Ravenloft (67)
Brian's game of monsters and madness.
<p style="padding: 10px;">Brian is starting a new campaign in the Ravenloft setting. While he is encouraging odd races from the base books (Player's Handbook, Modenkainen's, XAnathar, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Elemental Evil Player's Guide, and Volo's) all other sources are discouraged with the possible exception of Eberron. Starting racial feat, +2 to stats with a base distribution of 15,14,13,12,10,8. There will be Heirloom magic items that grow in power (1st, 4th, 8th, 12th). Campaign is expected to go through level 15th.</p>
Ravenloft Game 01 - 11/21/20 - Welcome to Hell
Written by David Green
We started with Paul’s Barbarian. The leader of his clan, Madame Eva, told him to take one of the wagons, load it with extra supplies and head east. She also gave him a small bundle that she said one of his new companions would have need of. She said all this rather obliquely as if explaining physics to a child and expecting him to understand. But eventually, Kharn figured out what he was expected to do. I think he was to gather these new friends and return to Madame Eva for further instructions. Soon after the rest of the players found themselves awakened on a lonely spooky road in the middle of nowhere. All of them, including Kharn, have been having a reoccurring dream. There were lots of handouts describing all this but it summarizes as such. A land of great evil is in need of heroes to rescue it. We’ve all been here before, reincarnating over and over again. And then Madame Eva beckoning us to see her. Each awoke with 2 tarot cards, describing their nature and their fate. We had our sleeping clothes, our heirloom item, our comfort item, and those cards. That’s it. Except for Kharn, who was fully equipped since he’s from here.
We compared notes. Loki the Ranger, Arlo the Wizard, Ambrus the Rogue, and Kaladin the Monk had known each other, although briefly, from the other side. Zolton and the Triton were from completely different planes of existence. Kharn was asked if he had any extra weapons or armor but he did not. He did have that bundle which turned out to be Zolton’s spellbook. (Note from Dan: Strangely Zolton is a cleric who thinks he's a wizard. So... yeah. Either he's nuts or that book is messing with his mind.) Loki dug into the wagon and among the meager supplies, only found a trunk of brightly colored woman’s clothes and a big tent. Kaladin noted the smell of death and a body was discovered. He appeared to be a commoner carrying a letter who had been killed by wolves several days ago. Speaking of wolves, one could be heard in the distance. The note was examined. Something about the town of Borovia needing help against some evil. And a reward. There were more discussions but when more wolf howls were heard, we hit the road. (Note from Dan: as we left the DM revealed that a horde of wolves appeared where we had been. Good thing we left.) A couple of stout pieces of wood were found for poor weapons. The extra supplies in the wagon were meager and although several had hunting and gathering skills, there were concerns about venturing off the road so dinner was sparse. The tent was erected and watches assigned. On the 3rd watch, a swarm of bats attacked. Kaladin did some serious damage (Note from Dan: I am a monk so the damage was all from crits. I stole them all from Kharn who couldn't roll above 4 most of the night), Ambrus got bit, several that were asleep never made it into the fight. After a couple of rounds, the bats flew off to seek more defenseless prey.
As we entered the town, we passed a manor house surrounded by a fence. The main house was in decent shape although the outer structures had all collapsed. Beside it, were two children. Rose and her little brother Thorn. They said there was a monster in their house. Their parents had gone into the basement to check it out and had been gone for a couple of hours. They were worried about their little brother in the nursery up on the 3rd floor. In a display of well-coordinated teamwork, everyone headed in different directions. Eventually, Brian had us roll initiative to try to get things under control. Kaladin flew up to the 3rd floor balcony. Loki transformed into a cat and climbed up after him. They went into a spooky bedroom and could hear the baby crying in the next room. When that room was opened, the crib was empty. And then a ghost of a sad woman appeared over the bed (Margaret). She asked why we were there. Kaladin explained that Rose and Thorn were concerned about their baby brother. Did she know where he was? She was confused and concerned but at least she didn’t attack. (Note from Dan: This is the second time I ended up being the contact person for an upset ghost. I think I'm getting pretty good at not triggering them.)
Meanwhile, the rest came in the front door. The mudroom (Note from Dan: I had never heard of this term before. It's the room you wipe your feet and take off your shoes so you don't track things in the house) had shoes that seem to fit everyone in need of them. Zolton found a shield on the wall which he “borrowed” as well. A search of the house commenced. A couple of long swords were also found on the wall. The dining room had a fabulous feast laid out. After two days of twigs and berries, Ambrus grabbed a plate full on his way to the next room. But the food was so tasty, he had to sit down to enjoy it. A round later when Arlo managed to snap him out of it, he realized it was all rotten and he was poisoned. Another room had 3 stuffed wolves that looked surprisingly like monster tokens so that room was deferred. It did seem to have some weapons in it. Zolton skipped the 2nd story and went right to the 3rd where Kaladin and Loki were. (Note from Dan: The ghost had blocked the door inward and Kaladin was trying to get it to lead us inward. Loki had pulled the "I'm a cute kitten scratching on the door. Please open it for me" Naturally his awesome roleplaying was negated the next action when Zoltan opened the door from the other side). A suit of armor animated and tried to push him down the stairs. He avoided that by the barest of margins. With an actual combat started, everyone headed up there. (They never did find a way into the basement unless the dumb waiter went down there.) Since the armor was plate, it’s AC was high but it was soon defeated. The good news was that the breastplate was in good enough shape for Zolton to use. The door to the ghost room was closed and she was not seen again. For now, anyway. Now that everyone was together, we decided to stick together and search the 3rd floor.
We found a body hanging from a rafter in the master bedroom. He had a suicide note. He was the master of the house and was apologizing to his kids for leaving them. Evidently, his wife had done some great evil and this was his only choice. We found another letter written by the wife, thanking a friend for her advice. Something about extreme measures needed to rid the house of evil. We started to think she killed her kids which would make the kids out front ghosts as well. On her nightstand was a jewelry box that had quite a bit of wealth in it. (Note from Dan: The DM boasted how much loot we found. Then I pointed out that it was just about the same amount we had lost on the trip to Ravenloft. So we are now baseline new D&D characters). The rest of the floor was searched, avoiding the ghost room but no way up to the attic was found. There was a balcony from which a climber could get up there however it was noted that the eerie fog seemed to be much thick up there so climbing to it was deferred.
We instead went back to the 2nd floor. It was searched. One room had 4 sets of studded leather which was taken by Loki and Ambrus. Lord Triton felt used armor was beneath him although I suspect he was holding out for medium armor. The other thing that was found was a library. But by this point, we were all tired and worn out by all these clues and descriptions. We had just lost our focus so we stopped there. I suspect the ritual books of Lord Triton and Zolton will be in there. We still haven’t found a way up to the attic or down into the basement but there must be a way somehow. At worst we can climb. (Note from Dan: There was talk of flying or climbing to the 4th floor. The ghost had explained that there was a way to the basement from the attic. However, Brian was very clear that making our way from the balcony to the 4th floor would cross the mist. We think going into the mist is death.) There was talk of making this place our new headquarters, especially since everyone seems to be dead, although with ghosts and bodies and as yet undiscovered evils, maybe we can do better.
