The place where you can all comment on how awesome the DM is.

Good morning!
(Morning for me, I’m Arizona time, I think gmt +7)

We’ve got half our crew. Plenty of other rtjs but I’ll still wait another day before making final decisions.

Some have asked if this is gonna be a comedy, bc the stuart title. It will not ever be a comedy. I am playing around with the idea of Strahd having multiple personalities. This will not make it silly. If there’s any laughing to be had it will only be Ooc as we laugh at how doomed our characters are.

Sounds like the preference is to skip the death house and start the game at level 3.
I’m ok with this bc so far seems all of you have tried playing this before and your game died.
I’ve been playing as a player with another group on discord and we are at level 8 and in the endgame now, so I feel like I would prefer to run the death house just to buy that game more time to finish so I’m not reading content I don’t want to know yet.
I can be swayed on this.

Also if everyone here likes discord we could play the game pbp there and it would be much better, I can setup avrae to link to your dndbeyond etc

Sure.  I've set up Discord servers for games a bunch of times, if you want something arranged quick, and I use it every day for something or another.  Just lmk.  Not sure on the dndbeyond question though.  Are you going to want me to have an account there?


edit: Oh, and on starting—I'm cool with a Death House start.  That pushes back my entry some, right?  Totally fine by me.

editer: Oh, shit, I know both the other two.  On very positive terms.  Loco, it's Thalia!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Thu 07 Jan 2021.

We will see what all 4-6 of the players think about discord rather than rpol. I’m good either way.
Once that is decided we can talk about using dndbeyond or not.

Hey, there. I don't have any objections to discord, but I don't really use dndbeyond.

I'm moderately new to 5e, but I'm like neck-deep into it, in general. I have never played Curse of Steward, (or any of the published adventures), mostly just made characters and gotten to light roleplay with them before actual play. I'm a player who does enjoy the opportunity to roleplay, though.

I definitely would prefer we start at level 3 with our subclasses online, since I think the game is a little more fun that way, but I have no qualms about playing a segment we're slightly over-leveled for, either (either as-is or with a slight beefing-up)

I've got a few ideas floating around for what sort of character I'd like to play.

I recently learned about one class that's so pseudo-official, integrated on dnd beyond and the DM guild, and could be neat to try, called the Blood Hunter. It's unofficial, but about as close to official as you might get: https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/blood-hunter. I'm unsure if this is a class you consider on the table, but could see it being interesting. It's very much got that Hellsing/Belmont/Selene sort of feel. No harm if it's not on the table, I have a bunch of other ideas (and wouldn't be opposed to someone else doing a Blood Hunter instead of me, due to said idea quantity)

I think my 'strongest' idea currently is...

A bard flavored as a dancer, college of eloquence, who either dips into Warlock and/or takes Magic Initiate to get her hands on Mind Sliver and Eldritch Blast (Going with a level or two of warlock would also get some nice additional options like a good familiar or maybe the ability to wield weapons with Charisma, too). A fantastic social face with charisma, and level 3 perks, and the ability to seriously set-up a foe with mind sliver + unsettling words for a save-based effect (or combine unsettling words with her own save-based effect. This is a concept I've had for a while, so there's also some potential in taking the Metamagic Adept feat, too, and getting access to subtle spell for social scenarios.

But I have some others.

1) Blood Hunter (Ghostslayer) or a Paladin for that radiant damage undead-slaying goodness.

2) A Soulknife Rogue has interesting potential, though I actually don't know if Undead types are generally immune/resistant to psychic damage, but that might be the only sticking point. It can do a lot of neat things, though, like telepathic party communication.

3) An Echo Knight fighter, though my policy on that subclass is 'I'd only ask to play it if the DM and I both interpret it in relatively the same way', because there are a lot of people who don't fully get the mechanic of the echo correct, and arguing over it is... not fun. Been there. Don't want to go back.

4) A Gloomstalker Ranger / Rogue of some variety could be interesting as well.

5) A Druid who generally avoids wild shape, maybe circle of dreams or the new Wildfire druid.

6) A Lucky Divination-School Wizard, for ALL your reroll and forseen result needs. Really amazing for forcing enemies to fail critical rolls (or allies to succeed critical saves) the main issue is that use of its abilities to outright replace some rolls can bog things down given usually, they're supposed to be used before a roll is made, but in pbp the roll usually comes as part of or right after the post in question.  So, timing issues, but potentially solvable.


These are by no means the limit of my ideas, but yeah. Just a taste of the sphere my brain is within currently.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:51, Thu 07 Jan 2021.

I'm deciding between two characters orphaned from other fizzled Curse of Strawed games. One is a vengeful Rogue/Pally the other is an exiled Eladrin Rogue/Bard (college of swords)...

... All-Bard game.

Our Troupe has wandered into Barovia, but little do they know of the danger... or that they will have to face the Curse of Stringy in an epic battle of the bands~!

I like the idea of starting at level 3 and doing the death house with limited long and short rests.

Loco: eladrin is the best race. What are your thoughts on playing in discord instead of rpol?

Flare: 1) Blood Hunter is allowed. but if you expect me to admit that Matt Mercer is a better Dm than I am you're in for disappointment.

2) A Soulknife Rogue is fine. The blades cauterize the wounds so it keeps things clean.

3) An Echo Knight fighter, I'd love to discuss this with you, even if you don't choose it. I played an echo knight (in a game that died as soon as I rolled two crits in a row) and am quite sure I probably ran him wrong.

