full image - Repost: For your consideration: The Trial of Feathers (from Reddit.com, For your consideration: The Trial of Feathers)
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Special thanks to CalebisDrawing for the name idea.I originally didn't like the "watch but do not interfere" dogma the Keepers of the Feather seem to abide by during my first playthrough so I adjusted it a little, spreading some small interactions throughout the entirety of the campaign that affected how the Keepers would respond to the party when interacting during the Wizards of the Wines arc. Plus I'm a huge fan of breadcrumbs allowing obervant and diligent note takers to trace multiple events upon a big reveal and potentially come to that conclusion themselves.In order to talk about the Keepers and their goals, I first must mention their history. The Martikovs can trace their lineage back almost 3000 years, descedents of some of the original Forest Folk. The first inhabitants of the valley were divided into primarily 3 groups, the Forest Folk, Mountain Folk and Valley Folk. Each of these worshipped and served one of the Ladies Three (I'll make a post regarding them in the future, which I will eventually tag here.) I had the Forest folk worshipped the Huntress, who gave her blessings to her most loyal followers and charged them with the protection of their respective dominions. To the dominion of land she blessed some of her followers with werewolf lycanthropy, charging them to serve and protect the land beasts of the Valley from those who sought to do evil upon them (poachers, invaders, malicious hunters, etc.), while also assisting the other inhabitants as much as possible. And others she blessed with the wereraven lycanthropy, giving them dominion of the skys and charging them to protect those beasts that flew from evil that might hurt or hunt them, and to use their dominion to watch over all the inhabitants of the Valley.The Martikovs have served that charge loyally for centuries. They acted as scouts and messengers, conveying information regarding the happenings of the Valley, avoiding combat and exposure as much as possible, but willing to intervene only if absolutely necessary to protect innocent life. They observed the building of the Amber Temple, The Abbey, Argynvostholt and Castle Ravenloft. Over time, as the populace grew more distant from the worshipping the Ladies Three, and the land and some of it's inhabitants became more corrupted, they became more secretive regarding their nature and intervened less. What few of the wereravens were left and had remained true to their original purpose tried to serve and protect the Huntress when Strahd began to take over the fanes, however most of them and their allies were killed. The Marikovs hid their nature and proliferated the belief that Strahd had killed all the Wereravens.Currently the Keepers have the following goals (In no particular order): 1)Watch over the land and it's inhabitants to keep apprised of all events happening within the valley. 2)Find a way to free and reconsecrate the Fanes and undermine Strahd's power over the Land. 3)Observe and potentially assist any who could rise up, restore the Ladies Three and overthrow Strahd 4)Reclaim the winery as a base of operations but also their home. 5)Protect their identities as both Keepers and also lycanthropes from Strahd and his spies.Here's the thing about the Keepers: They've seen some shit, and they're scared. They saw Strahd fight a silver dragon and come out on top. While courageous enough to continue their mission, they prioritize their secrecy and continued existence over all else at this point. So to potentially risk that at all they've got to be exceptionally sure in anyone they try to help or reveal themselves to. So how would they go about assessing candidates? Here's where the trials come in.The Keepers of the Feather are looking for particular traits in any candidates in order to avoid jeapardizing their safety trusting someone unworthy, or potentially assisting and enabling someone to become the new Dark Lord of Barovia. So they are looking for the following: Power, Potential, Ability, sense of duty, and kindness/goodness. Lets break these down:Power: This should be the the most obvious. Power is required to overcome the various dark forces of Barovia, whether that's Strahds minions, corrupted elements of Barovia, or even Strahd himself. This includes physical prowess, but also sufficiant magic capabilities, intelligence and reasoning. Since Power is a diverse range, if a party is lacking in one area they need to be able to make up for it in others. Potential: One of the things that sets PC's apart from most NPC's is their ability to grow and accumulate power unnaturally quickly, especially lvl 11+. The DMG states that PC's at this level are "set well apart from the masses". The Keepers are looking for candidates that are able to grow in power and ability (to eventually attain the Power necessary to overcome Strahd) but also grow in experience, overcoming failures and growing as individuals, both in character and