#day three in barovia

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Frantisek Markov

Domain: Markovia Domain Formation:  698 BC Power Level: 💀💀⚫⚫⚫ Sources: Neither Man nor Beast (2e); Ravenloft Third Edition; Domains of Dread (2e); Realms of Terror (2e); Gazetteer II (3e), Fair Barovia Dungeon Magazine #207

Franktisek Markov is the Darklord of Markovia, a heavily forested island with the scatterings of a few small, abandoned villages reclaimed by nature; “Fran’s” manor; and the aptly named Monastery of Lost Souls. 

Franktisek grew up on a small pig farm outside of the village of Vallaki in Barovia. This was after von Zarovich became a vampire and started all this nonsense with these Misty prisons. He married Ludmilla, a young woman from Vallaki and opened a butcher shop there. Franktisek enjoyed the act of slaughtering his pigs, though the act itself was not enough for him and in time he began to experiment on the animals. He performed amputations, skin grafts, glandular injections and became fascinated with the results. I’m not sure where he learned the art of surgery…it is not as if Barovia is known for its education system nor pig farmers for their collection of books. I digress, when his wife discovered his grim experiments, she threatened to leave him and inform the villagers of what he was doing.

Overreacting to this threat, Markov made Ludmilla his next experiment and performed numerous surgeries on her over the course of three days. She died on the third day, her body now resembled an animal more than a person. However, once the villagers realized the truth, they chased Markov into the Mists and Markovia formed.

The Markov Manor was eventually claimed by Thaani refugees from Bluetspur and the echoes of Markov’s past deeds upon Ludmilla had some…well, let’s just say interesting effects on the Thaani. 

Before the Grand Conjunction, Markovia lay where the Shadow Rift now lies. Now Markovia has been transformed into an island west of the township of Ludendorf in Lamorida on the Sea of Sorrows. This transformation of Markovia is quite suitable for our transformed Darklord. Once a man, Franktisek is now a beast with the face of a man, forever searching for his lost humanity.

Franktisek continues his experiments on Markovia. Capturing various species of animals and transforming them into beasts with human-like features. Every attempt he sees as a failure as they have not sufficiently shed their animal side. These “Broken Ones” roam the island and worship Franktisek as a god, referring to him as “the god who walks among us”. Though I believe the Vistani have a better name for him: “Master of Pain”.

Any humanoid that finds themselves on Markovia will likely end up in Markov’s lab, where he transforms them into humanoids with beast-like features. He does not use any anesthesia, so these ‘surgeries’ of his are quite...memorable.

Markov can take on the form of any beast, though always retains his human head and face, which is as ridiculous and terrifying as it sounds. He tends to take the form of an ape, believing it makes him look more human. Perhaps there are no mirrors on the island so he can see how much that is not the case?

[rahadaddy]

One of the underrated changes I've made to my Barovia, just because it fits some of the themes and narrative better, is with Ez and Van Richten. He's still her mentor and foster father figure, but instead of Van RIchten being secretly racist and leaving Ez behind because he is cursed, it's more heartbreaking. Van Richten is dying in my game. He doesn't want Ez to have to witness it (or, worse, die with him). His stint as Rictavio is a coping mechanism that is not working and his goal is to kill Strahd or die trying.

Ez just found him again and she's hoping he'll reconsider sentencing himself to death like some martyr. She doesn't want him to reconsider killing Strahd. She just wants him to not throw himself at Death (in Barovia, no less!). She wants to be included in the greatest hunt Van Richten has undertaken. There is a heartbreaking drama unfolding between them.

And it's all background noise. Rictavio traded his horse for information on Castle Ravenloft with the warlock (who has a celebrity crush on Rictavio). He just offered to arm the party's fight against Strahd. Ez took the ranger aside and said, "Hey... he means well, but he will be reckless. Coming from me, that means something."

Except... coming from her, it means nothing because as much as she likes and wants to support the party, they hate her for stealing a horse from Arrigal's camp. They don't like Arrigal, either, but Arrigal and the ranger were formerly business associates, so saving Ez's life had a financial cost. More to it, the cleric hates Ez for "embarrassing his family's name" or something. I do not understand my player's logic there, but Alistor generally hates most people so it doesn't shock me.

Sometimes I think about party roles. Theo, our warlock, is definitely the heart of the party. She certainly is the one who wants to make connections with NPCs the most.

I just don't get it with Ez. Ez saved Victor Vallakovich from Castle Ravenloft, and the entire party's lives from pissed-off druids in the woods this past session and it didn't move the needle. Maybe her stint as "Rictavio's Lovely Assistant" will be humorous enough (or productive enough) to impress them. If not, I'm going to have to reevaluate. She doesn't show up often or in every life-or-death scenario. The two times she has shown up were to first give the prophecy to the ranger (who is a replacement for a dead bard PC) and reunite Victor with the party after a teleportation circle went wrong, and second because Van Richten promised the party a ride home from Castle Ravenloft. It made more sense to send Ez than Van Richten, who wouldn't have been able to resist a vampire hunt.

