Renny, Shae and Ignatia exit the house, bruised and battered from the hell they just went through in the house. You all start to make your way back to the Inn to report back to David.
(if you recall from the beginning, you were all sent a strange letter to your respective houses inviting you all to assist with investigating a strange house.)
Well.... investigated it you did. You are all feeling like hell, likely thinking about Flynt, and the children, and the other horrible things you saw in that house of hell, and as you walk through the empty streets of the Village of Barovia, you notice that the town looks much darker than it did when you arrived. And not just because of the lack of daylight. It looks like a real ghost town. You hear the sounds of faint crying, and moaning as you walk. You see bats passing you in the street and even notice a hanging body. Tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds everything. The muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. The tall shapes become recognizable as village dwellings. The windows of each house stare out from pools of blackness. No sound cuts the silence except for that mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.
The one thing that sticks out the most, however, is the huge dark castle that engulfs the entire town in shadows. None of you noticed it when you first arrived. Now you can't stop looking at it.
The town has... changed. In a big way. So have you all.
You make your way back to the Inn... and notice that David is nowhere to be found. Then.... you hear it.
"FOOLS!!! Well, I must say I am quite surprised to see you all alive... oh except your Dragonborn friend... seems Dragonborns make great food! <cue evil laugh>. Now listen to me... MORTALS. You petty fools were brought here for my pleasure. For my.... ENTERTAINMENT. Just like all of the weak minded peons in that house. That cult. What a joke. They were fun for awhile... but became dull. And oh, so incompetent. Listen to me... you are all nothing more than my playtoys. I run this town. I run this WORLD. Welcome to hell.... enjoy your stay."
Then all of a sudden you all hear an insanely loud shriek.... and then silence.
(So - you the letter you were all sent was actually from Strahd. I am going to assume that all of the characters are aware of this strange land of Barovia... the entire map of Barovia is posted in the campaign hub. I am going to change the lore slightly and pretend that the land of Barovia is NOT a totally separate realm or anything like that, it is just a province that is close to all of your characters homes. Makes more sense I feel. I am not a fan of the whole fog thing and separate realm-thing. However, due to Strahd's magic, you are all strangely bound to the province and cannot leave... until this entire thing is resolved.....)
What would you like to do? There are numerous locations within the town that you can start your investigations. I will list them below, and wont give any other information about them other than the name. You would've seen all of these locations on your way back to the Inn to meet "David" :) If you desire more specific information about the town of Barovia, feel free to roll a History check to see if your character knows about this place. Same goes with Strahd. Same goes with the Land of Barovia. One roll is enough for each character.
Oh, it is approximately 6am.
Locations
- A mercantile.
- A tavern.
- A townhouse that you heard crying from.
- A mansion that sticks out like a sore thumb.
- A church.
- A cemetery.
- Any random house of your choosing.
ENTER Sawyer Filson
Whatever the party decides to do, immediately when they exit the Inn, they see a grey Firbolg (just like how Al described him in the OOC chat), wandering the dark streets.
Fil, like you mentioned, you were working with the royal horses and sharing a conversation with Queen Raedra Obarskyr. She eventually asked you to go and investigate the Village of Barovia, located in the greater continent of Barovia, to determine and/or figure out why the lands have been cursed for so long. You see the party exit the Inn........
Ignatia's first reaction on hearing the voice was fear, then anger....anger was good, it chased away the sadness and replaced it with fire......fire was good....well, not the kind of fire within her but fire in general....generally speaking..unless it was, say, on your house...or your hair....Ignatia was slightly confuddled. Confuddled and Angry, story of her life.
" Oh....My...God, will you listen to it? How far up your own arse do you have to be to talk like that. Trust me, Grampa, I've been the plaything of way worse than you....and well, a lady never tells."
" Speaking of which, Ladies. Theres no one here...theres a fecking castle outside....Count Ulrich Von Lichtenstein is a blowhard ( who can likely kill us in a moment, but no less a blowhard)...and...", she opened the door and stepped outside.
" Ah! What the hell is that!", she said as she took in Fils looming form.
1. There is one more location available in the town of Barovia for investigation, which is of course the Castle Ravenloft. Highly recommend against that option though at this point :)
2. If you desire more specific information about the town of Barovia, feel free to roll a History check to see if your character knows about this place. Same goes with Strahd. Same goes with the Land of Barovia. One roll is enough for each character.
