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y-rhywbeth2 · 4 days

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...Did not read Vampire of the Mists expecting to walk out with the likely not Realmslore or larger D&D compliant headcanon that Bhaal invented vampirism, but here we are.

Right so there's a solid chance that this was the Dark Powers that govern the Ravenloft setting, and Strahd has multiple backstory variations (I think?) butI mean, gods can present themselves a little differently to different worlds, the slight shift in focus of murder+ isn't that odd. Bane has in fact been dabbling across the planes since pre-Time of Troubles, so the other two idiots could definitely have gotten in on it. And - in one version of this story - the origin of vampirism is a voice that sounds like death, describes itself as:

"...every nightmare every creature has ever had. I am the dark thoughts of murder and treachery, of fear and lust and obscenity and violation. I am the cutting word that kills the soul and the bloody knife that kills the body. I am the poison at the bottom of the cup, the noose around the thief’s neck, the cry of the wronged, and the shriek of the tortured. I am the lie. I am the black pit of madness. I am Death and all things worse."

(And you know, Bhaal definitely has lust, obscenity and violation going for him recently. And a little earlier, what the fuck is with the attraction spell sir.) and then says use a dagger - wielded by an assassin cult with the name "Ba'al" in it, whose symbol is a bloody skull, who run protection rackets and seek political power - and go commit a murder for me (enjoy it).

And be transformed one of the most deliberately murderous undead - the most human and able to grasp the horror they inflict, sustained by acts of murder, whose instincts work a lot like Bhaal and the Bhaalspawn, tbh.

Like, Toril is part of the background in this novel, but I don't actually think this was deliberate. I am still maybe going to keep the idea on the shelf. But Bhaal, if I find out you've been doing dimensional-temporal shenanigans and created Strahd (and thus, according to some accounts, invented vampirism itself)...

(It's also kind of funny to imagine Bhaal creating the first vampire and amusing himself watching, and then suddenly these mists descend and yoink all of Barovia off the map. "Huh. Weird. Anyway! Hey, Myrkul, look what I invented!")

#Headcanon Bhaal you owe Hexxat and Astarion - and pretty much everyone else - for emotional damages you know this right?#imo undeath suits Bhaal better as a theme than the other two. Bane is life; Myrkul is death; Bhaal stands between the two states #That description also sounds a bit Cyric-y to me #babbling #edgelord hours #the idiot three

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thecatslug · 1 year

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So I was wondering if you had to give your Strahd a personality trait, ideal, bond, and flaw in the style of the 5e system what would it be? The one's in 5e's Van Richten's Guide don't feel right but also don't feel fully wrong. Idk.

Intriguing question! I’m not a huge fan of the 5e I/B/F system, but here’s my best shot at the biggest ones;

Ideal: Pragmatism (Lawful Evil)

Traditional Morality can be a stumbling block to practical solutions. It is better to be ‘evil’ when necessary than to fail when it matters most.

Ideal #2: Honor Thy Word (Lawful)

You are nothing without your word. Keep the promises you make unless broken by the other party (e.g., thieves forfeiting his protection; War Against Azalin ch. 6).

Bond: I am the Land

After spending his life fighting for Barovia and literally bonding himself to the land (I, Strahd ch. 2 | WAA ch. 6), Barovia is rather important to him. Though he may not show it conventionally, he does care about the place in his own twisted way. He will go to exceedingly unhinged lengths (WAA ch. 14) to protect Barovia and its people when it is truly threatened in his eyes.

Flaw: Psychopathy Under Duress

In times of desperation or extreme stress, the emotions’ of others are no longer logically factored into decision making to the point of basically forgetting anyone has or is swayed by them.

Flaw #2: The Challenger

It takes considerable willpower to not call people out, rise to a debate (WAA ch. 6), or to a challenge of authority.

Flaw #3: Tactless

Though he tries his best, he has little to no true tact in matters of emotion or the heart.

Flaw #4: Goddamn Nerd

It is difficult to fully resist launching rambling philosophical discussion on a topic he finds intriguing (WAA ch. 6).

Flaw #5: Mental Instability

From clear and clinically delusional obsessions (e.g., Tatyana) to chronic depression and executive functioning deficits- he is hardly a picture of stability. Overall, mental illness has had likely the most detrimental impact on his behavior, decision making, and life in general- and will continue to kneecap him for, well, eternity.

{I slapped in some source notes on where I’ve drawn specific points from, but everything here is, at its core, sourced from his novels!}

For those nerdy souls that clicked on the “read more” thing, hi! Good to see y’all!

I wanted to add a quick point on how I usually notate his (and most of my NPCs’) personality traits, because why not.

Myers Briggs (MBTI) -> describes a person’s style of cognitive functioning/processing which impacts how they solve problems and see the world (Strahd is an INTJ. He is introverted, logic driven yet intuitive, and skilled in taking the bigger picture of a situation, analyzing it, and implementing often out of the box solutions based off of his analysis. INTJs tend to wax philosophical at times and have an essential drive for knowledge as well. Emotions and social graces, however, are tossed out the window.)

(Just read War Against Azalin if you’re skeptical. His crackhead plan to save Barovia and chapters of philosophical musing are evidence enough. If you think he’s an extrovert, read I, Strahd and tell me if chucking letters at people in bat form to avoid social interaction is extroverted behavior.)

Enneagram -> describes a person’s core desire and the fears they stem from (Strahd is an enneagram 8 wing 9, protecting himself though controlling his own life is his core desire, fear of being harmed or controlled by others is his core fear. However, he can reign in overt aggression when needed, opting for long term vindictiveness and more manipulative shows of dominance all while being about as extroverted as a potato- hence the 9 wing.)

Vampire: The Masquerade Roads and Paths system -> Great inspiration for describing lawful evil character “moral codes”. LE characters have their own rigid moral codes which I try to write out. VtM’s Road/Path system gives some good ideas on what those can look like, and how certain “ideals” may rate in a hierarchy of importance. (I borrow inspiration from some tenants of Road of Kings: Path of the Tyrant to notate his core values).

#hi yes I’m alive #i’m back with another essay #strahd von zarovich #curse of strahd #ravenloft #strahd #ravenloft2e #dnd npc #LFOS

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raviollies · 6 months

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Hey! I love what you've done to characters and Lorelei is now living in my head rent free! Raha and Blythe are amazing and adorable!

It's very inspiring the way you keep yourself together even when everything falls apart! Keep it up!

If my question is annoying or if it bothers you, you may not answer on it.

Originally I followed you when I saw your Ireena and Blythe art. It amazed me how much both of them and Ireena in particular got fleshed out!

In my dnd game and tbh in many other games, players don't get invested in Ireena's journey, they don't fall for her and don't care for her sadly. That's why many DM's usually replace her with a player character, in order to raise the stakes. In half a year I will be running a new cos game, for the group of three and I am honestly considering to replace Ireena with the PC, but don't really want to (especially fearing how the game might go, if the player will turn into strahd-simp).

Could you please describe Ireena's character in your game? Perhaps her bonds and flaws? So other DM's and I can do a better job of her portrayal!

Thank you for the kind words! Here is an updated Lorelai WIP for your to pay rent

(and Blythe and Raha are very married yes)

So rather than referencing my game, as I am not the DM, I will provide my own suggestions as I was planning on running CoS as well. Spoilers for the campaign

I will also suggest against a Tatyana PC. Everyone is very much free to write and interpret the character however they want but to me it is very important that the Tatyana reincarnation does not want Strahd. In fact I would remove the interaction with Sergei too. Having her instantly forget herself as this new person in favour of Tatyana erases the entire point and kind of proves Strahd right in him refusing to see Ireena as her own person.

The way I would approach Ireena; she is her own person. She grew up with her family that wasn't Tatyana's. She lived a life that wasn't Tatyana's. She's met different people. It doesn't MATTER if she's a reincarnation of someone else, after all everyone in Barovia is a reincarnation of someone else. It's very important to establish that the main crux of the issue is that Strahd does NOT see her as Ireena, but Tatyana. He does not know Ireena. He only knows Tatyana. I would even have him call her that rather than "Ireena".

