[3.5]Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Campaign Journal

[arguskos]

So, I recently picked up said adventure, and decided to run it for my group. I figured that I hear a lot about the Red Hand of Doom, but not much about other 3.5 adventures, so I thought I'd toss out my group for your observation.

Notes:
1. This is the beginning of our campaign, meaning that I have an overarching story, which this is only the beginning of, so the premise of the game may be somewhat different than you may be expecting.
2. Said premise goes like so: in this setting, the gods simply HAVE divine power. There is the main pantheon of deities, but beneath them are a plethora of minor gods that mortals don't really know about. Recently, a number of these minor gods died, and their portfolios failed to pass on to a successor. Concerned by this, the main pantheon convened and decided to endow a number of mortals with the essences of these dead godlings, and offer to elevate them to full pantheonic status if they find out why this was all needed to begin with (read: why their portfolios didn't pass to a successor to start with, etc).
3. We are using the Pathfinder classes, so if something seems odd with classes, that's why (for example, the monk managed to jump something like 42 ft on one occasion, thanks to +20 to his Jump check for using a ki point).
4. The players have a few VERY minor special powers, and got to pick their portfolio to begin the game. Further, they are all gestalt characters, in a world of non-gestalt stuff. We started at level 5. Here are the players (names changed to protect the innocent etc), the characters, and their gods:

Spoiler

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DM: Me. I've been DMing for nearly 12 years now (since I was 8.5 years old), so I have a little experience. I'm the only dedicated DM in my group, and am the general fount of knowledge on all D&D topics (my know-how is GREATLY bolstered by these here forums, thanks guys!).


Main NPC: Ala al-Din Zahi (CG ghaele eladrin 5//wizard 5) is my personal addition to the party. Note that they ASK me for a NPC, since they seem to love them a great deal. Other than that, she wields a librum (custom weapon from Fax Celestis, really fun so far) and is going into the Astrologer PrC by Pair 'O Dice Lost (also looks pretty damn fun). Zahi hasn't been explored much yet, since the party just managed to meet her, but more should be forthcoming this week.

Player 1: K is a great guy, one of my best friends. Not that great at roleplaying, but he always gives it a good shot, so I can't fault him.

Character 1: K is playing Lameth the Second-Sighted (NE elven sorcerer 5//rogue 5). Lameth's portfolio is divination-aided thieving, and he is currently angling to steal the portfolio of thieving in general from the current god of thieves. Long way to go, but I have faith in him. Lameth is scheming and petty, going to any lengths to steal from those he can get away with. He's direct, and has little appreciation for subtlety in words and deeds, save when he is stealing from someone. So far, he's shown a VERY strong temper, one that almost got him killed once. He also has some pretty bad luck, and did get killed once (more on that later).

Player 2: G is my girlfriend, and is a wonderful person. She's inventive and fun, though she struggles with taking things FAR to seriously sometimes. That said, G really has a blast playing D&D (I introduced her around a year and a half ago).

Character 2: G is playing Fahima the Graceful, lord of all cats (CN human beguiler 5//ninja 5). Fahima, as befits cats, is insanely fickle, smiling upon you one moment, ignoring you the next, and clawing at you the third! Fahima has the power to turn into a housecat at will, something she is making decently good use of so far, since she is, much like Lameth, very much a sneak-thief.

Player 3: P is a new guy, and I don't know him well. See, I recently lost my roommate, who moved home, so the group recruited a new player that G and K know from work. P is pretty fun, and I like him, I just don't know him well yet.

Character 3: P is playing a pretty cool character, Vaijus the Solemn (LN human monk 5//cleric [Vaijus] 5). The idea is that if a PC is a cleric, they have JUST enough divine spark to grant themselves spells, which I thought was cool as all hell. Anyways, Vaijus is calm and collected, and is very much the defensive tank of the party. He just sorta sits there and absorbs damage like no one's business. He can even dish out moderate damage, though DR did mean things to him (more on this later).

Player 4: S is our "mad scientist" guy. Every single character he plays shares his passion for crazy inventions and things (for example, this one decided he wanted to try using a pair of scythes to make a wood chipper, but for zombies... it didn't work). His stuff is always comical, but it takes FOREVER to get anywhere, since he never just says what he is trying to do, and goes after everything one step at a time.... which takes all damn night.

