"Where heroes are lost and all turn to dust beneath the Black Mountain."
A Dark-Fantasy Adventure Module
Welcome to Shroudmarch
Thanks for checking out my personal adventure module project. This is a campaign document for running my homebrew adventure Shroudmarch. This adventure is a Domain of Dread as explained in the Ravenloft D&D 5e (2014) resources. My friends are a huge help with this project, so special thanks to them for proofreading and giving valuable feedback. I want to thank my inspirations "Rhapsody of Fire", Legends of Avantris, Evil Dead 2, and the Ravenloft campaign and Tales of Ravenloft stories.
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Table of Contents
Setting Overview
- Introduction & Themes
- The Shroudmarch Overview
- The Legend of the Black Mountain
- The Curse and the Broken Oaths
- Adventure Hooks
The Campaign
- Act I – The Arrival
- Act II – The Curse of Castle Gloamhollow
- Act III – The Borough Adventures
- Fellgrove
- Ravenknoll
- Mistvale
- Mournburg
- Weepback
- Act IV – The Black Mountain
Modular Dread
- Monsters of the Marches
- Encounters in the Mist
- Spells & Rituals
- Extra NPCs
- Lore & Rumors
- Loot
Appendix
- Quick Tables
- Index
Settings Overview
Introduction & Themes
Shroudmarch is a dark fantasy adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (2014), designed to take characters from level 1 to 6. It is a tale of madness, horror, and moral compromise—one where players will be forced to test not only their strength, but their imagination and the limits of their characters’ morality.
This adventure is structured into four acts, each taking roughly 2–5 sessions to complete, for a total of 8–20 sessions depending on your table’s pace. In addition, the Modular Dread chapter provides optional encounters, lore, and dangers you can insert to heighten difficulty, deepen the atmosphere, or expand the story with memorable side content.
The setting is Shroudmarch, a domain of dread within the Shadowfell. The Domains of Dread are haunted, isolated demiplanes shrouded in Mist, each one shaped by the will of mysterious entities known only as the Dark Powers. Every domain is ruled by a Darklord—master of their prison yet forever bound by it—designed to embody and explore a unique form of horror.
Shroudmarch may be run as a self-contained domain, or adapted as a cursed province within your own world. Its story revolves around five boroughs, each holding a piece of the puzzle that will ultimately reveal the Darklord of Shroudmarch. The choices your players make will decide whether that Darklord is destroyed or unbound—though in true Ravenloft fashion, no ending is without its cost.
(This content is currently available freely for personal use, provided proper attribution is given to the source material.)
Themes
Shroudmarch embodies the depths of psychological horror, with elements of body horror and mystery to heighten the tension. Madness is a constant undercurrent. The Mists shroud the land in secrecy and seclusion, while cracks in reality keep players doubting what is real and questioning every step forward.
The horrors of Shroudmarch are not random. The chaos its people endure is a symptom of these fractures in reality—glimpses of the scaffolding behind the veil. Once revealed, there is no unseeing the terrors that await all souls in death.
To die here is to be drawn into the Black Mountain, a hidden realm within the Shadowfell where the Darklord feeds on those consumed by the Mists. This grim fate looms over every inhabitant of Shroudmarch and every adventurer who dares its borders.
When running the game, lean heavily on sensory description to immerse your players. The stench of morning dew mingling with manure from a nearby field. The groan of a cellar door’s rusted hinges. The tickle of a centipede tracing the fogged edges of a window. These details make the dread tangible.
Challenges in Shroudmarch are not only deadly but attritional. Rest should be rare, magic items scarce, coin minimal. Keep players uncertain of their safety, even in their dreams. Nightmares are a powerful narrative tool—use cryptic visions and unsettling dreamscapes to guide players toward their next objective while showing how the Darklord’s influence waxes over time.
Shroudmarch Overview
Shroudmarch is a misty, sprawling stretch of land with rolling hills covered by coniferous trees and bits of farmland. The sky is constantly overcast and a malevolent mist infests every corner. Shroudmarch is home to many farmers, gatherers, alchemists, tradesmen, merchants and hunters. At the heart of Shroudmarch is the castle Gloamhollow where Count Viktor Voran resides.
Carriages and covered wagons come and go frequently to the castle, acting as a trade hub for the 5 smaller boroughs of Shroudmarch and the outside world. Each borough is responsible for different needs and provide necessary goods and services for the county.
These boroughs are Fellgrove, Ravenknoll, Mistvale, Mournburg, and Weepback.
