Curse of Strahd - Character & Player Reflections

 

After we finished the campaign, I asked the players if they could give me some thoughts. We ended up chatting for quite a bit about what had gone on and actually had an extra session at the end for any questions (which I won't share details of because of spoilers). Here are some edited highlights:

Kelwarin (Graham/First Age) - Sorceror

Kel's thoughts/plans: Leave Barovia with Ireena. Make a new life together, maybe have children. Return to Barovia if called for, to see his friends.

Graham's thoughts: I very much enjoyed the campaign, and particularly liked the way that we gelled as a group and fed off each others' strengths, not just in terms of our character builds, but also as people. That comes with time, and we certainly had lots of that. With some notable exceptions, I often felt that Kell was not able to contribute enough to resolve combat encounters as the sorcerer [1]. Not entirely fair on Kell that. Ironically, I feel that Kell's most memorable contributions were when he flexed his charisma and has gift for words.

Although our pervasive threat, I didn't, as a player, quite understand our main opponent, Count Strahd. That's not a criticism, as there was some mystery there, and I may have been overthinking the psychology of the monster. Despite your best efforts, I never lost sight of how truly evil he was, so well played there, as it shone through whenever he was around! I hugely enjoyed a number of the set pieces, especially meeting the angelic priest, which is probably why I always wanted to recruit him and was sad to have failed there. Emphasising the social again, I enjoyed all the softer chatty bits with locals, protagonists and enemies. As a player, the relationship between Kell and Ireena was fairly meta. I wanted to mix things up a bit to make things interesting and thought it would screw with Strahd if my character... well, you get the idea.

I struggled with some of the set-piece conflicts, and as a GM myself I wondered if really we should have survived some of them. Who knows! The final battle didn't entirely work for me. It felt tactically correct, and booming difficult to DM, as there was such a weight of resources being chucked about. I'm glad it wasn't a TPK, but part of me felt it really should have been[2]. 

I was left feeling that, for me, 5e is 'OK' and serviced well enough to show our progression and manage the tactical when it cropped up. Roll20 was OK too, with improving AV over the life of the campaign. I'm not that much of a fan of it, but 'OK'.

I am very glad to have been a player and think it would be nice for us to continue playing as a group if we can find another game to play. I hadn't realised on starting to play in the campaign that it would take three years. In a way, I am glad that I didn't know back then, because I might have stepped away and completely missed out on a great experience!

[1] Alex: To follow up on Graham's post, on Kel's combat effectiveness - I've mentioned it earlier in the game, that I was feeling Gaddock was overshadowing Kel a bit. The way 5e is, the baseline wizard chassis just allowed for so many more spells to be learned/prepared, compared to PHB sorcerer, that I was feeling bad, anytime Graham would mention that he didn't know what he could contribute/cast. This is something WOTC has addressed with more recent printings of sorcerer subclasses, giving them expanded spell lists, but Wild Magic sorcerer being from PHB was a bit behind the times.

We had a pretty low-resource campaign, all in all; we didn't get a ton of magic items (and the ones we had, mostly had passive bonuses, like ring of protection, not activated abilities), and there weren't a lot of opportunities to obtain any[3] - I don't know whether we just missed the opportunity to sign up to VistaniPrime, and get some loot delivered from beyond the veil or not. So with that as a backdrop, Gaddock had received two full spellbooks as a loot, which felt almost like level-ups for a wizard, since he could transcribe new spells, which further opened up a gap between the two spellcasters

[2] Dom: It was very nearly a TPK. It turned on two things; Ser Alys saving against the charm (just, Tom rolled exactly) and the critical that Ser Adon did in the last round (and Strahd missing the previous round once). The critical brought him into killable range. Had Strahd have got his turn, Adon would have been most likely killed outright from the massive damage rule. As a party, you did a great job keeping characters alive with potions and healing. You - on at least two occasions - managed to stop Strahd from landing a killing blow. Kel did get a few spells nerfed by Strahd but that burned limited defences down. Luck played a part in the win.

[3] Dom: By not exploring Castle Ravenloft further, the party missed the opportunity to obtain 'magical loot' as described by Alex. However, it was understandable why you all wanted to keep time in the vampire's lair to a minimum.

Ser Adon (Paul/DrMitch)

Adon’s thoughts: It’s over. I thought we were doomed in that fight, but it’s as if Strahd wasn’t so vanquished in righteous fury, but just…got bored with the game. Calling me out to a duel was an act of boredom. He thought he would comfortably defeat me, then move onto my companions who had withstood all he could throw at him, but maybe part of him was hoping otherwise. Especially Alys. 

And though I can’t believe it’s over, it’s time to move on. Alys and I can build a life here together, and our children, put ourselves in the world we have saved. It’s now that the work to rebuild, to help Barovia and Valleki prosper, can begin.

Paul's thoughts: That was an epic and a half. I’m both sad it’s over and triumphant - we got through it! We won, and reached an apt conclusion. It had that lovely part of long campaigns of feeling I got to know everyone else’s character, not just mine. I’ll miss Alys and Kel and Gaddock just as much as I’ll miss Adon. But there’s something remarkable in the long but finite.

Interestingly after finishing the game I read the Curse of Strahd 5e book. It’s quite good, with some ideas standing out, but what we played was so much richer and far superior to that book, while largely containing it. The best bits of the book stood out, the weaker parts faded away into the background. This could not have been an easy task for Dom so thank-you again very much. I’m impressed.

I also really appreciate the way that the campaign allowed emotional involvement. There’s the relationships - Kel and Ireena, Adon and Alys, and Gaddock sacrificing the memory of his children and involvement with the fanes. There was also for me big emotional involvement with that fate of Vallaki and I felt both fear and hatred for Strahd. The blood spear subplot too. That for me was the real heart of why I enjoyed things so much. 

(Actually bringing out the emotional involvement is something Domis really good at - I’ve had it in several convention one-shots, and I think he’s the only GM that’s brought out that side of me in the space of a one-shot.)

Later: I’m relieved that four blows in a row on Strahd all backed up with the special Strahd-killing sword we went to great effort to obtain and backed up by undead-killed smites (after all the damage others had done) did the job. I’m glad we didn’t explore the castle more!

Ser Alys (Tom/Guvnor)

Ser Alys's plans: Settle down, have kids, keep Fiona Wachter in living fear of me

Tom's thoughts: The blood spear sub plot was good, and I hope Alys' tough love was on show. The Library was weird and good. The maze in the crypts of Ravenloft was both good and scary and frustrating.

Thank you very much for running this awesome campaign. I enjoyed keeping Alys on the side of good when she could have been seduced by the lawful rationale of Strahd. That was down to the wonderful relationship Paul and I developed and nurtured. On occasion, I felt as a player that a few hints might have helped. Once we went into the Castle once and were terrified and the clock was ticking then pulling him out into the sun seemed wise.

In the final combat, I didn't feel Strahd was behaving like a strutting arrogant Gothic anti-hero. He was a sneaking cowardly assassin. It felt off but hey, not everyone is Gary Oldman [4]

I also felt that the interesting social interaction was with the Wachters and how we manoeuvred around her. The apathy of the other locals was dispiriting, was it meant to be?[5]

There were some great fights that were genuinely challenging and scary. I like 5e fine, and Roll20. It was one of the campaigns I shall always remember.

[4] Dom: Strahd was - at heart - a brutal warlord with a veneer of honour and duty. In truth that’s all hollowed out with the pacts he made with the darkness. He knows you used powerful magic aimed at the Dark Powers. He knows where you got that too. By summoning him, you put him into a very different head space than he would have been in the Castle. He’d have felt more in control. This was Strahd the ruthless killer. He would have joyfully turned you on each other with charm (but you thwarted that with a lucky save and then protection from evil). Just to add that - had he strutted - he’d have probably been down in two or three rounds as the action economy and his hit point pool would have done for him. He survived so long from regeneration and necrotic damage.

