Episode 83

This is Episode 83 of Dice, Camera, Action.

The Party
(Rachel Seeley) Miranda - Elf Druid

(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander

(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard

Traveling in the Shadowfell
The crew is separated. Paultin has the ring of winter, which is turning him evil, and he ran off into the Shadowfell with it. He also took his severed hand and the skull chalice of Ch'gakare.

The rest of the group went after him. Quite a bit of time has passed. Chris declares that the group has been traveling for a month. Diath and Strix are sharing the protective ring. The death curse drops their total maximum hit points by 16.
 * Paultin is in the Dead-Eyed Drunk, a tavern.
 * Simon is leading the heroes to Paultin.
 * Miranda is suffering from apathy.
 * Diath and Evelyn can't tell what is real and what is not.
 * Strix is full of dread. Moreso.
 * Waffles is suffering, too. Waffles attacked Miranda last episode.

Paultin's hair has turned black and grown quite a bit. His skin has taken on a blueish tinge. He's not bothered by the cold. Outside, he hears laughter.

Marisiana and Lavardo are out there having fun. It's snowing. The shadar kai want to make a plan to fight the waffle crew. They're concerned with the heroes who can fly.

The waffle crew is walking along in the Shadowfell. They come upon someone hanging from a tree from a noose. No, it's just a shadow. Only Diath can see it. Diath has a sense that he is going to let his friends down. He is trying to fight it.

The group has blindfolded Waffles so that she doesn't attack anyone else.

Lord Nihil is traveling with the group. He says that if he dies, he asks that the group avenge him. The shadar kai murdered his family and tore off his face.

The shadar kai start talking about the Raven Queen. The ring says that it was her elves who made the ring of winter.

Paultin examines the chalice of Ch'gakare. The shadar kai want to buy the chalice from him.

The Delivery
A carriage arrives. It's a gypsy wagon.

There's a wine delivery. Paultin casts locate creature. He wants to see if Diath is within a thousand feet. He's not.

Driving this carriage is Izek, Strix's brother. He's got some guards with him. The alcohol he's delivering is dwarven ale from Gauntlgrym.

Izek says, "Hurry up, we've got to go. This is a rotten place." It looks like he lost his demon arm.

Paultin doesn't remember who Izek is. He strikes up a conversation with him.

One of the shadar kai asks Paultin who he's talking to. She suggests killing the guy. Nate rolls to see if Paultin can remember who this is. Natural 1. The rest of the group knows it's Izek, but Nate doesn't.

The ring says, "You know what we need? A dragon. An ice dragon that you can ride into battle."

Izek & Strix
Meanwhile, the heroes see the wagon heading toward them. It is pulled by two horses. Evelyn rolls to see if she thinks it is real. Natural 20!

Strix sees Izek and screams for the group to run. Miranda shrugs and gets on Lord Nihil's horse.

Strix confronts Izek. He says he's a changed man and that he lost his devil arm when he tried holding on to the wagon way back when.

Izek says that when the arm came off, something in him died. The part of him that could only see hate and fear went away.

Izek tells Strix, "We were both cast aside, left to the mercy of those in that terrible place called Barovia."

Diath despises Izek. Izek hung him, after all. Diath is shaking. Strix holds his hand.

Evelyn walks up and says, "This wagon is totally real."

Izek makes dolls. He tosses something to her. The Strahd puppet. Izek says "We got this in Gauntlgrym." Drizzt brought it there long ago.

Evelyn really likes Drizzt. She says she misses him.

Izek says that Strahd might be the only one that can save them from Paultin and the ring of winter. Lady Wachter told Izek to bring Strix the doll.

The Dead-Eyed Drunk
Chris asks Nate how many charges will Paultin spend to make his ice dragon? The ring has 20 charges, total. He uses 9 and his attempt fails. Normally the ring has 12 charges, but in the Shadowfell it has 20.

Paultin goes to bed. The shadar kai climb in with him.

The next day, the waffle crew arrives at the inn. The group sees Paultin. He has blue veins on his arms and neck.

The ring explains the backstory of the Raven Queen. She and a few elves tried to cast a big spell, but it did not go off as intended. In despair, she sunk into the Shadowfell. She put a lot into the spell and had been greatly weakened.

Many of her elven servants followed her to the Shadowfell. They became shadar kai.

She became a deity bound to the Shadowfell, an emblem of death who uses ravens to make sure souls get where they need to go. Sometimes she locks away special souls to keep - people of destiny. Good and evil people. She helps them achieve their full destiny.

A raven approaches Miranda. It wants a trinket or memento from her. She pulls out her yew wand, which can magically make flowers appear. The raven accepts it.

Strix assumes the form of Strahd. She flies ahead of the group. Strahd on a flying broom.

She spots the tavern up ahead. It's 1,500 feet away. Snow is weighing down the roof. Near it is a battered coach with Meathook, the ogre zombie, strapped to it.

Paultin runs into the tavern and rearranges furniture. He spots a hunched crone made entirely of twigs. Paultin pulls out the skull chalice of Ch'gakare. She makes creepy noises as she takes it and pulls back into the shadows. She's gone.

Strix is attacked by the shadar kai assassins. She takes 34 damage from one of them, and falls. She has 0 hit points and she's making death saving throws. The other one stabs her again! She fails two death saves.

Marisiana loots Strix. She has the Strahd doll. Paultin wants that doll gone right now.

Miranda runs up to the tavern. The tavern is surrounded by an army of snowmen. They start moving. She uses her ring of the ram on one. The snow comes off - it is an ice sculpture of Paultin. All of them are! 100 ice sculptures of Paultin.

Diath runs toward the tavern. He keeps saying, "This isn't real." He runs through the field of ice Paultins, dodging them. Evelyn flies through, smashing them when she can.

In the tavern. Strix disappears in a cloud of oily smoke! Just like when she was summoned by Acquisitions, Inc.

Miranda gets hit with one of Simon's darts. She needs to make a saving throw vs. the poison. She rolls a 19 and succeeds.

Paultin decides to attack Miranda. He casts banishment on her. She needs to make a saving throw, or she will be magically teleported back to her home plane. She rolls a 17, which is a success. End of session.