If the players run into Old Bonegrinder at level 4 with guns blazing, they will most likely die to the combined power of the hag coven. This section adds more content, to allow the players to interact with OBG in a meaningful way, while hopefully learning that it's a deathtrap.
Encounters
Challenge below is based on a 4-player party of level 4 characters.
| Challenge | Location | EXP | Enemy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard (5) | Anywhere | 1,800 | 1x Night Hag |
| Deadly | O1 | 1,800 + N*50 | Morgantha, Nx Dretches |
| 2x Deadly | Anywhere | 3,600 | 2x Night Hag |
| 8x Deadly | Anywhere | 8,700 | 3x Night Hag (as a Coven) |
Notes:
- If the players refuse to leave the Mill, Morgantha will revert to her Hag form and attack.
- The Coven breaks if one of the Hags dies, making the encounter significantly easier.
- If Morgantha is on the first floor, she will summon Dretches to help her.
- Custom: She calls her daughters as a bonus action on her first turn. If they are only one room apart, they arrive in one turn. Otherwise, they arrive 1d4 + 1 rounds later.
- Custom: If the PCs get in trouble, call in 1d4 + 1 Swarms of Ravens.
Custom: The Hags' Schedule
If ran by-the-book, provoking the hags would cause them to form a coven and annihilate the PCs. Without magic/silver weapons, there isn't much that low-level PCs can do. The chart here allows DMs to randomize the state of Old Bonegrinder every time the PCs visit, potentially making it easier to clear.
Notes:
- The first time the players visit OBG, Morgantha should be there regardless of roll, unless she's already dead.
- Occasionally, Bella and Offalia leave OBG to visit witches who live in the woods.
- At night, all three hags are inside the mill.
- Otherwise, there is only a ~19% chance that all three hags are inside during the day.
Morgantha
| d12 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | Selling pastries in the Village of Barovia |
| 3 - 4 | Selling pastries in Vallaki |
| 5 - 12 | O2 |
Bella Sunbane
| d12 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 - 3 | Svalich Woods (herb picking) |
| 4 - 11 | O3 |
| 12 | Communing with Barovian Witches |
Offalia Wormwiggle
| d12 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 - 6 | Tending the garden |
| 7 - 11 | O3 |
| 12 | Communing with Barovian Witches |
Custom: Resurrection Services
If the PCs learn of the hags' true nature and think to ask, the hags will offer to resurrect a dead PC in exchange for a Barovian child who has a soul. If the characters bring a child, the hags will cast the Druid spell Reincarnate (PHB p. 271), which will most likely change the PC's race.
Reward: -1 Renown to Denizens of Barovia
Custom Event: Night at Old Bonegrinder
It's around 2 hours from the OBG Fork to the gates of Vallaki. If the sun is setting when the party is near OBG, they can petition the hags to let them sleep there for the night.
Morgantha will accept, provided these conditions:
- They buy some Dream Pastries
- They stay outside in a rotting stable
- They don't "disturb her family's slumber"
During the night, the players can perceive:
- Flocks of bats flying overhead
- Howls of wolves from the nearby forest
- A group of skeletons dancing in the Megalith circle
- Cries/screams of young children coming from the upper floors of the mill
If the players try to enter the Mill at night, a raven will warm them away. "Leave well enough alone."
Otherwise, the players won't be attacked.
Custom Quest: Claim the Mill
If the players found the Deed to the Mill in Death House, they can attempt to convince the Hags to leave on legal grounds.
If one player succeeds at a DC 20 Persuasion/Intimidation check, the Hags will leave peacefully. They will take all their belongings, including the children, with them. If a Fortune of Ravenloft is hidden here, it remains.
Failing diplomacy, the players can attack. Either way, the players now own Old Bonegrinder.
Quest: Rescue the Kids
Original Text: p. 128
Their names are Freek and Myrtle, and it is possible to rescue them without triggering an encounter. The PCs succeed if at least 1 child is saved and brought to a secure location.
Reward: +1 Renown to Denizens of Barovia
Custom Event: Consecrate the Megaliths
Prerequisite: Reclaim Old Bonegrinder
Clearing away the children's teeth from the stone circle will break the connection to Ceithlenn, and naturally reconsecrate the area over a period of 3 days. Casting a Hallow spell will restore the stones instantly.
Reward: +1 Renown to Servants of the Morninglord