Session Analysis
The Fine Print on Wishes
The Party
Julius
Human Monk
Ja'ms
Half Orc Bard
Elora Meridian
Half Elf Ranger
Drisella Red Dawn
Half Elf Druid
Azareal Dawnsinger
elf Cleric
Namta
Tiefling Bard
Session Recap
A vampire hunter named Esmeralda de Avenir crosses paths with the party at the Abbey forge, revealing herself as Vistani and mentor to the legendary hunter Van Richten. Over shared information, she learns Vasili is a vampire and that Lukan is Strahd's protégé, and she departs to investigate the Abbot herself. Ja'ms and Elora follow her into the Abbey, only to witness the Abbot hurl Esmeralda through a window after she strips away his amulet. The party swarms in, discovering the Abbot is no man but a fallen deva—a broken angel with skeletal glass wings and his god's symbol burned from his chest. Cornered and held, the deva reveals shocking truths: he was sent to heal the three cursed party members. He diagnoses Julius (health potions no longer work), Elora (infected with a shapeshifter virus), and Namta (her hands have a will of their own), each cursed by their wish to the djinn. He also admits to procuring Vasilka to specification for Vasili in exchange for passage off the plane. The session ends with the party reeling from the revelation of their curses.
Notable Quotes
"I may not know my werewolves, but I know a bitch when I see one."
— Elora, sizing up the newcomer
"There are no happy stories here in Barovia. Either all of Barovia gets saved or none of it."
— Esmeralda, dampening the mood as usual
"You made a terrible mistake in putting your trust in an otherworldly being that didn't belong."
— The fallen deva, gently informing Julius that his health potions are now decorative
Developing Situations
- Determine whether to help heal or eliminate the fallen deva Abbot, per Lythander's fragmented command to Azareal
- Find a way to lift the three curses inflicted by the djinn's wishes—Julius's potion immunity, Elora's shapeshifter infection, and Namta's rebellious hands
- Find a magical conduit for Namta to safely channel her spells
- Decide whether to still complete the ale delivery and wedding dress task now that the Abbot's true nature is exposed
- Investigate the significance of the crumbling stone replica sun amulet retrieved by Spike
- Determine what to do with the platinum sun medallion the deva insists must be destroyed and cannot exist on this plane
- Reconcile with Esmeralda de Avenir, who intends to kill the deva and travel with the party to Vallaki
- Uncover the full truth about Vasilka being procured to exact specifications for Vasili
Major Events
A Hunter in the Snow
While Julius gathered snow for the forge, a woman named Esmeralda de Avenir approached, initially mistaking the naked, hairy Julius for a werewolf and demanding he spin to prove he had no tail. Over a tense standoff—punctuated by Elora shooting an arrow through the woman's coat—the party established she was a Vistani vampire hunter hired by burgomaster Dimitri to hunt werewolves. Barred from Namta's hut, she made a fire outside and traded information. She revealed she seeks Van Richten, her lost mentor, and the vampire lord responsible for imprisoning Barovia. The party told her about Vasili turning into a bat and Lukan being Strahd's protégé. She recognized Madame Eva as 'Little Eva,' an orphan child she once knew, realizing with unease how long she had been trapped in Barovia. Two Tarokka readings hinted at 'Evil's bride' at the Abbey and marked the party as cursed 'Two of Paladins.'
The Silvering of Crush
Julius undertook the delicate work of imbuing his living construct Crush with silver for the coming werewolf hunt. Melting a portion of Crush in the forge and fusing it with molten silver, Julius endured a series of Constitution saving throws as the process caused Crush to squirm painfully in his arm, cracking his fingernails. With each dip and quench, Julius experienced fleeting flashbacks—hands playing peekaboo in a familiar forest, his infant hands splashing in a stream while his mother looked on—each memory vanishing completely the moment it surfaced. Despite taking damage and a point of exhaustion, Julius succeeded, and Crush emerged able to reshape into a silver-tipped scimitar, javelin, or a bracelet with a silver line running through it. Julius also crafted silver-tipped arrows, handing two to Elora before she departed for the Abbey.
