#i love getting asks about strahd

[dexadin]

Do you have any fun stories from your Strahd game? Moments you were proud of? You always have such good advice, and you deserve a chance to brag! Your players are lucky to have such a fun GM. 💗

Hi there! I've been sitting on this ask because it gives me serotonin every time I see it but I finally have a story line that I'm really fucking proud of that I want to talk about :3

So back during the Vallaki arc, Strahd attacked Father Lucian at the stairs of St. Andral, and the only reason that Lucian survived was party intervention (the infamous Vanya crycatting at Strahd scene). However, much to the party's chagrin, Strahd's magic shattered the stained glass windows of the church of St. Andral. The party also lost the favor of Father Lucian because of it, which was devastating to them, as Father Lucian was their first NPC who was truly good to them.

Backstory aside, they have finally gotten to the part of the story where they actually start hunting for the items prophesied in their tarokka reading at the beginning of the campaign and are seeking the sunsword in the 'wagon of someone who is not who they seem.' This quest leads the party (and Rictavio, who is travelling with them) to Vallaki once more in the pursuit of Blinsky, about a year and a half of real-world time down the line. They go to his wagon and get to hear their favorite NPC delighted to see them , and they ask him if he has a sword in his wagon. Blinsky goes, "oh this one?" and everyone goes, "no fucking way." Blinsky pulls out a toy wooden sword with an odd hollow cutout of the blade and everyone hesitantly exhales. Blinsky lets them know that it was commissioned by Father Lucian as a prototype for a project he's working on.

The party then goes to Father Lucian and finds him working in a forge, hammering out a ribbon of foil on his anvil. They learn that he has found a record of a sword that was wielded by a beloved priest, written by Andral himself. The hilt was encrusted in stones and plated in metal that wasn't easily found in Barovia, and so Lucian had only been able to work on the blade. Vanya notes that Rictavio is looking intently at the drawing of the hilt, and sends him a message, to which he responds that he needs Vanya to meet him outside. The party splits, as Vanya and Threnody go outside with Rictavio, Wofl stays in with Lucian, and Corsair goes off to distract the other NPCs.

Outside, Rictavio reveals himself to be Van Richten, swearing Vanya and Threnody to secrecy before going through his wagon full of random treasures to find no other than the sword in question--missing its blade.

Inside, Father Lucian reveals the work-in-progress to Wofl, revealing a stunning silvered blade with an inlay of leaded stained glass, made of the remains of the shattered glass windows of the church.

All in one go, I got to connect the Sunsword to several significant NPCs, reveal Van Richten, give a satisfying conclusion to the church of St. Andral (which had left my players distraught), and provide new speculation about Sergei, all wrapped up in one of the coolest weapons I've ever designed. The players were as hype about it as I was, and I'm just really fucking thrilled about how it all played out.

I hope this was at all coherent and/or fun to read! It was really fun to plan and play.

[vanhelsingapologist]

question, what happened with Demetria at Castle Ravenloft cause I remember awhile back something with her being kidnapped if I remember that correctly

You do remember correctly!

Massive spoilers ahead

So the first time around, Volenta had intercepted our party about halfway to Vallaki. Demetria ended up being nearly killed and then dragged away, but our barbarian (rip) saved her life by holding off Volenta’s attention. This gave us just enough time for Strahd to arrive, who absconded with Dima’s barely conscious form.

They ended up keeping her in Ravenloft to ‘heal.’ This was three days of in-game time that consisted of Strahd subtly manipulating, gaslighting, and trying to coax Tatyana out of Demetria. He’s told her that they were meant to be married, that she was killed escaping an assassination attempt, and that the positive surges of emotion she feels he uses (read: strahd’s charm) are her true feelings emerging. I think he believes the last one wholeheartedly. In the meantime, I got to play my backup, a half dusk-elf named Emilia.

Demetria returned to the party after the St. Andral Debacle, and Emilia was written out.

She’s back in Ravenloft NOW because Strahd came to the Abbey of St. Markovia to check up on Vasilka and to retrieve an old enemy that we had brought back to life. Our Bloodhunter tried to stop him and he bemusedly went to kill him for interfering.

There was some bargaining on the behalf of the party, but the Bloodhunter was defiant one last time so Strahd killed him in two turns, stating he regretted that it had to happen. We also found out that our Warlock’s children were being held captive in Ravenloft in exchange for manipulating the party to Ravenloft’s ends.

Terrified for the fate of the party, our Druid (who is also spying for Strahd) pulled Dima aside and proposed a plan to keep Strahd off the party’s back, as we’d just gotten the tome and the sunsword: go to Ravenloft. The Warlock told Dima to pretend to be falling in love with him to keep his children alive. It’s all so, so bad.

Between the two of them, they convinced Dima to go for another three days, leading to Ravenloft Imprisonment: Electric Boogaloo. Only the Druid is there too, seeing what betraying the party could potentially win them in terms of safety. So the party has like a couple days of breathing room, but Dima’s being mentally fucked with 24/7.

Currently, Strahd has succeeded on biting Demetria once and believes he’s succeeding in seducing her. He is not. Dima’s stay is drawing to a close, and Strahd has already started fucking with the party again via Rahadin, so it didn’t even work the way we wanted it to. I think he knows we have the tome, and if he does, we CANNOT pull the ‘Dima go back’ card again. We’ve used that up, and my DM will thwart us.

Also, I’ll mention that my DM is pretty much superhuman at making sure everyone has time in the spotlight. I don’t always mention everyone else’s plot lines because my writing’s already so fuck-off long, but our Warlock is super tied to Strahd, our Bloodhunter is/was VR’s second, less impressive apprentice, our Druid is the chosen of the Fanes + a double agent, and our Cleric has a big Mother Night/Lycanthrope plotline.