Goods are traded at the castle and dispersed as needed among the boroughs to ensure citizens' needs are met and the more valuable or unique goods are usually bought by the count's Trademaster, who is responsible for organizing trade among the boroughs. Each borough includes a town, some farmland, woods, and a well trodden path back to the castle Gloamhollow.
“The boroughs are like the fingers of a hand—each works its own craft, but all must close together to make a fist. Grain, timber, wool, ore… none can stand alone. My task is to see they move as one, else the whole of Shroudmarch weakens.” —Trademaster Edrik Volst
Atmosphere
When describing the lands of the Shroudmarches to your players, you should always include the mists, they are a permanent part of the setting and have an important role in both tone and story. Some days it rains, some days the suns rays pierce the clouded sky for a moment, but the mists are always present.
Use the environment in your descriptions to emphasize the tone you intend to set. This can be anything from fresh dew, a clinging dampness, the sound of crows in the distance, or muddy farmlands. Feel free to add your own personal touches to create the sensation of dread or sorrow.
The lands are rolling hills that create shallow V-shaped valleys and ridges. There are many types of wildlife such as elk, wolves, ravens, hares, foxes, badgers, bear, and typical livestock.
There are a few small creeks and one large lake, but other than that, the Shroudmarches don't have many water features. Natural springs, that form at the bottoms of the valleys, trickle through the woods and into fields where farmers tend to their crops.
The Mists
The Mists are more than weather. They are the living boundaries of Shroudmarch, an ever-present reminder of its mystery and imprisonment. Born of the Dark Powers—mysterious beings beyond mortal comprehension—the Mists separate the Domains of Dread and keep their denizens trapped within.
The rules of the Mists are cruelly simple:
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Escape is impossible. Travelers who attempt to leave only find themselves returned to where they began.
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Magic fails. Spells that peer beyond the Mists simply dissolve.
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Death is no release. When a soul perishes in Shroudmarch, the Mists claim it, merging it with countless others lost in the Domains of Dread.
The Mists are not bound by reason or the laws of reality. They shift as the Dark Powers will it—or as the GM requires. They can drive players toward a destination, swallow a path whole, or manifest as a wall of fog that warns of unseen danger.
Certain figures, such as the coach drivers, seem able to cross the Mists at will. Whether they serve the Dark Powers, or merely exploit the cracks between worlds, is uncertain—but their work ensures a steady flow of fresh souls into the cauldron of Shroudmarch.
For the GM, the Mists are both a stage and a character. Use them to unify the setting across every borough and adventure. Let them creep through farmland, seep into cellars, or obscure a road with sudden blindness. The Mists should always bring unease, mystery, and the reminder that in Shroudmarch, no path is ever truly free.
“The mists belong to Shroudmarch same as the pines and the elk. They’re the land’s old keepsake, clingin’ to every soul that calls it home. You don’t escape the mist—you just learn to live alongside it.” -Connor Biggins, coach driver
The Legend of the Black Mountain
Every Domain of Dread is ruled by a Darklord, both its master and its prisoner. In Shroudmarch, that being is Dargor, the Darklord of the Black Mountain. Though bound within the mountain, his presence shapes the land, and the choices of the players may determine whether he is destroyed or unleashed upon the world. In true Ravenloft fashion, every path leads to tragedy. This short tale will help you understand the motives behind the various NPCs who pull the strings of the adventure. This information is not required to be able to run the content, but is a tool for understanding why things are the way they are. If you are a player, ask your GM before reading this section, as it may spoil details that are revealed to players at a later time.
The Age Before
Long ago, Shroudmarch was not a land of boroughs and castles, but a single mist-shrouded peak: the Black Mountain. Tales spoke of a wizard who dwelled there, spawning undead and monstrous things that crawled from the fog.
A young knight named Dargor of Brightsheol swore a holy vow to cleanse the mountain and banish the Mists. His quest led him to the crooked tower of the wizard Vandar, where the two clashed in a battle of magic and steel. Though Vandar prevailed, he was impressed by Dargor’s strength and offered the knight a place at his side.
The Pact of Apprenticeship
Vandar was not the creator of the Mists, but a scholar of their power. He taught Dargor to bend them, to draw on the magic of the mountain itself. Together they pursued Vandar’s true obsession: the Cistern of Life, a vessel said to grant eternal vitality and the origin of the mists. Legends claimed it lay hidden behind five locked doors deep within the mountain, each sealed by a magical key.
