Ox --->Tiger --->Rabbit --->Dragon --->Snake --->Horse Campaign Session #228

Drinks Before Dinner at the Nuikin Estate

 

 

 

Session 228- A Return to Barovia Part 78; Borca 5

7/11/2026

• Team Rams and the Nuikins have left the House of Lament 

  as night falls and a rainstorm begins.

• Dmitri and Aurek suggest camping instead of trying to travel 

  in the downpour.  Team Rams agree and are grateful for the 

  prepared Dmitri, who skillfully sets camp.

• Dmitri sits the first 2 watches and Fecus takes the 3rd watch.

• As they move through the Founder’s Forest, Victor seems to 

  be feeling like the party is being followed.  A deer comes 

  crashing across the trail, and he attributes his paranoia to 

  having heard the deer before anyone else noticed it.

• In the early afternoon, they pass through the village associated 

  with Esecklae, the Nuikin Estate.

• Arriving at the Nuikin Estate, they are greeted first by Aurek 

  and Dmitri’s youngest sister, Anya Nuikin.  She is beyond 

  delighted that her sister-in-law, Natalia, is alive and well.

• The oldest sister, Vera, although pleased her sister-in-law is 

  alive and returned to the household, is wondering how this will 

  affect the family’s reputation as the Summer Garden Party Series 

  rapidly approaches.  She’s already re-arranging her schedule 

  and plans, trying to factor how the guests, Team Rams, that her 

  brothers have brought home will affect the delicate social 

  standing that each family maneuvers to improve each and 

  every day, especially during the Summer Garden Party Series.

• Rams are shown guest rooms by household servants, and they 

  are able to bathe and change into dress clothing that Vera 

  somehow provided in correct sizes for attending the family 

  dinner later.

• Bathed and correctly dressed, Rams are gathered up by Dmitri, 

  who takes Team Rams to the salon/drawing room adjacent to 

  the dining room and serves them cocktails while they wait for 

  dinner.  Aurek and Natalia arrive in time to briefly chat with the 

  party before the dinner bell rings and everyone is escorted into 

  a lavish and luxurious dining room.

• Vera asks members of Team Rams if they are willing to join the 

  Nuikin family in attending the different Summer Garden Parties 

  hosted at the various noble estates of Borca.  Tim and Fecus 

  speculate that this could be an excellent cover for searching for 

  the Vorpal Sword.

• Vera explains the struggles and disappointments of last 

  Summer Garden Party series that she and Anya suffered, 

  partially due to her brothers disappearing before they could be 

  drafted to attend any of the events.  Vera worries that Dmitri’s 

  behaviour might be interpreted as a slight against one of the 

  Domain’s Darklords, Vana Boritsi.  The third sister, Katya Nuikin, 

  also seems to vex her older sister, and she is conspicuous in her 

  absence during dinner.  Dmitri mentioned to Team Rams during 

  the walk through Founder’s Forest, that Katya has been a bit of a 

  wild card since she was widowed by her husband, drowning her 

  sorrows in carousing and gambling.

• Team Rams agree to attend the first Summer Garden Party event 

  at the Ritter Estate.  That is Katya’s dead husband’s family, and 

  Vera is anxious about this particular event, because she herself 

  can’t attend it; she has other business she must attend.

• Vera is pleased to have appropriate representation to send to the 

  party and immediately begins making new notes in her appointment 

  book, as the rest of the people at the dinner table finish their meal.

• After dinner, Victor pulls Tim aside to ask him if he felt like he was 

  being watched while Team Rams was getting ready for dinner.  

  Tim hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, but suggests that 

  maybe Victor should implement some kind of magical wards on his 

  guest room.

New Moon in Cancer Tomorrow; Mercury Still Retrograde!

