Adventure Summary: A one-session Halloween wilderness rescue for four to five 6th-level characters. A children’s jack-o-lantern parade marches into Witchwood and vanishes behind a wall of autumn fog, so the party must follow the moving lights, recover every child, and break the Ragcloak Huntsman’s claim before dawn.
Harrowgate Hallows Saga: Part 2 of 4. This adventure stands alone. Previously: The Pumpkin King of Harrowgate. The saga continues with The Catacombs of Candle Hollow.
Overview
Harrowgate’s morning-after procession carries the last Halloween sweets to lonely farms. This year thirteen costumed children followed a lantern that was not on Rowan’s route and disappeared into Witchwood. Their carved pumpkins now move between the trees in a line that never grows closer.
Track Lost from zero to four. Add one after a failed group navigation challenge, ten minutes without a lit jack-o-lantern, or abandoning a rescued marcher. At Lost 4, the Huntsman may place one false trail each round in the finale. The party always finds the children, but delay changes the danger around them.
Background
The Ragcloak Huntsman guarded old harvest roads and accepted a mask from each traveler. When Harrowgate changed its route, his last procession was forgotten. A black ember recently relit his Hollow Lantern and he claimed the children’s costumes as overdue tolls, believing their true faces belong to the road.
Standalone hook: Rowan supplies a route map, thirteen names, and spare pumpkin candles. Returning the children and extinguishing or redeeming the Hollow Lantern ends the rescue. Knowledge of the previous adventure grants one automatic navigation success but is never required.
Characters
- Rowan Vesper: The festival marshal, leading the search and counting the children at every stop.
- Mira Thatch: The oldest marcher, who keeps the younger children calm with a call-and-response rhyme.
- The Ragcloak Huntsman: A road spirit in a coat of abandoned costumes, bound to obsolete Halloween tolls.
- Hollow Lantern Guide: A walking jack-o-lantern that copies friendly voices and points toward danger.
Setting
The route crosses Lantern Stile, Taffy Brook, Mask Tree, Foxfire Clearing, the Abandoned Tollhouse, and Procession Ring. Orange ribbons mark the real path, but they appear gray beyond thirty feet. A lit carved pumpkin reveals one true ribbon within 20 feet and keeps the Lost track from rising during travel.
Costumes and sweets are survival tools. A matching mask lets a hero join the ghost procession unnoticed, wrapped candy distracts predatory Candycap Swarms, and the children’s Halloween rhyme restores a lost identity. Players who dislike endangered children may make the marchers adult festival volunteers.
Plot Outline
The party follows the false procession from Lantern Stile, crosses Taffy Brook, frees masked captives from the Mask Tree, locates Mira at the Tollhouse, and enters Procession Ring. The rescue ends by defeating the Huntsman, paying a new voluntary toll, or returning his original wooden face from the tree.
1. Thirteen Lights
At Lantern Stile, fourteen lights answer Rowan’s call. Three DC 14 Investigation, Perception, or Survival successes identify the false Hollow Lantern Guide before two failures. A failure adds Lost, but the Guide’s tracks still reveal the first orange ribbon.
2. Taffy Brook
The brook has become black syrup around a collapsed candy cart. The party needs three DC 14 Athletics, Acrobatics, Survival, or carpenter’s tools successes to create a crossing. Each failure restrains one traveler, escape DC 13, and attracts a Candycap Swarm. Offering the swarm a pound of sweets earns one automatic success.
3. The Mask Tree
Six children hang safely in costume masks among low branches, asleep but slowly forgetting their names. Matching each mask to Rowan’s list requires three DC 15 Insight, Investigation, or Performance successes. A wrong answer wakes a child frightened and adds Lost. Mira’s rhyme restores one name automatically.
4. The Abandoned Tollhouse
Mira has barricaded seven children inside while lantern voices imitate their parents. A DC 15 Arcana or Religion check identifies the original toll marks. A DC 15 Persuasion check using the Halloween rhyme opens the door safely. Otherwise two Hollow Lantern Guides attack while the party escorts the group toward Procession Ring.
5. The Huntsman’s Last Parade
At Procession Ring, the Ragcloak Huntsman leads spectral marchers around the Hollow Lantern. At initiative 20, the ring rotates and moves every creature 10 feet clockwise unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Dexterity save. The party wins by reducing the Huntsman to 18 hit points, earning three DC 15 Performance or Persuasion successes with the children’s rhyme, or returning his wooden face and offering a freely chosen mask.
6. Home Before Dawn
All thirteen children step through Lantern Stile as the forest releases its fog. The Huntsman becomes a harmless roadside guardian if redeemed, or the Hollow Lantern cracks if he is defeated. Rowan confirms every name and pays the reward. A wax map inside the lantern points to candlelit catacombs, but the rescue is complete.
NPCs and Monsters
| NPC or Monster | Statistics | Key Abilities and Table Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rowan Vesper | Medium humanoid; AC 15, HP 44, speed 30 ft. | Count the Crowd tracks every marcher. Clear the Lane moves one willing creature 15 feet without provoking. Rowan protects rescued children first. |
| Mira Thatch | Small humanoid; AC 13, HP 22, speed 25 ft. | Performance +7. Procession Rhyme ends frightened on one ally each round. Mira keeps children together and avoids combat. |
| Ragcloak Huntsman | Large fey; AC 17, HP 114, speed 40 ft. | Two toll-hook attacks +8, 2d8 + 4 slashing. Call the Procession, DC 15 Wisdom. Yields at 18 HP or when his wooden face is returned. |
| Hollow Lantern Guide | Small construct; AC 15, HP 36, climb 20 ft. | Hot handle +5, 1d8 + 3 fire. False Trail, DC 14 Wisdom, moves a target 10 feet. A wrapped sweet disables False Trail for one round. |
| Candycap Swarm | Medium swarm; AC 13, HP 45, climb 20 ft. | Sugared bites +4, 4d4 piercing or 2d4 below half HP. One pound of sweets diverts the swarm for ten minutes. |
Rewards
- 850 gp from Harrowgate and the gratitude of thirteen rescued families.
- Mask of the Homeward Face: This uncommon wooden mask prevents magical disorientation and points toward a named safe place once per dawn.
Scaling the Adventure
For 5th level, reduce the Huntsman to 92 hit points and remove one Guide from the Tollhouse. For 7th level, begin at Lost 1 and add a Candycap Swarm at Procession Ring. For a two-hour session, start at the Mask Tree with six children already located. For groups avoiding lost-child themes, make every marcher an adult volunteer and preserve the rescue procedures.
Witchwood-Halloween-Rescue-Themed Table Gear
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- Miniature jack-o-lantern garland. Lay out the moving procession and remove a light whenever the Lost track rises.
- Blank wooden mask set. Assign masks to the missing marchers and turn identity clues into physical props.
- Orange trail ribbon. Mark the true Witchwood route and let false paths move between scenes.