For The Deconstructed

Join Alicia, Ryan, and Bill Harvat as they talk about his recent successful Backerkit for Righteous Vow vol 2 and OSR gaming with Shadowdark! 

Bill will be at Garycon this week sharing all thing Righteous Vow and running games for the masses!

The halls of Argynvostholt echo with whispers of betrayal and power lost to time. As the party uncovers the history of the ruined castle, they learn of Osibis, a power-hungry lich who sought godhood through dark and unspeakable rituals. His rise to power was rivaled by Strav von Zorovi, a general who made her own dark pact, becoming something unnatural—something Osibis could not overcome.

Lady Argenvast, the great silver dragon, once led a doomed battle against Strahd, only to be betrayed by Osibis himself. She thought she could bargain and keep her soul, but lost everything—including her head, which now sits as a gruesome trophy in Strahd’s castle. Her knights, defeated and scattered, are now trapped in an endless cycle of torment, bound by Osibis’ power—a fate that now looms over Ignatius.

With the weight of these revelations, Ignatius faces his own twisted fate. Osibis does not just take power—he consumes souls. Those who strike a deal with him become part of his strength, and defeating him means facing what remains of themselves. As the party watches in horror, Ignatius sees the full truth of his own pact: his shadow steps forward, unsheathing a blade, issuing a silent but deadly challenge.

Can Ignatius sever himself from the darkness? Or has his fate already been sealed?Listen now and witness the battle for his very soul.

The party explored the ruined castle of Argynvostholt, following the sound of a woman’s scream to the upper floors. Along the way, they witnessed a vision of a dragon of ash and soot battling Strahd, with a dark entity Ignatius recognized from his time near death. Even with its Omega tattoo, it was no match for Strahd.

At the source of the scream, they found an ancient, enraged woman attacking a wooden bedpost with her longsword. She turned on the party, injuring Quinn before they calmed her spirit and uncovered her identity—Lady Gwilym, once a knight of the castle and the lover of Vlaka Horn Guard, captain of Argenvast Holt’s forces under the great dragon Lady Argenvast.

With this new knowledge, they climbed another flight of stairs, pushing deeper into the castle’s secrets.

With Silme saved and the Wicker Man left smoldering in their wake, the party presses on, their path leading them to the crumbling ruins of a once-magnificent castle. The skeletal remains of towering spires and broken battlements loom in the distance, whispering of long-forgotten battles and lost kings. But as they step through the shattered gates, the air grows thick with an unnatural stillness.Inside, the chapel walls hold suits of armor that should have long rusted away, yet stand pristine. The pews are untouched by time, their wood polished to a near-glowing sheen. But what halts them in their tracks is not the eerie preservation of the castle's remnants—it’s the altar at the heart of the chapel.

There, bathed in the dim light filtering through stained glass, stands a statue of an otherworldly figure—tall, eyeless, its maw lined with sharp teeth, a dark hood masking the rest. Recognition sends a shiver down their spines. This is no mere effigy; this is the entity that sealed a bargain in the dead of night.

 And it has been waiting for them.

As Silme’s blood seeps into the altar, a pulse of dark green energy erupts from the ancient tree, striking the massive wicker effigy. The druids, once confident in their ritual, are gripped by fear as the towering construct shudders to life, its hollow gaze locking onto Silme with an insatiable hunger. As it takes its first slow, deliberate steps, embers flicker from its joints, and an eerie laughter echoes through the forest. The druids flee—but Silme remains bound, the sacrifice unfinished, and something deep within him begins to stir. Is this the end… or just the beginning?

In the aftermath of their battle against the needle blights, the adventurers find themselves thrust into a new crisis as druids emerge from the shadows of the vineyard. With eerie precision, the druids ensnare Silme in creeping vines, dragging him into the unholy ground beneath their feet.

As panic sets in, Rudolfa's frantic cries echo across the battlefield: "Where did he go? What happened?" The party must now regroup amidst the chaos, grappling with the druids' dark powers and the mysterious forces lurking beneath the vineyard. Can they navigate the perilous terrain and rescue their comrade, or will Silme be lost to the vineyard's dark embrace forever? Stay tuned for a high-stakes adventure filled with tension, courage, and the fight against nature’s twisted wrath!

The adventurers, accompanied by their companions Rudolfa and Irina, find themselves on a mission to reclaim a vineyard overtaken by sinister druids. Guided by Dag, a were-raven and a member of the Mardukov family, they approach the overgrown fields shrouded in tension. As they near their destination, Quinn attempts to reach out psionically to detect nearby threats but inadvertently connects with a strange, alien mind that notices his presence.

In an eerie moment, the stillness of the vineyard breaks as countless twig-like creatures rise, their beady eyes fixated on the group. Surrounded by needle blights on all sides, the party braces for combat as the sinister forces of the druids begin their assault. Will they manage to survive and reclaim the vineyard, or will the druids' minions overwhelm them? Roll for initiative and find out!

The party finds themselves in the safety of the abandoned wizard's tower, Rudolfa's makeshift headquarters in Barovia. Joined by their newest ally, Quinn, the group gathers to discuss their next move. With the weight of their mission pressing down on them, the adventurers deliberate on how best to prepare for the looming battle against their mysterious enemy.

Rudolfa, ever the strategist, turns to the group, eager to hear their ideas: "I am all ears for suggestions. What should we do to begin to prepare to defeat this enemy of ours?"

Will they come up with a plan to turn the tide in their favor, or will internal doubts and external threats hinder their preparations? But will it be enough to face the dangers that lie ahead?

Having narrowly escaped Vallaki through an underground tunnel, the party emerges into the safety of the woods, guided by Rudolfa van Richten. Their destination: an abandoned wizard's tower that Rudolfa has been using as her secret headquarters in Barovia.

As they trek through the dense and eerie forest, the party's journey takes an unexpected turn. Through the shadows, they spot a figure walking towards them. With tension in the air, the group braces for the unknown.

Who is this mysterious traveler, and what role will they play in the unfolding adventure? Join us as the party ventures deeper into Barovia, where secrets and surprises await at every turn.

Welcome back to the last night of Revival weekend here at For the Deconstructed. We are ending this spring event with a special word from Dr. Joesph Laycock,  an author and professor of religious studies at TSU. Dr. Laycock is the authe of the book Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds. 

Tonight we are excited to talk to him about all things relgion, moral panic, and the theology that sparked the satanic panic. 

Join us as we hear from him on all things religion and Dungeons and Dragons!