He nods.
Quasi Dungeons and Dragons
Posts
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4,160
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@drafterman
Ok, have your benefactor meet me at the tavern, or leave a letter at the tavern disclosing that two days hence in the morning. I must get going though.
Snerp heads back to tavern.
As Snerp makes his way back to the tavern, he arrives at the same time as Szoldar and Yevgeni.
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@Buddamoose
What did you learn?
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@secularmerlin
That man is working for someone interested in toppling Vargas. I don't know who, but I'll be meeting them when we get back to town after exploring.
Off to the Vistani Camp to meet up with everyone else, then to hunting and exploring 👍.
Grahf enters the closest house on the base of the hill.
A grim, gray-cloaked figure stands in front of the door. As Grahf approaches the house, he silently directs him to a specific house on the east side of the hill. Standing quietly in front of this house, bathed in the warm light of its lanterns, are three sullen, gray-cloaked figures, their angular features and black, flowing hair half-hidden under their cowls.
One of them steps forward. State your business.
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@drafterman
I have business with a dusk elf.
The guards look at each other, then part, allowing Grahf to enter. The house is on the small side, with a small vestibule curtained off from a single living space with a table, chair, and hearth. Wooden statuettes of elven deities stand in cubbyholes along one wall. A tapestry of a forest hangs on the opposite wall.
In the chair by the hearth is another figure clad in a grey cloak. Despite the warmth of the fire, he wears the hood up over his head.
It is tiring to refer to someone as a "dusk elf". My name is Grahf, may I ask whats yours? A Madame Eva sent me and my friends.
The elf turns away from the fire and stands up to greet Grahf.
I apologize, I was distracted by the flames. I am Kasimir, please, have a seat. I have heard of this Madame Eva. A seer of sorts, is she?
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@drafterman
Grahf sits.
Its nice to meet you Kasimir. My friends and I met Eva in our quest to defeat Strahd. Eva and her card readings gave us clues in how to defeat Strahd. One lead us to you, another we have not found yet refers to "amber doors". Also, Eva says that we can help you with something.
Kasimir leans back in his chair and pauses in thought.
Kasimir: The degree to which those things align with my thoughts as of late is... eerie to say the least. The "amber doors" can only be a reference to the Amber Temple, located high up the slopes of Mount Ghakis along the southern border of the valley. I believe it is there that Strahd became the Devil he is, and I believe it is there he can be unmade.
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@drafterman
How far away is the Temple?
Kasimir: As the path goes, about 20 miles. But the mountains are host to horrible beasts. Giant birds. Not to mention the fact that the Amber Temple is heavily guarded and home to Dark Powers.
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@drafterman
(Kasimir) What can you tell us about the festival and local church? We are going to look for the missing child, if there's anything you can tells us it would be much appreciated.
Kasimir: I know little about Vallaki. They associate us with the Vistani and we are not allowed within the town borders. As far as the missing girl, all available dusk elves, save myself and the house guards, are out looking for her. If she was anywhere in the vicinity, she would have been found out my now.
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@drafterman
(I will describe the hags to see if he or has heard anyone that may have seen them around, does he know what a hag is and if so what does he know about them, weaknesses, how long they would keep a child before doing whatever it is they do with them etc)
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@drafterman
Are you in need of help?
Kasimir: Yes, I've heard of such creatures and it does not surprise me that they have taken root here. There are many unsavory things that inhabit this valley, thriving in the shadow of Strahd, even if they are not in league with him. I know that they are a form of fiend, shapeshifters that can take humanoid form. They are extremely strong and resilient for their appearance and can withstand physical and magical attacks that destroy most beings.
Their power is significantly increased in numbers. The key to defeating them would be to separate or kill them so that their numbers are less than three. Use magical or silver weapons and avoid extreme heat or cold as this does not bother them as much. An area of anti-magic or silence would significantly inhibit their magical abilities, but they are often very crafty and able to counter such things if they are prepared and see it coming, but less able to get rid of such effects when they are in place.
I can only imagine what unsavory things they would do with a child, but if it is what I think, then I imagine they would... fatten the victim up before using them for that purpose. A process that could take days, weeks perhaps.
Kasimir frowns slightly: My sister. She was corrupted by Strahd and it resulted in her death. Lately I have been plagued by dreams of her. She has been pointing me toward the Amber Temple. In addition to finding a way to unmake Strahd, I believe it holds the secret to bringing me sister back from the grave. If you help me achieve this goal, I will join you in ending Strahd's reign over this valley.
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@drafterman
When can you set out for the Temple? We can set out in perhaps a few days.
Kasimir: I am ready whenever you are. But I caution that the temple is extremely dangerous. Night Hags would be a welcome respite compared to visiting this place.
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@drafterman
Most certainly we will help you, our paths are the same now. Currently we are ill equipped to take on many of the tasks that lie before us, but we are trying remedy our situation as quickly as possible. I had to relinquish my only silvered sword to the hags. Perhaps we may find more in some of the surrounding points of interest we shall be visiting. If there are any areas you recommend we go first that would be helpful. Such useful tools aren't very common and or highly coveted.
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@secularmerlin
@Buddamoose
@Earth
@kindertina
(I'm not very confident we can deal with the side quests we want to try, in fact i think no matter what, we will get our collective buttocks kicked again. We need a way to deal with and survive spell casters, that seems to be our party's huge weakness, though I'm not sure what we could do different)(did we check with the priest for potions and scrolls? Those still might not be enough but with some lucky rolls it could give us the W)
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@TheDredPriateRoberts
(A sword is in the Amber Temple. We can just run in and if we're lucky, we can get it without a fight. It'll be a breeze after that.)
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@Earth
yeah except...... on a side note, I really want to go and smite some stuff, try out the new skills etc
Kasimir: I am ready whenever you are. But I caution that the temple is extremely dangerous. Night Hags would be a welcome respite compared to visiting this place.
Not to mention the fact that the Amber Temple is heavily guarded and home to Dark Powers.
(Here's those Amber doors from her prophecies 👍.)
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@TheDredPriateRoberts
We need a way to deal with and survive spell casters, that seems to be our party's huge weakness
(Precisely, but being weak against casters is honestly not out of the ordinary considering most casting classes don't get any interrupts or dispels until level 3 spell slots. This is why I got dispel magic and why I'm getting counterspell next level with one of my magical secrets 👍).