There Must Always Be Nine

The Coven of the Nine is a third-party folk horror adventure for D&D 2024. I randomly came across it on Etsy and it immediately caught my eye. The art is evocative and kind of reminds me of tattoo art. The premise is right up my alley as well. A coven of nine hags has infiltrated a fishing village. The party is sent in after another group of adventurers goes missing while investigating. The adventure was written and contains illustrations by Will Humberstone and Luke Stuart. I absolutely love the art! It reminds me of old school sailor tattoo art. I also appreciate the color choices for the book. While the pages are white, the rest of the book is black, red, and shades of blue-green. It just gives everything a hag vibe. The color is used effectively in text too. Proper nouns, monsters, and magic items are introduced bolded and in red. This makes them harder to miss.

The adventure is broken down into three parts. The first takes place in the fishing village of Oshorio. In addition to the history of the region (which is tied to the adventure), we’re given a nice town map with 18 locations. Pretty much all locations have some lightly fleshed out npc’s attached to them (with a quote for good measure).

After investigating the town, the party will make their way to the second part of the adventure, Rotwood Bog. This appropriately named location is filled with all kind of nasty creepy crawlies. There are a few encounters (with maps) and encounter tables listed.

The final part of the adventure takes place in the lair of the hags. Like the lairs of certain legendary hags, it initially appears as an unassuming hut, but its much more than that. The lair is located on the remains of a huge tree with ties to the Shadowfell. There are a variety of encounters that can take place here, even including some puzzles.

The book ends with a lunch of crunch. There are many new monsters to torment your party with (mostly hags and corrupted fauna). Several new magic items are presented to help and hinder adventurers. Finally there is a really helpful glossary of important names and places for the adventure. 

The Coven of the Nine is a great mix of action, exploration, and intrigue. It’s dripping with insidious folk horror. Plus, it’s just a gorgeous book. If you play 5e (specifically 5.5) and love folk horror, this one is worth your time and money.

The Coven of Nine - A TTRPG Adventure - Etsy