From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

I have converted Curse of Strahd to Pathfinder Second Edition, this is our campaign. We have a party of four adventurers: Costin "P-ac-alici" Vaduva, a clever, but slightly mysterious Swashbuckler; Gideon Driscoll
"The Phantom Walker", a Bard of some renown in the region; Reduvia, aka
"Lady Mantis", a young and somewhat naively pretentious Monk; and Zoaphiel Valisynzarin, a determined Investigator driven to find the truth.

I decided to use the Plea for Help hook, since it fit nicely with the
the possibility of other clues left in CoS (namely, finding the authentic letter from Burgomaster Indirovich). This was especially true since the party has an Investigator and it would be good to play up these elements. Zoaphiel the
investigator was in fact the one who detected poor Olensky and promptly compared
the contents and handwriting, so that part is proceeding well.

The group then began to hear that the wolves, who until this point had been only sporadically howling in the distance, begin to draw closer. They decided that beating a hasty retreat back to the gates of Barovia the wiser course,
but unfortunately, the wolves proved too fast and confronted them along the road, blocking the way back. Noticing that the wolves didn't seem interested in approaching the group, but only in blocking the way, they turned back and proceeded to the only known destination in the land, the Village of Barovia.

On the way, there was a random encounter, and it took an unfortunate roll of the dice. The group stumbled upon a group of six werewolves. Clearly this would be the end if the lycanthropes decided to fight, as at this point, they were still level 1. Instead, the werewolves exchanged questions and answers with
the group, the werewolves mostly interested in learning that this was Strahd's latest playthings and the group trying, unsuccessfully, to gather more information about the situation in the Village. The werewolves played up their simple trapper identification and claimed that they had only vague knowledge of what "townies" were up to, but did seem to show signs of discomfort when questioned about the vampire or why it was they didn't often go to town (because they are werewolves). The werewolves parted ways with the party with a vague farewell that could be taken as either threat or potential friendship.

After this, they arrived without event at the Village, where we immediately transported them to the dungeon of the Death House, as the first half had been run by the group multiple times as a test for my conversion. They wisely pulled the ghoul encounter into a bottleneck to keep from being overwhelmed, and the Gideon the bard cast a clever Illusory Object to create a barrier between the group and some of the ghouls, with one ghoul in particular struggling with the perception check to disbelieve the illusion. Lady Mantis the monk, their only significant frontline presence, successfully handled most of the attacks and the group weathered the assault well.

In the shrine, the shades were no match for the group and quickly dispatched. The investigator easily found the secret door, but the group didn't explore the ladder yet, as they opted to check the door to the west, where the mimic's deception proved too clever for the investigator to detect.

Lady Mantis attempted to open the door, only to discover that her hand was being
drawn in rather than the door moving. Both the mimic's reaction strike and it's first attack after initiative was rolled dealt considerable damage to the monk, but she fought on bravely until finally the mimic swallowed her. She valliantly carried on from within, but lacking access to either piercing or slashing damage, she could do nothing to affect her escape, and after two rounds of digestive acid damage succumbed and began her death saves.

Gideon, who had bravely tried to help Lady Mantis, was the next victim. He was quickly felled by two powerful pseudopod strikes (the mimic's mouth currently occupied by the monk). Thankfully, Zoaphiel came to the rescue and was
able to finish off the mimic with a critical strike from her light pick.

This ended the session, as the group busied itself with recovering it's members from the trauma of the battle.

The group was granted all treasures from the first part of the Death House: Here is the equipment from that:
Steel Shield w/ shield boss
+1 longsword
+1 heavy crossbow w/ 20 bolts
+1 crossbow w/ 20 bolts
+1 hand crossbow w/20 bolts
Cantrip Deck (Full Pack) but Scatter Scree for Dancing Lights since the pf2e remaster makes this the same as the Light Spell
Full Plate armor
Hooded Lantern
Writing Set
Leather armor
Scroll of Bless (Rank 1)
Scroll of Cleanse Affliction (Rank 2)
Scroll of Spiritual Armament (Rank 2)
Ventriloquist's Ring (+1 to Deception skill)
Pendant of the Occult (+1 to Occult skill)
Bracelet of Dashing (+1 to Acrobatics skill)
Bracer of Missile Deflection
Doubling Rings
Shining Symbol (+1 to Religion skill)

Treasure found during the session:
72 gold worth of coin and other valuables
Crafter's Eyepiece (+1 to Crafting skill)
+1 Silver Shortsword
--
There are the known knowns, things we know we know; and the known
unknowns, things we know we do not know; but there are also the
unknown unknowns, those things we don't know we don't know...but
what about the unknown knowns, things we do not know we know?
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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

We return to the Death House this session with our heroes: Costin
"P-ac-alici" Vaduva (Swashbuckler), Gideon Driscoll "The Phantom Walker" (Bard), Reduvia "Lady Mantis" (Monk), and Zoaphiel (Investigator).