Character 4: Retrix the Plague-Ridden (NE human fighter 5//cleric [Retrix] 5) finishes out the compliment of player characters. So far... he's just like every other character S has ever played. I'm hoping that changes sooner than later.

So, on to the adventure! Note that S showed up late, so he had to make a character and jump in part way in, so Retrix doesn't get much screen time.

Spoiler

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DM Note: For those unfamiliar with the adventure, the main antagonist, Count Strahd Von Zarovich, has a secondary goal, in addition to desiring a particular NPC to be his vampire bride. This secondary goal in my campaign is Undying Legacy, meaning he will be attempting to convert the players to vampires and use them as the first line of offense in his dark new army of daywalker vampires.

The session begins with the characters (not yet divine) meeting Edwin, their godly contact. He gives very little information about himself, and merely offers them the deal to become godlings. They accept, and we make characters (which for this group, takes nearly 3 hours).

Edwin then informs the party (just Fahima, Lameth, and Vaijus right now) that they are being sent to the distant land of Barovia, for the gods believe that the secret to the puzzle of lack of portfolios passing on lies in the mist shrouded valleys there.

DM Note: The secret does not lie in Barovia, but the Count does have a secret that will aid the godlings. This will be revealed later in the journal, as they discover it.

The party appears on a forlorn road in the middle of nowhere, with the Weary Horse Inn just down the road. After a quick experimentation with their new powers (basically, they just fiddle with their stats a little, see how stuff works out). Since it's nightfall, they decide to take a room at the Inn, get their bearings, and then set out for Barovia in the morning. Things go quietly, until a Vistani messenger bursts into the Inn, slams a letter on the PC's table, says "Barovia needs heroes, you'll do as well as anyone", and rushes out again. Luckily, Fahima was outside in cat form, so she shifts back quickly, and confronts the messenger. From him, they manage to glean that the surrounding Svalich Woods are haunted by monsters, and that the village of Barovia is a day's ride to the east.

The letter is from the burgomaster of Barovia, Kolyan Indirovich, who pleads with the PC's for aid. Apparently, his daughter, Ireena Kolyana, has become afflicted with an evil malady that he needs the party to seek out the cure for (which lies with the evil Castle Ravenloft).

In the morning, the party sets out for the village. As they travel, the famous mists of Barovia engulf them, providing a little bit of mystique and alienation to the lands. When they reach the Gates of Barovia and pass through them, the gates slam shut behind the party, further heightening the sense of alienation and strangeness in the wilds of the countryside. As the party passes through the wilds, they encounter an elven ranger, who demands they turn back at once, for the party has invaded his home (the woods). As Lameth and the elf begin talking, Fahima looks around and spots a pair of massive wolves in the trees! She sort of gestures slightly to Lameth and Vaijus to watch out, and with that, the elf and wolves leap to the attack!

DM Note: For those familiar with the adventure, this is encounter C1. The elf and wolves are actually werewolves.

The battle goes poorly for the wolves at first, but they get smart soon, and take out the PC's horses, since the players are trying to damage them and failing, thanks to their damned DR 10/silver. Vaijus quickly becomes a target for the elf due to being human, and being the only person to actually HARM a wolf. Fahima comes under severe attack from the wolves, because she is human too, so she decides to shift into housecat form and run into the woods. Luckily, one of the wolves decides to give chase, but Fahima easily eludes it. As she distracts one wolf, Vaijus (thanks to a well-timed flurry of blows) manages to drop the other wolf. Realizing that his position is bad, the elf ranger squeezes off another shot or two and then flees rather than stand and die. The remaining wolf runs off too. Lameth, desiring the elf's bow, casts a quick Locate Object spell naming "composite longbows". He gets three pings, two in the tree the elf hid behind, and one in the elf's direction in the woods. Telling the others he'll be right back, he plummets off into the woods after the elf.

DM Note: This was clearly a Bad Call(tm). I mentioned that it might not end well, and lo and behold, it didn't.

