Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles Session #40

Jumping in the egg saves Hallabera from injury.

 

 

 

Session 40- Inside the Spire of Iron and Crystal Part 6

8/31/2026

• Remembering a door they hadn’t entered, the 2 teams make their 

  way from Room #34 to Room #39.  

• In Room #39, they encounter 4 Lightning Beetles and kill them.

• They then check Rooms #40, #41, #42, #43, and #44.  As they start 

  checking out 2 pillars with strange holes in them, a Phase Spider 

  attacks.  Magda Starling, the Magic-User in Radomir’s team, is killed 

  by the monster.

• After covering Magda’s body with a blanket to retrieve her corpse 

  later, the teams play with the geodes and holes in one of the pillars.  

  The pillar transforms the 4 geodes into a Crystal Containing a 

  Small Octopus, a Telescoping Lightning Rod, a Lightning Cloak, 

  and a 1d6+1 Mace.

• They explore a dead end hallway, then backtrack to Room #23.  

  From there they enter Room #24 with its singing crystals on the floor.  

  They find the secret door to Room #26 and encounter an Ochre Jelly 

  that they fight and it splits into 5 before they figure out how to kill it.

• They enter Room #25 and find a grate that has a tube going down 

  from the floor, possibly to a lower egg.

• Entering Room #27, Hallabera triggers the raising floor trap.  He sees 

  an empty egg and jumps in as the floor raises the room up into the 

  lightning field.  Jumping in the egg saves Hallabera from injury.

• Out in the nearby hallway, they equip Hynek with the Lightning Cloak 

  and the Telescoping Lightning Rod.  He is shielded by both as he 

  climbs from the hallway to Rooms #29, #30, and #31.  In #29 he finds 

  a Scroll Case, in #30 he fights a Lightning Bladder and kills it, and in 

  Room #31 he fights a Fossil Skeleton then opens 2 chests trapped 

  with old poison and is unaffected due to the poison’s weakening over 

  time.  He gets a gem and some gold coins.

• They enter Room #28 and pull the grate out of the floor and transit the 

  tube down to the third egg.

• Session ends.

• 4 Lightning Beetles killed = 60 XP

• Phase Spider killed = 400 XP

• Ochre Jelly killed = 400 XP

• Lightning Bladder killed = 240 XP

• Fossil Skeleton killed = 30 XP

• Crystal Containing Small Octopus

• Telescoping Lightning Rod

• Mace 1d6+1

• Lightning Cloak

• Scroll Case

• 450 GP = 450 XP

• Aquamarine 500 GP = 500 XP

• Total XP = 2080 XP

• Danika receives 1040 XP

• Hynek and Zora each receive 520 XP

Ox --->Tiger --->Rabbit --->Dragon --->Snake --->Horse Campaign Session #238

 

A good moment to use the Rod of Cancellation.

 

 

Session 238- A Return to Barovia Part 88; Borca 15

10/12/2026

• A retcon for before the party split; Shelby cast Augury and received 

  the answer “Weal”.

• In Vor Zyden, Tim and Fecus use the Spirit Board to look at the 

  location of the upcoming party they aren’t invited to at Ivliskova Estate.

• They learn the Vorpal Blade’s location is the Librarian’s Office in the 

  Library.  A topiary/plant monster guards the exterior.  An unknown 

  entity guards the Librarian’s Office.

• During their respective watches before the Heist, Fecus thinks about 

  the plan to retrieve the sword.  Gugula does 1000 push-ups.

• Before leaving Vor Ziyden in the morning, Fecus sells some jewelry 

  to the Eels’ Grail owner Marta.

• The first night the team mates in Lechberg have another sighting of 

  an Ivan spy, a toy soldier in a wagon that rolled through the 

  Wolves’s Bowl late at night/early morning.

• Tim and Fecus have a quiet walk to just outside Ivliskova estate, 

  where they implement their Invisibility Rings and Gaseous Form 

  casting or potion.

