The session opened with the party gathering in the safety of Lenti’s Mushroom Castle, where she had just completed a solitary, cleansing journey and returned with two. brand-new-and-improved Dodds. Henry, Tom’s possum companion, arrived with a letter summoning the group to Tom Paronskaft’s Curiosity Shop in Rivière Dorado. For the first time, Elyn’s companions would meet her adoptive father. Tom introduced them to an unexpected guest: Morwen, the Gnoll Inquisitor, accompanied by her massive Battle Bird mount, Rust. Morwen, tight-lipped about her quarry, explained she was hunting someone in the Demiplane of Dread and required the party’s combined strength to survive the journey ahead.
Tom wasted no time with pleasantries and revealed his role as the keeper of the Sigil of Wrath. He expressed deep resentment toward the Dark Hierophant, whose disregard for the well-being of Bald (sigil-bearers) felt like a betrayal of his oath. In defiance, Tom had forged a Sigil of Deception (twisting his oath to brand Elyn with a “Sigil denoting lies”) and presented it to Elyn. To ensure its safe adoption, Lenti volunteered to enter an extradimensional box maintained by Tom, a space where time flowed inconsistently. She spent a full month attuning to the Crown of the Rat King, Chastity, while only minutes passed for the others. Emerging with the Crown, Lenti allowed the Sigil of Chastity to briefly possess her and applied the Sigil of Honesty onto Elyn. The two sigils merged into a single, intricate Sigil of Balance, neutralizing the chaotic influence.
With the sigil matters resolved, the party boarded the Goat Float and traveled to the edge of the cursed mists. Echo was left behind due to the Domain’s corrupting nature. Guided by Elyn’s Sunken Eye Compass, they entered the swirling gray fog on foot and emerged around 9:00 AM in the “brighter version” of Daggerford. Temporal instability was immediately apparent, as was the strange way the townsfolk perceived them: Korloth and Loarkon appeared as Orcs, Cut-Cut as an Elf, Lenti as a Southern Grazanite wearing a massive sombrero, and Morwen as a shaggy human riding an ostrich. Adrian spoke briefly with a quiet hooded traveler and learned that the tavern offered free bread and ale to the poor, a kindness confirmed by Elara Gruff, the tavern co-owner. Later, at the Temple of Tymora, Father Morian condemned the party and demanded the "Orcs" leave his house of worship. Outside, they overheard Goruk, the Mine Supervisor, discussing the dangerous buildup of flammable, poisonous gas in the mine shafts. That day, Elyn successfully infiltrated Lord Vayne’s castle and discovered he was using psionics to pacify distraught peasants.
Then, the town’s routine soon unraveled into nightmare. After the midday clamor, the party experienced their first reality shift into the darker version of Daggerford, a ruined landscape. Drawn by the sound of a crying baby, Adrian investigated a broken orphanage and found a Doll Golem in a crib. It attacked immediately, joined by three clown-clothed Carrionettes and a Vampire Child. Morwen showcased her power, slamming her Orc Double Axe deep into the Doll Golem. The party was winning the brutal fight when reality shifted back to the brighter version, revealing Korloth standing over a child he had accidentally knocked to the floor with his hammer. They were promptly ejected from the orphanage.
Refocusing on the mines, the party convinced Goruk that they were national inspectors (quite a feat since Gorak mentioned that they had an inspection earlier that day) and entered the shafts. The party determined that the poisonous gas was a natural but dangerous phenomenon unlikely to threaten the surface. Upon further investigation, they traced a stream of new water to the Well Gem beneath the main cistern and confirmed a catastrophic crack that was leaking water into the mines at an alarming rate. At 6:00 PM, they witnessed the Dusk Assembly were the citizens of Daggerford had to pay tithes and swear fealty to LordVayne. They then secured lodging at the Guilded Cage Inn, where they confirmed their blurred identities in a full-length mirror. The main cistern collapsed at 9:00 PM, presumably from water erosion from the broken Well Gem. They rushed back to the Inn, where Bao Bao realized she was no longer recovering psionic energy—a chilling sign that reality itself was resisting their healing powers. As time ran out, they confirmed their theory: water from the cracked gem had raised the level of the gas to a high enough level to impact the town. Just before midnight, the town exploded in fire and destruction and immediately reset.
Early the next morning, Elyn infiltrated the castle again and found a massive Emerald Gem in Vayne’s unoccupied study. Like most things in the brighter version of Daggerford, she could not interact with it. Afterwards, the party then persuaded the ever-dismissive Lord Vayne to protect the Well Gem. He revealed a shortcut beneath the cistern, where they found the Gem still intact. Vayne agreed to let them guard it and promised a detail of guards that never arrived.
