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rahadaddy · 2 years

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Ismark: lilac + chrysanthemum

HCs about NPCs: Saturday Game Edition | Accepting!

lilac : what was your muse’s childhood like ? how has their upbringing affected them as they’ve aged ?

The village of Barovia is no place to bring up children - it is a place to bring up warriors, if you are lucky. Ismark was lucky. The son of the burgomaster, one of the few remaining barons in the valley of Barovia, he was tutored in letters, numbers, government, and swordplay. He had one younger sister, Ireena, who was his best friend and one of the few children in the village with whom he could spar and play and talk. He would not call it a lonely childhood, but it was. The Kolyanaviches wanted to keep their children safe from the Devil Strahd and, in the end, might have failed. This means that though Ismark trained with a blade for many years and dreamed of cutting down the tyrant himself, that outcome seems doubtful. This means that though Kolyan wanted his son to be a great leader after him, the people began calling Ismark "the Lesser" before he was put into the ground. This means that Ismarks adulthood has been spent knowing he is no match for the Count when it comes to keeping his sister safe. He was raised to hold impossible goals and dreams dear to his heart and the older he's gotten, the more bitter he has become. He has fought hard not to despair as other Barovians do and crawl into a bottle, but, well... the party meets Ismark in a tavern for a reason and it isn't that this is D&D and all great quests begin there.

The weight of leadership weighs heavily on Ismark in ways echoed throughout a valley of young leaders, but perhaps in a special way, too. Of the new generation of burgomasters, he rules the kingdom most full of ghosts. Barovia Village is described in the book as a place full of wailing and zombies and boarded doors and windows. In my game, it is where the Blood Tax takes the bloody form of The Purge as Volenta and her army descend upon villagers, scenting out souled Barovians to bleed dry. The people, even the sun-touched souls, are less a community than in Vallaki or Krezk than a sheep pen of livestock who know they are safer from wolves in numbers. What is Ismark meant to do with that? His father had a good rule until his last days, but though those last days were at most four weeks ago, people are already discussing Kolyan's failings and Ismark's. And now that Ismark has disappeared from Barovia Village, I'm sure many argue that he truly was too soft to rule and not the swordsman his father had hoped. If they knew where he was, what he was doing, I think his people would either praise it as the savviest political move they've yet seen or else mark it as the end of the line and remind each other that Ismark the Lesser was always a fool with foolish ambitions. If Doru could not take on the Devil and live, why should Ismark? I think if Barovia Village could have had its way, they would have installed Ireena Kolyana as burgomaster and bid her marry Doru Donavich because they had inspiring, passionate, sun-touched souls that outshone Ismark's quieter, but still sun-touched nature. Ismark knew he did not shine like his sister and that even as a child, his community dreaded the day he led them, but they accepted him as Kolyan's heir and that would be sufficient and they would pray that the Morning Lord could guide him since Ismark Kolyanavich was fashioned to be second to others, not their leader. He watched people and understood them, especially his people and the adventurers passing through their gates, and he understood them all too well. He was not the inspiring leader his father was, who could protect Barovia Village through ravaging Blood Taxes. He was not his mother who was valued for her beauty and gentle spirit. He was not his passionate sister, who was odd and wondrous and plucked from the brightest pages of a fairy tale. He was not the headstrong son of a priest, who would claim the right hand of a foreign wizard to lay siege to Ravenloft. He was Ismark - just Ismark on a good day and Ismark the Lesser when people thought he couldn't hear. He channeled his childish dismay into sword fighting and research of the history of Barovia and into art. He became good at it all. He has read and dreamed of great battles and has practiced with any manner of sword or shield he could lay his hands upon. He is a deadly fighter, a wealth of knowledge, and a thoughtful man. He has a talent, an appreciation, and a love for art and even knows how to make his own paints and dyes from Barovian plantlife. His mother was a painter - Barovia village's last.

