Alright, I may be logging this for my own sake (to keep the memories), but who know, maybe someone gets something out of this.
A pokémon themed DnD oneshot recap
Context: the idea was that there was this new technology that basically allowed trainers to become DnD druids and wildshift into pokémon.
Get my charactersheet for this one-shot.
The character was a Red archetype (as in the character Red from pokemon) with a Charmeleon and Nidorina shift.
Decide my name is Rouge (red in french) and I am the Stoic anxious heroine. Basically, I close down when I am anxious and people assume that I am stoic and dangerous (which explained my enormous intimidation stat).
Me and my team are put into our first battle. Our opponents: all fighting types.
Being the "red archetype" I try to make the smartest decisions and thus chose Nidorina as she has resistance against fighting types.
Battle starts
Some good back and forth hits, nothing mind blowing.
Our Koffing (low on HP) does self-destruct to take down two enemies, forgets that our Warturtle is also in it's area.
Seeing two teammates down, I sweat bullets, accidently intimidating the Machomp in front of me.
He runs off, allowing me to attack him from behind
My other teammate faints.
All of a sudden it is me against two other pokemon. Somehow I win. I am crouwnd MVP by my team.
Team rocket jumps in and steals the trophy, we give chase, ending up in Cinnabar Island (post gen 1).
We find a cave with a lot of team rocket ships, finding disguises, other loot and another entrance.
One person falls in trying to see what is inside.
I shift into Charmeleon and use my tail to light the way. Sadly, because of the dice gods, I fall in too.
The rest join us down the hole and we all fall onto a large Ditto, initiating another fight.
*Insert the "He's already dead meme"*
We find puzzle chamber, the koffing (and Voltorb) player is done and blows up the door.
We find a three way split, leading to a spa, a training room and the directors office. We first decide to heal up at the spa.
At the spa we come to the great conclusion that we should break some Geneva conventions.
Charmeleon, Koffin, Pidgeotto and butterfree work together to blow a mixture between poison gas, fiery smoke and sleeping powder into the team rocket training room and blow up the entrance for good messure. So they won't fight us while we get our trophy back from the director.
Sadly, we overdid it and now the whole base is about to cave in.
Good news, we can try to convince the director to evacuate with us.
No, we did not think about all the poor grunts that are definitly dying in the training room as we speak.
We run (in disguise) into the office of Geovanni, where he is still talking with Jessie, James and Meowth. And try to convince that he should come with us.
Two of our team are discovered as frauds, somehow (with my anxious intimidation factor) I remained believable and was able to join the four on an escape rope with the other that was not found.
The other two went back into the base. The pidgeotto flying trough the hole we came trough, the voltorb joining the other grunts.
Somehow I keep my disguise up in such a manner that I become a devision leader and with pure luck I get the ship going with Geovanni and the trophy in my reach. I sent the butterfree player to "watch the trophy"
The others end up together in pure luck and are able to convince the captain of their ship to sent them to the ship Geovanni resides in. They barely srape by because of my goodwill I build up.
With the three of us reunited in a rather safe place I have a mental breakdown as the others come up with a plan.
In one final daring move we open the safe with the help of the one that was "guarding it" and with my goodwill we are able to go above deck unnoticed.
I go into my Charmeleon form and use smoke screen, before the four of us make a beeline to the rescue boats and sail off into the sunset. Ending back at the tournaments where we are hailed as hero's.
According to the DM we were supposed to have a final epic boss battle with Geovanni which did not happen because we did our whole deception plan. The whole deception and chase part were all improvised by a rather new DM, which was really, REALLY impressive in my opinion.
Maybe I'm going to do something similair in the future, It was really fun.
Hello friends and beloved readers! It's Aboleth-Eye, host and recapper of the amazing Ravenloft campaign Freaks & Facades! And we're doing an In-Character Q&A! Check out the question form here!
If you've somehow missed it, I've been hosting a Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition campaign set in classic Ravenloft for all of 2023. Currently the cast is in the seductive and surreptitious realm of Dementlieu. The player characters, aka the Freaks, are an amazing group of would-be adventurers and have gone through a lot in their first dip into gothic horror adventure! And we've been sharing their exploits and misadventures on a new blog! I started the recaps on this Tumblr a while back, but there were some formatting problems that arose when Tumblr changed how bullet points work. blech...
But we've persevered, and have found a different avenue to share the group's awesome adventures on This New Separate Blog! If you haven't gotten the chance, check out the story here!
And, as the story is coming close to the end of the first arc soon, and is almost caught up to the players in-game, I wanted to do a bunch of fun things once the First Arc (False Accusations) wraps up. So, we'll be posting a bunch of fun things on there and here once the arc recaps finish in December. So We're Planning An In-Character Q&A!
If there's anything you've wanted to ask our Freaks/Player Characters (see here for their bios), or even their Players themselves, send your asks through this new Google Form, or DM us directly at either @aboleth-eye or @freaks-and-facades-ravenloft!
Questions can be put to specific Freaks Characters, about their backstories, abilities, character builds, anything!
You can also ask something of all the Freaks together!
and/or the Players and Host (aka lil' ol' me Aboleth Eye)!
Questions can be made anonymous if you wish! Just keep things PG-13 please!