4) A Gloomstalker Ranger / Rogue - sure

5) A Druid who generally avoids wild shape, maybe circle of dreams or the new Wildfire druid - sounds fun

6) A Lucky Divination-School Wizard, for ALL your reroll and forseen result needs. Really amazing for forcing enemies to fail critical rolls (or allies to succeed critical saves) the main issue is that use of its abilities to outright replace some rolls can bog things down given usually, they're supposed to be used before a roll is made, but in pbp the roll usually comes as part of or right after the post in question.  So, timing issues, but potentially solvable. - for pbp sake i'd suggest something else, even a wizard of something else, bc i roll behind a screen so you'd be frustrate

My old phone won't run Discord, so I'd only post in the evening from my PC... I'm really not seeing any advantage using discord over rpol... sell me. I also don't have dnd beyond ... all you damn kids get off my lawn!

(I'm willing to learn though... ;-)

In reply to DM (msg # 9):

Never said anything about comparing anyone to Matt Mercer. I only know him as a VA, not a DM, after all. I don't watch Critical Role, I just learned about the Blood Hunter class from Dungeon Dudes.

Re: Soulknife - I was mostly wanting to confirm if Undead are just super-not into Psychic Damage or not :D I could see it being an issue.

Re: Echo Knight - Sure. I like to do my research on stuff, so I found a solid FAQ for the class that looks at common questions, and even has some sage advice rulings on certain things from Crawford and others clarifying parts (including places where there's a gap in the intention of the rules that they plan to fix in later printings) And the difficulty in the past with that was a GM who didn't even look, he just said 'Usually guides/FAQs get stuff wrong' and said he would basically run it his own way... which I decided 'I'll do a different thing then, 'cause I disagree with how you're treating it'.

His main thing was not getting that 1) the echo is like a spell effect, similar to mage hand/bigby's hand, and not a creature. Since it isn't a creature, it doesn't help allies flank (including you) or enable a rogue to get sneak attack, by itself. It's moved about as detailed in its description, and can only take the actions its rules allow it to take (it can't use stealth, ect)  And its explicit ability to be moved 'in any direction' does include the vertical plane; and 2) that its ability is to let you make an opportunity attack from its position, but the triggering condition is very specifically 'within 5 feet of the echo' even if, say, you have a reach weapon that would have a bigger threat area. And the echo itself doesn't 'make' any attacks, opportunity or otherwise. You do, but get to originate the attacks from the echo's position.
The FAQ is here, if you're curious: https://www.dndbeyond.com/foru...ntly-asked-questions
The one ruling there I don't like but don't object to is the ruling about intended rules for Echo Avatar and the swap-place-with-echo while it's at a long range from you - I think it's a cool idea, though I can see not wanting to allow it (though, it also can't really use this to sneak in anywhere since the echo is a slightly glowing thing that can't make stealth checks, though it is implied to be silent-moving and could feasibly just stay behind total cover.

Ultimately, the echo boils down to 'it's another point from which your attacks come, that can be attacked and destroyed, and you can sometimes make additional attacks through it with Unleash Incarnation or a reaction. I love the creativity space of using it to maneuver and (with, say, Crusher feat or the superiority combat style and maneuver adept feats, using it with combat maneuvers in clever ways, to mess with battlefield positioning ect.) I think it gets misunderstood a lot, and it is maybe complicated to really grasp exactly what it does and doesn't do, given the lore attached to the setting book the class is from being a weird 'alternate timeline version of yourself'  - I feel like that is setting fluff that can absolutely be divorced from the concept in a different setting.

Open to chatting about it, though. And as mentioned, if we have fundamental disagreements on it, no foul, I have tons of other ideas.

Re: Gloomstalker - Fun
Re: Druid - Fun
Re: Lucky Divination Wizard: I think the best thing to do with that sort of thing would be like 'pre-declaring' circumstances I'd want to use the auto-replace roll feature... like 'Have *Enemy* roll this 1 on an ally's saving throw effect. Or 'I'll use this 16 to replace [ally's] save if they are targeted by something nasty.'  - still gets the declaration in before the roll, but it does put a bit more of a burden on the player, but it can be good. Still, it is probably best to avoid in full PBP, though maybe not with discord

Loco: discord would only be better if it increased all of our posting rate. Since it limits yours it is not beneficial. And that closes the case.

Flare: If I read between the lines correct, you just said I'm a better DM than he is, so thank you. I award you DM inspiration.
Soul knife-make a nature check to see what you know about undead
I agree with your interpretation of Echo Knight. Case closed.
Wizard-it's your 6th choice, I don't think we need to worry about it. If it was your 1st choice I would discuss how we handle it, but you're not gonna pick it, so i'm not worried about it. :)

got a bunch more rtjs so just kinda reading between the lines and feeling out personalities. I'll decide for sure tomorrow night and then we can finalize characters over the weekend, start monday.

Hey guys. I am up to the Discord server since I am more used to that than this website. Never ever used dndbeyond but I can try anytime.

I would like to play as any magic class, mostly Divine Soul Sorcerer since is the one I like the most. Also Wild Magic can be "FUN", but if I dont want anyone to explode I prefer the safe cool option.

Also, point that I know nothing about this campaign, so I am cool with whatever starting point our great lord, I mean, DM throws us.

Awesome. What can I do with DM Inspiration?

Divine Soul Sorcerer is such a neat idea, really.

Flare: At the moment it makes you feel really good inside. Once the game starts you can add a d8+2 to a roll, like a bardic inspiration but better.


Once we have all 6 of our group I wanna move the character discussion over to the session zero, where we will not only talk about races and classes and backgrounds, but how they fit into our world.

Pan: I prefer discord as well, so if our last 2 players like it too, we will just peer pressure Loco.

I love wild magic sorcerer, but the problem is that the chance of wild magic happening is too low. Bring on the chaos!!! If you're interested we could make it a d12 instead of a d20.

I mean, I love chaos, but, the party, the equilibrium of not being TPK in our first battle *her brain overloads*

Now, in a more serious fashion, I would like to wait until the party is more or less taking shape then think about casting aside my beautiful Cleric spell list for the chaos table of Wild Magic rolls. And if that happens, I will take that offer DM, that sweet d12.