[m0llymauk-tealeaf]

well. enjoy a dump of doodles of stuff from the strahd campaign i play in, more details under the cut

1 and 2 are my pc, Jett (he/she) the half elf bard. he was kidnapped by fey and grew up in a punk bar in the feywild before being sent to Barovia to try to find her father. so far its! certainly going

3 is a quick little sketch of Izmark, i am obsessed with him. he is blorbo. i put him in a little jar and shake him around gently. Jett is also a little bit obsessed with him. him and Jett are very similar people, they get along very well. they are like… both fascinated by each other

4. a little Viktor. he’s our very gay autistic wizard friend who keeps trying to get his alone time, but the party refuses to let him get away without being our friend. jett and izmark are his adhd golden retriever coded (reluctant) besties. we love him. last session jett and viktor stayed up all night and took a point of exhaustion just talking over sending stones. theyre fwiends

5. well. its jett and izmark again. they are. dating? kind of? they cuddle and kiss and act like a couple all the time, have told each other that they love the other. maybe while both of them were on the brink of death and scared. but they are. lovers. i made jett specifically to embrace the horny flirtatious bard trope and just be sleeping around and shit, and then izmark asked him to be his date to a dinner party run by strahd, and well. Plans Changed. Very Quickly. izmark was acting charming and cute as hell and just expected jett to Not fall hard for him

if i posted some of the art ive done for the curse of strahd campaign i play in would yall wanna see it,,,,,

[thechekhov]

Hello! Just wanted to say I love all your content but I wanted to ask if you had any advice/tips for running curse of strahd? I'm working on getting ready to run it with some friends/my partner and while I've run a fair amount of homebrew stuff this is my real first attempt at a legit module so I was curious if you could share anything since I believe you also are running/had run that module as well?

Thanks for asking! This is a very fun question!

I have indeed run Curse of Strahd. It was my first foray into long-term DMing and my team and I finished that campaign a little under a year ago. It was awesome, and I'm always excited to talk about it. Curse of Strahd had be a great game if everyone is on the same page!

First of all, I'm gonna say

Having Experience with Homebrew will be a huge boon

When I ran CoS, I followed the actual module about... 60% of the time. It was good... as a baseline/blueprint. But the reality is that I changed up a lot of the details. Either because I didn't like the vibes of the story, or because the plot points were antithetical to my team's goals. I changed up an entire floor of Ravenloft. I threw away a whole storyline for a major NPC because I felt it was too boring.

I think most people who run Curse of Strahd do this, actually. I've heard countless tales of how others Homebrewed their own meat onto the skeleton, and still came out of the campaign with an awesome, Strahd flavored experience. So don't worry about that part.

Here's my advice:

1. Everyone should vibe with what Strahd IS as a game.

Strahd can be a lot of things - you can Homebrew your own motivations into him, or make him a her, or change the history of his castle if need be. But if there's one thing Curse of Strahd is... it is DARK.

The Venn Diagram of Parties Who Understand That Suffering Can Be Fun To Roleplay and Parties Who Had A Good Time Doing CoS is probably a circle. You cannot do this adventure with a group of people who just want to hit monsters a whole bunch. It's an inherently 'oh my god this SUCKS' adventure. That's the main theme. Your players need to be able to enjoy that sort of game, otherwise they will just be miserable.

One of my players, upon arriving in Barovia, immediately said 'I hate it here' and then continued to say it for the rest of the campaign. That is kind of the catchphrase of CoS. Your players need to be comfortable with that sort of bleak horror and overall misery. It makes the end and the potential to finally end Strahd worth it.

That being said, Strahd can also just be... a lot. It has death and torture and psychological horror in there. KIDS DIE. Please discuss this stuff with your table, and remove elements if they guarantee a bad experience for everyone!

(Yes, you can trim down some of the viscera if you need to, that's fine. But keep in mind it will still be tragic. It SHOULD still be tragic. I set some boundaries for myself, but I also killed a whole town in an avalanche. It happened to be the only town my players had grown to like. It was a dick move. It was exactly what you would expect to happen.)

2. Read ahead - A LOT AHEAD.

For a self-contained world, Barovia isn't actually that big. It's a very small map, compared to some that span continents. That means you have the ability to flesh it out, as it were.

To add to that... some areas are... severely underdeveloped plot-wise. Sometimes there are places your players will go where it FEELS like it should link up to another point in the game but it just... doesn't. There is room to expand there. Use your Homebrew skills to connect the dots that the module doesn't!

I greatly recommend taking the time to either read through the whole adventure OR listen through some video-essays. There IS some cool stuff that comes in in the later game that you can grab and put down breadcrumbs for from day one. Or add to your own story twists.

My recommended resource for this is the Curse of Strahd DM's Guide video series.

...and to that end...

3. Start living in Ravenloft Castle WAY before your players get there.

Listen..........listen. look.

Look at this, and suffer as all GMs have suffered.

Castle Ravenloft is unarguably the biggest, stupidest, most architecturally ludicrous hurdle when it comes to GMing CoS. And I am here to tell you - IT IS DOABLE.

You can understand the castle, you can grow comfortable with it. But you need to start early. Hell, I think I began to set up Ravenloft maps before my players even knew it existed. Then I stopped, because I was scared.. but then I went back, and I.... roleplayed SOLO on my off-days! I set up little scenes between Strahd and others and imagined him setting traps, and doing other things. It helped me understand which staircase led to where, and what floors were accessible from which angles.

A part of me actually thinks that there should be a mini GMs-only class where a more experienced Strahd GM takes some time with other GMs to guide them through a map of the castle. A CoS Learning Oneshot, if you will.

There's also a LOT of talented mapmakers that create beautiful, digital CoS maps! Here's one:

Even if you are playing analogue, at a physical table, I greatly encourage you to check it out for reference. The official CoS maps are bleak and a little bit more... rustic? Than they are gothic.

Anyway, in order to avoid talking your ear off, I will end it here.

My last bit of advice is... to have fun!

Yes I know I just said that Strahd is an inherently bad-vibes game. But it's actually GOOD to let your players goof off now and then. Don't be afraid to let them do shenanigans. It builds character, and allows them to regain the energy they need to role-play properly heavy elements later.

My group did a whole bunch of funny stuff. They felt so bad about losing Ireena that when they saw Ismark, instead of explaining themselves to him they cast Darkness and tried to scramble away. There was a running joke that the cleric was too good to know about sex, so they used the euphemism 'play cards' around her, much to everyone's amusement. They got kicked by a walking house once and never forgot nor forgave. And finally, they defeated some Flame Skulls by putting them into a bag of holding.

Anyway, the point is... have fun! I wish you and your party the best of luck. :)

[eliotbaum]

I absolutely adore your Curse of Strahd character! where did you find the blood domain if you don't mind me asking? I've seen a couple of different ones around.

Ohh thanks!! 🥺 I'm flattered... I watched Critical Role where it first came up, and then found it here on the dnd wikidot. They later changed details in a new rule and campaign book, so maybe that explains the different versions?

