Session 001 - 2024-04-23

A Good ol' Tavern Brawl

The session started with the characters in the middle of a tavern brawl, involving an inebriated human Bard swinging, and missing, its lute against Linus, a half-orc grappling both Jon and Klildar, and, well not actually, Alfbern who was indifferent to the commotion and was just sitting down finishing his drink.

The episode seemed to have started due to some tension between Jon and the half-orc, former inmates from the same prison, and supposedly involving the later's girlfriend. The innkeeper doused the flames of combat by offering free drinks, which worked like a charm, even though the tension was still palpable afterwards.

A Plea for Help

The party then was approached by a colourfully dressed figure named Arrigal, which delivered to them a letter pleading help from the party. The sender was named Kolyan Indirovich and he offered all sorts of rewards for anyone that could heal his beloved Ireena Kolyana who had been wounded and was beyond any help the locals had to offer.

The letter mentioned the vale of Barovia, a place that oddly enough no one could recognise, even though it was only a couple of days journey from the inn. Arrigal then left, but not before instructing the party on how to get to the vale.

A House in the Fog

In the morning the group followed the instructions and after a couple of days were travelling in a crude road deed in the woods. They noticed a thick fog was forming and rolling out of the trees, and after taking a bend they found an odd looking townhouse, in the middle of the road.

Standing just outside its front gate was a pair of children, Rose, a girl, and Thorn, a little boy holding a teddy bear. They told the party they went out of the house because Thorn darted out due to the howls and wails coming from "the monster in the basement", a place their parents had told them never to go into. They also mentioned a baby apparently left alone on the third floor. After learning about the baby, Jon took the lead and the party entered the house, where they progressed upwards using the main staircase. The rooms didn't have any light so Jon lighted a torched and the party gathered around him.

Creepy Details

The first two floors were nicely kept, no dust or cobwebs. The floor was pristine, as well as the wood panels on the walls, and the stained glass on the doors. Thanks to Alfbern's great sense of perception, they noticed small little creepy details present in the seemingly bucolic depictions in the wood panels.

The group also noticed a family portrait, depicting five members, the two children they met outside, their parents and the baby. However, the baby was not mentioned in the names on the portrait's frame.

Not So Quiet

The house was eerily quiet and when they reached the third floor, things were different. The whole floor had a chilly atmosphere, the drop on the temperature was quite noticeable, and all the surfaces were covered in thick dust and cobwebs. The party could not find a single footstep, which suggested that there hasn't been anyone around for a very good while.

When Jon proceeded to open some doors in an attempt to find the baby's nursery a suite of animated armour attacked the group! The fight was quick and didn't cause more than a couple of cuts and bruises, nothing to worry about. At the end of it, Alfbern noticed a secret door on a wall, leading to secret stairs that went upstairs into what seemed to be an attic.

They decided to leave it there for now, and the first room they searched was the master bedroom, where Klildar found a jewel box with very valuable items. Then, carrying on the investigation Jon found the door to the nursery, but once he opened it the specter of a nursemaid appeared and attacked the party!

A Tough Encounter

The first round of combat revealed that the adversary is a tough one, it took less damage than expected from their attacks, even completely negating Linus necrotic attack!

The creature failed to attack Jon but managed to hit Alfbern when the Druid provoked an attack of opportunity, in which halved his hit points! A lethal creature, no doubt!

Hold my Beer

The session ended after the first round, which will be resumed in two weeks time!

Party

• Alfbern, Level 1 Druid (Ziro)
• Klildar, Level 1 Paladin (Fábio)
• Jon, Level 1 Ranger (Ricardo)
• Linus, Level 1 Wizard (Daniel)

Setup

• Alchemy VTT (ambiance and videochat)
• D&D Beyond Maps (combat encounters and exploration)