Ireena's story would be one of becoming independent and confident in her identity. To no longer be just Ismark's sister, Burgomaster's daughter, Tatyana's reaction, Evil's bride --- she is Ireena Kolyana. Nothing more, nothing less. I would start her off as unsure of herself, and being hesitant to take up space and over the course of the story become more confident in standing up for herself, with an eventual climax of expressing extremely clearly to Strahd that she is not Tatyana. She never was. He doesn't know her. That that person is gone, and she will never be back. He can chain her, do whatever but that will never make her Tatyana nor will it make her love him or know him. She is a woman who is constantly assigned identities by other's, but she want's to just be Ireena, she wants to do her hobbies, decide on where she wants to go, what books to read, what food to eat.

The relationship between Strahd and Tatyana is irrelevant. It could have been real, or a figment of his imagination, but the point is that...she is gone. If he had a soul of someone else, would it be fair for them to lay claim to him?

As for personality wise ; I would write her as sheepish at first, she is someone taking their first steps into adulthood in a way, outside the comfort of their home, their village. She should be curious and wonderstruck, curious and wishing to explore every nook and cranny. Because of that she would be unfortunately naïve to the problems that arise in bigger cities as Vallaki. A village and a town are very different - a big thing she's be stupefied by how impersonal everyone is. Rural villages often have people knowing everyone, it's commonplace to help your neighbor because you KNOW them. Vallaki is different...people go about their day and do not care, after all there is so many people. You physically can't know everyone.

She is down to earth and finds camaraderie with someone simpler than a noble, providing practical suggestions and being very handy with most tools and identifying local flora. On a flipside, I would say she struggles when dealing in very formal settings where it's less about honesty and more about saying a lie by omission to get what you want. When interacting with Vargas or Lady Wachter, she's visibly uncomfortable and stumbles over her words; they speak in such a way to purposely confuse her, like a lawyer would. Not only that but she most likely would refuse to do anything morally questionable, her heart is very pure!

So in all, a kind hearted, down to earth little lady who values honesty, hard work, and family but is naïve, stubborn and socially awkward. She will support and protect the party, even to her detriment but she will not stand with them to commit Crimes (so RIP if your party is murder hobos)

#i would add some sorta sexuality struggle to go with the whole identity too personally. Cause I'm one of Them.#the skittles squad if you will #but Ireena has room to be an incredibly compelling character; the module just does the women dirty #and people that make her so boring that people abandon her...skill issue.#ANYWAY WOW THIS GOT LONG #ask #anon

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fartsomeart · 8 months

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Astarion Ascension

Just gonna rant a little, cause I'm so mad there isn't a dialog option about this during the Cazador quest.

Raphael explains Astarion's scars is one part of the infernal contract Cazador made with/is in the process of making with Mephistopheles.

If you have Wyll in the party, his whole storyline is how pacts are always in the devils favor, and it takes everything from you. Including Karlach's storyline on top, we all know it is a fact making a pact with a devil will always be a bad for you.

But the only option you have to convince Astarion to not do the ritual is to consider the lives of the other spawn. Which I'm playing an evil character and don't give a flying fuck about them. I do however have investment in Astarion and his freedom, especially following the Dark Urge storyline where your entire creation was to be Bhaal's "back up save" when he dies. So, my Dark Urge finds Astarion to be very relatable, I can get a God of murder's power, but it's never my own. I'll always be Bhaal's vessel/pawn. So, Astarion taking Cazador's place in this infernal contract is literally damning his soul.

There should have been an option where PC tells Astarion not to sell his fucking soul to a devil. He would get great power, but he would still be enslaved. Just changing his master from a vampire to an archdevil.

I'll prob write a fanfic about this, and a couple other options I wish I could have had in game.

Some more thoughts cause brain hamster at full speed.

All the arguments I’ve seen for whether or not to help Astarion ascend is based off his personality change, not actually about the pros and cons of signing an infernal contract and what he’s actually sacrificing. Personally I believe Astarion was always like his ascended personality, he’s just not hiding his true colors anymore. When he has the powers of a Strahd+ level vampire, he literally does not need to hide or make himself small, or placate any of his party members so he has allies on his side.

I imagine he’d have the power to make Baldur’s Gate his “domain” like Strahd with Barovia, but even more so cause Sunlight immunity now. But we know nothing about the details of the contract. Would Baldur’s Gate eventually end up just like Elturel? Sucked up into the hells like a parallel to Barovia in the Shadowfell? We think it’s just a choice between good versus evil Astarion, but I think Astarion will alway be evil no matter what. It’s just whether or not he hides it or has the confidence to show it.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #baldur's gate iii #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 astarion #baldur's gate #astarion

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mx-lamour · 2 months

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Just my boy again, and some updated portraits. ♡

(some CoS finale stuff under the cut)

Ireena & Sergei

We brought Sergei back, so the two of them were reunited. They held each other's hands and talked fervently with each other, both of them radiant as ever. When Ezra approached them, Sergei thanked him profusely for everything he and his fellow adventurers have done. He said Ezra will always be welcome in this new Barovia. He will always have a home.

Ireena is still Ireena. She has the memories of her past lives behind her, including her first as Tatyana, but she is a different person after all of these hundreds of years in the cycle.

Ezra had to get something off his chest, before they parted ways (he still has work to do). Nervously, he admitted that he cared for her, but had always been afraid of being a... (he fumbles on the word) monster.

Ireena cut him off and kissed his cheek. "You are not a monster," she reassured him. He knows this, now, but thirty years of struggle still sting, and they will for a while. She tells him to come back to visit them. She and Sergei remember what they meant to each other, but their relationship is new again. They're going to take their time, now that they have it. Anything could happen.

Ezra appreciates the gesture; his affection is reciprocated. It's a strange and gentle thing. "I only want for you to be happy."

Strahd & Alek

We brought Alek back—twice, in a way. Strahd, human again, stood at the window of the "Inn Between" and watched his old domain crumble. Alek stood beside him, facing the tavern interior, guarding his back. He exchanged an approving look with Ezra as he approached them next.

Ezra stood on Strahd's other side and said, "I hope you can forgive me."

Strahd did not reply for a long moment. "I am not sure I can forgive myself. I don't think I am in a position to forgive anyone else."

Ezra tells him there is nothing left to forgive; Strahd's dark history is literally crumbling before their eyes. They will always remember, but the dread domain can no longer harm another soul. If anything, Ezra admits awkwardly, he should thank Strahd. Without Barovia, he might never have discovered who or what he is.

Strahd admits that he needs to find out who he is, too. He declares Count Strahd von Zarovich to be dead. "I would like to see the world," he muses, "from a different perspective than on the back of a warhorse."

"I always was more comfortable on the road," Alek says beside him, and that settles it.

"If you ever find yourselves in need," Ezra tells them, "send for me, and I will be there."

#i love my little man so much #ezra sunstar #it was such a good campaign #we won #curse of strahd #cos oc #anno viatoris

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darklordazalin · 6 months

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Azalin Reviews Darklord Adam

Domain: Lamordia Formation: 575 BC (the actual date various in different sources, but I was there to witness its formation, so take this date to be the most accurate) Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫ Sources: Ravenloft Gazetteer Vol 2 (3e); Domains of Dread (2e); I, Strahd the War Against Azalin (Novel).

Based on rumors, Lamordia went through significant changes in its latest rendition, but this week I shall review it as it once was and tell the tale of Darklord Adam and the constant harsh weather that plagues “his” domain. The settlements of this land are constantly assaulted by deadly blizzards and frigid air coming from the Sea of Sorrows in the winter and infestation of insects and insufferable heat in the summer. I do not recommend visiting, especially given how adverse the entire populace is to magic. I am positive my late father would thoroughly enjoy it, however.

Everything about Lamordia is based upon structure and scientific reasoning set within a utilitarian society. The people have a scientific explanation for everything despite the obvious supernatural phenomena that occurs all around them. They are adverse to any type of magic - whether it be the far more superior arcane arts or the divine. This disbelief is so tightly held that the land itself is known to suppress those that attempt any form of casting. Though, I have it on first hand accounts that this effect does not always occur.

