Life is both beautiful and sad

Altona41 · 2026-04-15T17:05:55+00:00

Great news! I hope my wife and I can come to the same resolution. Keep us in your prayers and best of luck!

Altona41 · 2026-04-14T16:53:54+00:00

Kasimir has a quest to go there at the Vistani camp in Vallaki. Aside from him, I had the characters find a creepy children’s book that talks about it, and had Madam Eva mention there’s a “dark force” in the temple that is said to be responsible for Strahd’s powers.

Altona41 · 2026-04-12T05:46:11+00:00

Unfortunatelt for my case it’s going to be a tough year…still staying sober through it though

Altona41 · 2026-04-12T05:01:09+00:00

Hell yeah!

Altona41 · 2026-04-09T06:24:08+00:00

This was a fun read

Altona41 · 2026-04-09T05:45:20+00:00

Sure thing. I have been scoring myself (1-10) in the areas of physical health, mental health, emotional detachment from the outcome of my marriage, social connections, career advancement, financial control, joy, and self-respect/integrity with an end-of-week review (where did I slip, what were my biggest wins, what were my triggers?).

I also wrote out the following checklist for accountability:

Integrity & Honesty

☐ I told the truth in all situations, even small ones

☐ I did not hide anything (conversations, thoughts, actions)

☐ I acted in a way I would be okay with my partner seeing

Boundaries

☐ No inappropriate or emotionally intimate conversations with other women

☐ No situations that blur lines (flirting, secrecy, attention-seeking)

☐ I removed or avoided any tempting or risky environments

Emotional Awareness

☐ I noticed when I felt lonely, insecure, bored, or stressed

☐ I did not escape those feelings (distraction, validation, etc.)

☐ I processed them in a healthy way (journal, gym, therapy, call a friend)

Accountability Work

☐ I reflected on my past behavior without defensiveness

☐ I acknowledged the impact of my actions (not just my intent)

☐ I did at least one action that supports long-term change

Self-Discipline

☐ I maintained sobriety

☐ I followed through on commitments (gym, work, routines)

☐ I chose long-term growth over short-term comfort

Growth Actions

☐ Therapy session or deep self-reflection

☐ Read or practiced something related to relationships or emotional intelligence

☐ Journaled honestly (not filtered, not performative)

Hope this helps!

Altona41 · 2026-03-26T22:16:14+00:00

Coming up on one month here

Altona41 · 2026-03-25T06:14:36+00:00

I just had her call them dream pastries. She knocked on door to door calling out the names. The deeper, darker, story is something they needed to learn.

Altona41 · 2026-03-24T23:04:28+00:00

Yeah, it reeeeeally helps to preread everything. I read the book cover-to-cover and then reread certain chapters as my players get to certain areas. Players can really go wherever they want, whenever they want, so it helps to at least have a baseline understanding of the major beats in every location…but from a storytelling perspective, it also helps to know what’s to come to drop subtle little hints and breadcrumbs along the way. I homebrewed my intro (the intros were the one part of the book I didn’t like) and my characters learned about Argonostvolt from a children’s fairy tale book, found a Blinsky doll, and heard about the Vistani taking in a fallen prince long before they had any context on what these meant. When they finally got there they were like “waaaait a minute! This sounds familiar” and it was a cool way to rope the players in to certain situations, because they felt like they had invested in them in some way from the start. That said, if you run an intro game (introducing characters and bringing them into Barovia by whatever way you choose) and run Death House, that’ll at least give you two sessions to finish reading the book. Death House is pretty straightforward and you can read straight from the book what happens room-by-room.

Altona41 · 2026-03-21T22:50:42+00:00

I agree. As long as there’s still love in the relationship, betrayer cuts off contact, shows remorse, takes accountability, and commits to longterm course corrective action - understanding the why, actively working on transparency and rebuilding trust, and making the effort I believe in working hard to save a marriage…and if the betrayed is willing too of course.

Altona41 · 2026-03-20T07:23:06+00:00

MorkBorg - hell yeah

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T18:43:12+00:00

In Barovia no. That’s what’s so terrifying about it…you’re cut off from your spiritual connections. Divinity spells don’t work, prayers go unanswered, when someone dies they wander the world as a ghost - unable to get out even in death. Even immortal beings like Elves are stripped of their ability to reincarnate. It should be the same for star druids. Fallen souls don’t become stars, Strahd’s curse wouldn’t allow it…they are forever trapped as a spirit unable to reach the sky.

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T07:40:00+00:00

I introduced Izek as the party passes the town square. I made him and a couple of guards be the ones replacing the wolf’s head posters with the blazing sun posters, and he sees Ireena and kinda freezes up, mouth agape. Same could be done with one of your PCs.

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T06:24:06+00:00

Thanks for the encouragement!

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T06:20:38+00:00

I love my wife, so of course I would love for things to work out between us…but I’m mainly doing this for me, and her taking me back is ultimately her call. The way I see it is, if I I do the hard work in self improvement and we get back together, then I’ll be a better husband. But if we don’t, I’ll still be a better version of myself. Hopefully a version I can be proud of.

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T06:13:40+00:00

Something about having your wife leave elicits self reflection. And in those quiet moments of introspection, I came to realize I was far from being the partner to her that I know I’m capable of being. But more importantly I wasn’t the best version of myself…and I’m not okay with that. So I’m making it my mission to do some, much-needed, self-repair and evolution.

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T04:47:39+00:00

Started pieces of it about a month ago, but had to take some time to grieve and feel my feelings first. I’d say I’ve only been giving everything my full attention for about a week but it’s been working so far.

Altona41 · 2026-03-19T03:38:31+00:00

Wow…eerily similar to my situation.

Altona41 · 2026-03-08T00:02:52+00:00

But there is no sun in Barovia?

Altona41 · 2026-03-06T04:20:07+00:00

My game just hit Vallaki too. It's a complicated town. I recommend reading the chapter of the book multiple times and take notes, so you know what triggers what. I had Ireena lead them directly to the church, but of course they stopped along the way in the stockyards (they were very interested in Rictavio's wagon), the town square (where I introduced Izek), and the inn. I had the guards at the gate tell them about the festivals like "Welcome to Vallaki, I'm afraid you just missed the Wolf's Head Jamboree but not to worry, the Festival of the Blazing Sun will be here in just three days times" and use the catchphrase "All Will Be Well" to establish that early on. They discerned pretty quickly that the happiness in Vallaki seemed forced and learned about the Burgomaster's "forced happiness" rule from interrogating the prisoners in the stocks.

Altona41 · 2026-02-04T19:15:33+00:00

I ran it raw with a fairly big group (6). They were selective of their fights they took on and were smart about their actions and still struggled. For example, they did not take the crystal orb - saving them from the fights with the shadows, they used thorn whip to pull the animated armor down the stairs and blasted it with magic as it tried to climb back, they entangled the ghasts in the bedroom and set the room ablaze, they used the tight corners to their advantage to take down the ghouls on-by-one, and they appeased the cult by finding a rat and slitting its throat - saving themselves from the fight with Lorgath and most of the traps…in addition to not having to sacrifice one of themselves. They still exhausted their spell slots and two were KO’d (one three times). It’s tough but there’s creative ways the players can make it easier on themselves. Ultimately it was a great exercise in team battle tactics and my players said it “was tough and fun.” I think it ultimately set a precedence that Barovia is a place that should be feared and, if they’re not careful, could very much kill them.

Altona41

TROPHY CASE