• The Bodytaker Plant and its Podlings can sense Tim and Fecus, but 

  can’t cause injury to them in their gaseous state.  Tim and Fecus see 

  the Ivliskova Garden Party beginning, but they maintain discipline to 

  just enter the Library.

• The entry and reading rooms of the Library are quiet and empty, but 

  the Librarian’s Offfice holds a “Librarian”.  The Ivliskova Librarian is a 

  Carrionette stat.  It initiates a Soul Swap attack on Fecus, but Tim 

  uses the Rod of Cancellation he has to get Fecus back in his body.

• Fecus defeats the “Librarian” with a Protection From Evil scroll.

• Tim collects the Vorpal Blade from the window seat bench 

  compartment.

• Tim Teleports himself, Fecus, and the Vorpal Blade back to Vor Ziyden 

  and they go back to hanging out at the Eels’ Grail with Gugula, the 

  Abbot and Eogan.

• Lechberg’s team mates spend another night at the Wolves’ Bowl, 

  watches are uneventful this evening.  Shelby reviews spells.

• The watches are set for the last night in Vor Ziyden.  Tim goes over 

  scrolls.  Fecus drinks more of Marta’s Special wine, and Eogan quietly 

  whittles a bear figure.

• The 2 teams plan to re-unite the next day in Levkarest.

• Ivliskova “Librarian” defeated = 200 XP

• Vorpal Blade recovered

Monday Night Game

Will October bring Tricks, Treats, or TPKs?!?

     

 

 

    We will return to the Ox Gives Way to Tiger Etc Campaign tonight.  Alibis and Heists, Oh My!  Session notes should be ready sometime tomorrow.  

    If you're bored and craving horror before my notes for tonight's game get published tomorrow, my Substack has some archival Call of Cthulhu Campaign Session notes up with more to come over there during the month of October. 

     If you liked the Haunted Houses of Ravenloft series so far, with House of Lament and Old Bonegrinder installments up now, I've been cooking up Donskoy's Keep, the adaptation adventure for the novel "To Sleep With Evil" by Andria Cardarelle.  My personal deadline to release it is 10/21/26.  Not sure I'll have my own playtest of it done before it goes out here on the blog, but my follow-up notes will be fun to compare to the adventure as written.  I wanted it to be here on the blog as my Halloween Treat to you, ethereal GM, and maybe you'll try it this Halloween.  Trick or Treat or TPK?!? 

Happy New Moon In Libra!

 

 

 

Happy New Moon in Libra!  I have another Sololoft Session posted over on the Substack for those of you who like solo gaming and or Ravenloft.  And Tarokka Cards! 

No Game This Week

 

No Game This Week

    The three of us didn't game this last Sunday or Monday.  Hopefully the stars align next week!

30 Days Until Halloween 2026!

 

Welcome to Old Bonegrinder

 

 

Old Bonegrinder

 

Origin

• Curse of Strahd: The location was created specifically for the 5th edition adventure module published in 2016.

Lore in 5e

• The Windmill: It sits on the Old Svalich Road between the village of Barovia and Vallaki.
• The Hags: It serves as the lair for Morgantha and her daughters, who make dream pastries out of children. 

 

My Experiences Running Old Bonegrinder in My Campaign

This location was indicated as “of interest” to the PCs because of a Tarokka card reading they received. The card suggested a location for a magic item they were seeking. I telegraphed the danger in a few ways. First, they learned of a dead body found at the crossroads of the Svalich Road and the path to Old Bonegrinder. Then, when they arrived, a raven told Tim about the Hags inside when he cast Speak with Animals on the bird.

The party spent two and a half two-hour sessions at Old Bonegrinder, so roughly five hours of play at the location. That leads me to think this could fit into a Halloween One-Shot for DMs looking for an alternative to Castle Ravenloft. Thematically, Hags baking “treats” in a manner that reminded me of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale gives me Halloween vibes. The Hags and their duplicitous friendliness baited my players into conflict quickly, another useful trait for any One-Shot game, IMHO.

When the Hags had sustained massive damage, they used spells to escape. I had them return about a dozen sessions after their initial encounter, to dramatic effect. They make excellent recurring villains in a campaign.