ability. Ability: I view this as the capability to accomplish a specific type of task, while "Power" is the degree of ability or proficiency one has to accomplish that task. A character might have the ability to heal, but lacks the power necessary to restore missing limbs or revive the dead. The Keepers are specifically looking for the ability to restore that which has been corrupted, fight/protect, investigate and uncover secrets, and ideally, the ability to kindle hope in the hearts of the residents of Barovia. Sense of Duty: The Keepers want someone who shares their philosophy that if they have the ability to make a difference, then they have a responsibility to make a difference, expecially when it comes to helping and protecting others.Kindness/Goodness: Here's the thing, Strahd as all of the other qualities in spades. He's powerful, physically, magically and intellectually. He's continued to accumulate power and undermine that of those who would oppose him, while constanstly seeking more out. His potential seems near limitless. He has the ability to do basically whatever he wants, and he has a strong sense of duty, to himself, his goals and his heritage. But he lacks any intrinsic goodness or kindess. He simply doesn't care about others and views them as inferior to himself and only as tools to fulfill or accomplish his desires. The Keepers view this as an absolute requirement in anyone they might reveal themselves to. The Keepers understand and believe that while power is necessary to overcome those who serve evil and darkness, it's not power that drives the darkness out of peoples hearts and keeps it from coming back and taking over. It's Light. Whomever they support must prioritize the good and well being of others over themselves. Here's where the Trials of the Feather come in:1) After Death House: I run the Walter version (Flesh Mound) of the final encounters and allow character's the opportunity to destroy the curse by burying Walter at the threshold of the mansion, a la u/DragnaCarta's original Reloaded post on Death House, found here. I have my players say some sort of prayer or perform some sort of last rights. This will dispel the curse and cause Death House to dissolve away, this time for good. Players notice ravens observing them in trees nearby and one larger one in particular caws and flies away upon being noticed. This ascertains their ability to dispel evil and potentially reconsecrate the Fanes.2) Village of Barovia: Claudiu, Martin and Viggo (see u/mandymod's post here) pretend to be street urchins in the Village of Barovia, seen often enough to be a familiar enough site to the locals. They primarily handle interfacing with their raven scouts at the Eastern Gate and Death House while keeping an eye on the happening in the village. They are smaller in their raven forms than most wereravens, but Claudiu is barely larger than a typical adult raven, but not enough to be noticable. I have them run up to the party. looking dirty and wearing very worn and scrappy clothing, and beg for food or coin. If the party provides them with anything they are grateful. In the first campaign I ran, they stood guard unasked around the cart the party had their goods in while they went into the Blood of the Vine Tavern. I'm running Dragna's seige of the village my second time around, and they will offer to act as scouts to warn when the village is about to be attacked and from where as well as messengers between the various defensive positions. This trial ascertains the Goodness and sense of duty of the party, but also their Power and Ability to protect and fight. But ultimately the Party loses, the burgomaster dies and this gives reason to watch the party and see how they grow and learn and what their Potential is. 3) River Ivlis Crossroads: The Strix encounter here is where I have the party first interact with Muriel. If a PC won't help her, I have NPC Ireena do it. Afterwards, if the dice gods allow her to survive, then I have her stay with the party as an animal companion, assisting them in combat and potentially pointing out things they miss with perception checks. Muriel stays in Raven form no matter what. u/Dragnacarta is the man (second only to John Williams) and has good advice for how to play Muriel during this period. Especially have her draw attention to the Megalith near Old Bonegrinder. 