Ravenloft: Emotional Trauma and Bad Decisions™
A 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons roleplay set in the Curse of Strahd module for Ravenloft.
Unlike most Ravenloft games where the party is a random group of people who get dumped in Barovia for the purposes of tormenting Strahd von Zarovich, this party is not only mostly from Barovia but have history with the land and its people. In some cases history that goes all the way back to the formation of the demi-plane itself.
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It also has a sequel of sorts in The Insomniacs, a roleplay run by the player of Ireena Kolyana featuring several crossover characters from this game.
Fellowship of the Raven provides examples of:
- Alas, Poor Yorick: For a while Glaedr was carrying around the head of Lady Wachter after the party killed her and kept pulling it out to show it to people, including her son.
- Bait-and-Switch: The episode "The Lady And the Baron" was set up to involve the party having to chose between going to Lady Wachter's house or the Baron since they had an invitation from both for the same night. All that got thrown out the window when Strahd attacks the Blue Water Inn during the night and kicks off a series of events that forces them to flee Vallaki.
- Black Comedy: Despite otherwise being a very serious campaign, there's a lot of this. As evidence by the list of Running Gags, which at last count was over 50 entries.
- Breather Episode: The session set in Madame Eva's Vistani camp is mainly this, with much carousing and drinking ensuing and giving everyone a well-earned break. Unfortunately Natasha steals hair and scales from two party members that allows Strahd to scry them during it.
- Chase Scene: The party has to flee from Wachterhaus after Karl alerts the guards to their presence, resulting in them having to flee through the streets of Vallaki towards the church.
- From Bad to Worse: The fight at the Windmill went from the party facing an already difficult battle against a coven of Hags to outright chaos as soon as Izek and a company of guards as well as several Vistani and Strahd's personal chamberlain Rahadin all arrived in short order.
- Grail in the Garbage: The party finds the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind randomly shoved into a barrel of sand in the glassmaking workshop at the Wizard of Wines winery, to Ireena's visible puzzlement.
- Honey Trap: A heavily tattooed woman named Natasha was clearly attempting to do this at Madame Eva's camp. Glaedr played along and planned to interrogate her once he had her alone, but she slipped away with some of his scales and Riki's hair, which allowed Strahd to scry them.
- Mêlée à Trois: The battle at the Windmill quickly turns from the party versus the Hags to the party versus the Hags, the Vallaki town guards and Vistani and Rahadin. Then the are the wereravens, who arrive to give them time to escape.
- Never Split the Party: Not by choice, but following the attack on the Windmill the party was split between Ivan and Glaedr, who escaped back to Vallaki with the help of Muriel and other wereravens, Ireena, who found herself yet again held in the Baron's mansion by Izek, and Savana and Riki, who were held in the Vistani camp with Savana set to be executed at dusk.
- Persona Non Grata: The party is now this twice over in Vallaki, seeing as the first time they had to flee due to Ivan shooting Victor Vallakovich in the leg and the second following the presumed destruction of the St. Flanderhal church by Strahd after the foiled wedding.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo: At one point the player's previous PCs made a cameo... as ghosts, since they had been a previous group who entered Ravenloft to try and fight Strahd but failed and all died, with the exception of the group's Cleric, who is apparently alive, and possibly his brother, one of the group's two Paladins.
- So Much for Stealth: Several party members are optimized to be stealthy, but several others (mainly the two tanks) aren't. The result is several instances of trying to sneak up to a location only to have one bad roll or decision blow their cover completely. This happens several times over at the winery, ironically due to the Bard, who actually is supposed to be stealthy but a few bad decisions and a crit fail resulted in her blowing their cover three times over.
- Trauma Conga Line: The entire game so far has been this for the party.
- Wedding Smashers: The party busts in on the wedding between Strahd and Ireena.
- Wham Episode:
- Whenever Strahd makes an in person appearance, especially when he attacks the Blue Water Inn.
- The attempt to rescue a child from the Windmill ends with the party split and Ireena, Savana and Riki end up captured by Izek and the Vistani respectively.
- During the attempt to rescue Savana from the Vistani camp, Ivan and Riki both die from Luvash and Arrigal's poisoned blades, and Savana sees her grandfather murdered in front of her by Rahadin as they're forced to leave Muriel behind.
- Strahd shows up in person at the Baron's mansion, kills the Baron, and announces his intent to marry Ireena. This also marks the first explicit appearance of Tatyana only revealed after the battle is over.
- The aftermath of the battle at the Wizard of Wines is another one, since Glaedr almost kills Ireena when she triggers his Madness and almost leaves the party as a result.
- Wham Line: Multiple.
- "Wait... Izek, your boss... I'll go to him." — Ireena giving herself up.
- "You are safe now, I will keep you protected here forever... Sister." —- Izek to Ireena
- "Is he flat-footed?" — Out of game, Ivan's player, right before he shot Victor Vallakovich in the leg.
- "You're still human... for now." — Van Richten to Ireena
- "I've become a Warlock." — Savana to the party.
- "Wait, you're a werewolf?!" — Muriel to Ivan after Yevgeny accidentally reveals his infection.
- "That vile hag granted her powerful magic, but when Patrina finally revealed her plan to succeed Strahd as ruler Baba Lysaga betrayed her." — Kasimir to Savana
- "Flames. What I see are flames. And more hurt and anger than a девушка that age has any right to. More than most people get in a single lifetime. Be careful, my friends. I do not want to know what will happen if those flames are unleashed. Especially at you." - Yevgeny to the party about Ireena or rather, Tatyana
- "You're courting Strahd von Zarovich?!" — Baron Vallakovich realizing who he just beat and tortured.
- "Typical, can't even tell when a woman is faking it." — Ireena (or more accurately Tatyana) revealing her immunity to Strahd's Charm.
- "Don't get bent out of shape, I'm still me. I'm more me than I've ever been." — Tatyana introducing herself to the party
- "Thanks... who are you guys?" — Ivan, after returning from being "killed" by Vistani assassins
- "You and I both know what I want, Tatyana is meant to be my bride, my one true beloved." — Strahd to Savana, which formally reveals Tatyana's name
- "That's... Sergei von Zarovich." — Ireena upon seeing a particular statue in Krezk
- You All Meet in an Inn: Though four of the initial party members knew each other and had been traveling together for some time, they first encounter Ireena and Ismark in a tavern in the Village of Barovia.
- Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: Back when Muriel was pretending to be a regular raven, Ivan wanted to come up with a name for her and initially picked a male one, to her vocal displeasure. This resulted in a player saying out of character "Did you just misgender that raven?" which became a Running Gag. Until they settled on Fellowship of the Raven as a group name the leading choice was The Misgendered Ravens.