There is soooo much to talk about with this campaign, and the Freaks each have a lot of thought put into their stories, motivations and relationships. Like all D&D players, we are excited to overshare about our characters and campaign!
Freaks & Facades: Session Three - The Misty Morning
Welcome back, my beloved readers and rapscallions. This is the recap of Session Three of Freaks & Facades. Our cast of beloved Freaks has had quite the night. Quite a dark, dark night indeed... Check out the past recaps collected on our Index, to learn what our party of Freaks has done to get to this point, (or find them linked at the bottom below the cut).
The Freaks’ time at the Ravens Loft Inn has come to a close, many questions left burning like the ashes of that mysterious tavern’s hearth. First impressions were made, masks held tight amongst the group of strangers. The Inn’s strange circumstances placed each of them in a bloodstained room during their stay, their futures read by a comatose Vistani seer. When night came they found a curtain of darkness and animated furniture attempt to swallow them up! Many were flung into the darkness unaware; while others struggled to hold the light. One of our Freaks discovered a new face to the Tavern’s keepers, and willingly chose the darkness! What does it all mean?
Warning: this is a horror campaign setting, so bear that in mind before reading. Possible triggers include: bones/bone manipulation, skeletal bodies, transformation body horror etc.
The Freaks are assembled. In the coming morning light they must decide to either stay together and face the unknown, or let their new situation split them apart! Let’s see if they survive this first day together in Ravenloft proper!
*starts projector*
Everyone’s sleep is of nothingness. A terrible blackness swaddling each and every one of them. They are startled awake all at once, several weakened by this unknowing descent through the Elemental Darkness! They are inside a cave, damp with the early morning Mist...
Fenri and Schrödinger each remember the Curtain of Feathers swallowing the inn! But their memories about what befell them all afterwards is unclear and foggy...
Someone notices the weapon Schrödinger has instinctively drawn and alerts the others. A dagger made from his own bones, extruding from his palm! Solange instinctively rolls away, fearing the Lamordian is actually an undead--and collides in the stomach with a stalagmite. Fenri is also a bit startled, as she is a priestess who has faced many undead in the past...
Schrödinger reveals this is his Science, his life’s work: to utilize the body’s skeletal structure beyond simply as a biological framework to build upon.
Channa has no qualms. She has used blood in her elemental magecraft in the past, why not use the body’s elements for something new? Despite their misgivings, Solange and Fenri decide to be open-minded (but keeping an eye on the lordling all the same).
Pryrrish is entirely unaware of this briefly tense situation, too focused on her Tome’s current location to care. Reassuringly, it is still beside her despite this change in scenery... She has no qualms about Schrödinger’s abilities--she isn’t one who can judge easily. She uses her swirling eyes to look about the cave.
Fenri goes outside to pray in the dawn’s gentle light! Solange steps outside as well, keeping the halfling and the rest of the party all within sight. Pryrrish, Channa and Schrödinger examine the cave they woke up in... There’s signs of an unhoused person having slept here recently. The cave is within a small plateau beside a forested country road; the trees and their autumn foliage are quite familiar to those Solange knows, so they may be in Dementlieu still. Perhaps merely a single night has passed since she was lost in the Catacombs?
The cavern’s walls are all painted in extremely old squiggles and symbols, depicting tides of Mist, the jagged mountains between and shadowy wolves skulking the woods.... At the center of the ceiling, between the stalactites, is a vaguely prehistoric image of a gray figure dressed in robes. Holding a shield and a sprig of flowers...
Pryrrish peeks into her Tome, revealing this must be a figure of Ezra, the Guardian in the Mists, the unknown protector goddess of this realm... A god unknown to all but Solange and Schrödinger (but neither are religious for reasons of fashion and rationality).
Channa discovers there’s an ancient set of stairs carved into the back, going up to the top of the plateau... But Schrödinger begins to talk about witnessing the Matron and Maiden of the Inn revealing themselves as horrible wraiths; and the group is distracted from further investigation by this news...
Fenri gathers her daily reservoir of divine magic, but Pelor is still so far away in her heart. The Sun above is not the shining hope of the Dawn Father, but an eerie ball of sustaining light and warmth that makes the priestess feel nothing. Solange watches the priestess’s devotions, bemused.
Schrödinger, after learning of this place’s connection to the Guardian in the Mists, recalls the Mists that swallowed him in the alleys of Ludendorf. He goes around asking everyone if they also encountered banks of misty clouds. In truth, they all affirm his suspicions--they were brought together by this unknown force of Mist!
Fenri actively tells of her fiery experience in her homeland, and everyone is quite shocked at how calm and sunny the halfling is about their traumatic experience! Channa is especially touched, but she hides her emotions from being so open.
Fenri tells Schrödinger she prayed about how to handle his Science, and she’s concluded he’s not a bad person. She gives him a hug--awkward because he’s nearly three times her size, as well as it’s exceedingly intimate for a Lamordian to be hugged!
The group hears a wagon approach, and Solange replaces her disguising veil. It’s a halfling man driving a large wagon of milk jugs and hay. He greets the group in low Mordentish, and Fenri in their shared racial language; introducing himself as Terrii of the Jollydell Clan. Terrii sees the group is quite out of sorts, so he offers to take them on a ride into the nearby town of Campanula--far to the north in Dementlieu. Terrii Jollydell’s sons pop out from the hay bales in the wagon back, having hidden with crossbows in case the group were bandits. Fenri makes friends with them, even giving Terrii a Pelorian prayer to help his ailing wife on their homestead.