Cancer Reluctantly Handing the Baton to Leo

 

 

 

Dear Monday Morning Blog Readers,

The weekly notes for the Ox Gives Way to Tiger Campaign will be posted this evening.  We played Session #228 last night, and there was a bit of a tone shift as the inimitable Team Rams dipped their toes into the social pool of Borca.  I hope this Mercury Retrograde hasn't been too trying for you all!  I'm navigating it ok, but we won't be out of the woods for another week and a half or so.  What about the New Moon in Cancer tomorrow?  What new things will it bring out in the next lunar cycle?  I don't know about anyone else, but as someone with strong Leo placements in my personal chart, I get more excited about late July and the sign change.  The Crab Gives Way to the Lion, and all is fixed, warm, and well.  But hey, don't sleep on the Crab, some of them have a mean right hook, haha!  And they lead they way into the Astrological Summer, so we give thanks for them and their tender insides protected by their hard exteriors;)  

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to the folks that are showing up to read what I write here about my games and let you know you'll get the next installment of Ox Gives Way to Tiger later today.  And stay tuned later in the week as a new actual play post of Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles get released Friday morning.  I've been alternating running Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles for my player and he runs his own game for me; so fun to play and not have the pressure of being the DM sometimes!  And it wouldn't be a Moon Cycle post if I didn't mention my Substack.  I have a new (and free) offering over there.  I've expanded the Mock Orange Cairn media empire into video production and I am in the beginning stages of a Solo Campaign that will be updated, hopefully on a weekly basis, but we'll see if that is an achievable pace for me on the production end of things.  For those of you whose particular interest is the Ravenloft setting, the new Solo Campaign is set in several Domains of Dread.

For those looking for a more astrological slant, my advice is very Crab-like today, "Keep the soft insides inside, keep the hardshell hard, and punch above your weight class!" 

Ox --->Tiger --->Rabbit --->Dragon --->Snake --->Horse Campaign Session #227

Team Rams have reunited the Halvhrest Family

 

 

 

Session 227- A Return to Barovia Part 77; Borca 4

7/5/2026

• Dmitri suggests grabbing a sprig of Belladonna from the Conservatory 

  to complete the Shield of Ezra icon protecting the children’s bedroom.

• Team Rams and Dmitri go downstairs and collect the Belladonna.  

  Dmitri checks in on his brother Aurek, who is nearly ready to hold 

  another seance.

• Back upstairs, they use the Belladonna sprig to complete the 

  Shield of Ezra protection icon on the wall of the nursery to reveal the 

  hidden door to the children’s bedroom.

• They enter the children’s bedroom and see the skeleton of 

  Theodora Halvhrest in a rocking chair.  As they walk into the room, 

  they hear children’s voices, seemingly emanating from the stuffed 

  toys on the beds.

• Gugula receives another vision of Theodora asking for the party to 

  take the Dragon and Knight toys away from the house.  The spirits 

  of her children are trapped in the house.

• Tim and Fecus think it’s a worthy cause, but they speculate it can’t be 

  that simple.  They gather the toys and finish exploring the third floor.

• In the servants’ room they find a Bag of Holding in the female 

  servant’s room.

• As they are wrapping up the third floor, they hear Aurek calling up to 

  them to let them know he is ready to hold the third (and last) seance.

• They troop downstairs and settle around the parlor table.  As a 

  preface to the seance, Aurek gives his POV on his and Dmitri’s time 

  in the domain of Richemulot.

• During the seance, all of Team Rams receive the vision of 

  Theodora Halvhrest requesting they remove the Dragon and Knight 

  toys holding her children’s spirits from the house.  The Spirit Board 

  planchette spells out “GET THEM OUT”.  Aurek tries to ask about his 

  wife, again, and several dark spirits/entities manifest in the room.  

  A large, dark amorphous entity manifests behind Aurek and asks him 

  what he would trade for restoration of his wife Natalia and invites him 

  to come do further bargaining in the basement.

• Aurek abruptly sprints out of the parlor and Dmitri immediately follows.  

