Curse of Strahd [D&D 5e; Closed]

[Lyku]

Since Mordekainen's came out today for those who preordered, is the material in there permitted?

[Chulanowa]

In order of preference...



#1 concept:

Jhessail Amblecrown
CG Female Protector Aasimar Swashbuckler (Tymora)
High stats: Pretty well-rounded; Not the best in Strength.
Roles: Snappy comebacks, steamy kisses, derring-do, skillmonkey, and absurd damage output.
Sheet: https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1589591

Personality: Jhessail ("Jessa") likes to present herself as a typical cocky bravo, hard all the way through. She scoffs, rolls her eyes, and enjoys sarcasm. This is a veneer; on the inside, and not very far below the surface at that, she's a woman with  strong sense of right and wrong.This is an ethics thing and not a legal thing though; she's happily punch a baker in the nose and steal his muffins to feed a hungry orphan, if it came up. She is a bravo though, and does enjoy fighting, if only for the chance to show herself off. She (currently) has no idea about her celestial heritage - "What, you mean you can't see in the dark? Weird!"

Background: Jessa hails from Neverwinter, where she grew up hopping from boat to barge to dinghy as part of her family's "empire' - a small fleet of crab boats owned by her father, a shipping barge owned by her uncle, and mother's curious side-business of providing romantic gondola rides along the Neverwinter river. it was only natural that she should join the family business on the water, and learned to sail, fish, tie ropes, and make herself scarce. Along the way she picked up a number of tricks and tips from the other dock rats, including a bit of swordplay. Needless to say her parents didn't approve of her shooting dice with the dockworkers (especially the boys) and did everything they could to encourage her to take a more professional course. when her brother Tomar bought his way to the head of a wagon trail plying the High Road, it was the perfect opportunity!

In fact away from the sight of her parents, among the mulekickers and lead-peddlers of the merchant caravans, she only became more like what her parents didn't approve of; especially after her first few scuffles with bandits that resulted in the ruffians being disarmed, bare-assed, and sent to the stocks. That was adventure! Jessa broke camp one morning with some like-minded adventurers headed to Waterdeep, and hasn't been back yet. Her family doesn't approve (and Tormar is especially mad since he was supposed to 'watch out for her") but the annoyed letters and sendings demanding she come home dropped off precipitously after she sent the first bag of gold home. She explains it as expanding the family business from shelling crabs to perforating rust monsters... but really she's in it for the thrill of the adventure!



#2 concept:

Melinor Markavio Morgendorffe, Master Mystical Manipulator of Muddale
LG Male Human Conjurer (Mystra)
High Stats: Intelligence & Wisdom; tougher than he looks.
Roles: Voice of reason, grandpappy advice, raw untamed cosmic power, supplies butterscotch candies.
Sheet: https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1587883 (90% complete)

Personality: Melinor looks too old for this shit, but he doesn't act like it; Every day is, well, a new day, and there's something to learn. The fact is he knows he's not getting any younger and wants to make the most of what he has. He's a good-hearted man, and quite down-to-earth, as wizards go. A little eccentric. is very much a conjurer of cheap tricks, but also probably some that have some expensive components.

Background: Melinor's earliest memory was drowning; surrounded by water and debris, unable to tell up from down, then blackness. His next memory is a soft-faced old woman tending him in bed. She'd fished him out of the river and brought him back to her cottage to try to put some life back into him. Over the years he put the pieces together; a massive flood had swept his own village away as a boy, and carried him far downriver to the little bogside village of Muddale. And so, it was in Muddale that the orphan grew up, eventually becoming the apprentice of the town's shaky old wizard, Herminifus Hereford. When the creaky old man passed on (not exactly died, there's any number of things that can make a conjurer stop being where he is...) Melinor inherited the tower, the library, and the responsibilities; which mostly consisted of casting minor enchantments, tutoring the mayor's children, and providing fireworks for festivals. Muddale was proud to have its very own wizard, and so Melinor wanted for little, and found happiness in his life.

it was just over a year ago that Muddale came under attack, though; A trio of swamp giants and their lizardfolk servants stormed the town and laid seige to it. Melinor took the lead of defenses after the milita captain fell to a thrown tree, and his spells and guidance led the remainder of the town to victory; the giants were slain, the lizards driven back into the swamp. It wasn't without cost though; many in the town were dead, and Melinor's own tower had been demolished and burned. he took it as a sign. After doing what he could to help the town rebuild, he bid his farewells and struck out, overcome by a sudden urge to see more of the world before his own time came - and maybe even find his own family, if anyone is left.

[Kathyan]

*pulls out microphone*  So, cherry, what's your opinion on wolfes?

You ask the girl who was raised with and who rolls over with wolves? ^^
and who dances with wolves too :P

Well that's easy
Smarty wolves are sexy


Wild wolves are bad
but who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

[Roleplay Frog]

but who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

My gravedigger, propably. .. 's a very big wolf ok! Think of the size of the coffin you need for that one..

[Kathyan]

My gravedigger, propably. .. 's a very big wolf ok! Think of the size of the coffin you need for that one..

:o How come?