3. This is a top down map of the village for reference. Once the party decides on the next location I will explain where it is on this map. Your current location is shown here:
Fil cocks an eyebrow at the response as his floppy ears twitch. The firbolg glances around at the signs and grim atmosphere, but shakes off the woman's comment as he's used to it. "I've been askin myself that question for the last hour," he says with a drawl in his voice. "Any of y'all know the quickest way back to Suzail. I was showin the queen her horses when this mist wrapped around us. Sensing some danger, she pushed me around of the way to safety, but it seems it had the oppisite effect. I'm Fil by the way."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.
(Also GM before I post, the Shadowfell is closely tied to Barovia in the lore, meaning that the veil in between the two planes is thin. Almost all the denizens if the shadowfell are familiar with Barovia. How do you want to play that with Shae?)
Shae can then know as much as she wants about Barovia. Might be good for the party and game in general if one or more PCs have a good grasp on things anyhow!
Shae stays silent, pensive. The adrenaline from escaping the house had covered it, but now that everyone had somewhat of a breather, she could feel it.
The Shadowfell.
Like moisture in the air, it clung to her skin, stifling her, making her acutely aware of its presence. She could tell they weren't in the Shadowfell, but close. Almost like...
Suddenly, she sprang up, toward the door, and grabbed Ignatia by the arm. The out of character (for someone as reserved as Shae) woyld probably be startling to everyone. She looked over the newcomer quickly, and spoke.
Everyone inside. Now. We're in danger.
As soon as everyone was inside, she shut and bolted the door, and took look outside the window to make sure no one else was out there. She gave the newcomer a quick look over, judging whether or not he was related to what she was about to say, and once satisfied he wasn't, she began to speak. For the first time, she wasn't speaking as the cool, calm, and collected bounty hunter, but as a scared Shadar Kai in enemy territory.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I can feel the Shadowfell. A feeling I haven't felt since my family left that dark place and came to Faerun to seek a better, peaceful life. I didn't remember the name at first, but now the mention of mist, the town, the castle, it's all something I'm familiar with. In the Shadowfell, there are stories of a land, and its foul ruler. A place called Barovia, ruled by a vampire who uses his subjects as little more than entertainment. The land itself is cursed, tied to great evils. The veil in between the planes there is thin, and the Shadowfell itself leaks over into that cursed place, and vice versa. In the little bit of time I was in the Fell, I remember stories of Barovia, and it's master, Lord Strahd being told to children to make them behave, or eat their dinner without argument. Occasionally, we would even encounter creatures who passed through the planes. They were always twisted, insane, and unspeakably evil.
She produces the letter from the chest, bearing the name of Strahd.
This... this letter only confirms what I suspect. We're... we're in that land. We've been brought to Barovia. If the stories I was told are true... then we're all in grave danger. This place is full of vampires, werewolves, witches, and other foul creatures we couldn't even dream of in our worst nightmares. Of course, they were all stories, and should be taken as such. But...
She looks back out the window for a moment, and then speaks again.
We must be on our guard. That mansion may just be the beginning...
We'll need some silver weapons. We should speak with a smith, if there is one. I spoke with one before we went into the mansion, so hopefully he's still here. But the way the town has changed since we came out of that cursed place, I'm not sure.
" We're buggered. Well and truly.......wait, vampire? Really? With the flapping and the sucking? Huh....the way he was talking I was thinking a lesser Arch Devil or something.....vampire....stake, holy water, fire....I mean dangerous, but a little underwhelming."
Ignatia fixed Shae with a look, " We're going to die here, I understand that....hell, one of us already has."
" Its just.....vampire...its a little gauche."
" So we sleep here then. Fil you've got first watch."
Shae answers Ignatia with her usual calm, having collected herself after sharing her realization.
I have no intention of dying here. If creatures made it from here to the Shadowfell, then we can leave too. I agree, however. We need to rest, and we need to figure out where we stand. And we'll need supplies. I fear my mother's staff may not be enough. If there's a smith, I wonder if he can forge a specific sword if I show him the schematics...
(DM, is it possible to have a smith forge a silver shortsword here? With my new fighter levels I took the dueling fighting style, and plan on using a silver shortsword as my go to weapon for this game.)
"Suzail is the capital city of Cormyr," Fil says as they move inside. He listens to Shae's tale and shutters. "I've only heard vampires as a little one. This land is unsettling indeed and this Strahd must have something to do with it." Hearing Shae's suggestion of obtaining silvered weapons, he glances at his scimitar. "I suppose I could find a new one. Yes, I'll take first watch."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.
