#Luvash

[moldwood]

barovian vistani energies 🫦

[calebisdrawing]

do you have any plans to draw Arrigal and Luvash? the canon art kinda did them dirty and I’m in love with the way you drew Arabelle!!

That’s very kind of you to say; this is honestly the first I’ve heard any criticism about Arrigal and Luvash’s module art! I’d honestly call them some of the prettier NPCs.

I didn’t have plans to do the Vistani boys but now you’ve got me wondering what I’d do differently…

[wafflecrew-outofcontext]

DM: You turn and face the glower of Luvash who looks down at his dead daughter

Diath: I avoid eye contact

[thecathaersis]

Saving Arabelle was definitely one of the most celebrated events in Lài’s life. Quest that ended with an unforgettable prize: fiest and also very personal thanks from Luvash himself.

-

Guess who rolled nat 20 and had +6 bonus on the „thanks” from Luvash

[costhursdays]

Upon preparing for heading out of the town, the party had a few errands to run through getting Udo Lukovich and his mother Willemina Rikalova out of Vallaki. With the possible threat of retribution from Vargas Vallakovich assuredly presumed, they had to work fast to get the two out of the city. From here they were told by Father Petrovich to head south of town to the small Vistani encampment. Vargas does not trust these Vistana and have forbade any from entering the town. The group disguised the two Vallakian's, heading through the gate trepidatiously, so as to not get caught.

Upon reaching the camp they came across a hurried scene, as Vistana were running to and fro. The group met with a man who seemed to be delegating the lot, sending out teams into the forest and beyond. They learned from this man, Arrigal, that his niece Anabelle was missing, and that no one had been able to find her for half the day at least. Over half the Vistani that lived in the encampment were out searching, including several Dusk Elves, the likes of which the group had only read about due to the rumors they had died out long ago. Arrigal asked for their assistance in finding her, describing her as a little girl in a yellow sun dress and ribbon. While Nick was suspicious of the description, Chiaroscuro proffered that he could help track her with the help of Flicker the Shadowember Cat, who could perceive scents better than anyone in the party could. Arrigal had a young Vistana teen bring out a spare ribbon that Anabelle wore in her hair, and Flicker gave it a healthy sniff before leading the group back to town.

Heading north, the party left through the gate to Lake Zarovich, where they had heard earlier that day from Lady Petrovna that the wolves have been more active in the area of the lake. As they came to the edge of the water, they couldn't see anything save for the small row boats at the shore and one in the water, with a man fishing within. The party got in two, Alexir and Kenshi in one rowboat, Cash, Nick, and Chiaroscuro in the other, and both rowed out towards the man in the middle of the lake.

Approaching him, the group asked how he was doing, but upon speaking the words, the man seemed to be in a daze. He didn't respond, instead slowly lifted a large, tied off burlap sack over the water and dropped it into the lake's frigid waters below. Kenshi sprung into action, leaping into the water and diving quickly to save whatever was trapped within the bag. He reached out, fingers barely grazing to grab the strings of the sack, bringing it to the surface a few seconds after diving in. Alexir threw a dagger at the man in the boat and knocked him out easily as Kenshi brought the girl out of the bag while he climbed into the boat. Cash connected the man's boat to the one he and Chiaro and Nick were rowing and both boats headed back to shore.

While en route to the shore, Kenshi explained where he was from to Anabelle, who was a precocious and curious thing. In the opposite boat, Chiaroscuro and Nick had a conversation using Nick's Psychic Whispers, where the Elf-ish rogue explained that they were from north of Waterdeep and that they had a sister just like Chiaro that they're very fond of. The moment passed once they got to the shore and questioned the man in the boat, who had started to come to from the intense shock to his system.

The man introduced himself as Bluto Krogarov, who had heard a tale that if one would sacrifice something to the lake, they'd be blessed with fish. He took advantage of Anabelle being there where she wasn't supposed to be, seeing her as a missing Vistana child in the middle of town where Vistani children are not allowed to be. The party left him at the north gate, informing the guards there that he had attempted to murder a child for fish, and headed back south to the Vistani camp, Anabelle in tow.

