CajunRobinHood

The Curse of Strahd

@Mistress DizzyFeel free to go ahead and post! We can hammer out your specific inventory via message if you’d like. At the end of the day though, I really only care about magic items and currency/valuables. Everything else, I’m pretty much ok with within reason

The Curse of Strahd

The hope swells in the old man's eye as Gawzarth provides the reason for his presence, but before he can reply, the reptilian will feel a light touch on his shoulder. If Gawzarth were to turn at the touch he'd be able to see the same broud-shouldered, colorfully dressed man that had shut the tavern door, silently stepping back a polite distance.

"It seems I am the one you seek." The stranger shares a crooked smile while bowing slightly and continuing, "I am Arrigal of the Vistani, and I was contracted by this village to end their sorrows."
After Arrigal finishes his introduction, he walks toward the fire, and you can once again hear the sound of his boots on the floor and coins in his pocket. An experienced warrior such as Gawzarth would have noticed immediately that while he had easily heard the man walk to the tavern door, and from just behind him to the fire; while the man had been going from the door to just behind the barbarian, he had been absolutely silent. You intuit that either Arrigal used magic to silence his approach, or he could move absolutely silently if he wished.

Arrigal of the Vistani crouches next to the savage lizardfolk, clearly unintimidated by his beastly nature. He takes a silver flask from one of his many pockets and takes a long drink before offering it to Gawzarth.

"Have you tried Champagne du le Stomp? Exquisite and quite rare, please, have some. As I was saying, I was contracted by this village to solve the mystery of their missing children. Unfortunately for them, it is no mystery. The children were stolen by a pack of shapeshifters from a land that is both very near and also impossibly far away. While my people are capable of making the journey and guiding others as well, these villagers are underfed, overworked, and ill-equipped to undertake a rescue mission. Are you alone in answering my call, or do you travel with that tiefling? I also saw two other strangers approaching the tavern, are they with you?"

The Curse of Strahd

The sound of the slamming door cuts through the quiet of the tavern like a knife through butter, and the sight of the hulking lizardfolk sends the villagers scrambling away from the fire in fright. As the barbarian begins tending to the fire rather than attacking as they expected, the villagers relax slightly and slowly make their way back to the blazing flame he created. Each of these underfed and sleep-deprived peasants inspect Gawzarth as best as possible with their peripheral vision, and in their sidelong glances you see a mixture of fear, suspicion, grief, and hope. Are you raider, kidnapper, mercenary, or hero?

The fire crackles and pops as the firewood splits, sending a shower of sparks over those ravenously absorbing its heat. One such man gathers his muddy cloak and meager courage, and hesitantly approaches the lizardfolk, taking care to not step on the tail whipping to and fro, "Have you traveled far, friend? I can't remember the last time one of your ilk visited our lonely little village. Are you passing through, or perhaps seeking gainful employment?" As the graybeard finishes his gently probing, you detect a hint of hope at the end.

Behind the bar of this tavern is a middle-aged woman with a dark complexion, long brown hair, and wearing clothes whose colors immediately grabs your attention. While most of the tavern's occupants are dressed in dirty furs, hides, and dull canvas; the barkeep and two others in the tavern are adorned with fine purple silks, vibrant red sashes, and gleaming gold and silver jewelry. As Kealsha removes her cloak revealing her infernal features, a small glass of watery, dark purple wine is placed before her. "First one's on the house, stranger. All I ask in return is a tale from your home. It's clear from your...exotic appearance that you are not from this area, else I'd surely have heard of you. I am Lucia Salazar, and you are?"

A broad-shouldered man with greasy black hair separates from the huddle around the fire and begins walking toward the door, clearly intending to shut it against the chill of the night. His heavy, booted footfalls and the jingle of his coins can be heard even over the roaring fire. His brightly colored clothes are draped in loose folds about him, and his hat hangs askew, veiling his eyes with shadow. He stops at the doorway, hand grasping the door handle and peers out into the darkness, looking to see if any other strangers are preparing to enter the tavern before he closes the heavy wooden door.

The Curse of Strahd

No rush at all, but tomorrow I’ll be posting how the villagers react to the sudden appearance of Gawzarth

The Curse of Strahd

What kind of character or role are you interested in playing? I might be able to recommend a class and background that fits

The Curse of Strahd

Excited to have you! Any idea what kind of character you’d like to play?

The Curse of Strahd

@RandomguyI’d also be sad to see you go, though I understand not having enough time. However, it seems like the other two are ok with the speed you said of one post a week or so. I don’t know if that changes anything for you

But like @Neziulsaid if it’s mainly a question of your initial character idea being too stereotypically edgy, don’t feel like you have to have a dark character just because the setting is dark. You could always have a character that acts like a beacon of hope in the night

The Curse of Strahd

Ending a lich would probably be beyond the scope of level 3 characters, but the attack giving enough of a diversion for your character to escape would be cool by me as the GM, but I’ll leave it up to your fellow adventurers. Your character knowing the lich still exists but is too powerful to face head on yet would be a good motivation for your character becoming an adventurer to gain skill and power before seeking vengeance on the lich.

Curse of Strahd

Link to the story:
roleplayerguild.com/topics/196981-the…

The Curse of Strahd

Character Creation Info:

-use the following link to gain access to my purchased content: dndbeyond.com/campaigns/join/70883784…

-starting at level 3. You may choose between 2014 and 2025 options as you wish, though I’ll generally be keeping 2025 rules in mind if a ruling is required

-I allow just about any player options (species, subclasses, etc) from official or 3rd party sources found on DNDBeyond. I generally don’t allow homebrew outside of what I create specifically for the adventure or a PC

-Your party has been traveling together for a while now (how long is up to you) and you’ve had your share of adventures. As we begin this adventure, you’ll be answering the call to aid a village in tracking down some missing children; so some level of bravery and heroism is required

-You may use standard array, point buy, or manual rolling for your ability scores

-Your characters may start with one uncommon magic item and one rare consumable item, as well as 300 gp