My GF said she wished Alistor (her cleric) liked Ez better because it seems like a fun little drama and that she wishes everyone had insight checked the NPCs more. I agree but I don't know what to do about it. I know what plot beats to hit with my players that they generally enjoy. I have not cracked the code on NPCs. And it's weird because they adored Ez last game!

I think one of the things I'm going to try to do is pare down the number of NPC allies they take with them to Krezk and Immol. Right now, they have Ireena, Ismark, Victor, Stella, and Doru. Stella died and was brought back by Theo during the druid fight. At other times, they've traveled a little with Godfrey and the revenants, the Durst Siblings, and they have plans to travel with Patrina Velikov. I guess they don't really need more NPC allies but like... wild choices, I think.

And I still have NPCs to finish designing for Krezk and Immol.

I'm not mad about it. The game is going really well and we're having a great time. I'm just stumped! The party wants to spend a day or three in Vallaki before shipping out west to search for prophesied items. I have to have Immol ready for them! I'll probably try posting more here as I prepare!

[wingsthephoenix]

oc-tober day 9 - relationships

im a bit late to this day, but i was really busy yesterday, so! here i am to talk about one of the most important relationships ive cowritten with others, between my tiefling warlock river, @psikind's human sorcerer xilant and @sparklelight3's human warlock irene!!!

(art by @psikind )

this is a ship that's been following us for four years, since risk and i started shipping xilant and river before their campaign even began! a friend of risk's was like "haha what if your magic users kissed in barovia" and then we both went "wait shit they actually work really well together" and that was the end of that story. when the narrative puts you both in the hands of the thing you hate the most and you try to save each other from it ........... i love them. so much

(art by @anafishart )

and then irene entered the picture!!!! she joined the party not knowing that she was a caster and xilant had to train her after river had a fight with the entire party (read: river yelled at everyone and everyone yelled back). she's dating xilant, as is river, but irene and river have their own secret third thing going on and i love them for it <3

the way they confessed was actually fking hilarious. while trying to find camp, river overheard irene and xilant talking about their respective dark powers (and then had an encounter with Their Own but dw abt it :3). then they got quite literally dragged into said conversation, and the following occurred in this order:

river told xilant/irene that they totally called their mutual crush and was fine if they wanted to be together since river didn't want to hurt them

xilant confessed to liking both of them, not just one or the other

irene confessed to her dark power marking both of them as sacrifices. bonus round bc said confession Removed the marks so they were fine

and then they all kissed <3

(art by @sparklelight3 )

for river's side of things, xilant and irene are a majority of river's reason to live (as are the rest of the party). they've both proven time and time again that they would never abandon or give up on river for anything or anyone, gods or dark powers be damned. irene literally got the three of them promise rings, and by the three of them i mean river's missing right now so irene got three promise rings for herself, xilant and is saving the third for river for when the party finds them. i cried after that

(art by @psikind )

anyway hi. love wins and so does polyamory <3

[willow-boop]

Day 7 - Ireena

The warrior, the survivor, the blazing flame of Barovia.

In this AU, she has trained her whole life to be able to leave. To stand a chance once she is able to leave.

Hopeful but stubborn. The woman would stare down a hell hound because she is angry and full of determination to get out.

For context, in this AU, Ireena has an interesting relationship with Rahadin as he found her hunting once when she escaped Ismark's watch. Out of curiosity and to watch over her for Strahd, the elf observed her and taught her how to shoot. She knows he works for Strahd and distrusts him but sort of comes to realize he won't tell Ismark about her antics...and hasn't brought her to Strahd so she tolerates his occasional presence (they have occasionally associated for three years on and off).

Strahd is aware but doesn't see anything romantic about it as he believes Rahadin is not Ireena's type. He sees it as an excellent chance to keep an eye on her.

Rahadin does what Strahd says but also finds Ireena's company pleasant enough especially in comparison with the other residents of Castle Ravenloft.

Ireena occasionally teases him a little bit.

[anantplayingdnd]

hey BIG BIG BIG BIG Curse of Strahd spoilers under the break okay? okay.

also big tall scary sexy women and cool homebrew (i think)

enter at your own risk

Alright so Sykane the Soul Hungerer.

Oh my god what a concept. I had a warlock player who wanted their patron to be tied to Barovia, so i was looking at the Dark Powers and like. that's incredible. Most of the Dark Powers are admittedly pretty mid, but holy shit.

For those unfamiliar:

Like, that's pretty cool. The gift is lame, cause I think artificially imposing a flaw on a character without a Player's knowledge is just hard and frustrating to play, but whatever. Just look at that name. The Soul Hungerer. This is someone who wants to eat and (presumably) destroy Souls. That's a terrifying concept in general, but in Barovia? Holy Shit that's bad. Barovia has a horrifically finite amount of souls floating around in what I have affectionately deemed "The Snowglobe" and someone just showing up and... consuming souls? Capital B BAD. It's insane that she's just casually tucked away in random area X33c. So naturally, this is the concept I went with for my PC's patron.

The way this all shook out in our game is that Patrina and Strahd were on the hunt for the amber temple together, and after a lot of work, they finally found it. There, Strahd took the gift of Vampyr and Patrina took Sykane's gift, becoming, effectively, her first warlock. The way we play Sykane is that whenever one of her warlocks raises someone from the dead, the warlock gets the body, and she consumes the soul that was tethered to it (hence the recently deceased. If the soul is untethered from the body, she can't do anything and isn't interested.) This sets her apart from the other Dark Powers, who instead feed off the suffering of the Barovian souls, not the souls themselves.