When she arrived home, the party met her father, a large, mountainous man named Luvash, who carried her around everywhere with him now that she returned home to him. He offered the group a gift of treasure as thanks, along with allowing Willemina and Udo to stay with them no questions asked, as they had been willing to save the one thing in the world he cared for. Simultaneously, he also asked the group for help, as their wine supply was low and the Vistani group were growing dry. He requested they go west to check out the Wizard of Wines, to see if anything was holding up their allotted shipment. The party, serendipitously, was already en route to the same place, so offered to check it out for them as well.

Back on the road, they headed west towards the bridge connecting Vallaki to the Svalich Forest. What was ahead of them was a mystery about to be solved.

[chew-on-bricks]

Mama Eva and her sons, Arrigal and Luvash🫶

I have changed the Vistani in my game to be half bird people. Mama Eva and her sons are chickens because they are protective and parental to their community.

Arrigal is a Silkie rooster and Luvash is balding🫶 (They usually have wing ears but these three don’t because they are part human but shh it’s a secret)

I know there are a lot of weird racist things they did with the Vistani in the OG game. I just want nothing to do with that in a game that I’m playing for fun with my friends. Also I thought it was weird that Vistani were like depicted inherently very magical and evil even though they are human?? I’m not going to make them all evil man cmon☠️stop this nonsense

Im working on making Vistani a playable race. In a one shot I did before the campaign one of my players was a Vistani and I adore them so so much🫶🫶🫶

In the lore I made up, the god of the mists Caligo (who is a big biblically accurate many-faced angel bird lookin thing) takes favor to the Vistani and blessed them with magic and protection. Over the centuries the Vistani grew to be more like their loving god, they even developed a whistle language to communicate through the dense fog they traversed.

Though Strahd still controls who gets to leave, the Vistani can choose to use the mist to go to other planes if they have a strong connection with Caligo.

The type of bird a Vistani is depends of their personality, although it’s common for a family to be similar to each other like Mama Eva and her sons.

If you were always on the go and have high blood pressure you might be a humming bird. If you were curious and mischievous you might be a parakeet. If you were protective and motherly you might be a chicken. You get it.

Vistani have only four fingers on each hand and a tail of feathers. They have humanoid legs and are almost completely covered in feathers except for the hands, feet, face, and belly. So they can cradle and warm the eggs. Yes they lay eggs. Yes it’s inspired by Falin from Dungeon Meshi, my Orcs are also inspired by that show🫶 go watch it if you haven’t

[hikamancer]

A Really Stupid Curse of Strahd Casting

Strahd - Jerma985

Rahadin - Stephen Merchant

Ludmilla - Lindsay Ellis

Anstrasya - Angry Video Game Nerd

Volenta - DreamSMP

Escher - Ster

Ireena - Philomeena Cunk

Ismark - MoistCr1tikal

Kolyan - Hbomberguy

Madam Eva - Anne Rice

Van Richten - Ricky Gervais

Ezmerelda - Jacksfilms

Izek - Borat

Vargas - Jontron

Lydia - Griffin McElroy

Victor - Vinny Vinesauce

Stella - F1NNSTER

Fiona Wachter - Blair White

Wachter Bros. - Jake and Logan Paul

Nikolai Wachter Sr. - Jeremy Fragrance

Blinksy - Justin Kuritzkes (Potion seller guy)

Arabelle - Greta Thunberg

Arrigal - Tyler McVicker

Luvash - Joseph Anderson

Old Shillikuny - Moo Deng

The Abbot - Karl Pilkington

Zhudun - Mr. Beast

Vampyr - Pewdiepie

Tenebrous - Ellen DeGeneres

Godfrey - Jacksepticeye

Vladimir - Darkiplier

Alek - Vargskelethor Joel

Sergei - DanTDM

Tatyana - Jacob Geller

Patrina - SSSniperwolf

Kasimir - Contrapoints

Dusk Elves - Harambe

Zuleika - David Hayter

Emil - Femboy Fishing

Kiril - Asmongold

[thefruitypebblescastleoftorment]

I'm just slowly making all the Vistani that are underdeveloped in the module my new blorbos. I love you Madame Eva, I love you Arabelle, I love you Arrigal, I tolerate you Luvash, I love you Eliza, I love you Stanimir.

I love Ezmerelda too, of course, but unlike all the others she actually gets some love in the RAW module (it's just still very racist about it.)

