Ravenloft: Bleak Tide ( D&D 5e, Lesbian ) FULL

[Dhi]

Somewhere, lurking deep within the ethereal mists, a dark dimension is ruled by dreadful and nameless powers. Some say it is a prison for the damned; some say it is a crucible to test the virtuous. Others simply call it home. It is a land of mist and shadow, love and death, sacrifice and seduction, beauty and horror. It is a land of whispered fears made manifest. It is the Realm of Dread, Ravenloft.

Bleak Tide is a Gothic horror adventure set in the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Ravenloft. While the Barovia of Curse of Strahd fame is mired in medieval superstition, Ravenloft's renaissance-level west coast regions of Darkon, Lamordia, and Dementileu have largely given up on faith in pursuit of science. As higher learning turns a lens of examination on the dismal mists, madness follows.

Madness will be a central theme of the story. Your character should not be insane, but she will encounter horrors which will challenge her, and may change her.

As part of character creation, each player will provide a short list of secret, unspeakable erotic desires appropriate to the character. When a horror check is failed, you'll choose one to be the madness which temporarily overtakes her. Some examples might be Laurie Weathermay-Foxgrove achieves climax from reckless danger, becomes attracted to monsters, or must put something sinister inside her.

Will this be system or freeform?
We'll be using the 5th edition D&D rules, tweaked by some optional rules. In addition to the optional rules everyone uses (point buy, human variant, feats), we'll be using Fear/Horror Checks, Healer's Kit Dependency, and Firearms (muskets only).

I'm not familiar with 5e/Ravenloft, can I play?
Yes. The 5e basic rules are available for free online, and there are character generators to automate no-frills characters. Most of what you'll do as a player is roll 1d20, add a bonus from your character sheet, and tell me the result.
Characters can be native to the core domains of Ravenloft. If you're unfamiliar with Ravenloft, you have recently been pulled through the mists into this dark dimension from elsewhere- perhaps the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, or somewhere of your own imagining.

Who will this be open to?
Characters should please be women open to intimacy with women. Players can be of any gender.

Can I play a kenku warlock in a Gothic horror game?
No. All characters will be subject to approval. Characters who could be disruptive to the tone will be turned away.

How much sexual content will we encounter?
Quite a bit. We'll be using Ravenloft's staples of fear and horror with an erotic element. Distressing and sexually charged situations abound, with an atmosphere of repressed tension finding release through madness. There will be explicit scenes in the main thread.

Ravenloft Inspirations

Fiction

Dracula
The Fall of the House of Usher
Frankenstein
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Monkey's Paw
Phantom of the Opera
Wuthering Heights
additionally
Dr. Faustus
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Secret Books of Paradys IV: The Book of the Mad
1984

Film

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Nosferatu (1922)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
An American Werewolf In London
The Shining
Get Out
additionally
The Witch
Eyes Without a Face

Television

American Horror Story: Asylum
The Prisoner

Video Games

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Silent Hill 2

Ravenloft: Bleak Tide has been going strong for four months. After becoming shipwrecked and rescued by a suspicious ship with dark secrets, the heroes have just arrived on the island of Doctor Heinfroth under tense circumstances.

In the process, we have lost a couple of players, and I'd like to welcome two more to join us.
Link to the IC thread
Link to the OOC thread

Our current roster is Danae Vine-Lott, a careered fighter; Corinne Lorimer, a wizard of science; and Aloisa Kriechjagd, a rogue of the night watch.

New characters could be former passengers of the ill-fated Charlotte cruise who managed to wash ashore the island, castaways from another vessel, escaped prisoners, or even heroes from another realm enveloped by Ravenloft's mists and brought to this accursed place.

[Dhi]

If this intrigues you, what I'd like to see from you is a character sketch, a working idea, before we get into game mechanics. I also can't promise that everyone will have a place, so I don't want to put you through unnecessary work.