[5] Dom: Most of the other locals have been cowed for centuries. You won the priest over (mostly) but damaged that with what you did to his sister and his nephew. You won the Martikovs over but left them to defend Vallaki. Jeny was definitely a friend of Gaddock after Kel turned down her advances. You neutralised Lady Wachter politically and then brought her a bit onside by saving her family. However, she was always in it for herself and power. You also killed off Baron Vargas’ faction with extreme prejudice. No one aligned with that was going to be a supporter.

Gaddock (Alex)

Gaddock's thoughts: Time to pack it up, and leave this blasted land behind, carrying it only in the sigils of our numerous scars. Gaddock is still worried about the influence of Vampyr on the larger multiverse - was killing Strahd just killing a vessel or dispersing the entity? Gaddock thought they needed to contain Strahd in amber, but mists have receded and Barovia returned to the fold with Strahd's death nonetheless. Gaddock is looking for a vacation - somewhere hot to rest his heels, and not worry about doom for a while. He might still return to Amber Temple and offer his help to research Vampyr, but tensions are still a bit hot right now, given how they've left the place last. Maybe give it a couple of years, and let the undead-dementia wash over the incident.

Alex's thoughts: The final battle was gruelling, as Strahd basically had limited invulnerability, with just how many counterspells and resistances he had. It was a long road, but an inspiring one. Playing CoS really had me looking for inspiration of what I could use in games I run, and how I would run CoS myself. There were some really memorable moments that were well-timed, for example, we just hit level 5 before going to Yesterhill, and letting the fireballs fly on piles of enemies was very cathartic. The Amber Temple run was very interesting - the environmental encounter was very interesting, with figuring out how to traverse the landscape. Feels like there were still corners of the map we didn't explore - I was sure that there was a monster in the lake somewhere.

30 July 2023
(Material taken from discussions on Discord 22 March to 4 April 2023)
(This isn't the final campaign post, that's still being pulled together).

Curse of Strahd - Initial thoughts on ending

 

The campaign ended this week with an appropriately brutal finale, which I will write up later.

We started on 20th November 2019, before the pandemic, and ended on 15 March 2023. We started off with a session every two weeks and then a one to two month break between seasons, but accelerated for the last few seasons to mostly weekly, adopting the rule that we would run if three of the four players were available.

We had four players make it all the way through; Paul (Ser Adon), Tom (Ser Alys), Graham (Kelwarin) and Alex (Gaddock). Jag (Roscoe) played in the early campaign and his character returned for a cameo at the Amber Temple towards the end.

We ran using Roll20 as the VTT throughout (as I bought the module) but used Discord for the audio for the first few seasons (and ironically for the last session as audio was flaky).

I clocked 345 hours on the VTT, as there was a fair bit of prep work that I did. By the end of the campaign I'd upgraded to a paid for Roll20 membership and had started using scripts. I'd also picked up most of the core Dungeons and Dragons 5E books on the platform (except Tasha's which had very poor reviews). Roll20's core engine was solid and there were continuous improvements throughout. It's not my favourite VTT but it does the job well. I used two different Chromebooks and later a MacBook Pro for running.

I used the Beast of Graenseskov as an introduction to take the characters from Level 1 to 3 and enter Barovia. I also drew upon The Stygian Library when the characters visited the Abbey of St Markova. When they returned, I also worked in The Carnival using a modern reinterpretation and the original AD&D2e book as references. I also drew heavily upon the MandyMod and DragnaCarta remixes for Curse of Strahd from the r/CurseofStrahd Subreddit and they added a depth and flavour beyond the core book. If anything, I followed MandyMod for the treatment of the Fanes and leaned into DragnaCarta for some of the set-pieces. The subreddit was an invaluable source of ideas and maps for the VTT.

I ended up buying the campaign on DNDBeyond (along with core books) as it was an easier way to reference it when travelling with work. I was generally happy with that, until Wizards started the whole OGL shenanigans and that kind of put me off fifth edition for a bit (it delayed our restart by about six weeks after Christmas). 

I went into the campaign owning the core D&D books, Curse of Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation, and by the end of it I had ended up buying a lifetime worth of books for the pace that I run. I may well want to revisit some of these campaigns, perhaps the shorter ones.

Too many D&D 5E books (and some stray troubleshooters)?

The final combat was full on; Alex recorded Strahd (and his armour) taking around 542 hit points damage. But how is that the case? The first 100+ hit points damage went into the armour which they full on attacked assuming it was Strahd. The Heart of Sorrow absorbed another 100 hit points (yes, that’s upgraded from the core book). Strahd himself had 161 hit points (again, using the CR27 version). However, he could regenerate 30 hit points per round if he didn’t get hit by sunlight or radiant damage, which I made liberal use of. In some ways, forcing the battle to the larger outdoor space of an island gave Strahd the opportunity to disengage. The lake wasn’t enough to be running water, and he didn’t need to breathe, and there was plenty of mist around, even before you consider the potential for greater invisibility. In honesty, I’m confident I could have engineered an escape from the island (easy enough when the villain can summon a huge cone of bats and transform into one) but I’d realised the players wanted to end this. Redoing it at the Castle would have been frustrating. The ending, with a ennui laden Strahd challenging Ser Adon to a fight felt very apt. He didn’t expect the Paladin to try to cheat.

Several of the characters went down, and were on death saves, but the others brought them back and generally made it difficult for Strahd to take them out via massive damage (despite the significant levels of necrotic damage they’d taken) by being in the way. Luck played a part, but that’s a good thing.

It was a strange feeling when they took Strahd down, but I enjoyed that they way that they did it left a hint of ambiguity. More on that when I write up.

Last screenshot from the campaign is below… mostly all smiles.

I’m sure I’ll think of more as I write this up.

18 March 2023

The end of the road.

Roll20 CSS hacking

Roll20 after CSS tweaks

Keith Curtis kindly commented on my previous post on Roll20 Interface Design and shared some of the work that he and others have been doing to modify the CSS used for the webpage. I decided to take the plunge and installed the Stylus extension on the Chrome instance on my MacBook Pro.

I installed two of the scripts; Tiny Turn and a second one to take out padding from the right hand sidebar. It's pretty simple to do; you type in a name for the script and then paste it in, then associate it with a domain (app.roll20.net). Once you reload the page, it's done. You can turn it off by clicking a switch on the extension. I'm impressed with the effects and will be exploring this a bit more going forward.

How I use Roll20 has changed since I started running this campaign; these days I'm used to building maps, adding dynamic lighting, making sure they're scaled. I also have started using a few macros and now hacking the CSS dynamically. That's what running nearly 60 sessions of a campaign on a VTT does to you!

These are the two links Keith shared. I found the second one most useful. Thanks again!

https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/7949153/
https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/7209333/

13 December 2022

 

Who is hunting whom?

So we come to the endgame. So far, Strahd has indulged the characters like a contented cat playing games with a mouse, with no intent to harm. But they’ve broken part of his connection to the land, raised his people against him and defied tradition. He’s soon to find that they’ve broken into his home and desecrated his brother’s grave, robbing his corpse, if he hasn’t already. I think that will be the point that the time for games will have passed.

Meanwhile, our heroes continue with their plan to summon him onto an island in the lake. Perhaps that will be enough to shift the balance in their favour, perhaps not. Ireena has been taken, and perhaps turned.

The very existence of our heroes and their nemesis is at stake. The battle for Ireena Kolyana’s soul is joined. How will it end? 

10 December 2022

Curse of Strahd - S6E2 (58) - The Wight Stuff

 

Ser Alys and Ser Adon find themselves each entombed separately in what seem to be some kind of stone sarcophagus. Gaddock and Kelwarin have just trapped three wights in a sphere of force and are fleeing them, wondering what happened to their friends. Kasimir hides with his sister in the tomb she has been entrapped in for half-a-thousand years, condemned there when he incited his people to stone her to death rather than let her be taken by Strahd as his bride. He hopes the magic from the Amber Temple will restore her.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Adon de Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good. Married to Ser Alys.