I bought the Tal'Dorei Reborn Campaign setting which made some significant changes to it, also available for free on dnd wikidot! (I'll discuss them under the cut LOL you've activated my cleric trap card) But I don't love the changes too much. In the end, my DM and I did a mix and match of both versions.

no one, absolutely no one: me: okay let me tell you everything about the blood domain jk but. the most significant changes between the first link and 2nd are, Reborn setting one is the spell list and how some abilities function. I personally like the spell list of the Reborn setting, but the abilities like Blood Puppet get a "charmed" condition and Wisdom Save instead of Con, which seems nonsensical to me when you control someone else's blood...

the new Crimson Bond also has no information about how much blood you'll need for the scrying lite ability, nor does it have an expiration date. We stuck to the 2 ounces rule and the blood losing its potency after 30 days. Also getting this ability at level 2 is quite powerful.

[thelikesoffinn]

Hello Finn! You said you'd give advice for fanfiction, I think and I'm a bit desperate so I hope you can help me!

A follower asked me to write about Tav killing herself to be free from ascended Astarion and I have a lot of trouble with writing his reaction because I really don't know how he'd react to that???? It's stressig me out so much pls help me

Hello there, petal!

I think this ask has been sitting in my inbox for a while, I'm so sorry. I haven't been on top of it lately. (But I'm getting to it, I swear! I know a few people are still asking why I hate Astarions reaction to Tav's romp with Mizora and I'll definitely get to that, do not fret!)

But anyway, let's see how I can help, shall we? I did a bit of research and watched a ton of ascended Astarion content so that I could actually give you proper advice and ohhh boy, when I tell you that I've had clients like him before...blegh. But, as always, do take it with a grain of salt because I'm no expert. Just a social worker with a lot of time to watch vampire videos, apparently, haha.

So, to recap: Your Tav committs suicide in order to escape from ascended Astarions grasp. And I guess he only finds out after, seeing as you need his reaction, yes?

I can see why that would be stressful, but it's probably less because you really don't know how he'd react and more because there's a disconnect between the reaction he'd actually have and the reaction we all want.

As both a writer and a reader I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd want him to suffer. I'd want him to realise all his faults and where he went wrong and I'd want him to cry because he fucked it all up, so much so that he's now lost the one person that loved him despite everything he has done.

But with ascended Astarion, I don't think a reaction like that would be very likely. True vampires are a bit difficult when it comes to things like guilt and shame and loss, as in they don't really seem to take it the way normal people would.

Or, rather: They can't react to them the same way normal people would.

Where a normal person would go through an entire circle of mourning, a true vampire is probably going to throw a tantrum and create a demiplane that he can sulk in. (Looking at you, Strahd.)

Instead of sadness, It's very likely that he'd react with anger. A LOT of anger. The anger likely won't be self-directed - at most a little annoyance because he didn't lock them up harder and more securely - but it will most definitely be directed at Tav.

I don't think I need to explain that while ascended Astarion does not really love Tav anymore he does want them.

Tav is his. Their entire being belongs to just him. Only he get's to decide when and if they're allowed to die. They're his to destroy and his alone. So how dare they kill themself without his permission? How dare they take away what's rightfully his!?

And just as anger replaces sadness, it's very likely that blame overshadows guilt and shame. So he doesn't feel shame over how he treated Tav. He doesn't feel guilt over how he drove them to suicide. No, instead he blames Tav for their decision because they're spoiled and unthankful.

He is not the problem, they are. He gave them everything. Everything one could ever want, they had. He game them power. He gave them wealth. A palace. A life filled with all sorts of pleasure, right by his side. He granted them eternal fucking life. What more could they want? What more could anyone want? He did everything for them, and they threw it right back at him like a spoiled little brat. He should've been sterner, should've kept them on a tighter leash. Should have showed them his bad side so that they'd learn what staying on his good side meant.

The only thing he'd probably actually feel is loss, but once again... it'd be different. It's probably less the gut-wrenching feeling of loneliness that suddenly haunts you when you remember that you won't ever get to speak to someone again because they're no longer here and more the upset of loosing a beloved item. So more of a 'fucking hell that was my favourite fucking thing and now it's gone'. There'd probably be some despair in there because he can't simply replace Tav but that despair is, once again, likely tied to his possessiveness and not to true loss. He'd be desperate because he wants them - he wants them - but not because he's just lost the one he loves.

That's probably the reaction I'd expect of ascended Astarion and, as you can tell: It's not what one would expect of a fanfiction, yes? We'd expect the heartbreak and the sorrow, the guilt and the tears because we love Astarion and Astarion is supposed to love Tav. We want him to love Tav. And those who like him ascended want him to love Tav even as his ascended self.

Now, does that mean the reaction I described wouldn't make a good stroy? Absolutely not! In fact, I do believe it would be a nice switch up in between the very heavily romanticised ascended-fics because it adds that shot of realism. (As much realism as a high-elf-vampire can have, at least.)

So, what I'm trying to say is: Don't worry too much about what is "correct" and what isn't and instead focus on what you want to achieve. If you want to hit your readers with the sad truth of ascended Astarion, maybe go for the approach I described. And if you want to be a bit softer and more romantic, have the boy cry tears of woe.

Or you could go totally crazy and do both things - have someone watch him and describe how they see it - the points I just mentioned - but once you describe what's happening inside him, go full on romance novel and break our hearts!

Find your own path, petal, I'm sure it will be a lovely read either way!

[saribrum]

Love seeing all of your Curse of Strahd work! Atropa is so so cute! Hes a vampire yeah, how did that happen? Sorry if you have already explained im just super curious!

Oh gosh, hi! Thank you so much, that’s so nice of you to say, I’m glad you enjoy my lil guy! He brings me a lot of joy, and no you’re totally fine! I think I only talked about it in the long recap doc I did but you’d have to dig for it haha. You can find a more in depth answer in there with the play by play, but I’m happy to answer any questions! 🥰

So, this is kind of a long explanation, so bear with me!

From the beginning for context, Atropa and Strahd worked together to “unlock” Atropa’s magic, and their pact was formed from Strahd drinking Atropa’s blood, and Atropa drinking a mixture of their blood in return. Strahd then did a ritual linking the two of them together and empowering Atropa’s tome with the ability to communicate directly with Strahd as pen pals. Strahd has also done a few experiments to give Atropa blood magic and what not by injecting his blood directly into his veins. So that’s the base of everything.