It is highly dangerous for those who deny the existence in the arcane to essentially practice it. I’m surprised Lamorida hasn’t imploded in on itself yet, for Dr. Victor Mordenheim’s science clearly surpasses the realm of the supernatural. Given the nature of the domain, you would think Mordenheim would be its Darklord, but he is not. His creation, a flesh golem of rare independence, is the true Darklord of Lamordia.

Let’s dive in a bit to the tale of these two idiots. When Mordenheim and his wife, Elise, were unable to conceive a child, he devoted himself to the study of life and death; above all, other ways in which life could be created. I can...understand that inclination. It is important one has an heir to carry out one's legacy and rule. Of course, he went about it like a blind fool with no sense of the magics he was tapping into for he denied their very existence.

Adam was the result of 13 years of labor which he spent away from Elise. Moredenheim created Adam to appear as a perfect physical specimen. And upon first blush, I suppose one could say that is true. He is muscular yet lean with long black hair and I am told that sort of thing is appealing to some. However, close up he is a mockery of beauty like a horrible painting gifted to a King by a so-called artist.

Made up of pulsating arteries and tendons seen just beneath the thin bits of grey flesh, Adam is disgusted by his own appearance. Interestingly, when my little scholar interviewed Adam he told her that Mordenheim made him but another source provided him with his “soul”. So, it seems that Mordenheim’s science only brought him so far and it was likely the powers he denied that truly brought life into Adam.

Elise was unsettled by Adam’s appearance and despite her discomfort her husband decided to adopt a girl to act as a playmate for Adam. That seems like a very bad parenting decision and coming from me...well, that says something, doesn’t it?

Adam became obsessed with Elise and wanted nothing more than her acceptance and approval. Accounts of what transpired on the night Lamordia appeared on the border of Barovia differs between Adam and his maker. They both blame the other, but in the end whether Adam was a murderous villain or a victim attempting to gain acceptance, his adopted sister fell to her death after an encounter with him and Elise was mutilated.

Death would have been kinder for Elise, but Mordenheim keeps her alive through “scientific” means. Her heart beats through the working of machinery alone and he constantly switches her limbs and skin out in attempts to receive her, but only accomplishes keeping her in constant pain. If the foolish man believed in Divine or even the Arcane and not dismissed those practitioners of both, he could have healed her condition. I myself have been known to use such magics to prolong my own life when I was a mortal man.

Mordenheim’s monstrous creations roam Lamordia, but despite the obvious arcane nature of these creations, the people and the Doctor himself still dismiss the arcane. They will not accept it, just as they will not accept Adam. And this is the curse the Dark Powers bestowed upon Adam, to never find the acceptance he so hopelessly craves. To live alone on an island, over-dramatically named “The Isle of Agony” as he plots against his creator. When my little scholar interviewed Adam he said that Lamordia was Mordenheim’s even though it shouldn’t be and that they were “all his children”.

Adam is tied to Mordenheim and devotes his existence to making the Doctor’s life as miserable as possible, like the overgrown rebellious teenager that he is. Though, this is quite easy seeing as the Dark Powers bond the two together so that Adam experiences Mordenheim’s physical pain and the doctor experiences his creation’s angsty teenage ways.

As flesh golems go, Adam is one of a kind with many immunities to mundane weapons and certain magical energies. Still, without any arcane mastery of his own, a skilled wizard could make quick work of him. Though his curse is interesting, it makes his tie and rule over his own realm obsolete. As such, I will give Adam 3 skulls for this review and Mordenheim does not even get a skull. I despise those that practice the art without respecting it and those who do so without realizing it? Utter fools.

#azalin rex #darklordreviews #ravenloft #mordenheim #adam #frankenstein but ravenloft style

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syrips · 6 months

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What are your fave canon-divergent Strahd headcanons? And/or what lore changes has a DM made in your CoS campaign that you really liked?

ooh ty for the ask! 🧡🧡

im not sure if my stuff is canon-divergent or compliant because its a mix of potential-canon or random things that could be explained with lore but either way!!-

obviously potential spoilers and l o n g !

thank you for the ask, i kinda rambled but i enjoyed writing it all hehee; i swear these are my favs, didnt realize i have so many

headcanonish list and cos dm list below:

Headcanon-ish(?) list in no specific order:

strahd can invent, alternate, or customize spells

strahd passively charms people (requiring a DC save) without realizing it

strahd 4th wall breaks constantly; anything the DM knows, strahd knows

alek gwilym was the first sacrifice in strahd's ritual, not tatyana or sergei

during the ritual, alek, sergei, and tatyana's physical bodies were all taken by the mists; they can/have reincarnated many times, similar to tatyana, but are usually lost/unaware because strahd only focuses on tatyana

strahd genuinely wants a family, but attempts in desperately unhinged ways (necromancy/kidnapping/adopting)

good-aligned strahd exists, because evil-aligned tatyanas also exist

strahd's tome/i, strahd books have an unintentional charm on the reader (in an in-game sense)

all visual depictions/art/portrayals of strahd are legitimate (in an in-game sense), we just view strahd differently, and draw/see him in our perspective

all versions/campaigns of strahd are canonical, because strahd's soul also got split with tatyana's, albeit in a different 4th wall way

strahd's birthday is in june

strahd was/is neurodivergent

strahd has empathy/sympathy and suffers from his actions, yet is torn between his desires, passion, and desperation

strahd does love, but he views 'love' as synonymous with 'passion'; in his eyes, his actions are justified because the more intense/passionate he is, the more he is expressing his love

alek, sergei, and tatyana all love strahd (in the 'normal' way), but are unable to fully understand how his mind/brain works

alek, rahadin, and strahd's consorts/partners are ones closest to understanding/loving strahd

strahd converting the consorts to vampires allow them to experience love in the same way strahd does - as passion; this is also why he is so adamant in wanting to convert tatyana or just try to help her understand in his bizarre ways

rahadin existed pre-vampire strahd, but strahd wrote about alek because he was closer to alek than rahadin

