Tsar Gatto — Roleplayer Guild

The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich

Under raging storm clouds, A lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. 

The vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves about him, billowing his cape in the darkness. 

Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power and of madness. His once handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself.

Rumbling thunder pounds the castle’s spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Far below, yet not beyond his ken, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. 

Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they have come-all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them.

Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind-or perhaps a lone wolf-fills the midnight air. The master of Raven loft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.

Adventurers from a foreign land find themselves in Barovia, a mysterious realm surrounded by deadly fog and ruled by Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire and wizard.

Using a deck of tarokka cards to predict their future, a fortune-teller named Madam Eva sets them on a dark course that takes them to many corners of Barovia, culminating with a vampire hunt in Castle Ravenloft. Madam Eva's people are called the Vistani. They travel in covered wagons from world to world, luring strangers into Strahd's domain. 

Barovia is a land of ghosts, werewolves, and other fell creatures. The wilderness hides many secrets, including forgotten ruins and battlefields that tell the story of Strahd's life as a conqueror. Adventurers who explore the wilderness find the remnants of Strahd's ancient enemies, not all of them as dead as one might expect. 

For the people of Barovia, there is no escape from this harsh. land. The town of Vallaki stands ready to defend itself against the servants of Strahd, but it's far from the sanctuary it purports to be. The village of Krezk lies near the edge of Strahd's domain, its abbey now in the clutches of evil, misguided creatures. 

Of all the settlements in Strahd's domain, the village of Barovia is by far the most oppressed. Many of its shops are closed, and the locals have succumbed to despair. It is well known. that Strahd desires the burgomasters’s adopted daughter, Ireena Kolyana. The villagers neither protector nor harm her, lest they incur the vampire’s wrath. Few know that Ireeria bears an uncanny resemblance to Tatyana, Strahd’s dead beloved.

The village of Barovia cowers in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, Strahd's home and fortress. The castle stands atop a great spire of rock, invincible and ever watchful. Every night, thousands of bats fly out of the castle to feed. It is said that Strahd sometimes flies with them. Barovia will never be safe until the evil in his castle is destroyed.

Setting & Themes

This information is intended to help flesh out the setting and give something to assist when writing posts. Of course, most of this information will not be known by the characters (though they may learn of it during the course of the adventure), but it is rather presented now to assist us. 

Our Characters & Beginnings

So depending on the ideas you all have, my main intention for a shared starting point was this: 
A mercenary company/adventuring group of sorts, formed for one specific purpose - dealing with some rather savage Werewolves that have been plaguing the sword coast.
"Werewolves in the mist!" You've heard these dreaded words spoken again and again by farmers, merchants, and adventurers alike. Rumours and dark tales have spread throughout the land. The hamlets to the east of Daggerford have fallen prey to a pack of werewolves that spills out of the Misty Forest on nights of the full moon, cloaked in crawling mist that seems to follow them wherever they go. The beasts spread death and mayhem, slaughtering adults and stealing children before retreating back into the woods. Others have tried to combat the werewolf menace, with little success. 

Bankrolled by a local noble, Duchess Morwen, our group is provided with a few provisions that others quite likely will not have: A spell scroll of remove curse and a silvered weapon (or 20 pieces of ammunition) each in preparation of battling the werewolves.  Origins of those who join can be either one of the ‘traditional’ D&D factions:

The Harpers. The Harpers is a network of spellcasters and spies who advocate equality and who covertly oppose the abuse of power. The organization's longevity is largely due to its decentralized, grassroots, secretive nature, and the autonomy of its members. The Harpers have small cells and lone operatives throughout the Forgotten Realms. They share information with one another from time to time as needs warrant. The Harpers' ideology is noble, and its members pride themselves on their ingenuity and incorruptibility.

