SESSION TODAY
SESSION TODAY
SESSION TODAY WAS FUN..!!! Roma did his interview to get into Vallaki and it was interesting because despite the fact that Roma didn't know common and could really only answer with yes/know/a scattering of words, the guard was able to sus out enough that the reason questions like "are you here to commit ACTS OF SEDITION" or "ARE YOU CONTRACTED WITH ANY MALIGN ENTITIES" didn't raise any red flags with the Lie Detector Spider was because Roma's value system didn't align with the one in place in Vallaki... or in place in Barovia in general.
For better or for worse, Roma also was very forthright and in some ways generous with his statements, since its in him to be honest not just because of his nature, but also because he doesn't yet believe in the value and power of words, and doesn't feel like what he says can be turned against him in any literal, meaningful way... at least, not like in the Fey Forest where he grew up, where words are literally Binding and here its like, whatever. It makes mse SO nervous and its hard to not Not say things bc I as a player Know the consequences but ROMA.. DOESN'T CARE..!! HE'S GOTTA SAY OUT LOUD HOW STUPID HE THINKS STRAHD IS AND ALL THESE PEOPEL
Thankfully when he said he was visiting a girl here ("What reasons bring you here?") the guy thought he was. visting his girlfriend and not trying to rescue Our Fated Ally SDKJOGIJ
More Posts from Huntedsmark and Others
is this all you wanted? is this everything you hoped it would be?
Party (+ Ez and Izek!) did and infiltration mission and Ez did a charm person curse on some guards, and while it was just a curse it really did make Roma feel Some Type Of Way about it!!!!
From the makers of the no-effort character checklist, I bring to you… The no-effort complete character sheet for lazy writers like you and me™!
Because the extra effort I put in staying up until 3 am to do put this together can save us all a lot of effort filling out longer character sheets ^^
You’re supposed to print it out and fold it in half to make a little booklet but you can save ink and do it on your computer :P
Link to PDF on google drive (fixed typo)
In the pines.
I'm really curious about what Roma has going on with Osybus, how much he knows, how much you know... I am very eye emoji about it in general. Especially the significance of the increasingly? invisible limbs? A rad looking effect to be sure, but also hmmmmmm. (Also I saw it was your birthday recently! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)
WAH HELLO!!!!!!!! THANK U YES IT WAS (SPINNING HEARTS EMOJI) ROMA’S THING WITH OSYBUS IS A REALLY DEEP VEIN (I personally like it a lot because it naturally interacts really closely with many of Roma’s deepest fears, desires, coping mechanisms, and personal beliefs, and as a narrative device and mechanical plaything I couldn’t have asked for anything better)
As a general ask “what’s roma’s thing with osybus?” is one of the most pandora’s box-y things you could’ve asked, so I hope you don’t mind if this is a bit wordy and like, ALL over the place.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT
Fast answer first: We (OOC party and IC pcs) believe that Osybus originally was part of I think Sessinek, or at least a larger being, and that he’s connected to the amber temple in some way. We also think that we released Osybus when Roma shattered one of the artifacts at the death house, but that’s a theory. Roma also has no idea how Deep he is in with Osybus and enters any transactional interaction with the idea that it may be his last, but I know he’s a little over halfway to being so far gone my DM takes him as an NPC.
GENERAL BACKSTORY, Osybus is the headfriend (I don’t know the term for it but we just call them headfriends) Roma contracted with during the Feast in Vallaki. We were literally fighting for our lives in front of the church of St. Andral and things were looking pretty grim; a lot of the party was either fully missing or really badly injured, and Strahd was about to land a coup de grace by luring Ireena outside of the safety of the church via killing the party member she was in love with, our druid healer. In a last ditch effort, Roma used his turn to beg Strahd to make a deal with them to spare them, but Strahd very coldly refused because “there is nothing you could give me I would want,” and Roma was devastated.
It was after that second Osybus contacted Roma in his mind, that he was Osybus the Immortal and that he could save them. Roma initially asked if he could save the whole party but Osybus said that was beyond his power, and that Roma could only choose one person for this gift. Roma was torn, so he decided to ask Osybus what Strahd wanted the most.
“The girl.” Osybus answered.