I always worry a bit about chaotic magic shenanigans. (if I go with a Blood Hunter that does bits of self-damage to do some of its things, it could be complicated, but it's not a *lot* of self damage, really... It's probably fine :D )

The good thing about going with Wild Magic is I dont need any excuse to the plane changing. It will be just my daily dose of Wild Magic multiplane explosion that ends with some plane voyage.

In reply to PanHanna (msg # 19):

Been wanting to use this myself, but haven't had the chance. You're welcome to it!

Ravenloft Wild Magic: https://imgur.com/a/WftLM

Howdy everyone, good morning!
For Any rtjs spying on us we tried discord last night and had a good time just discussing the campaign. I haven’t officially moved us to discord only but I’m very much leaning toward it.
Today I will make the hard decision of choosing the last two players, which means saying no to a bunch of great players. Always hard for me to do, especially bc I didn’t give any good interview questions, I just kinda made it a personality test, and I’m not even a good judge of that! Lol

I’ll check back here in a few hours, anyone on discord can hit me up anytime.

Thank you everyone! I’ve made the final cuts and we have our 6.
Now on to phase 2: global domination!!!!
Or maybe just character creation

Yo! Remind me of char names and I'll change them and I'll open character sheets.

<--- Mizuki Takahashi

TY

ok all names are set and char sheets open.

Go pic(k) some avatars.
*SHRUG
Still gonna use discord as our primary spot for now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:54, Tue 12 Jan 2021.

There's no way I can keep up on Discord. Very sorry. It looks awesome and I'd love to play that way, but...

How about having a slow group here and a faster group over on discord?

I agree (and said so on discord 5 minutes after you posted there.)

I’ll talk to all of the rtjs and see who is still interested.

Welcome everyone! We've got the 5 i need to start, but I am working on a possible 6th player. Talk with each other in session zero about characters, you don't need my final approval to begin making your sheet.

DM, can you change my name to Caedwen?

Hey, all!  So what do we have so far?

In reply to Unka (msg # 32):

Hop on over to the Session Zero thread, and we can get you all settled in!

I guess session zero isn't as common as i thought. I thought everyone was supposed to do a session zero. :)

Good tension around the campfire right now. I will wait for Druaccic to post, and smokin is still working on his character. Hurry up! JK

Are we getting a sixth player or going with a Five Man Band?

5! Or rather 4 and a lady. Oh whoops! Not a lady.

Company in town, will post tonight...

I apologize for continuously making late posts.

Never a problem! I try not to move it along too much where anyone gets behind.

I totally forgot that Druaccic was a dang cleric of Bahamut when Caedwen snorted.  Regardless, he's just a crotchety man with his personal set of views.  He may be a jerk, but he'll never be antagonistic.  Figured I'd throw that out there.

It is fair.  Bahamut may be of a good alignment, but most of his divine power goes to law, rather than strictly good, so it's understandable.  Plus, he's a god who focuses more on the interactions of people, rather than protecting nature, so I could see how a druid might not care much for Bahamut.

By the way, does anyone have any problems with reading my writing?  I'm asking due to my character's lack of speaking, therefore a lack of color variation, and also the fact that you guys space your paragraphs out, yet I do not.  If you would like me to change how I write, please let me know.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 23:23, Tue 19 Jan 2021.

On my end, some paragraph spaces would help.  Otherwise, looks good!  I'm digging the detail that you (and everyone) is putting in,

Thank you for the feedback!  I'll be sure to make my posts easier to read!

I second the use of paragraphs, but the Gray isn’t a problem. I love the way you provide a narrative for Druaccic that speaks to many of the senses: her voice, the shifting of her scales, it’s also auditory and tactile. She’s certainly one of the more unique characters, and well done!

Agreed!  I like the way this group is forming up.

In all honesty, I think that all of you are doing much better than me.  Thank you for the compliments though!  I'll be sure to continue with that!

/sarcasm
I know how overwhelmed you all must feel when you have to compare yourselves to my phenomenal w4riting.
/sarcasm

There is never an expectation for novel writing, just have fun. If writing a novel is fun, do it! If you only have time for a short post i would rather have that then go a few days waiting, but it’s all good.

Should I move it along or wait for others to post?

I'll have time to post later afternoon early evening.

Sorry for not posting!  I'll try to get one in later today!

I will wait for everyone before moving into the hojse

Meh, waiting is for people with all the time in the world.


If you have not yet posted Feel free to post in either thread, or if you've already posted entering the house then chapter 2 is for you!

Been sick, no, not *that* sick. Will catch up soon. Sry.

Good job. You killed strahd with boredom. You win!

Every game I'm in, across two sites, have stalled.  Don't forget to take your Vitamin D, everyone!

I’ll be around. Ready to go as soon as the whole squad has posted. If anyone doesn’t check in by Friday I’ll kick them and advertise their spot.

I just wanted to give the others a fair chance to post.

I'm here! Just waiting the appropriate amount of time before getting depressed about how only half of you like me. :)

Attrition is a thing, sadly.  I'm eager to go, RP or combat or whatever!

yeah me too. I'm sorry. Tomorrow is boot day and I'll re-advertise.

Whew! Squeekeeed in just under the DEADline! Sorry for the delay folks, it was not a good week.


Awesome! How much XP will that get us? Sure beats hunting rats in tavern basements!

Strangely enough it consumes all XP and you're now level 0.

Boo!

Nah, it's cool.  See, there's no Level 0 on the chart, so we loop around and are now level 20!

What do you mean, "No"?

The game pulls a freaky Friday and you all have to swap characters

I appreciate the call out, Jun.  I totally intended for Caedwen to be much more silent, a man of action... but that doesn't play well in PbP where you struggle with nonverbal communication.

