The Burning Stag I Dark Heart of Andaluria I Beginner Friendly

About the adventure

Every year, the village of Valdoro celebrates the Feast of First Flame beneath the warm Andalurian night. Tables are carried between the vineyards, old songs are sung over bottles of local wine, and at the centre of the festivities a great wooden stag is raised above the crowd and set alight to welcome another prosperous harvest. It is a tradition older than anyone living in Valdoro, and until tonight, nobody had ever questioned why it began. As the flames climb through the stag's wooden frame, something moves inside them. The cheering stops as a towering creature of scorched wood and bone tears itself from the burning effigy, its antlers glowing like branches pulled from a furnace. It crashes through the festival before disappearing between the vines, leaving behind fire, blood and a village suddenly terrified of its own traditions. By morning, everyone in Valdoro has a different explanation. Some blame monsters descending from the Serracorte. Others insist the festival has been cursed. A few of the village's oldest residents refuse to speak about the creature at all. Whatever emerged from the flames has not gone far, and as night begins to approach again, one thing becomes increasingly clear: it came to Valdoro for a reason. 💖 What to Expect: 🔥 A Gothic Folklore Mystery: A celebration among Andaluria's vineyards becomes the beginning of something much darker, with old traditions, superstition and conflicting stories surrounding the creature now stalking Valdoro. 🔎 Secrets Beneath the Celebration: Not everyone in Valdoro agrees about what happened at the Feast of First Flame, and some seem considerably less surprised than others. What the village remembers, what it has forgotten and what it would rather keep buried may all matter before the night is over. 🌙 A One-Shot or the Beginning of a Campaign: The Ashen Stag tells a complete story of its own, with no commitment required beyond the adventure. For groups that want to continue, it can also serve as their first Hunt in a full Dark Heart of Andaluria campaign using the same characters. 💬 Playstyle & Themes: This one-shot focuses on gothic folklore, mystery, roleplay and a dangerous supernatural threat whose presence in Valdoro raises more questions than answers. The village is frightened, its traditions are beginning to look very different in the aftermath of the festival, and the truth surrounding the Ashen Stag is something the party will have to discover for themselves.