The Abbot Unmasked
Ja'ms and Elora trailed Esmeralda into the Abbey and witnessed the Abbot violently throw her through a window, her body colliding with Elora. Esmeralda revealed she had stripped away the Abbot's amulet—a fake stone imitation—exposing him as an illusion. When Ja'ms's failed Charm Person caused the Abbot's concentration to break, his true form was revealed: a fallen deva, a celestial being floating above the ground with skeletal glass wings and the burned-out mark where his god's symbol once sat. Combat ensued with the deva held and stunned. Namta used her mysterious d20, rolling a feather-symbol that unleashed lethal sunlight, singeing the deva's ash-turning skin. Azareal recognized him as a fallen deva matching Lythander's earlier warning about a fallen brother to save or eliminate.
Three Curses Diagnosed
As the party debated killing the deva, a bubble seemed to pop in the room and the Abbot suddenly understood his true purpose—he was sent to heal the three cursed party members who had made wishes to the smoke djinn. Reading each of them, he revealed Julius's curse: health potions will never restore his health again. He told Elora she is infected with a spreading shapeshifter virus that will prevent her from holding her form. He warned Namta that her hands now have a mind of their own and may betray her when casting spells, suggesting she find a magical conduit. His wings displayed a projection of the djinn as proof. Insight checks (many boosted by luck points) confirmed the deva genuinely believed his words and had specifically singled out only those who made wishes. The party was left stunned, grappling with the reality of their curses as combat remained frozen with the deva still held.
DM Archetype
Achievements Unlocked
Ja'ms
Charmed, I'm Sure — Wait, No
You looked a floating glass-winged fallen angel directly in the face, cast Charm Person on him, and were informed with serene condescension that he is immune to charms and can literally see your spell happening in real time — at which point you shrugged, patted his shoulder, watched your hand pass through him as he phased out of existence, and said 'I try.' You did try. That's what matters.
Elora Meridian
Primeval Awareness: Whoops Edition
You cast Primeval Awareness, felt undead above you, a god in the next room, and immediately turned to Ja'ms to say 'I think we made a mistake' — thirty seconds after you both voluntarily climbed over a wall into a haunted abbey because a stranger looked cool doing it. The awareness was primal. The timing was not.
DM
The Reveal Was Always A Glass-Winged Angel, Obviously
You spent the entire session carefully orchestrating a mystery around a suspicious monk, let the party attack him, stun him, poop on him from a familiar, and debate killing him for twenty minutes — and then landed the reveal that he's a celestial being sent specifically to help them, complete with a custom 3D model you imported just for the occasion. The timing was immaculate. The model had a dick hat.
Namta
Let There Be Sunlight, I Guess
You reached into your mysterious d20 bag of unknown consequences, landed on a feather symbol, and accidentally unleashed lethal sunlight in a closed room full of your own party members — who all then had to make Constitution saves to not go blind. The fallen angel got singed into ash patches. Everyone else was fine. Probably fine. You immediately blamed the dice.
Julius
Memories Are Overrated Anyway
You successfully fused silver into your living weapon companion by enduring two rounds of nail-cracking agony and two flashbacks of your earliest childhood memories — hands playing peekaboo in a forest, your mother's face — which then vanished completely and permanently the moment the silver set. Crush got a cool silver stripe. You lost your mother. Fair trade.
Drisella Red Dawn
A Red Squirrel's Opinion On This Situation
You burned a second-level spell slot to Wild Shape into a giant red squirrel in a room with a fallen angel, contributed exactly zero combat actions, and then let Quincy whisper in your ear that he personally would like to gnaw out the deva's throat and you just said 'sounds good' like this was a completely reasonable tactical conference. Druid diplomacy is a spectrum.
Azareal Dawnsinger
I Recognize This Prayer, Sir
A floating skeletal-winged fallen celestial told you he hadn't heard a word from Lythander since his wings fell off and didn't believe you could speak to him either — and you looked him dead in his angelic face and said, stone cold, 'I'm not lying to you.' You stabbed him first. Then you said it. The order of operations was very Azareal.