While waiting, Morwen slipped away unnoticed on Rust to pursue her own undisclosed mission. Minutes later, reality shifted. The Well Gem was gone and the area dry. Elyn and Cut-Cut scouted the now-obliterated castle and discovered a miraculously intact stained-glass window in the nearby ruined chapel. When Elyn touched it, the Psionic Lich-Vayne appeared and demanded her submission. The window animated into a Glass Golem, and two nearby Gargoyles joined the assault. Elyn was immediately petrified by the Gargoyles, and the rest of the party rushed to her aid. During the battle, Lenti was also turned to stone, this time by the Glass Golem’s Prismatic Ray. The Dodds retrieved the party’s magic chisel to un-petrify Elyn, and Phillip used it to free Lenti. After a hard-won victory, the party recovered the huge emerald from the Lich’s corpse. Elyn identified it as Vayne’s Phylactery, recognizing both the danger of his resurrection in 24 hours and the possibility that it could help them gain access to his lair or crypt. Soon after, reality shifted again to the lighter version of Daggerford.
Back in the immutable echo of the town, the party investigated the untouched Vayne Family Crypt. On the crypt door they found an emerald-shaped impression and deduced that the lock mechanism required a precise sequence of gem-cutting stages like a combination lock. To unravel its secrets, they sought out Madam Zira, the silver merchant that they met on the first morning in the Lady Luck tavern, who was soon revealed to be Vistani (a culture of nomadic people who dwell in ornate wagons). With her guidance, they studied a tome on gem-cutting and pieced together the crypt’s potential combination. Zira then introduced them to her sister, Madam Varka, a fortune-teller whose Tarokka Reading concluded the session and offered veiled insight into the nature of Daggerford and the party’s next pursuit: the Grim Rapier.
Note: The
following writings are from the character's perspective and are often
private to the character. They are not considered "in-game" knowledge
to the other characters, and any in-character reference to this
information would be considered meta-gaming.
Adventure Log by Syd McVay
This journal entry details the events of
Session 21 of the Castlevania campaign, starting just before the party,
the GOAT's, entered the Plane of Dread. Before their journey, I received
a letter from Tom via his messenger possum, which delighted Philip. Tom
informed us he knew about the Dark Hierophant and possessed a key to
reaching the necessary Plane of Dread. Upon arriving at his shop, Tom,
visibly injured with a cast and cane, explained his personal connection
and desire for revenge against the Hierophant, stemming from a promise
he made to someone. He provided two key tattoos: the tattoo of deception
on one shoulder and honesty on the other, intended to neutralize any
threat. Thanks to Linti’s efforts in attuning to the Crown of Chastity,
the tattoos merged down my back, forming the Scales of Balance. Tom then
shared what he knew about the Plane of Dread before we boarded our ship.
I left Echo in charge of the skeleton crew and supplies, as the plane's
dark influence was too risky for him.
After sailing through the cursed mist, we arrived at a "light version"
of Daggerfort around 9 AM. The town appeared normal, aside from an
insistent gray mist and a growing sulfurous smell. We split up to gather
intelligence, planning to meet at a central bar. Akemi and I attempted
to use charm and stealth but quickly realized we could not physically
interact with or hold onto objects, a problem that Korloth also faced
when trying to get a drink. Adrian was observed having an unsuccessful
conversation with a hooded man. We gathered outside the bar, confirming
our inability to interact with objects and sharing other strange
observations: citizens were experiencing mind-affecting defects; Korloth
was seen as an ogre; and Bao Bao sensed a strong cyanic power near the
town's edge, correlating with the intensifying sulfur smell. We learned
that every night, the townspeople were compelled to gather in the square
to pay a tax and hear their leader’s message, which we decided to
observe. Our initial plan was to scout the town, following the cyanic
trail and the smell.
Following the pervasive smell led us to some mine shafts, where we
overheard workers discussing the difficulty of their labor and the parts
of their minds they were losing due to the stench. Next, I stealthily
scouted the castle of the town's ruler, Lord Vayne, whom the citizens
are beholden to. I watched him use his cyanic power to non-violently
pacify a financially struggling citizen into consensually handing over
his last bit of money. This blatant injustice angered me, having grown a
conscience that prevents me from stealing from the truly needy. I
immediately reported what I had seen and overheard to the party.
