Where Mercy Draws Blood: A Horror 5e Mini-Campaign

Velera was home to 570 people. Only 14 remain.

Your voyage through the Merovan Chain ends in disaster when a giant squid cripples your ship and forces you ashore on Orvesh. There, an almost-abandoned fishing village has spent three months losing its people to something the survivors call the Sleeper in Stone.

But the monster they blame may not be the monster they should fear...

Where Mercy Draws Blood is a 70+ page dark investigative horror mini-campaign using the 2024 5e rules, for levels 5th to 7th and approximately 30+ hours of play.

Inside the Adventure

One connected story in seven chapters, supported by illustrated maps, three DM tracking sheets, and two in-world handouts.

The adventure moves from a shipboard disaster to an investigation through Velera, the island wilderness, and the Keep of Quiet Teeth, before research and preparation lead to a final ritual and its aftermath.

Alongside the narrative, the book provides procedures for survivor trust, the Keep’s response to intruders, research benefits, ship repairs, and ritual pressure.

They call it the Sleeper in Stone. They have no proof.

Passage aboard the Mourning Petrel should have carried your party through the Merovan Chain.

Then something enormous rises beneath the ship.

For three months, people have been murdered, dragged from their homes, or lured beyond the safety of the village. Those who remain blame a figure they have feared for years: the Sleeper in Stone, master of the Keep of Quiet Teeth.

Your only way forward is to follow the evidence across Orvesh, enter the Keep, and discover whether the monster everyone fears is really the one responsible.

The investigation changes what the characters believe more than once.

Search abandoned homes. Question frightened survivors. Follow evidence through the wilderness. Enter a necromancer’s fortress. Decide whom to trust before the trail leads somewhere far worse.

DM Tools

The horror belongs at the table, not in the DM's notebook. Where Mercy Draws Blood uses clear investigation procedures, visible encounter objectives, and dedicated printable tracking sheets to keep a complex horror story manageable behind the screen.

• Essential clues are discovered by engaging with the right witness, location, or piece of evidence. Checks determine additional context, speed, safety, or leverage, rather than whether the investigation simply stops.
• Rescue sailors while the ship is being torn apart. Manage the Keep's escalating response to intrusion. Earn advantages through research. Hold a failing ritual together while everything around it tries to break.
• Ship damage, repairs, survivor trust, Keep alert, research benefits, ritual stability, and other changing conditions remain visible without forcing the DM to reconstruct them from scattered notes.

More dread at the table. Less bookkeeping behind the screen.

See Inside the Book

Don't take our word for it. See the actual adventure before you back it. Below are real pages from Where Mercy Draws Blood, showing the chapter presentation, encounter design, tables and DM-facing procedures you'll use at the table.

For Mature Tables

Where Mercy Draws Blood is a structured horror mini-campaign for adult groups comfortable with severe subject matter and tragedy. Player decisions affect investigation, trust, casualties, resources, preparation and the conditions of major encounters.

Content notice: The adventure includes sexual violence and reproductive mutilation, domestic abuse, murder, torture, possession, captivity, body horror, infected wounds, self-harm imagery, summary execution and non-consensual killing.

Miniatures Ready to Paint

Bring the characters and horrors of Where Mercy Draws Blood to your table with 8 printable STL miniatures, featuring key figures and creatures from the adventure.

Every miniature includes its own full-color painting guide, with a finished reference, labeled palette swatches, and suggested colors for its defining details. Follow the official color scheme or use it as inspiration for your own.

Pledge Tiers

Whether you want the adventure on screen, on your shelf, or alongside our previous releases, choose the edition that fits your table.

All digital rewards are delivered through PledgeBox on October 16.

Fulfillment

Digital rewards will be delivered through PledgeBox on October 16, 2026. Physical rewards are expected approximately 1-2 months later, with fulfillment planned for November-December 2026.

We've fulfilled previous crowdfunding projects and have structured this campaign around a short post-campaign production window.

⚠️ We do not charge shipping through Kickstarter.

Please note, once you've made your pledge, there will be a charge saying "$0.00 for shipping" - that is from Kickstarter only and the actual shipping costs will be calculated and charged through our Pledge Manager once the Kickstarter has ended.

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The island is waiting...

Find out what happened, decide whom to trust, and discover what mercy means on Orvesh. Back Where Mercy Draws Blood.