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones... Married to Ser Adon. 

also featuring: 

Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.

and introducing:

Muriel Vinshaw (a member of the Keepers of the Feather, travelling with the party to repay them for rescuing her),  a wereraven upgraded to a sidekick (yes, I know that breaks rules as she started at CR2 but frankly I don't care)!

All characters & sidekicks are level 9. 

__

Morning of 23rd December

It was pitch dark. Ser Adon found himself in what appeared to be a stone coffin, when only seconds before he'd been walking beside his wife, Ser Alys. There was a flash of light and the next thing that he knew was that he was entombed. He called out, but heard nothing, except maybe the drip of water. He feared he may be under the earth as well as in a coffin.

Ser Alys was in a similar situation no more than twenty feet from her husband. She didn't hear him call. She braced herself to escape.

Meanwhile, in the dark and mist-filled catacombs, Gaddock and Kel hastily conferred. Gaddock could only maintain the spell for ten minutes or so, so they decided to head north, the opposite direction that the wights had last seen them. They started to check tombs but decided that perhaps they needed to move at more pace, looking for a tomb labelled with their friend's names. They looked at the portcullis sealed black marble staircase and decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and headed north.

Ser Adon pushed hard, and managed to dislodge the lid of the coffin, carefully controlling its fall to the ground. Fortunately, it wasn't under earth. Unfortunately, it seemed to be in some kind of cave. As his eyes adjusted, he made out more than ten more similar coffins in the room. As he considered what to do next, one of the other lids flew off, crashing to the floor and smashing in two. A figure raised up, under laced shroud which was quickly pulled off to reveal Ser Alys. They hugged and then started to search the room to get out. The only viable route was a shaft, perhaps ten feet up in the air at ceiling level. The room itself was filled with bones and rusted weapons and armour. Their feet crunched over them.

Kel took a turn and suddenly realised that the wights could see him. He made a rude gesture and headed on. As he reached the northern wall, he found a tomb offset to the side. It was labelled 'Saint Markovia', like the Abbey. As he moved forward, four darts shot out. He managed to dodge them. 

Gaddock led them around the corner and they came to a portcullis. Beyond it were white marble stairs, heading downwards. Gaddock went to the portcullis and gingerly tested it to see if it was solid. It seemed to be set in place. Looking through, he could see a white marble chamber, with a white marble plinth in the middle on which rested an ornately engraved coffin. Gaddock reached through the portcullis and manifested his owl, which still had cobwebs on it from wherever it had beed trapped. Circling the room, it saw that there were three statues at the back wall (an attractive young man flanked by two angels). The marble plinth was inscribed with the name 'SERGEI VON ZAROVICH".

Ser Alys was boosted up to the shaft by Ser Adon. She was by far the better climber, so started to work her way up the shaft, hammering in pitons and securing rope for Ser Adon to use to climb with. She advising him on how to use his body when climbing in a shaft like this. Unfortunately, Ser Adon slipped and started to fall, only recovering with a Misty Step above Alys, who managed to take his weight. Adon now took the lead and carried on up the shaft.

Gaddock created a mage hand, and using the owl's eyes he pulled the lever on the western side of the south wall. The portcullis moved up nearly silently, untouched by time. The crypt was 30 feet tall and beautifully set out with arches and white marble. Kel stayed near the lever once they went in; Gaddock went up to the coffin. He noticed that there was a feeling of restfulness in the room, and a lack of the dust and decay in other parts of this floor. The fog seemed to be held back near the top of the stairs. Gaddock cast a spell to dispel any magical effects on the coffin. He then got his jemmy from his backpack and started to open the coffin.

Meanwhile, Alys and Adon reached the top of the shaft. Pausing for breath, they saw a door to the south. Alys started to slowly force it, but Ser Adon was impatient and forced the door hard, with a crash as it opened, smashed to the floor. They came outside and listened for there colleagues. They heard no-one.

Kel heard some noises to the south, he started to look out of the stair well, and called to Ser Adon and Ser Alys. This was the point when the three wights which they'd trapped rushed him. He pulled the portcullis lever but only managed to keep one wight out. They seemed to have preternatural speed. As the creatures arrived, Gaddock used his jemmy to pop the lid of the coffin.

The wight stuff?

Battle was quickly joined; Kelwarin was attacked by one of the wights which sucked at his life essence and set about him with a longsword. He set about it with a witch bolt, electrical energy blasting it. Gaddock blasted one to another plane of existence, then took cover behind the coffin. The creatures continued to attack, so Gaddock let rip with a up-powered magic missile, and the room was full of whistling and howling and the bolts of energy hit the wight that remained in the room. 

Adon and Alys heard the noise and ran north. Alys yelled "We're coming". As she did, the bats on the ceiling became more agitated. They rushed down the wight that was trapped outside snd trying to lift the portcullis, rapidly destroying it. Adon misty-stepped through the portcullis and helped Kelwarin finish off the last wight. 

Once they were safe, they decided to open the coffin. The body inside was the same as the middle statue, well preserved, perhaps by magic. It was wearing shiny plate armour and a blade-less sword lay beside it. Ser Adon picked this up and it flared with sun bright flame, hurting him. He felt distaste and pity and a sensation of taint. He dropped the hilt and Ser Alys took it gingerly. It didn't react to her, other it seemed to emote at her.

They decided to recover the armour from Sergei's armour. Once they'd broken into the coffin, then looted it for everything useful, Ser Adon placed the body back in the sarcophagus closed the lid and said prayers over Sergei's soul, praying for its rest and that it never rose again.

The party left, collecting Kasimir and Patrina. Patrina looked much better, but was still pale and drawn. There was a brief sharp look from her at Ser Alys, a sharpness in the way that she acted and perhaps a barely repressed anger. Quickly, they travelled east towards the tomb of Strahd's parents and their way out. 

Ser Adon passed through the blue light which had reformed. No-one else could. As a result, Gaddock had to dispel it again. He was now desparately low on magic; fortunately, he could cast enough fly spells to get his share of the party down. Kasimir took the remaining four down, dropping the 1000ft down to the valley below. They had escaped. Quickly, they hustled into the woods and back to the rendezvous. They'd been in the Castle perhaps four hours. They reached the camp; the guards had hot bacon cooked and gave the party sandwiches and refreshment as they set off to get back to town.

On the way back, there was bickering over who was worthy to bear the Sunsword; Ser Alys was of the opinion that Ser Adon wasn't, not while he had the unhealthy obsession with the Bloodspear. They made a steady pace, leaving minimal footprints and passing the Old Bonegrinder Mill without incident. They made good time to the gates of Vallaki, just before nightfall. There was general shock and delight that they'd managed to enter Castle Ravenloft and survive. Kasimir committed to help the characters, and rode off to the Dusk Elf encampment with his sister,

They held a council of war, and decided that it was time to recruit allies. Davian Martikov was a given, but Kel and Adon wanted to explore what Ez and Rictavio could offer. The answer was 'a lot'; Ezmeralda D'Avenir was an apprenticed monster-slayer who had worked with the legendary Rudolph Van Richten. They asked her how good Rictavio was, and were startled that he appeared in the pub, as if out of nowhere. He joined them for a drink; Kel tried a tub thumping speech, but Rictavio wasn't that impressed. He asked Kel if he really believed what he said, or was it for show. He did agree that the threat of Strahd needed to be dealt with. They shook on working together, at which point he introduced himself as Rudolph van Richten, there in disguise to try and slay Strahd. Adon was impressed with the company they were keeping.

Gaddock and Alys went to see the Fanes. They were younger and more energetic again. A conversation was had between Alys and Laura (the aspect of the Huntress) about the Bloodspear. She agreed to take the weapon and help free Adon of his taint from it. But there was a cost; a kiss would be needed to draw it out. Would Alys allow Adon to kiss the Avatar of the Huntress, a personification of the land, full of lithe and dangerous energy and attraction. The answer was yes; however, Alys was ready to kill Laura (or die trying) if she ensorcelled her husband in any way.