Later in our campaign, SABR had an encounter with a group of vampires in a cave outside of Vallaki, and a ton of them were targeting Atropa because they loved the smell of his blood. When we came face to face with an old vampire in the cave who had been imprisoned for a super long time, he got his hands on Atropa during the fight and ended up killing him. He drank Atropa almost dry, and though he was only dead for a couple seconds before he was brought back up again, and the vampire (Lacomie) was killed, that encounter started a chain reaction.

The next few days, Atropa wasn’t feeling well, but they chalked it up to all the blood loss, until he was helping to escort a guard back to Vallaki (another long story for another time). When Atropa didn’t come back for a while, the rest of the team went looking and found him acting feral in a small cave, drinking the unconscious man. Luckily they were able to stabilize the guard and get him back to Vallaki, not remembering a thing, but Atropa was distraught.

All of our Vallaki shenanigans and horrors happened after that, so he hasn’t really had a chance to process everything or even tell Strahd what happened, but he is going to be sending him a letter about it soon. He and I are both kinda nervous to see how he’ll react lol I’m pretty sure that Atropa is a vampire from Strahd’s influence with all the blood drinking and injecting, but in game Atropa thinks it was because of Lacomie draining him. He’ll be pissed if it’s because of Strahd, cause he told Strahd specifically that he didn’t want to be a vampire right now

We are just kinda getting back into playing and some more stuff has happened that is still being uncovered, but has basically turned this strange form of vampirism Atropa is experiencing into a homebrew Sorcerer subclass that I have the option of taking. I’ll let you know how that pans out when I know more, but yeah that’s the circumstances right now!

Thanks so much for asking :>

[chaotic-miserables]

A greeting from Strahd

A silly little story but I had each of my players meet Strahd at the gates of Barovia.

He was charming, polite and powerful (I added some thunder sounds and used the beginning of Thunderbringer from Epic). The man introduced himself (they didn't know the name) gave each player a luxurious coat and warned them about the road ahead in a mildly ominous way.

Our druid gave him her baked goods and was mildly smitten, he expressed great interest in her cooking and complimented her endlessly. Our ranger was suspicious (Strahd killed his family when he was young so he gets a vague sense of deja vu) but cautious, Strahd complimented his hunter skills before giving him and ominous smile. Our paladin was weary, shaking his hand with a silver cross. He failed the slight of hand so Strahd saw what he was doing. But he still shook the man's hand, not flinching as the silver gave him a little burn. I described how the silver burned his skin, causing a mark that quickly healed. My paladin knew what he was but quickly ran through the gate without asking many questions.

I have two new players and I asked my existing ones if I should give them a Strahd intro. They said I 100% should and that they loved it.

I would like to think my playstyle of Strahd has multiple stages so I look forward to seeing how things go. At the moment he is in the amused stage where he is playing with the group to see how they react, casually making power moves.

[shatterstag]

I. Am. In. Love. With. Bellamy. nerdy question, but what are his stats?

OH MY GOD THIS LOVELY ASK IN MY INBOX FROM SO MANY YEARS AGO!!!! This is a billion times late but I will answer now as an excuse to start talking about My #1 Guy again!!

For current art-related context, Bellamy is my oc who ive been writing for 7 years alongside my bestie/housemate, @jacobin, who writes Indrejk, Bellamy's other half/other main character, and love interest/best friend/antagonist. We've written a billion and 50 original aus for them but recently really got into FFXIV together, and Salem came to me and said, 'I want to write a comic about them as viera bunny boys' and that was how PAWS UP came to be.

that my guy 🥰🥰🥰🥰

SO it's been like, 6 or 7 years since I played Bellamy in the dnd campaign he was originally part of (Curse of Strahd!!), that era of Bellamy still holds a special place in my heart. We got up to level 6 and did maybe two dozen sessions before my DM (who is now my said bestie/housemate/cowriter) had to put it on hiatus because of stuff, but because we loved the characters so much (Bellamy and Indrejk, his god, who was their oc-turned-pantheon-member), we just... kept working on them as original characters loosely still tied to the original dnd campaign, until eventually we took them into a completely original new setting and plot. We've never been able to settle on a name for this story, but we call it 'Canon,' and it's the ultimate expression of our writing and storytelling that maybe one day will finally get to come out of the basement and into the light of perception.

ANYWAY thats the backstory of how he was made as a character! He's very different now, in aesthetics, in vibe, in personality, in the atmosphere of the original story he's the deuteragonist/main pov in, but I still hold a special place for OG dnd Bellamy in my heart. He was originally super Bloodborne inspired, as we agreed to make a cast of super gothed up characters for the game and I was playing it at the time. He was the party's 'healer'/sub dps Grave Cleric, and I rolled him as a sun elf + Unearthed Arcana Revenant subrace. His character vision was that he was an robotic and disconcertingly alien plague doctor who would never take off his mask, and the players, both in-game as their characters AND! out-of-game as players, would have no idea what his true appearance/fantasy race was until it was revealed in game or they guessed the truth: that he was an undead revenant ghost that puppeted an empty plague doctor suit. 😈

I thought the idea of a grave cleric (who were RAW flavoured as seeing undead as abominations that must be slain and returned to the afterlife) who was actually an undead ghost trying to exist in secret among the living, was a really interesting archetype oxymoron.

this is super old art from 2018!!!!

ANYWAY here's his character sheet he was left off with at level 6!! It's very High Gothed Up for the campaign lololol. Any reference to the Hidden One is about Indrejk, who was the enigmatic evil god Bellamy/our party had gotten entangled with, and who I fell HEAD OVER HEELS FOR as a character, and who is now my oc godson. 💜💜💜

(open in a new tab because that text is tinyyy)

some things never change

[wetcatspellcaster]

I don’t know if this was asked previously so I apologize if that’s the case, but what was your inspiration for Rosalie? Including her character, class, backstory etc.

Hey anon!

I have answered variations of this before, but I'm always happy to talk about my girl!

The inspiration for Divination Wizard is that it's my favourite D&D subclass, along with Divine Soul Sorcerer 😅

Her character and backstory did not have a specific inspiration, but it did have some clear influences! I've described Rose as an "immune response" before, and it's my best analogy so I'll repeat it here. She was made, in response to other characters I'd encountered. And lord, those characters made me want to double down, HARD.