So, K and I step out into the hallway, and Lameth has his epic chase scene. It goes as you might expect, with him charging through the wilderness after the elf, who eventually shifts into Hybrid form (though Lameth doesn't know that, he just sees the elf's speed increase by a lot) and escapes. However, Lameth is ambushed by another Hybrid form werewolf as he turns back towards the road (note that this is rather far away from the party, so there really isn't a chance to help him). He gets blasted into negatives by a cascade of arrows, and then is whisked away as a prisoner to the werewolves leader. Said leader deliberates for a moment, and then orders that he be healed somewhat, tied up, and left on the road as a warning to the outsiders not to interfere with the wolves of the Svalich Woods. This is done, and he ends up on the road something like 20 minutes after he charged into the forest, feeling rather foolish about himself.

Meanwhile, Fahima and Vaijus manage to find a few minor potions (some cure moderate wounds, a few greater magic fangs (+2), and a pair of haste potions) and some non-magical bows and greatswords. Taking everything, and having waited for a reasonable period of time, they set off towards the village again... only to almost trip over poor Lameth, sitting in the road maybe 30 minutes from the village! They free him, heal him up some, and then continue on their way.

When they enter Barovia, something seems amiss. The stench of carrion and death wafts on the mist cloaked streets, and there is no movement in the fog. As they press into the village, they come across an overturned cart. Understandably wary, they slowly move around it, and suddenly, zombies swarm out of the nearby buildings, surround them, and attack! They would have been fine, except that poor Lameth got hit with a hold person spell from the deathlock that snuck up behind the party. Fahima and Vaijus apologized and fled, letting Lameth get ripped to pieces by a horde of zombies (Fahima used Ghost Step and a quad move; Vaijus used his ability to make super Jumps, and left straight over the damn cart and zombies, taking lots of AoO's, but surviving and then quad moving out of there).

With this death, Lameth's soul was sent back to Edwin, who revealed that the godlings had a limited ability to defy death, and sent Lameth back, alongside Retrix (who's player had arrived by now, so we took a break, made his character, and got right back into the action). The two are teleported into a war zone, since Vaijus and Fahima discovered the main square of Barovia, where Zahi and Ashlyn (a NPC from the book, actually) are defending the town from a horde of zombies led by an Entomber. After a long hard fight, which included Ashlyn (LG female human Paladin 5) lighting two zombies on fire, some absolutely great rebuking from Retrix (he nullified the entomber for the whole fight, not to mention two minor zombies), and another super-jump from Vaijus (36 ft this time), the party emerged victorious, though not without many wounds. They spoke with Zahi and Ashlyn some and agreed to help Ashlyn discover what happened to her comrades (since her friends went to explore the church in town, but didn't return; this was three days ago). Lameth attempted to steal from the shopkeeper in town, a crotchety old man named Bildrath, and... well... let me just show you how this went:

IC
Lameth: "Hey, do you have any magical gear, or anything really valuable?"
Bildrath: "Sure don't have any magic, you damn whippersnapper. As for valuables, I don't think I wanna tell ya that."
Lameth: *begins casting Detect Magic*
Bildrath: "Hey, what're you doing?? You get out now, ya hear?"
Lameth: "Whatever you old coot."
Bildrath: "Perriwimple [Bildrath's cousin], throw him out if he doesn't leave! I won't have that sorcery in my shop!!"
Lameth: "Fine old man, I'll leave."

OOC
K: Man, wtf was that **** about?? He had no right to get pissed off at me!
Me: Uh.... you barge in, demand magic/shinies, start using magic, and are upset he told you to GTFO? Yeah, not seeing that one, sorry. Dude, diplomatic solutions for the win.
K: Fair enough. *laughs*

After that, the party proceeded to talk with the son of the burgomaster, Kolyan. Ismark the Lesser, as he introduces himself, is the de facto leader of this town, and it is to him that all queries lead. As the party talks with him, they discover that his sister, Ireena remains by Kolyan's body in their home to ensure he does not become a zombie. They also find out that the master of the castle, Strahd, had the burgomaster killed for defying his wishes recently. Ismark informs them that if they wish to stop the plague of zombies, they should assault the church, since it is from there that the plague began. Lastly, he suggests that if they can make it out of town, they should talk to Madam Eva, a famous fortune teller to the northeast of town.

That's where we ended this time. Sorry my prose is.... pathetically bad, to say the least!

Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? Caring?

