Summary
The party was swallowed by an unnatural fog and trapped beyond the gates of Barovia. They buried a stranger, lost Vectigal to wolves, met a wary huntsman, and followed two children into an abandoned house. The session ended when they finally discovered a hidden way into the attic.
Beyond the gate
The party began in the forest, where the fog left only one clear way forward. It led them to a vast iron gate. They passed through despite their misgivings, and the gate closed behind them.
Farther down the road, they found a corpse carrying the Burgomaster’s Letter. One member of the party insisted that they stop and give the stranger a proper burial. The howling in the woods grew closer while they worked, but they did not abandon the body.
The wolves caught them before they could leave.
A grave for Vectigal
Some of the party survived its first battle. Unfortunately, as a consequence of the blood-hungry wolves, Vectigal did not. He was brutally slain, only a short time into this strange, and mysterious place. They buried him among the stones.
Before the burial was finished, Solomon tried to take some of Vectigal’s blood. Another member of the party attempted to stop him and failed. Solomon got what he wanted.
Not long afterward, the survivors met a frightened and slightly paranoid huntsman, Betlei. He joined them for the rest of the journey, though they had little time to get acquainted before reaching the village ahead.
The children in the street
The Village of Barovia appeared abandoned. Its houses stood dark and silent, apart from two young children waiting in the road. They spoke of a monster in the basement of a nearby house, their parents somewhere inside, and a baby left upstairs.
Most of the party entered the house to look for the baby. One adventurer remained outside with the children, unwilling to leave them alone. Then the children vanished. With the fog closing around the house, the party was reunited inside.
The search for the basement
The house had clearly been abandoned for a long time, despite what the children had said. The party searched it for the missing family, the baby, and a way into the basement.
They found an empty crib upstairs, but no baby. They found no parents either. When a fight broke out near the staircase, the party turned the stairs into a choke point and made unusually tactical use of the narrow space.
The basement proved much harder to find. In fact, while looking for a way down, half the party ended up going all the way to the top floor.
That decision finally led somewhere: they discovered a hidden entrance to the attic. The session ended as they found it.
NPC’s
- An unknown man found beside the road. He carried the Burgomaster’s Letter.
- Rose and Thorn: A young sister and brother who asked the party for help, then disappeared while one adventurer watched over them outside the house.
- Kolyan Indirovich: The Burgomaster of Barovia and author of the letter. The party has not met him.
- Ireena Kolyana: The Burgomaster’s adopted daughter, named in the letter as the victim of a vampyr. The party has not met her.
Moments
- Stopping to bury a stranger while the wolves announced exactly how close they were getting.
- Vectigal becoming the first casualty of the campaign’s first encounter.
- Solomon winning the argument over whether he was allowed to “yoink some blood.”
- Turning the staircase into the party’s first serious tactical position.
- Looking for a basement by sending half the party to the top floor.