Alys left Gaddock there, with Laura and Jeny and met up with Adon. She explained what was needed to happen. They agreed that the potential cost was worth taking. They headed back to the shop where Jeny and Laura lived. It was closed. Alys banged on the door and a dishevelled Jeny came out, ushering them into the shop. Gaddock walked through with a steaming mug of drink, in his socks and undergarments. Laura followed, leaving little to the imagination. She confirmed that Adon and Alys were happy to go ahead, but warned that she couldn't be to blame if Adon was in any way affected by her kiss. They agreed that was the case.

She held the Bloodspear in one hand and drew Adon in with other, kissing him deeply. He could feel his essence flowing from him; the blood beating in his head and his heart hammering. It was electric, and there was such a draw and energy from Laura that he was almost jealous of Gaddock. The kiss broke, Laura's hand lingered for a moment on his face, and then she said "You're free of it". Adon heard the spear whispering; it told him it never wanted him either. He relaxed, his bloodshot eyes gone. Ser Alys passed him the Sunsword, and it ignited without any resistance.

The two orcish lovers left the shop, heading back home to a nice game of chess, or perhaps backgammon. Laura watched with a wistful look and then turned, grabbing Jeny and Gaddocks hands and headed back into the apartment. 

Later that evening, Kelwarin got back from the Blue Water Inn. Fortunately, someone had left the door unlocked for him. He staggered up to bed, wondering for moment where Ireena was, before falling to sleep.

GM Notes: Well, they escaped. They stopped opening random doors and focused, and the Ravenloft heist is done. They levelled up to Level 10 and the endgame is upon us. Bitter sweet for me as I'm a big fan of the characters and love seeing what they do.

7th December 2022

Curse of Strahd - S6E1 (57) - Strong Encryption

 

We enter the end game. Our heroes have planned their heist into Castle Ravenloft to retrieve the Sunsword from Strahd's brother's tomb, which they suspect is located within the catacombs below the castle inside the pillar rock itself. The only compromise they've made is to take Kasimir with them; he will use his spells that give the power of flight in return for assistance in recovering his sister from the tomb using the power he recovered from the Amber Temple. The plan is a quick in and out when the castle is dormant during the day.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Adon de Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good. Married to Ser Alys.

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones... Married to Ser Adon. 

also featuring: 

Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.

and introducing:

Muriel Vinshaw (a member of the Keepers of the Feather, travelling with the party to repay them for rescuing her),  a wereraven upgraded to a sidekick (yes, I know that breaks rules as she started at CR2 but frankly I don't care)!

All characters & sidekicks are level 9. 

__

23rd December, small hours of the morning

Our heroes rose two hours after midnight, broke their fast with the volunteers from the Vallaki militia who had agreed to accompany them on the mission, and then saddled up. Ireena and Muriel said their goodbyes, and they set off, riding fast with horses east along the Old Svalich Road, illuminating the way with torches to keep the creatures of darkness away.

While they travelled, they reflected on Gaddock's scrying for Patrina, Kasimir's sister. Using a locket of hair that the Dusk Elf had maintained since his sister's death, he focussed in and had a vision of a small room, perhaps twenty feet square. It was lit faintly by a eery blue glow. Gaddock moved his point of view, turning to see whether Patrina's body was there. He saw the corpse of a beautiful elf; long dead, with obvious signs of injury (most likely from the stoning that she had suffered when her people murdered her). As he studied her, he realised that the corpse's eyes had opened and it was staring at him. Startled, he cut the connection, hearing the faint echoes of a terrible cry as the link failed. Gaddock had staggered backwards, the other party members catching him before he fell. He had turned Kasimir explained that he had seen his sister, but she may well have seen him. Time didn't really seem to have touched her so perhaps there was hope?

The road rose up over the mountain side towards the Tser Falls. They made good time, soon reaching the turning where the road headed down towards the bridge over the waterfall. Instead of following the road down towards the village of Barovia, they headed east and down, round the mountain's side, using it to keep them out of sight from the Castle looming above. Finally, after perhaps six hours travel, with the pre-dawn glow in the east, they reached the point where they'd planned to leave their escorts. They made camp, ate a little, then headed through the woods to see the darkness of the castle looming above the mist-laden forests below. As they watched, and the light intensified, they became aware of movement in the clouds above. With a high pitched chittering, a spiral of bats dropped towards the castle's spires, disappearing as day tentatively began.

The five of them headed out from the forest to the base of the pillar rock. A thousand feet above them they could see the overlook jutting out. Below it were the windows they sought. Quietly confirming that they were ready, Kasimir paused for a moment, muttered some words of power, and Ser Alys and Ser Adon found their weight start to fall away. A little awkwardly at first, they started to float up towards the windows. Once they started and were underway, Kasimir turned to Gaddock and Kelwarin, and repeated the casting. All three of them started to follow.

They soon reached the windows. They were stained glass, with centuries of dirt making them nearly opaque. Kelwarin drew out the gloves of thievery which he had inherited from Alexei, and set to work on the window frames. After a few minutes, he'd worked it enough to open it. Without a creak, he rotated the entire frame and let the party through. The room was an ornate chapel with a gold mosaic roof. To the north was the effigy of a man, and to the south the effigy of a woman. Examining the tombs, they realised they were Strahd's parents, King Barov and Queen Ravenoia. In dust on the floor there was evidence that this room was visited with some regularity.

They decided to press on. To the east, steps rose up towards a blue field of light which was projected between two 30ft tall statues of warriors. Not wanting to risk passing through it, and deciding the gap behind the statues was too small to squeeze through, Gaddock cast a spell to dispel the magical effect. The blue light fell back to the statues and the party pressed on through.

The whole atmosphere changed. The floor was sticky, mist laden for perhaps a foot or so of depth and the ceiling seemed to be moving. Using Ser Adon's javelin to cast light for Gaddock, they could see that the roof was covered in bats which were sleeping. They decided that it was best not to risk disturbing them. The stickiness on the floor was bat guano. At the limit of their lights they could see large rock pillars, with carven doors. 

The first one they reached was a shock. It had Kelwarin's name written on it. Opening the door, they saw a body lying on a marble slab that looked identical to the sorcerer. Everyone turned and looked at Kel; the colour had drained from his face. When they looked back, the corpse had gone and the tomb was empty. Kel could only think that this was a vision of where he would end up if he took up Strahd's offer to become his ambassador. 

The pillar opposite was labelled "Sasha Ivilis, Bride". Gaddock opened the door, and saw a woman's form draped with a white lace funeral cloth. As he approached it, fascinated, a woman's voice called out weakly, "Is that you, my love? Can I come back and join you? Are you no longer angered by me?". Gaddock started to pull the cloth back and then there was a flurry of movement and the next thing he knew was that he had been grabbed and dragged behind the marble plinth and that there was a sharp pain in his neck. He could see hungry eyes, feel teeth and a strong grip holding him from behind as his blood was being drained. Ser Adon entered the tomb and short brutal fight ensued, with the ravenous vampire bride swiftly being destroyed with the powers of the sun and magic.

Warily, they headed further in. Soon after they found a tomb labelled 'Patrina Velovka'. They confirmed that it seemed to be the tomb of Kasimir's sister from the blue light spilling from the edges of the door when they tried it. Opening the door, they started towards the body, which was exactly as Gaddock had seen. Patrina's eyes opened, glowing blue and silver. Her whole body was glowing, and Adon could feel the strong presence of undeath. Her eyes lighted upon Kasimir and she flinched, letting out a horrific wail which cut into the depths of our heroes' souls. Kelwarin, Ser Adon and Ser Alys all collapsed to the floor horror-stricken. The orcish heritage of the two warriors gave them great tenacity, so somehow they managed to stagger to their feet. Kelwarin was less lucky; he had clearly stopped breathing. Kasimir yelled to his sister, apologising, telling her that he loved her, that he was wrong to raise his people up against her. Ser Alys set to against Patrina, wielding Ser Vladimir's magical blade which cut unto the dead woman with great effect. Kasimir, called out to Ser Alys, telling her to stop, and took the vial of the black, shimmering liquid which he'd brought from the Amber temple and threw it over Patrina, who immediately collapsed to the floor, the blue glow going out. 