Here's the format:

Name: Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove

Race: Human

Class: Wizard 3 (Diviner)

Short Description: Gennifer is the twin of Laurie Weathermay-Foxgrove and the more reserved of the two, at home in the libraries of Mordent piercing the darkness with the light of knowledge and preparing contingencies for those occasions when her sister's brash tactics as a monster hunter fail. She wears pair of tinted round-lensed spectacles for reading, and dresses in pleated flared skirts always with pockets to hold her tools and spell components. Her manner befits the Mordentish upper class, to which she was born into the lap of luxury. It was a chance encounter with a terrible werewolf as a young girl, and the intervention of renowned scholar of the supernatural Rudolph van Richten, which set Gennifer and her sister on a path to strip the mystery from the forces of darkness.
After the disappearance of her mentor, Gennifer swore an oath to continue van Richten's work, and together with her sister has published two additional volumes to Van Richten's Guides, covering her studies of shadow fey and the walking dead.

Dark Desires: Gennifer fears she is a latent werewolf waiting to transform, to a point of delirium. When overwhelmed, she hallucinates her late mother in lurid fantasies removed from her actual situation. Lastly, she becomes irresistibly tantalized with examining and documenting unfamiliar anatomy.

Expected Posting Rate: Twice weekly.

Code Select Expand


[float=left][img height=400 padding=8]<URL of a character image, if you have one>[/img][/float]

[b]Name:[/b]

[b]Race:[/b]

[b]Class:[/b]

[b]Short Description:[/b] <Give me a short blurb of your character concept>

[b]Dark Desires:[/b] <At least three neuroses which can take effect when the character fails a horror check.
Dark desires should be able to immediately prompt a course of action that complicates the character's goals
in a scene, should be able to facilitate smut, and should be able to cover a broad range of situations
where the character is pushed to the brink of madness>

[b]Expected Posting Rate:[/b] <How often can you reasonably post?>


[Ershin]

Ravenloft's renaissance-level west coast regions of Darkon, Lamordia, and Dementileu have largely given up on faith in pursuit of science. As higher learning turns a lens of examination on the dismal mists, madness follows.

Read this, instantly thought to myself: Druid naturalist studying the beasts and plantlife of the region. I'm trying to think which Circle would fit the concept best though - Spores to keep her humanoid form more often (getting access to Gentle Repose to preserve specimens early on for vivisection and Spores' ability to bring motion to slain creatures to see and document the limits of their motion later), Moon if she happened to try and get a close look at something that ended up getting a bit infected (and any wild-shaping would be somewhat painful as her form actually shifts) or Shepherd for the ability to get creatures worth studying to come to her.
Kind of hard to choose as the moment, but I'll have an application up as soon as possible

Or actually would a Lore Bard be better for a Naturalist? Drawing out images of flora and fauna they're studying while also having a decent intellect to do the studying?

[Dhi]

Ooh, if you're looking to re-recruit for this game, would you consider my previous submission, Lady Violette Ampère? I'd be very interested in playing her still, with any modifications you might require.

Yes, definitely! She was a great character.

Read this, instantly thought to myself: Druid naturalist studying the beasts and plantlife of the region. I'm trying to think which Circle would fit the concept best though - Spores to keep her humanoid form more often (getting access to Gentle Repose to preserve specimens early on for vivisection and Spores' ability to bring motion to slain creatures to see and document the limits of their motion later), Moon if she happened to try and get a close look at something that ended up getting a bit infected (and any wild-shaping would be somewhat painful as her form actually shifts) or Shepherd for the ability to get creatures worth studying to come to her.
Kind of hard to choose as the moment, but I'll have an application up as soon as possible

Or actually would a Lore Bard be better for a Naturalist? Drawing out images of flora and fauna they're studying while also having a decent intellect to do the studying?