Having just discovered the secret door leading to the passage back to the
Den of Wolves, the group makes careful note of it in case the need arises
for a quick exit out of the dungeon level of the house. They then carry on their investigation of the first level of the dungeon before finally
descending to it's depths. However, the two cult leaders, now malevolent ghasts, strike hard at the group, and three of them are at various points
in the fight knocked unconscious, with Gideon being the only one not
downed. However, due to some timely healing, the group manages to overcome
the undead and uncovers more valuable loot, including some powerful cloth armor.

Following the sound of cultic chant, they at last descend into the depths
of evil and, after some minor detours in the nearby prison block, enter the ritual chamber. Here they are incredibly cautious, yet, despite their precautions, were unable to discern the nearby lurking shambler.
Eventually, Lady Mantis takes a leap onto the dias, which prompts the
restless phantoms of the cult to cry out that, "One must die!". Refusing
the demand, the group momentarily catches the attention of Strahd, whose disembodied voice comments that theirs was an interesting choice, but that
he would now see if they could survive it.

After this brief commentary, the cult cries out to Lorghoth the Decayer to
fall upon the group for their infidelity and the shambler rises out of the refuse and moves to attack. The group briefly attempts combat, but soon realises they are outmatched by this foe and quickly begin to retreat
towards the first floor of the mansion. Tragically, not all of them were
as quick to react, with Costin pausing his retreat to try and aid Lady
Mantis in battling the beast. This delay proved costly, however, when he
was caught by Lorghoth and struck down by a single mighty blow from which
he could not recover, especially with the hope of aid vanishing with his
allies rapid retreat.

After some deft attempts at navigating the deadly blades that replaced the doors after the rejected ritual, the group at last escaped the Death House
and were able to briefly mourn the loss of their compatriot. Time was
running out, however, as the sun began to set and the group needed to see
what could be discovered in the village. They quickly made their way to
the village square, where they found a sparsely populated tavern and
another clue, this time in the form of a person. It was none other than
the son of the Burgomaster, whose letter supposedly drew them into the
land of Barovia in the first place. Speaking quickly with them, Ismark Kolyanovich discerned that despite the deception, these people could be
the ones he hoped for, people strong and brave enough to rescue his sister
from the clutches of the lord of the land, Count Strahd the vampire.

Here the session ends with the group resting at the manor of the
burgomaster. The group seems willing to take up the quest, but Ireena
Kolyana complicates it by insisting that her adoptive father, the
burgomaster, be given proper last rights, having recently passed away. Our
next session will also introduce a new hero, a native to the village of
Barovia and a stalwart friend of Ismark and Ireena.
--
There are the known knowns, things we know we know; and the known
unknowns, things we know we do not know; but there are also the
unknown unknowns, those things we don't know we don't know...but
what about the unknown knowns, things we do not know we know?
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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 03:05:50 -0000 (UTC), Mortimer Houghton <mortimer@VivoBook.X512D> wrote:

We return to the Death House this session with our heroes: Costin >"P-ac-alici" Vaduva (Swashbuckler), Gideon Driscoll "The Phantom Walker" >(Bard), Reduvia "Lady Mantis" (Monk), and Zoaphiel (Investigator).

I know the write-up of your first session didn't get much response
here, and I doubt this one will either. But for what it's worth, even
if I don't have any specific commentary about your adventure, I do
enjoy reading these and hope you will continue to do these write-ups.
Don't let the lack of people replying imply that we aren't reading
your articles! At the moment, it's the closest I'm actually getting to
a table-top game! ;-)

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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

I know the write-up of your first session didn't get much response
here, and I doubt this one will either. But for what it's worth, even
if I don't have any specific commentary about your adventure, I do
enjoy reading these and hope you will continue to do these write-ups.
Don't let the lack of people replying imply that we aren't reading
your articles! At the moment, it's the closest I'm actually getting to
a table-top game! ;-)