I had just played a Curse of Strahd game with a bunch of edgelords in the pandemic. Now, people not wanting to play Lawful Good in a campaign is obviously not a problem, and being an edgelord is not a crime, but it was a poorly managed game without a session 0, so a lot of people were at cross purposes, and it made wanting to be good-aligned pretty stressful. I could've been less stubborn about it, but I was wanting to save the world.... in 2020. I didn't understand why this wasn't everyone's power fantasy... in 2020. So we can see why I clung to it till the bitter end. Which is absolutely on me and I'll never pretend otherwise, but the game was also high stakes, so understandably (and irrationally, I quit the game in the end when I realised how silly it was getting) I got anxious every time more obstacles to this presented itself.

And then I got BG3, in early access. Rosalie is very informed by the EA characterisation of the companions. I loved them, but the jokes at the time were that you get bullied for being a nice person - by everyone, not just Astarion (Wyll, you were always a real one). It was very reminiscent of the stress I felt in the game outlined above. It made me feel like "why am I doing this, for fun? why does being good matter to me so much in my silly imaginary world?" I kind of wish Larian had stuck with that vision, bc it led me to think about what kind of person would persist with being nice and doing the right thing in that environment where all your friends are judging you for it... and I realised, it was someone who flat out didn't care what other people thought about them. And thus Rosalie, and a new power fantasy of No Social Anxiety, was born!

As for the agoraphobia - I then took that 'No Anxiety' prompt to an extreme that would give me an interesting story. I met two people in the pandemic who were or had been agoraphobic, and given that it was 2020 and everyone was inside and scared, it was something that fascinated me and that I could also relate to. I am not agoraphobic, but it has since been pointed out to me that I made an OC immune to her mental illness during a period of intense and scary change, when I had a mental illness, during a period of intense and scary change. So I guess that's another inspiration, that I only unpacked afterwards... in fact, I only really unpacked it when I returned to writing her last year, when I'm in recovery and she isn't, and I realised with hindsight what parts of myself I'd put in there.

This is why I don't see Rosalie as a self-insert, but a power fantasy! I will never be her, bc my mental state will never have a magical cure, and I don't think I'll ever be effortlessly nice or fearless. But that's certainly something it's fun to imagine and explore!

[vanhelsingapologist]

//scuttles in

Hey you should totally talk about Kasimir

Kasimir And The Terrible Horrible No-Good Very Bad 400 Years

CW: Sororicide, Child Death, discussion of mental health, discussion on the nature of shame.

This is going to be so, so long. Disclaimer that this is our table's interpretation of Kasimir Velikov. Spoilers for Curse of Strahd and the Dusk Elves abound.

Guilty, Not Remorseful

Kasimir is one of those characters who seems to be very consistent in characterization across tables. I do believe that if you asked DMs to list their Kasimir’s traits, a majority would hit the Trifecta of Misery:

Guilty

Sad

Desperate.

A massive part of our Kasimir’s characterization is how my DM draws the line between regret, guilt, and remorse.

He feels fathomless guilt surrounding killing Patrina, but he never describes himself as feeling remorse. To explain, I’ll divide it like this:

He feels guilty because he knew it would have a repercussion. He did it anyway. Patrina was engaged to Strahd.

He did not expect the repercussions to be all that they were. This was a mistake, but I don’t entirely know whether he sees his decision surrounding killing Patrina as one or not.

He does not feel remorse, because that would require him to regret what he did (killing his sister). Our Kasimir does not feel remorse for killing her, and it makes him guiltier because of everything her death set off, not to mention the love he held for his sister.

He tells himself that he did what he had to do (he did not), and wishes there were another way (there undoubtedly was), which gives way to shame. 

"I had to do it, but I wish I didn't." "... Did I have to? Surely, yes?"

So, he has these interplaying themes connected to the overarching theme of guilt, all of which drive his every action in our campaign. 

He is okay with this.

He is okay with the idea that every day is a punishment. He did what he had to do, he says, and he believes he should pay that price forever. 

The Whole Patrina Thing

In our game, Patrina didn’t seem to be so much in love with Strahd as she was in love with power. My running theory is that she was intending to dethrone Strahd or overpower him once she’d been turned. 

Because (I believe) in our game, he was one of the first vampires, if not The First Vampire, she didn’t quite realize how spawn mechanics worked— and to that end, neither did the dusk elves.

The Story

Kasimir holds to the story he told us. He discovered his sister half-turned, having received two of the three bites required to undergo the bride ceremony. 

I believe he discovered her in the process of trying to feed (a la Lucy Westenra) and came to the conclusion that she had been irrevocably turned into this horrifying, unknowable dead thing. So he gathered the dusk elves and killed her, setting off the chain of events. 

In the years since he’s been confronted with new information regarding vampirization and the process of turning, but he’s also said that if Patrina hadn’t died, she likely would’ve gone through with it anyway. Is this to avoid heaping more guilt onto his shoulders? Maybe. I don't know. Despite his guilt, he still, interestingly, provides a justification.

We have nothing to contradict his word with.

However, he also told us that he’s been experiencing dreams where she tells him how sorry she is, how much she hates him, how much she loves him, and how much she would have changed if he'd let her live.

His foundational beliefs get preyed upon, because what if he was wrong? What if he doomed everyone because he couldn’t compromise his morality for a moment?

Kasimir’s Backstory Is Misery In Case You Were Wondering

In our campaign, Kasimir and Patrina were raised to be the leaders of their communities and witnessed Rahadin’s exile and subsequent alliance with King Barov.

When the Dusk Elves regrouped after a crushing defeat, Kasimir, who is a Druid in our campaign, was voted in to be the head of the remaining families, and Patrina, an Archmage, left for Ravenloft intermittently. 

I think there was an effort for peace being made with a marriage between Strahd and herself, but obviously, the Tatyana Conundrum came in (Kasimir Win!), and then a couple years down the line, the Patrina Conundrum happened (Kasimir Fail!).

By the time he made his big bad decision, he was not only the head of his community but was also the father to a small child and the husband to a man who would die defending their family.

So, as far as he’s concerned, Kasimir is almost directly responsible for the deaths of his entire family.

He’s in a constant internal battle between blaming Ravenloft— perhaps predominantly, Rahadin— for enacting disproportionate revenge and blaming himself for pulling the trigger. Two things can be true. And still, to this day, his remaining people trust him. He still leads them and protects them. Yowch.