4) Vallaki: Urwin and Danika consider Vallaki to be their "dominion" as mentioned above and work to provide a place where they and their family can be safe, as well as their close friends. They are fiercly protective of their family and friends, and will stand their ground when being pressured or intimidated. Here they will act as information brokers to the party regarding anything and everything in Vallaki, initially hesitant but growing more comfortable and free in the quantity of information they provide the more the party accomplishes in Vallaki. After the more significant events (Tyger Tyger, Feast of St Andral, Missing Vistana, Lady Wachter, and the Festival of the Blazing Sun), Urwin and Danika grow either more welcoming and kind and generous (free meal or free drinks) or hostile, depending on how the party acted and what they did or did not accomplish. I recommend "introducing" the party to Muriel a la the guide here and direct the party to the Winery. Urwin clearly knows what's going on and wants the party to try and help his father in law, estranged as they might be. There's so much happening in Vallaki it already felt overwhelming, so having characters I could use to interact with the party about the recent events was wonderfully helpful and refreshing. For both myself and the party.5) Wizard of the Wines: Davian runs the ship but everyone else does most of the work. I recommend having Adrian or Elvir encounter the party on the road, and definitely have the children except for Yolanda away as to not spoil the surprise. While Urwin knew everything going on in Vallaki, Adrian knows everything going on everywhere else in Barovia. Davian reveals to the party that his winery has been taken over by wild druids and asks the party to reclaim it on behalf of his family. I cannot praise and recommend the skill challenge u/Dragnacarta came up with, as well as u/mandymod's supplemental material listed above and here. The challange was a blast for all of us and was a refreshing break from the combat or intrigue aspects of the game that dominated the months prior. If the party succeeds, Davian offers the winery as a base of operations as well as all the basic food and drink supplies the party would need. He then requests their help neutralizing the poisoned wine by either magic or going to Jeny Greenteeth's shop in Vallaki (who i run as one of the Ladies Three, but they don't know that) after they discover it is poisoned. If they magic the wine better, this is a great opportunity for the invitation from Strahd. 6) Wizards of the Wines II: A lot happened to my party between both WotW visits. RvR tower, a personal encounter with Strahd as part of a Vistani PC's story resolution, and the Dinner with Strahd. During the Dinner, Strahd mentioned the wine deliveries seemed to have stopped, which served as a good reminder for the party and asks the party to continue their efforts in restoring the Winery, as the Red Dragon Crush is one of his few pleasures in life. When the party returned Davian was suspicious (not openly but subltly either) of them having met with Strahd, and had discovered the missing gem while the party was away. Wanting to reconfirm the party's motive, goodness, duty and test to how well their potential manifested and what power they've developed, he informs them of the 3 Gems, and asks them to retrieve them. Adrian informs them that they've tracked one of the gems to Yester Hill, and the other to Berez. 6a)Yester Hill: Important note I emphasize in my campaigns - Strahd (and the dark powers/vestiges) doesn't create, he corrupts. Just about everything in Barovia that was evil had, at one point, not always been so. By undermining that which he has corrupted, they undermine his own power. Some of the corrupted things can be redeemed, others cannot and should be eliminated, either as a threat or as a mercy killing. Hence I ran the Gulthias Tree as intrinsic to Barovia and not evil, a part of the lore of the Weaver, but has been corrupted by the Forest Folk Druids and used by them to create blights. Which worked will considering my previous party was obsessed with setting everything on fire as much as possible. Since I had the Amulet in Yester hill, i ran the dungeon, once again, courtesy of u/mandymod.6b) Berez: Baby Lysaga has taken the gem with the assistance of her witches and uses it to bring her Hut to life but also animate various things, such as the Strix and Scarecrows. I loved u/mandymod's idea of having the one of the Ladies Three being captured by Baba Lysaga. It's so dark and evil and horrible it fits the module perfectly. Muriel is in Berez (hiding or captured, your pick) and after the encounter tells the party to bring Laura Stonehart back to the winery to help her (she suspect Laura's true identity). If the party does Berez first, Davian mentions having both of the stones will help Laura recover. When party succeeds at both, he then reveals that his family have been serving the Ladies Three for generations and they been serving as agents for the good of Barovia (previous hidden children reveal themselves and tease the party, asking for food and gold again ;) ), tells them the lore of the land and how Strahd deconsecrated the Fanes and took much of their power for himself, becoming the Land, and finally revealing that Laura is one of the Ladies Three. Laura reveals how they can reconsecrate the Fanes and undermine Strahd's accumulated power. Davian again offers the winery as a base and that his network would be willing to assist in providing information and guidance as much as is possible and reasonable without putting his family or organization in jeopardy. And that's it for the Trial of the Feathers. I hope this is helpful material, I enjoyed running it and sharing it. All feedback welcome!
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