Episode 57

This is Episode 57 of Dice, Camera, Action.

The Party
(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander

(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard

The Fateful Wedding
Chris starts this session off carefully recapping the story. The group was pulled into Barovia by Paultin's Shadow, which was possessed by a fragment of Strahd. Paultin stabbed his shadow with his sunsword and somehow the waffle crew got shunted back in time, to the wedding where Strahd will kill his brother out of jealousy. Tatyana, the bride, will jump to her death. Strahd’s actions here will attract the dark powers and they will make a pact with him, giving him tremendous power and transforming him into a vampire.

So far, this wedding is playing out differently. The waffle crew found a wedding gift and they unwrapped it. In the package was a young, fresh, Simon, aka Murderbot. It shot poison darts into Tatyana's neck. She would have died if Evelyn hadn't healed her.

Jesper, the bard of Berez, is going to perform for the small wedding party. The group has been mistaken for the wedding staff. The group ends up going along with it.. Strix casts death ward on Sergei.

Diath can sense that Sergei and Tatyana might flee if they get the chance.

The group prepares to infiltrate the wedding dinner. Diath disguises himself as a servant. Strix decides to assume gaseous form. Paultin will be the performing bard and Evelyn will be his robot dancer.

Diath sees the duchess talking to one of the guards. She’s talking to Leo.

The duchess is his mother. Her full name is Duchess Dorfinya Dilisnya.

Diath hears her saying that she has made arrangements to leave the present in the room, but if things go wrong, Leo should bring the guards in to take them out. "This marriage can not be allowed to survive."

Dinner
Time for the dinner! Simon is disguised, too. He's got a pumpkin head and a wig. The Duchess doesn't recognize him.

The group is basically alone in the room with the couple, Strahd, the Duchess and a few servants.

Strahd is slumped in his chair, obviously miserable. Strix un-clouds under the table. She uses her mage hand and drops small pieces of a poisonous plant into Strahd's soup.

Paultin gives her bardic inspiration on the attempt. Strix rolls a 22 on her stealth. Did Strahd notice the poison sprig?

Strahd picks up the bowl, dumps it on the floor, and puts it back on the table. Servants come to clean it up. One of them sees Strix under the table. Strix screams and turns into a cloud.

Strix seeps through a door crack. On the other side of that door is Strahd’s evil flunky, Rahadin. He grabs his sword. Strix leads him on a chase up the stairs.

Wedding Gifts
Strahd has gifts for the couple! A tapestry of their father, King Barov, wielding the sunsword. Sergei is a man of peace, a servant of the Morninglord who never understood his father. This tapestry is a message to Sergei: This is who we are, this is who we have to be.

Here comes another gift. A gigantic painting of Tatyana. Strahd notes that the painter did not survive the experience. The painting is taller than she is and it captures her in an almost doll-like way. There's no life in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Strix loses Rahadin and sees Jesper creeping around. It looks like he's trying to quietly leave the gathering. Strix de-clouds and casts a spell so that she looks like Rahadin. Strix/Rahadin demands to know what he’s doing and threatens him.

Jesper tells her he's a vistani and that Strahd won't allow harm to come to him. Strix drops the magical disguise and admits who she is. She wants Jesper to help the waffle crew. Jesper tells Strix that he's preparing a coach for the couple to escape in.

Back at the dinner, Strahd tells Paultin to stop playing. Strahd starts playing the organ – a haunting tune that moves Evelyn deeply.

Diath makes a stealth maneuver and crawls under the table. He snatches Strahd's sword. Rahadin re-enters the room.

Strix, in cloud form, floats into the room and becomes solid behind the tapestry. She sets it on fire!

Strahd stops playing and looks at the burning tapestry. He tells Rahadin to get Sergei and Tatyana to safety. He sees that his sword is gone, and pulls a sword out of a secret compartment in a chair. He points the sword at the throat of the duchess and says, "Your treachery is revealed."

The Battle
Evelyn decides to stand in front of and protect Tatyana.

Sergei grabs Tatyana and flees. Evelyn runs with them. Paultin and Simon run that way too, but the exit is blocked by Rahadin.

Strix runs over and casts a cone of cold. 45 points of damage. Rahadin is hurt, but still up.

Diath dramatically removes his servant clothes in a single sweeping motion.

The Duchess throws herself at Strahd's feet and says this was all her son's idea and that she begged him not to do it.

Sergei and Tatyana head outside and get in the carriage. Jesper’s there, driving. The carriage gets moving, but Rahadin stands in their way. Rahadin gets trampled by horses. He's still alive, but half of his face is missing. His sword is broken. Despite his grievous injuries, he limps after the coach.

Strahd comes outside and calls his horse, Beucephalus. The group is quite amused at the horse’s name.

Strahd is going to chase the carriage! Strix stands in front of Strahd to block him from mounting Beucephalus. He stabs Strix with his back-up sword, doing a total of 32 damage, with most of it being necrotic damage.

Paultin tells Simon to shoot a dart at Beucephalus. The horse is hit, but makes its saving throw.

Diath draws Gutter! Diath stabs Strahd between his shoulders, wounding him.

Chris notes that it's about time for the session to end. Earlier, the group glimpsed Strahd talking with Katarina/Madam Eva. Chris shares the content of this discussion with the viewers:

Katarina: “The gods have taken her from you. They mock you.”

Strahd: “What do these powers offer me?”

Katarina: “They can defeat time. They can make can make you immortal. They exist only to serve you, my master.”

End of session.