Druid is a cool idea and has a niche thus far absent in the party. It sounds like you're familiar with Ravenloft already, so I'm guessing you know the unique challenges a druid faces and what their role is assumed to be in the world.
Spore druids reanimate the dead, and that's going to prompt a lot of horror checks, so I don't think that one is feasible.
Moon and Shepherd both sound great. This is not a combat-heavy game, so you might have more fun with Shepherd's abilities. But, we're also using the healer's kit dependency rule, so a Moon druid's ability to heal in wild shape could give you more freedom in your spell choices.

Lore bard could work just as well, without quite the connection to the natural world. Having a bard in the party is a great benefit.

[Marie Reynolds]

I would love to give another shot at getting into this game!

Name: Syllin

Race: Half-Elf

Class: Bard(College of Lore)

Short Description: 

Syllin grew up on the streets of Port-a-Lucine barely knowing her parents all she had was  a small box that contained a small portrait of her mother that seemed to be torn in half that might have told her who here father was. She never really sought them out  as she was taken in and cared for by other street urchins.

She grew up living with  quick wits and  quick hands, though her  real way she  got by  was by her quick tongue and convincing  people  for meager  coin running small errands or  as a  guide in the port city. This eventually  caused her to run into  a bard and  upcoming playwright and author, Rael  a half elven women saw something in the  young urchin and took her under her wing. Soon she found herself as  a main protagonist in her stories and plays despite being mentor and student they also fed each others creativity. Syllin spent her days acting  and doing performances and readings of the character she portrayed.


Dark Desires:
Bondage and Exhibitionism:  Syllin secretly craves being  bound and on display she gets a thrill out of  being admired  like a trussed up piece of art. This can be clothed or unclothed.

Emotional Intimacy: Her life as an Idol requires to  keep a facade of  having attractions develop “Normally” When what she craves is the freedom to express and be open about her needing emotional intimacy as a priority to achieve  attraction or sexual desire.

Escapology games: She  craves to engage  in challenges with a fun and flirty atmosphere  to escape restraints, either as competition against another or a cooperative game to get a reward for getting loose this can be sexually or not sexual.

While performance drew the attention of many it saw  a  ticket  to board the Charlotte, Her mentor  thought this would be a great  experience for  her young  the protege and bid her to go and enjoy the trip

[Ershin]

Druid is a cool idea and has a niche thus far absent in the party. It sounds like you're familiar with Ravenloft already, so I'm guessing you know the unique challenges a druid faces and what their role is assumed to be in the world.

Completely fair ruling on Spore druid - I honestly have little to no actual experience with the Ravenloft setting and up until doing a bit of research into Druids after you mentioned the above I was completely unaware there were challenges facing the class - honestly that just makes it more appealing, sneaking about potentially hiding both aspects of a druidic heritage and the way I envision the character delving into early scientific research on the natural world.
I'll get a post up with a character concept ASAP.

[Dhi]

Completely fair ruling on Spore druid - I honestly have little to no actual experience with the Ravenloft setting and up until doing a bit of research into Druids after you mentioned the above I was completely unaware there were challenges facing the class - honestly that just makes it more appealing, sneaking about potentially hiding both aspects of a druidic heritage and the way I envision the character delving into early scientific research on the natural world.
I'll get a post up with a character concept ASAP.

You wouldn't necessarily need to hide being a druid. There are practitioners of old faiths even in Port-a-Lucine, and they're much more common further East, where folk still fear the wilderness, fairies, and witchcraft. But if you'd like to hide your craft, that's entirely rational too.
The bigger challenge facing druids is that the natural world is especially vulnerable to Ravenloft's evils. Singularly powerful evils often corrupt the natural world in the region as their influence bleeds out into a wilderness acting on a base level. Around an accursed werewolf, the wolves of a region might develop an uncharacteristic preference for human flesh. A forest might grow black and tangled to suit a dark master. A flock of birds might descend on a wedding and attack the guests, because a powerful evil is jealous of the bride and the beasts feel that compulsion.