[luckyblackcatxiii]

Um...since we're sending NPC love I must give an honorable mention to my husband Luvash and my friend's poor meow meow Ismark 😤

Yeah, ngl I was not expecting Luvash to show up as a request?? I LOVE THAT HE'S GETTING LOVE we'll have to see on him (if it were up to me, I'd draw every NPC but idk if I can feasibly do that, time wise and financially) but Ismark was already done in the original post so at least that's secure >:J No way could I let that sad sopping dog of a man out of the stickers!

[oracleeyesart]

I'm curious about Yrsa and your Curse of Strahd campaign! Seems really interesting! 😍 What does the wheat symbolise in their comic? How did they meet the party? How did they meet Arrigal?

Hello!! Honestly so thrilled to talk about Yrsa, she’s the love of my life. At the time our campaign is set Yrsa has become a paladin of Chauntea, so end up drawing her with lots of wheat/agricultural motifs.

Yrsa met the party squished on the back of a cart through the mists, all of us pulled to Barovia in search of something! Arrigal and Luvash were manning/driving the cart—and he might have stayed and talked with Yrsa more, but our rogue wanted to stab him real bad (so he drove off back to Vallaki and left me the player thinking about him for many many more sessions.) Now they’re finally together and absolutely obsessed with each other!

[dungeonsandblorbos]

Campaign Intros: Curse of Strahd

so we're calling this campaign Curse of Strahd, which is an actual dnd 5e adventure book, but what we're actually playing is probably at least 80% homebrew. my husband, the DM, wasn't satisfied with the real book, as its worldbuilding wasn't deep or horrifying or dangerous enough for his gothic horror purposes. so he significantly expanded the lore, made Strahd a whole lot more powerful (as he should be), and even made his own maps and other Dark Lords! he's done an absolutely incredible job and i cannot heap enough praise on him. like, we're only 13 sessions in and this is his first time DMing, but he really makes this campaign something special <3

~anyway~

the setting

if you're familiar with Curse of Strahd as written, you've probably got a decent understanding of the basic setting already. i'm sure there's some major differences, but you'd have to ask my husband what they are lol

for those unfamiliar with Curse of Strahd, it takes place in the country of Barovia, a gloomy gothic nation banished from the material plane about four hundred years ago. now, it exists as its own little demi-plane in the Shadowfell, surrounded by deadly mists. somewhere in those mists are a few paths out to Faerun, but only a select few can walk them. everyone else, even those who wander in by mistake, are trapped. the sun does not shine here. there are no songbirds, only crows and ravens and owls. the dead do not like to stay dead. and it's all ruled over by the undying dread king Strahd von Zarovich, who is charming and cunning and ruthless and bored

the party

Cerris Tempescu: my PC! you know him, you met him here. a human tempest cleric who's basically what would happen if Clark Kent were a classic gothic hero (and also the most bottom to ever bottom). he's depressed. he's a himbo. he has something of a hero complex. he's my sweet baby boy and i love him and want him to eventually get a happily ever after, but first he's gotta suffer a whole bunch

Shalden Broadfist: a (purple) half-orc paladin devoted to the Smiling God, a big desert worm with a very neutral morality. Shalden is charming in a mostly awkward sort of way, and also something of a himbo. waaaaay more chill about the atrocities they've witnessed (and accidentally contributed to) than Cerris. looks good in an apron. can breathe fire. also very good at getting possessed

Valessha: an androgynous (purple) moon elf knowlege cleric. was naturally the smart one of the party . . . until they got yanked into a bag of holding by the Bag Man, where they've since been stuck.

Important NPCs

Ireena Kolyana: the one, the only, Ireena Kolyana. a beautiful and fiery young noblewoman who's handy with a sword and crossbow and throwing knives. headstrong, confident, and intelligent. she likes purple wildflowers, somewhat masculine clothing, and teasing Cerris, among other things

Ismark the Lesser: Ireena's older brother, and the current mayor of Barovia Village. when we first meet him, he's tired. like, only in his 30s and he's already gone silver tired. when we meet him again, he's got a shotgun and he's out for blood and vengeance against the people he feels were responsible for what happened to his sister (read: us!)