[arguskos]

After-Session Notes
-The party was not capable of defeating DR. I need to include some silversheen or something if they go werewolf hunting.

-My god, lots of zombies=OMGSTEAMROLLED. I mean, Vaijus has a +0 Cha mod, so his turning failed really hard, and these zombies have like 6 HD. I might need to watch out for that.

-I am beginning to wonder if I started them out a level too low. The adventure recommends they start at level 6, but everything I know about gestalt recommends you take the level normal characters would play it at, and lower it by one for the gestalt, to represent their breadth of options and ability to endure more. This may be a mistake, since this adventure is rather lethal (I haven't even begun to roll for Strahd's spies yet).

[Rei_Jin]

I'm currently playing through the adventure as a player, but the DM is very transparent about what we're going to take on, and the resources we have.

DO NOT GIVE THEM A SILVER SWORD OR SILVER SHEEN! Doing so removes a lot of the intrigue and danger in the module.

They're not supposed to be able to easily defeat the Werewolves or Vampires until they get the plot related gear. In fact, odds are that they won't be able to defeat them at all.

We nearly had our ass handed to us by a vampire we encountered on the road after a few days, until I pulled out a Silver Sword and cast Magic Weapon on it. Once I pulled it out, the vampire bit the dust really quickly.

Said DM then asked me if he could take the sword off me and not say anything more about it. Big mistake on his part to give it to me in the first place, as it makes the module too easy.

If you're worried about them having difficulty getting through the module, don't. It's supposed to be hard. Don't stress too much, we're hanging in there and loving it, even without the right gear. Your party will do fine.

[arguskos]

I'm currently playing through the adventure as a player, but the DM is very transparent about what we're going to take on, and the resources we have.

DO NOT GIVE THEM A SILVER SWORD OR SILVER SHEEN! Doing so removes a lot of the intrigue and danger in the module.

They're not supposed to be able to easily defeat the Werewolves or Vampires until they get the plot related gear. In fact, odds are that they won't be able to defeat them at all.

We nearly had our ass handed to us by a vampire we encountered on the road after a few days, until I pulled out a Silver Sword and cast Magic Weapon on it. Once I pulled it out, the vampire bit the dust really quickly.

Said DM then asked me if he could take the sword off me and not say anything more about it. Big mistake on his part to give it to me in the first place, as it makes the module too easy.

If you're worried about them having difficulty getting through the module, don't. It's supposed to be hard. Don't stress too much, we're hanging in there and loving it, even without the right gear. Your party will do fine.

Interesting. I was thinking I would give them 2-3 doses of silversheen, and never let it appear again. Sorta a "OHSHI- STRAHD!!!" item.

Also, I have been considering giving the rogues some items that will let them sneak attack undead (because my god, they are useless). Fahima's player already told me she'll just abandon the party during combats if I don't give her SOMETHING to work with (which I think is a bit extreme, but that's just me). Maybe a single crystal of truedeath, so one can sneak attack/sudden strike at a time, forcing the other to rely on their magic?

Furthermore, care to share some of your details and thoughts about the adventure Rei Jin? I, as a DM, really love it, and think it's a great adventure. What have your opinions and thoughts been about it so far?

[Rei_Jin]

It is a good adventure, really challenging, and definitely worth doing.

I'd look at giving your players access to the alternate class features at the back of the book if you're worried about their effectiveness. One of them lets a turning attempt do damage rather than just make them run away, with a will save for half, and the other has the rogue give up trapsense to be able to sneak attack anything that they normally couldn't, but only at 1d3 instead of 1d6.

The encounter in the church with Danovich is wicked hard, we almost had a TPK. Only reason we all survived was good tactics and dwarven suicide jumps.

Oh, and if you decide to use the legacy items as they are, expect your players to not want to pick up the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. Its a terrible tradeoff. You're better off as a straight cleric just hitting him with holy water.

Our party rogue hasn't taken the alternate class feature, instead deciding to pick up alchemical items to do different things. His current favourite is to throw oil over undead so that the party sorceror can incinerate them better. He also provides a handy and comical distraction.

[arguskos]

It is a good adventure, really challenging, and definitely worth doing.