Hey folks, I'll be joining you soon as Chokahr, your friendly, peaceful gentleman who loves elven poetry and a nice romantic walk under the stars. Oh wait, no, that was the last guy he ate.

Glad to be along for the ride!
This message was last updated by the player at 09:06, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

Forgot to unlock your character sheet. See creation guidelines and use whatever template you like.

Welcome, Chokar!  It'll be nice to have another peaceful man of nature around.

"Eatin' a piece o' him, and a piece o' her..."

Welcome!

Chokahr is here!

*Diablo 1's Butcher voice* Aaaaaah, fresh meat!

Given the nature of Barovia yanking people from other planes, I'm currently wishing you had chosen a Dark Sun Halfling Barbarian.  Those little cannibals are vicious!

Note that Chokahr is possibly the only person ever who would describe Ceila as "Proper."  But from his viewpoint, it's probably true...

Well you know the saying, it's all in the eye of the beholder (except for the last adventuring party, which is now in the stomach of the beholder).

Caedwen, I'm not too familiar with Dark Sun, gotta read more about those vicious ankle-gnawers.

Holy smokes gang, try not to rush too far.  You're going to leave some of us behind.

Cantstophousewilleatuscantstophousewilleatuscantstophousewilleatus

...But seriously, a fair point, but we're still all just poking around the dining room.

Ceila said what I came to say.

If I die because of Dice rolls, cool.

If I die because of impatient DM, not cool.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:31, Wed 03 Feb 2021.

Instructions not clear. You want to die?

I didn’t say that...?

When people login and don't post it makes us all have to wait. That's ok. I have 1 more day before I eat someone. You know I will. :)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I will update Monday

Any such luck?

I would have said it the first time.

I’ll update the south room soon
Just wanted to give you your bad berries asap

So, an unripe salal berry.  They look like funky blueberries, and quite often look... oily.

Updating tonight

No one grabbed the lute at chapter one, did they?

Hi folks, if you want to join the DM and me in a game where he's a player and I hold the cards, here's a link for you:

link to a message in another game

The game plays in the Elder Scrolls universe, and I use slightly modified 5E rules.

Asking for clarification, the secret passageway is four feet high?

That’s right.

Caedwyn quit. No ones fault. We shall continue with our current roster for now.

If rpol ever becomes overwhelming for you take my advice and drop every game except this one and your life will be much better.

That rp from Chokahr was awesome!

Thank you *bows*

I realize i didn't clarify this: please make a perception check to discern traps.

and I will try better to make a more obvious call for rolls!

08:16, Today: Chokahr rolled 17 using 1d20+3.  Check for traps.

that'll do. lets dnd

ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm out of town tomorrow thru sunday. I will have internet but may or may not check in. Have fun.

Hey hey! I’m back!

Hello Back, I'm Chokahr.

*drumsting*

you guys are awesome. Vyktor's chivalry was some great failure rp. :)

So I'll wait for chokar and then take my turn, then on the next turn you can break free with a str save dc13

Sorry to slow you down, that's the problem with different time zones... I'll spend my round freeing myself of the webs then.

never a rush. never a prob.

everyone do me a favor and put your ac in your doobly doo like chokar and vyktor have it

Are we allowed a short rest if that finished off the armor?

Nice flurry there Jia! Remind me not to upset you!

Thanks!

"Dice Roller likes me! It REALLY likes me!"

At this level, whimsy is the rule of the day.  My Dex save is 3 points better than my Str save, but which one did I make?

In reply to Jun Jia (msg # 108):

you can short rest whenever you would like

Just a quick heads up: my city celebrates St. Patrick’s activities this weekend. It’s my busiest work week of the year, so I’ll check in tomorrow & post, but it likely won’t happen until after 10 p.m., EST.

Thanks for letting me know! Happy st patty’s

*Answers in Blair Warner nervous laugh*

Did any of our attacks hurt the specter?

08:56, Today: Chokahr rolled 14 using 1d20+1.  WIS save.

Does the save allow us to carry the kid, or does it have another meaning?

both

I take it since you rolled you're good with carrying Rose? Let's move it along, we're finally getting to the loot :)

Yeah, I'm good, just wasn't sure what the save was about.

Where’s everyone at with health? I’m not keen to allow rests whenever you feel like it but I also don’t wanna kill you, just keep it terrifying. We’ve done one short rest that worked and one that gave no benefit

You  vetoed my last short rest, so I could use a productive one this time around.

I keep my HP up to date in my character bio.

I’ll rule this: you can have one beneficial long rest whenever majority decides to do it.

I suggest this: you should be able to handle one more encounter first.

Since we’ve fought two monsters, I vote for a short rest. I’d recover Ki as well as HP. Thank you, a group vote is fair.

Short rest won’t benefit you.

Long rest now or hold off and wait

I don't need a rest now, but it's not only up to me.

Don't need a rest either. Vyktor full HP at the moment.

I can go either way; I'd get one trick back, but I can still fight and smite just fine.

I've got Thieves' Tools and Dex, but who has a good Investigation?

Vyktor can Investigate, and he can assist with the picking to give you Advantage...

Ceila we are waiting for your lock pick rolls

Make 5 with advantage

Righto!  +3 Dex, +2 Proficiency, and:

((8,12,5,10,3,6,8,7,5,17)).

So that's 17, 15, 9, 13, 22.

I feel bad that chokahr is getting the brunt of jun’s wrath when I’m the one that delayed the long rest. ;)


Long rest.

Sure, Jan. :p ;)

Meh, it's okay, thick skin.

The four-armed dude's wounds appeared to close up, does it seem a tangible creature then? And 4 Shadows??? DM, we have no spell-slingers! No priests, no caterers even! Good Golly Miss Molly! You must weary of us already! ;-) Sucks too because I liked these characters. I guess I shouldn't complain though, I started this fight.

