Sunny Barovia

 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. ...

3/12/24 Day 38 We looked across the bridge at the Chamberlain.  He was unbothered by the snow and high winds whipping about him. He asked to speak to our representative.  Laz and Wolfram strode forward to meet him. The winds were too loud for us to hear what they were saying, but they did glance back at us on a couple of occasions. After a few minutes, Laz and Wolfram came back, while the Chamberlain strode to the far end of the bridge. They shared with us that the Chamberlain was advising us to turn back.  He said that Kasimir was leading us on a “fools errand” that would result in our useless deaths.  This would displease Strahd. He indicated that those who please Strahd tend to prosper.  If we were to know disappoint him, he will feed on us. The Chamberlain conceded he was not here to physically stop us or fight us.  He was merely informing us of Strahd’s felt this was a poor use of our time. Laz apparently asked the Chamberlain what, exactly, Strahd f...

 2/21/23 Abe was kind enough to send me notes from the first encounter.   Rather than me paraphrasing, I’m going to take the lazy route and just post them (with some minor formatting changes) here.   Thanks Abe! Three men and a woman meet the party on the causeway. Additional men and women remain back at the forest and scattered along the lake shore. Lead Male Druid - “We are the People of Baratok” “You stand in the presence of Seer-Sha, Daughter of Baratok” “I am Quade, first of the Lodge of the Crag Cat. I will speak with you.” Seer-Shaw - Perhaps in her late forties, if the years were particularly hard. Pale, blond hair, beginning to transition to white.   She carries what looks like a thin stone rod, approximately the length a walking stick.   She is also wearing furs over some sort of extraordinarily thick hide armor. She is medium height with a lean, athletic build and attentive to her surroundings. When anyone looks at her, she seems to ...

  11/29/2022 Session 59 I must have taken a blow to the head. I have vague memories of shooting magic missiles and fire bolts.   More arrows and screaming.   A pause, then a wall of flame descending on the winery.   Horizontal lightning.   The barbarians were using some sort of mage. Laz going down… Session 60 I snap out of it and find myself on the ground.   A literal wall of fire is moving on the winery and it’s starting to go up. Another lightning bolt from the south catches Oloch, Dasco and myself.   Oloch falls, and Dasco chases after that damn mage. By this time, Wolfram has made his way over to Laz’s body and revives him.   I dispel the Wall of Fire threatening the winery.   It’s still burning, but it looks like the Martikovs can get it out. I hear Dasco running through the fields, apparently still looking for the mage.   I reached Oloch and bound his wounds the best I could, then called out for Wolfram. At tha...

11/15/2022 We actually had a decent wait before the third wave hit us.   It gave us time to bandage our wounded and catch a short rest. The Martikovs came back out with fresh bandages and clothes, ready to keep fighting.   Well, it is their winery, so I guess I’d be surprised if they expected someone else to fight for it if they weren’t willing to themselves. Around 12:30, we heard the sound of crashing and thumping from the south.   Something big was moving. I mean, big .    We didn’t have many torches that way, so I threw a firebolt in that general direction, hoping to get a flash of whatever was coming.   I didn’t see anything, but the crashing stopped for a few seconds before resuming at an increased pace.   Laz scouted back out towards it, and I lost track of where he was.   Soon enough we heard howls all around the farm.   The Martikovs and the Guardsman were going to have to take care of the North and East.   We were plent...