Thanks. I will continue to do so.
--
There are the known knowns, things we know we know; and the known
unknowns, things we know we do not know; but there are also the
unknown unknowns, those things we don't know we don't know...but
what about the unknown knowns, things we do not know we know?
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On 1/21/2026 8:37 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 03:05:50 -0000 (UTC), Mortimer Houghton <mortimer@VivoBook.X512D> wrote:

We return to the Death House this session with our heroes: Costin
"P|a|Ac|a|Alici" Vaduva (Swashbuckler), Gideon Driscoll "The Phantom Walker" >> (Bard), Reduvia "Lady Mantis" (Monk), and Zoaphiel (Investigator).

Sorry, I had "Wall of Text" hit me and didn't get more than a few
paragraphs. I'm not sure if there's something you can do to make them
more readable, Spalls can probably comment on that better than I or if
I'm just a lazy reader. I know I'm being hypocritical since I always
want people to read my game reports when I make them. I'll go off and
die of embarrassment now.

I know the write-up of your first session didn't get much response
here, and I doubt this one will either. But for what it's worth, even
if I don't have any specific commentary about your adventure, I do
enjoy reading these and hope you will continue to do these write-ups.
Don't let the lack of people replying imply that we aren't reading
your articles! At the moment, it's the closest I'm actually getting to
a table-top game! ;-)

--
-Justisaur

|+-|+
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
-|-4'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:35:16 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 03:05:50 -0000 (UTC), Mortimer Houghton
<mortimer@VivoBook.X512D> wrote:

We return to the Death House this session with our heroes: Costin
"P-ac-alici" Vaduva (Swashbuckler), Gideon Driscoll "The Phantom Walker" >>> (Bard), Reduvia "Lady Mantis" (Monk), and Zoaphiel (Investigator).

Sorry, I had "Wall of Text" hit me and didn't get more than a few >paragraphs. I'm not sure if there's something you can do to make them
more readable, Spalls can probably comment on that better than I or if
I'm just a lazy reader. I know I'm being hypocritical since I always
want people to read my game reports when I make them. I'll go off and
die of embarrassment now.

Wow, recommending me as a fix to extra-long essays is sort of like
suggesting, I dunno, asking Margaret Thatcher on how to help the
working class. I'm infamous* for my long diatribes that frequently
veer off course on unusual tangents, and for my weird sentence
structure filled with hyphenated/parathensized/footnoted asides. My
writing is so convoluted that often even _I_ lose track of what I'm
trying to say. So if you want clarity on writing, I may not be the
best first choice ;-)

But if I had to give (almost certainly unwanted) advice to Mortimer,
I'd recommend the following:

a) a summary of what went on before to remind readers,
because we're all forgetful and old and easily
distracted and, oh, was that a squirrel?

b) an overview of the current session (e.g. "in this session,
the heroes mainly were involved in exploring the world and
learning about the factions involved. They also found clues
as to who the villain was, and entered their first dungeon"),
either as summary to the overall write-up, or ahead of each
new section

c) (optional) how this session fits into the overall quest.
(e.g. "The players are still at the very start of the quest
which will ultimately pit them against Bob the Evil Demon,
who lurks in Castle CurseBlood. They need to meet up with
Frank the Holy Priest who will start them onto the quest
to find the magic hairpin that is the sole weapon that
can kill Bob."

[The latter might be problematic, however, if there is a
possibility your players might read it. You don't want to
give away anything. Use at your discretion.]

The idea is that we as readers sort of want a theme and direction that
helps everything make sense. Even if, players being players, there
might not actually be much in the way of actual theme or direction.
Players do like to dick about a lot. ;-)

But it makes it more interesting to present it that way to readers.

IMHO. YMMV. WOTTOMH. IHIDWIATABSTEISWALGOS. AAF!**












* in my own mind, at least.

** In My Humble Opinion.
Your Milage May Vary.
Written Off The Top Of My Head.
I Have No Idea What I Am Talking About So Take Everything
I Say With A Large Grain Of Salt.
Acronyms Are Fun!


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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

But if I had to give (almost certainly unwanted) advice to Mortimer,
I'd recommend the following:

I'll see what I can do to make it more entertaining and palatable.
--
There are the known knowns, things we know we know; and the known
unknowns, things we know we do not know; but there are also the
unknown unknowns, those things we don't know we don't know...but
what about the unknown knowns, things we do not know we know?
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2