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Session -10

Main

Johan’s entire breakdown in the Tavern

Key Developments and Revelations

  • The main happenings the party wants to keep tabs on or remember

Full Session Notes (Written by Trym)

A detailed write-up of the players’ actions.

(asked to write a tiny recap since Trym isn’t able to paste his)

We arrive in Loflein

See a young girl thieving purses, and give her some money

We then start walking towards a tavern and hear some guards beating some guy up

Kani and Johan kill the guards, and we give the guy, Edgar, some money to leave for stillmoon with his fam so that he won’t get into trouble

We then head to The Lying Night Tavern. The owner is Johan’s “Uncle”

Kani, Alistair, and Sanctuary talk with the uncle while the rest sleep and learn about the noble family of the guards we killed.

In the morning, we talk with Johan about his background in Loflein.

Afterward, a scarred man named The Rat King comes in. He’s some kind of information broker, who helps people in need

With some info from him, we decide to assassinate Vespin name at a Gala

We get some clothes, and Alistair and Sanctuary go to some noble taverns to try and get a way into the gala

The rest try to find out where it’s being held

At the end, Rydel spots something in a side alley.

The party starts of by heading into the city of Loflein watching their purses as they go to avoid pickpockets, and after spotting one Alistair gives a child some money so they would not steal but mainly as a act of kindness. the party soon comes across 3 guards beating up an older man. the party intervenes while Cain stays in the crowd. the altercation turns violent as the leave and Johan/Kani kill all 3 guards.

The group gives the man money enough to get his family out of Loflein and then leave to get away from the crime scene.

The next day the group talks with Johan about his past and learns what happened to his family and the ones responsible for their fates. After consoling from the party the group gets approached by a figure known as the Rat King who serves as a sort of information broker in Loflein. The party gets some info and knows where they want to deal with the Vespin family. The gala is in 5 days and the group heads out to make preparations, which includes getting some nice clothing for the Gala to fit in. The group splits into 2 groups to look for more information. Johan, Cain, Cha’askani and Rydel go to scout out where the gala might be while Sanctuary and Alistair go to the equivalent of a country club to find more info regarding the Vespin family and requirements to get invited.

The session ends with Rydel walking down the street and then seeing some shadowy figure in an alley.

DATE**: 23/04/2023**

In-game Date Start:

In-game Date Finish:

Players Present

  • Jeremy (Alistair)

  • King (Johan)

  • Rasmus (Rydel)

  • Sari (Cha’askani)

  • Sydney (Sanctuary)

  • Trym (Cain)

Subbed Characters

  • X played X / Everyone was present.

Completed Quests

  • Link to completed quests

Obtained Quests

  • Link to quests picked up this session

Locations Visited

  • Loflein

Important NPCs Interacted With

  • The Rat King

Wall of Shame

  • Trym, for being in severe pain.

  • Sari: 1 min

  • King: 2 min

  • Jeremy: 9 min

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Example

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!”

Key Developments and Revelations

  • After resting with the caravan, woke up in a strange land, full of eerieness, malice and fog.

  • On finding a path and following it, they come to the Gates of Barovia.

  • Here the party meets Strahd Von Zarovich for the first time. He insinuates that he knows everyone in the party except for Sunny.

  • They follow the path, see a group of buildings, then beyond that a larger village overlooked by cliffs and a castle on it.

  • Making their way to the group of buildings, the fog seems to follow them, and Kronkus & Sunny get lost in it momentarily, with their being some time dilation happening whilst in there.

  • Making it to the hamlet, they find all but one of the buildings empty and dark. Two children rush to them, saying there’s a monster in their house, and that their parents are keeping it at bay in the basement, and their baby brother is upstairs.

  • The party move into the house, finding that this seems to belong to the Durst family. Moving into a main room, they hear the sounds of a party from beyond a nearby door.

  • Opening the door, all lights in the house go out, no people are in the room beyond. The front door and gate close and lock on their own. A wolf growls from somewhere in the dark.

Last Time, in Barovia…

Arrival in Barovia

  • The party joined the caravan heading out of Daggerford. Each one joined for a different reason, and none knew the others.

  • On the first night, the caravan rested early, having been delayed from its set off by a latecomer to the caravan.
    The latecomer, Marko, had set up a campfire with food and drink, and one by one offered, convinced, or cajoled the party to join him at his fire.

  • The night was spent with everyone learning little bits about the other, drinking, eating, and being merry. Late, Marko crawled under his wagon for sleep and invited the party to rest by his warm fire, which they did.

  • When they awoke, they were not in the same place. The wagon, Marko, and even the caravan itself were gone. No tracks or signs of movement in the immediate surroundings. It was if they had been picked up and placed here.

  • All of their possessions were gone as well, bar a few items that were kept close to them while they rested.

  • Taking stock of this new land, they found it eerie, almost dripping with maliciousness. There is a thick fog, swirling as if with a life of its own. The trees seem different, twisted, gnarled, and unnatural. The sun, while present, seems to have trouble penetrating clouds and fog, and does not give much light or warmth.

  • While the party is taking stock of their situation, Kronkus finds that the long-silent voices have started whispering to him again.

  • Sunny reached out to the Triple-Fish God and found his connection was muted, but there was a new, strong core in that feeling that’s never been there before, almost certainly connected to the Triple-Fish God.