strahd's father was abusive/strict to strahd; strahd is attracted to people who act opposite to his father

~~~~~

CoS/DM list (im the DM but some of these i love when other DMs do too):

everyone strahd pursues, romances, or charms are adults

for pcs, all (good/neutral/evil) npcs are romanceable without the consequence of death

campaign's 'soft cap' is 20, with boons

strahd's abilities/CR level up with the party

Vampyr is a legitimate entity/creature, that can be fought or haggled with

you do not need to kill/defeat strahd to 'beat' CoS; 'beating' CoS just means making it out of barovia or 'unlocking' access to enter other domains

can communicate/interact with other domains/darklords via spells/magic items

classic DM move of 'tome of strahd is DMified i, strahd 1 and/or 2'

players can play multiple PCs, but only one PC is able to interact in combat (unless a player is missing/unable to make the session)

classic DM move of tatyana PCs

(my favorite one:) CoS+, aka repeatable CoS games where we develop the story/lore/events based on previous CoS games (although its not really just CoS anymore but ravenloft campaigns)

#syrips DM stuff #random syrips theory #ask syrips anything #cos spoilers #ravenloft #curse of strahd spoilers #ravenloft spoilers

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crowholtz · 1 year

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I want to hear more about the other NPCs in your CoS campaign! I stumbled across your Doru bio and I was baffled by how wildly different he is in your campaign vs the one I'm in. It's always so cool to learn about different adaptations of characters!

OMG I am so glad you asked

Okay I'm gonna touch my faves! Obviously spoilers for the campaign~

First up we have Escher. I love what my DM did with Escher! He's a genderfluid shapeshifter (though his main 'true' form is elven) from Waterdeep that Strahd brought to Barovia through the mists. His personality often gives me like... Double Trouble vibes from She-Ra. He's very fruity eheheh. He's an empath - literally, he has the ability to sense people's emotions when he touches them (all the True Vampires in our campaign have a Special Ability). He's a bit of a whore. he's actually a ripper (my dm sorta borrowed this term from the vampire diaries in which some vampires are just more violent and hungry than others) and was pretty bad when he first became a vampire, but he redirected his bloodlust more into sex and drugs. very Dionysian. He's very decadent and selfish, but he also does have a good capacity to care thanks to not being able to turn his empathy off, and he uses his ability to please others and be what they want him to be. He also in his mortal life had a degree in psychology from the University of Waterdeep, and is quite smart and good at reading people and their issues, though he likes to pretend he's a useless bimbo. He's currently traveling with the party because he's worried about Strahd....

Another favorite of mine is Vasili von Holtz. He's actually the reincarnation of Strahd's mortal soul in my campaign instead of just being his alter ego. Strahd thought Vasili was the reincarnation of Sergei for a while, and put Vasili through a lot of tests and trauma when he was a teenager 30 years ago to see if he'd react to situations in the way Sergei would. When he didn't, Strahd was always disappointed with Vasili. The irony being, Vasili made the decisions Strahd would have made since he has his soul, and that's what Strahd hated. Strahd essentially tortured himself and he doesn't even know. Vasili is 45 years old now, a lovable rogue, kinda scrungly. He's charming and cunning, but good. My party put him in charge of Vallaki in the form of running a council with father Lucian, Lady Wachter, and Anastrasya. He's got a bit of a drinking problem, but he wants to do good by the people. Much like Strahd, he has the mentality of "no one can do it but me. It has to be me." My character Helene is romancing him. And Strahd. It's very messy.

I have more, but I don't want this to get too long, so if you are interested in hearing about more pls send another ask ^^ my DM has made all the characters in this campaign so multifaceted and complex and interesting. Strahd is honestly my favorite -- he took his character and crafted him into such a fascinating villain and plays him really well. But god, going into Strahd's psyche and story would take a whole ass post.

I'm also gonna put more info about Doru too under a read more just to give more context to his personality!

My DM didn't honestly plan on Doru being in the campaign -- he figured he would die or remain trapped, as he often is in CoS.

In my DM's canon, Doru was a soft spoken young man romanced by Strahd and Doru agreed to become one of his brides. Doru insisted however, that during the turning process he remain close by the church in the village and his father so he could prove that even after turning into a vampire he was still himself. Doru requested Strahd not be there bc he knew Strahd's presence would spook his father. Strahd acquiesced to his request. Unfortunately in the transition, Doru's father and many of the villagers became distressed, outraged, tried holding him down to try to basically "exorcise" him. Doru's ripper instinct activated (yeah unfortunately Doru got the ripper trait) and he slaughtered and drained some of the villagers present. Donovich managed to get Doru into the basement of the church where he stayed for 10 years, though Donovich announced that Doru was dead. Strahd mourned him.

So when we managed to save Doru with a wand of polymorph (which we can thank @gothoctopus for thinking of using), it changed his creature type and therefore he could leave the consecration of the church! Then I had my character Helene "pray to her god" so she could contact Strahd when he intercepted the prayer, and she let him know that Doru was actually alive and that we rescued him. Strahd was shocked Doru was alive, and Helene had to talk him down from doing something drastic to the people of Barovia village. He was grateful, and sent down a carriage to put bunny Doru in so it could take him back to Castle Ravenloft. Strahd said that he now owed the party one favor (which Helene used in the bones of st. andral incident to make him leave us and Ireena alone for the time being).

Anyway, Doru took some time to heal at the castle. Mentally he was not doing great, and he's still trying to heal, but he is much better now. He bonded with Rahadin, who took care of him. Doru is still a faithful follower of the morninglord, which has manifested in an ability to still use radiant/healing magic despite being undead. (My DM gave all the True Vampires special abilities. Escher, for example, is an empath and can sense others emotions when he touches them!)

Doru is soft-spoken, sassy, smart, and generally wants to be a good person. His vampiric tendencies get in the way of that though, especially with his underlying bloodlust that he has to keep in check. He's always itching for a fight, but suppresses it. He's also autistic and is very cute when he infodumps :D

#curse of strahd #curse of strahd spoilers #cos blogging #escher #vasili von holtz #strahd von zarovich #doru

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mr-leach · 1 year

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Curse of Strahd Ask Meme Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Original Post by @mandisawesome

///Spoilers Ahead!///

If your party hasn’t gotten the Tome of Strahd item yet or had a chance to learn why Strahd is so obsessed with a certain NPC, and you’re worried about spoilers, you might want to skip this post!

Question 4: Did your DM make any major changes to the module?

Yes! Well, some major, some minor. Aside from maybe making the encounters less brutally punishing, here’s what @inertia-raptor changed or added:

From what I understand, a few DMs have decided to switch the roles of the Kolyanovich siblings, including ours. This is my first time playing the module so I can’t say for certain just how different it makes things, aside from making it a little more explicitly queer from the outset, and maybe determining which sibling you spend the most time interacting with at certain points. All I can say is I’ve grown very attached to our awkward little wizard Ismark, and I certainly hope he continues to manage to avoid his creepy vampire stalker.

So in order to sail past any of the potentially problematic implications surrounding the whole Vistani thing, our DM just decided to...not include the Vistani. Now there is a clan of Tabaxi that is more or less on neutral terms with Strahd. We’re also pretty firmly in the camp of “tabaxi/catfolk are allowed to look like domestic cats if you want” which means that these tabaxi absolutely resemble domestic cats, and sometimes our actual pets will make cameos. It’s great.

Not all of the Tabaxi clan members in our game are catfolk--some are human/humanoid--but they are very much included among the Barovian Tabaxi clan that are permitted to traverse in and out of the mists, and sometimes work closely with Strahd. Inversely, a tabaxi from outside of this particular clan might get treated more nicely than adventurers other races if they were to end up in Barovia, but they’d kinda have to prove they were loyal to Strahd first if they wanted the same privileges as the native clan.

Significant NPCS that were written into the campaign:

Our DM wrote in a few OCs that have had a significant part to play in the game so far, and go beyond just fleshing out existing enemies or NPCs:

Carden is one of those NPCs that was probably meant to be more for background flavour, but then our PCs got so damnged attached to him...We just can’t do anything in Vallaki without checking in on our good buddy Carden at least once. He’s been in Barovia 50 years now (and sadly left behind a human partner on the other side of the mists) and even though he can be a little scatterbrained, still has a good deal of knowledge about vampires, Strahd, and Vallaki that has been really helpful.