Ravenloft Game 02 - 11/27/20 - Dearly Departed
Written by David Green
Despite coming together on level 3 to fight the armor, we ended up spread out again. Luckily the house was relatively small so we could rally if needed. Brian had us roll initiative again so that we could take turns doing things out of combat. Arlo searched the library, starting with the desk. He found some useful things like a flint and steel and an iron key. Next, he grabbed the empty footlockers from next door and began filling them with books that he thought were interesting or valuable. He found one that he had to read. (Missed a Will save.) Evidently, it was so offensive, he was compelled to burn it in the fireplace. Lord Q joined him in there at some point. Loki, Kaladin, and Ambrus searched the music room and examined the dog. They were convinced the dog was real but didn’t find anything else of note in there. The dog seemed to not like one particular cold corner but we could not find a reason. Kharn went back up to the 3rd floor and searched the room the ghost was in. The ghost did not reappear but he did notice a secret door behind a mirror. It was the stairs up to the attic that we were looking for although it was filled with spider webs. He grabbed a torch and headed up. Loki joined him, feeling the music room was a dead end and having no interest in the library. At this point, we were in two groups. Level 2 and level 4.
Down in the library, Lord Q found a secret door behind a bookshelf. In there were a couple of bookshelves with magical type tombs including, I think, some rituals. I don’t think we’ve found any magical inks though. There were also the skeletal remains of what we figure was an adventurer type. Evidently, he had opened a chest and gotten spikes in his head for his trouble. He did have thieves’ tools on him and some other gear that Ambrus took. He used an abundance of caution and searched. The thief had a letter in his hand we figured he had grabbed from the chest. It was from Lord Straud himself basically telling the head of this house that his adulterous ways had brought the curse on to him and his household. He would be getting no aid and will reap what he sowed. In the chest were 3 blank spells books, 3 cleric scrolls that for some reason our delusional wizard Zolton could read, the deed to the house and a windmill and a will leaving everything to Rose and Thorn. Their searching was then interrupted by combat upstairs.
On level four, the first room had a padlock in it. We could hear the eerie sounds of children playing but the iron key and Rogue were downstairs so Loki moved onto the next room. It was a guest room full of webs and spiders. Since they were small, he got the torch from Kharn and reopened the door. However, the spiders formed into 2 spider swarms and attacked. They did 4d4 of damage and had their usual resistances. 3 of us took significant damage (good thing we got those extra hit points). Those below came up to help but the fight was over before they could do much. The locked room was opened with the iron key. It was a room for the kids. The window was bricked shut. When we started looking at stuff, their ghosts appeared. One merged with Arlo and one with, I think, Lord Q. They wanted to be put to rest i.e. their skeletal remains buried outside the house. There was also a dollhouse of this house. It was detailed enough to see that there was a spiral staircase from the 4th floor down to the basement. Since they were affecting two players, we decided to take care of that asap. Their bones were put into their toy box and we headed down. With a bunch of debate about whether to do other stuff along the way, we ended up at the front door. However, that evil mist had engulfed the whole house and we decided we needed to deal with the basement before going out of the house.
We then spent a bunch of time looking into everything we’d left behind. The first-floor den was searched. The stuff wolves moved to watch us but never attacked. We found two pistols and supplies that went to Loki, a shotgun over the fireplace that, with much debate, went to Kharn, and a deck of cards. The kitchen was searched more thoroughly and any edible food was taken. The books from the library were taken and carried somehow. The hanging corpse was searched but no one made a decent roll so if there was anything worth finding, we didn’t find it. The body was taken down and wrapped in a sheet for future burial. I don’t remember if anything else was done or found. The rest of the 4th floor was searched. If anything of note was found, I can’t recall.
So, then we were finally left with the stairs down. It was more of a dungeon than a basement and certainly larger than the house footprint. There were multiple corridors heading in various directions. Kharn and Loki attempted to sneak ahead a bit. (Ambrus was still poisoned and had disadvantage on all rolls so he hung back.) In one room, we were attacked by 3 ghouls, emerging from alcoves with rotting sleeping mats. They had a claw that did paralysis or a bite. Both did 10+ damage which is significant at 1st level. Kharn raged and was crit like 3 rounds in a row. Luckily it was half damage and he managed to save. Loki blasted away with his pistols so further sneaking was out. Arlo was compelled to hide by Thorn although he was out of 1st level spells anyway. The next room had a well and some more alcoves. A big ghoul emerged from it and managed to shove Kharn into the well. Good thing he saved or that could have been dicey. It did more damage but again, no one missed that save. It was dropped and Kharn was pulled out.
At that point, it was approaching 1 AM. No one was out but most everyone was below half. We agreed to a long rest but where? We still couldn’t leave the house. We decided to hold up in Rose and Thorn’s room which had one door and no windows. I think we locked the door from the inside with the padlock. We set watches but weird things kept happening right when we started to sleep. We got the long rest and Ambrus finally recovered from the poison but everyone had to make a CON save or take 1 level of exhaustion (disad on all skill rolls). Ironically Ambrus, after suffering through the poison all night, was the only one that saved. However, Arlo used an inspiration die and saved on that reroll. Ambrus gave his inspiration die to someone else (Kharn or Kaladin?) and that person also saved. Zolton will have to save next time. Luckily the skill-heavy house search is over and it’ll mostly be combat from here on out so maybe the exhaustion won’t be too bad? We did make it to 2nd level. Next game is scheduled for 3 weeks.
Ravenloft Game 03 - 12/18/20 - The Memory of Death
Written by David Green
So, we awoke in the kid’s room in the mansion. Those that missed a CON save started with a level of exhaustion. (disad on all skills) There was talk of going back into the mansion to retrieve food from the downstairs kitchen. Zolton was eager to use his new purify food and drink spell. But we decided that we had successfully gathered enough shelf-stable food from their last game to get by. Most everyone was eager to get on with it. So, down the stairs we went. We started in the well room that we ended at last time. Ambrus started carefully opening the chests in the alcoves off that room. The rest tried to keep out of the way while that was done although some were less successful at that than others. Various bits of wealth were found. In addition, we found a ledger which seemed to be a record of who was captured, how they were tortured, what was learned, and how grisly was their death. This all happened 200 years ago. Also found were two silvered short swords. Loki and Ambrus both wanted them so each took one. I think there was an eye patch with a gem on it too. We did not take the time to detect magic or identify anything.