Quickly, the party healed Kelwarin before he could pass beyond the veil of death. The warriors recovered somewhat, using magic, the healing cake from Jeny and Ser Adon's ability to lay on hands. Half their mission was complete, but they still needed to find Sergei's tomb. Kasimir was unhappy to leave his sister here alone, so they agreed that he would stay with her. She looked much more healthy, and was clearly breathing.

They headed back and towards the north. Amongst the pillars, they found the tombs of the Castle Architect and a variety of minor nobles. They found the tomb of Khazan, but decided not to open it as Strahd's mage ally had been on a quest to achieve lichdom. They didn't want to risk finding out if he had succeeded. More disturbingly, they found an empty tomb for Ireena Kolyana. Strahd seemed confident that she would become his bride, much to Kelwarin's discomfort.

As they continued along, they became aware of a scuttling noise. Something was moving underneath the fog on the floor. Suddenly, a disembodied hand left up at Ser Adon, followed by more of them. Kelwarin also seemed to be a popular target. A desperate battle commenced, with whistling sounds and explosions ripping through the catacombs as Gaddock unleashed his magic missiles against the creatures. One of them tried to hide in Ser Adon's backpack. Between the party, they managed to defeat all the crawling clawed hands. 

A quick discussion followed; they agreed that this was a dangerous, maze-like place and that rather than stumble around lost, it would make sense if they scouted carefully. Gaddock called his familiar, and the owl started in an anti-clockwise scouting flight. Soon found the back wall of the catacombs to the west, and there was a large staircase. This rose up until it became blocked with rubble perhaps forty feet above. Heading south and then east, the owl showed more of the same. Fog, tombs and then, as it flew between two pillars close to what looked like a portcullis to the south, there was a flash and Gaddock momentarily lost his connection to his owl. The next thing he knew was that it was panicking in some king of enclosed space. He summoned it back to its own dimension. They decided to investigate to the south in case that this was were Sergei's tomb was. 

The two warrior led the way, moving ahead of Kel and Gaddock. They headed south in a route to intercept where the owl had disappeared. As they came close, they stepped through the gap between two tombs. There was a blue/silver flicker and Gaddock released that the two figures ahead were no longer the two knights. Instead, there were two figures clad in aged uniforms with glowing red eyes and a coldness to them. Kel arrived just in time to turn around. Gaddock called to run, then they released there was a third of these horrific creatures coming from the west. Gaddock cast a spell which created a wall of force, trapping the three wights into a sphere of near invisible energy. He shouted to Kel that this wouldn't last long and they needed to get clear.

Meanwhile, Ser Adon and Ser Alys became aware that each of them was alone, in a tight space smelling of death and decay. Ser Alys called out 'I fear we have been placed into tombs, my love', but heard nothing back. In the darkness she felt the hewn stone all around her, with funerary clothes underneath her. She needed to escape and find her husband, lest this be their resting place for eternity...

GM Notes: The catacombs of Ravenloft are dangerous. I think the Patrina (with statistics as a Banshee) gave the players early notice of just how dangerous this place is. Had Ser Alys and Ser Adon not had orcish heritage, there would have been three characters down on death saves in the first round of a combat. The environment is extremely dangerous; their go-to spell of fireball isn't really viable, it's maze-like (and the residents know the routes) and the fog and bats pose unique threats. In addition, the fact that Gaddock needs a light source puts the characters at a disadvantage; they will be seen well before they see others because their enemy - in the main - don't need light to see.

As the characters aren't actively looking for Strahd, I over-rode part of the Tarokka reading but gave pointers to what it meant. It helps that I have a very specific plan for what Strahd is doing at the moment. The biggest danger the characters have is that they stumble into something more dangerous than they expect; they're looking for tombs. Will they find the right one?

My tracking cribsheet as they explore.

As fifth edition is remarkably light on information for running dungeons, I fell back on procedurals in the same manner that I would when running old school D&D clones. It feels like it's working well. So far they've spent just over two hours wandering through the catacombs. As far as they know, they haven't done enough to provoke a response from the Castle's overlords. As far as they know.

Preparation for this involved a lot of reading Dragnacarta's descriptions and also the core module. I used D&D Beyond to reference the rooms as it was faster than Roll20 and allowed me to free up real estate on the screen by having it in a different tab on the second screen.

Roll20 worked really well for the visuals; we did struggle on audio again. Tom was on Edge on a MacBook and couldn't get audio to work right, so we ended up falling back to Discord. It may have been as he was in a hotel room.

I'm intrigued how the players are feeling this is going; does it feel dangerous and threatening?

30th November 2022

Curse of Strahd - S6 Prelude (56) - The Blue Water Conspiracy

 

Returned to Vallaki, our heroes hold a council of war with their allies.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Adon de Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good. Married to Ser Alys.

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones... Married to Ser Adon. 

also featuring: 

Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.

and:

Muriel Vinshaw (a member of the Keepers of the Feather, travelling with the party to repay them for rescuing her),  a wereraven upgraded to a sidekick (yes, I know that breaks rules as she started at CR2 but frankly I don't care)!

All characters & sidekicks are level 9. 

__

22th December

Notes from the meeting of the Blue Water Conspiracy, taken by Danika Martikov.

Conspirators present.

• Our heroes.
• The Martikovs
• Jeny and Laurą
• Kasimir
• Dimitri Martikov
• Muriel Vinshaw
• Ireena Kolyana
• Others present: Rictavio and Ez (uninvited but at their usual table).

Objective

• Your objective is to retrieve the Sunsword which you think is located in Sergei's crypt. You don't want to seek to kill Strahd on this visit. Ireena, Muriel and the other allies will stay at Vallaki, ready to defend it if needed. Kel does not want Ireena at Castle Ravenloft.

Enemies

• The enemies you have identified are Strahd, his brides Anastrasya, Ludmilla, Valenta? & Escher.
• There was also another vampire called Sasha. 
• Plus Rahadin.
• Plus god knows what else that's in the crypts.

Potential addition allies.

• Rictavio, Circus Ringmaster, has some powerful magics, seems to know a lot about the threats of Barovia, has a hideout by a lake to the north-west. Seems to be an ally. Staying at the Blue Water Inn in a private room. Has a close friendship with Ez D'Avenir. (present)
• Jeny Greenteeth - wise older woman who runs a herbalism and has something powerful about her, under the surface. Gaddock's occasional lover. Now in her late 30s/40s since the restoration of the Fanes. One of the Three.
• The Abbot- A fallen Deva entrapped by Strahd who has found new resolution following discussions with Ser Adon.
• Davian Martikov - head of the Martikov family.  A little estranged from his son Urwin. Now reconciled and ready to help against Strahd in return for the help the party have given. (present)
• Esmeralda D’Avenir (Ez) - friend of Rictavio -  significant player?  Ez D'Avenir to Rudolph Van Richten, describing how she had found a source on information about their common enemy and that she planned to obtain it and come and find him to help slay the Enemy. I think 'Ez' could be a useful ally, though not sure what she brings? (present)
• The Mage - came from beyond the Mists and gathered people to attack Castle Ravenloft to slay Strahd. Missing, presumed dead. Possibly called Mordenkainen. (!!)
• Ismark Kolyanovich - Might be an ally for the infiltration or another helper at the summoning and slaying? Give him the Bloodspear to make him yet more powerful?
• Ireena - Kel doesn't want her anywhere near Ravenloft (aww, isn't that sweet?). Of course, tactically she is precious to Strahd and the enemies would be careful not to harm her which could be useful. (present)
• Charm the Roc and all fly on its back. More whimsical than practical.
• The Vistani at the encampment won't move openly against Strahd.