So Sylras is our designated ally and we could not be happier to have them. When Carden fucked them up and couldn’t get Tatyana’s soul to bind to them, he made sure to have them given some kind of combat training before being made to send them to Castle Ravenloft, but he unfortunately didn’t think it was possible to teach Sylras how to express or even feel emotions. It kind of actually protected them from Strahd to some extent...they were still a failure in his eyes, but at least having no emotional response made tormenting them feel pointless (which is exactly as fucked up as it sounds).

Which is why we may have fucked up big time! Being with us and being treated like their own person has actually been making a difference in how they see themself and how they feel about Strahd and the way he treats people. So far we’ve taught them hatred, anxiety, betrayal, fear, self-doubt...we’re working on the nice emotions, alright!? It’s not easy when you’re in Barovia. Anyway Strahd apparently thinks that this is hilarious. Turns out, the more we rehabilitate Sylras, the more appealing they are as a target for Strahd to mess with. Whoops!!!

Thankfully we all love Sylras a lot and are ride or die for them which means we will absolutely do whatever it takes to protect them (so long as they don’t run head first into battle without telling us again nO WAIT SYLRAS STOP WHERE ARE YOU GOING--)

Baby boy...baby... When I decided to play as Sy for the campaign, I told Malcolm that he could incorporate Joshua into the story however he liked if he wanted to, and man, did he ever deliver. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the result has been a heart wrenching motivator not just for my PC, but for the entire party.

Poor Joshua was studying away from home to become a bard and wanted to surprise his dad with a visit when the mists arrived to bring him to Barovia. Strahd manipulated Joshua’s situation, putting him in mortal danger and then “saving” him by turning him into his spawn, then convinced him that Ravenloft was the only safe place for him to live in Barovia (not entirely untrue but...come on, dude, Barovia’s only unsafe because of you). Joshua thought of him like a kind saviour, and it was easy for Strahd to convince him to become one of his consorts. Strahd hasn’t made any sexual advances towards Joshua (yet???) and has told Sy that he wants to “preserve Joshua’s purity for as long as possible” which has easily got to be one of the creepiest things a middle aged ass looking dude can say to you about your kid.

Sy kinda had no choice but to leave Joshua at Castle Ravenloft even after their heartfelt reunion, but they still exchange letters. I write Sy’s letters in an adventure diary channel in our game’s discord server, and then me and DM discuss how Joshua would be able to respond and what sort of twist Strahd would give certain events to skew his perspective, which has been a fun/interesting bit of side story to have going on in the background of the main action.

Other changes:

Adventurers love their naked bonding time, and our resident geologist said it was definitely plausible for someone to have discovered a geothermal spring somewhere in Barovia! So the story is, when Carden was setting up his alchemy shop, he was digging a well and...well. The hot spring was pretty useful for him as an alchemist, and his druidic knowledge of herbs and natural remedies meant that he could maintain a decent side business selling soaps, bath salts, and other bath related luxuries, so he went ahead and built a number of pools and facilities as a sort of side business.

Our party has made use of the hot springs several times, but for some reason, we always seem to ruin the relaxation with depressing discussion topics, stressful revelations, or...you know...not noticing one of the party members was actually absent, and the person who had been bathing with us for the past hour was actually Strahd in disguise. That was. A time.

I’ll be able to go into this more in a later post, but one more neat change our DM has made is that he set up a whole masquerade ball for us to go through, which was so much fun! He definitely put a lot of hard work and preparation into it, and we ended up playing several sessions of it, it was so eventful lol. For now, though, I think I’ll end this post, since it’s gotten pretty long! Hopefully it was a fun read, at least lol.

#dnd #d&d #curse of strahd #mandisawesome #inertia-raptor #dnd oc #friend oc #strahd meme #joshua hawthorne #carden #sylras #ismark kolyanovich #ireena kolyanovich #tabaxi #marta #victor #cat mather #art

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wiltingwoes · 10 days

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fuck it here’s the alternative universe one too

this one goes by bethanne/beth/bethany. does not goes by betty. strictly dnd/cos. I can always write her here, but unlike betty’s lore which jumps around timelines, hers is strictly cos based. mainly because once you enter barovia, good fucking luck getting out at that point GDHCBVB

- despite her appearance and strength, she’s the most watered down version of betty. a lot more rational, gentle, and empathetic. a gentle giant.

- looks like she’ll kill you. is actually a cinnamon bun. takes after her late mama andréa. very mama bear oriented. tries to reconcile with words over violence first. usually just tired all the damn time. has her feral moments.

- not to say she’s a pushover though oh my god no she’s the party’s tank and has done INSANE shit to people who fuck with her ‘pack’. her strength is 24 and intimidation has a +4. zealot barbarian as myrkul’s (god of necromancy and the undead) death knight, oathbreaker because she told kelemvor to go fuck himself and he killed her for that. this one has told MULTIPLE gods to go fuck themselves. she and betty share the same distinct hatred toward authority, anyone who disrespects the undead, and the gods. this one is the true advocate for the undead as she walks as not entirely myrkul’s vengeance toward the disrespect, but as his patience and gentleness toward death. our myrkul is homebrewed to be a shepherd of souls as opposed to his early days where he was a downright menace lmao dude just wants to not be forgotten as a god and she walks in his footsteps in order to keep him in existence.

- this bitch. looks like a tank. her arms are GUNS. it takes the ENTIRE PARTY to pull her away. if you get punched by her, you’re going to the ER. she’s so scared of holding tiny creatures because she doesn’t want to accidentally hurt them. think of striga from castlevania, same build and accent, just deeper.

- she often hides in the shadows. not to be shady, she’s just ashamed of her appearance. she doesn’t want to scare people. it’s just how the Nosferatu strand works. betty can cast illusionary spells — beth knows no magic. her faith and weaponry are the closest to magical ties.

- heavy female lean. basically a lesbian. she will occasionally flirt and bed other people, but she’s very committed to trying win cassandra’s heart. since our campaign is entirely homebrewed cause the og cos is pretty fUCKING BAD LOL it’s now LGBT friendly without all the racism and sexism and strahd being a degenerate. still extremely dark. our strahd was gender bent — cassandra strahd von zarovich. it’s my favorite trope ever because not only are these two hot vampire lesbians but it’s beauty and the beast. cass is an extremely attractive noble and baroness who committed herself to vampirism as a young vistani in order to save her family. the court murdered her wife and her daughter’s status is unknown. she’s lost in grief and madness after the curse and her intentions are unknown atm. beth is a nosferatu barbarian who wears her enemies’ skulls on her attire who was forced into vampirism when a nosferatu beast slaughtered her entire vistani vardo and bit her. she could’ve went down cass’ path of hatred for the world, but instead she fights out of love. seeks to redeem cass and break her curse. she’s only met cass once after she saved our party and knows she’s been watching the party and has so many questions for the vampiress. beth has been collecting info on her and trying to track her down for a month and a half now because she’s that dedicated in making sure she doesn’t suffer any further as someone who’s in constant suffering herself. they’re two sides of the same coin tbh. I could go on and on about them I’m SO soft for this ship

#🐀 MUSE: BETTY. 🐀

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ravenloftian · 10 months

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Deity: The Morninglord

The Morninglord is a revered deity within the Cult of the Morninglord, a prominent faith in the mist-shrouded realm of Barovia. As a Chaotic Good god, the Morninglord embodies the ideals of optimism, hope, and the eternal struggle against darkness. His worshipers turn to him in times of despair, seeking solace and the light of his divine guidance.

Name: The Morninglord Alignment: Chaotic Good Cleric Spheres: Healing, Divination, Protection, Guardian, All, Sun Favored weapons: Spear, Lance, Long Sword

Description: The Morninglord, also known as the Radiant One, is a deity of light and hope in the realm of Barovia. As a sun god, his presence represents the warmth and brightness that can penetrate even the darkest corners of the world. Though the Morninglord is a divine being, his essence is often described as a benevolent and caring force rather than an imposing figure. He is known to manifest in various forms, but one common depiction portrays him as a figure of ethereal beauty with elven features.

The Morninglord's form is bathed in a radiant glow, as if composed of pure light itself. His golden skin emits a gentle luminescence, illuminating the space around him. His hair is a fiery cascade of flame, dancing and flickering with a captivating brilliance. The Morninglord's eyes are pools of wisdom and compassion, shining with an inner radiance that brings solace and hope to his followers.

While his appearance exudes a sense of serenity, the Morninglord's countenance is not without a touch of melancholy. Blood stains his lips, symbolizing the presence of darkness within even the brightest hearts and the light that can still be found within the darkest souls. This duality serves as a reminder that even in the face of adversity, hope and redemption can prevail.

