Dart About - GM Log

A man folds his fingers into fig sign as a protective gesture. Witches’ Flight, Francisco Goya, detail.

Some episodes need more editing than others. Episode 13 (maybe because of its unlucky number), needed A LOT of work. First, I was aiming for a specific ending point which was the descent into the mine and second, I had forgotten the sheer amount of bullshittery that had happened in our recording. The episode itself is still very light in tone – if you like gallows humor and bad taste, that is. But to be honest, I do like the end product. We get to see a lot of individuality in the characters and what their values are. Now that the players are used to their characters, their roleplay is stepping up a notch and I can take a step back and let them take the wheel.

Setting

Warding against the evil eye

Towards the beginning of the episode, some of the guardsmen make a hand gesture at the mention of the Vistani. Ciofra does not see the gesture clearly, but the gesture is one made to ward against the evil eye. Vistani are renowned and feared for the terrible curse they can inflict. Of course, their notoriety is born out of centuries of misunderstanding. Vistani can, and do curse people, but they can only do so as repayment for an injustice or slight. It is never invoked lightly.

The gesture is the fig sign and consists of lodging your thumb between your index and middle finger. This sign has been used to ward off evil by many people throughout history, including Slavic culture. It is still used in eastern parts of Europe as a means to deny a request or to tell someone to shut up.

 Artisanal Alcohol

I refer to artisanal alcohol during the episode and I jokingly call it “bath vodka”. This is in reference to bathtub gin, an expression used to describe homemade spirits made in amateur conditions. It’s a term that comes from the prohibition era, but people have been making their alcohol since there was alcohol to be made. For example, we can trace back beer to ancient Egypt and the first distilled spirit was fermented rice beer made in China in 800 BCE.

The first vodka was made from grain and was quite low in alcohol content (about 14%). It was used as medicine to increase fertility and awaken lust (the first usage is dubious at best while the second is rather funny). With time, the distillation process was perfected and by the 16th century some of the great vodka recipes we know today are still in existence such as Żubrówka (a Polish brand that uses bison grass in its recipe – it’s really good, you should give it a try!)

The potato – which we often think is what vodka is made of, made an appearance much later. It’s great in vodka because of its starchy content and low flavor profile. But in my games, remember, no potatoes!

Pantheon of Barovia/Lamordia

The pantheon of Barovia is rather simple as I have explained in the game. The module “Curse of Strahd” of the 5th edition has 3 bullet points on the subject:

·         Two divine forces watch over the Barovian people: the Morninglord and Mother Night

·         Before the curse of Strahd befell the land, the Morninglord watched over the Barovian people from sunrise until sundown. Now the sun has not shone unobscured for centuries, and the Morninglord no longer answers their prayers.

·         The presence of Mother Night is felt most strongly between dusk and dawn, although nighttime prayers to her go unanswered. It is widely believed that she has forsaken the Barovian people and sent the devil Strahd to punish them for their ancestor’s offenses.

Despite the belief that their gods have abandoned them, all three churches of Barovia still have priests in them and the church in Vallaki is filled with people. The witch Baba Lysaga also performs powerful rituals for Mother Night. People still cling to the hope that their gods will intervene in their favor and remove Strahd from power.

I think it is normal human behavior to call to a higher power for help when your circumstances are bad. With outsiders that come with magic and divine powers that are witnessed with your own eyes, as well as evil that is also magical, gods are not in the realm of the impossible. The world of Ravenloft is incredibly cruel, any glimmer of hope would be difficult to extinguish, I imagine.

All divine connection is very tenuous in the Domains. Paladins and clerics who find themselves spirited away still receive their powers, but feel a void where their connection to their god once was. Why are the gods withdrawn in this way? It’s something the theologians of Ravenloft call the Unspoken Pact: “The gods are not to directly interfere in the ways of Ravenloft's mortals, and the Dark Powers are not to meddle in the ways of the gods.” (Ravenloft Core Rulebook 3rd Edition, p.50)

You’ll notice that I use the name Father Light rather than Morninglord. I do not know how the name change happened. I think I liked the Father/Mother dichotomy better and it naturally happened during our play of “Curse of Strahd”. I have kept it for Uncreated but simply turned it on its head.

Religion will come up again further in the campaign and will play a bigger role in the quest to come. For now, you simply need to remember that our Barovians believe in Father Light and Mother Night, and the Lamordians in Mother Light and Father Night. The Night deity is not necessarily evil but is one of secret and dangerous magic.

Mechanics

Dart Game

I would normally share the rules I used for the dart game, and I would love to, but I cannot remember at all what they were. I tried to deduce them by looking at the points map I used and the numbers the players got on their rolls, but I have no idea what formula I used. So sorry.

Myriam