Weapons

• You plan to spend the next two days resting and working with Father Lucian to fill the font with holy water using the town's silver reserves as part of the spell.
• You plan to bottle the holy water in wine bottles and leave some at the town and take some with you. Effectively, you are making 40 vials of holy water, scrying with it, then bottling it. Two each per member of the squad, which is 24. Leaving 16 with the militia for now.
• You talked about making spell scrolls but dismissed this.
• Alys will advise the priest to keep making holy water, and the militia to setup a stake production line. 
• Alys also will ask the armourer to start playing arrows and bolts with more silver.

The area around the Castle

Strategms

• You plan to leave around 2AM in the morning on the 24th and head along the Old Svalich Road on horses accompanied by 6 volunteers from the militia.
• You will leave the road and skirt south around the mountain to the south out of sight from the castle, stopping and camping at the bluff in the lands below the castle. 
• The party will go in on foot and make their way to the base of the pillar and somehow enter via the windows in the side of the cliff some 900ft above. You think these enter the crypts. 
• The windows are hidden from the rest of the castle by the projecting overlook another 100 feet higher. 
• You expect to have breakfast around 8am as you arrive and then enter the castle, leaving by 3pm while the sun is still up. 
• The militia have been instructed to leave if it gets to 3pm, but to leave the horses for you.

A side elevation, west to east.

The topography of Castle Ravenloft

Gaining entry to the castle.

• The windows you saw are 900ft up from the valley below the mountain. The overlook is perhaps just over another 100ft.
• Dimension Door is 500ft range. You could get into the Castle Courtyard with this but not the catacombs.
• You could fly - Kasimir would be able to help with this - or climb. Ser Alys is confident she can climb. Gaddock can also cast it but it will limit the higher level spells he can cast. Flying preferred, let's prepare!

End of meeting.

Curse of Strahd - S5E13 & S5E14 (54 & 55) - Gingerbread Windmills, don't you mind?

 

It's late afternoon, and our heroes have just reconsecrated the shrine to the Huntress on Yesterhill. Now they need to head back to Vallaki to prepare to reconsecrate the final shrine to the Fanes.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Adon de Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good. Married to Ser Alys.

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones... Married to Ser Adon. 

also featuring: 

Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.

and introducing:

Muriel Vinshaw (a member of the Keepers of the Feather, travelling with the party to repay them for rescuing her),  a wereraven upgraded to a sidekick (yes, I know that breaks rules as she started at CR2 but frankly I don't care)!

All characters & sidekicks are level 9. 

__

20th December, late afternoon.

The party made best speed along the road from Yesterhill towards Vallaki, trying to be there before the night fell. As the woods surrounded the road, Kelwarin kept a burning torch and used fire bolts to discourage the wolves that were tracking them. The situation had definitely changed; whereas Strahd's domain had been quiescent since their dinner with him, the reconsecration of the Fanes seemed to have started to trigger a response.

They reached the crossroads where they had buried Baba Lysaga's heart, and thankfully it seemed to be undisturbed. Gaddock had feared that the Count may have found what happened to his nursemaid and recovered her heart as a step towards bringing her back to life. However, as he checked the ground to see if it had been disturbed, he definitely felt like he was being watched. It was the hairs at the back of his neck; something was very wrong.

The snow was blowing around; Ser Adon, grimly determined, pushed on. Beside him, Ser Alys established a marching rhythm, using an old military song which she'd learnt in her basic training.

A group of the Mountain Folk came out of the woods, and warned the party that the wolves were running, hunting the enemies of the Dark Lord. Ser Alys thanked them for their advice, and kept the rhythm taught so the group reached the town perhaps an hour after night had fallen.

They were challenged by a very nervous guard, but his fears were soon allayed. He raised concerns that the solstice was upon them and the tithe due, but Ser Adon calmed him, reminding the soldier that the Morning Lord would protect them from the darkness. As would the party. The guard quickly gave them news; Lady and Lord Wachter had been organising the town for defence and trying to keep everyone's spirits up. Reisen Munin rode up from the townhouse and reported in further; increased numbers of bats had been seen, coming out of Castle Ravenloft at night and looking like they were trying to find something or someone. Many wolves had been seen, and a townsperson had been attacked when they'd gone to fish at the Lake. Everyone was very nervous.

21st December, the Solstice

The group had headed straight back to the Town Hall, and retired to bed, exhausted after their travails. The next morning, they had breakfast at the Blue Water Inn. They decided that the best way forward was to reconsecrate the Fane at the Old Bonegrinder Mill, and to sort out Roscoe's funeral afterwards. The key was to strike quickly and reduce the vampire lord's power before he could act. Meanwhile, they could gather allies for a final assault on the Castle.

They asked Muriel Vinshaw to take a message to the Old Raven, Dimitri Martikov, to call in the offer of alliance against Strahd. After their meal, they went to check on Jeny and Laura. Both were restored to full health and youth; both flirted outrageously with Gaddock who somehow managed to resist the charms and attentions of both of them.

At perhaps nine in the morning, they started out towards the Old Mill. As they travelled along the Old Svalich Road, Kelwarin spotted a box dropped on the floor. It contained a display of moths, all with skull markings on their wings. There was no clue how it had got there. They climbed up the mountain road, and then the Old Bonegrinder came into site. It had been restored, as they feared. The sails looked like they'd been made of Gingerbread and the whole place reminded them of the cottage where one of the Coven of Hags lived in Graenseskov (before they burned it down). There was some morbid speculation about the potential danger of a gingerbread golem before they reached the approach road.  

A brutal battle ensured.

They approached the Mill to find two young children in the kitchen (fully restored with delicious smells and an oven just like the one in the cottage). An older lady - one of the Aunties who looked after them - was also present, but they quickly recognised her as meeting the description of Lady Molot Kosti, who had run off with one of the Vistani from Graenseskov. She also seemed to the Hag who'd escaped. A fight broke out, as the party wouldn't accept that the "Aunty" was really looking after the children. Two other Hags appeared, but Gaddock banished one in an attempt to break the power of the Coven.  

initiative screenshot as we had to cover two sessions

Lightning bolts  and fireballs exploded and the hags became ethereal. Werewolves and dire wolves arrived, trying to protect the coven. Eventually, the fight ended with a cackle fading away into the distance, and the party trying to calm two angry kids (Franke and Ethan) who had tried to help the Hags by hitting the party with frying pans. They didn't seem to accept that they'd needed rescuing, especially as they were in a wonderful place with fruit pies and sparkly pies.

Ser Adon and Ser Alys had a very tense moment. Ser Alys didn't like the way that the Blood Spear was becoming Ser Adon's favoured weapon. Adon tried to convince her that everything was okay, reminding the Blood Spear that he was its master, but it didn't seem to care for that interpretation. It made his blood drip from the hand that held it onto the blade. Ser Alys looked expectantly and took the spear off Adon.

They planned to sleep on the floor as it would be too late, but concerns started to rise as Adon was muttering to the spear. In his head, he could hear it, telling him that the others wanted it, and not to trust Ser Adon. The spear warned Ser Adon that Ser Alys just wanted to steal the spear for herself, and that it loved him, not her. 

Before this could be settled, there was the sound of marching feet. They felt Rahadin's presence momentarily, and then it went. They looked out, and outside there was a mass of undead bodies in uniform. Franke, the oldest child, said the Aunties had said that the Landlord was sending some help to deal with the rowdies who were attacking his loyal servants.