I tend to disregard level suggestions, and I did so with this adventure, which is suggested for 4th-level 5e characters. My PCs were higher-level Lamentations of the Flame Princess characters, ranging from 5th to 9th level, and the Hags were still formidable.

Here are the links to those sessions:

Session #183

Session #184

Session #185

Session #200 

 

Why I Think This Works for a Halloween One-Shot

The adventure location is nicely contained to a four-level windmill. If you need to have a bit more to explore, there is also the nearby megalithic stone circle. The Hag coven baking psychoactive pastries out of children is horrific. The Hags make memorable and formidable NPC villains/monsters. Their only minions or companions are a Dretch and a Swarm of Toads.

The children still alive and held captive make for an emotional hook to the adventure. Their parents or guardians can be the quest-givers. If children in immediate danger aren't going to work for your group, then finding a dead adult body with a half-eaten pastry at the crossroads of the Svalich Road and the path to Old Bonegrinder might be a way to introduce the situation.

Consider introducing the Hags in their human forms and having them banter with the PCs before any combat; I particularly enjoyed roleplaying the Hags! They’re intelligent, powerful, and intent on their own survival. They should be brutal with their spell attacks, but also willing to bug out if the PCs are getting the upper hand.

After you defeat or drive off the Hags, the structure can be explored, and the children, Freek and Myrtle, can be rescued. Treasure is minimal, which was fine in my case because I added a magic item that was the main hook for my players. Treasure is tweakable; it’s also a great motivator or hook for some groups.

 

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed running Old Bonegrinder in my campaign, and I would love to run it again. It works at the campaign level, but it is simple yet interesting enough to work well as a Short Campaign or Halloween One-Shot.

What I particularly like about Old Bonegrinder is that it doesn't require a lot of preparation or a complicated setup. You have a memorable location, a clear and horrific situation, dangerous villains, and children who need rescuing. If the Hags survive, you also have the beginnings of a recurring threat waiting for you later in the campaign.

A memorable location, a horrific situation, dangerous villains, and a potential recurring threat—all packed into one creepy old windmill.

Ox --->Tiger --->Rabbit --->Dragon --->Snake --->Horse Campaign Session #237

Operation Alibi begins...

 

 

 

Session 237- A Return to Barovia Part 87; Borca 14

9/28/2026

• Awakening at Degravo in the morning, Team Rams find invitations 

  to Free Continental Breakfast in the Morning Parlor.  They go 

  downstairs to redeem.

• Alyna presents the letters that have arrived for them that morning.

• The first letter is from Principal Ivliskova disinviting Team Rams to 

  the Ivliskova Summer Garden Party.

• The second letter is from Vera Nuikin-Tatenna apologizing for their 

  disinvitation to the Ivliskova Garden Party in 2 days.  She promises 

  them they are still invited to the Tatenna Summer Garden Party and 

  invites them to come stay at Nuikin Estate before the Tatenna Party.

• The third letter is from Katya Nuikin-Ritter.  She invites Team Rams 

  to visit her at her new residence at Praetorius Estate.  She says any 

  time works, but suggests it’s in their interest to do so before the 

  Tatenna Summer Garden Party in 9 days.

• Rams discuss what to do next.  They decide that they will infiltrate the 

  Ivliskova Garden Party while simultaneously running an 

  Alibi Operation.

• The party will split into 3 groups:

• Tim and Fecus

• Shelby, Elise, Victor, and Quintinus

• Gugula, the Abbot, and Eogan

• The Shelby, Elise, Victor, and Quintinus group takes the short trip to 

  the village of Lechberg.  They post up at the Wolves Bowl and order 

  wine and lunch.

• Tim, Fecus, Gugula, the Abbot, and Eogan travel south.  Along the 

  way they notice a castle and a fallen sign pointing to “Scholomance 

  Magic School”.  Very late in the evening they arrive at Vor Zyden and 

  the Eels’ Grail is the only thing open that late.

• Watches are set.