TALES OF THE TAROKKA - The Innocent: Vhage Agency

Enter the Vhage Agency, a detective’s office steeped in shadows and unspoken truths. In “The Innocent,” players find themselves drawn into the case of Tamsin Gray, a missing child whose disappearance is just one thread in a web of mystery woven through the monochrome city of Vartham. While private eye Flimira Vhage is determined to find Tamsin, the broader populace remains largely indifferent, preoccupied with their own struggles in a place where survival often takes precedence over empathy.

As they navigate a network of grim locations, players encounter unsettling figures and haunting echoes of past crimes. The Rictus, a figure whose grotesque, chilling grin lingers in the mind long after he’s gone, stalks the edges of the investigation, leaving behind a creeping sense of dread. The players must sift through half-truths and hidden dangers, guided by Vhage’s relentless pursuit of answers that might be too close to her own past.

This adventure module combines investigative storytelling with a tense, atmospheric setting. Each location offers new challenges and revelations, slowly piecing together the larger mystery. Can the players solve the case of the missing child, or will they find themselves ensnared by the very darkness they sought to uncover? In the Vhage Agency, every question leads to another, and the line between hunter and hunted grows ever thinner.

Unlike most D&D adventures, in which characters of increasing power often face challenges and enemies head on, these stories are best experienced as gauntlets of survival and terror. Consider using the “Survivor” character options presented in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. These ready-to-play archetypes have intentionally limited progression, maxing out at 3rd level with their low power quotient fitting Ravenloft’s themes of gothic survival horror. (Rather than every Apprentice and Disciple having the same spells, you could allow players to choose other spells of the same level—subject to DM’s approval, of course.) Perhaps have each player roll on the “Horror Trinkets” table in Van Richten’s Guide, or on the standard Trinkets table from the Player’s Handbook to add flavor and novelty. Another approach could be to allow players to build standard 1st-level characters but then use Survivor rules for leveling up to 3, allowing them to select from the Survivor traits (but otherwise remain as technically 1st-level characters with respect to hit points, class features and such).

That said, groups interested in more heroic adventure should feel welcome to utilize standard 5th Edition characters in these modules. In such cases, Dungeon Masters will likely need to adjust challenges and threats accordingly, and each entry will offer guidance on that front.

Note that AI images and language models were used in the creation of this product.

These installments are intended to be released individually over time until the series is completed. Please visit our website for future planned offerings: www.talesofthetarokka.com