Suddenly, the town grew dark, briefly revealing a true, horrifying
reality. A baby's cry drew us to an orphanage. Adrian, distracted by
cribs, and Korloth, distracted by a clown toy, were caught off guard as
an attack began: the baby turned into an animated porcelain doll, a
Golem appeared, three clown marionettes attacked, and a vampire baby
unleashed psychic warfare. As we began to win the fight, reality shifted
back; we found ourselves attacking real orphan children. We were rightly
shooed out, left questioning if we had seen reality uncovered or if the
illusion had been lifted. We decided to explore the mines by tricking
Gorak, the chief of staff, into thinking we were inspectors. We
discovered the gas was not inherently harmful but was emanating from a
specific direction, leading us to find that the undertunnels were
flooding because a water crystal had broken, cracked along the middle. I
tried and failed again to physically interact with the crystal.
We left the mines to observe the mandatory nightly gathering where Lord
Vayne reaffirmed the town's rules and collected taxes. He disregarded
our warning about the mine leak and the increasing sulfur smell, simply
reminding us of the 9 PM curfew and the rule against spending money
until morning. He vaguely recognized Adrian. We took rooms at the
nearest inn and looked into a specific mirror, which showed us that some
of us did not look like our true forms to the citizens. As we suspected,
the town became completely engulfed in gas, and we watched it burst into
flames before immediately resetting. The next day, we discovered that
the townspeople had no memory of seeing us before. Realizing we were
largely ineffective in this reality unless the dark took over, I
infiltrated the castle again. In the library, I found a massive green
crystal. We convinced Lord Vayne to guard it and the secret entrance to
the cavern. We went into the cavern and saw the water crystal intact,
not yet split. As we processed this, the dark reality took hold again,
and the castle was completely destroyed and crumbled. Kat Ciy and I
followed a trail to an untouched temple, where I was drawn to a
stained-glass window of a knight and two griffins. Touching the knight
caused a curse, turning me instantly to stone. My cry was heard by my
team, who rushed to my rescue. Linti's improved Dagger of Dods' allowed
him to retrieve the reversal pic, but Linti was turned to stone during
the fight before Philip saved her. The fight, joined by witches, was
difficult but we prevailed, and I managed to land a few lightning
strikes despite being shaken by the petrification. Killing the witch
caused a crystal to appear, and I identified that part of their essence
was contained within it, meaning they would return in 24 hours. Though
tempted to keep the crystal, I chose to share the information about its
nature so we could destroy it and prevent their return.
Letter to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden
Dear Master,
It may be some time before I am able to send you this letter, but writing helps fill the time while the others sleep. If the mind is allowed to wander, it is far too easy to begin jumping at shadows here. Although I would prefer to be doing something more active, to complete our mission more quickly, the rest is greatly needed, as we have had a rough time thus far on the Demiplane of Dread.
I am, however, getting ahead of myself. Our current adventure began with Elyndra receiving a letter from her adoptive father, Tom Paronskaft, requesting that the Feinting GOATs meet him at his shop in Riviere Dorado. There he revealed himself as a Bald, the bearer of the Sigil of Wrath, and shared what he knew about the Dark Heirophant. He had vowed to pass the Sigil of Lies to Elyn but did not want to put her at risk or contribute to the Dark Heirophant’s plans, so he devised a cunning plan. First, he needed one of the GOATs to claim the Sigil of Chastity by attuning to the Crown of the Rat Queen. Lenti volunteered for the task, and Tom provided an extradimensional space where Lenti was able to complete the required month of purification, while mere minutes passed for us. When Lenti emerged, Tom branded Elyn with a new sigil of his own making, the Sigil of Deception - similar enough to the Sigil of Lies to fulfil his oath, but with less associated danger. Lenti then added the Sigil of Honesty, and the two marks merged, creating balance between them.
That done, Tom provided what information he had about our next target, the Demiplane of Dread and the Grim Rapier, who bears the Sigil of Death. We began our search in a town called Daggerford, which at first seemed pleasant enough, but we soon realized something was amiss. In the light of day, Daggerford appears as a bustling, lively town, full of homes and shops and people, but these are just shadows. The town is full of objects we can’t touch, food we can’t taste, and people who don’t see us as we are and who seem to be trapped, endlessly repeating a single day – their last day. Night falls, or, perhaps more accurately, darkness falls quickly, without warning, and at random intervals, and the darkness reveals what we now believe is the true, present reality of Daggerford, a blasted ruin of crumbling stones and undead horrors.