Kasimir As The Moral Compass

While traveling with our party, Kasimir was militant about doing what he believed was right. It could’ve been because he might’ve literally snapped in half if he took on any more shame, but probably had more to do with the fact that he was likely projecting heavily onto our party. 

He held his hand on the metaphorical stove for so long that he has nothing but bone left, so when he sees the party tentatively edging towards the fire, he takes action. 

Because he lives in a cesspool of anguish, I think an argument can be made that he wants to ensure his actions aren’t repeated by someone else. That is for HIM.

How It Affects Dynamic

This makes him fun to have in the party, because not only is Sororicide “Hypocrite” Velikov telling us not to do things, but it also provides a good bit of levity to what is otherwise one of the emotionally heaviest characters in our campaign.

Having this ancient elven druid sternly ask if kicking the corpse of enemy #6 made you feel good and having to shamefully tell him ’no’ creates a bond like no other.

It’s also an interesting way to have him trying to semi-atone without explicitly expressing remorse. Because he judges himself so harshly, he judges the party by the same standards.

Kasimir Will Make The Same Mistake Over And Over

The problem is that shame is poison to recovery.

Kasimir does not believe he has a place in a world in which he is not suffering, so whenever he is confronted with redemption, he’ll do what keeps him rotting.

I don’t know how my other players feel about this, but I’m convinced that it’s not that he can’t break the cycle, it’s that he won’t.

In trying to do the right thing, I think he will choose the wrong thing. He will stone her to death again and again and not know why.

There He Goes Again!

It’s why I think these dreams are such a big problem. I think they’re goading him. Whatever’s causing it (the Dark Powers, Strahd, or Patrina herself) knows him well enough that he will make a horrible, horrible decision. As far as theory goes, I think it may really be Patrina, because who would know him better than his sister?

In our campaign, Kasimir is currently acting as a mentor to a half dusk-elven wizard/druid who habitually toes the line between good and evil. He waffles between wanting to save her and wanting to nip the problem in the bud, propelled by his profound shame for wanting to do it.

He knows he shouldn’t have anything to do with it, but whereas Van Richten isolates himself out of necessity, Kasimir creates this wall between them because he sees the cycle starting again and feels helpless to stop it. It’s like he doesn’t realize he’s actively recreating the cycle.

Sound familiar, Strahd?

He and Van Richten are two characters who might have the biggest questions of the nature of redeemability hanging over their head, and both grapple with themes of guilt.

I think they differ because, in our campaign, Van Richten is actively seeking redemption. Kasimir is not.

He can’t imagine atonement even exists.

[bingerzone]

Hey!! So about the OCs in your most recent art post, what’s going on there? I see a lot of drama there and i would love to know more 👀

I love you for asking this. Insane amount of lore under the cut. I'll also be adding the art I've already done when I talk about that part of the story! Btw fair warning this Yaoi sure can toxic!!! (Some light cnc and sex is mentioned)

So, firstly, I'll explain who these ocs are :)

So, this is Dios Apate- he is a hexblood who, after running away from his mother at 14, was raised by a thieves guild known as The Veil- mostly by it's leader, Erwin Mourningmoon. He's a cocky, flirtatious conman who probably? Maybe? Has a heart of gold under all of his greed, but with him actively trying to hide any hint of goodness in him, who's to say?

(^Art by @kiwibyrd ) Ok, next up,

Dante is the son of Erwin Mourningmoon, Heir to The Veil and Dios's childhood friend. They were trained side by side by Erwin, who, much to Dante's chagrin, treated Dios like a second son (Although they never saw each other as anything even close to brothers- in fact, Dios had a crush on Dante from a young age). One day, Dante overheard his father and a higher-up in the guild discussing which of Erwin's "sons" would inherit the guild- and the moment Dios's name left his father's mouth Dante ran off, not listening to the rest of the conversation... So, Dante planned to have Dios arrested by tipping off the guards where the next place he would be robbing was. That... didn't quite go as planned. The guards decided one dirty street kid wasn't worth the trouble, and decided to just kill Dios outright. However, Erwin, who had a bad feeling about the job, had been tailing Dios, and jumped to his rescue- only to fall after taking down well over a dozen guards. Dios believed he was caught because of his own stupidity- and therefor, that Erwin's death was his fault... so he ran. However, in The Veil, when you fuck up, there is a way to atone. A gift is traditional- but it must be as valuable as the mistake you made. So, Dios set off to be the richest man the city had ever seen, hoping to give everything he had to Dante- the new leader of The Veil- and beg for forgiveness for causing the death of his father. Dios finds himself in a new land- a new continent altogether, about to start the pre-written adventure Call of the Netherdeep (We haven't started yet, we gotta finish Strahd, so to stave off my brainrot I have been just talking about possible things that could happen with my partners- after this point none of it has actually happened yet, and might not happen at all, but I consider it a type of canon, even if it won't be canon to the main timeline) So, that's when Dios meets Harlow

Harlow Goldbriar belongs to my boyfriend @aberranteidolon ! He is an Earth Genasi paladin who has a stick so far up his ass that you can see it when he talks. Harlow is a walking weapon, and is treated like nothing but a tool by his peers and family. He is serious and convicted, which makes him the perfect toy for Dios to play with. And, even better, he's married! (Little does Dios know it's a loveless, abusive marriage- his wife married him only for the precious little gem in his chest. She has plenty of jewelry made from his amethyst heart). Still, Dios has zoned in on this man and is dead set on fucking him and ruining his marriage, for fun. Dios is a little shit. They get into many, many arguments and physical altercations, and whether they admit it or not, getting each other bloody and panting is the most they've ever enjoyed themselves. And yet, when he finally see's Harlow's heart for one reason or another (probably in a 'only one bed' situation lets be real) he realizes two things. 1. Inside of Harlow is the biggest gem he's ever seen, and not only is it huge, it's laced with magic. This alone could pay off his debt to Dante, and 2. He can't do it. Harlow is asleep beside him, and his fingers are wrapped around the sharp stone- it would be easy, just one tug and it was his and Harlow would be gone. But he can see the way Harlow's chest is rising and lowering in his sleep, and the way his expression is so soft, so serene... and he lets it go, deciding to make his fortune in other ways.