The Order of the Gauntlet. Founded by paladins and clerics of Helm, Torm, and Tyr, the order is a dedicated group of like-minded individuals driven by religious zeal or a finely honed sense of justice and honour.  The order is ready to lash out the moment evil acts, and not a moment before. The order strikes hard and fast, without waiting for the blessings of temples or the permission of rulers. The order believes that evil must be smashed, or it will swiftly overcome all.

The Emerald Enclave. This widespread group of wilderness survivalists-preserves the natural order while rooting out unnatural threats. Druids, rangers, and barbarians make up most of its membership.
Branches of the organization can be found wherever untamed wilderness exists. Members of the Emerald Enclave know how to survive, and more important, they want to help others do the same. They aren't opposed to civilization or progress, but they strive to prevent civilization and the wilderness from destroying one another.

The Lords' Alliance. The Lords' Alliance is a coalition of political powers concerned with their mutual security and prosperity. Heading the coalition are rulers in the North and along the Sword Coast. Although alliance members have pledged to join forces against common threats, every lord in it places the fate and fortune of his or her settlement above all others. Agents of the alliance are chosen primarily for their loyalty, and are trained in observation, stealth, innuendo, and combat. Backed by the wealthy, they carry well-made equipment (often disguised to appear common). Alliance operatives are often glory hounds.

The Zhentarim. The Zhentarim is an unscrupulous shadow network that seeks to expand its influence throughout the Forgotten Realms. The public face of the Black Network appears relatively benign. It offers the best and cheapest goods and services, both legal and illicit, hoping to undercut its competitors. Members of the Zhentarim think of themselves as members of an extended family and rely on it for resources and security. At the same time, members are granted the autonomy to increase their own wealth and influence. As a whole, the Zhentarim promises "the best for the best," although in truth the organization is more interested in spreading its own propaganda and influence than investing in the improvement of its members.

If you seek more detail or have questions, do ask.

Of course you do not have to be a part of one of those factions. You can be an independent, invited to join the group, or anything else you can think of really. Also feel free to take up leadership within the group should you be up to the task, otherwise this’ll likely remain the NPC Duchess Morwen or someone similar. One of our first group discussions can be regarding the name and nature of this group. 

I would prefer that the above starting point is used for cohesion, however, for those who have something else in mind and would prefer to tread a solo path, your introduction will be:

The woods are deathly silent this night and the air grows chill. Your fire sputters as a low mist gathers around the edges of your camp, growing slowly closer as the night wears on. By morning, the cursed fog still hangs thick in the air, turning the trees around you into little more than grey ghosts. Suddenly you notice these are not the same trees that surrounded you the night before.
You are somehow now in the Land of Barovia. 

Though more clueless and less focused than the other start, this will allow for more freedom should this be the path you must walk. Characters with this kind of start will likely face a higher level of scrutiny. 

Character ‘class’ & Magic.

Should you wish to identify your character with any of the traditional D&D classes, please feel free. That being said I’m not really using any fixed system in regards to character creation. As in my Int Check I want to clarify that I’m not looking for overpowered or ‘super’ characters in any sense. Of course, you’re heroes and heroines, and lie above the average commoner by quite a bit, however I’d the majority of any very powerful abilities should come from, not before, our adventure. For example, traditionally, strong fighters are not the smartest, powerful mages are weak and sickly, archers aren’t too durable – you get the picture, balance. If you’re real good at something, I expect you to also have some weaknesses to round things out. And of course there can be exceptions to rule, but it’s gotta be good. 

In regards to magic, due to the absence of any specific rules I’ll be leaning towards a lower magic theme. That being said, it still exists and is useable for any character who is so inclined. All I mean is we’re thinking less flashy and frequent use of magic, using it more as a powerful and sometimes unpredictable thing – at least in regard to Arcane spellcasters. Should you want to walk this path and have any further questions let me know. Arcane magic would be exhausting and very difficult to harness – I’m thinking at this stage the rule of thumb would be law of equivalent exchange. I.e. it takes about the same energy and effort to do with magic, what you would physically do. I.e. lifting paper isn’t much of a strain. Lifting two people is. Creating fire is significantly more difficult than manipulating it. Etc.  This will hopefully help keep things in check and in balance. This should also help to emulate a similar theme with magic users in D&D, that spellcasters can very quickly can use up their spells and become exhausted if they do not exercise restraint and save their magic for when it is truly needed. Any thoughts, concerns or ideas about this let me know. 

