The Bloom

Abstract

Out a ways from the big city lies the town of Coldwater, named after the body of water it borders. Coldwater is a complacent place and its residents prefer it that way, thank you very much. Most townsfolk will greet you with a smile, but asking about the Incident from about a year back will get you met with cold stares and abruptly shut doors. But here’s the thing, folks have started disappearing again, and this time it was out-of-towners.

The Bloom is a sandbox adventure for Liminal Horror. Something sinister is creeping beneath the town of Coldwater. Campers have gone missing, but the townsfolk won’t say a word and the authorities are less than helpful. Can your team of Investigators find out the truth and save the town before it’s too late?

Touchstones

• Alan Wake (2010) - Remedy Entertainment
• What Moves the Dead (2022) - T. Kingfisher
• Twin Peaks (1990-1991, 2017) - Mark Frost & David Lynch
• The Last of Us (2013) - Naughty Dog
• Stranger Things (2016 -; present) - The Duffer Brothers
• Ben 10, Camp Fear (2006) - Man of Action
• Dark (2017-2020) - Baran bo Odar & Jantje Friese
• Wolverine: The Long Night (2018) - Marvel New Media
• Desert Moon of Karth (2021) - Joel Hines
• Feast (2021) - Chris Bissette
• Dying Light (2015) - Techland

What's in THE BLOOM:

• Includes multiple formats for play (starting fresh, integrating into a campaign, one-shots).
• A DOOM clock that tracks the escalating threat descending on Coldwater. Tied to investigation phases (6  hour increments).
• Custom Character Creation designed to be used specifically with this adventure.
• 20 custom backgrounds including equipment and motivations..
• 10 key NPCs, each with stats, description, desires, secrets, and how they connect socially..
• Enemies: there is a section on Hosts (including four main iterations) as well as the main threat in the module (the Hyrdra) as well as statted NPCs and some location specific enemies.. 
• Locations: The town of Coldwater Lake and its surroundings offers a major sandbox for players to explore (that changes as the DOOM clock progresses).
  • Coldwater Proper (which includes 12 keyed locations within).
  • Coldwater Camp (which includes 8 locations to investigate the disappearances)
  • Haru’s Cabin (a small cabin deep in the woods that is home to something much older that Coldwater).
  • The Gas Station (a waypoint filled with supplies).
  • Hines Farm (location of the Coldwater Lake Incident)
  • The Lodge (an old hunting lodge purchased by two suspicious newcomers).
  • Coldwater Surrounds (10-12 additional locations in the surrounding area).
  • The Forest (a dense voidcrawl encasing Coldwater)
  • The Caverns (below Coldwater).
• Appendix A: CONSEQUENCES - different potential outcomes for The Bloom.
• Appendix B: CONVERSIONS - systems to be announced.
• Appendix C: FALLOUT - d12 custom Fallouts for this module.
• Appendix D: RESIDENTS AND RUMORS - 20 additional NPCs to populate Coldwater along with rumors about town..
• Appendix E: RANDOM SEARCH TABLE
• Appendix F: Artifacts.

Also includes:

• Fully internally linked pdf (in both page and spread formats)
• Single map files from the adventure (bundled in a zip file)
• Text only format (in epub, txt, pdf)

Content Warning

This module includes elements of Body Horror, Graphic Violence, Harm to Animals, Fungi, and Religion, and the major theme throughout is Complacency.