Betrayal and Transformation
In time, Dargor turned his ambition against his master. When the doors were finally opened and the Cistern revealed, Vandar sought to use it—but Dargor struck him down, spilling his blood into the vessel. Drinking from it, Dargor was consumed by Shadowfell’s essence. Reality warped around him. The holy knight was lost; in his place stood the first Darklord of Shroudmarch.
The Curse of Vandar
Mortally wounded, Vandar called upon the Dark Powers. Sensing the corruption, they sealed Dargor within the Black Mountain, making him both ruler and prisoner of the domain. With his final breath, Vandar wove a curse: the Mists spread across the land, cloaking the mountain forever. To sustain this spell, he bound his soul into a magic orb, ensuring the Black Mountain would remain hidden for eternity.
The Curse and the Broken Oaths
The Curse
The Curse of Vandar is no simple hex, but a shroud upon the world itself. Long ago, the wizard Vandar bound the Black Mountain away from the material plane, cloaking it in a veil of endless mist. To the people of Shroudmarch, the mountain is little more than a hushed legend, a place whispered of but never seen.
So long as the Orb of Vandar remains intact, the Black Mountain exists apart from Mundus—its ridges, towers, and horrors folded into a prison of fog and forgotten memory. Only the faintest echoes bleed through: strange beasts stumbling from the mists, a shadow on the horizon that no map can hold.
At the time of the adventure, the orb has been affixed to a staff, the Staff of Mists, wielded by the King of the Mists, whose will and the curse are now entwined.
Should the players shatter the Orb of Vandar, the curse unravels in an instant. The false sky tears, the veil falls, and the Black Mountain thrusts itself back into the world, looming in full dreadful majesty—waiting for those bold or foolish enough to climb its heights.
The Broken Oaths
Not all who stood at the Cistern of Life fell when Vandar was struck down. Two who bore witness carried the weight of that day into the ages: Fredrik Foxnettle, squire to Dargor, and Gregor, the bound servant of Vandar.
Foxnettle believed utterly in his master’s cause. When Vandar’s dying curse entombed Dargor and tore the Black Mountain from the world, Fredrik escaped with the Orb of Vandar. He swore vengeance against the old wizard and an oath to free Dargor, certain that only his master could cleanse Shroudmarch of its choking Mists. His vow consumed him, and over long years it shaped him into the figure whispered of now as the King of the Mists, ever wandering, ever scheming, ever seeking the five keys that might unravel the curse.
Gregor, by contrast, bore no such loyalty. A Ghidorian Devil bound to Vandar through a blood pact, Gregor had been promised the soul of a demi-god in exchange for his service. When Vandar fell, Gregor fled the Dark Powers that closed in to claim Dargor, but the contract held him fast to the mortal realm. Unable to return to Hell until the bargain was fulfilled, he too now seeks the keys, not to free Dargor, but to reclaim the Black Mountain and claim the soul owed to him.
Thus were two oaths forged from the same calamity. One born of devotion, the other of damnation. Both are bound to the fate of the Black Mountain, and both now cast long shadows across Shroudmarch.
Adventure Hooks
Roll 1d4 for a hook, pick your favorite, or make one up for your campaign.
1 | Hired Hands
The wealthy count from Shroudmarch hires the adventurers to test their mettle against a creeping necrotic blight, gatherings of witches, or one of the borough quests. If they succeed, he hints at a greater prize—the search for five long-lost keys.
2 | Eccentric Tastes
A nearby noble offers a suspiciously generous reward for the recovery of “curiosities” in Shroudmarch—strange relics, occult charms, or old bones. The task seems trivial, yet whispers suggest the noble is not the only one interested in such things.
3 | Cruel Fate
The adventurers’ carriage becomes lost in the hills as a choking fog surrounds them. The horses bolt, the road breaks, and soon they are left with no transport. Through the gloom rises the silhouette of a castle, looming over the land as though it had always been waiting for them. Seeing the party in distress, the count requests they stay the night and attend dinner.
4 | Curious Castle
Tales of a cursed land, an immortal count, and whispers of demons draw the adventurers to Shroudmarch. Whether out of duty, curiosity, or greed, they are compelled to pierce the veil of superstition and uncover what lurks in Castle Gloamhollow.
The Campaign
Act I - The Arrival
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Act II - The Curse of Castle Gloamhollow
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Act III - The 5 Boroughs Adventures
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Act IV - King of the Mists (modular)
Act V - The Black Mountain
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Modular Dread
The Monsters of the Marches
Encounters in the Mists
Spells & Rituals
Extra NPCs
Lore & Rumors
Loot
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Appendix
Credits & Special Thanks
Qui regnat in morte, omnes regnabit