Dice, Camera, Action: Episode 30 - Curse of Strahd

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Episode 30: Nail in the Coffin

Finally we get back to Dice, Camera, Action. It feels like it's been forever.

Over the break, a few things popped up that I think are worth mentioning. Anna got a custom mini of Evelyn made:

That's pretty much perfect!

Chris tweeted some photos of stuff in the Wizards of the Coast offices:

On the top shelf is a lady of pain hat! Below it is the Spelljammer monstrous compendium one, home of the giant space hamster. There are a ton of old D&D action figures.

When I was a little kid there was this really crappy store that carried these toys for cheap. I remember getting an otyugh, a chimera and warduke. Those are long gone now.

This one's full of 5e stuff. I really get a kick out of that beholder sweater. I might get one.

Jared is selling some shirts, including a shirt that looks like his shirt. I like the Hydlide one.

Holly has created a zine being sold for charity. It looks very professional and it appears to have a lot of Strix art in it.

The Party

(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander
(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue
(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard 
(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer  

Last Time: The adventurers teamed up with the legendary mage Mordenkainen, went to Strahd's castle and killed Ass Smear ("Kasimir" aka Rahadin). Diath couldn't stop himself from eating a corpse, and it looks like he's a full blown ghoul now.

They are right next to the dining room, one of my favorite encounters in the castle. Mordenkainen left the group to find the Heart of Sorrow, a magic item that powers Strahd.

Diath points out that they still need Strix's tarokka item (the sunsword) in the 'room of bones.'

After a lot of discussion, Diath gives Strix a potion of polymorph. She makes herself look like Rahadin. Then she uses prestidigitation to re-create Rahadin's aura of moaning souls. Clever!

They're going to pretend to be Rahadin's captives. They think the bone place is down in the dungeons, so down they go.

After a lot of exploring, Diath falls into a pit trap. He slides down a ramp into a cell. Evelyn is able to rescue him.

The Crypts

The group ends up in the vast crypt area, which is a pretty iconic D&D location. It is full of crypts, each of which are detailed in the book.

Evelyn is magically drawn to one - the crypt of St. Markovia. This area is on Curse of Strahd page 86, Crypt 6. Chris changes this around quite a bit from what's in the book.

I always thought it would be cool if Evelyn became a Saint. Maybe that will happen somehow. If she defeats Strahd, that's worthy of sainthood, right?

In the crypt, the group sees dust that might be the remains of St. Markovia. The group thinks that if Diath snorts it, he'll be cured. He declines. Strix quietly puts some of the ashes into a potion bottle and keeps it.

The spirit of Saint Markovia appears and blesses Evelyn's weapon, Lightfall. She calls Evelyn "Lady Marthane." Lightfall is imbued with the powers of a mace of disruption

Lightfall:

• Sheds light.
• +2d6 radiant damage to undead and fiends.
• If the undead/fiend target has 25 hit points or less, it must make a saving throw or be destroyed.

There are all these bats on the ceiling of the crypt. They freak out and start flying around.

Diath Drinks Ashes

This is a 5th edition ghoul

Strix makes a mixture of wine and the ashes of Saint Markovia. She wants Diath to drink it. Diath does! Are they crazy?

He is in intense pain and doubles over. Chris tells Diath that this is what it feels like when someone turns undead.

Diath barfs up a black substance. He churns out more of it. Evelyn thinks the evil is coming out of him. It worked! He's not a ghoul anymore. Wow.

Paultin decides to clear out the bat swarm. He drunkenly tells them to go away.. and they do.

The heroes head up some stairs. mist coalesces, and Strahd appears! Paultin says "Nice to see you again, sir."

He tells them their gods can't save them now. The group makes a hilariously lame attempt to pretend they are prisoners of 'Rahadin.'

Diath throws a dagger. Strahd turns to mist. It was an illusion. Evelyn casts zone of truth and the group interrogates Paultin. They become convinced he wasn't actually going to betray the party.

From there we had some issues with the stream. The group encountered a shadow demon and Strix got it to back off by pretending she was Rahadin.

Overall

Good show as usual! I love seeing them go into the crypts. It feels like they could spend 4 sessions in there, easy, but I don't think that will happen.

It feels like we are heading toward the conclusion. If Chris wants to start Storm King's Thunder in the new year, that means we only have a couple of sessions left, and we'll probably miss a week or two due to the holidays.

I realized we might not get to see Baba Lysaga, one of my favorite NPCs from Curse of Strahd. I love the Creeping Hut, I hope we get some kind of reference.

Don't forget, there is a special episode of Force Grey coming up on Monday. Check out my summary of their last session to get caught up to speed.