tsr09497 - AD&D - Ra.. - Property Is Theft!

Despite his cherubic appearance, which was a small comfort to Gabrielle while recovering from her three days of
excruciating hard labor, it was quickly apparent the Malocchio was not a normal child. Most obviously, the child was
growing much too quickly to be normal. By the time Gabrielle had recovered from childbirth, Malocchio was already
walking and talking. And as the boy grew, his fiendish nature became increasingly apparent. When he thought no one was
looking, he would cause flocks of birds around the castle to fly into walls. He would call wolves from the forest and
command them to attack villagers for his amusement. However, not all of Malocchio's cruelties went unnoticed by his
mother.
Once Gabrielle's suspicions were aroused, she used Eva's Tarokka Deck to perform a reading on her son, with the results
described in the introduction to this chapter. When the adventure begins, Gabrielle knows the full range of her son's evil
powers - through she does not want to believe his true identity - and she has begun a scheme to use Malocchio in her own
selfish plans. Her hope is that through her son, she will finally be able to strike directly at the hated Vistani who have
shunned her.
Attributes of the Vistani
IThroughout this adventure the heroes interact with Vistani who can read the tarokka or cast the evil eye. Both attributes are
fully detailed in the RAVENLOFT Campaign Setting and Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani, so only an overview will be
given here.
The Tarokka
Unlike several other modules that have involved the Vistani, the tarokka does not advance the plot in the adventure (though
you, as the DM, may wish to make it seem as though the tarokka has an effect). For this scenario, the cards are merely
"window dressing." You can use the tarokka to guide confused heroes who are seeking advice, or you can "stack the deck"
to duplicate Qabrielle's earlier reading.
Many players find the tarokka highly entertaining, and a few cryptic readings can heighten the mood and atmosphere of a
gaming session considerably when the techniques and advice offered in the RAVENLOFT box are followed. However, you
should be careful not to overuse the tarokka during the adventure. If the heroes come to expect fortune telling from every
Vistana they meet to help direct their travels, it replaces initiative with your heavy-handed directing.
Should the heroes come to rely too heavily on the tarokka or starts taking it for granted, you should feel free to have Vistani
seers refuse to perform readings for them. The party begins the adventure with a potent curse. For this reason alone, most
Vistani will avoid telling their future (few cursed individuals will have beneficial readings, and bad readings are bad for
business). Even if heroes offer generous payments, the seer will not use tarokka, but will read palms or tea leaves. These
situations are much faster to role-play.
The Evil Eye
This mysterious, deadly power is one of the Vistani's most feared attributes. It includes a wide range of salient abilities that
defy convenient characterization and vary widely from Vistana to Vistana, as detailed in Part Four of Van Richten's Guide to
the Vistani.
While the manifestation of the evil eye may vary from individual to individual, it is triggered by a similar act of will (or so
the Vistani claim). A Vistana wishing to inflict the evil eye on a victim need only focus his anger, hatred, jealousy, envy and
focus the negative emotion with his (or her) eyes. The evil eye can affect people, animals, monsters, and even possessions.
There is no limit to the number of times a Vistana use the evil eye in a day.