It also means that once the mists set in, all of a sudden Sykane is effectively going around eating the cows that produce the milk everyone else needs to live. The other Dark Powers are, shall we say, none too pleased about this and decide to exile her from Barovia, where she lies in wait for other aspiring necromancers to want her power, and also tries to set herself up as a Goddess of Death, much to [insert your campaign's death god here, in ours it's Kelemvor]'s disdain. Of course our Warlock started making deals with her, and when he ended up in Barovia, she came with! And now our warlock is here with a Patron who destroys souls, and whose shit list includes, but is not limited to:

Strahd (for wanting Patrina to be killed)

Rahadin (for attempting to kill patrina)

Kazimir (for killing Patrina)

Exethanter (for helping the Dark Powers exile her)

The literal fucking Dark Powers.

And also she wants the warlock to feed her a soul roughly every three days.

uh anyways i promised tall sexy women so

also please talk to me about her I love this character so fucking much.

[shadovan]

@never-surrender sent:

She had been gone for some time, the eleven days in Barovia correlating to well over a year in Faerun... and all she had left before she left was a note telling him she was going with Astarion. Ironic, considering. Returning to the towers was ... quite nostalgic. She had missed him ... but at the same time she was almost afraid of returning home. Afraid to find what was waiting for her... whether he had missed her or not, whether or not he was, quote unquote, worthy of her time.

"Tareque..?" she called his name hesitantly, transported into his study as she begins to look for him now.

Lost in his studies on the curative and necrotic benefits of the various plantlife around Neverwinter, Tareque had been immersed for nearly half a day before he noticed Aurelia's absence in the towers. A walk throughout the rooms had him finding the note left by her. For a fleeting moment there was a twinge of something resemblant to fear until he read the words.

Well. He supposed this was the least of what he deserved in return. With a quiet sigh, he folded the note and placed it in one of the drawers of his desk before he went outside to feed the livestock that Aurelia typically tended to. And the cats, of course - as if they would allow him to forget their presence as he nearly tripped over them.

The months passed as normal, save for the emptiness in the towers that the lich attempted to ignore. Callia's aid helped to keep the animals tended to when Tareque fell engrossed in his books. It wasn't that he ever actively neglected the creatures, but more so was lost to the concept of time.

By the time Aurelia returned to the tower, not much had changed, save for the excess of cobwebs and a few mold patches along the brickpaths of the walls, at they had been when she had first arrived in the beginning.

When he heard her call his name, the sound echoing along the stone, amber eyes rose from the manuscripts he had been analyzing for near three days. Had he imagined that? It wouldn't have been the first time.

Were his ears playing tricks on him?

One of the cats sprang off the bed then, hurrying excitedly in the direction of Aurelia's voice and that was all the further confirmation he needed. The papers were quickly forgotten as he vanished--

-- and reappeared right next to her. All but pouncing, his arms curled around Aurelia in a tight embrace. "Welcome home," he whispered, relieved.

[mocha-writes]

Tagged by @rlainarin to do this tag game

Three Ships:

Strahd von Zarovich/Patrina Velikovna (Ravenloft/Curse of Strahd): I admit they’re both close to—if not already at—the point of being original characters with the departures I’ve taken from canon when constructing my own lore for a potential CoS campaign, but I have been thinking about them for years (the guy who tagged me in this can confirm it). Every day I grow closer to the rewrite where the love story at the center of Ravenloft’s formation was theirs instead and they’re co-Darklords of Barovia.

Lestat de Lioncourt/Nicolas de Lenfent (The Vampire Chronicles): I just love how deep, meaningful, and ultimately terrible their relationship seemed in The Vampire Lestat. It’s such an inversion of the tropes I usually see associated with romance between childhood friends. The contrasts between them and their equally fierce emotions compel me, even though I know their story ends suddenly and tragically. (It also adds interesting layers to Lestat’s eventual relationship with Louis)

Orpheus/Eurydice (Hadestown): It feels a bit weird highlighting the musical rather than the myth it’s based on but anyway, I really love Hadestown Orpheus and Eurydice because of their contrasts and how they share each other’s worldviews (though in different ways) by the end, and how despite everything—despite reconciling Hades and Persephone and giving the world back its seasons—everything still ends bittersweetly.

First Ship: I’m pretty sure it was Erik/Christine from The Phantom of the Opera musical. I hadn’t even seen the 2004 movie or the stage version as a kid, but I squeezed everything I could out of (I think) Wikipedia and DeviantArt lists (the kind where one drew responses to prompts) about the film version and made things up in my own head. The memory that’s coming to mind is of gender-flipping them and trying to write my own play with that premise. Now, I personally prefer Raoul/Christine, but they still have a place in my heart, particularly the 1989 movie’s versions of them.