In an ordinary D&D game, bringing balance to nature is pretty ambiguous, because the natural world generally defaults to our own. In Ravenloft, bringing balance to nature is a very tangible thing, and druids face an uphill battle keeping that balance.

I would love to give another shot at getting into this game!

Name: Syllin

Race: Half-Elf

Class: Bard(College of Lore)

Short Description: 

Syllin grew up on the streets of Port-a-Lucine barely knowing her parents all she had was  a small box that contained a small portrait of her mother that seemed to be torn in half that might have told her who here father was. She never really sought them out  as she was taken in and cared for by other street urchins.

She grew up living with  quick wits and  quick hands, though her  real way she  got by  was by her quick tongue and convincing  people  for meager  coin running small errands or  as a  guide in the port city. This eventually  caused her to run into  a bard and  upcoming playwright and author, Rael  a half elven women saw something in the  young urchin and took her under her wing. Soon she found herself as  a main protagonist in her stories and plays despite being mentor and student they also fed each others creativity. Syllin spent her days acting  and doing performances and readings of the character she portrayed.

While performance drew the attention of many it saw  a  ticket  to board the Charlotte, Her mentor  thought this would be a great  experience for  her young  the protege and bid her to go and enjoy the trip

Hey Marie! She looks great, but what are her three dark desires?

[Ershin]

Urban outfit

Name: Medb Mag Uidhir (Anglicised: Maeve Maguire)

Race: Human (Variant)

Class: Druid (Circle of the Shepherd)

Short Description: Of druidic descent, Medb was taught reverence of nature as a child and that especially in the dark lands of Ravenloft where the fragile balance can be torn asunder easily by the evils wrought here. As she grew older, she gained a voracious appetite for knowledge that drew her away from her family and towards more formal institutes of learning, few that there may be in Lamordia that catered to her interest, in order to understand the natural world and how it actually functions. With what little money she could scrounge together she began a tutelage in natural sciences and in cases where there was a gap in the knowledge afforded by books she ventured out into the world (getting dirty and doing physical research is something she is loathe to admit she actually enjoys) to observe flora and fauna in the wild, drawing as accurate images as possible or bringing samples back in heavy sacks for dissection (and in rare cases vivisection) to learn more of the body's internal workings. Very rarely she applies her family's knowledge of the wilds to her studies, when reason holds no answers but it has been known to her people for an age with a bad habit of scribbling notes into the margins and blank spaces of research manuscripts, adding smatterings of her own findings here and there.
Medb has something of an obsession to know how things work, especially the workings of natural organisms. If she finds a creature which might be defined as unnatural, she will in most cases stop paying attention to her surroundings and the danger such creatures may hold in order to document it in order to explain how a creature may in fact be a natural occurrence, seemingly having absorbed some of the Lamordian trait of attempting to rationalise the unknown. Her fascination has caused her to travel further and further as her years of study went on.

She keeps her hair long, tying it into a bun in urban areas and had a preference for drab, earthy colours in her dress sense. She tends to keep her faith in the natural order to herself, away from the more rational-minded of her colleagues who she believes would scoff at the notion and reduce her standing within the cliques and social circles of institutes of learning, to the point she is more likely to introduce herself by "Maeve Maguire".

Dark Desires:

• When brought to the brink of fear by a monster she will attempt to document its behaviour rather than run or in the worst cases defend herself, taking out notebooks and charcoal to attempt to sketch their likeness or take notes with a shaky hand, continuing long after fear has caused her to drop her implements and leaving her rooted to the spot while unable to find her voice. During this period she is also much more suggestible and easily swayed by commands of those who can speak or to the perceived intents of beasts should she be able to comprehend either their speech or body language, such as "I wish to mate", following orders like a trained, timid animal
• Medb learned the concept of shame in terms of exposure later in her life than most and until late into her tutelage this was a foreign concept to her, and for the most part still is. She cares more for the cost of repairs or the time to be spent cleaning her clothes due to damage or being soiled than she does the fact that the tears are revealing. She's more likely to remember to be flustered when in society where more layers of clothing are seen as a requirement. While not an outright exhibitionist, she previously wasn't aware that this was a distinct thing. Horror and madness cause the loss of rational thought, making Medb act in a more bestial frame of mind where she attempts to remove herself of  the confining trappings of man.
• She has a decent knowledge of nature and druidic practice, leading her to know which plants when imbibed as a tonic can lead to the human body to experience sensual daydreams or erotic nightmares, to see the world that's really there as opposed to the filter the human mind places over the unknown and the unseen. And sometimes it can be nice to take these to relieve stress or induce visions, to sleep more soundly, or while under the influence of them to slip them to others to document their reactions. She will often imbibe such concoctions to maintain or enhance her connection to the spirits which can have lasting side effects for longer than she knows, resulting in the potential of erotic hallucinations in times of stress

[Marie Reynolds]

Sorry I missed the dark desires I have added them to the  character profile.

[Dhi]

Normally failing a horror save inflicts some kind of short-term insanity on a hero, rolled randomly on a table. Dark Desires will replace those random insanities.

When assessing Dark Desires, I'm asking myself:

• Can this cover a range of different horrors?
• Can this resolve immediately, in the current scene?
• Does it create a new obstacle to the hero's goals in the scene?
• Does failing the save give the player something fun to write?
• Is it erotic?

Medb:
Paralysis is good on most fronts, but I'm not sure it's erotic nor fun to write someone who can't act. Can you tweak this?

Exhibitionism is a solid choice. Can you elaborate on how it overtakes her in a moment of horror?

Drug use is difficult to resolve immediately, unless she has the drugs on her and is compelled to use them. Or, erotic hallucinations could work. What do you think?

Syllin:
Bondage is a great one.

Emotional intimacy, can you make this an obstacle for her? I'm not sure how it would play out in a scene of horror.

Escapology games sounds fun as a kink, but it needs some tweaking as well to become an obstacle in a horror scene. When darkness clutches Syllin's heart and this secret Dark Desire bolts from the hidden recesses of her psyche, how does it overwhelm her?

[Ershin]

Normally failing a horror save inflicts some kind of short-term insanity on a hero, rolled randomly on a table. Dark Desires will replace those random insanities.
Medb:
Paralysis is good on most fronts, but I'm not sure it's erotic nor fun to write someone who can't act. Can you tweak this?

Exhibitionism is a solid choice. Can you elaborate on how it overtakes her in a moment of horror?

Drug use is difficult to resolve immediately, unless she has the drugs on her and is compelled to use them. Or, erotic hallucinations could work. What do you think?

Certainly, how do you feel about changing "paralysis" to "suggestible"? Perhaps starting with paralysis, Medb becomes easily swayed by commands of those who can speak or to the perceived intents of beasts should she be able to comprehend either their speech or body language, such as "I wish to mate"?

I'm loathe to admit I'm struggling a little to consider how exhibitionism would overtake her during horror, I'll likely need to think of something to outright replace this as it's not really horror. Or rather, the only thing I can think to alter it would be the loss of her rational mind to make her think more like a beast that needs to be rid of her heavy trappings?

For the third, I'm thinking perhaps that a little of the leaves, herbs or flowers she may have recently used to "commune with spirits" (especially considering the spirits used for the majority of the Circle of the Shepherd abilities) is still coursing through her system causing said erotic hallucinations to occur during times of stress?

[Dhi]

It sounds like you have a theme going of Medb reverting to animal behavior. Suggestibility could definitely work. I like it more than paralysis because Medb can still be active in the scene.

That change to her exhibitionism Dark Desire fixes the issue I had with it, but if you'd rather change it to something else you're more than welcome.

Druidnip and its side effects sound great for the third, I like it.