The Morninglord's presence brings a sense of comfort and reassurance. His gentle voice carries words of encouragement and inspires unwavering faith in his followers. When he interacts with mortals, he often displays a deep understanding of their struggles and offers guidance to overcome challenges.

As the embodiment of eternal optimism and hope, the Morninglord's teachings emphasize the importance of extending goodwill to others and never allowing hope to fade away. He is revered as a deity who champions the cause of the common good, opposing all forms of darkness and oppression. His followers find solace and inspiration in his teachings, striving to live lives of compassion, integrity, and unwavering faith.

The Morninglord is said to be the foe of all undead, representing the eternal struggle between light and darkness. His presence is a source of strength and protection against the forces of evil that plague the realm of Barovia. It is believed that the Morninglord's ultimate goal is to bring an end to the suffering and evil that permeate the land, offering the promise of a brighter future for all.

Spheres:

Healing: The Morninglord's followers possess the power to mend wounds, restore vitality, and promote well-being. Through the Healing sphere, they offer aid and compassion to those in need, embodying the divine aspect of benevolence.

Divination: The Morninglord's followers can tap into the powers of foresight and fortune. They possess the ability to glimpse the threads of fate, interpret omens, and gain insights into the future. By utilizing the Divination sphere, they navigate the uncertain paths ahead, aiding others with their knowledge of events yet to come.

Protection: The Morninglord's followers are empowered to shield themselves and others from harm. They possess the ability to create barriers, deflect attacks, and ward off malevolent forces. Through the Protection sphere, they act as guardians, defending the innocent and standing against the encroaching darkness.

Guardian: Within the Morninglord's faith, followers invoke the powers of the Guardian sphere. They act as protectors and champions, safeguarding the weak and fighting against the forces of evil. The Morninglord's faithful are bestowed with divine strength, resilience, and the ability to shield others from harm.

All: The Morninglord's followers channel the power of divine intervention and protection against evil forces. They possess the ability to invoke divine aid, heal grievous wounds, and turn back the undead. Through the All sphere, they act as beacons of hope and salvation, providing succor to those in dire need.

Sun: The Morninglord's followers harness the radiant energy of the sun. They can summon rays of light, banish darkness, and unveil hidden truths. Through the Sun sphere, they wield the power of illumination, dispelling shadows and symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness.

Doctrine and Beliefs:

The Morninglord's doctrine emphasizes the importance of maintaining hope and extending goodwill to others, even in the face of the darkest circumstances. His followers are encouraged to support one another, fostering a sense of community and unity in the struggle against evil.

The Morninglord's faithful hold the belief that all undead are abominations to be vanquished, viewing themselves as the champions of light against the forces of darkness. However, they extend mercy and understanding to afflicted lycanthropes, recognizing that their condition is beyond their control.

A central tenet of the faith is the vision that one day the Morninglord will descend upon Barovia, ridding the land of pain and evil. This belief fuels the determination and resilience of his followers as they await the fulfillment of this divine promise.

Paladins of the Morninglord:

Paladins who dedicate themselves to the Morninglord within the Cult are paragons of righteousness and defenders of the light. They embody the virtues of hope, compassion, and unwavering dedication to the eradication of darkness and the protection of the innocent.

Expectations and Duties:

Champions of Light: Paladins are expected to serve as beacons of light, inspiring others with their unwavering devotion to the Morninglord's cause. They are considered exemplars of the faith and tasked with upholding the cult's principles in their actions and interactions.

Undead Slayers: Paladins focus on combating vampires, the undead, and the encroaching forces of darkness.

Protectors of the Innocent: Paladins of the Morninglord are sworn to defend the innocent and weak against all physical and supernatural threats. They are expected to act as guardians, shielding those in need from harm and standing up against injustice.

Bearers of Hope: Paladins are entrusted with spreading hope in times of darkness. They offer solace and inspire others to remain resilient, even in the face of despair. Paladins are expected to be sources of optimism and unwavering faith, encouraging others to believe that light will triumph over darkness.

Adherence to the Code: Paladins follow a strict code of conduct that includes integrity, selflessness, and dedication to the cause of good. They strive to embody these virtues in their every action, upholding the tenets of the Morninglord's faith and serving as role models for others.

Paladins of the Morninglord are driven by a fervent devotion to their deity and the cause of righteousness. They act as stalwart defenders of the faith, bringing the Morninglord's light into the darkest corners of Barovia.

These expectations and duties may vary slightly depending on individual paladins and their personal interpretations of the Morninglord's teachings. Customization and personalization of characters within the Church of the Morninglord framework are encouraged to accommodate unique storytelling and gameplay preferences.

#ravenloft #morninglord #dnd #dnd 2nd ed #dnd campaign

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tea-with-eleni · 2 months

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Hilarious but ultimately unsatisfying option, at least from a player perspective: Ireena and two rather pissed off brides escape Ravenloft, pick up Ez d'Avenir and Vasilka, and form a girlboss squad to rescue my all-boys player party from themselves.

I can't do this because I'm pretty sure that allowing their allies to unionize would seriously reduce the agency of my players and that's no fun, but I can still imagine how absolutely batshit the girl squad's dynamic would be.

Notable highlights could include:

Turns out Volenta hasn't been a demon enthusiast this whole time but a manic pixie scholar of the amber temple. She's still super evil but considers the temple much worse than anything she could ever dish out. She berates the boys for at least an hour about how stupid they were to take any of its "gifts". They make the boys promise to consult with experts before engaging with any more dark powers of Barovia.

One of my few players who is taking a pragmatic approach to the dark gifts uses the resurrection vestige to resurrect Dame Argynvost. The girlboss squad becomes Ez d'Avenir, her platonic ghost life-partner (and token guy) Erasmus van Richten, Ireena Kolyana (now pissed off and ready to kill Strahd with her bare hands given half a chance), Ludmilla Vilisevic and her long-term girlfriend and murderhobo Volenta, tiny demure flesh golem doll-girl Vasilka, and AN ENORMOUS FUCK-YOU DRAGON

At least one instance of Vasilka smashing down a wall as part of the rescue mission.

Ludmilla and Volenta default to murder as a standard method of problem solving. Ez, once she stops trying to kill them, finds this shockingly relatable. Ireena, at this point, is about 200% done with Barovia and doesn't stop them nearly as much as she probably should. Vasilka and token ghost, Erasmus van Richten, find themselves the voices of reason.

They finally find the boys just as the cleric is about to cast "turn undead". Ireena and Ez have to tackle him before he turns half their party.

Vasilka creates sunscreen for the vampires because standing near Ireena and the amount of radiant damage the girl can output is a bit of a friendly fire hazard. Why Vasilka? at this point, she has, like, medicine expertise. Occupational hazard of having to stitch yourself back together so frequently.

On a related note, because Ireena defaults to radiant damage, Ez defaults to lightning, and Volenta seems like a big fan of fire, the whole squad takes to wearing sunglasses to keep from blinding each other every other turn.

Muriel Vinshaw demands the chance to join because she has blue hair and ass-kicking powers. It becomes a brief but tense love triangle scenario between Muriel, Ez, and Vasilka.

Muriel reminds everyone that Arabelle has decided to keep Van Richten's tiger and should also join the squad, at least on a part time basis. It takes some tense negotiating, but the ex-wives of Strahd manage to convince the Vistani to let her come along as long as she's in bed by her bedtime.

After uniting with the boys and taking down Strahd, Ludmilla lets slip about "that weird time where Strahd went to war against a lich" and the girl squad decides that, fuck it, they're gonna go conquer Darkon just 'cause.

Ireena is a sorcerer/fighter combo in our game. Ez is a blood hunter (Profane Soul, patron is Erasmus). Ludmilla is a wizard, naturally. Vasilka would pretty much have to be a barbarian. Volenta is an undying warlock. Muriel would have to be a rogue. Argynvost is an enormous fuck-you dragon. Arabelle is a ranger with Ramses as her companion.

#curse of strahd #dungeons and/or dragons #dungeons and dragons #ireena kolyana #dungeonmaster things

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wetcatspellcaster · 4 months

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I've been curious about Lydia Zarovich. Could you tell us more about her? I ran Curse of Strahd a year ago, and I'm always curious to see how differently everyone had made their campaign.

Hey! So, just want to preface this by saying I am no Curse of Strahd expert - I played in one game and want to run another one day, but I need some distance (and current projects to end!) before I do lol. The Lyssa Von Zarovich stuff is basically me shamelessly microdosing on the campaign I want to do eventually (also I didn't feel like Rosalie deserved to encounter Strahd *and* an Ascended Astarion, poor girl needs some kind of break).