Oh, it sucks, but I don't know what "Wounds closing up" actually means.  The shadows would be much worse for spellcasters, though-- they'd get eaten in no time with bad AC and low Str scores.

Shadows suck.

They aren't shadow stat monsters.

Wounds close up means he healed on the start of his turn. If you notice the hp status in the game thread you'll see it. :)

I believe in you guys, I think you can win, but like I said, this is one of those cinematic battles

ok now that you're all working together I'm sure you'll win this fight.

CRITS on Vyktor.

Oh okay well maybe it all comes down to the dice.

Thanks, makes me feel much better. Gonna re-word the dang thing this time.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:23, Thu 15 Apr 2021.

Vyk waiting on you. Tomorrow I'll roll for ya and make the best decisions i can.

I lost my skills. I used to be able to run combat from my phone. Bleh
I’ll just wait till I fer to the pc

GG all! Only 6 rounds to finish the fight! Let me know how it was for you, did it drag on or was it good???

We will level up once you get out of here!!! There's not gonna be any more enemies unless you decide to stab someone on the street or something, so go ahead and start your character sheets. :)

LEVEL 4

Lv 4 for Paladin is dull.  But I'll do +2 Dex.

That was just the right amount of epic. Finishing a fight at exactly 1 HP is what it's all about ^^.

Do we auto-heal from the level up?

Good question! Should we also roll the next level of Hit Points, or would you rather we wait until the scene is concluded?

Great encounter, I was getting pretty concerned!

Are there any fat lootz we'd have scrounged before we leave? ;-)

Nope. No loot. Chokahr was smart and grabbed everything out of the museum, maybe some of that stuff is loot and we just don’t know yet.

Hp at level up is always average.

Vote:
1. Auto health/level up now
Or
2. I force you to wait until you can long rest, which makes your rp a bit more desperate to find safe lodging. No you can’t rest in the ritual chamber. ;)

Survival instinct tells me to vote 1, but this is Ravenloft after all, so 2 seems more in line with the setting...

Abstention!

Wow I didn’t see that coming. Ok first two votes will call it

I’ll vote for option 1.

#2 sounds fun, we need a cleric or druid!

All up to ceila to break the tie.

Eh, let's just do 1.  We can still roleplay looking for shelter.

All right you got it.

Magic magic full health and leveled up


A meteor lands on your heads and reduces everyone’s hp to 1. Jk

Have we also attuned to our new goodies, yet?

No.
I haven’t seen anyone interact with their items and it’s been 10 min since you first took them and shoved them in a bag.

Let me know what you choose to attune to
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Fri 23 Apr 2021.

Bone knife. That’s something she could take out and hold. I’ll wait on the dire wolf tongue until a proper rest.

Cool. I’ll get that soon as I’m at the pc.

Are we decided on exploring more dungeon or going out toward the light?

We’re split 50/50.

I’m willing to break the tie and explore the catacombs if I can attune with the knife beforehand. Otherwise, I’m sticking with the “Carol Ann” option.

That's fine. You are attuned. I'd rather have fun exploring than saying no. :)
So none of this loot is magic in the book, but I'm gonna homebrew it bc i'd rather you have tons of cool stuff.

Bone knife: A dagger fashioned from the bone of a victim's sternum. On one side you can see the impact made on the bone when the person's heart exploded, the handle is leather wrapped around the root of the sternum, the rest has been filed down to a razor tip and there is no crossguard.

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. On a hit with this weapon, the target takes an extra 1d6 necrotic damage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:57, Fri 23 Apr 2021.

If we're going for the ARPG-style of magic item identification, how about going all in, revealing everything and just taking turns picking loot?

Because some of them will kill you and you wouldn’t pick those if you knew before you picked it.

Duh.

Had we already explored 36?

No. I suggest going there. :)

ok I'm back to my normal PC schedule! I'll be moving you around more quickly.

Have we cleared 36 yet?

Yes

I'll wait for two character votes for a path and send it! kinda a fine line between moving you along too fast or two slow.

left is north, which is 27
and then we have 1 vote for 31

Returning to the stairs to go up?
You've already explored that way so I'll fast forward you all the way to the dining room (5) if you like.

How about finishing 31 before?

All In favor?

Aye.

Works for me.

I’m playing in a game that just got started and the DM’s grandpa just died. While I am sympathetic this seems to happen to 50% of the games I join. Anyone else have similar rpol horror stories?

Yeah. I joined two Marvel Heroic games with promising premises. They’re both dead or dying because of family emergencies. At least that’s understandable. It’s better than the D & D game I joined, where the DM abruptly canceled the game, and deleted it (and our character sheets) without warning.

I've been in a few too many games that died out of the blue.  Some of them due to drama, and not always in that game-- I got to see a GM, as a player in another game, get into some excessive OOC drama, and that apparently left them annoyed enough to ghost the game that they were running.

That would be me except instead of dropping my games I would just make my own version of that DM’s game and run it. Jk jk that was the old me. Now I’m a nice man.

I’m grateful for a DM that keeps a game going!

Thank you, DM.

In the words of Kool Aid Man voiced by Macho Man Randy Savage, “oh yeah!”

Thanks for playing!

Yeah, that happened to me regularly as well. I believe many first-time DMs on RPoL don't quite realize the amount of work and investment this requires. Anyway, DM, thanks for keeping things alive and interesting, it's a real inspiration for my own game as well!

just say where and when.

Was that the bag of bat guano ?

Yes, I was assuming there's room enough...

You put it in there, you get it out later.

Exactly. It’s pretty great

We just rested, or were given the benefits of a long rest... Let's head out the mansion, but use it as a safe house in the future... Vyktor claims it. Anybody who comes along saying otherwise will have to prove up or fight!

