This week’s Strahdcast includes a Tarokka reading. What the huh? Gayle and Scott explore  Curse of Strahd’s very own fortune-telling deck. We review the current 5th Edition deck and its function in the game; we expose some of the flaws in Ravenloft’s aleatory design; and Scott reveals his own plans to use the deck for motif-making and wild magic.

NOTE: Players beware! This episode contains some spoilers for the Curse of Strahd! 

Claws and fangs abound as the heroes square off against an undead son-of-a-priest and a (were)wolf at the door. 

While catching up after a long time living in separate cities, David and Scott swap podcast favourites, daydream about perfect liveplay narratives, and chew the fat about the Golden Ages of Radio and Video Rental outlets .

Scott and Gayle review the two recently released special editions of Curse of Strahd, drooling over handouts, finger puppets, and sooooo many maps. 

As the heroes adjust to the nightmare to which they have awakened, they get to know the son of Barovia’s late Burgomaster, Ismark the Lesser, as well as his sister Ireena, who bears an uncanny resemblance to a familiar face from long ago. An attempt to bury the Burgomaster goes poorly.

In this bonus episode, Scott offers Gayle some context for the Ravenloft experience. The conversation starts with the classic “I6” module from 1st edition, wanders through the 2nd Ed. Demiplane of Dread, and steers clear of the dark times of 4th Edition before arriving at the present campaign.

The heroes cautiously explore the world into which they've awoken: a warped, cursed version of their beloved Barovia, bristling with zombies; barkeeps who act like zombies; and a Burgomaster who died trying to protect his children from -- you guessed it -- zombies. And worse! 

After the dice have been put away, Laird and Scott drink Belgian beer and reminisce about early D&D modules and the vampires they’ve loved (and hated). Bonus features include a (very) brief detour into Star Wars fandom, a definition of “epistolary,” and a deep dive into the roots of Gothic horror.

THE SAGA BEGINS! Royal visitors come to the peaceful town of Barovia; Ralston the Novice takes charge of a crisis; Andrej gets outshined by Prince Sergei; and Dragomir sniffs out a hoard that comes with a catch.

This episode makes a fine jumping-on point, but if you'd like to peek behind the D&D screen to see how the characters were created, start with #001. And if you'd like a quick intro to the main characters before the story begins, check out #002. So many choices!

Meet the story's three heroes -- Ralston the Novice, Andrej the Bear, and Dragomir the Wolfboy -- in this short, introductory episode.

NOTE: This episode isn’t strictly necessary to get into the story, but it helps.