  Team Rams decides to go down to the basement and in the storage 

  room they thought was a dead-end, an archway is revealed.

• They push through the ruins and descend into a pit where Aurek is 

  crawling around on his hands and knees sobbing for Natalia as Dmitri 

  tries to hold off the Mara Silvra Banshee.

• They defeat the Banshee.

• Dark tentacles emerge from the pool around the Amber Monolith and 

  move to attack Tim, who holds the Mark of the Raven.

• After a round of combat, the voice of the Amber Monolith asks who 

  would trade their soul for the restoration of Natalia.

• Fecus proposes the children’s souls inhabiting the Dragon and Knight 

  toys, but as he and Tim ponder why Aurek wouldn’t make the trade for 

  his wife’s soul, Elise steps forward and volunteers.

• The Amber Monolith seems pleased with the bargain and even allows 

  for Elise to leave the premises and return when the House recalls her 

  in its own time.  This doesn’t sit well with Tim and Fecus, but Elise 

  says it's a good bargain and maybe a better fate than she would see 

  down the road as a fractal of the God-Brain of Bluetspur.

• The bargain is struck and the Monolith pushes a body out of its bulk 

  and flings it across the inky pool surrounding it.  Aurek is in shock as 

  his wife Natalia embraces him on the edge of the pool.  Dmitri joins 

  the two in a group hug.

• As Team Rams, Dmitri, Aurek, and Natalia try to leave the house 

  through the kitchen door, a Shadow Demon and 2 Specters attack.

• The Team, Dmitri, and Aurek fight and kill the monsters and escape 

  the House of Lament.

• Out in the open, Theodora’s spirit cuts through the fog, the children’s 

  Dragon and Knight toys dissolve in a vaporous cloud and the party 

  sees a spirit family reunion of the Halvhrest’s.  Theodra’s voice can be 

  heard saying thank you as the spirits fade away.

• Out of danger, Aurek and Natalia embrace.  Dmitri realizes the gravity 

  of Elise’s bargain and thanks her while shaking her hand.  He tells his 

  brother Aurek that he owes everything to Elise and her friends.

• Aurek thanks Elise and introduces his wife to everyone.

• Aurek and Dmitri invite Team Rams to come rest and relax at 

  Esecklae, the Nuikin family estate.  They just have to travel through 

  the Founder’s Forest to reach the estate.

• Banshee (Mara Silvra) killed = 1100 XP

• Shadow Demon killed = 1100 XP

• 2 Specters killed = 400 XP

• Amber Monolith/House of Lament bargained with = 500 XP

• 2 CP = 1 XP

• 13 SP = 1 XP

• Bag of Holding

• Total XP = 3102 XP

• Tim and Fecus each receive 1034 XP

• Gugula and Shelby each receive 517 XP

   

   The following members of Team Rams have been touched 

  by the House of Lament and will receive Dark Gifts: Gugula, 

  Fecus, Tim, Victor, and Shelby.

  
  
  

   

Happy Full Moon in Capricorn! Keep Climbing!

The Second Tarokka Card Reading

    

 

 

 

Have you ever gone on a hike or worked with a Capricorn? I grew up around several of the 

Sea Goats, so I’ve had time to observe their incredible drive. One of my players is a 

Sun‑in‑Capricorn person. We didn’t game on Sunday night like we usually do, because the 

Sea Goat had work to do. 

 

With today’s full Moon in Capricorn shining a spotlight on work, responsibility, and the long 

climb, it feels pretty on‑theme that real‑life obligations took precedence over fantasy 

adventure. So, no actual play for the Ox Gives Way to Tiger campaign today. In 

side‑campaign news, the intermittent Ctyři Čtvrt Chronicles will resume soon; it’s only been 

a short hiatus while the player and I ran a five‑session playtest of a different setting and 

system. Another cool development in our gaming: my Ctyři Čtvrt player is running a 1‑on‑1 

LotFP game for me!