Truthfully, Ismark takes after his and Ireena's mother and Ireena takes after their father. Though Ismark and Ireena are both talented fighters, Ismark would rather make art as his mother taught him and Ireena to, and Ireena would be better off carving up vampire spawn. He's a good and sensitive man and there is a streak of hardness and battle in him that he swears up and down is simply his destiny. Is it, Ismark? It may also be of interest to note that Lady Karelova-Indrevna was the last mortal to go to Castle Ravenloft to paint its inhabitants and return unscathed. Perhaps Ismark's ability to survive there this long speaks to some inner strength, some teaching of his mother's, or something else altogether. He, like his mother, is calm, reserved, and enjoys the little pleasures of life with immense gratitude. He learned from her to be brave and to enjoy the little things because the world is full of big evils and tomorrow is no guarantee, Isya, so we must live today and thank the gods for the good.

chrysanthemum : how does your muse express romantic love ? how do they feel about love as a concept ?

I don't think Ismark has ever really carved out time for romantic love. I think he wishes he could have - could still - but such wishes are neither here nor there, given his current predicament. As I said, he is a sensitive soul, an artist, and a fighter. He would see romance as an extension of these things. He'd want to take care of his lover, provide for them, and protect them while creating little reminders of the beauty in the world for them. I think he would absently sketch the object of his affections with the tenderest care, but insist that, truthfully, how he will show his devotion is by protecting them from all of Barovia's horrors. I think if he was softer, he'd fancy himself a white knight, but this is Barovia. He's not softer. He's practical. Providing for one's lover and protecting them from all the horrors of a Barovian night is how one shows love. Art is how one may woo in a world where beauty is hard to find. There are few he wants to woo if anyone at all.

Love is not something that he has had the luxury of indulging in, as I've said. He has always known that as the future (now current) burgomaster of Barovia, he would have to take a wife to carry on the family line. It would be nice to love his wife romantically, but he does not think that that's strictly necessary, as there is no guarantee his wife would have a soul or be a romantic match. He expects marriage to be political and, indeed, I do think he half-expects to marry Rozaliya Krezkova, who is barely more than a child, so he does not expect a grand romance with her. Therefore, he's not opposed to looking beyond the marriage bed for romantic companionship, but, again, he has been so preoccupied since Strahd began his assault on the family home that neither romance nor sex has been at the forefront of his mind.

I think if you were to ask him at the dinner how he feels about romantic love, he would either not know how to respond or have a complicated and possibly uncomfortable answer.

#ch: ismark kolyanavich #g: saturday #hc: ismark kolyanavich #ask: headcanon

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beesofdnd · 2 years

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CURSE OF STRAHD SESSION ONE

Players: Tiefling Assassin Rogue (He/Him) Satyr Dragon domain (homebrew i allowed) cleric who works w Bahamut(She/Her) Half Elf Warlock fiend patron, patron is tiamat (He/Him) Tanuki (Reflavored tabaxi to raccoon) College of glamor Bard (He/Him) Lizardfolk Circle of Spores druid (They/them and plural pronouns) They met ismark, buried the burgomaster, found out ismarks brother (we swapped ireena for a guy my fiance created to be an npc) wasn't even in town, then they went and got attacked by doru, who then begged for his life, and they took him away from father donavich before one of the players went back and accidentally killed father donavich. They then sent doru with their vistani buddy to the vistani camp and went to go help 2 kids, trapping them in the death house This is gonna be FUN [I'm the dm btw] Twitch.tv/AceandtheBees

#curse of strahd spoilers #curse of strahd #spoilers #CoS #dnd #dungeons and dragons #twitch #twitch streamer #livestream #twitchtv

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knightlyknavery · 6 years

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Stealth Maneuver!!!

Hoo boy, this week’s trip to Barovia was kind of a doozy. Our cleric is under nightmare siege from Morgantha; my warlock figured it out with an arcana roll, but has only told the paladin. Pally’s keeping her safe with protection spells, but I’ll need to figure out a way to catch that night hag soon.