Unfortunately, it was a maze down there so there was no clear direction to go. We went a way. The halls were narrow so it was single file which made it hard to keep everyone engaged. Kharn took the lead since he wasn’t fatigued. He walked into a pit trap that evidently was beyond his passive perception. Brian allowed his danger sense to give him a save for half but he still fell in. While the fairness of this was debated, Zolton took it upon himself to go through some sort of dining room and get to the crossroads on the other side of the pit trap. He was then surprised and attacked by 3 more ghouls. There were the usual complaints about Brian triggering an encounter but we would have encountered it soon enough. Since we leave no stone unturned, everything will be triggered eventually. He was quickly knocked out and drug off. The pit wasn’t much of an obstacle, but the narrow halls and initiative order were. People engaged and contributed as they could. These monsters continued doing a lot of damage for 1st or 2nd level characters. Kaladin managed to make a medicine roll to revive Zolton but he was knocked out again before even getting up. They were destroyed but damage was taken. Loki revived Zolton with a cure wounds and then Zolton cured Kharn. And we pressed on.
We passed stairs down from which we heard eerie music but decided to try to finish off this level first. The next room had skeletons hanging from the walls that looked a bit like us. (I suspect the raccoon looking one was a giveaway.) There was also a statue of a lady that held an orb. Kaladin also noticed a secret door behind the plaster. But Ambrus decided to grab the orb first. 3 shadows emerged from the wall behind the skeletons and attacked. They were easy to hit but were resistant to nonmagical damage. Once again, they did a crap ton of damage and they drained STR. Things were dicey but then Zolton stepped in and used his “turn undead” power which for a Light domain Cleric did area effect radiant damage which these things were vulnerable to. He took them out. As we debated on how to get that STR back, 4 more emerged and we started over again. Multiple characters were knocked out and most took some STR drain. That was most hurtful to the Barbarian.
Arlo, who was still held back by Casper the scaredy ghost inside him, attempted to flee by way of what he assumed was a secret door into the last room. However, that turned out to be a Mimic who quicky knocked him out. Lancelot the dog came to his rescue and crit a couple of times. Despite that additional threat, we managed to live through it. And then we hit the to rest or not to rest debate. We had only been fighting for 30 minutes but were seriously depleted. Arlo thought the STR would return in hours, so not on a short rest. We decided to go back to the dining room to at least take a short rest in a room that was less disturbing. Once in there, a Grick attacked. More damage. The last of our spells used. We stopped there, without the rest. We’ll have to debate that question next time. Short or long and where. This is an old school dungeon with a trap or monster in each room. It’s going to be a grind that’ll take multiple rests. Luckily, they’ve all been dead for 200 years so there’s no hurry? Hopefully, someone will feed Kharn’s horse?
Ravenloft Game 04 - 12/23/20 - The Trash Monster
Written by David Green
Ravenloft Game 05 - 12/28/20 - Welcome Gifts
Written by David Green
(Dan: As we left the house we made 3rd level) As we took stock of our escape, we were introduced to Zeb the Paladin. He claimed we had encountered him on the way out. All assumed he was a character for Brian to play to give him a voice in the action. Plus, we could use all the help we could get, especially with some extra healing. He was welcomed with suspicious arms. Next, we encountered Madame Strahd, leader of the land. She welcomed us and made everyone nervous by the amount about us that she knew. (Dan: We initially ignored her as we discussed what to do with the loot and the children's bones. It was strongly hinted that this was the wrong thing to do so we shaped up and gave her our attention). She gave everyone a gift, as the mansion collapsed onto itself and then left. (Dan: The gifts were a picnic basket and a lot of fancy clockwork toys that revealed that she knew more about our background than we did. She mentioned my grandfather who was a silver dragon and Ambrus' people who she had personally forced to the edge of extinction... in this corner of the Shadowfell at least.) Since the common theme of our visions before coming here we about freeing the land of her tyranny, we weren’t sure what to make of it. (Dan: She also gave Karn a rather obvious bite on the neck, even leaving bloody bite marks. Karn being the lady's man he is, didn't notice. Everyone else did but it didn't rile anyone up. The undead paladin Zeb was okay with it too.) But that was a common theme so we just moved on. We debated about what to do with the bones and decided to take them to the church in the village we were heading for. We had a breakfast of Good Berries and headed out. At some point, Zeb slipped away. Evidently, he was a doppelganger and once he realized we weren’t going to camp before reaching town, he gave up his evil plans. So evidently, he was there to amuse Brian. (Dan: The predicted 3-day ride was magically reduced to 4 hours. Karn told us he believed it was due to the goodwill of the Countess, who we haven't pissed off yet. By some miracle. Before we left we checked out loot and most of it had changed into rotten mulch. Weapons, armor, and magic items remained usable.)
Once in town, we went to the church. It was battered and beaten with massive claw marks on the doors. The priest was helpful and the bodies were interned. The spirits inside Lord Q and Arlo were finally put to rest. We did a Detect Magic and Identify on the stuff we had and took the rest to the only store in town. On the way, Lancelot, the dog, eagerly identified his home. The lady inside told a sad tale about her missing daughter. Loki cast his Speak with Animals spell but all he really got was that she had left. Lancelot was asked to lead us to her and started back to what we figured was the mansion we had just come from. So that led nowhere. When questioned, the mother implicated the son of the local Baron somehow. Back to the store. He’d sell for the usual half worth but his prices were 10x normal. This offended all but he was the only game in town. There was talk of finding a black market or going to another town however we had the money and had the need for basic stuff like backpacks and such and so most just ended up paying. He did not carry weapons, however. We then went to the local tavern. Kharn flirted with the 3 owner ladies. Zolton got a lead on a job, escorting the sister of the son of the local baron to the next city.
We were allowed to bed down for the night in the common room (our only option) and we did so. (Dan: Karn slept upstairs with the 3 sisters. What happened up there cannot be spoken of... but at least it didn't keep anyone else awake. Dave made a pretend fort to sleep in, made out of the benches and slpt in it alone with his servants). Those with fatigue were finally allowed to recover. In the wee hours of the morning, Arlo heard a scream, and being the heroes fated to heal the land that we were supposed to be, we leaped into action. We ended up 3 blocks over. A lady’s husband had been killed and her daughter taken by some monster. We gave chase, catching up to it outside of town, by a small stream. We stopped there. (Dan: We did actually see it was a Fiend. It was late and we didn't want to start a fight.)
