Rhi Axtell – Writer

Here we are, creeping ever closer to Halloween, on Blogtober post number 25. I am as surprised as you that I am still here, typing away. It’s been a fun ride, but also challenging. I suppose that is why it is called a blogging ‘challenge’ and not a blogging ‘easy ride’.

Anyway, I’ll stop vamping for time as I try to figure out what I am blogging about today and actually get down to the meat of the matter: spookiness.

Ahh, I’ve put off talking about D&D for so long, let’s just jump into it.

I play Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. If you’ve read my blog for a little bit, you might noticed me mentioning them before (assuming I posted the blog, I have a lot of drafts where I dissect my games in great detail before assuming no one wants to read about it and giving up on them). Anyway, one of the most famous adventures for Dungeons and Dragons is the Curse of Strahd and takes place in the haunted realm of Barovia.

Barovia is dark, and grey, and foggy. It rains a lot. Wolves howl in the night. The sun never quite shines during the day. Everyone is pretty miserable. It’s a bit like Wales, if Wales had more wolves.

And then there is Strahd. Strahd Von Zarovich is the evil vampire that lives in a castle overlooking this desolate land.

It is the players’ job to slay this vampire and free the land from his tyranny.

And it’s great fun!

I played this campaign with my group and it was filled to the brim with spooky moments. It’s a story full of nasty things that go bump in the night. And sometimes they go bump in the day too. Ghosts! Zombies! Vampires! Government officials!

Even cooler is that the guide to run this adventure specifically states that Strahd is not the kind of bad guy to hide away to be a ‘big boss’ to fight at the end. He just sort of pops up when he wants to. He will meet the adventurers on the road. He will taunt them from rooftops. At one point, my players had their characters wake up to find him just sitting in their camp watching them sleep.

What a creepy weirdo!

Anyway, it’s a fantastic spooky adventure which is built to be run again and again and again. One day I’ll return to Barovia and my Strahd will be waiting to lure another set of adventurers to a grizzly fate…

And watch them sleep! What a creep!

The picture above is me clinging happily to the special edition set of this adventure which is, of course, shaped like a coffin.

See you tomorrow.