[Marie Reynolds]

The Emotional intimacy  could be  tapped by being  thrust into a situation  or a nightmare  where she is  stuck in  normally sexual relationships where  needs are not met and she has to endure  being stuck in these relationships.

The escapology game thing  could be taken to a darker place then she would  go for her fantasies, being  bound in positions  and the fallout of her escape would cause  someone else to suffer and if  she fails  to escape she has to experience something painful or discomforting , preferably it does not maim her.

Does that work?

[Dhi]

Marie:
It's a difficult needle to thread with Dark Desires. Those are not quite what I'm looking for.

In Ravenloft's Age of Reason, there's an element of sexual repression appropriate for a renaissance era. Dark Desires are the things polite adventurers keep hidden, which may manifest when she's confronted by something so terrible it can't be believed.

The emotional intimacy angle is more of a complication for Syllin. In a scene where Syllin comes across her mentor's secret library of black eldritch books, I might ask you to make a horror check. On a failure, I'll ask you to act out one of her Dark Desires. Self-bondage is possible. I don't think there's a way to use emotional intimacy or escapology games in most situations, and in the situations where you can, I don't think they're obstacles for Syllin.

These are what I came up with for the example character.
Gennifer fears she is a latent werewolf waiting to transform, to a point of delirium.
On discovering the library, the NPC might believe she's transformed into a werewolf, shed her clothes and ransack the library, howling.
When overwhelmed, she hallucinates her late mother in lurid fantasies removed from her actual situation.
On discovering the library, the NPC might become detached from reality and speak to people who aren't there, then confuse the cultist who comes to silence her for her mother.
Lastly, she becomes irresistibly tantalized with examining and documenting unfamiliar anatomy.
This one probably doesn't work in the library scene, which is why having alternates is important.

If the other two are so specific to certain situations, Syllin will always need to draw on the self-bondage for a horror check, even when it doesn't make sense. I'd like you to please revisit the other two, and see if the ideas you have can be broadened into reactions to different kinds of horror.

Ershin:
Can you get a 3rd level sheet of Medb to me with the changes we discussed?

[Ershin]

Ershin:
Can you get a 3rd level sheet of Medb to me with the changes we discussed?

I can indeed - I've made changes to the Dark Desires in the post above and posted again via the spoiler box below;

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Urban outfit

Name: Medb Mag Uidhir (Anglicised: Maeve Maguire)

Race: Human (Variant)

Class: Druid (Circle of the Shepherd)

Short Description: Of druidic descent, Medb was taught reverence of nature as a child and that especially in the dark lands of Ravenloft where the fragile balance can be torn asunder easily by the evils wrought here. As she grew older, she gained a voracious appetite for knowledge that drew her away from her family and towards more formal institutes of learning, few that there may be in Lamordia that catered to her interest, in order to understand the natural world and how it actually functions. With what little money she could scrounge together she began a tutelage in natural sciences and in cases where there was a gap in the knowledge afforded by books she ventured out into the world (getting dirty and doing physical research is something she is loathe to admit she actually enjoys) to observe flora and fauna in the wild, drawing as accurate images as possible or bringing samples back in heavy sacks for dissection (and in rare cases vivisection) to learn more of the body's internal workings. Very rarely she applies her family's knowledge of the wilds to her studies, when reason holds no answers but it has been known to her people for an age with a bad habit of scribbling notes into the margins and blank spaces of research manuscripts, adding smatterings of her own findings here and there.
Medb has something of an obsession to know how things work, especially the workings of natural organisms. If she finds a creature which might be defined as unnatural, she will in most cases stop paying attention to her surroundings and the danger such creatures may hold in order to document it in order to explain how a creature may in fact be a natural occurrence, seemingly having absorbed some of the Lamordian trait of attempting to rationalise the unknown. Her fascination has caused her to travel further and further as her years of study went on.