Divine magic would be slightly different, in that it comes from a Divine being so is less unpredictable and the energy provided can sometimes come from your deity. But I think generally the same kind of rule of thumb will apply in regards to how much ‘energy’ is used (for example healing a wound would be very exhausting to do alone, unless you use something to assist. This could be your god to a limited extent or some kind of item of power.)
Of course each deity has their own set of rules and beliefs for their followers to abide by, and should you stray too far from the path – bye bye powers. Hopefully divine magic will work very well in this setting. 

[centre]
[b]Name(s):[/b]
What do they call you? 
(Image Here if desired. Badass quote under image if desired)

[b]Age:[/b]
How old be you?

[b]Gender:[/b]
(M, F, ?)  

[b]Race:[/b]
(What kind of creature be you? Remember that Barovia is only really used to those who look ‘normal’, whatever that is). 

[b]Appearance:[/b]
(Paint me a word picture. Think about what others would notice and possibly think about their appearance) 

[b]Personality:[/b]
A brief summary of the characters personality and how they generally act. This will be quickly shown in our posts, however always good to summarise before hand so we can get a good feel for the character. 

[b]Class/Skills[/b]
(Feel free to use D&D classes if you’re familiar. Otherwise a brief description of how your character likes to get shit done. Class is the primary definition of what your character can do, It’s more than a profession; it's your character's calling. In more simplistic terms, do they stab at evil with swords or spears? Shoot at evil with a bow or blowpipe? Punch at evil with their fists? Anything they’re real good at. You get the picture. 
Please also ensure that you include any limitations or weakness to your abilities to help round things out. Terrified of fire? Water? Vampires? (Probably going to have a bad time…) 

[b]Equipment:[/b] 
(Weapons, Armor, general adventuring supplies and gear. What kinda shizz do you have upon your person? Try and think about your origins and starting point. A member of an adventuring group hunting werewolves will generally be a lot more prepared than say an individual drawn into Barovia by nothing more than the mists as they were on their way to Grannies for tea.) 

[b]History:[/b] 
(Alright, pretty standard. What got you to here? I don’t need a full accounting of life from birth until now, but certainly a summary of the significant bits. What made you become what you are? What drives you? Did you mean to end up here or not? If you want to keep something hidden from other characters for plot reasons, don’t include it, but do then let me know and we can discuss that. 

[/centre]

Potential party ‘roles’

The idea behind this section is to very lightly nudge you into thinking about filling one of these ‘slots’ with your character. Of course you do not have to, but it would certainly help overall if these abilities were all met for our adventure: 

The Fighter.
Be it with blades, bows, billhooks or some other kind of weaponry, the fighter’s role is fairly obvious. Someone who can protect the weak and innocent from the many threats of the land. In our story conflict will, I assume, be a fairly common theme. Those who cannot protect themselves will need someone who can, otherwise they will likely fall to the numerous minions of Strahd. 

The Healer. 
Be it with the grace of their god or some other ability, the healer seeks to un-do the damage caused by the minions of evil. In our world, where damage is real and owie, healers will likely be very popular. It might even stand to reason that at some point our group will need the ability to raise the dead. Whilst this would likely not be within anyone’s starting abilities, it’s conceivable that as the adventure progresses we’ll look to how this can be added (for example a cleric becoming more powerful). 

The Arcane Brain. 
Be they a magic user or not, the arcane brain is at least very knowledgeable when it comes to magic. A wizard, a scholar or something else, this role will help greatly when it comes to staying alive in the land of Barovia. Someone who can identify magical items and effects will help the group stay clued in and alive.