On our way back to Barovia, we found the body of Mad Mary, the townswoman with the missing daughter. I think it’s a testament to how well our DM portrays these NPCs that it really hurts to see them die. We gathered her up for burial in the village.

We arrived back in town to find the place crawling with guards. These guys moved in just a while after we left town the first time; they were here when Ismark led the refugees from Vallaki to Barovia. They’re not too well armed, but all have green worked into their outfits, and ones with shields show a crest of a green wolf’s head. The town is much more lively than before, but these guards disappear anyone who steps even a little out of line.

We stopped at the church first to bury Mary, and holy shit, Doru the vampire spawn is now the priest. We tried questioning him for a minute, but he’s ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag. We dispatched him in two rounds, with him trying to flee the whole time and not fighting back. My warlock got the final blow with a double-crit Eldritch Blast.

We found Donavich, Doru’s dad, down in the cellar where Doru used to be held. The poor guy is totally insane and cannibalistic after being given only human remains and rats to eat. We left him some rations…and Doru’s body.

With the help of the tavernkeeper and a smokehouse proprietor named Sophia, we found Ismark hiding out with Viktor Vallakovich…in the Death House. Our cleric, who is the last remaining PC in our group to make it through there, refused to go in. Everything seems ok in the house, but I don’t blame her. Ismark got us up to speed and we dropped the kids we rescued from the night hag with them.

We stealthed to the burgomaster’s mansion, looking to scout things out. We bumbled around the perimeter, invisible, until I remembered that I can teleport from 500 feet away, meaning I could have done it from the damn tavern.

The paladin and I popped in to some guy’s bedroom and proceeded to Silence and bludgeon him to death, then lower a rope to the rest of the party. Looks like next week we’ll just kill the imposter burgomaster and be done with it!

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donegeonsndragons · 7 years

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CoS: Session 3 Highlights

Weapons are silvered, information gathered, and a new complication arises.

Premise: with their fortunes and quest in hand, the party sets off to try to find a way out of Barovia, starting off in the Vistani camp

(This is a long one)

Vogal finally gets a moment to ask Bisnek where a blacksmith would be, and Bisnek leads them to a tent attached to a wooden shack

Inside is the blacksmith, who wears a tan apron and a weird hat, and his face is so NPC average that it’s incredibly forgettable

Although reluctant to silver a weapon in the domain of a vampire, with enough money he’s willing to do so

He silvers one of Vogal’s sword, though Vogal doesn’t know whether it actually does anything

When they exit out of the same entrance, they seem to be facing a different direction, and when they go back inside, nothing is there

Even Bisnek doesn’t remember being asked to lead them to a blacksmith, and says that there is no blacksmith

The party is weirded out

Remembering the letter that he found, Vogal brings up that they should probably head to the village of Barovia

Also to clarify, yes, the capital of the land of Barovia is named Barovia

They ask Bisnek to join them, but he has to stay as he now has business as the new chief

But he does give them a map and directions to head towards the mountain, and they should get into the village

The party heads out in building fog and damp weather towards the mountain

Along the way, they come across some tracks

The varana is able to tell that these belonged to wolves (whether natural or werewolves, he’s not sure) and some humanoids

After a couple of hours of walking, they finally arrive in Barovia, a village made of desolate buildings at the base of a mountain where they can see a castle perched up among the peaks

All of the buildings have boarded up windows, and the only sound is of a woman wailing (and they can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from)

Damakos casts thaumaturgy and starts yelling

Damakos: HELLO Damakos: ARE YOU OK Damakos: WE’RE FRIENDLY

Nothing happens

The group starts wandering through, seeing if they can find the source of the crying

Vogal stealths and goes with the group, but exploring a bit off to the side

They come across the town square, where a *very* attractive man steps out of the tavern and beckons them over (after telling Damakos to stop yelling, who does)

Heading inside and buying them some wine, he introduces himself as Ismark, the son of the now dead burgomaster of the village of Barovia

He tells them that he knows they’re adventurers, and are probably finding some way out