Last Movie: Hairspray (2007)

Last Song: “The New Girl in Town” (stuck in my head thanks to the aforementioned movie)

Currently Reading: The Vampire Lestat. It’s been slow-going with this one because Life but I have around 200 pages left. It’s made me appreciate Lestat even more, though I don’t necessarily believe everything he says.

Currently Watching: Not engaged with any TV series at the moment

Currently Eating: I had popcorn for a snack a while ago

Currently Craving: Stability, that setting up my new PC will go well, that I can play video games again and introduce my fictional people to my friends and their fictional people… I miss having the drive for OC asks and writing prompts. I’d like to get back into those somehow

This was originally titled something like “tag 9 people you want to get to know better,” but I struggle with thinking of people for these things… Tagging @perkeleen-lavellan , @hurl-a-can , @whenyoulosesmallmind and @darkspawntaxcollectors . There’s no obligation, as always, this was just fun and I thought I’d share. If you want to do this but weren’t tagged, do it anyway; let me enable you.

[ravenloftian]

Keepers of the Black Feather

What you know...

In the death-shrouded domain of Barovia, a spark of life flickers within the seething darkness. Beneath Lord Strahd's malevolent gaze lies an ancient order devoted to principles of good and the destruction of evil. This elite order, known as the Keepers of the Black Feather, served as spies and scouts during the Terg occupation and were loyal to Barovia and, to a large extent, Prince Strahd von Zarovich. After the battle of Berez and Strahd's flagrant betrayal of the Hapsburg Dynasty, the order went aground and has kept a low profile. They began, instead to gather information on Strahd, keeping a tally of his despotic deeds. After many grim discoveries of Barovia's new king, they now seek his downfall. They believe that Strahd Von Zarovich has made a fiendish pact and fallen irrevocably into darkness, cursing the land in his wake.

The Keepers' ultimate goal is the fabled Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, a powerful artifact crafted by the Great Archcleric of the Morninglord Saint Karreck Kir, who served alongside Strahd Von Zarovich during the early days of the war. The devotion to the creation of the relic sapped Karreck Kir's life force and he died shortly after completing the work. Tavian Andral recorded many of Karreck Kir's visions and his final testament where he foretold the symbol would be used by the Keepers of the Black Feather and the holy Church of the Morninglord to defeat the coming darkness. The holy symbol was safeguarded in the Abbey of Brilliance by Saint Andral for many decades but is now missing.

While the Keepers' primary focus is the search for the Holy Symbol, they also devote themselves to studying Strahd and thwarting his schemes whenever possible. They aid others who resist him in covert ways, ensuring that their efforts remain unnoticed.

The members of this order practice a complex recognition system with three levels. They believe, and rightly so, that they can only survive by maintaining the utmost limits of secrecy. If Strahd were ever to learn that the Keepers of the Black Feather existed, he would hunt them down and destroy them. The first form of identification is visual. Each Keeper of the Black Feather always wears one or more raven feathers. These vary from plumage to signet rings, engraved amulets, or tattoos. However, a verbal code is also used because an outsider might also wear such decorations. This second step in the identification process takes the form of a casual question that includes the word "nest" in it. The response must include "feather," or the person is clearly a fraud. Once this secondary identification has been made, a person can be fairly confident that he is in the company of a fellow member of the secret society. However, just for security, a third check must be made. Like the second step, this one is verbal. Unlike the previous level, however, it requires the person being examined to take the initiative. If someone believes that he is being checked for authenticity by a fellow member of the order, he must say something in the language of ravens. Upon hearing this, the person making the inquiry responds in kind, and the recognition process is complete.

In addition to the traditional "membership" of the order, many members can call upon normal ravens to do their bidding. The extent of this ability depends upon the nature of the individual. Ordinary talon members have no ability to command ravens, but they have a limited command of the ravens' language. Thus, they can communicate with ravens fairly well. It is important to note, however, that the language of these birds is very simple and generally enables them to express only the most elementary concepts, like "danger coming" or "food ahead."

Their headquarters, known as "The Nest," is a secret location known only to the highest-ranking members of the order.

Many members worship the Raven Queen or Mother Winter

The Raven Queen (Mother Winter/Lady of Death)

Also known as the Matron of Ravens or Mother Winter, the Raven Queen is the only mortal known to have successfully joined the pantheon of gods. She dwells in the Shadowlands and presides over the Raven Gate, through which all mortal souls must pass after death, regardless of creed. She judges between the competing claims on any soul and sends it onwards.

She is served in the Shadowlands by the Sorrowsworn, souls that do not wish to pass through the Gate and for whom she has a use. This favor is granted to few (and few would seek it) and may be withdrawn at any time. Some Sorrowsworn serve for days, some for centuries. All must pass the Gate eventually, in accordance with their fate.

The Raven Queen has some roadside shrines but no major temples, as no community would want to host such a church. Her clerics are respected and feared and very few in number. In her role as Mother Winter, she is the ultimate sovereign of the Winter Court of the Fae, although in practice Queen Mab (known as the Raven Queen's daughter, although Mab is thought to be far older) rules that land.

Commandments:

Death is the natural end of life. There is no lament for those who have fallen.

The path of fate is sacrosanct. Those who pridefully attempt to twist or avoid their destiny should be punished.

Undeath is an atrocity. Those who would attempt to pervert the transition of the soul must be brought down.

