Vaesen: A Dance With Death - RPG Review 

Hi, Gabrielle de Bourg here, who wrote it. Great review, the clips you had of the letter are very stylish and moody! I think you offered some greats tips too, for people looking to run it. You did some very cool assets as well. And like you say, it does require quite a bit of thinking as a GM, as it’s a scenario very much driven by people. One tip I also like to offer is to try and remember that the Neck is a tragic figure! He’s mighty powerful, but what he’s looking for is a partner, so to play into the “spooky melancholy” can be very effective.

Poor Neck, just wanted some True Love.

Great stuff as ever, do you think you'll review more of the Vaesen adventures ? Really appreciate your take on them 👍

Thanks for this-this is the next Vaesen scenario I am running so the video is very helpful.

I barely got this book and I thought to adapt the adventures for other games one-shots in between campaigns. I like your idea of adding real romanticism with the Vaesen here trying to get the girl and the girl wanting to go with him. I also think there should be an alternative form to stop him/make him go away, which is to somehow have him take his love interest away and thus him having no more business in the land. that could be tied to a spring ritual or something and gives the players a dangerous ally to call in another adventure for another occasion..or an extra adversary that can come back if they defeat it here. Thanks for the extras

I really think that the adventure should be used as a background between one-shots : Players get to the village looking for the cow-drowning cause, get sidetrack to a first one-shot that may or may not feel related. Next game/day (hence following the 1 / day escalation of events) they get part of the info but get side tracked again to another one-shot, etc. This way the players get a more balanced ratio of fight VS looking for clues. They also learn to know the NPCS as "villagers" more than as simple "ways for a resolution" since they'll interact on other subjects (the one shots in between). last but not least, the one shots used in between could easily be used to enchance the final "boss", finding servants who happens to be worshipping him in one while another could set the scene for exposition on some of his abilities, while also missguiding the players on other aspect of the creature. this leaves more breathing space to the GM to create the "dracula level of danger" effect. Just throwing Ideas here. Nice video, as always.

* With Vaesen, lean into the creature's quirks, obsessions, weaknesses, and motivations. Make the individual & special!! Player's LOVE figuring these out and using them! I ran this adventure a few months back. It was wildly successful but took a lot of thought and prep! My additions: - As the investigators approached the farm, things were getting worse (a cow lost per day). - Locals were worried that the festival would be cancelled, but no one wanted to get near. - I added another milkmaid (2 per cabin), and a roommate for Gustav, to help with interviews + more potential victims. - Gustav's roommate was supposed to stand guard but fell asleep (magic) and was just fired for it. - Gustav is letting his roommate stay with him (on the sly) until he gets a new job, and he feels guilty. - Gustav had the Neck's sacrificial knife, but it took it back when he chickened out. Now Lisbett has been making the cattle sacrifices with it. Gustav thinks that the Neck is doing it alone. - Jenny had tried numerous other avenues of help before a milkmaid suggested the Society. - On a starry night, out of the water, those with the sight could see lost souls walking on the underside of the water's surface. - Mattias' cat was sacrificed and became the Neck's familiar - and was in the barn spying. I called it an EtterCat (spidery). - There was a bear in the woods, and it came after the investigator when Gustav's cabin was investigated. - The tapestry was hidden in Gustav's wall, and a church history book was under the bed). - Jenny and staff had breakfast & supper together and prayed together. They were close so the threat was meaningful. - Both Gustav and Lisbet wanted to learn the Neck's music - it had promised that they could be experts fast! - With sacrifices, Gustav & Lisbett could learn magic too (very D&D warlock pact). - Gustav & Lisbet had both been charmed and seduced by the Neck (shapeshifter) and heard parallelling lies. - Their "recruitment" started with nightly fiddle jam-sessions across the lake with strangers. - Each got "catfished" by the Neck (Niklas/Nicolette) and fell in love with their partner before it revealed its supernaturality. - Lisbett & Gustav don't know that the other is in league with the Neck, and is competitive with the violin jams (rap battles). - Lisbett & Gustav have a ton in common (poor & hard times background) and are desperate to leave & get rich & famous. - Lisbett's roomate - Mattias - is in love with her. Per is like a sister to them both. - The Neck wants human souls as a source of energy and entertainment. The last batch of ghosts has faded with time & use. - The local church had the tapestry, but it was stolen as well as a church history book. The book has details on the Neck event. - The local church had an ancient church bell blessed by a historical bishop and a crotchety old pastor who loves church lore. - Long ago, the Neck was drawn to the singing at a festival, and the Neck nearly charmed all the locals into the Lake. - An assistant rang a church bell to disrupt the Neck's musical spell & the pastor used a violin-string cutting knife ward. - The pastor then chastised the Neck three times while whipping it with a cat-o-9-tails made of lake willow. Your players will LOVE this if they pull it off!! Mine borrowed the Bell, and this formula was followed as the Neck was lured into the meadow for a fiddle-battle. Just as the player lost, the bell was rung, and she slashed the Neck's fiddle strings with his own sacrificial knife (that had been used on the cows and cat)!

When I ran this I played it that Lisbeth was under the Neck's spell and after the final confrontation she was so distraught at what she had done (and almost done) that she had a complete mental breakdown. Also after the Neck was banished Jons Gustav was so guilt ridden about the death of Pers Ida that he chopped off the fingers on his left hand with an axe so he could never play the fiddle again. The players liked it, it saved them the trouble of having to figure out a suitable punishment for them.

Running this one next weekend. Prepping now

Gabrielle ran this for us for VaesenCon last year. It's a fun one. I do like your suggestions though.

oof, the real horror here is the AI "Art" being used haha. Jokes aside, very nice review and very good ideas on how to make this mystery work better! will be taking them into account when i run it.

I loved this review. I am prepping to run this for my players and I will take some of your advice from this video, adding in the two brothers for example. By the way, I love the violin music from the video, but Shazam failed to recognize it. May I ask where it is from?

Awesome thank you!

I'd like to formally request more black wig and top hat in future videos. Also...the biggest mystery to me was where does the Neck get his (nick)name?

Great review! Got me thinking how to use this with my system (RPXpress).

I love your guide on this campaign, but as a beginner Game Master, I'm struggling with its length. Could you recommend ways to shorten the campaign to under three hours?

Thanks!