He asks for their help in protecting his sister Ireena (the daughter mentioned in the burgomaster’s letter) from Strahd, who has been preying on her

Ismark says that he’d like the party’s help in escorting her away from the town of Barovia to the town of Vallaki, away from Strahd and his residence at Castle Ravenloft (the castle on the mountains)

He also mentions that their “elf friend” said they would be able to do this

He also confirms that the crying is normal and belongs to “Mad Mary,” who has been weeping since her daughter had disappeared

They head out of the inn and walk a short distance over to the burgomaster’s mansion

The mansion is standing, but there’s clear signs of werewolves and other beings attacking the mansion

Ismark knocks on the door, and a *very very very* attractive young woman opens the door and introduces herself as Ireena

When the party enters, they see that all of the windows have been shattered and boarded up and that there are holy symbols everywhere (to Buzzlorn’s delight)

Vogal is also able to smell a scent of decay from somewhere within the house

Sitting there is Raynn, who is glad to see them

She says that she took a wrong turn while running in the fog and encountered a few werewolves, including Lincoln (one of the people in Luna); she was knocked out, and she found herself lying in Ismark and Ireena’s residence as Ismark found and rescued her

The party then asks Ireena about Strahd’s visits

Ireena says that she can’t remember anything except for the hunger in his eyes

They’re also able to see that there are two set of bite marks, on each side of her neck

She also says that Strahd sent his minions to the mansion night after night for many months until about 3 days ago, when the burgomaster died

The party asks to look around the house a bit, and Ireena and Ismark leads them around

The ground floor has nothing noticeable, but the second floor has 3 bedrooms

Ireena and Ismark’s bedrooms are open, but the burgomaster’s bedroom is closed

The party asks about their mother, who Ireena can’t remember but Ismark says died when they were very young

They then ask where the burgomaster is, and both Ireena and Ismark grimace and open the burgomaster’s bedroom door

Lying there, in a simple wooden coffin on the bed, is the burgomaster surrounded by flowers (and this is where the smell of decay is coming from)

Ismark says he hasn’t been able to take his father’s body to the church and bury it because he’s afraid to take Ireena out of the house or leave her alone for too long or too far away

Ireena refuses to go anywhere away outside of Barovia until her father is buried

The party decides to help, though they realize that taking Ireena outside was a risk

Buzzlorn almost convinces Ireena to lie in the coffin as well so that she can hide, and as she lowers herself in she freaks out and can’t do it

Vogal instead uses his disguise kit and makes her look like Mu’s human form

Buzzlorn then tries to lift the coffin, and crit fails

He lifts the coffin, his hands slip, and the coffin drops back onto the bed and the body rolls out

He’s absolutely mortified (with the permanent smile carved onto his face) and Ireena and Ismark are absolutely horrified

After they manage to lift the body back into the coffin, the varana, Vogal, and Raynn attempt to all lift the coffin

Raynn, the tiny wood elf, rolls a nat20

She lifts the coffin with one hand and dashes down the stairs as the rest of the party follows her down

They head towards the church, which is on the outskirts of town on the base of the mountains

This church looks like it’s trying to cave in on itself, and it has what looks like half a sun symbol on the front above the door

The party gets very excited, knowing that one of the items that are key for their escape is hidden “behind the sun, in the house of a saint”

They enter the church, where at the end of the church they hear quiet praying coming from the figure there drowned out by screaming coming from below the floorboards

???: “Father I’m starving” The party: NOPE

Ismark goes to the praying figure and tries to shake the priest out of his prayer to no avail

The varana goes back outside, and with Buzzlorn’s help, investigates the sun symbol

He finds out that nothing could be hidden here, and goes down to report that to the rest of the group

The party sees a trapdoor in the corner, and attempts to open it

The priest immediately notices and stops them, saying that they shouldn’t

He introduces himself as Father Donavich, and that the person in the basement is his son, or at least what used to be his son

He explains that his son Doru went with a group of villagers to try to defeat Strahd about a year ago, and came back a vampire spawn

