Adventure Summary: A one-session Halloween horror mystery for four to five 5th-level characters. Harrowgate’s ceremonial Pumpkin King tears names from the town’s trick-or-treat ledger, and the party must protect the named households, recover the stolen pages, and end the harvest rite before every costumed reveler becomes a faceless servant.
Harrowgate Hallows Saga: Part 1 of 4. This adventure stands alone. The saga continues with The Procession Through Witchwood.
Overview
On All Hallows Eve, Harrowgate crowns a giant pumpkin effigy and carries it from door to door. Each household offers a sweet and receives a coal from the communal bonfire. This year the effigy stands, speaks as the Pumpkin King, and tears four pages from the ledger that proves which homes completed the bargain.
Festival marshal Rowan Vesper offers 700 gp to recover the pages before midnight. Track Wick from zero to four. Add one when a named home is abandoned, a ritual clue is destroyed, or the party fails a major scene. At Wick 4, the King begins the finale with two Gourdlings.
Background
Harrowgate once survived a killing frost by promising the first and last harvest flames to a field spirit. The agreement became a harmless Halloween custom, but reeve Aldren Crow secretly replaced this year’s offerings with painted stones and sold the consecrated coal. The cheated spirit took the effigy’s body and now interprets every uncovered face as an unpaid debt.
Standalone hook: Rowan provides lanterns, costume masks, and the four named addresses. Restoring the ledger and satisfying or defeating the King ends the haunt completely. A black ember found inside the crown points toward Witchwood, but following it is optional.
Characters
- Rowan Vesper: Harrowgate’s practical festival marshal, responsible for keeping every child and household accounted for.
- Fen Alder: A bold young ledger bearer who saw the reeve exchange the ritual coal.
- The Pumpkin King: A towering vine-bound effigy that punishes broken hospitality through old harvest law.
- Gourdling: A stolen jack-o-lantern animated by a household name and a mouthful of cold flame.
Setting
The labeled route joins Bonfire Square, Sweetmaker Lane, the Alder House, Crow’s Storehouse, the Scarecrow Field, and Crown Hill. Lit jack-o-lanterns mark safe thresholds. A creature wearing a complete costume has advantage on its first save against the King’s Face the Unmasked trait.
Halloween is functional throughout the adventure. Candy offerings buy passage, costumes conceal names, carved pumpkins hold stolen voices, and the final bonfire decides whether the old pact is renewed, rewritten, or destroyed. Players can solve every ritual step through clues in the ledger.
Plot Outline
The party rescues Fen in Bonfire Square, defends two named homes, traces counterfeit offerings to Crow’s Storehouse, crosses the awakening Scarecrow Field, and confronts the Pumpkin King on Crown Hill. They can defeat the effigy, expose the reeve and repay the coal, or rewrite the pact with four freely given treats.
1. The Crown Stands Up
The effigy rises as Fen carries the ledger across Bonfire Square. The party needs three DC 13 Athletics, Arcana, Performance, or Sleight of Hand successes before two failures to clear revelers, secure Fen, and catch a torn page. Failure adds Wick, but Fen still identifies the remaining addresses.
2. Four Knocks at Alder House
A Gourdling knocks once per round while a family hides upstairs. Extinguishing it, presenting a sweet, or speaking the family name from the recovered page stops the entry. Characters can earn two DC 14 Religion, Persuasion, or cook’s utensils successes; combat begins after two failures.
3. Masks at Sweetmaker Lane
Faceless revelers repeat the same trick-or-treat greeting. A DC 14 Insight check spots four people whose masks contain stolen names. Removing a mask safely requires DC 14 Arcana, Medicine, or thieves’ tools. A failed removal adds Wick but frees the victim after one round of frightened confusion.
4. The Reeve’s False Treat
Crow’s Storehouse holds the consecrated coal beneath sacks of painted stones. Aldren confesses after three DC 14 Investigation, Intimidation, or Persuasion successes, or when shown two ledger pages. He surrenders the coal rather than fight and reveals that the King carried the final page to Crown Hill.
5. Crown Hill Bonfire
The Pumpkin King plants its roots around the dying bonfire. At initiative 20, one unlit jack-o-lantern opens and releases grasping vines in a 10-foot square, DC 14 Strength save or restrained. The party wins by reducing the King to 15 hit points, returning the coal and earning three DC 15 ritual successes, or offering four different treats while naming the households they represent.
6. Names Returned
The ledger pages settle into place, every stolen face returns, and the bonfire burns ordinary orange. Rowan pays the reward and Aldren faces the town council. A single black ember points north, but the Pumpkin King’s threat is ended and Harrowgate’s Halloween can conclude safely.
NPCs and Monsters
| NPC or Monster | Statistics | Key Abilities and Table Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rowan Vesper | Medium humanoid; AC 15, HP 44, speed 30 ft. | Lantern staff +6, 1d8 + 3 bludgeoning. As a reaction, Rowan moves one civilian 10 feet. She prioritizes children and evidence. |
| Fen Alder | Small humanoid; AC 12, HP 18, speed 25 ft. | Investigation +4. Ledger Recall grants one automatic clue per scene. Fen hides and throws sweets rather than entering melee. |
| Pumpkin King | Large plant; AC 17, HP 105, speed 30 ft. | Two vine-crook attacks +8, 2d8 + 5 bludgeoning. Cold Flame Gaze, DC 15 Wisdom. Yields when the true coal and four offerings are presented. |
| Gourdling | Small plant; AC 14, HP 27, climb 20 ft. | Bite +5, 1d6 + 3 piercing plus 1d6 cold. A sweet or spoken household name suppresses reactions for one round. |
Rewards
- 700 gp from Harrowgate and a standing invitation to every future Hallows feast.
- Emberseed Lantern: This uncommon lantern reveals false faces and can create a protective threshold once per dawn.
Scaling the Adventure
For 4th level, reduce the Pumpkin King to 82 hit points and begin at Wick 0. For 6th level, add one Gourdling at Crown Hill and raise ritual DCs to 16. For a two-hour session, begin at Sweetmaker Lane with Fen already safe. For groups avoiding identity loss, Steal Name instead steals a favorite Halloween memory and imposes the same mechanical effect.
Pumpkin-Effigy-Halloween-Themed Table Gear
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- Paintable pumpkin miniatures. Track animated jack-o-lanterns and mark which household name each one carries.
- Vintage blank ledger. Create the town’s trick-or-treat register and let players physically restore its torn pages.
- Orange LED tea lights. Count the Wick track and show which Harrowgate thresholds remain protected.