The halfling boys excitedly talk about local vigilante, named Night’s Vengeance! A masked rake and friendly scoundrel who has humiliated the local nobility, riding on a pitch black steed through the deep forest roads uncaught for weeks. He’s crashed noble soirees on horseback, as well as stolen the clothes of an entire noble entourage for the local baron’s son!
For the latter, Night’s Vengeance unhorsed the carriage, stole Baron Montagne’s son’s infamously bejeweled cloak and abandoned the boy naked in his horseless carriage--in the middle of the woods at night! The rake then rode through town, standing on the horses laughing and throwing the cloak’s jewels in the central water fountain of Campanula’s central square.
Campanula is a town surrounded by thick forests, and supposedly wolves prowl the dense foliage and mountains. The group does some shopping for supplies and getting their bearings.
Solange recognizes they are on near the northern border between Dementlieu and Lamordia. She’s never been away from Port-a-Lucine in all her life, but thankfully it seems no time has passed since her experience in the Catacombs...
Pryrrish (with her swirling sight invocations) helps Schrödinger translate the signs of a halfling greengrocer and helps him pay for apples--he’s never had to buy sundry goods on his own before. Pryrrish garners some attention for being an elf, and Schrodinger begins to be protective of her.
They barter at a local stable for a pair of horses and a wagon, meeting a noble’s stableman Vincente Quint. Vincente is quite average but happily helps negotiate a fair deal with them and the local horsemaster.
The group goes to the town hall to exchange their coins for Dementlieu currency. Upon approach, they see servants of House Montagne wading through the square’s fountain for any remaining jewels of the baron’s sons. And speaking of, Lord Isaac Montagne II (Baron Montagne’s son) appears from town hall and immediately insults them as peasants for not moving out of “their better’s way”. Channa despises nobles but is convinced to step back.
Inside Campanula town hall, they encounter Baron Montagne leaving after speaking with the local magistrate. A hunting dog perfectly follows him after. Fenri can sense the baron’s disdain behind his placid, confident smile. (And she gets the awful thought that as he passed the group, he was learning their scent... Like the dog obediently beside him would...)
Schrödinger, as a noble scion of Lamordia, is easily able to procure a bank note to exchange his golden gluttons for Dementlieu’s corona gold coins. But Channa and Pryrrish, who have pooled their Eberronian gold together, are outright rejected by the magistrate for some reason.
While Pryrrish accompanies Schrödinger in obtaining his money at the bank, Solange, Channa and Fenri head to the local watering hole. The Howling Wolf Alehouse.
The Howling Wolf is a raucous but warm peasant’s tavern. Solange, in her dour mourning veils (her hatpin of disguise hiding her caliban nature), gets a large table for the whole party.
Before the bread basket is even brought out, Fenri sneaks away to the alleyway outside, hoping to pray to Pelor again now that it’s about noontime. Channa volunteers to find their sunny companion, and the two bond over the strangeness of this land. Channa hesitantly accepts Fenri’s hug of appreciation. (She has never been one for many friends before. Especially not after he vanished...)
Meanwhile, Solange awkwardly sits at the big table. She overhears the sounds of carousing on the upper floor of the tavern. According to hearsay, they are The Flying Wolves: a group of ex-Falkovnian refugees hired by Baron Montagne to capture Night’s Vengeance. They are led by the infamous half-elven spearwoman, the Falconeater...
Pryrrish and Schrödinger easily obtain the Dementlieuse currency. They have a similar matter-of-factness to the way they talk. Pryrrish is reminded of her older brother, sadly.
After an exceedingly good meal at the Alehouse--with Schrödinger taking half a dozen rolls with them--the group obtains their wagon and horses. They decide to camp somewhere for the night, as the journey to Port-a-Lucine will take at least three days! And the night is dangerous so far from civilization.
At a small well-used campsite beside a mountain stream, the group prepares to bed down for the night. It seems the horses instinctually dislike lord Schrödinger, so it takes Solange and Fenri to direct and care for the animals.
Solange, upon dusk breaking, uses her gravedigger deathchatter ability to send messages at night, to alert any fellow gravedigger or death cleric of her position. She hopes they will pass the message along to the Order of the Moonlight Vigil...
Just after they prepare their campfire, the sound of beating hooves alerts the party! Fenri grabs her sling-staff and clutches her holy symbol. Pryrrish grabs the large Tome at her side, shadowy wisps emerging from its pages about her fingertips. Channa unwinds her spiked chain and has Iggy the earth familiar burrow underground. Solange lights her lantern-staff and peers into the darkness of the road. And Schrödinger twists his bones into a rapier-like weapon, thrumming with green electricity!
A figure in a mask, standing in the saddle and wielding a hand crossbow and rapier, rides out from the darkness and into the moonlight! The horse he rides is a majestic stallion of pure ebony, breathing heavily as its powerful hooves beat the earth!
The figure is Night’s Vengeance, though not as cartoonishly evil in his depictions on the many wanted posters in town! He begs the group to distract those following him! He rides east, throwing a bag of coins towards them for their trouble!