He managed to trap his son in the basement, and has been praying day and night for a way to save his son without killing him

They ask if he can bury the burgomaster, and he says that he would but he has been distracted by the lamentations of his son and wouldn’t be able to concentrate

He seems to regret this, as he was close to the burgomaster and his children

He actually notices that Ismark is there but apparently not Ireena, and he advises Ismark that he should take Ireena to the Abbey of Saint Markovia or to Vallaki

The party asks if this is the “house of a saint,” and he says that this is the church of the Morninglord Lathander, but the house of a saint may refer to the Abbey of Saint Markovia

Buzzlorn asks if he can do the rites instead, as his god is related to Lathander as they’re both good sun gods

He manages to convince Father Donavich, and the party goes out to help bury the body in the cemetery behind the church

Vogal and Damakos stay inside, and they go to inspect the trapdoor which is covered in chains and locked with a padlock

Vogal turns the lock, inspects it, and it just unlocks under his skillful hand

He tells Damakos that he’ll jump down there and investigate, and to be prepared to shut the door if he has to rush out and escape from whatever is down there

When Vogal climbs down the ladder, he sees a pair of glowing red eyes and immediately nopes out of there

As he scrambles up the ladder, he hears skittering along the wall and ceiling, and the feeling of a hand just about to grab his ankle

He lets out a scream, which alerts the rest of the party and they rush back inside

Vogal has run off to the opposite corner as Damakos slams the door down and keeps it there

However, the force of the vampire spawn below knocks the door open and pushes him to the side, and the figure of an emancipated teenager with glowing red eyes and fangs behind a curled upper lip attacks

Combat start!

The party attempts attacking the vampire spawn and realize that their physical non-magical attacks seem to work but not effectively

In retaliation, the vampire spawn slashes at Damakos and bites into the neck of Vogal, who suffers a lot of damage

Raynn and the varana try finding creative ways of damaging vampires, including trying to see if there’s running water (nope), garlic (nope), or sunlight (nope)

After realizing that holy symbols might work, Raynn attempts to lasso and pull the sun off of the outside of the church

When that doesn’t work, they ask Father Donavich, and he hands them his personal holy symbol from around his neck

Meanwhile, Buzzlorn attacks the vampire spawn that has now crawled up onto the wall

We now learn that wooden constructs with no blood that can wield holy power are the worst enemies of vampires

He manages to bring the vampire spawn to about a quarter of his health with a combination of morning star and divine energy

As the vampire spawn scrambles away to the middle of the room, the holy symbol is getting tossed around to different party members

Holding it out, they manage to tag team and drive the vampire back into the hole to the basement

They push a pew onto the door and chain and lock the door back up, effectively keeping the vampire spawn under

The screaming resumes, though now contained and quieter

Father Donavich thanks them, and allows them to keep the holy symbol with them

He gives them brief directions to the Abbey of Saint Markovia, which is down in the valley away from the mountains

Ireena and Ismark, with their last business finished in Barovia, are ready to leave, and the party prepares to head out onto the next leg of their journey

#cos vampires #curse of strahd #donegeons and dragons #dnd #d&d

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strahd-von-asthmavich · 3 years

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The Dread Lands of Ravenloft - Mod Van Richten’s New England In-Table Campaign [Session 1]

Session 0

I was excited to share the introduction of this newest campaign I’ve begun. I’ve also started construction on a fandom wiki, where I will make my ideas and concepts for the setting of Ravenloft, supplemental changes I made to Curse of Strahd and NPCs, and all the shenanigans and conquests my players get up to. I hope you all continue to enjoy their adventures in Ravenloft!

Side note: Any art that I share of NPCs within these highlight posts is my (Mod Van Richten) original and fan art. Any art that I use for my players that wasn’t created by myself but by other artists online is kept private and within our friend circle. We don’t repost art in this house.