[terrified-spider]

D&D Vampirism & the Results of Regenerative Abilities

A small note:

I’ve posted about both Elder Scrolls and D&D on this blog, and I’m pretty sure I’ve already written some headcanons about TES’s portrayal of vampirism. What’s described here is only for my D&D world building, Barovia/General Ravenloft in particular, where the condition is generally treated much more like a curse than in the Elder Scrolls franchise, where it’s a contracted illness. I won’t promise that I will or won’t write about TES vampirism, as i think it’s fun, it’s not something I find fitting for the Domains of Dread.

This post contains spoilers for the heavily modified version of Curse of Strahd I will be eventually running, and spoilers for the novel I, Strahd. Changes from the RAW 5e module include:

Alek is back! He’s not having a good time. 

Escher is Van Richten’s lost son. It’s not that important to this essay, but I do mention their shared eyesight problems in passing.

Shout out to @mx-lamour and their fanfic "What have I done?", for being the reason I finally sat down and wrote this all out. 

An Introduction to Vampirism & Wound Recovery in Undeath:

Whether described as a curse or blessing, Vampirism is a magical condition, one that has a number of effects on the patient’s natural recovery/healing process, and by extension, the development of scars throughout one’s unlife. While none of the information here is intended to impact gameplay and balance, it can have an influence over roleplay and certainly does in character design. Flavor is free, and I want it all.

Becoming a vampire is akin to pressing pause on one’s life and body, stopping the aging process, but not reversing it. For example, no more of Strahd’s hair will turn gray, but the streaks that are there will never change back to black. Escher’s eyesight and the myopia inherited from his father are impacted by age, getting worse over time. While being turned provided him with some new dark vision, he will remain nearsighted to the same extent he was upon death. The march of time has stopped, but that doesn’t mean it can be reversed. 

Scar tissue is subject to the same forces, and old scars obtained during life will stop fading, remaining just as visible or unapparent as they did upon the body’s death. Unhealed wounds will repair themselves only once regeneration begins, but are subject to the same factors as other wounds obtained post mortem.

General Post Mortem Wounds and Scaring Trends:

While there is some variation in these trends, there are three main degrees to which wounds will leave a lasting impact.

Minor wounds don’t last. These are the results of unsilvered weaponry, mild damage from running water, and necrotic magic. Very little is in the way of the regeneration and healing process, so there are less chances for something to go wrong, such as debris entering the wound, or the injury to scab over, and increase the chances of a scar forming. On the off chance one does form, it usually vanishes within an hour at the latest.

Most magical damage provides the same level of regenerative difficulty as that of sivered weapons and most instances of water damage. Silver and water, both considerable weaknesses of vampires, react poorly with the dark magic of a vampire’s curse, and interfere with it’s influences over the body. Similarly to those described prior, these scars will fade with time, simply taking longer, usually over the course of a couple days, or several weeks at most. 

Sunlight will cause the most dramatic injuries, leaving burns over the exposed skin, and healing to form scars that never fade.

Turning Wounds:

Turning wounds are usually bites, the injuries that kill someone as they become undead, and the place of the curse’s transference. Given the nature of the wound, magic doesn’t make the wounds particularly easy to heal, even with the assistance of vampiric regeneration, which is usually what heals them.

Unlike other wounds that result in varying scar types and will reflect the type of damage when applicable, turning wounds usually lave behind contracture scars, where the skin has tightened over the wound in the healing process, giving the impression of skin stretched over the injury. It results in much more obvious scar tissue that can sometimes cause the individual pain, both due to the nature of the scar type, and the magical influences.

While most turning wounds are bite marks, such as those on the necks of Alek and Escher, they can take the form of other injuries, such as the numerous arrow marks across Strahd’s torso and chest.

Different Types of Vampires & Exceptions to the Trends:

The patterns here assume that the subject described is a vampire spawn, a common type of vampire within Ravenloft and Barovia in particular. Consumption of blood will have an impact on healing speed, where greater access to blood will speed up the process, and under feeding can drag out the process for months or longer. However, differences in the nature of one’s curse can manifest as much more dramatic differences in healing ability.

Failed Spawn - Alek Gwilym:

For some reason, the curse didn’t transfer right. In the case of Alek, his blood was already used to reanimate someone, and the Dark Powers forbid Strahd from ever having a good time. Alek just got caught in the crossfire.

Technically they use the Nosferatu stat block but that’s behind the DM screen, not in game.

Turning wounds on failed spawn don’t heal properly, leaving open wounds that won’t bleed, but can be opened up further, and can cause significant pain if not kept clean or become irritated.

The Dark Powers hate you in particular - Strahd von Zarovich:

Aside from turning wounds, any scar will fade with time, including severe sunburns.

Injuries resulting from critical hits will have lasting impacts, such as vision or movement issues, punishment for mistakes in combat.

It needs some work, but this is inspired by the parts of Strahd’s relationship with Barov I’ve been able to flesh out. It needs some work still, but the man taught Strahd mistakes have lasting consequences, either in a material sense, or Barov holding failures over Strahd.

Cleveland Clinic on Scars (:

[nostalgiachan]

The Ring in Return

Ninth Prompt: "I almost lost you."