If your character idea does not fill any of those slots, fear not. Please continue with what you’ve got and we’ll take a look at the end party and figure things out. 

Start

Our first post will depend primarily on the numbers and chosen origins of our group. But should we have all members of our little band, we will begin in the process of searching for the wolves. In a nutshell fog would creep in and pretty much make you very lost. You would find a rough dirt road leading through a heavily wooded area obscured by fog. With no other landmarks (and no known roads in the Misty Forest) you do the only thing you can and follow it. After several hours of trudging along you’d come to a big ol gate which creepily opens and we’ll pretty much go from there in terms of whatever you want to do. Depending on preference we can use this opportunity for all characters to meet, should there be anyone else lost in the mist. Very quickly you will be presented with some information and a choice – continue further into Barovia or try to leave it (spoiler, bad idea – but the characters don’t specifically know that yet). 

Of course should people prefer a more explosive start, we could always elect to begin in the middle of a fight with said Warewolves and then get to Barovia. We can vote or something. Slow buildup or boomgo.

The Lands of Barovia

The idyllic valley nestled in the Balinok Mountains was a slice of heaven to those who knew of its existence before Strahd's arrival. The serenity of the place was forever shattered when Strahd led a bloody crusade against the enemies of his family that ended here with the slaughter of hundreds. Struck by the scenic beauty of his most recent conquest and eager to escape the shadow of his father's legacy, Strahd made the valley his home and named it Barovia after the late King Barov, his father. The land now called Barovia is no longer part of the world that Strahd once tried to conquer. It now exists within a demiplane formed by Strahd's consciousness and surrounded by a deadly fog. No creature can leave without Strahd's permission, and those that try become lost in the mist.

The Vistani people alone seem to be able to come and go as they please, claiming to possess potions that allow them to leave Strahd's domain which they are willing to sell them for a hefty price. 
Native Barovians have been terrorized for centuries by the one they call "the devil Strahd." Only a handful of them have the will to oppose him. Barovians congregate in the valley's three main settlements-the villages of Barovia and Krezk and the town of Vallaki, for fear of falling prey to wolves and other beasts that prowl the woods. Among these people are the Keepers of the Feather, a secret society of wereravens. Not powerful enough to defeat Strahd on their own, the Keepers readily assist adventurers who find themselves drawn into Strahd's domain.

Lay of the Land

Rolling thunderclouds cast a grey pall over the land of Barovia. A deathly stillness hangs over the dark woods, which are patrolled constantly by Strahd's wolves and other servitors. The evergreen trees of the Svalich Woods climb the sides of the mountains that enclose the valley. The largest of these peaks is Mount Baratok, with its snow-covered cap and rugged slopes. Baratok's slightly smaller twin, Mount Ghakis, is mostly bald with tufts of trees here and there. Between these two mountains stands Lake Zarovich, which is fed by streams of ice-cold water pouring down the face of Mount Baratok. On the south side of the lake rests the town of Vallaki, enclosed by a palisade. West of the two mountains, atop a hill, stands the Abbey of Saint Markovia, around which the Barovians built a walled village named Krezk. Between Vallaki and Krezk lie the ruins of Argynvostholt, the fallen bastion of a knightly order called the Order of the Silver Dragon, wiped out by Strahd and his army. East of the mountains lies the village of Barovia, shrouded in mist and bereft of walls and defences. The dark silhouette of Castle Ravenloft looks down on this village from its perch atop a 1,000-foot-high column of rock known as the Pillarstone of Ravenloft.

Mists of Ravenloft

A deadly fog surrounds the land of Barovia and engulfs any creature that tries to leave. Even flying creatures are subject to the fog's effects. A creature that finds itself wandering the fog seem to become exhausted far faster than normal. They seem to eventually always find their way back to Barovia regardless of which direction of travel they take. Mystical. 

