#she found the ghost bird seance and the secret society attached to that scene

[snaxize]

I'm putting this under a readmore, I have love in my heart for 5 characters no one knows about ✊️

Anywho I've been with this group for nearly three years! And about a year ago our usual dm says hey, I want to take a break from [our other homebrew campaign], would we consider starting another main campaign to swap the two on and off with each other?

And of course we had been taking weeks off here and there to give them a break and doing one shots or non dnd game nights. This group is not about forever dming. BUT I had joined the group with like. The inkling of "maybe I could do that one day" if I got my nerve up and I DID.

Said DM had wanted to do curse of strahd for years beforehand, but wanted to be a player and not the one running the show. So I volunteered for it! And! I'm so glad I did.

Anywho on to the main part of why I think about my players so often and especially now. Our last session especially was so GOOD I love them my players are fantastic at this game. Spoilers ahead for anyone wanting to play the campaign for themselves, I've modified the game for my players but the basis remains.

Behold, our cast:

Valphyra (Val): She's our war cleric for the campaign- scourge aasimar, war veteran, her angelic guide picked her out of a crowd and said yeah she's got some righteous bloodlust lets go. I imagine her as permanently smelling like burning. miss girl has war trauma and a blunted caring streak.

Clarke: Goliath oath of the crown paladin, she is already an absolute monster on the field i ADORE HER. absolute goody two shoes on the outside but with one hell of a mean streak that's starting to come out more. her backstory makes me go feral. No one sane would call her a good cop.

Calliope: kenku bard, college of lore! a bit naive, a college student beset by the Horrors, shes turning out to be the bleeding heart of the group, and a vastly needed voice of "HEY we need to FIX the BAD THINGS going on". I've got so many secrets surrounding this character for her player to find out, not the least of which was her newly discovered link to the Keepers of the Feather.

Oberon: our second kenku, this time a shadow sorcerer! (my players had no communication outside of general classes so the double kenkus were complete accidents, they're a fun pair!) Oberon is not his real name, and this bird man is currently on the run from his prior position as an unwilling cult leader. Unfortunately i've put him right back into the cult politics in Vallaki, but he's doing well keeping his head above water!

Reilly: air genasi rogue/druid, circle of the stars. This is my skrunkly racoon of a teenager, with all of the social charm of having been raised in the woods for a couple years before being set to roam. Enclosed spaces and some jailtime in Vallaki are doing this one no favors. They have recently unlocked wildshape as an ability, and i'm sure will waste no time in making that everyone's problem.

I can and will go on tangents about their backstories in later posts, they are living in my mind rent free.

Last session specifically has me ecstatic, which might be odd considering the content? Most of it was RP, getting our druid out of jail before meeting back up at the inn to regroup and share information. the latter half of the session ended up in a LOT of in-character arguing over the subject of leaving the town to its fate (a hostile cult takeover) or coming to it's aid.

It's a split party at the moment, with Reilly/Oberon on the side of Just Bailing, Calliope/Val on What The Fuck No We're Helping, and Clarke solidly in the middle. (My players are all buying in, everyone is engaged, and I'm not worried about the plot falling through. they're just having a blast yelling at each other in the meantime)

And what a thing to be able to type those parenthesis. I'm not worried about my players derailing (too extremely off course, that is). I know they're going to find a way to engage with each others' characters, and i know they're going to find a way to engage with the plot. AND i'm not worried about all the in-character arguing bleeding over into irl hurt feelings or tension. that's!! really cool!

(I also enjoy the stark difference in the party dynamic between the campaigns. Our homebrew level 4 party would kill and die for each other and are making large purchases together. we just bought a baby triceratops. our strahd level 4 party is emotionally fraying at the seams and are at each others throats. veiled threats have happened more than once.)

These characters have So Many buttons for me to push and i'm actually having a very good time for this being my first 'full' DMing role. It is enrichment in my enclosure to write out descriptions for a cult meeting, or an hour long sequence of one on one scenes with each player, or playing 5d chess with magic items and faction politics and incorporating story hooks and and and.

I'm gonna write more after work tomorrow because OOUGH I LOVE THEM. many many daydreams about these 5 and the growing number of NPCs that have taken on a mind of their own.

in the meantime woe, wall of text be upon thee.

One note on this and I write an essay-long post about my curse of strahd campaign