Strahd Chapter 1: Death House

 

Chapter 1: Death House

Introductions

• Courtney Ashtree, Spear Maiden Human Paladin
• Inarra, Human Wizard with no scruples out to make a quick profit
• Malrosh, Tiefling sorcerer
• Desunt Clariatis, Human Wild sorcerer
• Redvus Dundonald, Gnome Cleric seeking enlightenment
• Aslok, Dwarven Paladin who hates necromancers

In the town of Daggerford there is a small guild house for the Heroic Unnatural Nocturnal Threat Eradication Rangers or HUNTERs guild as they are known.  On a crisp spring morning a man walked into the guild hall calling out for people to come and help his master.  The Paladin Aslok came over and talked to him and was offered a letter which she opened.

The letter reads
Hail to thee of might and valor.
I, a lowly servant of Barovia, send honour to thee. We plead for thy so desperately needed assistance. The love of my life, Ireena Kolyana, has been afflicted by an evil so deadly that even the good people of our village cannot protect her. She languishes from her wound, and I would have her saved from this menace. There is much wealth in this community. I offer all that might be had to thee and thy fellows if thou shalt but answer my desperate plea. Come quickly, for her time is at hand! All that I have shall be thine!
Kolyan Indirovich Burgomaster

Level 1: The Mission

A small group of guild members agreed to help.  Some motivated by the desire to help, and others by the thoughts of wealth they may acquire.  The stranger told them to travel through the forest to the town of Barovia where the Burgomaster would give them more details. 

The party travelled through the forest and a thick fog settled around them.  After several hours of walking we could just see the outline of a few buildings and hear the cobblestones beneath our feet.  Everything else was strangely silent until two small children calling out for help materialised in front of us.  We asked them for directions to the Burgomasters house but they did not know the route.  The children introduced themselves as Rose and Thorn and told us  a tale of missing parents and of a monster in the basement of their house.  Redvus immediately agreed to help and we all went to their town house.

The children stayed in the porch as the party entered the main part of the house.  Fearing some trick we decided to head straight upstairs to the bedrooms and see if the parents were sleeping or if not had left some clue as to their destination.  Since the heavily armoured Paladins did not want to go at the front the unarmoured Malrosh led us up two flights of stairs straight into the first trap!  We reached the top landing where a suit of black plate mail lunged out and thumped Malrosh.  He retreated while everyone else attacked with spells and weapons.  With Courtney having inflicted the most damage this animated suit of armour turned on her with a fluffy of blows.  A critical strike sent her tumbling to the floor but Redvus was able to heal her back up as Aslok finished battering the creature into submission.

Thinking this animated construct may have been guarding something we searched the landing and were lucky enough to find a secret door leading up to the attic.  Intrigued we advanced cautiously up the stairs.  Looking around the dusty attic we found the corpse of a nursemaid.  Aslok went to pick up the body so that it could be taken for a proper burial but as she did so the room darkened and the angry spirit of the murdered woman rose up and attacked!  Fortunately we were quickly able to dispatch the undead creature.

Behind a locked door we once more encountered the children.  This time though they were clearly ghosts.  Redvus once more led the conversation talking to the children and was able to find the location of a secret passageway from the attic and a trapdoor on the ground floor that both gave access into the basement.  Inarra kept asking if the children knew of any treasure in the house or a safe their parents had.  The children got a bit agitated when we started to leave their room and disappeared.  Afterwards Redvus and Malrosh started to act a little strange.

Courtney decided they had been possessed by the children and the solution was clearly murder!  She stabbed Malrosh through the chest and he collapsed on the floor bleeding out; but this did a least get the ghost of Thorn to materialised again in the spot where he had been standing.  Aslok only tried to punch Redvus, since he had saved her life once before, but the Gnome was too nimble and fled down the staircase.

Desunt decided it was time for him to step up.  First he stabilised Malrosh, who everyone else was just leaving to bleed out on the floor.  Then he went down the stairs and reasoned with Rose/Redvus. While he did this Aslok performed a Dwarven funeral rites for Thorn which at least made the ghost disappear.  Everyone came back up stairs and settled into an uneasy rest contemplating what had happened and learning from their actions.

Level Two: The Basement

Feeling braver, or at least tougher, everyone headed down into the basement.  A strange distant chanting could be heard echoing through the halls.  We found ourselves in the crypts for the Durst family.  Inarra tried to break open one of the coffins to look for loot but she was not strong enough.  Rose, or was it Redvus, got annoyed at Inarra's actions which reminded Courtney he was possessed.  She announced to the party that it was time for them to murder Redvus which was enough of a shock to intimidated Rose into leaving the clerics body (at least we did not get a TPK in the first session).

With his wits restored Redvus was able to identify the crypts of Rosavalda and Thornboldt Durst as being for the children.  Aslok went and fetched the bodies and the pair were laid peacefully to rest ending their ghostly suffering.

Since this did not end the chanting the party decided we should go and slay the monster anyway.  In the next chamber we found a wooden dining table flanked by long benches upon which lie humanoid skeletons in black robes.  Once more fearing necromancy Aslok stated to smash up the bones.  This noise attracted the attention of a Grick nesting nearby.  The worm like creature slithered out and attacked with its tentacles.  Inarra blasted the creature with magical missiles while Desunt unleashed a bolt of pure chaos that exploded into acid critically injuring the monstrosity and it melted into a pool of slime.  Moving on we found a well and five empty bedrooms.  Ransacking them uncovered a small amount of coin and some valuable gemstones.  However we still had not yet found the true monster in the basement...

(unless it was Courtney)