[Revelation]

Ana Field, failed paladin
CG Female Fighter
High Stats: Str, Con or Dex. Low: Cha or Wis
Roles: Laying on hurt.
Sheet: TBD

Personality: Ana seeks to do good, in her own way. A woman who loves a good fight, and loves winding down from one even more, she seeks to be a hand wielding a blade for those who cannot hold one themselves, and strives to be a good person... But between a reckless nature and an act first, think later policy that she tries to contain, one can see why she did not have the resolve to be a proper Paladin. In addition, she seems to have pangs of guilt over something she would rather not speak of, that only further her actions to aid others.

Background: Ana Field was a young girl when she first heard tales about brave knights facing down horrible monsters, and the idea stuck with her ever since. A tomboy at heart, she sought to replicate those daring heroics and chivalrous acts with a stick-sword in hand, and either batting at invisible dragons or pretending that the other kids were likewise heinous villains in need of proper punishment. While her parents were simple blacksmiths, they sought to encourage their daughter in any way they could, even forcing a proper (if dulled) blade for her to test her mettle with. And it just so happened that as she aged into a young woman, that zeal and desire to do good caught the eye of an elder paladin, one seeking to have a worthy apprentice and squire to train into a knight. Ana was a natural for such a spot, and with some initial reluctance from her family, she was soon off, learning the basics of how to properly fight, and how to take care of herself in the field of battle.

In fighting, she was an ace. She knew how to swing a sword, her strength surprised even the paladin, and what were first clumsy and over-reaching strikes became the paced dance of battle for her, skills she'd show her aptitude at time and time again. Her other training however did not go so well. Matters of faith did not entirely elude her, but she saw no reason as to follow such things so strictly. Her devotion laid more in her skill at arms with a blade, rather than her own inner zeal and drive. Such matters were not trivial, but the elder knight thought that such recklessness and lack of devotion could be hammered out and that the raw iron that was Ana could be forged into honed steel.

This was not to be the case. As the years went by, Ana seemed stymied by many tests sent before her, but it was one specific incident that sent things beyond the pale. The knight and his apprentice were sent to rescue towns people from goblins that had captured them - simple enough, yet Ana found more joy in the art of combat, carving her way through goblins and seeking vainglory through conquest than any proper heroics. When they finally arrived at the holding cells of the hostages, Ana found herself face to face with the Goblin Chieftan himself... And recklessly charged into an obvious ambush as hidden greenskins made their move to try and subdue the woman. The knight himself had to protect the civilians, and to even his horror, his aging body and fading skills were not enough. By the time a bloodied - gravely injured Ana had skewered the goblin chieftan, a number of innocents were dead.

The knight was furious, reprimanding her, chastising not just her but himself for wasting his years on such a reckless woman who clearly could never live up to expectations. It was a night that Ana remembers bitterly, but clearly. By the end of it, Ana and the elder knight had parted ways, though he was gracious enough to at least heal her wounds.

It's been a year since then, and while Ana still seeks to do good, some of her more reckless nature has been calmed... But she still finds herself acting without thinking in an attempt to show herself that even if some of her training was in vain, she was not going to let innocents be harmed again.




Using some art I had commissioned some time ago, been wanting to use it for a character in a D&D game and this one seems perfect for giving it a try.

[nomadsoul]

Since Mordekainen's came out today for those who preordered, is the material in there permitted?

Tome of Foes approved :-)

[Florence]

I've been trying to think on how to answer the question of what I'm hoping for from this campaign... I hope this is a decent answer, if a bit rambling, lol:

I guess I'm just hoping for a chance to explore the various characters. However the campaign goes (I'll admit to not being terribly familiar with Curse of Strahd), I'd like to explore how my character responds to it. To me that's sort of the fun of rp in general, creating characters and then seeing how they respond to whatever happens outside of your control. While certainly combat is fun, and I absolutely am looking forward to trying out 5e's monk class in action, I'm definitely more of a character and story based player myself. I prefer D&D as a means of using rules to structure a narrative that creates a fun, interactive story, as opposed to viewing it as a game to be 'beaten'.

[Chulanowa]

Alright, got both my concepts put up!

[nomadsoul]

Awesome Chula.  Since it doesn't seem we're likely to see new PCs at this point, I'll close up and start making deliberations.

[Roleplay Frog]

Awesome Chula.  Since it doesn't seem we're likely to see new PCs at this point, I'll close up and start making deliberations.

Dart board with characters plastered on it. Nono. Name-lottery! .. write the names on a variety of treats, see which one your pet eats first.

No wait, I got it, play a round of Magic the gathering for each character, building theme-fitting decks. I demand mine incorporate both rest in peace and gravedigger and still work.

[nomadsoul]

Okay, so I've settled upon six (after being advised about the potential for dropouts), which leaves the victims chosen of Strahd to be:

Bibliophilia - Kinsey Mallowsweet
Changingsaint - Anton Petrovna
Chulanowa - Melinor Markavio Morgendorffe
Kathyan - Cherise 'Cherry' Wulfur
RedPhoenix - Acantha de Rollo Obsidia Daemonblest Wei
Roleplay Frog - Alexander Gravenholme

I'd like to thank everyone else for the submissions and know that it was a hard choice in several instances.  Of course, it will always be possible (in the instance of drop offs) that I might get in touch, since its fairly easy for people to find their way into the setting, given the story.  I wish you all a great day, and perhaps our paths will cross again! :-)

For the chosen, please head off to the OOC thread and post up thy characters. ;D

[Zaer Darkwail]

Damn, well good luck everyone and have fun :)