At dawn, we were allowed back into the tavern. We had breakfast and spent some brain cells trying to figure out the money system. Eventually, Zolton just spent two gold for everyone’s meal although Lord Q insisted on paying for his own. We consulted the Message of the Day and tried to figure out what to do next. It was clear we wanted to go to the next town but the debate was whether to try to do some good here first. Then the son of the local lord came in, to thanks us for destroying the monster the night before. Eventually, we agreed to look into the disappearances, starting at the house of the last one. Evidently, the people that have gone missing were the old or weak who lived alone. No clues were found in the house other than no signs of forced entry followed by a struggle. We then questioned some of the neighbors. (Dan: It was like watching the 3 stooges interrogate a nun. We were investigating the missing old man but the party started to question her about every crime in the city and even accused her of kidnapping the children. Yes, the ones wh we already dealt with their kidnapper last game. We ended up having the door slammed in our face after Zolton asked her how such an old lady could possibly have a newborn. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.) At this point, we got tangled up in the various plot thread and the names of the participants in particular. It was not smooth and I won’t try to summarize it two days later. (Dan: People kept bringing up the missing children. Brian and I kept reminding them that we had found and killed the creature taking the children last game. It was weird. There was only one thing left to do in the town, aside from figuring out why everyone is turning into zombie, but we spent a ridiculous amount of time arguing about what to do. We have clue how to find out why the zombies are happening so so there was literally only one thing to do. Usually, we mock Brian about leaving no clues on what to do next but this was all the player's fault.) Ambrus had an underlying suspicion of the town priest and the church. Any church in such disrepair and little use was suspect, in his mind. When the dream pastry lady said she saw someone dragging a body-sized bag in the direction of the church the night of the last disappearance, we decided to go there and at least ask some questions. By the way, evidently, these dream pastries have a “secret ingredient” that she makes outside of town at the mill. Now no one is certain about anything we eat. (Dan: Yeah, that was me. I think it probably contains human remains ground up into the pasties. Borovia is just like that. Considering she lives in the Mill that is located three days away, yet commutes here every day? Yeah, she's evil. Good thing my character isn't human or I might feel bad. Gulp, chew, chew, swallow!)
So Ambrus had gotten a blanket that belongs to the missing girl from her mother. He was hoping that Lancelot could identify one of the recent graves behind the church as being hers. Despite the fact that we’re pretty sure she ended up at Durst Manor where we picked up the dog. So, he and Loki and Kaladin would go there. Meanwhile, Zolton would distract the priest with questions about the book he had borrowed. Kharn and Lord Q would go with him. However, when they entered the church, they could hear moans from one of the rooms. “Please father. I’m so hungry.” So, while Zolton talked, the other two started opening doors. They did not do too well with the stealth rolls but Zolton managed to cover for them for a round or two. They found a barred and locked trap door in one room and the moans were coming from there. At this point, the priest noticed and became upset. Kharn’s logical argument about hearing the moans and wanting to help worked pretty well. Then Lord Q used his majordomo to announce his greatness which had the effect of a Friends cantrip. He began to confide in Lord Q. Evidently a wizard came to town and gathered up the revolutionary-minded for a meeting in the woods. Only his son returned but he was “afflicted”. His hunger could only be sated by the “living”. Lord Q promised that we could help which the priest took to mean we’d feed one of our friends, preferable the big barbarian, to his son. They headed into the basement. Kharn would not go before the priest and the priest would not go before Lord Q so he led the way. Zolton ran to the back door to alert the other 3 who had been forgotten at the airport.
Lord Q was attacked as he walked down the stairs. The vampire got a free grab with his bite attack plus the not so insignificant damage. Plus, a claw attack. Lord Q was hurting pretty quick. Kharn tried to get down to help but despite his rage strength, had trouble getting past the priest. Lord Q tried to get away but he had a low STR and DEX so it was tough. He did manage to roll well once but then the attack of opportunity hit and he was automatically grappled again. The priest cast a couple of spells and Lord Q managed to stay alive long enough for Kharn and then Zolton to get down there. After a few rounds, the other 3 were allowed a perception roll and moved down on their initiative. As usual, Lord Q was in favor of fleeing. This time, one could hardly blame him from the damage he had taken. But when others attacked, he charged as well. Only his magic warlock weapon (and not the silver weapons) was doing full damage. The priest went out pretty quickly and then it was 6 against one. The damage was spread amongst the heroes and only Kaladin was knocked out. (Dan: Seems to be a monk thing. For a melee class they sure go down a lot.) Ambrus made the killing blow with a sneak attack, removing its head. (Dan: The priest incidentally died. I think I blinked because I had missed this since I was out watching the dog pee on graves during most of the fight.)
The head was burned in the furnace upstairs. Bodies were found in the basement but no hard evidence to tie them with those missing. Although we were new in town so that was a tough ask. Nothing of value was found although Zolton took a couple more books. The vampire and the priest were buried. The latest body was exhumed and sort of sounded like the old man who had gone missing. Lancelot identified no graves but peed on a few. There was some debate as to what to do. Just walk away or report to the guy that hired us. Since that guys sounded “anti-vampire” we decided to report to him although there are some concerns that word would get back to Strahd. At that point it was late so we decided to put off that conversation until next time. As a cliff hanger, we knocked on the manor door, and the lady guard who answered looked very much like Kharn. (Dan: Brian said that but none of us were buying it) No treasure or wealth and still 3rd for now.
Ravenloft Game 08 - 01/15/21 - An Ocean of the Dead
Written by David Green
We started at the front door of the local lord’s manor. We noted that the exterior was even more damaged by wolf claws than was the church. The lady who answered, directed us around back to talk to the guy. We told him our tale without omission. He didn’t seem too shocked but was concerned that they’d need a new village priest. He invited us into his sitting room. Brian had turned on the point of view feature which made it hard to navigate the map. When there were no seats left, Lord Q ventured into the main hall to find the lady (the guy’s sister) praying at an open coffin. Excusing himself, he rejoined the rest. Turns out that was the local lord, recently died from all the stress of the nightly attacks. And age. So, our guy was actually the new lord although they wanted to bury him first. Zolton said he thought he could help, based on the clerical correspondence book he picked up at the church. The lord asked us to look into the zombie problem. We started debating that when someone showed up, concerned that her father was very sick.
None of us had medicine but we came along. The sister made some rolls but he passed. And transformed into a zombie and attacked. Since it was greatly outnumbered and newly formed, Brian agreed we could vanquish it without rolling initiative. Ambrus noticed that he seemed to have been watering his wine. His daughter thought it was to save the family money. He leaped on this clue and we headed to the well. Even before looking down it, we could tell it had rank odors coming out. The bucket was lit up with a Light cantrip but all we could tell was that there was some sort of chamber down there. Loki volunteered to be lowered down to take a look. It was a 35x35 room with the middle being water. Nothing was seen but when he swung onto the ground, 3 zombies emerged from the dirt and attacked. Loki got hit twice and lost a quarter of his hit points and was then pulled back up. We debated what to do. Some were still down from the vampire battle earlier in the day so maybe it could wait. Kharn cut that short, raged, and jumped down.
So, everyone climbed down as their initiative dictated. There were about 8 of them total as they kept emerging. They did two slam attacks and if both hit, they got a free grapple and a free bite. Their AC was very low but their “to hit” was good and their damage was high. It was Loki’s turn to get racked. He was hit 3 times in a row and dropped with a final crit. Zolton brought him up with a heal long enough to get one attack and then he was knocked out again. Kharn kept getting missed. The rest, somewhere in between. The last issue was that when they went below 0, they got a CON save to keep going. So, it took a bit extra to finish them off. All and all, we got battered but survived. We took a short rest, pulled the bodies out, and burned them. Zolton did a purify water ritual (or 10) and we reported back.