A group of riders in wolf pelts and swords comes down from the direction the vigilante came. The Flying Wolves on the hunt! And leading the pack is the Falconeater, with her spearhead glistening in the moonlight! A Wolf notices the bag of coins on the ground and the hunters give chase, ignoring the group’s attempt to point them in the wrong direction.
Suddenly, the noble Schrödinger causes his entire body to emerge in a necromantic suit of spiky bone armor! This upsets Channa and Pryrrish, the latter of whom was right beside him when his transformation occurred!
Solange creates a magical area of briars upon the road, slowing and harming the horses of the Flying Wolves! Combat has begun for this group!
Freaks & Facades will continue in Session Four - Perilous Roads! Click here to read on! [WIP]
Thanks for reading! We hope you love our friendly freaks as much as we do!
Parts: Zero/Cast, One P1, One P2, Two, Three, Four [WIP]
A recap of Aboleth-eye's Freaks & Facades campaign, set in the dark plane of Ravenloft!
Hello Friends! Just in time for Halloween, it's our spookiest recap ever of the Freaks & Facades Ravenloft campaign! What will our band of beloved Freaks discover within the dark underbelly of this little mountain town!
Session Seven: What Remains has just dropped today! But if you want to read all the spooky sessions that came before, check out the blog link here! New story recaps every other Saturday!
Freaks & Facades: Session Two - The Ravens Loft Inn
Welcome all those who have crawled out of the Mists tonight! This is the recap of Session Two of Freaks & Facades, all about our players coming together under the roof of the mysterious Ravens Loft Inn!
Our five strangers each escaped their little brush with horror, and all are now being catered to by the mysterious Innkeepers--the Matron, the Maiden, the Raven and lastly the Madame. Where this mysterious inn lies is unknown. Why these five have been brought here by their misadventures, also unknown. But the winds outside the Ravens Loft Inn are howling, a gathering of energies watching our beloved Freaks. Let us see what happens as the Freaks begin to mingle!
Warning: this is a horror campaign setting, so bear that in mind before reading. Possible triggers include: blood and gore, moving shadows/darkness, malevolent dead and dark spirits, bones/bone manipulation, etc.
Now, pull up a chair, fill up your plate and let us feast upon the story starting with our beloved Freaks! It’s quite a long one, so be prepared!
*starts projector*
We find the five strangers, our beloved Freaks, pulled in to the mysterious Ravens Loft Inn through unusual circumstances. Pryrrish searching. Schrödinger fleeing. Fenri panicking. Channa sacrificing. Solange pursuing.
The Matron and the Maiden welcome the five strangers. All who find there way to this mysterious inn are to be given food, drink and board for one night. And according to their rules, each guest must have their tarokka read by the mysterious Madame Xenia--the withered unblinking crone by the fireplace. Their reading will determine which room and floor each guest shall stay in. Apparently they don’t have guests often... When asked where the inn is physically located, the Matron and Maiden are quite vague.
The strangers mingle. Here’s a brief overview of the Freaks intermingling:
Schrödinger is enthralled by the sight of Pryrrish! He has never seen an elf before! What’s her bone structure like?
Pryrrish and Channa recognize they’re both from Eberron. They even speak Mordentish (Common) with the same idioms and cultural references.
Solange tries to help clean up the dust from her coming through the ceiling, the Matron refutes all help. So Solange goes to the bar. Solange’s hatpin of disguise falters a bit and some of the others recognize her inhuman nature. But they’re fine with her being a caliban? Huh.
Fenri heals Channa’s ritual wound, but her connection to Pelor feels off... Distant...
Channa tries to figure out how they all got there, the Matron and Maiden are vague about the inn’s exact location. There’s obviously some planar travel going on.
Fenri and Schrödinger chat--healing magic is an unknown science to him, and halflings are also quite rare in Lamordia! At first he thought Fenri was a child in armor. He asks to examine her bones but she refuses. Her sunny smile starts to slip a bit.
Channa joins Solange at the bar, each receiving a unique local beverage to their homelands. Solange and Channa have an understanding about the their mutual want of understanding.
The others pile up food on their plates, with Fenri being ecstatic to feast. Every table has delicacies from different worlds and domains...
The strangers at the Inn are making a good first impression, despite their strange circumstances and secrets.
After drinks and plates have been served out, the Matron requests each step before the mysterious Madame Xenia. The Madame is the true hostess of the Ravens Loft Inn. Apparently accommodations are given out depending on what the Madame draws from her deck. Schrodinger and Solange recognize the women of the Inn appear to be Vistani, their tasque unknown.
The deck of cards before the withered crone appears to be a special tarokka deck. The deck of archetypes and symbols used by the Vistani to divine the future for others... Though this deck appears unique--with a golden skull staring facelessly on the card backs.
The Matron has the group line up before the old woman, and helps the Madame from beneath her heavy covers. The Madame, exerting great will just to lift her one free hand, telekinetically lifts a card for each of the travelers. Upon each card’s face being revealed, the Raven then shouts out its meaning. Lastly, as the Matron shuffles the deck between patrons, the Maiden at the bar gives out a specific room key for each patron’s read fate.
First is Solange, who knows of the Vistani but never had a chance to meet one in her childhood. The telekinetically flipped card reveals the Three of Glyphs, the Healer. The reliever of affliction and curses... Her room is on the Fifth Floor, according to the Maiden.