Act Three Spoilers

Summary: After ten years, Vier and Gale's research may be about to pay off: they may have found a way for Astarion to walk in the sun again. (2,031 words)

---

After ten years, the end was finally in sight. Ten years of delving into every crypt this side of Barovia, sniffing out even the faintest hint of vampiric activity to find those who’d also journeyed down the same path, and to dig through whatever was left of them for the scraps of knowledge they may have left behind. Ten years of managing personal responsibilities, finances, resource procurement, travel time, work time. Ten years of constant drafting, testing, failing, and drafting again. But at last, Vier held within her hands the culmination of all their hopes, their dreams, their work.

To outside observers, it was merely a fancy ring - a platinum band with a black sapphire as its center gem, haloed by red-tinted sunstones and flanked by two small moonstone cabochons. But the platinum had been treated with crushed black opal, heliodor, and beljuril, and each piece of the ring was absolutely brimming with spellwork, all interwoven in a delicate circuit and focused toward a singular goal:

To make the wearer immune to the sun.

For some time, Vier had almost thought her goal was impossible, even with the help of the greatest wizard she knew. Gale Dekarios was absolutely essential to the creation of this item, of that there was no doubt. But for years, it seemed no matter what permutation of materials, spells, and methods of crafting they tried to piece together, the results ended with them no closer to success. One moment, the interwoven darkness spells would blind the wearer and leave them no better protected from daylight than they’d been before; the next, the heliodor would ambiently draw in too much sunlight and burn the flesh of even those who could freely walk in the day. Vier was absolutely willing to work for years, decades, centuries even; after all, assuming she didn’t meet an adventurer’s end or contract a terrible disease, she still had a healthy six hundred years remaining. But did Gale? While powerful wizards like Elminster certainly had a penchant for prolonging their lives, she didn’t want to hang the success of crafting this ring on assuming Gale would be in his full faculties a lifetime down the line.

But then, one day, the Wizard of Waterdeep sent Vier a summons: “May have found a lead. Meet me in Athkatla.”

Athkatla, city of a thousand vices, crown jewel of the nation of Amn. For once, Vier considered taking the journey alone. If the city was anything like she’d heard, even she’d be hard-pressed to keep on track with all of the temptations it provided. And Astarion? While she generally trusted him to behave himself, there was no telling what sort of shenaniganry he’d get up to if he had half the mind. So, of course, it was Gale who suggested the first thing they should do when they arrived in the city was to visit the local Temple of Sune which he’d heard had an absolutely lovely spa service.

“This all serves a very valuable purpose, I assure you,” the wizard responded to Vier’s clear displeasure. “Aside from making sure we’re relaxed and refreshed for the work ahead, I hear they have excellent private meeting rooms, where we’ll be neither seen nor heard.”

“Are you afraid someone’s going to eavesdrop on us?” Vier asked in return.

“Well, when one is dealing with difficult-to-obtain, possibly forbidden knowledge, it never hurts to practice precaution,” Gale answered in his typical chipper, yet slightly smug, manner. Vier’s lips couldn’t help but purse; she was certain Gale was far more interested in the spa aspect, but so long as this lead of his actually paid off, she supposed it wouldn’t hurt anything.

Surprisingly enough, though, Gale was actually being completely genuine about the private rooms. After she, Gale, and Astarion had been thoroughly bathed, splashed with tinctures, and massaged until their muscles were veritable piles of goop, they retreated to a lavishly-decorated rented room which had one way in, one way out, and seemed quite thoroughly soundproofed. The fact it was clearly some sort of boudoir had not gone unnoticed, and if only Gale hadn’t been there, it very well might have seen its intended use with just how relaxed Vier and Astarion had grown. Unfortunately for them - or, perhaps, fortunately for Gale - it wasn’t long before they were joined by a rather skittish looking individual with a satchel of scrolls. This person, Gale explained, was their information source, and he’d found an absolute whopper for them.

The visitor laid out one of the scrolls across the table between the four of them; its surface was covered with almost indecipherable writing and what appeared to be designs for a cloak of some sort. The man explained that over a century ago in Athkatla, there’d existed a vampire lord called Dragomir the Red. In his possession was a cloak which purportedly protected the wearer from all ill effects of the sun, but at the cost of severely weakening them in all other regards. Dragomir was long dead, and his cloak was nowhere to be found, but this individual had found something almost as, if not more, valuable: the original plans for the creation of the cloak by the necromancer Zulann Flass.

While Vier couldn’t translate the text half as well as Gale could, there was still much she could parse - symbols tied to specific spells, illustrations of ingredients to be woven into the fabric of the cloak, the exact order in which to imbue the material. The more she looked through the scrolls, the more her face began to light up. If they took those schematics and applied their own research to work around the cloak’s shortcomings…they could very well make their ring functional at last!

Vier and Gale thanked the informant profusely, though, as expected, he was not content with gratitude alone. He expected payment. Astarion floated the idea of a five finger discount, but the idea was quickly vetoed. This information, after all, had more than proven its weight in gold.