Once again, we were thanked. Loki asked if he could spare a short sword or two. Others made requests and we were able to get some supplies, clothes, trade some weapons, etc. Good thing since all we’ve earned in the town are some books for the Cleric and some coppers from the well. We hung out at the manor and got cleaned up. We stayed for dinner. There was talk about Strahd and the world that mostly flew past the half of us that haven’t read all these books. We agreed to escort the sister to the next town where we hoped to talk to this old wise woman Kharn keeps talking about. Maybe she’ll have answers. Hopefully, we can get a long rest before we go. So next game in two weeks. Still 3rd.
DaveG and Andy couldn't attend, so I will try to record a series of very unfortunate events.
First thing in the morning we rolled against the dream cakes. Those that failed the saving through felt the need to eat the dream cakes rather than wait for breakfast. These are the cakes we flat out told the old lady selling them that they were probably made from ground bones. Yum. Zolton had bought extra and offered everyone a hit of these addictive treats. During the night Karne and Kaladin stayed up to watch for the first half of the night and we witnessed a red parade of the dead from the house's balcony. Apparently, most nights the dead killed in apprisings to Strahd rise from the dead and do a spectral march towards... maybe Strahd's castle? I wasn't sure about that.
After breakfast, we all went to the Church's graveyard to put to rest Ireena's father. Zoltan did a lovely ritual... wait. That was the alternate universe. In this one, he rolled a one and completely flubbed the ceremony. It was dreadful, but we all told him it was lovely. Immediately afterward we were attacked by swarms of rats and bats. Then a pack of wolves attacked us. Strahdanya was also at the edge of the graveyard with two dire wolf guards. She charmed Karne to come to her (ie, he can do anything he wants as long as he uses his movement to go towards her). I assume this was through the bite she has already done on him. She also called him Tatius. Possibly a previous incarnation of him.
As a side note, we have a new timer for people's actions. So far DaveS has the record at 17 minutes for a reaction and an Arms of Hadar. He has since made it his goal to delay other people's turn so he doesn't have this record anymore Zolton was able to use Hold Person to stop him from kidnapping himself but we used a ton of inspiration each turn because Karne made every saving throw. The GM was kind enough to allow us to use inspiration to allow him to re-roll for a chance to miss the save. At this point, a vampire shadow elf showed up gave Ambrus an invitation to the castle from Strahdanya. The remaining wolves backed off and we were left wondering what the point of it all was.
When we went back to Ismark's place he offered a walking stick for anyone that could wrest it from his grasp. Karne raged and rolled a 19 and it didn't budge. Zoltan cast Command and told him to drop it but it hovered in the air. Lord Quevan did a quick jerk and failed. Ambrus did the slow pull and it didn't work. Then Ireena tickled him and pushed a button to deactivate the effect. It was an immovable rod. In the morning we made another save for the dream cakes. Only Kaladin failed and ate his last dream pastry. Then we stocked the wagon and left the city to escort Ireena to Veloki.
Ravenloft Game 10 - 02/12/21 - Invincible Wagon
Written by David Green
People finished leveling up to 4th. We spent the day resting at the manor so that we could start our journey fully rested. Unfortunately, we were still suffering from the effects of the dream pastries. Saves were made but everyone ended up with a level of fatigue but no one was compelled to keep eating them so I’m not sure what we were saving from. We all had dreams that night which Brian spent time composing but no one could really follow. The sister brought two big trunks and a carpet bag which Karne put in the wagon. We headed out and got to the Gallows’ Crossroads. There was a body hanging that Kaladin said looked like him although only to him, evidently. We debated about messing with it, seeing as everything in this land is a trap of some sort. I think he used his fate coin and decided it was safe to cut it down. However, it turned to dust. We started to leave when the bones in the near by graveyard started to animate. 3 Wights attacked. Undead don’t drain levels anymore but they do drain hit points and since we didn’t have access to a Restoration spell yet, that was concerning. However, Zolton turned them on his first turn and they all failed their save. The one that was in combat was hit with an opportunity attack and started fighting again. The other two fled into the mist. Now that it was all against 1, it didn’t last long and thankfully no one got drained. Loki attempted to chase after one of the turned ones, figuring he could hit it with a pistol shot and draw it back into the main party. But he was unable to track it in the misty forest (having disadvantage on the roll from the fatigue didn’t help) and gave up after a round for fear of getting lost himself. What’s 2 more rampaging undead in this place, after all.
Next stop was the gypsy camp of Madame Eva. We had dinner and then were summoned. She insisted that we leave our magic behind which caused some concerns but nothing came of it. By the way, during dinner a guy told us the story of an epic battle between the archmage Mordenkainen and the Vampire, and the mage lost. That was certainly a morale booster, not! Madame Eva gave the group a card reading. If there were clues in that, none of us got it. It’s in the notes section for our future reference. It’s the same “destined to kill her and free the land” story we’ve been hearing. We asked some questions and got nothing of much value in return. Basically, the only way out is at the deference of the vampire or by killing her. The only ray of hope was that there are powerful forces opposing her besides us. I guess we need to find them. The resemblance between Karne and this lady was noted and it came to light that neither could remember anything before the age of 8. She used the sending stones to talk to her brother and evidently learned that she was adopted? More to be learned. We spent the night and headed out in the morning. (Dan: the visit to the gypsies was mostly a waste of time but the DM did say they had any goods under 50 gold at normal prices, so we at least got an explorer's pack and Kaladin got his flute. He rolled a natural one at the gypsy party that night, so may maybe it should have remained lost)
The next stop was a bridge over a 1000-foot drop canyon. On it was the Dream Pastry witch, her cart, and a small boy. (Dan: She later swears he isn't being kidnaped and his mother is ecstatic that he is with her. Those dream cakes make everything easier I guess) They were being attacked by 5 dire wolves. We started attacking the two on our side. She and the boy ran towards us and luckily 2 of the dire wolves spent a few rounds trying to get into the cart. (Dan: There were jokes about the cart being more durable than we were, it seemed unharmed by four direwolves attacking it. it was also on the combat tracker, which was amusing when its turn came up) Karne raged and then turned into a werewolf. Only Lord Q missed his fear save but since he got knock prone by a wolf before he could run, he didn’t get far. We all had minuses due to the fatigue but we managed. Zolton did a lot of damage with some AOE spells. Karne took a lot of damage after being critted 3 straight rounds but luckily, he was taking half due to the rage. The witch cast at will Magic Missiles and a Misty Step. (Dan: Kaladin used the Mobility feat for the first time to flit in and attack, then leave range without incurring an attack of opportunity. Literally everyone else pointed out that he was moving without being attacked and had to be told about the feat. Then the next person would point it out because they didn't hear the explanation. How can they so aware and not at the same time?) The heroes won and no one went out. We had some debates with her about her pastries but she was unconcerned by our concerns. (Dan: She acknowledged that the cakes were addicting but thought it was okay to sell them. Kaladin threatened to set her on fire with his dragon's breath if she brought them out. Lord Q threatened to attack anyone that attacked her. Naturally.) We still had very grave doubts about her but couldn’t bring ourselves to attack her. Since her Windmill was on our way, we agreed (forced ourselves on her) to accompany her. (Dan: The DM made it clear in-game that she makes a 3 day trip in hours each day. We hate her but we wanted that magical transportation love.) Maybe we’ll learn more once there. Still heading to the big city to drop off this lady and deliver the note to the church. Brian decided to end the night before the short rest and before we cross the bridge.