A brutal and short battle ensued, with no real casualties, after which they decided to do the reconsecration then take the children back to Vallaki in case something nasty happened. Part of the ritual was the exception that someone would sacrifice their lifeblood. Ser Adon stepped up for this and the reconsecration proceeded as planned. Adon and Alys knew this was dangerous and promised undying love to each other in case the ritual didn't work out. As the ceremony reached its climax, a huge lightning strike went up from the monoliths to the sky, ripping into the black webs of eery above and even impressing the children they'd rescued. The two half orcs energetically celebrated with their Cossack style kick dancing.

The way home?

They headed back down towards Vallaki. As they moved down the road, Kel became aware of a carriage travelling fast up the road towards the Castle. He used his telekinesis to lift it from the road. The carriage was not being driven by anyone, but they recognised it as the one from Ravenloft that had collected them. Inside was a young girl, who they recognised as a maid from the Wachterhaus called Maria. Kel gently questioned her why she'd got in the carriage; apparently, she'd decided it was her duty to go to make sure that Count Strahd didn't wreak revenge on the town and hurt her family and friends. Kel gently talked her down, with a rousing but caring speech which concluded... "The time of sacrifice is almost at an end. Soon it will be a time of light, of a new dawn".

They released the carriage, and turned back to Vallaki, a band of resolute heroes, three children and a young woman who had just tried to sacrifice herself to save the town. 

They headed east to swelling orchestral music while, behind the clouds, the sun rose and cast its pale light over the fields covered with snow and ice.

GM Notes:

So that's the end of season 5. A strategic victory for the player characters, I suspect. However, the Kind Ladies/Aunties escaped. Plans need to be made for the next stage, so a meeting is to be called at the Blue Water Inn. 

It was nice to see the players making the connection about the Hags all the way back to the start of the campaign.

I had to screenshot the initiative as Roll20 doesn't preserve it between sessions. This session, the opposition was focussed; Gaddock became a significant target because he was casting the banishment. Somehow, he managed to complete the spell, but it isn't certain to the characters whether the Hag can return or not.

We're very much into the end game. I'm excited, nervous and a little sad.

30 November 2022

Curse of Strahd - Soundtracks revisited

Throughout the campaign, I've used Travis Savoie's excellent Into the Mists soundtrack for Curse of Strahd which is available on Bandcamp. Every session we start with the Introduction piece to set the mood, and the other themes have made locations distinct and memorable. I'm really pleased that Travis has now released Beyond the Mists, a revisit to Barovia with new music. Both albums are worth checking out.

The original album is still excellent.

I've also used some of Travis' RPG Toolkit tracks, which have a great variety.

I'd also recommend checking out The Guild of the Black Crow's ambient soundscapes for Curse of Strahd as background material. I bought a selection of these in the last six months to use for the final stages of the campaign. However, they're much more of an investment so you may want to be selective if you use them.

What is noticeable is that even though Curse of Strahd was one of the earliest releases for D&D 5e, it remains a clear favourite with GMs and players, which new material (such as audio and VTT battle maps) continuing to be produced. It show the enduring strength of the themes created in the original I6 Ravenloft module. Our campaign has now entered the endgame, and I'm both sad and excited at the same time. The characters will face Strahd, and they'll probably prevail, for now. But can such evil truly be defeated?

13 November 2022

Curse of Strahd - S5E12 (53) - Yesterhill once more

We find our heroes working their way north along the Luna River valley, having reconsecrated the shrine to the Weaver in Berez. Night is falling and they are making best speed towards Vallaki.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Adon de Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good. Married to Ser Alys.

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones... Married to Ser Adon. 

also featuring: 

Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.

and introducing:

Muriel Vinshaw (a member of the Keepers of the Feather, travelling with the party to repay them for rescuing her),  a wereraven upgraded to a sidekick (yes, I know that breaks rules as she started at CR2 but frankly I don't care)!

All characters are level 9. Sidekicks are level 8. I hadn't had a chance to level up the sidekicks in the gap between session so I was prepared to cut them some slack

__

19th December, late afternoon.

The party pressed forward, with Ser Adon making heavy going of it as he pulled the body of Roscoe along   behind him on the stretcher. His wife would have helped him, but she had her own burden, a wolf which they'd captured to use in the ritual to reconsecrate the Huntresses shrine on Yesterhill. The weather continued to conspire against them all, with snow swirling around. They had hoped to save time by fording one of the Luna's tributaries, but when they reached it they realised that it was in full flow, cold, rushing and deep. Instead they had to track east, around the lake and double back. As they reached the far side of the lake, they noticed that - high up on the mountain road to the east - the sails seem to have been restored to the Old Bonegrinder, the coven's lair that they had previous burned down. A thing of concern.

Night had fallen, and sound was deadened by the snow around by the time that they reached the Old Svalich Road. After a quick conversation, they decided to turn west and head to the Vistani camp rather than spend longer than needed travelling to Vallaki.

They reached the camp and were welcomed with open arms and celebration. As they warmed themselves by the fire, they contemplated their next move. Gaddock focussed onto the fire, trying to draw a portent of the future through a divination. It all seemed to be going so well, right until the point that mists appeared in his vision and the voice and visage he could see in his mind's eye turned into that of Count Strahd. Could he trust this or not?

20th December, early morning

Rested up, our heroes departed to the west, towards Yesterhill. The solstice was nearly upon them and they had no time to spare for they feared that Count Strahd was retaliate against Vallaki if his awful tithe was not met. They wanted to have freed the land from the dominance of the darkness before this happened, if possible. Roscoe's body was left with the Vistani for safe-keeping so it wouldn't be a burden.

They travelled through the light snow and growing morning light, conscious that they could hear wolves calling in the distance and returning to the feeling that perhaps the land was watching them once more. Unaccosted, they reached the foot of the hill by late morning and started to climb up, the light of the beacon from Argynvostholt giving them cheer and despite the snow and light mists. Soon they could see the wall of mist that marked the western edge of the domain. They followed the path through the earthwork enclosed space with the standing stones, only to spy two of the Forest Folk druids praying in the stone circle. Swiftly, brutally, the party fell upon them lest they report their whereabouts to their patron, Strahd. The druids were consumed by a fireball cast by Kel before they had a chance to act.

The dark grove where the shrine and Gulthias Tree was located were just ahead. They noticed that there was an eery silence as they entered the half-light of the trees. Kel and Ser Adon made light with spells and the javelin, at which point the whole grove seemed to rustle, and the trees became full of movement. Suddenly the air was full of stirges, followed by Strigoi. Ser Adon rejoiced at the chance to play stirge splat again. The party became involved in the grim act of fighting off hordes of enemies, each of them weak individually, but with strength in number. Their blood draining weakened the party members when they got through their defences, but our heroes prevailed with grim determination. Ser Adon used his blood spear, exulting in the energy that it gave him. Ser Alys and Muriel were weakened by the blood-sucking monstrosities, but they decided to press on.

Heading under the remains of the Gulthias tree, they reached the shrine that they'd visited previously. Gaddock crossed to the island and started to prepare the ritual. Ser Adon dropped the wolf beside him and they slaughtered it ritually. As the blood started to flow from the predator, the tree roots in the chamber started to twitch. The Gulthias was dormant, not dead. A low moan filled the chamber, and the larger roots started to blindly reach out towards the party, hungry for sustenance. The noise and roots panicked Ireena and Kelwarin, who fled towards the entrance. Ser Alys launched herself at the root that went for the couple, hacking at it. They made it past and out. Gaddock continues with the ritual, hoping nothing would attack him. Ser Alys was grabbed by one of the roots so Ser Adon and Muriel set about it, trying to free her. A desperate fight ensued, with three of the party trying to stop the roots reaching Gaddock before he completed the bloody ceremony. 

As he completed the chant, the Gulthias roots shrivelled, and the tree let out some kind of whimper. There was a cracking blast of energy; the altar was struck with lightning; outside Kel and Ireena saw the lightning connecting the shrine below to the web of darkness above in the clouds, just as it happened at Berez. The Gulthias, struck by the lightning, was shattered and burning. The second of the two shrines was cleared. Another step had been taken towards defeating Count Strahd. 

