Thanks, appreciated. Don't think I have anything particularly active I want to do ahead of that as Elidir trip can wait.
DMing Note
I forgot to mention this earlier, so now is the right time. I play by ‘real world’ rules which means encounters are not necessarily CR appropriate. You can walk into a situation where you stomp a vastly outclassed opponent OR you get stomped by a far stronger enemy. It is on the players to read a situation (possibly with some DM hints), assess the risks, and decide how far they are willing to go. As always, actions have consequences.
Well, that's not ominous at all.
Iknowright?! It's just a forgettable, one-off, statement that will certainly not impact the team... and don't look at the man behind the curtain!
:D
Only just seen this but good to know and totally not ominous. And I generally approve of the sentiment, especially for random encounters.
To reduce the amount of gameplay blue text, I'll respond to some comments here.
Admittedly I didn't do an exhaustive search when I was working on this aspect of the adventure but my read on it was that Constantine was still somewhat recuperating at the temple of Eristil. I'm OK with changing his status to something of an 'out patient' who spends more time at the manor with periodic check-ins with Father Ruvarra. At the moment, given the sleep-walking incident and the fear of a relapse, I think Father Ruvarra would like to keep him at the temple for a few days to monitor him more closely.
I think that's a fair read on the situation, at least in my head. I don't think it's ever been really specified (it hasn't needed to be) but he certainly has spent plenty of time at the temple and some at the manor so At least as far as I'm concerned I don't think you're doing anything that goes against what's gone before. Plus it's now your story to take in interesting new directions.
DMing Note
I forgot to mention this earlier, so now is the right time. I play by ‘real world’ rules which means encounters are not necessarily CR appropriate. You can walk into a situation where you stomp a vastly outclassed opponent OR you get stomped by a far stronger enemy. It is on the players to read a situation (possibly with some DM hints), assess the risks, and decide how far they are willing to go. As always, actions have consequences.
I punch the dragon!
"You...what?"
I PUNCH THE DRAGON!
Back in the 1E Kara Tur days, I did kill an enemy with a pair of chopsticks. So anything is possible. :P
My personal opinion on the 'real world rules' is the following.
If you're following the adventure I laid out, all encounters should be in your CR range, unless I give you OOC word of DM that 'Yes, the entire campaign is named after Strahd von Zarovich, engaging him at level 4 is ambitious." Primarily because I never want the players to be afraid of acting recklessly. Because reckless actions move the story forward and the story not moving forward is a big cause of story death.
But, if you actively do something else other than the proffered adventure, "Hey, I want to see if I can assassinate the head of the local adventurer's guild and steal his magic items", then you'll get a warning of 'Alright, that's going off the rails, we can do that, but you no longer have a safety net guarantee that he's at your CR."
[dice=HP, big money, spin the wheel, here we go]2d10
Ooh, levelling up! Did you get anything fun?
Going all in on the diplomacy and lay on hands for now. A fair amount of utility spells, somewhat situational for swapping out. And a handful of ones for extra damage in the right situations!
*laughs nervously* I'm in danger!
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Recording this for posterity.
Are we assuming that we (or more specifically, Alocer) have now sniffed around and found all the markings in line with your map?
No and yes. Alocer could only follow the most-recent path - the rough diagonal between #6 and the northern-most dot at #2, then up to #10. You spotted the one at #7 because you revisited the wall at Gunty’s where Constantine had his first ‘incident’. Now that you know what to look for… you spot the rest of the witch marks as you (presumably) roam around the southern end of town continuing your investigation into the disappearance of Verno Aculla. The plan, IIRC, now that you know what morning Verno checked-out of the Witch’s End was to speak with the dock barkers to see if he left by boat or at the southern gates.
Could we please get a list of the buildings/occupants that have been marked. Those we know, anyway…
Yep. As surmised, many of the dots are ‘residential’... some owned by locals you know. None are local luminaries or villains. However, here are some of the more notable locations where witch-marks appear…
Of the numbered locations:
#2 - various spots around the Old Gallows square (some in alleys, others on buildings facing the square)
#4 - Mother Willita’s House of Rapture
#5 - Pricknettle’s Potions and Poultices – definitely be suspicious of the odd proprietor!
#6 - Temple of Eristil
#7 - Gunty’s Hearty Breads
#8 - Dependable Dummady’s
#10 - Witch’s End Tavern
Of the unnumbered locations:
Some are homes, others are local businesses selling foods, goods (generally touristy), or services (like ‘tours’ that feature the town’s more gruesome history).
Several of the witch marks are located in alleys, not on the faces of the buildings.
I’m hand-waiving INT (which someone will certainly pass) to say that you notice all of the witch marks are scribed by the same hand – which is Constantine’s. While Alocer spotted the freshest witch marks, it’s clear that some of these are somewhat older, showing rainmarks or faint discoloration in the grooves. You’d estimate that some of these witchmarks could be a few weeks old. Constantine has been a busy boy.
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If something happens to Gunty's bread, Emma will riot