My gift to you.

Ready to explore the world?

Hell yeah.

Let's do this!

van richten’s guide came out today. vote:
run this as normal as i can
or
add the new content

Both...?

Whatever is good with me. I'm holding off reading Van Richten because I don't want to spoil anything for myself.

Not a Ravenloft expert anyway, so feel free to throw whatever at me, see if I can manage.

I mean, the new content looks pretty interesting to me...

was there any that you’d like me to run?

I was thinking more about aspects like Dark Gifts, the weird Lineage stuff, things like that.  I didn't read into the adventures yet; I generally use my own settings.

choices choices

visit the abbot and ill roll up a “whole new world” if you ask him to

or lets play curse of stuart as your dm already planned by heading to the winery

or...

did i list out all the town locations??? you can explore more

I’m in favor of the Winery. I read a media tie-in about that Abbot in a collection of short stories set in Ravenloft. No thanks.

The winery is fine by me.

Break all the things!

(ok, Whinery it is... :-P )

I'm all for wenches and mead, and it seems we're out of wenches. So...

...I'm considering the new miniquest being "So....we're all outta wenches...can you go to the Witches of Walmart"

I know I posted this already, but I'm DMing another 5e game and would love getting a few new players. just follow this link: link to another game

It's an intrigue and grand mystery game based in the Elder Scrolls universe, in a time period not covered by any of the official games. Come have a look!

sorry for delay

Short post, supery busyee.

I’m a loser and haven’t posted all weekend. I’m sry

We still love you. Don't worry.

Boss's daughter in ICU, I'm left to run the ranch. Super busy. Bear with me. Will try to post as often as possible through the combat...

DANG DUDE. prayers her way. actually the prayers are sent toward Jesus, but you know what I mean.

Oh, man.  Good vibes going her way.  And yours.

Prayers and vibes appreciated. She went from being a rough and tumble thirteen-year-old cowgirl to being paralyzed in about a week. If they can get things under control, they say it will take a year for her to recover. Boss and his wife are super stressed.

Take care of yourselves everyone! World is a crazy and tough place!

I need a replacement player if anyone is interested: link to another game

Does this restore Vyktor to consciousness?

It would, yes.

Happy Fathers Day to all my brothers from another mother who made a baby and stuck around.

Aye! Quite the sense of accomplishment for me! Best thing I ever did, though admittedly each one made me nervous! The world definitely needs more stick-around dads!


Sorry I've been slow, hope to pick up my pace a little, busy summer.


Do we have enough time to spend hit dice?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:18, Tue 22 June 2021.

Dad powaaaaa!

In reply to Vyktor Rosewylde (msg # 219):

As a DM I will answer that with a question: Do you try to spend an hour short resting in the barrel making room?

@DM - is there a map I'm missing?

yepo.

I added it to maps now.

Sorry for the delay folks, RL's being intense at the moment. This is the last game I'm still playing on RPoL and I do intend to keep it going.

never a problem. my posting rate has dipped this week as well: vacation and holiday. tomorrow im back at the captains chair and will be back to normal

Crap. Vyk, the druids are attacking from W4. The twig blights from outside (north) w3. I'm gonna post a passive perception result but hold doing anything until you can confirm if you want to enter w4.

Are we still in initiative order? Or can we freely hack at the druid?

Yes and no.
There's no order, I resolve in order posted, but please only take 1 turn before I resolve the round.

Hack away Chokahr.

In reply to DM (msg # 226):

Sorry, misunderstood. Vyktor will back away from that door, favoring the one they came in with the blights.

Durn dice-roller has it out for this character though... I can't buy a decent roll!



I edited my post. He shot through the door instead... lousily I might add. It appears as the others made way in that direction. I'll hold off further until you can get us all on the same page.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:57, Wed 14 July 2021.

sorry for the delay.

How far away is the druid?

oops sorry i didnt specify: 30' line from the w4 door, but if you wanted to melee you have to use the stairs so 45' walking.

Good grief! I am having the worst luck on this website lately! This character seems especially cursed sometimes!

That's the real curse of Strahd, bro...

yeah mans the dice are cursed. in my other game gave a fighter a vorpal sword: instakill if you roll a 19 or 20.

he never once rolled a 19 or 20.

Aw man, nobody got my Cannibal Corpse references. So sad.

The game ain't dead or dying. I've just been so efficient that to others it would seem like busyness. Business.

Man, some people are sooooo fussy.  "Oh, save us from the druids, save us from the druids!"  One little issue with the wine and they're going "Noooo, don't do it that way!"

Some people are just never going to be satisfied, I guess... ;)

It's probably going to take several castings of Purify Food and Water to fix the wine, but hey, I'm sure he'll put us up long enough for that.

Would that be long enough for a rest?

Oh, with the right marketing, poisoned wine would be a real top seller. "Want to get rid of a persistent frenemy? GIft them a bottle of Davian's Snow-White! Delicious, effective and untraceable!"

Like poisoned wine isn’t already a best-seller in Ravenloft?

I know you're joking, but if you guys wanna role play creating and marketing this new business, I will allow it.

YOU ALL MAY LONG REST IF MAJORITY VOTES.

It would require Long Rests.  Paladins aren't Ritual Casters, and I don't have it prepared.  But if we deal with the druids, we can fix the wine.

Yeah, long rest sounds good right now.

Feels like a majority vote to me.

EVERYONE LONG REST. (No level up this time, but you're halfway there)

Are we going to head out immediately?  I need to consider Purify Food and Drink for the wine.

The long rest already set certain plans into motion, so you can take as long as you like with no further consequence.

long rest has happened.

it is 8 hours later now

Edited to reflect that.

Looking for the guy's family looks like a promising choice.