They grow increasingly obsessed with each other, and just closer in general. Dios starts sneaking copies of Harlow's favorite book series (trashy vampire romance, of course) into his bags while he's away. Dios's flirting starts to really get to Harlow, and he can tell there's something... wrong. He's actually considering cheating on his rich, powerful wife with this sneaky little thief... all because it's the first time he's ever felt loved.

After weeks of adventuring together, the tension FINALLY snaps and they fuck. We have many, many ideas for how their first time would go, but my personal favorites are "A fight gets so sexually charged that Harlow just starts fucking him" and "Dios says it's not cheating on his wife if Harlow doesn't consent and fucks Harlow while Harlow half-heartedly goes 'wait, dios, no, please' and makes absolutely no move to stop him".

The second one is extra fun because if Harlow wanted to he could easily toss Dios across the room, and has before. From there, it goes from sexual tension to romantic tension...

And then, Dante enters the picture again. We don't know why yet or how it will go down, just that we will have the ability to have him in our party at some point. So, of course, Harlow and Dante don't get along at ALL. Harlow is jealous of how sweet Dios is around Dante, and of how close they are/how long they have known each other, and Dante is jealous of how head-over-heels Dios is for Harlow and how Harlow has actually had sex with him. Dios has been in love with Dante since they were kids of course, but he is also deeply in love with Harlow at this point and terrified of it. It leads to some fun possessiveness and probably some rockin "I bet I could pleasure him better than you" sex that Dios gets stuck in the middle of :3

Eventually, though, they all start to get closer. Still- Harlow confesses to Dios first. Dios is the first person to ever treat him like... a person. The first person to be upset on his behalf, the first person to learn about his interests, the first person to hold him softly and treat him with reverence, like he was fragile... It sort of breaks something in Dios to hear the confession, so he completely reverts to his old self and laughs in his face, "Love me? You don't even know me! I... I can't believe you fell for my loverboy act, are you an idiot? I... I could never fall for... I would never..." And he just runs off, and Harlow is left alone. Dante tells him to chase him- and Harlow does- he finds Dios hiding, nearly sobbing in a closet, and he holds him. He holds Dios tighter than he's ever held him, and Dios scratches and bites and says awful things to try and get away, but Harlow doesn't let him. He holds him and takes every bit of it until Dios calms down, telling him over and over again that he loves him and that he's not going to let him run off so easily... and once Dios's body is exhausted from thrashing and his voice raw from yelling, he says "I love you too."

And, this part is far less developed, but eventually Dante and Dios get together romantically as well, and it becomes a hinge polycule... Dante starts off a shitty little asshole- he's always treated Dios like his property, and he didn't start getting better until he realized if he didn't start treating Dios well, someone else would. He does love Dios- I think he has for a while- but that doesn't mean he respects him as an equal. On his adventure, Dios gains a lot of self confidence and the ability to stand up to Dante, which scares Dante to death. He has to learn to respect Dios, or lose him forever, and he mostly does the former, eventually. Because Harlow puts the fear of god in him lmao. I have no idea what would happen if Harlow found out that Dante is the reason that Erwin died, and was the reason Dios almost died... but the drama would be fucking INTENSE. If Dios found out (which he probably would) He would attack Dante, using only his fists, no daggers or rapiers, and Dante would take every hit while Dios dissolves into a sobbing mess above him. I love the idea of Dios's voice cracking "I... Dante I loved you..." and him responding through busted lips, "I love you too."

That's a lot of it, but far from all of it, so if you have any more questions or want more info on certain parts, PLEASE ask, I LOVE talking about them so fucking much!!!!!!! And here's the TLDR (An old thing I made honestly before they were very developed at all:)

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

WIP title ask meme

Prompt: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

-

I was poked to do this months ago, twice at least - once by @docholligay and I think the second was @jeejyboard, but I can't find the tag for the life of me. SORRY. I felt like doing something a bit more meta today re:writing and post about The Process, and this was a perfect excuse - thanks for thinking of me. So here's some actual effort! I went and dug deep, trawled through some really old stuff, which was fun. I write and scribble down way, way more than I actually polish and post (which I assume is probably normal, but who knows). 

General info, for whoever is interested: I mostly use Google Docs with offline backups for fic writing, as I shift between computers a ton, and I put fandom tags at the start of my filenames for organisation. I have a ton of prompt/meme/ask/event collection files - for example, the very latest: "[BG3, STRAHD, SM] Fic Prompts 2024". In these I jot down both the prompts people send or that are listed and the ideas/outlines/notes for each, then when I really get going with a certain fic I spin it off into a separate document. 

I hate coming up with titles and usually do that last, so most of my document names are silly references for my own amusement or just a boring old brief description of the main concept. For instance, my latest posted fic Cerimonia Compedum was for most of its WIP-hood known simply as "[BG3] Tadpoled Isobel". Sometimes I keep different versions/revisions/parts of the same WIP in different files, and if that's the case I've grouped them here. Note that for simplicity's sake this post includes my "solo" fic only, no collabs or coauthored stuff, of which there is also a bunch. 

Some of these are ancient and hit me in the face with "12 years ago" timestamps. Some ficlets will never make it out of the mixed prompt plot bunny dumping grounds into their own doc. I think Sailor Moon 10-ish years ago was the one outlier fandom where I actually wrote most of my concepts out fully and posted them. The ol' brain is currently overproducing stuff for the more recent BG3 flavoured moon lesbians (and no, that ship name will never stop throwing my HaruMichi-loving ass for a loop). Note that some of the SU WIPs on the list I've already posted about here, here, here, and here.

Obviously all of these vary wildly in terms of completion level, word count, refinement, and age (and capitalisation, apparently). So yeah, here's the list, roughly sorted by fandom - ask away, if you feel like it!