" Silver weapons? Hmmm, if you've silver coin they'll do for my sling."
" Ok, Night-Night. No funny business, Mr Bythaway."
Ignatia slept, she talked in her sleep....a lot of it was mumbling but there were a few snatches of ' you naughty boy!' and ' where are you pointing that?'......and later a single gasping strangled scream of ' Flynt! No!'
The party shuts and bolts the door to the Inn, and are able to discuss the recent events. You all also take the time to meet Fil and get to know him a bit more, and it seems everyone gets to somewhat "relax"... even as the cold night wind whistles, sounding almost like children crying. Fil takes the first watch, and although the rest of the evening brings no encounters, the sounds of the wind as well as many random odd noises including a few shrieks of pain keep you from getting the sleep you were hoping for. That being said - you all are able to cycle the watches and get enough sleep for a long rest.
You all wake up a little after sunrise (although it's still dark looking outside and dreary as hell), and some of you likely feel hungry. You might want to find some food or use rations for the time being. Let me know.
After some discussion about silvered weapons, the party decides to locate the mercantile. (the blacksmith's shop that the party visited at the beginning of the mansion is now boarded up. The owner must've left town last night.... she did mention that she had quite enough of this place, but you weren't expecting her to leave so soon.)
Regardless - there is a different mercantile in this town, which will be quite easy to find once you leave the Inn.
As you all exit, you notice a figure walking towards you... seems humanoid but you can't tell for sure.
Enter the new PC!
You all can meet/interact - then I'll take it to the mercantile (if that is still what you want to do after meeting the new PC)
(There may or may not be silver forging opportunities in this town - we will find out once we get to the mercantile!)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Game Thread for Klein's Curse of Strahd
Renny, Shae and Ignatia exit the house, bruised and battered from the hell they just went through in the house. You all start to make your way back to the Inn to report back to David.
(if you recall from the beginning, you were all sent a strange letter to your respective houses inviting you all to assist with investigating a strange house.)
Well.... investigated it you did. You are all feeling like hell, likely thinking about Flynt, and the children, and the other horrible things you saw in that house of hell, and as you walk through the empty streets of the Village of Barovia, you notice that the town looks much darker than it did when you arrived. And not just because of the lack of daylight. It looks like a real ghost town. You hear the sounds of faint crying, and moaning as you walk. You see bats passing you in the street and even notice a hanging body. Tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds everything. The muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. The tall shapes become recognizable as village dwellings. The windows of each house stare out from pools of blackness. No sound cuts the silence except for that mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.
The one thing that sticks out the most, however, is the huge dark castle that engulfs the entire town in shadows. None of you noticed it when you first arrived. Now you can't stop looking at it.
The town has... changed. In a big way. So have you all.
You make your way back to the Inn... and notice that David is nowhere to be found. Then.... you hear it.
"FOOLS!!! Well, I must say I am quite surprised to see you all alive... oh except your Dragonborn friend... seems Dragonborns make great food! <cue evil laugh>. Now listen to me... MORTALS. You petty fools were brought here for my pleasure. For my.... ENTERTAINMENT. Just like all of the weak minded peons in that house. That cult. What a joke. They were fun for awhile... but became dull. And oh, so incompetent. Listen to me... you are all nothing more than my playtoys. I run this town. I run this WORLD. Welcome to hell.... enjoy your stay."
Then all of a sudden you all hear an insanely loud shriek.... and then silence.
(So - you the letter you were all sent was actually from Strahd. I am going to assume that all of the characters are aware of this strange land of Barovia... the entire map of Barovia is posted in the campaign hub. I am going to change the lore slightly and pretend that the land of Barovia is NOT a totally separate realm or anything like that, it is just a province that is close to all of your characters homes. Makes more sense I feel. I am not a fan of the whole fog thing and separate realm-thing. However, due to Strahd's magic, you are all strangely bound to the province and cannot leave... until this entire thing is resolved.....)
What would you like to do? There are numerous locations within the town that you can start your investigations. I will list them below, and wont give any other information about them other than the name. You would've seen all of these locations on your way back to the Inn to meet "David" :) If you desire more specific information about the town of Barovia, feel free to roll a History check to see if your character knows about this place. Same goes with Strahd. Same goes with the Land of Barovia. One roll is enough for each character.
Oh, it is approximately 6am.
Locations
- A mercantile.
- A tavern.
