Sunny Barovia

 5/14/24 Day 39 I don’t know what exactly Oloch was facing off against.   Imagine a 6-foot humanoid frog-like creature with horns or spikes on its backs and arms.   It was using a sword, so there was some level of intelligence to it. Kasimir cast Magic Missile, but the creature shrugged it off.  Lady Ireena cast Spiritual Guardians and was surrounded by ghostly warrior women of her past lives. She walked in and they started slashing the hell out of the creature. Laz got in a sneak attack and Wolfram started smiting for all he was worth.   Dasco threw his Bloodspear and I cast Slow on the creature, but it didn’t take.   I know I cast it correctly, but it was like it just slid off it. In response, the creature uttered something in a guttural language and made an arcane gesture.   I recognized too late that it was casting its own spell.   Immediately, we were surrounded with an oily greenish yellow cloud.   Yup.   Using weapons and ...

(Thanks to Abe for authoring!)  5/21/24 Day 39 Despite it being fairly close to the rest of Barovia, the Amber Temple is a near-mythological place. Throughout all of my lives, none of us have ever approached it, let alone explored it. This was new ground, for all of us. Since my friends and I arrived and began exploring its frigid chambers and halls, I have spent considerable time, unnoted by the others, examining the intricately carved walls and doors of ‘amber’ throughout this place. The craftsmanship is remarkable, but despite its similar appearance and consistency, I have come to believe that it is not truly amber. Rather, the doors and walls are made of an arcane substance of similar appearance and with much the same purpose - to contain and preserve that which lies within. I have considered damaging a random wall to see if it would ‘heal’ itself, but up until now, have decided to forgo any exploration along those lines. Since we arrived here, I have cast my mind back through ...

 5/14/24 Day 39 I should correct myself. I saw the figure starting to cast a spell.   I said, “That’s not necessary. We’re not here to loot or steal.” Of course, I also readied a counterspell. There was a slight pause, as the figure appeared to change the somatic pattern of the spell.   I got the impression it had started casting one thing, changed its mind and started casting something else. The figure then took a few steps back into the shadow.   Since I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t counterspell anything. Clever girl. But surprisingly, no fireball, no bolt of lighting. Suddenly, a cloud sprung up around me.   At first I thought this was from whatever that figure was casting.   But the energy of the spell seemed to originate behind me somewhere.   Laz.   Laz must have cast a fog cloud with that staff of his.   Kind of him to look out for me like that, but I was effectively blind now. After a moment I called out, “Now that we...

 5/7/24 Day 39 “Stand your ground here,” Dasco had said. “So predictable," Laz retorted.   At that point the doors flew open.   Four very large barbarians were on the other side, but I surmised there were more in the shadows behind them.   Before I could throw my Slow spell, Laz stepped up and pointed his newfound staff at the doorway.   Immediately a wall of ice sprung into existence between us and our would-be attackers.   He turned to Dasco and said, “Forgive me if I decline such an invitation.” Turning to the rest of us he called, “Let’s go!”   He then set off up the hallway to the north. The wall of ice was not completely opaque, but it did distort images beyond it.   Nevertheless, I could see a couple of barbarians hacking at it with weapons.   Another stepped up and cast some sort of flame spell, melting a small section of it. Another shape approached and apparently cast Dispel Magic, dropping the wall altogether. Well, shi...

 4/30/24 Day 38 We got a small fire going.   Ireena cast an additional healing spell on Wolfram, then one on myself.   I told Laz I could go ahead and cast Identify on the staff he found.   He thanked me but told me it wasn’t necessary as he was able to figure it out while I was unconscious.    I noted that he didn’t share what he had learned.   Curious. The next hour or so was reasoned discussion on our next steps.   We had clearly just gotten our asses handed to us.   Laz reminded us (again) that he AND the Chamberlain had advised against entering the Temple.   Dasco argued that since we were here, we might as well check out more.   Kasimir was in agreement with Dasco, but that was no surprise. Wolfram, who had been silent, finally raised his head and spoke.   “There is an evil here.   I don’t mean Barovia in general, because we all know the evil that is throughout these lands.   But here it’s different. ...