Of course, even with the schematics in hand, it would be another six years of work to once more amass funding, gather resources, and plan the new ring for testing. But at that first test, when the ring properly absorbed the beams of sunlight which hit it and the energy dissipated within the band, Vier nearly burst into tears. More testing followed, this time placing the ring on various summoned undead. While few had quite the same sort of issue with daylight as vampires, they still had a tendency to be somewhat weakened by the light of day. But with each new test, the new ring performed beautifully.

Soon enough, there was only one final test remaining, the test that Vier had been dreading most of all.

On that day, before the break of dawn, Gale joined Vier and Astarion in the Dawnshire Temple of Lathander. The church was perfectly situated on the tallest hill in the village, facing directly east so that the rising sun would always pour in through the massive windows behind its central altar. Every morning, Vier would greet Lathander’s light. This morning, she would not be greeting it alone.

As Vier turned to Astarion and slid the ring on his left hand, she could see he was trying to swallow his fear. “It’s a little gaudy, isn’t it?” he attempted to joke, though Vier knew his heart wasn’t in it. The look in his eye reminded her of that night, so many years ago, when he’d first poured his heart out to her. That night, she could see that he was willing to hope again, even if he was deathly afraid of the pain it would bring. Once more, he was hopeful. Once more, he was terrified.

As the sky beyond the windows turned a pale blue, Vier raised Astarion’s hands to her lips. “You know, I still have that moment just after we’d killed the Netherbrain seared into my mind,” she spoke quietly. “We stood there on the docks, Lathander shining brilliantly down on us as if he was celebrating what we’d accomplished. Deep down, I’d hoped that something of the tadpole’s effects would remain within us even when it’d been burned out of our heads, or that Lathander himself would make an exception for you in light of everything you’d done, and promise never to harm you again.”

“But then…I saw those silvery lines appear on your skin. I watched you crumble to dust. To have come that far and done that much, only to nearly lose you there and then…I couldn’t bear it. So I swore that no matter what it took, no matter how long I had to struggle, I would return the light to you. It’s the least you deserve.”

The tears in Astarion’s eyes shined nearly as brightly as the gems within the ring. “Gods, you…you truly are incredible, you know. In all this time, have I ever thanked you for all of this?”

“Oh, I’m sure you have,” Vier laughed through tears of her own. “And if you haven’t, all I’ll ask for is a smile. But, I suppose we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves.”

She released his right hand and turned to face the dawn with him, his left hand still gripped in her own, both trembling. The first rays peeked over the horizon, and soon spilled into the church, slowly and painfully rising. Higher and higher, they rose, flooding the room with golden light. Yet, Vier didn’t hear a single whimper from Astarion. He didn’t flinch or cry out in pain as the sunlight washed over him. He barely even squinted as the sun reached his red eyes, as if he was daring Lathander to do his absolute worst. Even with the full form of the sun in view, he didn’t budge an inch. They stood there together in silence, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the ring to prove it had its limits. But that moment never came.

Astarion was completely fine.

From the pews behind the pair, an enthusiastic cheer rang out; Gale could no longer contain himself.

“Elminster’s beard, we actually did it!” he laughed, a surprisingly raucous celebration for the man. He quickly stood and crossed the floor, scooping up Vier and Astarion into the tightest of hugs. “Gods be good, you can’t believe how relieved I am!”

“You think you’re relieved? I thought I was about to fall apart for a minute there,” Vier joked as she returned the hug. Astarion, however, was surprisingly quiet in all of this. Was he just overwhelmed? Trying to process that he was truly free to enjoy the daytime once again? Or was it something else? As soon as Gale broke the hug, Astarion pulled him away for a moment, whispering something into his ear. In response, Gale simply nodded, and handed Astarion something that Vier couldn’t quite see from one of his robe pockets. After a moment, Astarion returned to her, once more taking her hands in his.

“You know, you’ve given me a rather lovely piece of jewelry today, gaudy as it is,” he said, trying to maintain his usual flippant air and only partially succeeding. “But for a while now, I’ve felt like something was a bit lopsided here. See, you’ve been breaking your back trying to make a nice ring for me - with help, of course, but still - but I’ve had nothing to really give to you in return. And you know me, tit for tat and that. Soooooo…”

Suddenly, Astarion dropped to a knee before Vier, and produced the item that Gale had given him.

“I got you a ring of your own! And on my honor, I didn’t steal it.”

The ring looked almost identical to the one that Vier and Gale had crafted together - platinum band, black sapphire setting flanked by moonstones, yet in place of a halo of sunstone was one of pale blue opal. He slid the ring onto her left hand.

“Honestly, I never thought I’d be asking this, but…Vier Alurlssrin, will you marry me?”

Vier didn’t bother to answer, instead letting the force of her kiss do the talking.

[wolfthekid]

Before the End — Curse of Strahd

After over three years, our journey into the mists is almost over. It initially started with me as the only player, with two NPC characters that become not only the party members for our journey in Barovia, but my character's closest friends. After a couple years, we had a few players join who have traveled with us through some of the most pivotal moments of the entire campaign, like through the Amber Temple and dinner at Castle Ravenloft.