I'd look at giving your players access to the alternate class features at the back of the book if you're worried about their effectiveness. One of them lets a turning attempt do damage rather than just make them run away, with a will save for half, and the other has the rogue give up trapsense to be able to sneak attack anything that they normally couldn't, but only at 1d3 instead of 1d6.

The encounter in the church with Danovich is wicked hard, we almost had a TPK. Only reason we all survived was good tactics and dwarven suicide jumps.

Oh, and if you decide to use the legacy items as they are, expect your players to not want to pick up the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. Its a terrible tradeoff. You're better off as a straight cleric just hitting him with holy water.

How far are you guys? (read: have you fought Strahd yet?)

Also, yeaaaaah, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind is awful. Not sure what that's about.

Did you guys take Ireena and/or Ashlyn and/or Sir Urik with you? If so, how're they working out?

I was looking at the Danovich encounter, and was thinking it looked really damn hard. He's got death touch (damn, that's a lot of damage!!) and that circle of death scroll... sheesh, I'll need to watch out for that.

Have you lost anyone yet, and if so, how did you guys deal with it? Assume the role of an NPC, or roll up new characters?

[Rei_Jin]

Ashlyn joined us for the fight against Danovitch, she was really handy because they can't disease her. We've got the others defending the town, although I'll be taking Sir Ulric into Castle Ravenloft with us so that I can spend a night in the chapel there (gotta get into the Knight of the Raven PrC, it's so awesome).

No-one's died yet, we started at level 6 and are now level 8. If someone dies, the DMs told us to take over the part of one of the NPCs and adjust it how you need to, although you get no extra gear other than what's on their sheet, and what was on your old characters sheet (assuming the rest of the party lets you have some).

Haven't fought Strahd yet, but we've spoken with Madam Eva, defeated Danovich and cleansed the church, found Strahds diary and Danovichs diary, and the next step is to clear out the fanes.

I've read through Strahds character sheet and tactics, and unless your cleric casts Deathward on the party, they will probably go down. He's a hard mutha to take on at all, let alone when he's at full strength. I mean, who uses fell lightning bolts? That's just not fair play.

The party for us is a halfling spellthief, a dwarven fighter who's just multi-classed into paladin, a gnomish sorceror, and me, a dwarven cleric. I have a Charisma of 16, and honestly, turning is the thing that saved us in the basement of the church. I managed to make enough of the baddies down there back off that we could defeat the cause of the plague. Without that, we would have all died long before we managed to even hit him, and as it was, two party member went into negatives.

[arguskos]

Ashlyn joined us for the fight against Danovitch, she was really handy because they can't disease her. We've got the others defending the town, although I'll be taking Sir Ulric into Castle Ravenloft with us so that I can spend a night in the chapel there (gotta get into the Knight of the Raven PrC, it's so awesome).

No-one's died yet, we started at level 6 and are now level 8. If someone dies, the DMs told u to take over the part of one of the NPCs and adjust it how you need to, although you get no extra gear other than what's on their sheet, and what was on your old characters sheet (assuming the rest of the party lets you have some).

Haven't fought Strahd yet, but we've spoken with Madam Eva, defeated Danovich and cleansed the church, found Strahds diary and Danovichs diary, and the next step is to clear out the fanes.

I've read through Strahds character sheet and tactics, and unless your cleric casts Deathward on the party, they will probably go down. He's a hard mutha to take on at all, let alone when he's at full strength. I mean, who uses fell lightning bolts? That's just not fair play.

The party for us is a halfling spellthief, a dwarven fighter who's just multi-classed into paladin, a gnomish sorceror, and me, a dwarven cleric. I have a Charisma of 16, and honestly, turning is the thing that saved us in the basement of the church. I managed to make enough of the baddies down there back off that we could defeat the cause of the plague. Without that, we would have all died long before we managed to even hit him, and as it was, two party member went into negatives.

Yeaaaaah. The Blaspheme seems... sorta nutty.

Hey, good luck with the fanes. The Mountain Fane can be pretty rough, esp if The Green God is there.

Note on Strahd: if you DM mixes up his spell preparation, then you guys are screwed. Fell draining Magic Missiles, Scorching Rays, Lightning Bolts, followed by some Enervations and Cloudkills, not to mention Waves of Fatigue and the ease with which Strahd can escape to hassle you for awhile. >_< Actually, I might need to be careful too, since it is FAR too easy to kill everyone.