More...
(Dan: I was reading this and nodding my head in recall when I realized Dave had forgotten a massive battle. At least as I recall it. Right after we defeated the wolves and crossed the bridge it started to rain in a massive torrential downpour. Almost immediately afterward a water elemental attacked us. Its default attack was to engulf and grapple, with the next action being massive pummeling damage. Kaladin spent the first part of the fight flying after this creature as it swallowed half the party in turn. Considering Kaladin has a 60ft movement it's fair to say it was all over the place. It moved so much that on the 3rd attack I didn't have enough movement to use mobility. Naturally, since he was hit, he was one-shotted and engulfed. Water elemental take half damage from most things but for a little while Kaladin's fiery fist did full damage. The NPC was knocked out early and we played hot potato a few rounds to pull her out of the elemental and then get her away. Unfortunately, this thing was so large it would immediately swallow most of the people that used their action to escape the next action. We were pretty beaten up and living on one hit point each, thanks to good berries, when Granny spent an action to turn her knocked-over cart upright and teleported away. At least we think that's what she did. After a few more engulfs from the creature and some more good berries, we finally kill it. Unfortunately, elementals don't carry loot. After the fight, we had only one hit points for most of the party. So, even though it was only early afternoon we decided to stop for the day. We had taken one short rest and the DM clarified that we could take multiple short rests in a day bit NOT a short rest and then a long rest. I suppose it would be too overwhelming if the warlock got his 2 spell slots back and the monk his ki points before sleeping for the day. Despite this helpful clarification we did not get attacked during the night.)
We did get that short rest and made it across the bridge without issue. When we reached the crossroads where we had to decide whether to honor the dinner invitation of Strahd or press on to the city, we found a black coach with two black horses and no people waiting there for us. We decided to honor our commitment to deliver the NPC first. Someone made formal apologies to the empty coach and we moved on. I think there was a raven (familiar?) there watching us. I can’t remember if anything else happened but we soon found ourselves at the Old Mill. We then debated on what to do. Attack, sneak in, walk up, ignore for now, ignore forever, etc. By the way, a raven was watching us again. Was that the same one? It was recalled that technically we had the deed for this place from the first adventure, not that it would do us much good out here in the middle of nowhere. Lord Q sent his messenger into the future(?) and it came back with an answer of “Woe”. However, since Lord Q was vague about what he asked, this vague answer was even more vague than a normal Augury spell. Eventually, we agreed that we were justified to “stop by” to make sure she and the kid Walter made it home safely. And since it was near evening maybe we could ask to spend the night. We did rescue her after all. Although she just disappeared when she had to so the rescue was probably unneeded. That would give us a chance to ask questions, look around and find the hard proof that she was as evil as we thought.
She was polite enough, thanking us for our concerns, but unwilling to let us in. Lots of discussions, in and out of character, made it all very messy. Basically, it was the same story. She was doing a public service, providing dream cakes with low prices, and her baking practices and secret ingredients were her own business. Thanks for stopping by. Now go away. Charismatic Lord Q attempted to play the deed card but to no one's surprise, she was not impressed. Possession being 9/10s of the law out here. He then tried to pull rank, using his majordomo Friends spell to gain her favor. That didn’t really change much. He tried to muscle his way in but couldn’t beat her surprising strength. But Kharn helped and they piled in. Meanwhile, Zolton sent his will o wisp familiar to find a way in upstairs but it found that despite its rundown appearance, there were no holes big enough until the very top where the blades were. Ambrus cast Invisibility and snuck past in the confusion. A round or two later, Loki transformed into a spider and attempted to follow him up the walls but since he couldn’t see him, they were pretty much acting independently. Loki basically saw what he saw, a round later.
So, Granny started to get pissed with her uninvited guests nosing around her operation. Zolton could sense a foul evil smell from a particular barrel. On the second floor, we found the mill’s grinder stone which was moving despite the fact that the blades were not. Ambrus spotted some bones in a pile. They could be chicken bones. Loki made a Nature roll a round or two later and thought they were small human bones. There were two more hags up there, working. On the 3rd floor, Ambrus found Walter and two other children in cages. As he worked on the locks, Granny called her daughters down and initiative was rolled. One of them used a high-level spell that got our attention. Lord Q unleashed 3 swarms of ravens and the room got very small very fast. Then Granny went and all 3 hags disappeared. Arcana rolls were missing and while we were sure it wasn’t Invisibility or Misty Step, we weren’t sure what it was. We stayed on initiative and everyone spread out, figuring they’d reappear somewhere in the mill or nearby outside. Granny and one daughter reappeared outside 2-3 rounds later. When one of them unleashed a doubly upcasted Lightning Bolt (i.e. 5th spell) which dropped Kaladin and injured others, we knew we were in big trouble.
Ravenloft Game 12 - 03/05/21 - The Mind Flayer God
Written by David Green
So, at Brian’s suggestion, the other Brian allowed the not attending Kharn and the unconscious Kaladin to switch places (in mill, within melee) and hit points (full and out). That helped. And evidently, the Brian’s had had an email conversation about unleashing his heirloom power. Time stood still as his father’s image appeared to him. It told him that in order to unleash his true power, he needs to eat whatever he found in his pocket watch. In there he found a centipede-like larva which he dutifully ate. He began to radiate goodly light with faint traces (rays?) emanating from him. However, Ambrus saw something different. Once we pieced it together later, he saw the image of a Mind Flayer although he didn’t know what it was. Regardless, Zolton transformed, got extra hit points, extra Int, and several powers. Among which were True Strike and Vicious Mockery at will, a 10d10 physic blast cone that also stunned, a tentacle grapple, and a brain munching big attack as well. Needless to say, a game-changer. He charged into combat and missed. Everyone else did their things. Loki fired from the window and while he hit often, everything was half damage. Kaladin’s fire fists also did half damage as did Ambrus’s sneak attacks. Only Lord Q’s pact blade did full damage. Meanwhile, the hags continued to break out high-level spells including a 6th level Eyebite that took out Lord Q but thankfully she lost concentration the next round, an upcast Hold Person that targeted 4 but only Kaladin missed the save which caused him to fall from the sky, and several upcast Lightning Bolts that wreaked havoc. (Kaladin one-shotted again)
We were losing people left and right and not doing much to the 3 of them until Zolton got Granny with that physic cone blast and put her on the ropes. She became the focused target and was dropped soon after by a raven swarm of all things. Next to go down was one of the daughters. That last daughter disappeared with a handful of hit points left. All told, we used 5-6 Good Berries so there was a lot of unconsciousness, death saves, rescues, and 1 hit points. Someone finally made an Arcana roll and we determined they were traveling to the Ethereal plane. Zolton got 2 tuning forks (focuses) off the two bodies. The 3rd hag never reappeared and we had no way to follow her. Later, Ismark said that two girls with those names had disappeared years ago from the village. Their whole families were killed and they were gone. (Dan: So a pyrrhic victory since we know that one hag is enough to restart the cycle in a few years) The first order of business was to get a short rest but then everyone had a long list of “but firsts”.