“Then he can’t have her.” Roma replied. “I pick Ireena.” And then Osybus killed Ireena!!! (Ireena was fine tho, and then not, and then worse, etc etc you know how Barovia is)
Roma’s relationship with Osybus has morphed over time, starting from gratefully deferential due to Osybus “helping” Roma out so often and also due to Roma not having anyone he could turn to for assistance or companionship for a stint of time, to eventually pettily and one-sidedly antagonistic on Roma’s end due to VR’s warnings and some subsequent bad deals.
That being said, despite it all Osybus is usually the one Roma turns to whenever he feels trapped and cornered, because Osybus’ power to grant wishes is often Roma’s only ripcord in situations where the options left to him are usually death or worse. Osybus has also been nothing but obliging and polite to Roma (though he has shades of sounding like, possessive), which makes interactions all the more sticky since Osybus has such a strong hold over him.
The ghost limbs are one of the penalties from wishes from Osybus! Roma usually takes some sort of penalty whenever he makes a wish, and since I had some troubles with the original way Osybus’ penalties manifested (rot and decay) my DM kindly changed it to make his limbs translucent, with increasing transparency the more wishes Roma makes. He also has trouble leveraging their strength now that they're translucent and doesn’t have a shadow anymore!
One of the last things to know about Roma is for a long time, he didn’t consider himself to have many strengths, but one he Did have was a VERY solid sense of self. He understood what he himself wanted, innately and always, and was really decisive about wholeheartedly pursuing whatever he believed was right (even if he was Really Not.)
More recently, Roma also has begun to realize he has a lot more to gain in the world now that VR is back in the picture, and wants to spend whatever time VR has left to just, hang out with VR. When the adventure in Barovia ends, the first (and honestly, only) thing Roma wants to do is visit Van Richten’s greenhouse. He wants it more than anything in the whole wide world!!
However, both of these things are now in jeopardy, since Roma is now So deep in Osybus’ penalty shootout with already so little to forfeit, that Osybus has started to change parts of Roma’s desires and personality as payment. And Roma is KEENLY aware of the changes and dissonance and the payments happening, but because they feel “natural” to his personality he struggles to disobey.
Roma’s current dilemma is now--in extremely high stress, high danger situations-- having to choose between dying having never experience The Thing He Wants More Than Anything, or dealing with Osybus to survive to the end but risk being altered so much that the original reasons he made the deals for no longer matter. Real die a hero or live to be the villain type nonsense.
DND Ask Meme but it's random questions I've asked other players apropos of nothing within the last 6 months
Does your PC believe it’s possible to save someone?
What does saving a person involve?
How would your PC describe themselves?
How do they perceive themselves?
What is your PC’s idle animation?
What weather does your PC prefer? Why?
So if your PC had a car what kind of car would it be
How decisive is your PC?
If your PC rolled through a McDonald’s what would they order
How does your PC fidget?
How does your PC show affection?
If your PC had to set up a date, what would they plan for it?
What’s your PCs favorite color
How does your PC feel about white lies?
How does your PC feel about marriage? Weddings?
What scents do you associate with your PC?
What are your PCs favorite fruits (not including gay people)
Where would your PCs fall on the futch scale?
What is your PC’s Pokemon Gym Leader type and Signature Pokemon?
What type of chocolate do they prefer?
What tarot would your PC be?
What is your PC’s #1 personality strength?
What is your PC’s #1 personality flaw?
If your PC found a book that detailed their whole life, from birth to whatever death they’ll have, would they read it and why?
What are your PC’s charm point(s)!
How would your PC answer the trolley problem?
When your PCs hit rock bottom, what do they do?
When your PCs want comfort, what do they seek out?
Please describe your PC’s romantic type
How does your PC flirt?
What’s your favorite part of playing your PC?
How much does your PC think about their actions before they execute them?
How considerate is your PC?
Is your PC an effective communicator? What is their communication style?
If your PC was a dating option in a farming simulator (a la harvest moon or stardew valley), what kind of items would they like?
Your PC meets a trickster being whose face changes to the most beautiful face a person has ever seen. Whose face is your PC seeing?
What flower represents your PC?
How did you choose your PC’s name?
What would your PC put on their pizza?
What are your PC’s eating habits?
Does your PC have a favorite spell, and if so, which?
Who is your PC’s favorite NPC(s) and why?
When your PCs make decisions, who or what are they making those decisions on behalf of?
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Genna/Lai (She/Her) 21+ personal blog and campaign doodles, mostly of my curse of strahd pc, roma
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