Dungeons & Dragons - The Dice, Camera, Action Curse of Strahd Index

Click Here to go to the Season 2 Index.

The Dice, Camera, Action team has off this week. I figured I would take this opportunity to make a guide to Dice, Camera, Action. This page will give you basic information on the Curse of Strahd series, the characters, and each episode. I'll update this each week until the campaign is complete.

I went through my summaries and changed the links from Twitch to youtube. Twitch archived videos vanish after about a month, I guess. Changing all of the timestamps will be a long term project. For now, most of the old ones are broken.

Backstories: You can see what we know about the backstories of the heroes so far.
Reddit: Check out Dice, Camera, Action on Reddit here.
Stats: The notoriously low dice rolls of the Waffle Crew are now being tracked.

What is Dice, Camera, Action?

The Strahd Puppet

This is a show where Chris Perkins runs a game of Dungeons & Dragons. The adventure he is running is the one he wrote - Curse of Strahd. It's about how the heroes are trapped in the gothic realm of Barovia. The bad guy is Strahd von Zarovich, who is a vampire and a very famous character from Dungeons & Dragons history.

Chris Perkins: He has been in the D&D business for decades. He's written classic adventures and has risen to become known as the greatest dungeon master in the world. He runs the extremely popular Acquisitions, Inc. games which are held in jam-packed theaters at PAX conventions that occur every 6 months or so.

The Heroes

You can read their backstories right here.

Diath: He is a tomb-raiding rogue. Here is his character sheet.

• He was given a key ring from a mysterious person long ago. He eventually learned that the keys unlock the Tome of Strahd.
• On the road, he came upon a body hanging from the gallows. The corpse looked exactly like him.
• Also known as "Diath, Windmill's Bane" because of his performance in the battle at the Old Bonegrinder.
• He was arrested for killing a guard in Vallaki. They hung him and he died.
• Diath became a disembodied spirit and inhabited Paultin's body for a time.
• While he possessed an undead golem lady, he gave a speech and convinced the Abbot to resurrect.. himself.
• He has been referred to as "The Hanged Man" by creepy people on at least one occasion.
• Strix tried to heal him with a potion she took from the hags, but it was a potion of youth. Diath de-aged and is currently 18 years old.
• Diath made a dark pact with Zhudun the Corpse Star. Diath now looks like a ghoul and he has the power to cast resurrection one time. He needs a diamond worth 1,000 gp to cast the spell. He made this pact to bring Strix back to life, but she was raised by other means. 
• He killed a little girl named Arabelle. She cursed him as she died.
• He ate part of the corpse of the group friend, Falkon.
• Diath drank the ashes of Saint Markovia and cured himself. He went back to being a spry 18 year old lad.

Evelyn: She is a paladin of Lathander, who is also known as The Morninglord. Her character sheet is here.

• She has a pet mouse named Juniper.
• In episode 1, Strahd appeared in a campfire and gave her a long, meaningful stare.
• She has an axe called Lightfall. It is double-bladed, has the symbol of Lathander on it and it is gold-colored. She sometimes casts magic weapon on it.
• Evelyn has a crush on Paultin.
• Madame Eva told her that she is the key to everything that is happening.
• The vistani loaned her a horse. She named it Valentina. Valentina died and Evelyn ended up with an undead horse named Mourning Glory.
• She contracted lycanthropy and was a werewolf.
• She sometimes didn't pay attention in paladin school because she was drawing horses.
• She once hugged Strix into consciousness.
• She has a second special axe called "Treebane." She pulled it out of the Gulthias Tree.
• She once turned into a werewolf and the group thought she ate a baby.
• She summons Mourning Glory with a lovely Disney-esque wordless tune. 
• She had a teacher who wore the Icon of Ravenkind long ago. 
• The spirit of Saint Markovia eventually enchanted Lightfall. It gained the powers of a mace of disruption.

Paultin: He is a bard who is working on a drinking problem. His character sheet is here.

• He plays the lute and the bagpipes.
• Paultin has a magic item: Eyes of charming. He can charm people with them.
• Paultin agreed to go look at a windmill with Evelyn once the adventure is over. I think it's a date in Evelyn's mind.
• He has the power to give people a vistani curse.
• He knows that Van Richten killed his parents. He doesn't know why.
• He was replaced with a simulacrum for a short time.
• Paultin's shadow has been seen moving in impossible ways. His shadow actually went after Van Richten when everyone was sleeping, but Diath stopped it. His shadow attacked Dee.
• Escher, Strahd's vampire minion, really, really, really likes Paultin.
• Paultin agreed to be Strahd's ally. His job is to spy on the party.
• He may have had an incident with Dee at Van Richten's Tower. 
• He held hands with Diath on at least one occasion.  
• Paultin can summon a Waffle dome (Leomund's Tiny Hut) so that the group can safely rest and vomit. 
• Wields the Sunsword .

Strix: A tiefling spellcaster from a strange planar city. Her character sheet is here.

• She has a pet cranium rat named Stinky.
• She is from Sigil, a city at the center of the multiverse.
• Her home is apparently a hovel.
• She carries snacks covered in pocket lint.
• She was a member of The Dustmen faction.
• She has an aunt, a brother and three cousins.
• Her brother is Izek Strazni, an evildoer with a demon arm.
• She accidentally killed Ireena, who she was trying to save from Strahd's clutches.
• A vampire killed Strix in the Amber Temple. Strix wandered the mists of Ravenloft with a boy named Jesper until Van Richten brought her back to life.
• She ate two live snails.  
• Strix has somewhat successfully impersonated Strahd and Rahadin.
• Strix has given Diath two potions that have transformed him. One potion made him 18 years old, the other cured him of being a ghoul.
• Is the one who must try to suck Strahd into the effigy.