She keeps her hair long, tying it into a bun in urban areas and had a preference for drab, earthy colours in her dress sense. She tends to keep her faith in the natural order to herself, away from the more rational-minded of her colleagues who she believes would scoff at the notion and reduce her standing within the cliques and social circles of institutes of learning, to the point she is more likely to introduce herself by "Maeve Maguire".

Dark Desires:

• When brought to the brink of fear by a monster she will attempt to document its behaviour rather than run or in the worst cases defend herself, taking out notebooks and charcoal to attempt to sketch their likeness or take notes with a shaky hand, continuing long after fear has caused her to drop her implements and leaving her rooted to the spot while unable to find her voice. During this period she is also much more suggestible and easily swayed by commands of those who can speak or to the perceived intents of beasts should she be able to comprehend either their speech or body language,  following orders like a trained, timid animal
• Medb learned the concept of shame in terms of exposure later in her life than most and until late into her tutelage this was a foreign concept to her, and for the most part still is. She cares more for the cost of repairs or the time to be spent cleaning her clothes due to damage or being soiled than she does the fact that the tears are revealing. She's more likely to remember to be flustered when in society where more layers of clothing are seen as a requirement. While not an outright exhibitionist, she previously wasn't aware that this was a distinct thing. Horror and madness cause the loss of rational thought, making Medb act in a more bestial frame of mind where she attempts to remove herself of  the confining and unfamiliar trappings of man.
• She has a decent knowledge of nature and druidic practice, leading her to know which plants when imbibed as a tonic can lead to the human body to experience sensual daydreams or erotic nightmares, to see the world that's really there as opposed to the filter the human mind places over the unknown and the unseen. And sometimes it can be nice to take these to relieve stress or induce visions, to sleep more soundly, or while under the influence of them to slip them to others to document their reactions. She will often imbibe such concoctions to maintain or enhance her connection to the spirits which can have lasting side effects for longer than she knows, resulting in the potential of erotic hallucinations in times of stress

And the sheet is here.
I was wondering if I might talk as well about the use of the Goodberry spell - would it be permitted in this campaign? Considering it can be used as a 1 HP restorative and can sustain a creature for 24 hours if eaten it has the potential of making survival away from towns quite a bit easier. If not permitted I'll exchange it for another prepared spell. If allowed should it maybe be nerfed a bit? Perhaps specifically requiring its material component of mistletoe to be present and expended when creating the berries?

[clonkertink]

As one of the current players in this game, I would just like to take a moment to say that Dhi is an excellent DM, and Bleak Tide is a delightful campaign.

[Dhi]

Yes, Goodberry is fine! Healing abilities are not a problem. The reason we're using the healer's kit dependency rule is to steer things away from the default assumption that PCs will face multiple combat encounters in an adventuring day. The first few heals are no longer  free, but expend resources, be they spells or potions or physician's supplies or goodberries.

Being able to sustain the party with goodberries is also not a problem.

Medb looks great, she is approved!
Please drop by the OOC, and we can discuss getting her into the story: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=307047
At the moment, it's pretty quiet, because we just took a short hiatus for the holiday. Soon we'll be back to posting again.

Clonkertink, thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[Velatha]

So are you still looking for any more players, or have you filled up?  I'm back from a bit of a break and am looking for new games.  I know little of Ravenloft, but 5e and lesbian are definitely some flag words that catch my interest.

[Dhi]

We can accommodate another. Do you have a concept?

[Velatha]

I have been recently really romanticizing about a tiefling celestial warlock that I haven't really gotten the chance to play yet.  I always have other ideas popping up, but that is the first to come to mind.

[TheLaughingOne]

As another player I would like to welcome the other sacri- Characters looking to join in:3

Dhi runs things wonderfully and is very fun to play with, and hope to see you in game!!