- A townhouse that you heard crying from.
- A mansion that sticks out like a sore thumb.
- A church.
- A cemetery.
- Any random house of your choosing.
ENTER Sawyer Filson
Whatever the party decides to do, immediately when they exit the Inn, they see a grey Firbolg (just like how Al described him in the OOC chat), wandering the dark streets.
Fil, like you mentioned, you were working with the royal horses and sharing a conversation with Queen Raedra Obarskyr. She eventually asked you to go and investigate the Village of Barovia, located in the greater continent of Barovia, to determine and/or figure out why the lands have been cursed for so long. You see the party exit the Inn........
GO!!
Ignatia's first reaction on hearing the voice was fear, then anger....anger was good, it chased away the sadness and replaced it with fire......fire was good....well, not the kind of fire within her but fire in general....generally speaking..unless it was, say, on your house...or your hair....Ignatia was slightly confuddled. Confuddled and Angry, story of her life.
" Oh....My...God, will you listen to it? How far up your own arse do you have to be to talk like that. Trust me, Grampa, I've been the plaything of way worse than you....and well, a lady never tells."
" Speaking of which, Ladies. Theres no one here...theres a fecking castle outside....Count Ulrich Von Lichtenstein is a blowhard ( who can likely kill us in a moment, but no less a blowhard)...and...", she opened the door and stepped outside.
" Ah! What the hell is that!", she said as she took in Fils looming form.
(Oh man. We’re starting this off with a Knight’s Tale reference. This isn’t gonna be awesome)
I forgot to mention a few small things:
1. There is one more location available in the town of Barovia for investigation, which is of course the Castle Ravenloft. Highly recommend against that option though at this point :)
2. If you desire more specific information about the town of Barovia, feel free to roll a History check to see if your character knows about this place. Same goes with Strahd. Same goes with the Land of Barovia. One roll is enough for each character.
3. This is a top down map of the village for reference. Once the party decides on the next location I will explain where it is on this map. Your current location is shown here:
Fil cocks an eyebrow at the response as his floppy ears twitch. The firbolg glances around at the signs and grim atmosphere, but shakes off the woman's comment as he's used to it. "I've been askin myself that question for the last hour," he says with a drawl in his voice. "Any of y'all know the quickest way back to Suzail. I was showin the queen her horses when this mist wrapped around us. Sensing some danger, she pushed me around of the way to safety, but it seems it had the oppisite effect. I'm Fil by the way."
I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.
(I meant IS gonna be awesome earlier, but my phone decided to be an ass).
(Also GM before I post, the Shadowfell is closely tied to Barovia in the lore, meaning that the veil in between the two planes is thin. Almost all the denizens if the shadowfell are familiar with Barovia. How do you want to play that with Shae?)
Renny just looks stunned for a minute or two as she takes in the scene.. she coughs a bit, looking at Fil.
"Um, hello.... guys, can we maybe rest up? somewhere... while we decide what to do?"
"No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow"
"No power in the 'verse can stop me"
Shae can then know as much as she wants about Barovia. Might be good for the party and game in general if one or more PCs have a good grasp on things anyhow!
" PLease to meet you, Fil Bythaway."
" Uh...startled me a bit there....your very large. Suzail...sounds familiar? Don't know it myself."
" Fil? F-I-L? Like the yoghurt? Interesting."
She looked about, " Renny? Townhouse or Tavern?"
Shae stays silent, pensive. The adrenaline from escaping the house had covered it, but now that everyone had somewhat of a breather, she could feel it.
The Shadowfell.
Like moisture in the air, it clung to her skin, stifling her, making her acutely aware of its presence. She could tell they weren't in the Shadowfell, but close. Almost like...
Suddenly, she sprang up, toward the door, and grabbed Ignatia by the arm. The out of character (for someone as reserved as Shae) woyld probably be startling to everyone. She looked over the newcomer quickly, and spoke.
Everyone inside. Now. We're in danger.