Abrascus Barbarian (3) Path of the Ancestral Guardian Race: Tortle Background: Haunted One

Direthorn Rogue (3) Swashbuckler Race: Drow Background: Urchin

Flopsy Barbarian (3) Path of Wild Magic Race: Rabbit Man Background: Experiment

Mangus Monk (3) Way of the Open Hand Race: Half Elf Background: Urchin

Neracahne Wizard (3) School of Evocation Race: Eladrin Background: Noble

Nyra Rogue (3) Phantom Race: Fairy Background: Noble

Here come their adventures from this session under the cut:

After the revelation of the two letters being from different people, they decide that they’re going to continue forward. They arrive at the Village of Barovia within an hour. Stanimir leaves them with one last piece of advice: If they’re in trouble, they should seek out Madam Eva at Tser Pool, a Seer who’s known for helping people in need of guidance.

Direthorn insists that Flopsy should go to the door of the largest house in the village, which they quickly find out is the Burgomaster’s mansion. Awaiting should be Kolyan Indirovich, like in the letter. Flopsy nearly breaks down the door however, and alerts not Kolyan, but his son, Ismark Kolyanovich.

The party gives Ismark the first letter that they received from Arrigal, to which Ismark is confused. The signature is not his father’s, and the wax seal is the Von Zarovich crest. They show the second letter and confirm to them that this one was actually written by his father. When they ask where he is, Ismark tells them that Kolyan had died three days ago of a stroke. He also tells them that Ireena is his sister, and she soon comes downstairs to see what the commotion is about.

Ireena is a beautiful young woman with deep red hair and green eyes. She appears to be fine and in good health. She does tell them, however, that she did get bitten. She was bitten a day before their father died.

Kolyan’s coffin has been in the study this whole time, and everyone in the adventuring party insists that they go and transport the body to the church as soon as possible. Flopsy was able to take the coffin there all on his own, and the villagers merely look on from their houses as the procession unfolds. On the way to the church, they meet a young noble from the town of Vallaki named Vasili von Holtz. He’d just so happened to be coming to visit Ireena and Ismark, since the funeral was originally planned for the next day. Ireena is enamored with Vasili, the two of them showing mutual interest in one another. In fact, Ireena was very excited that he was here.

Vasili discusses with the party members out of earshot from the other nobles that he’s worried about Ireena’s safety. He doesn’t feel that Ismark is a good guardian for her, and she’s tried to run away from home before. Vasili had to save her from wolves, because she didn’t know how to fend for herself properly.

At the church, everything seems to be in disrepair. The front of the church is covered with old burn marks and claw marks. The pews inside are all broken into shards. The air is tense. As everyone is waiting for the priest to get the rites for the funeral ready, Nyra notices crying coming from the undercroft. The priest, named Father Donavich, seemed like he was hiding something. So, Nyra and Direthorn sneak off with Ireena to check it out. They find that one of the room closest to the front door has a trap door inside that was chained shut.

Meanwhile, Flopsy attempts to intimidate Donavich into telling him what’s going on. Although he didn’t come across as intimidating as he’d wanted, Donavich insists that he’s just trying to take care of his son, Doru. However, the ruse is up when Neracahne alerts Donavich by causing some of the floorboards to creak while she attempted to follow Nyra and Direthorn. That’s when everyone can hear Doru yelling for Nyra, Direthorn, and Ireena to come downstairs because he’s “so starving” and is sick of his father taunting him with potential food.

Doru is a vampire, albeit a weak one. Everyone manages to quickly dispatch him, with some notable highlights: Abrascus gets Flopsy to throw him through the floor to get down to the undercroft quickly. Flopsy bashes Doru’s head in, and that seems to do the job. Father Donavich is understandably distraught and insists that they need to pay for the damages done to the floorboards.

The funeral soon takes place, now symbolically for two people instead of just Kolyan. During the ceremony, they are visted by two dark-skinned elves. One of them, who’s feared by the Barovians, is named Rahadin, Chamberlain of Castle Ravenloft.

His younger companion is named Iulian. Rahadin delivers a proclamation from Strahd von Zarovich himself.

