The Oval Portrait The Oval Portrait "The Oval Portrait" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. It is one of his shortest stories, filling only two pages in its initial publication in 1842. The tale begins with an injured narrator (the story offers no further explanation of their impairment) seeking refuge in an abandoned mansion in the Apennines. The narrator spends their time admiring the paintings that decorate the strangely shaped room and perusing a volume, found upon a pillow, that describes them. Upon moving the candle closer to the book, the
Masque of the Red Death (Ravenloft) monsters, driving people insane, moving whole areas and locations, and affecting the very fabric of reality. The Red Death is an extremely powerful force that comes and goes at its own whim, and is the source of all evil in the Masque of The Red Death world. An adventure titled "Jigsaw" appeared in "Dungeon" #61 (Sep/Oct 1996). The plot concerns a golem (a Frankenstein's Monster like creation) named Udo who wants to marry Victoria Von Lendstein, his creator. She is engaged to another man, and he would rather see her dead. The players must protect Victoria from her creation. An