Why Are they Called the Waffle Crew?

It happened on episode 1. They were questing for waffles when they got sucked into Barovia. The group started this campaign at 3rd level. They'd been adventuring together for a while, but we don't know anything about those early adventures.

Words and Phrases

These are the terms that amuse me the most on this show:

• Butthander: This is the group's pet name for the god Lathander. Strix coined it when she theorized that Lathander wasn't helping them because he was busy picking his butt.
• Strix's horse was once described as a "moth-eaten heap of sadness."
• Burgermaster: Ruler of a settlement. Also known as a Burgomaster.
• Corpse Burrito: When you wrap up a dead body in a blanket and carry it around for days as it rots.
• Light-Touched Folk: Diath referred to the group as this when he gave his speech to the Abbot.
• 25 Units of Well-Being: A very positive way of saying 25 hit points.
• Ass Smear: A delicious pun and the nickname of Kasimir, an NPC that the group doesn't trust.
• Wall of Meat: Someone who has a lot of units of well-being. 
• Doodly-Doo: A major artifact that is key to defeating Strahd. Also known as The Icon of Ravenkind.

Episode Guide

Note: I put an "*" next to the episodes that I think are the best/most fun to watch.

Episode 1: A band of heroes were going to get some waffles when they were sucked into the mists of Barovia, a realm ruled by the evil vampire Strahd Von Zarovich.

Episode 2: The heroes battle a vampire and meet Ireena, who Strahd is obsessed with.


Episode 3: The Waffle Crew gets a fateful Tarokka reading that determines many aspects of the adventure:

• (Diath's card) The Tome of Strahd: Bishop - They'll find it "..beyond the amber doors."
• (Evelyn's card) The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind: Abjurer - The symbol is in "a fallen house guarded by a stone dragon."
• (Strix's card) The Sunsword: Anarchist - "Wall of bones - remains of enemies long forgotten."
• (Paultin's card) Strahd's Enemy: Mists - "A vistana searching for her mentor at St. Markovia's Abbey."
• (Chris's card) Strahd: Raven - "Look to the mother's tomb - the mother of evil." Madame Eva straight tells them that the mother of evil lies under Castle Ravenloft.

Episode 4: The group has a sprawling battle with hags that live in a windmill.

Episode  5: The epic battle with the hags is concluded.

Episode 6: The group arrives in Vallaki. They meet Rictavio, who interprets Madame Eva's reading:

• Evelyn: The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind is in Argynvostholt.
• Diath: The Tome of Strahd is in The Amber Temple.
• Paultin: Ezmerelda is in St. Markovia's Abbey.
• Strix: The Sunsword is in a bone ossuary in Castle Ravenloft.

Episode  7: Diath kills a guard and is scheduled for execution.

Episode 8: The Waffle Crew tries to find a way to bring Diath back.

Episode 9: Diath's spirit possesses Paultin's body as the group explores the abbey.

* Episode 10: The group tries to convince the abbot to bring Diath back from the dead.

Episode 11: Strahd shows up to take Ireena away.

* Episode 12: The Waffle Crew fight a desperate battle against Strahd.

Episode 13: Evelyn has become a werewolf and is now a danger to her friends.

Episode 14: Strix fights for control of an evil magic staff.

Episode 15: The group has a memorable battle against an evil tree.

Episode 16: Evelyn goes on a rampage in werewolf form and may have killed a baby.

Episode 17: The group travels with a man they don't trust and encounter some demon guardians.

* Episode 18: The Waffle Crew is nearly wiped out by the Amber Temple and has one of the darkest moments of the whole campaign.

Episode 19: Paultin is imprisoned in Castle Ravenloft.

Episode 20: Strahd tries to convince Paultin to join him.

* Episode 21: Paultin tries to escape Castle Ravenloft as the group explores the Amber Temple.

Episode 22: Strix is mortally wounded in a battle with vampires.

Episode 23: To save Strix, Diath makes a dark pact with an evil entity.

Episode 24: This is a special live show held at TwitchCon 2016. The group went to Van Richten's tower and got attacked by witches. Diath had an epic battle with a broom.

Episode 25: The heroes get a big surprise and go to find a lost little girl.

Episode 26: The Waffle Crew debates killing a little girl to defeat a greater evil.

* Episode 27: Diath does the unthinkable and the group sets fire to an entire vistani camp.

Episode 28: The heroes explore Argynvostholt and discover the Icon of Ravenkind.

Episode 29: The group teams up with Mordenkainen, goes to Castle Ravenloft and battles Rahadin.

Episode 30: Diath is cured of his curse and Lightfall is enchanted by Saint Markovia.

Episode 31: The final showdown with Strahd!

Click Here to go to the Season 2 Index

Favorite Moments

Here are some of my favorite moments from the show, in no particular order:

• A kid throws rocks at Diath while he is in the stocks.
• Madame Eva has had enough of the group.
• Diath's spirit is in a flesh golem bride and he makes a speech.
• Chris loses his connection and Jared takes over DMing duties.