These last few sessions, including dinner and what followed after, have brought a lot for the party to think about during what could be their final days. There have been developments on multiple characters backstories, like our reborn fighter beginning to learn of a past he had since long forgotten due to a curse. We also learned of the true origins surrounding the mysterious tabaxi swashbuckler who joined our party last. It is hard to say where the party will be at after this, given what's happened. But it seems everyone is focused on taking down Strahd Von Zarovich first and foremost, then going from there. We have 6 more days to prepare for the final bout, so fingers crossed nothing devastating happens before then.

[rosexknight]

Of Bird People and Mockery

When you live in Barovia, you have no room to know what things outside of Barovia. But at least we know that Ula is Ula.

We have three days to prepare and rescue Ireena. Come join us tonight at 10pmEST to see how it goes~! https://www.twitch.tv/metaisfutile/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT88uKsJc/

Hope you enjoy~! Want art like this monthly? Why not join? My General Patreon, safe for all audiences: www.patreon.com/rosexknight My 18+ ADULT-ONLY Patreon: www.patreon.com/rosexxxknight

[rahadaddy]

It's still going on. We sealed up Vampyr (my ninja died in the process but she Shoryuken'ed him and got the last hit in) and thankfully my ninja was revived. Now we restored all three Fey and have two days to rescue Ireena! We're almost at the end!

That's so exciting! I'm sorry about your ninja - may she find peace in the Morning Lord's light, or whatever your Barovia's equivalent is. I think it's so cool you guys are still playing and that your DM has given you a ticking time clock! How fun!

[moiderahart]

New Sanctity post, new Sanctity lore...

--

Ulgetin is only a planet in the sense that it's large enough to hold an entire civilization on its surface. In practice, it is a turtle, with two heads, four flippers, and a shell with no underbelly. It orbits his star, the four flippers are timed over the course of decades.

Yes, Ulgetin does live on a geologic time scale, her limbs slowly drifting up and down. Fast enough that living on them is impossible, slow enough that the first calendars used his flippers as a way to tell time and year.

In fact, many of those systems are still used today; the location of all four flippers is useful for determining what the year is, and given that the they rotate consistently on the Eastern axis, it is easy to tell what day it is.

Upon Ulgetin is the Principality of Ibercori, once named for a prince, and after his execution, is now named due to its adherence to the Principles, a series of laws that have been revised and rewritten time and time again over the past two hundred years of rule.

It is currently at Revision 55.2, Errata 9. Revision 55, marking its 55 Major Revisions, .2 marking minor federal changes, and Errata 9, marking minor loophole closures.

The nation is run by a Councilship. For every ten thousand people, there is a councilor. And that councilor must follow the desires of its people, or else. It's the one law that's gone unchanged throughout Revisions. The council is ruled by the Proletariat. There can be no Bourgeois.

If there is a chance that a Prince-like ruler can come into existence, then under Ibercoran law that person must be executed.

As of the year that Sanctity was born, there were 8,257 councilors, for 8,257 major population segments. Population growth has slowed as Ibercori reaches the end of its expansion, well over 200 years into its existence.

And with any large Empire, there must still be expansion. Sanctity herself is from one of the edges of Ibercori; the state of Ernoka. She worked as an enforcer, trained under standard Ibercoran regiments.

All Ibercoran Knights are to be trained in advanced studies and standardized education. One Ibercoran Knight must be worth one-hundred of the enemy's, and standard Ibercoran soldiers are to work in tandem with the knights; it's been regular regimen for the past three decades.

Sanctity herself was essentially law enforcement. Her family presided over Ernoka, her father running the estate. In service to the State, she lost her left and third eye, her left hand, and her tail was damaged, making it far more sensitive.

She has sacrificed much in the name of a nation she truly believed in.

So why was it that when she arrived in Barovia, she was wild-eyed, and covered in blood?

[dmramblings]

Finished Curse of Strahd. I have a lot of thoughts on how I’d run it a second time and things I’d fix. But overall it was a really fun campaign! I’m glad it was completed. And of course without an excellent party it would not have lasted 9 months, fighting on and off in person and online sessions, jobs, job switches, 2 senior recitals, an internship, a practicum, and a three week trip to the United Kingdom. It was a great group and I look forward to playing with all of them in other games one day and having a mini sequel arc in Barovia eventually!

[didyoutrydynamite]

I have to share this, I was running curse of Strahd(with a lot of homebrew and changes) and the party was having like a pre-fight with Strahd outside. It was only supposed to last like two three rounds Max. The party was freshly leveled up to 17. The wizard looks me dead in my eyes as he says he would like the sun to pierce the clouds and to have a bright sunny day in Barovia. He would even WISH for it. I don't know why my dumbass did not prepare for wish, nor plan for that use of it. But Strahd is dead now. Because I homebrewed that the only thing that could kill him permanently was the true Sun unfiltered (the same wizard used legend lore and got that information). So I'm starting up a new campaign. A roughly 30 page packet I had made just for the castle, put to waste. But it was funny and the players enjoyed it so that's all that really matters.

God Curse of Strahd is the FUCKING BEST! As a big Halloween lover, the spooky gothic theme of Barovia butters my biscuit.

Excellent strategy from your Wizard by the way, as a dm, I share your pain of scuffed encounters.