The children’s cages were opened. Zolton cast Detect Magic and found that the evil barrel was magical. He used his Mage Hand and pulled out a small minor demon. New initiative, however other than a noxious cloud with an easy save that everyone made, it didn’t do much. Out in two hits. We searched. The hags had magic pouches and magic gems but they were evil nontransferable things that were no use to us. So, they were burned with a the of their stuff. We did find a pile of gold. The kids were from the village but after a brief debated on whether to take them back home or press on, it was noted that we were a day from the city and a week from the village. We decided to press on and hope they could get back home with the new priest we were supposed to be getting. Eventually, we got that short rest. Most wanted to burn the place down but since it was evening, it was decided to stay the night in it and burn it in the morning.
The next morning, we cleared some brush so that we wouldn’t burn down the whole forest when we lite it up. But first, we all had dreams. But first were the saves from the dream pastries. Unbelievably, some are still afflicted. (Dan: Cry. Between this and death house the party spends more time with disadvantage than not. Once we are done with the withdraw we'll doubtless feel we are too OP when we roll normally... until the next time we are all with disadvantage due to some weird mechanics.) Brian wrote a dream for each but it was Zolton’s and Ambrus’s dreams that got the attention. It was becoming evident that they were linked somehow. Once the Mind Flayer was fully described, Zolton realized it was the image of the hated foe of the Gith. (Will his character risk using that power again?) Evidently, MF's are created by getting others to eat larvae. (Dan: The process of changing into a mind flayer is only a few days. So we'll know soon if Brian is going that route or it's a weird hybrid thing where he needs to eat multiple times.) Ambrus asked to examine his pocket watch and he could feel its power in his key tattoo? But Zolton could feel his link to the watch shifting so he snatched it back. It was all very complicated and I’m sure I’m missing stuff. We did burn down the mill and got on the road a bit late. A couple of hours later we saw a demon talking to a skeleton but since they seemed happy enough with each other, we decided to leave it alone. (Dan: Another DM plot thread successfully avoided. Yay.) We stopped to camp on the road in the snow. Evidently during watch 3, a Yeti? noticed our presence and the log Zolton was sitting on stood up. We stopped there. (Dan: I am still not sure what happened but I'm sure it will work itself out.)
Ravenloft Game 13 - 03/19/21 - Are We There Yeti?
Written by David Green
We started encamped on the road between the Old Mill where we had killed the dream pastry peddling Granny Momo and our destination city of Volockea. In the middle of the 3rd watch, the log Zolton was sitting on (it had to be Brian) suddenly rose up and reveal itself as a Yeti. Not a normal 9-foot Yeti but a legendary one. Initiative. Since Zolton and the missing Ambrus were on watch, they were the only ones awake. Brian allowed everyone to roll into action pretty fast (I don’t think anyone sleeps soundly in this land anymore) but those with armor beyond leather were deemed unarmored. I think that only affected Lord Q though. Luckily the fast-acting Yeti merely roared on his first action. Everyone else charged into action, guns a blazing. As is typically the case, its AC was low but its to-hit, damage, and hit points were high. He got 2 claws and a chilling stare that, on a failed save, did a lot of damage and cause frozen paralysis. Someone got hit with that early but I can’t remember who (Dan: The monk was first. One-shotted again. His fiery fists caught his attention. Fortunately he wasn't flying when he was paralyzed.). It did not like fire but didn’t seem to be taking any extra damage from it (Dan: it caused it to attack with disadvantage but with a +11 to hit this wasn't that much of a hindrance. It was the raccoon ranger who made a very high survival/monster lore roll to identify this weakness). It merely targeted those who were wielding it. As an added complication, it rose up next to the horses who started to drag the wagon into the forest (Dan: The children were in the wagon and got mildly tenderized).
So as usual, things were looking pretty dire. Then Zolton hit it with a Whispers spell which caused it to run away. As it left, Lord Q crit it with an opportunity attack and hit a ton of damage. He had his hex blade and a hex going. So, it was now pretty damaged. Next to go was Loki but it ran so fast, it was no longer in 'long range' of his pistols. So, he started to unload the tent in case it came back. The enraged werewolf Kharn charged after it, pulling out a longbow. Lord Q did the same. With its next round, it saved and started coming back. It critted Kaladin with a claw, then finished him off with another. And it icy stared Zolton at long range and paralyzed him and knocked him out. The next round, it took out Kharn. Somewhere in there it also did a cold breath weapon. Luckily that never recharged. The upshot was that we went from having it on the ropes to having 3 players out. However, the NPC aided Zolton, Loki got Kharn a good berry and then Kharn got one to Kaladin. Armed with 1 hit point, they continued the attacks and it was taken out. All told, it took 6 rounds. Loki skinned it as we figured it might be worth something. We took a short rest, since we had just had a long rest, and pressed on into the snow.
During that journey, the NPC cried out and started talking about returning to Barovia. She had been talking to her brother via the Sending Stones. Evidently, the whole town was hooked on those pastries. We sorted of knew that since the kid’s parents had sold them to get more. However, beyond everyone getting sick, evidently, people were rioting, searching for any remaining pastries (Dan: Out of the 3 sisters in the tavern only one is known to have survived. No one cared, even Karn who spent the night with them). The NPC blamed herself for not foreseeing this and at least warning her brother. Those damn pastries. (Dan: She noticed that Brian was a cleric and started confession. The book Brian had read 'The Cleric's Correspondence School of hard Knocks' had covered this so he faked his way through as she confessed her guilt over the situation. Then he blew it all by interrogating the girl about exactly what a priest/cleric was and how they were different than a wizard. It was awkward.) A couple of skill rolls and mentioning the kids we had in our care managed to get her back on track. Lord Q explained what happened (i.e. children’s bones et al) via the stones and Ismark said he’d try to get the situation under control there. We pressed on (Dan: Despite blowing all our heals, spells, and recovery dice because we had just had a long rest) however the snow got worse. And then a half dozen dire wolves attacked. They had their pack tactics and free trips however it wasn’t too tough. Towards the end, one tried to grab the prone Lord Q but only came away with a boot. With that, it headed into the woods and the others followed. That struck us as odd but we could not stop it before it disappeared into the mist. We took out the rest. Kharn, who can evidently understand wolf, said it was evident from their talking that they were on a mission to get a possession from one of us. A high arcana roll by Zolton confirmed what the players suspected. It would aid any scrying attempts. But we can’t go into the mist so that was that.