Next, they had to return to the Old Bonegrinder, which had somehow returned to a better state of repair.

GM Notes:

The Old Bonegrinder glimpse was some foreshadowing of things from the past that will return to haunt the party.

The fight with the Stirges and Strigoi was designed to reduce maximum hit points. It wasn't the best tactic that Strahd could have used, but I figured that he could quickly protect Yesterhill with creatures like the Stirges. I also wanted to explore how dangerous a horde attack would be.

The Gulthias imposed a frightened condition against Kelwarin and Ireena which made them flee from the chamber; fortunately, everyone else made their save. Ser Alys was in grave risk from the root attacks; fortunately, Ser Adon's counter-attack was a critical, freeing his spouse. 

The journey in this session

26 October 2022

Curse of Strahd - S5E11 (52) - Back to Berez

 

Our heroes have successfully made it down the mountain from the Amber Temple without significant injury, having repeated their trickery to bypass the gates guarding Tsolenka Pass. As the pre-dawn light reaches us, we find them preparing to break camp and head to Berez to reconsecrate the Huntresses' shrine.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Adon de Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good. Married to Ser Alys.

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Alys de Adon-Rouge of House Starbright (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones... Married to Ser Adon. 

also featuring: 

Ireena Kolyana (a human warrior, daughter of the Burgomaster of Barovia, Twice-Bitten reincarnation of Strahd's unrequited love, Tatyana) - upgraded as a sidekick.

and introducing:

Muriel Vinshaw (a member of the Keepers of the Feather, travelling with the party to repay them for rescuing her),  a wereraven upgraded to a sidekick (yes, I know that breaks rules as she started at CR2 but frankly I don't care)!

All characters and sidekicks are level 8. They have hit a milestone, so when they reach a place of refuge they'll be able to level up.

__

19th December, Morning.

The pre-dawn light was in the sky as the party were dusted with a light covering of snow as the magical hut faded away. It was still, and cold in the sheltered clearing that they'd camped in. Snow deadened sound and breath created clouds as they spoke. They broke their fast, then started along the old road. After an hour or so, they started to turn through the light brush scrub, and up the slope to head west to Berez, with Ser Adon pulling Roscoe's body up hill on an improvised stretcher.

As they climbed up the slope, Ser Alys became aware of the howling of a wolf pack behind them. A quick conversation ensued; they needed to capture a predator to reconsecrate the shrine, so perhaps one of the wolves could be the predator. They set an ambush, startling the wolf pack as it came over a ridge towards them. A short and bloody fight ensued; between them Ser Alys and Ser Adon grappled and trussed a wolf, before killing or driving off the others. There was some clever use of an Enlarge spell to give the warrior's an advantage.

Heading cross country.

Alys took the wolf, and Adon continued with Roscoe's frozen corpse. The way was rough, made treacherous by the snow and ice and the wind which cut into them as they lost the cover from the slope caught it full force. Ser Adon found himself struggling with the load he carried. Was it sorrow at the loss of his friend or just the bitter environment? Either way he found that he was very tired.

Eventually, they started to make their way back down into the Luna River valley towards the swampland around Berez. The dusting of snow didn't make it much better to look at; cold, muddy, snow covered, it was a treacherous environment. Unsure of exactly where the shrine was, they first made their way the old church in the centre of town and followed the path out towards the east towards the monument that they'd seen previously.

The monument was surprisingly well preserved; they were shocked to see that the likeness on the statue was that of Ireena. The inscription read "Marina, lost to the Mists". They concluded that this was another incarnation of Tatyana, just like Ireena, her soul unable to escape the lands under Count Strahd's control. As they reflected, the party became aware of a moaning from the swamp behind them. They saw figures moving slowly out of the swamp. Kelwarin and Gaddock responded with fireballs and bolts, and the warriors cut down an unusually large snake. The threat was quickly extinguished.

Deciding that this wasn't the shrine, and that they'd need to somehow cross the river to the standing stone circle they'd seen previously, they turned back into town. As they reached the centre, Gaddock suggested that they checked out Baba Lysaga's hut in case it had some of the items they needed for the ritual (including stone jars for the predator's organs). The hut lay on its side, abandoned. There were some nerves climbing in, but it was soon apparent that the witch remained dead. After some scrambling around they found wooden bowls, stone jars and other artefacts needed for the ritual. 

All set, they headed down towards the river, passing an enclosure where some goats still grazed, left behind after the party had slaughtered the Barovian women who were living in the ruins and tending them. The river was at least 300 feet across, and flowing cold and swift. They decided that wading through wasn't an option as it looked too deep. Instead, our heroes used magic to cross the divide.

At the stone circle shrine to the Weaver.

They reached the standing stones and started to prepare for the ritual. Gaddock pulled his notes out, and studied the markings on the monoliths. Quietly he swore. The rest of the party looked at him. Gaddock looked embarrassed as he admitted that he'd made a mistake; this was the Weaver's shrine, not the Huntresses' shrine. They needed completely different items for the ritual. There was much cursing. They needed fruit and berries, honey and goat's milk.

Between them, they had enough berries and fruit in their provisions. Gaddock managed to find some honeycomb in his spell components, but they needed goat's milk. No-one had any. Ser Alys recalled the goats on the other side of the river and looked expectantly at Gaddock and Kel. They looked sheepishly at her and admitted that they were all out of spells. Ser Alys fumed. Kasimir then told Ser Alys that he could give her the power to fly, if only for a short while. Alys agreed, and took to the air with what seemed like an amount of glee.

She landed by the enclosure, and had to decide which of the goats to take. Which was female? Which would give milk? She had to draw on long forgotten memories from her childhood before she made her choice; she managed to subdue the right animal, then flew back before the spell faded. On landing she faced her next challenge - remembering how to milk a goat. Fortunately, it came back to her, and they had the right components for the ritual.

As they started to prepare for the ritual, the fog rose quickly up from the river. Most of the party took defensive position, concerned that they could be facing an attack from the forces of Strahd. Carefully, Gaddock carried out the ritual, chanting and marking out. As it drew to a conclusion, everyone felt their hair starting to stand on end, and a tingling. All of a sudden, lightning crackled from the shrine to the stones around then shot into the air; where it touched the sky, a dark web of energies could be seen. This roiled and moved, widening and adjusting as the lightning burned into it, tearing at its nature. And then, with a final flash of energy, the lighting and dark web disappeared and the mist fell back from the standing stones.

They rested for a while, hoping that they'd struck another blow against the Dark Lord of this domain. After a discussion, they decided to press on towards Vallaki, following the river, even if it meant that they may have to travel in darkness. The Solstice was fast approaching and time was precious.

GM Notes:

The poor weather and fatigue has Ser Adon at disadvantage, something significant if they get into combat; as he also has to carry either the body of his friend or the wolf, this won't go away until he gets some proper rest.

I spent most of the session from the start realising that Alex had misread the handout on the shrine, so was preparing for the wrong ritual. The look on his face was priceless when he realised he'd got it wrong. The other players have absolute trust in Alex (he's the only one really making notes like me) and hadn't really bothered to read the material.

Tom did take a bit of exception that I didn't make the components for the ritual immediately available, and required some work to get them. The river crossing became significant; Ser Alys having to draw on a skill that she didn't have - animal handling - caused annoyance, but she did fine. However, these rituals are really important if they want to weaken Strahd from the enhanced CR27 monster that he is, so I was happy to be the 'arsehole' DM in this case. Completing the rituals correctly is key, and I loved the ingenuity that the players showed.

The proximity of the Solstice concerns the players; they're worried that Strahd will attack Vallaki if the tithe isn't paid. They may be right. This meant they didn't want to take the time to allow Ser Adon to recover properly. Perhaps this will be an issue...

Still playing catch up with these notes, but only one behind now.

23 October 2022