As soon as everyone was inside, she shut and bolted the door, and took look outside the window to make sure no one else was out there. She gave the newcomer a quick look over, judging whether or not he was related to what she was about to say, and once satisfied he wasn't, she began to speak. For the first time, she wasn't speaking as the cool, calm, and collected bounty hunter, but as a scared Shadar Kai in enemy territory.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I can feel the Shadowfell. A feeling I haven't felt since my family left that dark place and came to Faerun to seek a better, peaceful life. I didn't remember the name at first, but now the mention of mist, the town, the castle, it's all something I'm familiar with. In the Shadowfell, there are stories of a land, and its foul ruler. A place called Barovia, ruled by a vampire who uses his subjects as little more than entertainment. The land itself is cursed, tied to great evils. The veil in between the planes there is thin, and the Shadowfell itself leaks over into that cursed place, and vice versa. In the little bit of time I was in the Fell, I remember stories of Barovia, and it's master, Lord Strahd being told to children to make them behave, or eat their dinner without argument. Occasionally, we would even encounter creatures who passed through the planes. They were always twisted, insane, and unspeakably evil.
She produces the letter from the chest, bearing the name of Strahd.
This... this letter only confirms what I suspect. We're... we're in that land. We've been brought to Barovia. If the stories I was told are true... then we're all in grave danger. This place is full of vampires, werewolves, witches, and other foul creatures we couldn't even dream of in our worst nightmares. Of course, they were all stories, and should be taken as such. But...
She looks back out the window for a moment, and then speaks again.
We must be on our guard. That mansion may just be the beginning...
She adds after a moment
We'll need some silver weapons. We should speak with a smith, if there is one. I spoke with one before we went into the mansion, so hopefully he's still here. But the way the town has changed since we came out of that cursed place, I'm not sure.
" We're buggered. Well and truly.......wait, vampire? Really? With the flapping and the sucking? Huh....the way he was talking I was thinking a lesser Arch Devil or something.....vampire....stake, holy water, fire....I mean dangerous, but a little underwhelming."
Ignatia fixed Shae with a look, " We're going to die here, I understand that....hell, one of us already has."
" Its just.....vampire...its a little gauche."
" So we sleep here then. Fil you've got first watch."
Shae answers Ignatia with her usual calm, having collected herself after sharing her realization.
I have no intention of dying here. If creatures made it from here to the Shadowfell, then we can leave too. I agree, however. We need to rest, and we need to figure out where we stand. And we'll need supplies. I fear my mother's staff may not be enough. If there's a smith, I wonder if he can forge a specific sword if I show him the schematics...
(DM, is it possible to have a smith forge a silver shortsword here? With my new fighter levels I took the dueling fighting style, and plan on using a silver shortsword as my go to weapon for this game.)
"Suzail is the capital city of Cormyr," Fil says as they move inside. He listens to Shae's tale and shutters. "I've only heard vampires as a little one. This land is unsettling indeed and this Strahd must have something to do with it." Hearing Shae's suggestion of obtaining silvered weapons, he glances at his scimitar. "I suppose I could find a new one. Yes, I'll take first watch."
I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.
" Silver weapons? Hmmm, if you've silver coin they'll do for my sling."
" Ok, Night-Night. No funny business, Mr Bythaway."
Ignatia slept, she talked in her sleep....a lot of it was mumbling but there were a few snatches of ' you naughty boy!' and ' where are you pointing that?'......and later a single gasping strangled scream of ' Flynt! No!'
Renny really doesn't care which type of building as long as there's a spot to rest and heal up. :)
"No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow"
"No power in the 'verse can stop me"
(Will move this along later tonight)
The party shuts and bolts the door to the Inn, and are able to discuss the recent events. You all also take the time to meet Fil and get to know him a bit more, and it seems everyone gets to somewhat "relax"... even as the cold night wind whistles, sounding almost like children crying. Fil takes the first watch, and although the rest of the evening brings no encounters, the sounds of the wind as well as many random odd noises including a few shrieks of pain keep you from getting the sleep you were hoping for. That being said - you all are able to cycle the watches and get enough sleep for a long rest.
You all wake up a little after sunrise (although it's still dark looking outside and dreary as hell), and some of you likely feel hungry. You might want to find some food or use rations for the time being. Let me know.
After some discussion about silvered weapons, the party decides to locate the mercantile. (the blacksmith's shop that the party visited at the beginning of the mansion is now boarded up. The owner must've left town last night.... she did mention that she had quite enough of this place, but you weren't expecting her to leave so soon.)
Regardless - there is a different mercantile in this town, which will be quite easy to find once you leave the Inn.
As you all exit, you notice a figure walking towards you... seems humanoid but you can't tell for sure.
Enter the new PC!
You all can meet/interact - then I'll take it to the mercantile (if that is still what you want to do after meeting the new PC)
(There may or may not be silver forging opportunities in this town - we will find out once we get to the mercantile!)