  • Moving around, they find a rutted path leading east/west. Westward leads into a thick wall of shifting fog, east has the fog thinning. They head east for a few hours.

Meeting Strahd

  • Ahead, the forest slightly parts, and they come to a huge stone wall, with a large metal gate in the middle. Out of the front of it, a pack of wolves is tearing strips off a very dead body.

  • Sunny casts Thunderwave above the wolves, in an effort to scare them. They reel back for an instant before they turn to face the party, almost undaunted by the noise. A larger wolf then snarls and pads towards the party, teeth bared.

  • As the large wolf lunges to attack, he is called to heel by a voice. A man appears at the top of the wall and effortlessly walks down the side of the wall as if were normal, flat ground. As he gets to the ground and walks through the wolves, they let him pass. He also passes the large wolf, ruffling its fur.

  • Walking up to the party, he introduces himself as Strahd Von Zarovich, ruler of Barovia, and welcomes them to his land. He acknowledges them as the latest batch of adventurers to be brought here, more pawns in the game.

  • He looks at each member of the party, including the still-hidden Wilfyr, attempting to meet their gaze. Those that do, feel drawn into that gaze, with the world around them starting to spin away. There is only Strahd. Strahd doesn’t hold them in this gaze for long.

  • He speaks briefly to each member of the party. His speech infers that he knows each of the party members to some degree, or about their past. Except for Sunny. Sunny seems to be the enigma to Strahd.

  • He warns the party that they will find no rest or success in his lands and that it obeys his command. He also warns them not to meddle in his affairs, and that if they do not, then their stay won’t be unpleasant.

  • With that, he turns and strides away towards the gates, swirling his cloak around him and turning into a cloud of bats that then flies through the bars and off into the air beyond. As Strahd leaves, the wolf pack dissipates, into the forest.

  • Inspecting the dead body in the road, they find it horrifically mauled. On closer inspection, they find a crumpled, partially torn Kolyan Indirovich’s Letter that Wilfyr takes.

  • The party then pushes open the gates and walks through. The gates close and lock behind them. Beyond is more forest.

Finding Shelter

  • After a little while, the path comes to the top a rise, giving the party a clear view of a Barovian Basin of sorts. In the far distance can be seen a town. Next to that are some cliffs, with an ominous castle at its heights, overlooking the town. About halfway to this town, there seems to be a small group of houses. Seeing signs of civilization, the party heads down the path into the valley beyond.

  • As they’re walking, they notice that the wall of fog is forming thicker and thicker behind them. It’s almost like it’s keeping pace with them, slowing down and speeding up when they do. Kronkus & Sunny attempt to interact with the fog and walk back into it.

  • They lose all visibility, and cannot hear, touch, or see each other. They try to leave the way they came, but cannot get out, only walking into more fog. After 10 minutes, both of them exit the fog from exactly the same place that they entered into it. The rest of the party, they have been waiting for them for an hour.

  • Continuing on, the rutted road finally gives way to gravel and stone, as they draw closer to the hamlet of houses. The houses are dark, boarded up, and there are no signs of life. Except one.

  • As the party moves between the buildings, the sound of a child sobbing draws their eyes, and they see a small boy and a slightly older girl walk towards them.

  • They are wailing, and after being frightened by Kronkus’ approach (due to his unnatural visage) cry that there is a monster in the house, pointing to the lit-up house.

  • Most of the party dash into the house, while the kids say that their parents are in there, keeping the monster trapped in the basement. They also say their baby brother is still stuck up in his nursery. Sunny tries to convince the kids to come with the party into the house, but they refuse, growing more and more scared of going back inside the house.

  • All but Kronkus move into the foyer finding family portraits across the walls, labelled as the Dursts. Kronkus remains outside to try and convince the children to come with them, but they run off. He turns and joins the party in the house.

  • As they all step into a large main room, the sounds of a party can be heard coming from another room, from beyond a nearby door. Arkemon retrieves the longsword from above the mantlepiece, and goes back and retrieves the heraldic shield from the foyer.

  • Wilfyr finds a door on the opposite side of the room to where the party noises were coming from, and as he approached, heard the growls of wolves coming from beyond it.

  • Arkemon warns against opening that door, and instead opens the door that should lead to the party they can hear. As he opens the door, the sounds stop. There is no people in the room beyond. All the torches, fireplaces and candles in the house go out as the party is plunged into darkness.

  • Behind them, the gate and door into the entrance to the house close on their own, and lock. And another wolf growls in the distance.

DATE: 13/04/2021

In-game Date Start:

In-game Date Finish:

Players Present

  • Adam (Milo)

  • Alex (Arkemon)

  • Ben (Elgin)

  • Chad (Sunny)

  • Russ (Delta)

  • Stephen (Wilfyr)

Subbed Characters

  • Everyone was present for this session.

Completed Quests

  • No completed quests

Obtained Quests

  • Leave This Land

Places Experienced

  • Gates of Barovia

  • Barovian Basin

  • Durst Manor

Important NPCs Interacted With

  • Strahd Von Zarovich

  • Rose Durst

  • Thorn Durst

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Memorable Quotes

The best quotes of the Session:

“We’re not generally known to be the smartest people around, but we try” - Rydel

”Just be careful you don’t lose yourself in the dark” - Rydel to Johan