Spoilers (?) for Curse of Strahd

So, in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021) there is a section on Barovia that kind of acts like a mini-campaign guide for if a person wants to run a game in Barovia but doesn't necessarily want to run the Curse of Strahd module, e.g. you can just a quick dip into Barovia as one of the domains of dread, a fetch quest, etc. - however, a lot of the lore is obviously duplicated for sake of continuity, Strahd's curse/Tatyanna's reincarnation is still the same, and if people wanted to run Curse of Strahd the Van Richten's Guide offers supplemental lore to that, and options to personalise the campaign further.

The thing that Van Richten's Guide did that made my brain itch was that it offers different options of people for Tatyanna's soul to be incarnated into other than Ireena - all of the options are super interesting, including Ezmerelda D'Avenir, a dragonborn goatherd, or even split between two identical twins. There is also an entire table of options for Tatyanna's soul to not be in Barovia at all, and this is where Lyssa Von Zarovich lives!

[So, essentially, Lyssa von Zarovich is an incarnation option for Tatyanna, here pictured as a hot fucked up version of Ireena Kolyanna]

Lyssa existed before this module guide, but from my research this was the first time I saw her explicitly labelled as an option for Tatyanna.

I really like this version of events/Lyssa von Zarovich for a number of reasons: 1. hot vampire lady my beloved, 2. hot vampire power struggles my beloved, 3. gives Tatyanna equal agency/power to Strahd, 4. basically prevents Strahd from having a romantic relationship with this version of Tatyanna, because she's his relative, she's not in Barovia, and she's already turned, so none of the non-consensual vampirism can happen, she's already there.

There's a number of personal reasons why this was fun to me, and also fixed some issues I had with the version of Strahd I played, but from a DM's perspective I also liked that way it gives a really clear and fun motive for the party to defeat Strahd from the very beginning. Lyssa can be the questgiver who asks the party to try and take out Strahd in the first place. Idk what your experience of DMing is like, but in my personal experience, if a hot lady asks the party to do something, no matter how morally dubious she is the party usually does it. So I want to run a Curse of Strahd campaign either where the party is explicitly following Lyssa's orders, or the premise that I state in my fic - the party arrives in a Barovia where Lyssa is already in charge and Strahd has been defeated, but they need to clear out his lingering influence in the region (this would depend on what my players wanted, Strahd as a character has some triggers that I wouldn't want to force my party to encounter, if they just wanted to do a silly little vampire game in the silly little vampire world).

So the mentions of Lyssa in my fic are as I said, a little shout out/microdose of the story I eventually want to run in Barovia, but don't have time for atm.

#asks #mutuals #wip: pieces still stuck in your teeth #curse of strahd infodump. my beloved.

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dungeonsandblorbos · 10 months

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Welcome and Tag Masterlist

hello and welcome! i love playing TTRPGs, and as it says in the bio, i have Too Many Thoughts about my PCs from my various campaigns to keep them to myself anymore. so i made this sideblog to infodump about my beloved PC blorbos!

as a general note, this is not a family-friendly blog. there's a lot of adult language, adult themes, and written descriptions of TTRPG violence that can at times get pretty gorey. i do tag potential triggers by the specific post and try hide more triggering parts of posts under cuts, but i am only one human. please feel free to let me know (either publicly or privately) if i missed a trigger tag or if there is something you would like me to tag for!

also please feel free to send me asks about any of the characters or campaigns, or even just TTRPG things in general. i love these topics and will gladly take any opportunity to chat about them!

finally. there's a lot of blorbos on this blog, and a lot of NPCs, and a lot of campaigns, and a lot of tags, so under the cut here is a handy little guide to help keep them all straight!*

*disclaimer: nothing and no one here is straight. i am incapable of making characters and stories that aren't queer and so are most of the people i play with.

without further ado, the campaigns! i will probably be redoing my campaign intros and character intros at some point, and will add the links for those once completed. these are listed as Campaign Title, System Used, in reverse chronological order.

Curse of Strahd, DnD 5e my current obsession. this is a heavily homebrewed version of Curse of Strahd (like, we're talking a good 80% or more homebrew) DMed by my husband, @somethingclevermahogony. it's all of your dark queer gothic horror dreams come true! this campaign is just absolutely chalk full of dead doves like body horror, child abuse and death (almost entirely off-screen), animal cruelty, body horror, gallows humor, cannibalism, oh my god so much gore, and body horror. but don't let that get you down; there's also a lot of very funny and very heartwarming moments in this campaign and the worldbuilding our DM does is so fucking cool. this is also technically two campaigns, as we have both a present day game with two PCs, based on the Curse of Strahd book, and a prequel campaign with just me as a player, which delves into some of the history around when Barovia was first closed off from the rest of Faerun, roughly 400 years before the main campaign. in the present day, i play a human tempest cleric named Cerris Dalca Tempescu, who is just so very very tired. our other PC is Shalden Broadfist, a purple half-orc paladin who serves a desert worm cult. our party is rounded out with a couple of NPCs; Vasillica, a flesh golem made out of pieces of the bodies and souls of at least a dozen different people by an insane angel, and Milo, an adorable little klepto halfling boy who used to be the Bagman and still has Bagman powers. in the prequel, i play Kire Dalca, a human eldritch knight fighter who came to Barovia as part of the original war effort against Strahd and then got trapped in Barovia. coincidentally, she's Cerris's many many greats aunt and she's also so very very tired (and maybe pregnant shhh). the tag for the present day campaign is #curse of strahd homebrew, and the prequel is #curse of strahd prequel, and you can find them both or general CoS things under #curse of strahd. recurring character tags include #cerris tempescu for my cleric, #shalden broadfist for my companion PC, #ireena my beloved for (of course) the brilliant NPC Ireena Kolyana, #meow meow milo and #the bagman for Milo, and #kire dalca for my fighter. pretty soon there will also probably be tags for the secondary PCs we made as backup characters in case our first PCs die, as they have actually both been introduced in canon now.

Hot Gay Pirates in Your Area! Avatar Legends: The RPG my other current campaign, with my college TTRPG group (which includes my husband as a player). it's set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, during the era of Kyoshi. specifically, it's late summer in 250BG (Before Genocide). there are some promised darker elements, as well as a lot of enemy deaths, due to the nature of this campaign, but overall it's a very fun, chaotic, and queer story! we play as a party of pirates/smugglers on a small ship called The Confusion, working for the Ruike clan, a coastal Fire Nation crime family. our total ship crew currently numbers 10, with four PCs, but it might very well get bigger given that we started with a crew of 9. i play Aila Ruike, granddaughter of the head of the clan and heir apparent after her father. she serves as The Confusion's sort of second in command, and is a talented firebender and swordswoman, though she's much better at environmental control and defense than offense. she's stoic and stern and kind of mean in a hot way, and has two priorities in life: upholding her family honor and taking care of her team. my husband plays Bo of the Foggy Swamp Tribe, a waterbender who ran away from home to avoid the pressures and responsibility of leadership. he's flirty and silly and a little bit vicious in battle (his bending style is based on the US "boxing" style rough-and-tumble), and pretends to be a lot dumber than he actually is. we also have Onartok of the Southern Water Tribe, a sweet but naïve waterbender prince who, like Bo, ran away from home to avoid the pressures of leadership. before joining the crew, he was "roommates" with Aila's cousin Jai. and finally, the enigmatic Lì, a former EK child soldier who ran away from the army and is now a fabulous genderfluid pirate who goes off on violent side-quests with Aila while the waterbenders are doing nice people side-quests. tags for this campaign include #hot gay pirates in your area!, #our ship is called the confusion for a reason, #atla, and #aila ruike.