Second, bemused by this peasant divination, Schrödinger stands before the crone. He receives the Five of Stars, the Elementalist. Supposedly it signifies a mastery of the physical world. His room is on the Fourth Floor.
Thirdly, the first outlander, Pryrrish, steps up shyly. The card she receives is the Ten of Swords, the Master of Swords--forger of alliances amongst bloodshed and violence! Second Floor room.
Next, nudged out of some pondering by the halfling, Channa moves forward. The card revealed is the Eight of Glyphs, the Hierophant, master of schemes and plots. Fifth Floor room, like Solange’s.
Lastly, and very worried about the old woman’s declining energies, Fenri’s fate is read. Hers is the Seven of Coins, the Thief. A sign that something of value has been lost or stolen... Her room is on the Third Floor.
As soon as the last card is read, the Raven causes a ruckus, demanding the patrons head up to their rooms right away! The Matron shoos the naughty bird away, revealing it is the Madame’s ancient familiar. She sees the concern for the old crone and says not to worry for the Madame--the tarokka has great power for the Vistani, and the body of Raunie Xenia of the Ravens Loft Inn cannot weather it as gracefully as she once did...
Fenri noticed that as the Madame revealed card after card, anticipation built higher and higher. Only to come crashing down at Fenri’s last card. (Does the old woman seek a specific card?)
The visitors start to head upstairs, except for Fenri who decides to have a second trip at the buffet... The Second Floor has ten doors with different numbers of Swords upon them. Each floor above is similar--Third has Coins, Fourth has Stars, Fifth has Glyphs. But above that lie two more floors, which Schrödinger investigates...
Pryrrish enters her Second Floor Swords room. There is an enormous pool of blood staining the wooden floor! But the star elf (who has seen far too much in her journey) merely closes the door behind her, places a chair to block it from opening, and falls asleep on the bed...
Channa enters her Fifth Floor Glyphs room. Uh oh! Everything in the room is covered in a fine bloodspatter stain! Her exhaustion kicks in, and she sits on the bed talking to Iggy her elemental familiar.
Solange waits on the Fifth Floor for Schrödinger to investigate the upper floors.
Schrödinger sees the Sixth Floor has twelve doors, each adorned with a unique symbol or archetype...
The scientist then reaches the Seventh Floor, the top floor. Only two doors here--a Sun and a Beast doors, staring across the room from one another. And a large window on the long wall, overlooking a vista that cannot be: an autumnal field outside of a pastoral village, sheep grazing among several of their own lying dead...
He goes down a floor, finding the Maiden sweeping. She says his room is on a different floor and politely sweeps him downstairs. Solange did not see the Maiden pass her by to get there... Wasn’t she on the first floor at the bar?
Schrödinger goes to his Fourth Floor room, finding bloodspatter everywhere! He gets excited and starts investigating with his personal stash of mortician’s tools. Whomever left all this blood was given hundreds of small wounds all at once, but where’s the body? He wants to find it!
Solange enters her Fifth Floor room. The sight of fresh bloodspatter concerns her, and she rushes downstairs! She checks up on the others in their rooms. She passes by Schrödinger on his hands and knees excitedly examining the blood. Channa through the door says her room is bloody. Pryrrish doesn’t respond!
Fenri is enjoying her second tuck in at the buffet, while the innkeepers begin to tidy up. The Maiden cleans glasses. The Matron begins to put up the chairs. On the mantle, the Raven tips over its cup, blood dripping down to the floor. And the Madame, in her swaddle of blankets once more, wheezes in her blank, heated exhaustion.
Without warning, Solange runs from the upstairs! All the rooms have blood in them! The innkeepers are shocked, as is Fenri. Solange looks into the Matron’s eyes and believes her when she says she’s never seen bloodshed in the inn since she began working here...
The Matron heads upstairs with Fenri and Solange to see. Pryrrish keeps her door closed, reading her Tome on the bed and starting to nod off. They come to Schrödinger’s open room on the third floor. Schrödinger turns around to their confusion, turning back the room is ordinary and clean of all blood...
Solange takes the Matron to her room on the fourth floor; it’s clean as well. Channa opens her door and turns around, showing the room clean in surprise as well. The Matron worries over her guests. They must have had a rough time of their journey...
They’ll have to worry in the morning about it. They’re all so tired...
Fenri offers to stay the night in Solange’s room regardless.
With the guests upstairs in their rooms (or that of a new friend’s), the Ravens Loft Inn starts to finally close down for the night. The Maiden and Matron start to blow out the lights, one candle at a time. The Madame squirms in her armchair...
The first light is blown out. Unbeknownst to the guests, on the top Seventh Floor with the two rooms and the window to another world, a curtain of pitch black feathers begins to descend from the ceiling--swallowing the floor entirely!
In each room, as the lights below turn down, the patrons in their tired states start to be ensnared by the animated bedsheets. Even Channa’s elemental is bagged up!
Only Fenri and Schrodinger of the unbeknownst party are conscious of this surreptitious, serpentine binding. Both struggling hard against the restraint!
Another light blown out downstairs. The curtain of Dark Feathers swallows the strange rooms on the Sixth Floor!