[Dhi]

Tieflings are a no go for Ravenloft. The gothic horror flavor is more particular than a fantasy melting pot like Forgotten Realms. It's especially interested in stories like Dracula and Frankenstein, and so doesn't handle a fiendish PC race very well. This is true for any of the more oddball or traditionally evil races, but tieflings have it particularly bad, as harbingers for the downfall of the Vistani people.

Is there another concept you'd like to explore?

[Velatha]

Alrighty then.  No problem at all.  That character and her quest for self discovery and acceptance can stay simmering on the back burner for a little while longer.  In the meantime I'm off to Pinterest to help me brainstorm ideas.  I'm sure I'll be back to pitch another idea shortly.

[Velatha]

So a bit of scouring images and I think maybe I've found a picture I like to build around.  What do you think of her?

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2049510

Name:Faelyn Mythrandir

Race:Wood Elf

Class:Ranger

Short Description: Raised in the snowy realm of the Frozen Reaches, Faelyn is the youngest active member of a small clan dedicated to keeping the dangers of the wilds in check.  Locals have little to fear of yeti, winter wolves, or many of the other various dangers that lurk in the unforgiving cold, at least so long as they don't stray too far from home.  Legends are spread of mysterious protectors hiding in the snow, however no conclusive proof has ever been found to prove the existence of the so called "Frost Stalkers".

Over the course of the last decade however, things have begun to take a turn for the stranger.  Odd patterns have begun to present themselves.  Sudden violent storms now brew and break seemingly in the blink of an eye, driving beasts from their normal hunting grounds and out into the open, endangering even the clan as their numbers swell.  The elders believe it nothing they need concern themselves with, that it will only pass with time, however Faelyn is less convinced.  She may not know what it is that is causing the strange phenomena, but she intends to find out.

Slipping out one night under cover of snow, she has taken it upon herself to leave her home land for warmer weather following whatever strange rumors she can until she finds who or what is responsible.  The hunt is underway.

Dark Desires:
1. Faelyn was raised with the expectation of being a silent sentry.  It is her people's way to do whatever is necessary to avoid being seen.  After leaving home however, it became painfully evident that this was a much more difficult endeavor in this world of color.  What came as a true shock however, was how much she had come to actually appreciate and even crave the attention of whomever looked her way turning herself into something of an exhibitionist.  In times of panic, whenever she looses all faith in herself, Faelyn will take whatever extreme measures she deems necessary to grab the attention of all those around her in a desperate plea for self assurance and instant gratification.
2. Ever proud in who she is and where she has come from, Faelyn refuses to abandon the heavy furs of her homeland for the lighter, more colorful garb of the lands she finds herself in.  However, if ever she believes herself to threaten bringing dishonor to herself or her clan, she will stop on the spot and frantically strip down lest her treasured garb be forever stained with shame.
3. Whatever mark Faelyn sets her eye on, she will not stop until she has emerged on top and attained her trophy, be it a freshly skinned pelt, or the smallclothes of a beautiful bar maid.  Despite her rather high opinion of herself however, there are times when fantasies run through her mind of being able to give up all control of her own destiny and let herself be completely at the mercy of those around her and for once let herself become prey to some other huntress.  No command too ridiculous, and no act forbidden.

Expected Posting Rate: At least twice a week.

[Dhi]

Faelyn looks great, I'm thrilled that she comes with story hooks. I'd like to take another pass at the Dark Desires, though.

In Ravenloft there are two special kinds of saving throws.
Fear saves occur when a character encounters something especially revolting or terrifying, and failure inflicts the Frightened condition.
Horror saves are for when a character's whole world is shaken. Something terrible has happened, and nothing makes sense anymore. Usually this would prompt some kind of random, short-term madness, but instead we're using Dark Desires.

Dark Desires should present options for a character who's failed a horror check. What Faelyn has now seems like a list of preferences, and those are fine to build Dark Desires on, but I'd like them to relate to the temporary insanity of failing a horror check. Something too dreadful to fathom transpires, and an urge Faelyn dares not speak takes over the rational mind. What is it?