So, did you guys check with Madam Eva before you took out the church?

[Rei_Jin]

Yeah, she was the first stop after we secured the town centre against Zombies.

Of course, the fact that she's working with Strahd, and not against him doesn't wash too well with me, nor the fact that we were jumped on the road into town initially by the Vistani, and yet they're working for Madam Eva as well...

I expect that Madam Eva and her two sisters will die before Strahd does, and at the end of my sword no less.

One of our players actually assassinated Perriwimple as well, causing problems with the only shop in town, and the place where the Sunsword is hidden, not that the shop owner knows that.

We managed to get Madam Eva helpful, but that card turning random-ness made for a lot of hard work for us. We're going to have to dive into Castle Ravenloft itself in order to get the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and I'm packing multiple Deathward spells in fear of taking on Vampires.

Our first night in town, we actually got attacked by vampires, you know, the random encounter one BEFORE Strahd himself turning up? Yeah, we got that one. And if we'd been in town one night longer, it WOULD have been Strahd.

I'm going to be Consecrating the church and repairing it to ward against him, and hoping that it keeps us safe until we're ready to strike at him.

Expecting a TPK any day now.

[arguskos]

Yeah, she was the first stop after we secured the town centre against Zombies.

Of course, the fact that she's working with Strahd, and not against him doesn't wash too well with me, nor the fact that we were jumped on the road into town initially by the Vistani, and yet they're working for Madam Eva as well...

I expect that Madam Eva and her two sisters will die before Strahd does, and at the end of my sword no less.

One of our players actually assassinated Perriwimple as well, causing problems with the only shop in town, and the place where the Sunsword is hidden, not that the shop owner knows that.

We managed to get Madam Eva helpful, but that card turning random-ness made for a lot of hard work for us. We're going to have to dive into Castle Ravenloft itself in order to get the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and I'm packing multiple Deathward spells in fear of taking on Vampires.

Our first night in town, we actually got attacked by vampires, you know, the random encounter one BEFORE Strahd himself turning up? Yeah, we got that one. And if we'd been in town one night longer, it WOULD have been Strahd.

I'm going to be Consecrating the church and repairing it to ward against him, and hoping that it keeps us safe until we're ready to strike at him.

Expecting a TPK any day now.

Damn, with the Sunsword at Bildrath's and the Holy Symbol IN the castle, that's gonna be a pain, esp after someone killed off Perriwimple (why did they do that again?).

Also, I love the "Consecrate the church, hope to ward off Strahd, pray and plead it works" plan. Hopefully, someone thinks of that in my game.

Anyway, I'll definitely fill in more details as my group advances. Always nice to hear from someone else though!

[Fax Celestis]

Remember, though: Danovich is a mortal and is therefore sneak-attackable. If your two rogues can get the drop on him, they can set up a flanking situation and take him down hard.

The Entomber is also very low intelligence. My party killed it with judicious applications of invisibility and invisibility sphere.

This is, however, also the same party who learned that the beguiler could cast legion of sentinels, and then have other people bull-rush opponents through it to get peppered to death by 1d8+1 attacks of opportunity.

[Egiam]

I'm planning to DM Ravenloft; what level should the P.C.s start at if not 6?

[Fax Celestis]

I'm planning to DM Ravenloft; what level should the P.C.s start at if not 6?

6 is a good starting spot, actually, though if you're concerned about them failing, you could start them at 7.

[Project_Mayhem]

sort of on topic, how the heck does the module end. I think they left the conclusion out.

[Matthew]

Nice to read a journal about Expedition to Castle Ravenloft; I am looking forward to the next installment.

[Shishnarfne]

Expecting a TPK any day now.

Ahh... The memories...

I've run Ravenloft (DM) several times, and I believe that this is about where players should be thinking in the module. Of course, the goal of the DM is to have them worry about this, but manage to just barely avoid it.

Strahd is a mean, mean, mean vampire. The biggest reason that the players are usually able to defeat him in the end is that, when he first meets them, his goal is not to kill them.