On the first such “night” we experienced, we found ourselves suddenly on a desolate, empty street, the town seemingly devoid of life until a sound like the cry of a humanoid infant broke the silence. Most of the GOATs were suspicious, given the odd circumstances, but Adrian, ever valiant, immediately rushed off in case there was a child in need of aid. The sound led us to what remained of the orphanage, where we were set upon by a possessed doll, several clown creatures, and a small vampire. We had no choice but to defend ourselves, but just as a decisive blow was about to be struck, daylight returned in a flash, and we found ourselves in what appeared to be a normal, functioning orphanage, among normal, living children.
We have spent the “days” investigating the town, interacting with these odd, residual images of the past, attempting to determine what happened here and how we might break this loop and escape. We decided to check the local mines after overhearing workers complaining about a dangerous gas, which we thought could be related to the oppressive mist surrounding the town. A search of the mines revealed that the gas was a natural phenomenon, and due to its density, it typically posed a danger only within the lowest levels of tunnels. However, we also discovered a damaged Well Gem. Originally intended to provide a regulated supply of water, it was instead running unchecked, flooding the tunnels. As the water level rose underground, so too did the gas, which began bubbling to the surface through the town’s cistern. We witnessed the results later in the evening. First the main cistern collapsed, sinking into the eroding mine shafts and creating a massive shaft for flammable gas to be released. The noise and commotion drew many of the townspeople, who clamored for their leader, an elf called Lord Vayne, to do something, but not only did he dismiss their concerns, he kept the city gates shut tight, so there was no escape when the gas ignited, obliterating everything.
And just like that, it was morning again, everything reset, and we began playing the same day over. We had briefly met with Lord Vayne the day before, and Elyn, surreptitiously investigating his castle, had discovered that he was using psionics to control his people. However, we began to suspect that his involvement went beyond trying to placate the population and keep the mines running simply for the sake of greed. We returned to the castle for another look and managed to persuade Lord Vayne to allow us access to the Well Gem. Finding it still intact, we began to narrow down the timeline in which the Daggerford disaster occurred, but by “day” we could not interact with the gem, so we settled for simply guarding it.
We were interrupted from this endeavor by another sudden nightfall and reality shift. All at once, we were standing among the ruins of a castle, and the Well Gem we had been guarding was long gone. Elyn wanted to scout the area around the castle, and, not wanting any of the GOATs to wander alone through the cursed town, I went with her. It was very fortunate that I did. Elyn led the way just beyond the remains of the castle to a ruined chapel, where we found one stained glass window somehow still intact. It was obviously the work of magic, but before we could even consider a proper investigation, Elyn touched the window, and the armored knight depicted in the artwork animated and attacked! A pair of gargoyles flanking the window came to life as well, and, apparently drawn by some kind of arcane alarm, Lord Vayne himself, now revealed as a powerful lich, appeared as well. One of the gargoyles struck Elyn, petrifying her, and I found myself in quite a predicament. Knowing that I had only moments, and that a single misstep might result in me facing a similar fate, I sounded an alarm to alert the other GOATs to our location, then launched into a furious assault against the closest gargoyle. The gargoyles, of course, reciprocated, but I managed to avoid the worst of their initial attacks and resist petrification. Then the glass golem attacked with a devastating blow that was barely blocked by my tantalum exoskeleton’s autonomous defense mechanism. Unfortunately, I heard a horrible screech of metal, and I fear the exoskeleton may be damaged beyond repair, but it bought enough time for reinforcements to arrive. Lenti’s new mushroom companions, no longer Dodd but now Dodds – plural, were able to retrieve the Chisel of Flesh and Form from my bag of holding and restore Elyn. Lenti was also briefly petrified, and Elyn’s companion Philip was able to return the favor. Together, we were able to defeat all of the creatures and retrieve an enormous emerald, which Elyn identified as a phylactery, from the lich’s corpse.
When daylight returned and we again shifted to the past, echo version of Daggerford, we set out to investigate the Vayne Family Crypt, now certain that Lord Vayne is the key to this madness. The crypt features a complicated combination lock with symbols having something to do with gem-cutting, apparently a particular interest of the Vayne family. We recalled a silver merchant we had met the previous day (or the same day, previously) in the tavern, and sought her out, hoping she might have a jeweler’s knowledge or could introduce us to someone who did. She was able to assist us with a book about the art of gem-cutting, and also introduced us to her sister, a fortune teller, who seemed to have some insight beyond her strange, repetitive reality. She read cards and told fortunes to each of us. Time will tell if her information helps us escape this place.