Using his abilities in boneshaping, Schrödinger extrudes his phalangeal arm bones from his wrist. Instinctually and unnaturally, he twists them into a small dagger that crackles with innate electricity! He struggles to cut out of his bindings!
Fenri breaks free of her bonds in Solange’s room on the Fifth Floor! Pelor’s strength must still be within her!
The Maiden blows out another light. The two active innkeepers are starting to head towards the Matron and Raven at the fireplace.
Fenri is the only witness of the Fifth Floor being swallowed by the Dark Feathers! The room loses all shape in the dark and she tumbles endlessly! Through it all, she evokes a consecration ritual to hopefully protect herself and Solange in the darkness!
Using his abilities in boneshaping, Schrödinger extrudes his phalangeal arm bones and twists them into a rapier that crackles with unnatural electric current! He struggles to cut out of his bindings.
The Matron snuffs a candle. The Curtain descends.
Iggy the earth familiar struggles to waken Channa or escape the bedsheets that bagged it up! The Fourth Floor and its occupants is swallowed by the Dark Feathers.
Desperately, Schrödinger cuts through the sheets and leaps out of his Third Floor Room! Just as the curtain of feathery darkness starts to seep in through the ceiling! He runs downstairs!
The Maiden finishes cleaning the bar’s cups and takes a candle to the fireplace. Shadows have grown in the tavern room with every light gone. She smiles at the roaring fireplace, her lips suddenly pale and cracking like a salt flat.
The Dark Feathers swallow the Third Floor! Pryrrish is swallowed by the darkness, meditating and bound, unaware in her trance. The Tome in her lap squirms like a leathery reptile, as if sensing a change in air temperature.
Schrödinger dashes through, fleeing from the irrational, terrifying phenomenon! His bone dagger stretches and twists into a full rapier from his wrists! He may have to puncture his way out of this!
The Matron struts towards the fireplace. She puts down her broom and blows out a table candle. She grasps the back of the Madame’s armchair, which shivers from its occupant... Her voice whispers in the old woman’s ear, all bereft of its husky joviality.
Schrödinger leaps down the stairwell, leaving the Second Floor to be consumed! Fenri’s unused room vanishes into the feathery shadow!
The tavern First Floor is all shadows, stretching from the flickering light of the roaring fire. The Raven watches the nightly event with its fathomless red eyes...
Interrupting the final moments, Schrödinger leaps and lands down at the bottom of the stairs. He calls for aid, only to find horror before him!
The Maiden and Matron are not as they once appeared. They are spectral, withered, malevolent! Lifeless, soulless husks with black and yellow glowing eyes! Their fingers ending in mere wisps of smoke, like their lower halves of their fleshly bodies have become!
The Raven flaps its wings and caws out for him to flee for his life! This all would have been done with so much the quicker if he’d simply stayed in bed!
Utterly alone and frightened before the spectral innkeepers, Schrödinger chooses to instead rush back up the stairs. Straight into the descending Dark Feather curtain!
The wraith Matron takes the old Madame’s pathetically weak hand in her dead one. She calls back to the fleeing Schrödinger, hoping he enjoyed his stay... The Madame’s pitiful weeping was never heard by any of the latest patrons of her prison...
The Maiden, gleefully horrible with her cracking smile, leans forward and blows out the fireplace. In a single, chilling breath. And the curtain descends.
The Ravens Loft Inn and all those within. Swallowed. Shrouded in soft, impenetrable darkness!
The Freaks, both conscious and not, fall through the darkness. All solid ground vanished, nothing but a memory as they spin and tumble in unconscious nightmare and conscious fear! Even Fenri’s radiant consecrating light does not penetrate this darkness!
Darkness....
Endless....
Fathomless.
Forevermore...
When suddenly, the Darkness itself retracts. Only Schrödinger and Fenri conscious to see the horror that pulls in its limitless dark wings and raise its horrible head!
They will wish they hadn’t bore witness to such a thing... In time...
A Dark Raven, greater in size than a single horizon could contain, extends its wings and opens its red eyes. From its titanic throat comes out a silent but bonerattling call!
The dreamers feel this horrific sound in their dreams, each swallowed by darkness and feelings of helplessness!
The Freaks are pulled into this red maw of dark, unending hunger! Down the throat of this thing greater and older than any god or demon! And all goes dark! Minds conscious and unconscious shut down upon the great entity’s beak snapping shut upon them!
Freaks & Facades will continue in Session Three - The Misty Morning! Click here to read on!
Thanks for reading! We hope you love our friendly freaks as much as we do!
Parts: Zero/Cast, One P1, One P2, Two, Three, Four [tbd]
Freaks & Facades: Session One - Vignettes Part One
Welcome all to the first full recap of Freaks & Facades, a D&D 3e/3.5 campaign that has drawn strangers from across the Planes for reasons tenebrous and strange.
We will be splitting this story into several smaller posts to keep you, our lucky reader, from being overwhelmed at the start. This is a recap of the first session, a series of Horror Vignettes that introduced our amazing cast of characters and drew them together.
These are the individual horror stories of how Pryrrish, Schrödinger and Fenri were drawn into Ravenloft by the Mists!
Warning: this is a horror campaign setting, so bear that in mind before reading. Possible triggers for these first vignettes: claustrophobia, fire, falling...
