and undoing the curse. Of course, some players might be interested out of the goodness of their hearts, not content with letting the restless dead to suffer, but the financial incentive is also a good hook for a more mercenary party.

Over the course of the adventure, the players will have to discover the origin of the curse, with several rumors and leads occasionally misdirecting them, including the execution of a witch, ancient burial mounds protected by powerful magic, a mysterious ghost ship, or even divine retribution by Saint Sidvela, to whom the local chapel is devoted to. There is quite a bit of investigation and exploration to be done, and there are several characters who can reveal important clues to the party if your players track them down, often by using information or rumors they heard earlier. Ultimately, even though there are a few red herrings here and there, everything is connected to the plot.

When it comes to combat, there’s going to be plenty of it as well. In fact, it can have too much combat for the players to make it – the village is protected by over 100 skeletons and an assortment of a few other undead, and for a 3rd level party those are impossible odds, especially when they all converge as one on them. Furthermore, when a skeleton is “killed”, they simply rise back the next dawn – except if it is utterly destroyed. This means that a war of attrition is technically feasible, but certainly not advised. For that reason, there are some new mechanics that can be used when the players encounter large groups of skeletons, especially when the players have barricaded themselves in a building or are running away, to streamline the process a bit and avoid having to deal with massive numbers that would instantly overwhelm the party.

The adventure is expected to take about 10 hours in total, so not quite an one-shot; perhaps 2 or 3 sessions, and it’s more of a sandbox than a straight “go here, do that, move on” which the players will probably enjoy. There are maps for both the whole village and individual locations by Benoit de Bernardy, as well as some new monster statblocks and magic items, interspersed with some beautiful artwork by Raluca Marinescu, including the front cover.

Overall, The Chapel on the Cliffs is a fun adventure with a bit of everything, and it also comes in a Pathfinder version if that’s more of your thing! And if you’re still not persuaded, it’s also a Platinum Best Seller, and from the same creators of Banquet of the Damned and Scarab of Death.

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