Session 035

Review Characters

The PCs vs. 1 Druid and the blights
The Gulthias Tree pulses and slowly produces more twigs/vine/needle blights
🗝️ A dead adventurer lies near the tree — died trying to cut it down using a magic battleaxe
💎 #Yester Hill Axe

🎭 Davian Martikov — welcomes the party back
Before dawn breaks, some wereravens arrive speaking of an attack to the church in Vallaki

Population in disarray, very low spirits
Strahd attacked — St Andral's Feast
- 🎭 Father Lucian — killed during the attack by Strahd
- Freek (7yo) — killed by bats. Myrtle (5yo) — killed by spawns
- 🎭 Ireena — survived, but Strahd teased her. She tells the party what happened. Fr Lucian recommended het to flee to Krzek, and seek shelter in the Abbey of St Markovia
- 🎭 Rictavio — approaches the PCs about burning the priest's body

Daytime
- 3 Berserkers: You startle a wild-looking figure caked in gray mud and clutching a crude stone axe. Whether it’s a man or a woman, you can’t tell.
- Corpse: The corpse looks like Jon but has been stripped of armor, weapons, and valuables. If moved, its flesh melts away until only the skeleton remains.
Nighttime
- 3 Direwolves: A snarling wolf the size of a grizzly bear steps out of the fog. The area is lightly obscured by fog. If more than one dire wolf is present, the others aren’t far behind and can be seen as dark shadows in the fog. The dire wolves of Barovia are cruel, overgrown wolves and Strahd’s loyal servants. They can’t be charmed or frightened.
- 6 Werewolves in wolf form: You hear the howl of a wolf some distance away. Werewolves in wolf form follow the party from a safe distance for several hours. If their Dexterity (Stealth) checks exceed the characters’ passive Wisdom (Perception) scores, the werewolves attack with surprise when the characters decide to take a short or long rest. Otherwise, they wait until the characters are weakened by another random encounter before moving in for the easy kill. If captured, they can disclose the location of their den.

Yester Hill Axe — Its handle is carved with leaves and vines, and the weapon weighs half as much as a normal battleaxe.