Transcription: By Order of the Count, Ismark Kolyanovich, your father, Kolyan Indirovich, Burgomaster of the Barovian Village, has committed treason of the most heinous of sorts in the Valley. His death means the punishment shall fall on the current Burgomaster. For your father’s crimes against the Count, you are hereby removed from your position as Burgomaster. Henceforth, your bloodline will not hold any power within the Valley. You are to remove yourself from your position and your manor. The Count himself has appointed a new Burgomaster, their rule effective immediately. You have three hours to gather your belongings and vacate your premises. Shelter will not be provided for you. Heed the Valley with caution. Direct Orders from the Ancient and the Land of Barovia Himself, Count Strahd von Zarovich

The adventurers attempt to challenge Rahadin, but he quickly shoots them down and tells Direthorn in particular to mind their own business. When Direthorn talks back to him, they’re suddenly dealt with an onslaught of screams that currently only they can hear. All the while, Iulian seems interested in them and wants to know their name before he’s quickly told by Rahadin that they’re leaving.

Ismark and Ireena are distraught over being evicted, and they only bring with them the equipment that they can carry. Vasili suggests to them that they all should travel to Vllaki to stay in his home, which is the nearest town yet pretty far away on foot. They manage to convince Vasili that they’ll only take Ireena there if they have transportation. He’ll have a wagon for them the next day.

After Vasili leaves to take care of that, they go to the tavern and stay the night. Ismark’s abilities are a little bit more established, when the adventurers find out that he’s a bard that knows healing spells. His spellcasting focus is his balalaika. While at the tavern, it is revealed that in Barovia, the values of gold and silver are swapped, with silver holding more value because of lycanthropy being so prevalent. The distribution of wealth is a little strange for them now.

The adventures are suspicious of the way Ireena and Ismark have been acting now that their father is dead. Some of them notice that the two siblings don’t even seem sad about it. They get Ireena to drink some wine, and Ismark had four pitchers on his own, in order for them to talk.

During this, Ireena admits to being a little upset with Direthorn that they didn’t let her fight in the undercroft. She insists that she knows how to use a rapier and is well versed in combat training. They don’t entirely believe her, but she challenges them to a friendly duel. Although Direthorn wins, they see that Ireena can indeed hold her own rather well, so they agree to let her join in on the next fight.

When asked about their father, Ireena reveals that Kolyan wasn’t exactly a kindhearted man. She implies that Ismark’s alcoholism and Kolyan’s disdain for him is linked to something that happened ten years ago. The Village calls him “The Lesser,” after their eldest brother, Frederich Kolyanovich, was among the men that died in a hunting party. The others that died were named Kristofor, Lazlo, and Hans (late brother of the local shopkeeper). They all blamed Ismark for the catastrophe, because one of the survivors called him lazy. Ismark angrily tells the adventurers as the story is told that it was a lie. The truth was that the wolves that attacked them came from the area that Hans was supposed to keep watch at, for Ismark didn’t see anything in his section of the perimeter. Of course, no one in the village believes him.

The next morning, there’s a wagon waiting for them from Vasili. Before they leave, they grab some free breakfast from a lovely older woman named Granny. She sells pies to the villagers, and every newcomer gets their first pie for free. Everyone except Ismark gets one, and they buy Ireena one after she tells them that her father never let her have pie.

The man Vasili sent to drive the wagon is a man named Escher von Precious. This blonde gentleman has two different colored eyes, the one with the white pupil being a fake eye. He tells them that the blind eye was caused by what he calls a “run-in with a ghast.”

The session ends as they all leave the Village of Barovia and head for Vallaki. An interesting thing about Escher is that when he’s introduced to the adventuring party, he seems to give Neracahne a smile, something that he doesn’t give to the others.

#curse of strahd #curse of strahd campaign #ravenloft #ravenloft 5e #ravenloft campaign #dungeons and dragons #dungeons and dragons campaign #dungeonsanddragons #curseofstrahd #mod van richten #dread lands of ravenloft

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