We hope you enjoy! *starts projector* - Aboleth Eye
Pryrrish Norfaer
Pryrrish wanders the Mournland, the magical wasteland of what was once Cyre. She is guided on her quest by the Tome she carries, a massive book of dark symbols only she can read. She is searching for a long-lost subterranean prison beneath the dead city of Making. Supposedly it was where the rulers of Cyre imprisoned and studied outsiders, and the Tome draws her towards the lost prison.
She finds the prison entrance and enters the misty darkness. But Pryrrish finds nothing but dungeon-cleaning oozes and empty cells... Until she spots a cloaked figure down a hallway. It runs from her down into the dark depths of the prison, and Pryrrish follows!
It leads her down a spiraling stairway, deep into the earth. The elf swallows her fear of tight spaces and runs down. Down, down, down. Into darkness and rising Mists... Always the figure ahead is just around the corner... How deep has she gone?
Pryrrish turns around, struggling to find her step as the Mists swallow her augmented vision. She hears footsteps from above and watches a shadowy afterimage pass her by; a translucent silhouette of herself.
She begins to panic, the stairwell never ends! The mists are impossible to see through. She couldn’t read the Tome at her side even if she wanted to, she has nothing to guide her except her instincts. But everything is murky and opaque! And then she finds the curved wall, her only support on this endless stair, has also become unsure. Pryrrish could pass through it towards... What?
Pryrrish, surrounded on all sides by the Mists, decides to risk this new unknown path rather than be trapped forever on a downward spiral. She pushes through, defying the physical limits she knows should be present, and walks on a sideways path. Still unsure and shrouded in Mist, but her own decision.
This new path is murky as the spiral, but now Pryrrish knows she’s not alone. Sounds of scraping reptilian claws. Flapping knife-edged feathers. Snarling maws that drool at the sight of her exhausted flesh. She hears so much around her in the endless bank of Mist, finding the strength to run forward. But the sounds keep pace. She runs and runs, dagger in hand, clutching her Tome! There’s suddenly a doorway, of purest light that defies the Mists and Elemental Dark surrounding her!
She rushes inside! The doorway slams behind her...
Ludwig Hössler Schrödinger
Young lord Schrödinger needs to leave Ludendorf tonight! His endeavor to share his experiments with the so-called Syndicate of Enlightened Minds has put all he’s worked for, and all the support his parents put into his studies, at risk. His first time in Lamordia’s biggest city, strolling in with luggage for a prolonged stay, is now ending with him jamming everything vital in a single valise. He hears the mob coming down the street to his hotel, the fools and deniers of true science with their pitchforks and torches!
Betraying his height and build, Schrödinger miraculously leaps from his hotel window to the rooftops across the street. But unfortunately, such a sight has easily caught the mob’s attention. They fire upon him as he dashes away on the roofs of Ludendorf. He poorly slides down a drainpipe to an alley entryway, rushing into the misted corridors. If he can reach the next street over he can lose the mob and leave the city! He must return to Schwartzsteinburg, his home, and to the open arms of his beloved parents. They understand him, they will protect him as they always have...
But the alleys of Ludendorf confuse the nobleman scientist. The Mist spills out from every corridor and sewer grate, making it impossible to navigate. And yet the mob appears to know every turn and twist he takes! The sounds of their shouts echo through the abandoned alleyways! The lights of the torches grow brighter and brighter! Is he fleeing or being herded?
Schrödinger finds himself finally at a dead end. No way to jump to the rooftops from here, no doors to break down. The mob grows louder, closer, more eager to tear him and his life’s work to shreds! He looks around, begging fortune to smile upon him... Only an open sewer grate, Mist spilling out like a wellspring, is before him. Does he dare degrade himself further to trekking through the sewers? Already humiliated and despised by those who dare to cull the unique and new?
Wounding his pride, Schrödinger leaps into the sewer...
He falls a long time. Far, far, far too long. All is darkness and icy fog slashing past him as he falls deeper and deeper into the Misty nothingness. This defies logic greater than anything. Will he fall forever, slowly eroded by the Misty winds that make his bones shudder?
No. Suddenly Schrödinger knows the ground is fast approaching. He cannot see it, but he knows he will be crushed by the impact. Him and all he’s pursued, his life’s work; destroyed all the same as if the mob had claimed him!
Staring down at his inevitable demise, bracing for the impact, Schrödinger is thrown once again as a doorway of light opens up! He sails through it, gravity lurches a completely different direction.
He rolls and rolls against solid wood, tumbling helplessly until he collides with something hard and stable. His eyes adjust to the light...
Fenri Sunwillow
In the vast city of Greyhawk, Fenri the halfling sits in the loneliest and dirtiest tavern possible. The food and ale are terrible, the lone minstrel is pitiful and the barkeep is very unfriendly. Fenri sits alone, all her companions have abandoned her. But despite this hopeless atmosphere, Fenri Sunwillow has faith that Pelor the Dawnfather will see her through.
Suddenly a group of thugs burst in and begin to spread out through the tavern. Their leader, a terribly cruel-eyed dwarf with massive iron boots, stomps in and begins to threaten the barkeep for not paying protection money. Fenri skips over and tries to be the diplomat, offering the thugs and their leader friendship and a chance to use their obvious strength in great adventures. They laugh at the halfling cleric.