Silvered weapons do make a lot of fights easier. Also, the werewolves are vulnerable to sneak attack. About half of the foes in the module (perhaps more) aren't. These foes are usually also immune to mind-affecting. I'd recommend, in place of the truedeath crystal, using the alternate class feature for Lightbringer rogues listed in the EtCR book, which gives back some sneak attack against flanked Crit-immune foes.
I think that the first group that I ran it for actually prefered facing the wolves... They weren't undead.

This looks like fun, and I'll be looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

[Thurbane]

Our old group played the 1e Castle Ravenloft many times. TPK every time!

...I've got the 3.5 hardcover version, looking forward to running it one day myself.

[Rei_Jin]

Damn, with the Sunsword at Bildrath's and the Holy Symbol IN the castle, that's gonna be a pain, esp after someone killed off Perriwimple (why did they do that again?)

Well, that would be because the PC went into the shop after having nearly died fighting the zombies outside, to find a guy standing behind the counter, trying to sell him goods.

He got upset that the guy wasn't trying to defend the town, and then has the hide to try and sell goods at double the standard price, without even saying thank you for the work of the heroes. So he attacks the shopkeeper. Shopkeeper calls down Perriwhimple, who grapples the PC and ties him up, throwing him into the basement.

During the night, the PC unties himself (with escape artist), and Coup De Graces Perriwhimple in his sleep with a sneak attack, as pay back.

Of course, the rest of us don't know this IC, so when we find out, there are going to be... issues... to be resolved.

[arguskos]

Remember, though: Danovich is a mortal and is therefore sneak-attackable. If your two rogues can get the drop on him, they can set up a flanking situation and take him down hard.

The Entomber is also very low intelligence. My party killed it with judicious applications of invisibility and invisibility sphere.

This is, however, also the same party who learned that the beguiler could cast legion of sentinels, and then have other people bull-rush opponents through it to get peppered to death by 1d8+1 attacks of opportunity.

That.... is very true. Danovich though has a number of zombies under his command, along with a deathlock (if memory serves, I'm away from the book). It is definitely a damn hard fight. I hope the rogue/ninja capitalize on the sneak attack/sudden strike opportunities, otherwise, this fight will be lethally tough.

Nice to read a journal about Expedition to Castle Ravenloft; I am looking forward to the next installment.

Yay, Matthew approves!! This makes me most happy. I am pretty sorry my writing fails so hard, but I'm glad folks are liking it. I'll put up my next installment whenever we HAVE it (might not be this week though, since a player isn't going to be available(and we only have 4 players).

sort of on topic, how the heck does the module end. I think they left the conclusion out.

Indeed they did. I'm not really sure how it ends, since the conclusion is indeed missing. I can guess well enough though, and you can probably figure it out too. If Strahd wins, then well, he will continue on doing whatever it is he does. If the players win, they're heroes blahblahblah.

Well, that would be because the PC went into the shop after having nearly died fighting the zombies outside, to find a guy standing behind the counter, trying to sell him goods.

He got upset that the guy wasn't trying to defend the town, and then has the hide to try and sell goods at double the standard price, without even saying thank you for the work of the heroes. So he attacks the shopkeeper. Shopkeeper calls down Perriwhimple, who grapples the PC and ties him up, throwing him into the basement.

During the night, the PC unties himself (with escape artist), and Coup De Graces Perriwhimple in his sleep with a sneak attack, as pay back.

Of course, the rest of us don't know this IC, so when we find out, there are going to be... issues... to be resolved.

Out of curiosity.... how does the party not realize that one player was tied up and tossed into a basement?

[Rei_Jin]

We knew he was tied up, because we helped him get caught. The sorceror in the party cast Tashas Hideous Laughter on him so that he couldn't run away when Perriwhimple went to catch him. We heard the sounds of fighting and went to investigate, leading to us finding Perriwhimple chasing the rogue and the shop owner screaming about how he was attacked.

When he was tied up, the shopkeeper told us he'd let him out in the morning.

We got up the next morning, and the rogue was there. We didn't ask any questions, because we didn't think we needed to.

Of course, that rogue hasn't gone back into the shop since, and the shopkeeper isn't willing to talk to anyone in our party but me because I managed to smooth things over with him (Diplomacy check). He also hasn't worked out that it was the rogue that killed Perriwhimple, but the DM has already told us that we're going to have to face Perriwhimple as a bad guy some time in the adventure.