Acquisitions, Incorporated: Cauldron & Kettle Questing Company, DnD 5e this was our second campaign with our college TTRPG group, and was a fun romp set in the world of Acquisitions, Inc., an actual play podcast by Penny Arcade based around the idea of "classic adventuring parties but make it capitalism." it was primarily played out of the official Acquisitions, Inc., playbook, with some additional homebrew expansions and a nice little extra homebrew arc on the end that introduced us to the incredible chaos of the D10,000 wild magic table. we played as the Cauldron & Kettle Questing Co., a subsidiary branch of the larger Acq Inc. corporation, based in Phandalin. at our branch, we also owned a tea shop named the Cauldron & Kettle Cafe, and we had a steam-powered teapot-shaped vehicle dubbed the Tea Trolley. this campaign accidentally ended up going very hard on the found family vibes. i played Jun Vyardes, a half-elf light cleric/bard, travelling priestess of the fire and revelry goddess Vestia. she's very devoted to her found family, and after a life of wandering, is finally starting to learn how to settle down and grow roots. my husband played Tim Cobbletoss, a half-orc barbarian primarily raised by a blind halfling woman, so in personality he's basically a british grandma with occasional anger issues. he and Jun share a human father we affectionately referred to as Daddy Bard, who is such a terrible father that complaining about him is actually part of how these two started bonding. we also had Briny (played by the same person as Onartok), a goblinoid blood hunter who likes shells and the ocean and gambling even though they don't actually know anything about gambling; and Taku (played by the same person as Lì), a whooping crane aarakocra monk who is very smart and powerful and unfortunately also fragile, and whom Jun regarded as a little brother and became very protective of. tags for this campaign include #acquisitions incorporated, #Cauldron & Kettle Questing Co., #bard is only one letter away from bad (for Daddy Bard nonsense), #jun vyardes, and #tim and jun.

The Orphic Uprising and The Amazonomachy, Cypher these were two continuous arcs that together formed the first campaign with our college TTRPG group. they were set in the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, so we sometimes refer to them collectively as the PJO campaign. we played as a group of Camp Half-Blood kids, all in their late teens by the end of the story. in The Orphic Uprising, it was a group of four of us sent on a prophecy quest to the Underworld to rescue Dionysus and prevent the children of Nyx's attempted takeover of Olympus. in the Amazonomachy, it was a group of five sent out to prevent the Amazons' attempted takeover of Olympus, because apparently Olympus just cannot catch a break! i played Nina Grayson, daughter of Nike, a talented gymnast, dancer, and rock-climber lowkey obsessed with victory and willing to fight a little dirty if that's what it took to win. i had a lot of fun with her mechanically, as she was basically an unkillable damage- and debuff-dealing machine--she just, ya know, also didn't really have any social skills and was very much a himbo. iconic himbo acts of hers include solving a puzzle by punching a horse statue in the face, getting set on fire and then putting it out by drenching herself in monster blood, solving a locked door problem by punching the lock open, splitting the party to go undercover with the Amazons without telling her friends she was only fake-betraying them, and punching a bitchy goddess so hard it temporarily killed her. i love her. at some point she acquired the nickname Larry. my husband played Chuck Hickey, an Italian-American son of Dionysus who lived on his grandparents' vineyard who really embraced the chaotic side of his godly heritage. silly and goofy but also a talented battle strategist, highly charismatic, and capable of turning into a fire-breathing leopard. cause, ya know, Dionysus. the other character present for both arcs was Beatrice Starveling, a NY-based daughter of Apollo raised by her two gay dads. she was an incredible performer, a true bardic legend, and alongside Chuck, played a key part in helping Nina come out of her shell. for The Orphic Uprising, our final party member was . . . i gotta be honest i don't remember his name, just that he was kind of an obnoxious Mary Sue type son of Aphrodite, who the rest of us all had a grand time poking fun at and complaining about when the player did not return for the second arc. for The Amazonomachy, we welcomed two new players and their PCs, Bryce (played by the same person as Onartok and Briny) and Murph (played by the same person as Lì and Taku). Bryce was a dumbass (affectionate) son of Eros who was sweet and well-meaning but generally clueless, and somehow had really good game with the ladies. Murph was a son of Epimetheus (hindsight), a surfer bro and himbo extraordinaire with amazing luck and an incredible knack for having just the right tool for the job, somehow. tags for this campaign include #confusion crew, #the orphic uprising, #the amazonomachy, and #nina grayson.

North Pines Camp, Monster of the Week, and Grovington College, Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors these two campaigns were my first dives into TTRPGs, both with the same GM and both with slightly altered versions of the same PC for me, so the GM and i had a few fun inside jokes and callbacks during the second one. these were played before i met my husband and before i got good at note-taking, so my memory of them is very hazy. tbh any content posted about these two will be undetailed, completely out of context, and full of holes, but the basic shenanigans are still very fun to look back on. North Pines Camp was a kids' summer camp in ?????, built on top of what used to be monster-hunter training grounds. our PCs were all camp employees, and our main goal was typically to keep the kids safe (or rescue them) from whatever ~monster of the week~ showed up to wreak havoc. there was a deeper mystery element running through it, about what happened to the old monster-hunter camp here, but we never got far enough into the story to really get anywhere with it. Grovington College was a decently sized college with greek life located in Grovington, ?????, USA; it housed a chapter of the Brotherhood, a demon/monster-slaying organization. our PCs were all members of this chapter, tasked with taking care of various demon and monster problems around campus and the town as a whole, in between doing college student/professor things. in these campaigns, i played Indigo Sullivan, a queer psychic with both a caffeine and an attitude problem. technically they were two separate characters for the two campaigns, but like, the version of him that continues to roll around in my head is an amalgam of both PCs plus all the additional things i've tacked onto him as time has gone on. most of those additions can be summed up as "he's now even more queer and has even more problems." tags for these campaigns are #north pines camp, #grovington college, and #indigo sullivan.

and that is all of them, phew! that's a lot thank you for reading this all and please enjoy my blog!

#introduction post

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mx-lamour · 8 months

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Alek Gwilym in our Curse of Strahd campaign:

We found Strahd's journal in-world, so of course we all read I, Strahd by P. N. Elrod.

We were all pretty taken with Alek Gwilym. But wtf happened to him after he disappeared? (The module apparently doesn't even include him. So our DM took some creative liberties.)

It's so complicated. It's great, but... yikes. It all begins with Vampyr, of course. Vampyr is an evil entity that was able to escape its prison within the Amber Temple by tempting Strahd into the deal that changed him and locked down Barovia.

Alek overheard the ordeal. Strahd ended up killing him, drinking his blood, and locking his body in a closet. Later, Strahd discovered that Alek's body had disappeared.

This is how our campaign addressed what happened next:

Vampyr took Alek's body to use as a puppet. He altered the body to look like a Dusk Elf, and somehow replaced people's memories/knowledge of Alek with... Rahadin. Rahadin has that screamy madness mind thing because it's Vampyr pulling the strings there, and Vampyr is a powerful old entity that snacks on despair. Trying to peek into that mess would drive you crazy.

Okay, so that's Alek's body... and a better role for Rahadin than just a weird Renfield stand-in like he seems to be in the mod book. (I was told there's a part where he eats toads? For like, no actual reason?)

What about Alek's soul? Does it get recycled or something?

In the Amber Temple, there's a clockwork robot guy. He's chained up and broken. We ask him what his name is and he just says "Pain." But we find out it's Alek. It's Alek, tortured and broken and in this weird form, but Vampyr hasn't been able to eat away at his soul like he has with other Barovians.

We find out Alek's soul is protected (to a degree, anyway) by the Traveler. The Traveler is the only deity actually truly present in Barovia, because they're Neutral and travelling is literally Their Thing. You can't keep the Traveler out of anywhere.

It was a really cool thing to find out, because I'm playing a trickster cleric whose patron is the Traveler. It retroactively gave me a cool in-game reason for my absolute craving to find Alek and get him back into the story. Like the Traveler was nudging my cleric toward him.

So, we discovered "Rahadin" is actually Alek's body. We found Alek's soul. And we are on friendly terms with the Abbott near Krezk, who is outright a Celestial entity.

I was wondering how exactly to get Alek's body out of Vampyr's control. How to get Rahadin out in the open again, and how to fight something that was clearly out of our depth...

But I'm happy to report that we did manage it. We are now (finally?) officially on Strahd's shit list for "murdering" his steward, and we're cut off from the towns now, but... Worth It. We're nearing the end game anyway.

As of now, we've brought the pieces of Alek to the Abbott, and asked him if he can put Alek back together. He said it'll take about a week to do it right. (A horribly long time to wait in-world at this point, but again... worth it.)

Alek Gwilym will be resurrected.

My hope is that he will help us defeat Vampyr. That's right. Not Strahd. We're not fighting Strahd. We're going at the root of this thing. We're taking on Vampyr. Honestly, I'm hoping (betting) we can (with Alek's help) get Strahd to fight Vampyr with us. Because Vampyr has been screwing Strahd over since the beginning of all this, too. In his weakest moment, he was driven to murder his most loyal ally. He never gets his "heart's desire". He's as much a victim as the rest of Barovia, despite his power.

It's time to undo what should never have been done.

Vampyr's reign began by Alek Gwilym's death. It will end by Alek Gwilym's life.

#i sure hope that sounded as cool as I thought #curse of strahd #creative liberties #alek gwilym #i strahd #vampyr #amber temple #stralek #the traveler #combining characters #strahd von zarovich

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