But suddenly the thugs leave, the tavern’s “debts” still unpaid. They close the door behind them. Fenri tries to follow but the door is blocked for some reason... The back is blocked as well. Panic rising among the two other people in the tavern, Fenri channels the strength of her god to throw a table through a window. Only to find the thugs outside ready to toss in vials of alchemical fire.
The tavern erupts into terrible green flame! The dwarf uses a scroll to create a wall of stone before the newly broken window, sealing them all inside to burn with the building! Fenri looks about, and she realizes tavern’s large fireplace has a chimney big enough to climb up! With her divine strength she rushes in and climbs! The sounds of burning agony behind her...
Fenri climbs, green and gray Misty smoke choking her lungs and obscuring her vision. She climbs higher. And higher... The flames are beneath her always, ready to lick at her feet, despite her being unable to see. Higher and higher she climbs... Surely the building was not this tall? But through the acrid smoke Fenri sees nothing but the chimney opening above, never closer.
The climb is getting to her. Fenri knows the strength of Pelor is only hers for a short time. She is alone, no sound of those trapped with her climbing up after... The green and gray fire roars and roars. The chimney is nothing but gray smoke, her tiny hands clutching desperately at the murky stones...
Time inevitably, and despairingly, catches up to Fenri. The divine strength of her clerical domain, her faith in Pelor augmenting the strength of her tiny body, suddenly vanishes. And Fenri falls! Slowly. So slowly, the flames beneath her awaiting their morsel... Regrets and despair weighing the halfling cleric down, the Sun now out of reach... She looks to the opening, and realizes it was blocked off by a board this whole time...
Suddenly, a flash of heat passes her by and Fenri rolls rapidly on solid ground. She collides with something large and soft, staying curled up in her armor for a few moments. Then... she opens her eyes a peek...
Freaks & Facades: Vignettes - Session One will continue in Part Two! Click here to read on!
Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed these first tales of our friendly freaks as much as we do!
Parts: Zero/Cast, One P1, One P2, Two, Three, Four [tbd]
Welcome one and all, to the beginning of Freaks & Facades, a 3e/3.5 Ravenloft campaign written recap series! I am your humble avatar of the Dark Powers, @aboleth-eye!
My amazing players are my d&d and ttrpg friends from my main blog’s discord, brought together across time zones (and even national borders) every two weeks to face the challenges I am compelled to set before them.
**Warning: this is a d&d horror setting campaign recap, there will be dark subjects touched upon. Currently we do not wish to delve into any truly adult topics, the horror is expected to be Rated T for Teens as of writing this.
**Multiple ttrpg safety net tools have been made available to our players, but as we are sharing this to the public we will do our best to tag our content to warn against possible triggers.
**Please do not hesitate to request additional tags and warnings, this project is run by one person with some friends so we will do our best to keep things updated and safe for a general audience.**
Below the cut, meet the Host, the Player Cast and the Premise!
The Host
A humble worldbuilder and sculptor of adventure, Aboleth Eye has been hosting games of the beloved tabletop roleplaying Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years. They started sharing their thoughts and love of fantasy and tabletop roleplaying games through tumblr in 2015. Ever since, Aboleth-Eye has continued to evolve their ways of sharing their hyperfixations and inspirations. They are a stalwart believer in crediting artists, writers and all creators for their original work! They are also obsessed with tagging every post to high heaven, mostly to help creative minds find things they love. :-)
Classic Ravenloft (Sword & Sorcery) is their absolute favorite setting for Dungeons & Dragons. They are only a mostly-eternal Dungeon Master between multiple overlapping groups of players, and they love to create content for new D&D 3e/3.5 races, classes, etc. to share. They are extremely privileged to have gathered together fantastic and creative people to be a part of this project.
Inspired by several S&S Ravenloft modules and sourcebooks (as well as a re-listen to The Magnus Archives), Aboleth-Eye has gathered friends new and old alike to survive the gothic fantasy. They host the game every two weeks, recaps written by them with the aid of the players.
Dungeon Master - @aboleth-eye / @aboleth-workshop; AbolethEye on twitter
The Player Cast
In alphabetical character name order below, from whence their characters started the campaign:
Channa Devir - human duskblade - @aureliagaming
Fenri Sunwillow - halfling cleric - Redbrown (not on socials, recently a guest on Random Encounter Productions PvP tourneys)
Ludwig Hossler “Schrödinger” - human boneblade - @atlysium
Pryrrish Norfaer - star elf warlock - @moonstruck-vixen
In the year 752 BC on the Core of Ravenloft, on an especially misty night, five strangers arrive at a mysterious tavern by unorthodox means. Each of these strangers, some plucked from realms far beyond the Domains of Dread, experienced great horror before their arrival. They pursued, fled from and sacrificed themselves to their fears and have all come together for purposes unknown. All strangers and outsiders in their own right, wearing masks of incompetence, delusion and apathy to hide their innermost selves.
What do the cards have in store for these strangers?
What to the Dark Powers have in store for these five Freaks?
Why did they arrive in the mysterious tavern? How will their adventures, starting in the elegantly bilious realm of Dementlieu, bring them together? Or will they be torn apart by the pull of the Dark Powers in the land of mad opulence?
Stay tuned. We welcome our audience to watch these adventures unfold!