Arrigal: one of Strahd's . . . what's the word? henchmen? servants? lackeys? whatever else he is, Arrigal is a smarmy prick. blessed by Strahd with the ability to traverse the mists, he has personally lured many heroes (including our party) from Faerun to their deaths in Barovia, all for his master's entertainment

Luvash: Arrigal's younger but larger brother. big and strong and kind, but not stupid, although i'm sure his brother thinks he is. big dad energy

Madame Eva: a wise old woman cursed with nigh eternal unlife by her half-brother, Strahd. using her deck of tarokka cards, she can read your future—for a price. not money, no, she has no use for that, but a particularly interesting artifact or trinket will do

[redacted]: a horrifying eldritch family who lives in a cute little blue farmhouse surrounded by impossibly vast fields of "corn" and "scarecrows." there's a father who's very tall, a mother who's an excellent baker, and a child who likes to draw. their faces are obscured by a whirling static of color, and their voices have a lovely southern (US) drawl. their diet seems to consist exclusively of baked goods, candy, and other sweets. sometimes their movement sounds odd, like a bug's chitinous carapace rubbing against itself as it moves. sometimes their disembodied voices hover around you speaking in unison. sometimes they paralyze you and prop you up at their dinner table like a doll

Strahd: the man, the myth, the legend. Strahd is tall, dark, and handsome, with a rich voice and surprisingly warm hands. he is elegant, suave, charismatic, bold, intelligent, and many other nice sounding things; but he has been around for a long time, and he has seen many things, and he is bored of it all. despite the incredible power he already possesses, he hungers for more. has a self-professed fondness for religious men, having flirted with both Cerris and Shalden on numerous occasions

the plot . . . so far

after being lured into Barovia by Arrigal, our party finds themselves doing what they can to help the folks of Barovia village. they clear out a haunted and cursed old manor, putting the ghosts there to rest. they help bury Ireena and Ismark's father so Strahd's minions will stop messing with it. they promise a pastor to help him return his vampire spawn son to genuine life

and when they learn that Ireena is believed to be the reincarnation of Strahd's one true love Tatyana, that as a result, he has been trying to capture her and make her his bride for years, they agree to escort her to the temple in Valaki, the last stronghold against Strahd's power

upon arriving in Valaki, they are tasked with finding a missing holy relic as payment for sheltering Ireena. after losing Valessha to the Bag Man, going on a side quest to help Luvash recover his daughter from a family of hags, and playing out the beginning of a sweet little romantic comedy between Cerris and Ireena, they do find it and return it. but it quickly becomes apparent that something is deeply wrong here in Valaki

indeed, it turns out that the whole ordeal was something of a setup. more than a handful of NPCs thought to be good people—or, at least, neutral ones—are revealed to be working with Strahd to bring down Valaki and help him free himself from the confines of Barovia

you see, the curse that ties Strahd to this land and prevents him from leaving is not really a curse on him, but upon his bloodline. as the only surviving member of the von Zaroviches, unable to have children as a side effect of being undead, it remains effective. but if, say, he were to have a little niece or nephew running around, he just might be able to place them on the throne and pass along the curse, leaving himself free to return to Faerun and his conquest

but how could Strahd aquire a niece or nephew when his only sibling, Sergei, has been dead for four hundred years?

well, it should be noted Tatyana was not really Strahd's lover. he did ask her to be his, once, but she refused—and shortly thereafter, fell in love with and married his brother. when the pair died tragically, Tatyana was pregnant; and so the unfinished soul of her unborn child lingered, attached to her own soul as she reincarnated again and again and again over four hundred years. a particularly powerful fertility spell—say, one fueled by the very holy relic our party retrieved—could feasibly impregnate a reincarnation of Tatyana with the ghost of Sergei's child

so, of course, that's what Strahd's minions do. they put Ireena in a deep trance, kidnap her, and, armed with the very holy relic our party unwittingly retrieved for them, perform a ritual for a powerful fertility spell that presumably sticks a ghost baby in her womb without her knowledge or consent. and then she's whisked away to Strahd's castle, the city of Valaki is conquered, and our heroes are publicly blamed for it all

with nothing else to do, they turn to the cryptic reading Madame Eva gave them, hoping it holds the secret to defeating Strahd—and that they can decipher it before it's too late

[madammayh3m]

Day 5: Ferrin is a Queen (and also she gets a baby bat familiar, it’s real cute)

It’s a hill... it’s Yester Hill! Plot shit happens to Ferrin, Thais gets a little hint of an origin, we get another fucking Object! Yadda yadda Curse of Strahd spoilers so proceed with caution or whatever.