The snow was so bad, we had to stop. We began to think that someone didn’t want us to get to this city. The NPC asked Zolton to hear her secrets (i.e. confessions) since he was a priest. That didn’t really reveal anything but it allowed him to pursue his wizard vs cleric backstory some more. That night, we all got another disturbing dream. They seem to tie into our backstories, sort of, but it was hard enough to figure out our own, let alone understand everyone else’s. Kharn had one about going a picnic with his twin sister, the NPC, and an older brother neither of them remembered. Paul roleplayed some discussions with her, trying to get more meaning out of it. To no real avail. Zolton’s was about his Mind Flayer storyline. We talked some about that but since we’re not high enough level to stop it or reverse it, it’s pretty much going to happen or not. Short of killing him. We stopped there, still on the road to the city.
The big news was the welcomed return of Andy. He replaced his Wizard with a Human heavily armored, sword and shield, classic Holy Paladin named Ezra. (That’s not right. It started with an E and was Biblical but I can’t remember.) Several theories were offered up as to the reason for the change before he returned from dinner. Andy stated that the Wizard “wasn’t working as he’d hoped”. In particular, the subclass power tree, while powerful, was completely negated if the target made that first save. Regardless, it was good to have him back and a Paladin will certainly be useful in this place.
The snow finally abated and we start back on the road to Valackea. As agreed, Kharn took the wagon over to the Vastini camp and would make his way into the city via another gate. Good thing, since the entrance criteria was extensive. First, we had to swear we were not Vastini and were not under the influence of the Devil. Only then, would they open the gate to really start the process. (I’m sure I’ll forget some.) We had to jump over a waterskin, allow a silver piece to be placed on our forehead and touch the wooden threshold. We had to answer some questions for their records. Point of origin was a little tricky for some of us but the guard didn’t really care as long as he got something on the form. They stopped short of a full search but all weapons had to be declared and recorded. That included Loki’s claws and Kaladin’s teeth. Lastly, we were given an extensive list of rules. It was mostly the usual, don’t make trouble, ones but with a couple of unique ones. The Devil’s true name could not be mentioned. Everyone must participate in the weekly festivals. And everyone must be happy at all times. Even after all that, we were not invited in. Only allowed to enter.
Our destination church was on the other side of the city so we went through the heart. Of note, this city was a bit more lively than the boarded-up ghost town we came from. There were actual shops with actual goods although we didn’t stop at them. We watched a puppet show put on by a half-elf that the kids particularly enjoyed. A passerby bid Ambrus a GOOD DAY with a forced smile which we took as an encouragement to stay happy. Loki remarked that perhaps they think the happiness will keep you know who at bay. The half-elf noted that it was working. We made it to the church without issue. As we entered, any always-on magic we had, turned off. E.g. Lord Q’s servants popped out of their cage, Loki’s claws got smaller, Zolton’s eyes looked normal (for him), etc. We could hear the priest telling a sick-looking young man to go home and rest. Like the rest of the city, the church was in good shape. We got to business, with Zolton doing much of the talking. We need to drop off the kids. There’s an orphanage next door. Our NPC needs sanctuary. She can stay in the woman’s dorm room that is currently unused. We dropped her stuff there but she agreed to stay with us until the kids were seen to. The bad news about the priest in Barovia. He’d contact the bishop. How did he die? Er… uhm… There was a vampire spawn in the church that we took care of. Meanwhile, Ambrus searched around the church, missing stealth rolls as he went. When he found no chained undead, he declared that he had a good feeling about it. The priest asked a Paladin by the name of Ezra to show us to the orphanage and help us get settled into the city.
At the orphanage, we met the stern tired-looking headmistress. She was accepting a small coffin. Evidently, a child had fallen from a 2nd story window. That, of course, triggered our paranoia. Which in this place, is just good common sense. Ambrus questioned a couple of kids. They seemed happy enough. We filled out some paperwork while Ambrus went upstairs. He ended up in the attic where he found an odd child, whittling. We got a bunch of plot threads which lead to some investigations. It was the usual chaos as different groups of characters went in different directions and then intersected randomly. The dead kid was new and had a silver locket. When examined, it had an X scratched onto it. Zolton did a detect magic and then an identify. It was some sort of vessel to hold an extra-dimensional creature. Now empty. We found evil runes, carved into the beds of some of the children. Some kids had recently run away. Ambrus and Loki re-questioned that kid upstairs. He managed to out intimidate Ambrus, mostly bad rolls, but the fact that an 8-year-old boy could even try was noteworthy. The sick grave digger from the church lived here. He was very sick and had runes on his bed. Several of the girls seemed to recognize the NPC. When questioned by Loki, one of the dolls in the dollhouse looked like her. A search also found one that looked like Kharn. Evidently, it was a standard doll in this city, on sale at the toy store. Eventually, we decided to get everyone out of the house and into the church, hoping whoever was possessed would be revealed. However, when Lord Q went ahead to give the priest a heads up, he found that the protections had stopped. The altar boy had recently told the gravedigger of the sacred bones that were interned under the altar. They were now, gone.
We still moved everyone over but then Loki noticed the odd boy was not there. We left Zolton’s familiar at the church and searched the house. The bones were not in the coffin nor the gravedigger’s room. Nothing was found until we got to the attic where first in line Ezra saw a shadow demon emerging from the boy. Initiative. The attic was bigger than we thought and Ezra could not move and attack so he empowered his Sacred Weapon. Ambrus moved and delayed. Unfortunately, the demon then crawled onto the high ceiling and advanced out of everyone’s reach. That was going to be a problem with our hand-to-hand heavy group. Loki got up there and started blasting away with his guns and did very well. Kaladin flew up but kept missing. Jon reasoned that there must be supporting rafters to hold up the roof. Brian agreed so Ambrus climbed up and attacked but missed. Ezra only managed a hand axe throw. Lord Q cast his own spider climb. But ultimately, the demon missed a bunch. It was attacking with 10-foot reach claws and a mind-control magic but didn’t hit. Ezra tried to use Protection from Evil to break the connection to the kid which didn’t work however Zolton did manage to break it and the PfE kept him from repossessing him. About then, it was vanquished and went back to its home plane.
The kid didn’t remember anything. The gravedigger regained consciousness. Under the authoritative glare of the Paladin, he confessed to stealing the bones and selling them to the coffin maker in order to pay someone to search for the lost kids. We decided to leave those loose ends until next time as we’re sure they’ll lead to more quests. We’re still 4th although Brian said we’d probably make 5th next time.