I'm really sorry for having been awol, I don't usually ghost like I have been. I've been very ill and dealing with difficult issues with work and with my mother undergoing cancer treatment. I'm hoping to get back to the game soon. Sorry for contributing to the slow pace due to my lack of posting.

Ah, man.  That sucks, Vyktor.  I had cancer a couple of times; I was very lucky and made it, but the treatment is awful.

That's rough, man. Best wishes to you and your mom. Stay strong.

victor just for funsies will you roll 3 d20s for me.

Hi folks, a quick heads-up, I'll be on vacation for the next 3 weeks. I'll have Internet access but not necessarily the time to post on a regular basis.

DM, here are a bunch of d20 rolls if you need them:

11:08, Today: Chokahr rolled 99 using 10d20 with rolls of 1,6,17,15,7,11,10,20,1,11.  Bunch of reserve rolls.

Wow, two critical failures. Awesome.

Average of 9.9 ... Can't you at least be average??? ;-)

in lieu of really amazing role play: choose your next quest:
1. abbey
2. yester hill
3. ruins of berez
4. vallaki

I thought we were all OK for the abbey.

got it

I'm leaving tomorrow for a vacation! First one I've had in years! I'll be back on the 8th. Likely won't have much internet. Please NPC if needed.

Have fun, Vyktor!

Choices:
It's midday
1. Abbey (it's right there)
2. Travel to Vallaki (will reach before sundown)
3. Travel to Castle Ravenloft (will arrive at night)
4. Travel to town of Barovia (will arrive by morning)

help the Martikov's with their druid problem:
5. Go to Yester Hill (will arrive by sundown)
6. Go to Berez (will arrive by night)

7. Explore Krezk and Long Rest with fun town interactions of no consequence

If Tatyana’s birthday falls in August, and we’re only approaching late January, does that mean we could postpone the mission? I’d like to resolve the Druid problem.

lots and lots of time

Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

yester hill
or
berez

Where are they holding the families again?

both

Since Yester Hill is closer, that seems like a good place to start.

Yester Hill is fine. Vyktor needs a rest, low on HP.

Let's long rest in Krezk HQ and head out early morning.

Other than the abbey there's nothing else in town for you unless I make stuff up, which I will if you want. Anything anyone wants to do?

I'll give 24 hours and then move the story along.

Nah, I wanna see the druid problem to the end. Yester Hill seems like the logical starting point.

Also, congrats everyone, we just crossed the 1000 post threshold. Yay us.

Yeah, let's do it!

Let's zip

How aware are we of Chokahr's situation?  How far away is he?

youre like 500’ away. perception or passive dc15 and you see it

i dropped it to 14 bc of roaring

Everybody doing OK? DM's up, or did I miss something?

your dm is a big slacker who posts once a week. rejoice. its a new week.

Sorry for the delay, was on a work trip and my crappy hotel didn't have Internet access. Germany 2021, guys...

Swamped today, less than verbose...

Would the Dryad’s Limb count as a Club or Staff?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:06, Mon 25 Oct 2021.

it sure can.

Anything I should know about that axe?

Sry, short on time today.

im conflicted between revealing the axe properties or waiting for you to use it

Then by all means let me learn from my mistakes :-)

We leveled up? For real?

I assume so, and adjusted my sheet accordingly.  Two attacks!  w00t!

...but the next level is the Paladin's favorite.

Are we 4th now? We gonna loot the castle? ;-)

4th? We’re 5th Level, Vic.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:37, Sat 13 Nov 2021.

I’m thrilled about my Extra Attack, and next level?

Vampires BEWARE! These Fists & Feet become Magical Weapons! :-D

im extremely impressed you all have stayed with me so long! my rpol experience usually has players drop within the first few months! im excited that we might do the entire module!! level 5 is just the beginning.

Lol, no wonder Vyktor has been a little lackluster compared to the rest! Well, my crappy dice rolls haven't helped either, but yay, double levels!

Thanks for a great game so far DM!

In reply to DM (msg # 294):

Looking forward to it, mate. Thanks everyone for making this possible!

EDIT: Noice!
10:39, Today: Chokahr rolled 11 using 1d12.  Level up!
This message was last edited by the player at 09:40, Sat 13 Nov 2021.

Coulda been a Finesse weapon, but nooooo, I had to play a Dex paladin and I get a sword too heavy to use effectively.  Oh, well.

since it was specific for you, let's change it to either a short sword or rapier.

Given the choice, may I ask for a rapier?

go for it.

Yay, I got a pet rock!

I like to skip travel and downtime for sake of story development.

So much to do, so many quests, take a vote and lets decide here:

1. Krezk your HQ - Abbey has yet to be explored
2. Yester Hill - Complete Reminder: A massive construct walked away from yester hill
3. Ruins of Berez - Davian knows for sure druids have taken some of his family there
4. Vallaki, a large fortified town - Urvin has a small army of wereravens
5. Wizard of Wine, possible safe place - check in on Davian who's family has been kidnapped
6. Strahd asked you to go to the town of Barovia and find Ireena
7. Strahd invited you to Castle Ravenloft

How much time has passed outside Yester?

If not much, I vote for #3, the Ruins of Berez.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:27, Thu 18 Nov 2021.

You won't be able to tell until you find someone with a calendar. :)

Then I vote for heading toward the Ruins of Berez. If we learn that it’s near the deadline, we’ll divert to Barovia instead. That’s my vote.

Fair enough?

Works for me.

Sounds good.

I'm good with that as well, had to travel yesterday and today, will catch up tonight, hopefully.

Gack, got home late and pouring concrete early in the morning. Cold weather, won't finish until late tomorrow night. Don't give up on me!

I would advise to check your coffee cup twice today, just in case of mix-ups. Happy pouring, mate.

I've ran and played COS like 5 times now, this is the first time I've ever done berez, so YAY us.