[arguskos]

Ah, I understand. I thought that the rogue was just the sort of guy who vanishes at random, and no one asks where he went and what he does.

Also... resurrected Perriwimple? That's.... odd. Have fun with that there warrior 9.

[Rei_Jin]

Oh no, probably Vampire Perriwhimple instead. Much nastier

[Project_Mayhem]

Indeed they did. I'm not really sure how it ends, since the conclusion is indeed missing. I can guess well enough though, and you can probably figure it out too. If Strahd wins, then well, he will continue on doing whatever it is he does. If the players win, they're heroes blahblahblah.

slow-clap

Seriously, I'm sure I heard something about how the final showdown happened, with plot twists and all.

Dunno, might have been someones homebrew.



Side note - I wasn't being hostile or pissed off - theres no sarcastically amused smiley

[arguskos]

slow-clap

Seriously, I'm sure I heard something about how the final showdown happened, with plot twists and all.

Dunno, might have been someones homebrew.



Side note - I wasn't being hostile or pissed off - theres no sarcastically amused smiley

Yeah, I know. The lack of a sarcastic amused smiley is one that must be rectified.

Also, I didn't know there was a conclusion printed for that book. If there was one, and you manage to discover it, PLEASE lemme know! I'd be greatly interested to hear about it!

[Matthew]

The original ending for I6 Ravenloft was horribly contrived, the game master basically read out the following to the players (or at least so I am told, I don't own the module myself):

Spoiler

Show

Thick clouds are overhead. Through the chilly morning mists the lands of Barovia are visible far below. There is a peacefulness here. Rest has come to the valley for the first time anyone can remember. There is sleep without fear.

A light flashes brilliantly behind you. Wheeling around, you see a shining stately man in white armor and cape. His rugged features show great strength of will, yet the forcefulness of his presence is tempered by his clam, sad eyes. His features are those of Strahd, yet subtly different.

His voice is calm and peaceful. "My name is Sergei von Zarovich." He turns to Ireena. "Tatyana, the time is at hand to rest. Come, my love and wife." He stretches forth his hand.

Ireena Kolyana's questioning eyes suddenly open with recognition and knowledge. Forgotten memories rush upon her. "Sergei!" she cries, springing to him with the grace of a doe. They embrace.

Ireena turns to you. "I am Ireena Kolyana, but in my past I was Sergei's beloved Tatyana. Through these many centuries we have played out the tragedy of our lives. Now, with our deepest gratitude to you, that tragedy is over. It is time for joy to begin again."

Shimmering light surrounds Ireena and Sergei. Hand in hand, they walk east toward the edge of the overlook. Their feet do not touch the ground, they tread a path beyond this mortal world. Their invisible road takes them beyond the eastern precipice, their glow illuminating and thinning the clouds above Barovia. The clouds suddenly break open, letting glorious shafts of sunlight flood through. In the valley below, the strange fog dissolves, loosing its power. Barovia is free once more.

[Fax Celestis]

/me reads Matthew's post.

lolwut

[arguskos]

/me reads Matthew's post.

lolwut

Pretty much this. I was expecting that quote to contain something like the following: "The players leave Barovia as heroes, having killed the evil Strahd once and for all....... or have they?" However, what it ACTUALLY said is far worse.

[Project_Mayhem]

H'OK, thats it, i'm going with their heros blahblahblah.

[Matthew]

Indeedy. Now perhaps you have some inkling of why no ending was provided.

An open ended approach is also what they went with for the Ravenloft boxed set (which I do own), though House of Strahd may have taken a particular route (we actually mutinied whilst playing that one, so never finished it; embarassing, but true).

I look forward to reading what you come up with; for what its worth, I thought the end of Bram Stoker's Dracula was pretty anticlimatic (film version, I have never read the book), but I cannot really think of a better ending off hand either.

[Rei_Jin]

For us, whilst I'm a player in the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft at the moment, when we complete that module I'll be DMing. So I'll be giving the current DM some things I'd like him to work into the end of the module, including the collapse of Castle Ravenloft as a portal opens to the Astral plane, upon the death of Strahd.

Through the portal will come a colossal floating island, built on the corpse of a dead god.