Sunlight in Barovia

By the will of the Dark Powers, the sun never fully shines in the lands of Barovia. Even during the day, the sky is dimmed by fog or storm clouds, or the light is strangely muted. Fortunate for Vampire types, not so much anyone else. 

Barovians

After his armies occupied the valley and slew its inhabitants, Strahd repopulated the area with human subjects drawn from his other conquered lands. As a result, Barovians have a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. Barovians are deeply invested in their homes and their traditions. They are wary of strange peoples and customs. The way Barovians deal with strangers can be unsettling to those newcomers. 

Barovians have a tendency to stare openly, in silence, thereby expressing their disapproval of anything that isn't familiar to them. Barovians aren't talkative with strangers, to the extent of being pointedly rude, Most Barovians have violent tempers that boil up through their customary silence when they are provoked. They -also have a social cohesiveness (thrust upon them by their weird circumstances) that can make them act together against outsiders if a Barovian is mistreated. Barovians were a happy people once, but their history and current conditions aren't pleasant. If one manages to win the trust of a Barovian, one has a friend for life and a stalwart ally.

Barovian children aren't happy children. They are raised in a culture of fear and told time and again not to wander too far from their homes or enter the woods. They experience little hope or joy, and they are taught to fear the devil Strahd above all.

Barovian adults eke out modest livings. With no new wealth pouring into the valley, they trade in old coins that bear the profile of their dark lord, Strahd, as he looked when he was alive. They hide their precious baubles in their houses and dress plainly outdoors, so as not to attract the attention of Strahd or his spies. Barovians live within a closed ecosystem. Every Barovian adult is expected to learn a trade or serve a function. Barovians stitch their own clothing, craft their own furniture, grow their own food, and make their own wine. With fewer than three thousand people living in the entire valley, finding the perfect mate isn't easy, so Barovians have learned to settle for what they can get.

Vistani

The Vistani (singular: Vistana) are wanderers who live outside civilization, traveling about in horse-drawn, barrel- topped wagons called Vardos, which they build themselves. Compared to Barovians, they are flamboyant. Vistani dress in bright clothes, laugh often, arid drink heartily. As much as they feel at home in Strahd's dreary land, they know they can leave it whenever they please and aren't damned to spend eternity there. Vistani are silversmiths, coppersmiths, haberdashers, cooks, weavers, musicians, entertainers, storytellers, toolmakers, and horse traders. They also earn money by telling fortunes and selling information. They spend whatever they earn to support a lavish lifestyle, display their wealth openly as a sign of prosperity, and share their good fortune with family and friends.

Each family or clan of Vistani is its own little gerontocracy, with the oldest member ruling the roost. This Elder carries the bulk of the responsibility for enforcing traditions, settling disputes, setting the course for the group's travels, and preserving the Vistani way of life. Vistani elders make all the important decisions, but whether by choice or because of their age, tend to speak in cryptic, flowing riddles.

Vistani families and clans are closely knit. They resolve disagreements through contests that end with reconciliatory singing, dancing, and storytelling. Although they can seem lazy and irresponsible to outsiders, the Vistani are serious people, quick to act when their lives or traditions are threatened. They are merciless when they believe they must be. Vistani who knowingly bring harm or misfortune to others of their kind are banished- the worst punishment a Vistana can imagine, even worse than death.

All the usual RP & Guild rules you’d expect apply. I’m not going to list them.  If you have any rule related questions though, do feel free to ask. 

If you have any questions regarding anything please do ask. I can also provide more information regarding the setting or your starting options should anyone desire. 

Post frequency, I’d like to aim for a minimum of weekly, but we’ll see how everything goes. I do intend this however to run the full course, and hopefully you’ll want to as well. 

Disclaimer: I intend to take control of those who disappear and make them my little NPC plot playthings. Refunds will be on a case by case basis. Joking aside, all I require is communication, life and things - otherwise see above.
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