Turning 40 today, so if you're somewhere in the vicinity of Stuttgart, Germany, drop by for cake and coffee!

XP, loot, wenches and ale for everyone (easy for me to say, I know, I know...)!

I'm still here, got waylaid by a nasty cold at Thanksgiving. Hard to be creative with a head full of goo.

In reply to Chokahr (msg # 312):

happy birthday! Have 4000 XP on me.

ive got two homeless players joining from another of my games that fell apart

they are really great and post often.

Refugees welcome!

Mixing up the group sounds like a good thing.  Besides, we're all melee types; variety is good.

Have you got some Clerics or Arcane types for us?

up to them if they want to respec, they are og bard and rogue and i would prefer to have them keep their backstory from the last game

Hello to all!
Elma is a bard and is staying as such, though I'm still considering if I will change her college.
She's got both some healing and some arcane stuff so while she is no replacement for a cleric, it's better than nothing!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Sun 05 Dec 2021.

just dont have your bard seduce Ireena. Chad will be pissed.

In reply to DM (msg # 321):

As Chads are usually wont to do.

Indeed so.

Hi and welcome Elma!

I've some thoughts on divine casting to discuss with DM. Will catch up later tonight.

Welcome, Elma! Love Bards, and we haven’t had one in our group yet.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:36, Mon 06 Dec 2021.

ok cool Vyk is still around. And he's a warlock now.

In reply to Jun Jia (msg # 326):

I'm not sure how many stages Elma will grace with her presence in Borovia, but it'll be interesting to see how I'll be able to use her skills. :)

In reply to Elma Keensong (msg # 328):

Don’t rule out a good campfire performance! Totally fits the mood for Ravenloft!

We are pretty much only 10-20% through the story. Still just getting our "feet wet" we have potential for so  much.

Vyktor you gonna post???

Sorry for making everyone wait. Ill post today.

there are no vampires in africa. do you know why???

In reply to Strahd Von Zarowich (msg # 332):

Because they blessed the rains down in Africa. :-/

In reply to DM (msg # 331):

Uh... Sorry, didn't think he was there yet. I can post late tonight, sorry everyone.

the spirits did it all in one night! of course they did! they can do anything they like!

-dickens

exteremely impressed at the damage done to baba lysaga so far. Very good rolling.

Yeah well, we can be all impressed AFTER we survive...

That's why I want to see how much-if any-damage Vyk can add, might change how she reacts.

Well, if I don't die, I can keep up Advantage attacks with Smites for a while.  Ought to leave an impression.

I done m'best...

Well done everyone! That was a great round. Too bad it's gonna backfire horribly... ;-P

Where are our reinforcements???

(Again, sorry everyone for not posting sooner, I had in mind that my character was still with the King and Queen... Anyway, hopefully my good rolls made up for it!)

Well that's 73 damage in the first round. Nothing to sneeze at.

I'll be afk until Tuesday. I'll post from my phone when possible.

If/when you kill the flies it will turn baba lysaga back into the witch...and she'll fall like a turd.

Not quite sure... is it my turn to act?

combat is still happening. ive been out of town and will be back to normal tomorrow.

Ceila failed her save. It’s your turn.

Dunno if there's any Advantage to be had in this round, but if so, Vyktor's trying for the coup-de-grace...

you no longer have disadvantage from the flies

Welp. No guts no glory...

Edit: ruhroh! I didn't expect the barb to fail that... Gulp!
This message was last edited by the player at 16:12, Wed 22 Dec 2021.

I thought about this a lot last night.

For story sake, I'll allow the advantage and BOOM, let's do this.

Is she dead, then? Because I hadn’t gone yet.

yes

DM, do you make the death saving throws for me?

noooo that sounds terrible.

Dang, can't believe Ceila and Jun are gonna let you die after all our arguing. JK.

I've got some help for you Choke, will post this evening...

Vyk can bail him out. Jun & Ceila are barely alive themselves.

I mean, I'm totes down with saving Chokahr.

IF I EVER MAKE THAT DAMN WISDOM SAVE

In reply to Ceila Greendoor (msg # 357):

Hopefully, my Persuasion roll helped.

we are out of combat so Ceila has recovered in 30 seconds

Merry Christmas everyone!

TY. And echoed back to you and everyone else on here!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!! I would lovingly dole out 1000xp but this is Curse of Strahd so just be happy you arent rolling death saves.

Oooooohhh, that's a terrific temptation, roll Death Saves in exchange for 1000xp...

At any rate, we're still alive. Merry Christmas everyone!

That battle was amazing. I had never run baba lysaga before but I did not hold back, and you all really held it down and won! Great stuff!

It was brutal. That witch was no joke.

Welcome to 2022! Big, new year all awaitin'.

Looking forward to spending some of it with you all in our own little, special way :)

WIshing all of you a great new year 2022. May it exceed your expectations in every positive way!

Yes, Happy NY to you all

Happy New Year!

May it not suck!

(Yeah, low expectations)

Any year that starts off by killing Betty White starts with a leg down.

Oh I heard she died but didn’t know she was killed.




(The vampire reasoned…)

Yep. Killed by Death.

Dammit. We need a death vaccine. Stupid scientists are wasting time.

Find a vampire.

Did you mean that?

Hmmmm... one wonders... someone hasn't been reading the news. Naples Italy, New Year's Eve - says a lot!  sorry, couldn't help myself DM, you left the door wide open.

Bitch, update the game! :-p

I can’t I’m too scared.

Nah, 2022 didn't kill Betty White. It was 2021, as a dick move on the way out. Par for the course.

/me nods solemnly at Chokahr's insight...

I haven't been sleeping good ever since staying up till 4 am on new years eve.

Result: poopy dm energy.

I apologize for the long ass delay.