The two continue on the next day to scope out Yester Hill. Ferrin asks Thais about what happened the night prior, but Thais also has no idea and simply states that she was given a choice. They go to Yester Hill but get hopelessly lost for five hours.

Eventually they make their way there, where Thais gets a strange feeling from one of the burial cairns dotting the landscape; she realizes they are being watched by a group of druids. She opens the cairn where she uncovers Kavan’s spear. She and Ferrin are led by the druids up to the top of Yester Hill where - because both parties don’t speak the other’s language - they communicate through charades and crude drawings that Ferrin is considered Strahd’s heir to Barovia, and that Thais is seen as her protector.

They leave for Vallaki, and on the way, Ferrin questions Thais about her nature. Thais has a memory of a local legend - soldiers in silver-scaled armor that marched against a stronghold of Strahd and, upon being cut down in battle, rose again and again until the stronghold fell. Ferrin notices a glint of silver in the corner of her eye. Looking around, she sees a grave marker in the forest. She points it out to Thais, and the two check it out. Thais leaves some gold as an offering, and explains that there is a local legend that if you leave offerings at abandoned gravesites, the soldiers in silver armor will watch over your travels. Later, as they are traveling, a silver warrior protects them from a group of zombies that was following them.

They finally make it Vallaki, but only after the gates have been shut for the night. They decide to try and find the Vistani and ask to stay at their camp rather than try to bribe their way into the city. When they arrive at the camp, they find two men whipping a teenage boy, Alexei, as punishment for something, along with a few other Vistani men, passed out drunk. Upon noticing them, the leader of the Vistani, Luvash, asks what they’re doing there. Ferrin indicates that they are allies and loyal to Strahd, and Luvash asks for their help finding his missing daughter, Araebelle. The two go search out along the lake and find a figure out on a boat, chanting in a strange language and holding up a small, wriggling bag to throw into the water.

While he struggles to keep a hold on the bag, the two women rush out into the lake on one of the rowboats on the shore, getting there just in time to kill him and save Araebelle, who is hilarious and remarkably unphased by the whole ordeal. She reveals that she purposefully tricked Alexei into leaving her alone in an attempt to set him up with a girl he has a crush on. They reunite her with her father, and he and his brother, Arrigal, take them to go get a reward and then a place to stay for the night. They also pass along a gift from Strahd for Ferrin – the copy of his notes that he promised her, and a baby bat familiar. She reads the notes and the two retire for the night.

[petalpierrot]

I kind of miss it when my Drow Ranger was NE aligned and a bit more spicy and emotionally reserved, but I also am enjoying this round of CoS and him being CN. He is significantly more open emotionally and changing how he is after 25 sessions feels so wrong to do.

I know I'm not playing him as intimidating this time around, but damn I miss intimidating the crap out of baddies, even if I play him to have more persuasive abilities this time around.

That being said he can STILL be hella intimidating. Basically earlier in the campaign Arrigal was sneaking around the hut the party was staying in, and he was just failing his stealth checks so it alerted Dris, so he went outside and quietly pulled a dagger out and around the front of Arrigal's throat, threatening the crap out of him to NOT mess with the party or try to steal anything from them (Arrigal wasn't sure if the party had found part of the sunsword (they had) ) and if he STILL tried to do that there will be hell to pay.

Arrigal was THROUGHLY intimidated, though he still tried to sneak into Ez's wagon but essentially just grabbed a horse and fled back to Strahd, as the party simultaneously went to talk to Kasimir that morning so he could vouch for the party and tell Luvash what his bro did.

I guess he is intimidating when he needs to be, but I can't help but miss him being like that all the time to most people outside of the party.

Even though now that wouldn't make that much sense, Eidys would be too suspicious of him and even Veshen would be concerned

[wafflecrew-outofcontext]

Luvash: My daughter saved by a legendary vampire hunter? All right then, you can keep your skin, for now! *laughs*

Crew: *awkward laughing*

Paultin: *quietly* Somebody's gonna dieee

Strix: I'm human

[dovahbitt]

Luvash

Luvash is a non-binary drow icon in the campaign I’m playing don’t question it ✨

Reference image- https://pin.it/2JBTxix

[lexicals]

(ID in alt text)

My party picked up arabelle last week (along with a horde of miscellaneous ghost children), so I made sure to get my redesign ready for them meeting her (she takes after her mother)