 

Interested in more Ravenloft content? I wrote an article over on Substack explaining how I 

used the supplement The Second Tarokka Card Reading to bridge my Curse of Strahd 

campaign arc toward a wider Domains of Dread arc. Fun stuff!

 

Now back to work; keep climbing!

 

 

Ox --->Tiger --->Rabbit --->Dragon --->Snake --->Horse Campaign Session #226

Gugula Honors Theodora's Request

 

 

 

Session 226- A Return to Barovia Part 76; Borca 3

6/21/2026

• While finishing the sandwiches, Team Rams listen to Dmitri’s account 

  of his and Aurek’s time in Richemulot.  They learn of the dangerous 

  Wererat control of the Domain.

• Dmitri takes a sandwich to Aurek in the parlor.  Aurek is working on 

  setting up a second seance.

• Team Rams and Dmitri continue their exploration of the House of 

  Lament.  They begin by taking the staircase in the foyer up to the 

  second floor landing/hallway.

• The first room explored on this floor is a guest room.  Tim sees the 

  pillow on the bed form a monstrous toothy mouth out of the corner 

  of his eye.  Gugula has a vision of a hand holding a candle 

  somewhere on the roof or exterior of the house.  They explore a 

  second guest room and have no visions or hauntings.

• In the Morning Room, Fecus picks up a tea cup from the tea set on 

  the table and thinks he sees the dried tea leaves at the bottom of the 

  cup forming the shape of a screaming face missing an eye.

• Instead of going back into the hallway, Team Rams take the door from 

  the Morning Room to the Master Bedroom.

• They don’t find anything of interest in the Master Bedroom, although 

  they notice the smell of ammonia or medication.  They take a door to 

  the east into the Master Bathroom.

• In the Master Bathroom, Fecus scrapes some mold off the surfaces 

  for his collection of moisture.  Elise discovers a bottle of perfume 

  labeled “Boritsi”.

• They exit the Master Bathroom into the wrap-around hallway of the 

  second floor.  The next door they find has a flight of stairs leading up.

• The next room they explore is the Office.  Fecus finds important house 

  related documents.  Wills, deeds, and business files.  In addition they 

  find a Silver Chain Necklace 40 GP and a Wand of Magic Missiles.

• They open the doors to the Exterior Balcony.  It’s large and ivy 

  covered.

• Completing the exploration of the second floor, they take the stairs to 

  the third floor.

• They explore the Family Room and Nursery before returning to the 

  parlor for the Second Seance.  They find the treasure in the 

  Family Room.

• Aurek leads the participants through the Second Seance.  Gugula is 

  given a more detailed vision of the spirit of Theodora Halvhrest’s 

  request.  The spirit wants someone to go up to the roof and chimney 

  and light a candle and place it on the architectural feature on the 

  chimney known as the Witch Stone.  Then the spirit board 

  communicates a new message, “RESTORE HER SHIELD”.  After 

  that message, Aurek asks if the spirit can communicate with his wife 

  Natalia.  The spirit board abruptly says “NO” and “GOODBYE”.

• Team Rams and Dmitri go up to the Widow’s Walk and Gugula 

  scrambles across the roof successfully and places a lit candle on 

  the Witch’s Stone.

• Going back inside and to the Nursery, they discover the incomplete 

  “Shield” of Ezra and ponder what to do next.

• Tea Set 200 GP = 200 XP

• Boritsi Vanilla Perfume 50 GP = 50 XP

• Wand of Magic Missiles

• Silver Necklace 40 GP = 40 XP

• 9 pieces of Silver Jewelry 90 GP = 90 XP

• Mark of the Raven Amulet 25 GP = 25 XP

• House of Lament documents

• Total XP = 405 XP

• XP carryover from Session #225 = 135 XP

• Combined XP from Sessions #225 and #226 = 540 XP

• Tim and Fecus each receive 180 XP

• Gugula and Shelby each receive 90 XP