[BG3] Moon-chosen, Moon-guided | Moon-chosen, Moon-guided - Part III [BG3] Cerimonia Alārum | ISOBEL TO THE RESCUE AU [BG3] Tremulous Cadence followup | The Return of the Moon Daughter [BG3] Wizard Tower AU | Aylin & Rolan stuff [BG3] Karlach/Minthara Act 2 conclusion aka why are paladins Like That [BG3] I'm having something very strong indeed

[STRAHD] The d'Avenir Treatise verse tidbits [STRAHD] Road Trippin' [STRAHD] In-character notes & ficlets

[SU] eeEEeeeeEE BISMUTH | Bismuth ficlets | Like talking to a wall | Muse. Galatea. Suffering. [SU] SU Daemons HDM AU [SU] The Adolescence of Rose Quartz | But I don't think anyone turns into a car  [SU] Freedom To And Freedom From | Pearlrose Fixit | i love suffering!!! [SU] Forge Showdown AU [SU] Pearl Playing the Field TM | All I need in this life of sin is me and my pearlfriend [SU] The Grand Aventurine Heist (Not Really Grand And Only Slightly A Heist) | oh no who let Rose read the Scarlet Pimpernel

[SM] Future Vision blatantly ripped me off THANKS REBECCA | PUU fic [SM] Outers fall of SilMil | michific | The End is the Beginning is the End

[DS9] Kira fic bits

[TLOK] Five Times Kya Healed Lin and One Time She Couldn't | Kyalin fluff [TLOK] R.C. Noire | Lin BAMFong

[WATCHMEN] Silhouette fic bits

-

That's it! I don't think I have a single person that I know writes fic left that hasn't already been tagged in this, so feel free to do it (again) if it strikes your fancy.

[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.

[curseofthebloodcountess]

Strahdtober Day One: Sergei

I didn't get a chance to write this on time - I might be a day behind or more all month - but I wanted to share some fic writing about Sergei in Blood Countess. Tagging my party: @thelostbarovianroyals, @morpheoussilvercreature, @knightinkosherarmour

On days like this, Sergei longed for the orchards of Huldefolk. Spring spread across the valley and the fragrant blossoms of Ravenloft’s garden could only be coaxed open at sunrise. 

“So, they’re morning glories,” Sergei had quipped when Strahd showed him. Her face of iron did not flinch to a smile. She instead reached for one of the crimson roses and cupped its bloom in her hand. Blood-red petals dropped to the grass under her touch. 

“Is this what passes for wit at the Church of St. Andral?” she asked.

Sergei could never understand her nor the austerity of Ravenloft. He lived deeply in the world, if not always easily. He sang the songs of worship and of secular pleasure in Common, Elvish, and even Sylvan. He danced alongside the peasantry at festivals and only adorned himself richly when wearing his vestments. He laughed and smiled readily. There was so much to mourn in the world; joy should be seized. Strahd had not learned that lesson. 

She must have still mourned Mother. It would account for her black dress and aloof nature. Grief painted her as a matron, which she surely was not. Sergei wondered if she would be mired in such deep grief if she knew what had killed Mother in the end. Strahd had killed Osybus for the same crime not yet twenty years ago.

There hadn’t been a body to bury. 

He spent more time with Rahadin at Ravenloft. Many he had grown up alongside regarded Sergei’s older brother as some kind of bogeyman. Sergei couldn’t see that, not really. Maybe he didn’t want to. 

There was better company in the village of Barovia. Sergei went often and again thought of going today. It was a quick, invigorating ride through the woods - a chance to revel in Barovia’s natural splendors before indulging in the company of smiling faces who knew the Morning Lord’s light and love as he did. Perhaps he would go now. Yes. He rose and donned his travel cloak. With luck and the Morning Lord’s smiling favor, he would see his new friend again: Tatyana. In a castle clouded by grief, she brought sunlight. Maybe she could make the flowers bloom, even in the night. 

A silly thought, a romantic thought. Sergei had always loved stories and he shared the ones he had learned in Huldefolk with Tatyana. His favorite were the old, Elven stories about how the day fell in love with the night. He loved the drama of it and the way it wove neatly into religious teachings he had learned in the Church of St. Andral. He also loved battle stories, usually the ones about Strahd, which had set a precedent for him as a child. He was never sure how to reach the heights of glory his sister had already achieved in vanquishing demigods and reclaiming the Balinok lands for the von Zarovich crown. He trained to be like her and though he was no more like her than the sun was like the elusive moon, he shone in his own right. Taty reminded him of that in a gentle way. Mother used to say it, too, but there was something dangerous about not being like Strahd, though Sergei could never tell where the danger lay. Growing up, he hadn’t told anyone how scared he had been that he would never be enough like Strahd to please anyone or that it had been safer to go into the Church (even with some reluctance) than become a soldier. He had still trained with the blade, just in case. 

He readied his horse, that beautiful white mare. 

White horses did not exist, not really. They were all shades of gray. No one wanted to know this, of course. Not artists nor historians. Not even his family as they made painful, quiet small talk. He felt like Tatyana would laugh at him and ask, grinning coyly, if he had any other interesting facts to share. She was the only one who saw it that way, who didn’t expect him to be perfectly charming and didn’t expect him to be a von Zarovich or a priest or a prince. The thought of seeing her and of being seen by her cheered him. 

So he rode on to Barovia Village.

Maybe he would invite her to Ravenloft. Maybe together they could bring some light to the gloom. 

[wondertrio]

Could you give us a brief run down on each of your campaigns/characters?

i thought about drawing for this ask too! but you can just go to my tags if you want to see these guys fkdhfkd

Wendell Tinselfoot is my current pc. he’s a conjuration wizard and he’s traveling along with fellow pcs Danris, Orlyn, and Harper to eventually visit the faewild via a portal we opened up in Barovia in our previous game where i played…

Blythe of Silverymoon, my nb changeling rogue. this was curse of strahd! with just a good sprinkling of dm creativity on top. blythe adventured with Danris and Orlyn but also Magnus. both magnus and blythe left the party to settle down in their own lives after the game ended :)

Elna Rhomdein is my unseelie fae rogue. she’s very short and very mean, like a crusty old dog. her game is on indefinite hiatus but i would love to play her again. in her game she traveled with Ren and Humplebumple to deliver a boyking back to calimport

The Lone Desolator is my newest pc! she is a human monk/fighter and i dont want to get into her backstory yet but it’s one of my favs ive written. it just feels very good as a start to a character but leaves a lot of room for growth. she’s in a party with Thrash, Ren (yes same one elna traveled with), and Del and they were hired to steal something of great importance for Wendell’s party: Danris’s soul coin!

those are all the main ones! of course i draw random ones here and there too but this is like my dnd pc cliffnotes anyway. thank you for the opportunity to talk about all of them, i always love to do that

EDIT much later: I now have backstories for 3/4 of these guys! Elna, I'll get you done one day:

Wendell's backstory Blythe's backstory The Lone Desolator's backstory