Episode 54: Strange Fruit, Part I | Shadows of Stravia

Episode 54: Strange Fruit, Part I | Shadows of Stravia

Back in the waking world of the Shadows of Stravia, the party follows the thread of the soul plague to the place where the nightmare first took root. The old temple site. In this plane, the Gulthias tree is gone—banished from the world after its destruction—but its shadow has not faded. As the party travels to the site, they discover that the ruins are not as abandoned as they once believed. Strange guardians linger within the temple, standing watch over secrets that should have remained buried. But the party’s arrival was not unexpected. A druid diviner named Bumbo has seen this moment coming. Somehow, long before they arrived, Bumbo anticipated their path and prepared a way forward—a passage into the Grey Plane, a place between worlds where the Gulthias tree now exists in exile. Neither fully dead nor fully alive. Neither fully in Stravia nor beyond it. From this strange in-between realm, the tree has begun lashing out across realities, harvesting souls through the plague spreading in Light of Doruusk. But why? Why does it need so many souls? What is it feeding? What is it building? And what horror waits if the tree is allowed to finish what it has begun? As the party crosses into the Grey Plane, the world around them twists into something unfamiliar and wrong. There, in that haunted space between life, death, dream, and memory, they finally find what they have been searching for. The Gulthias tree. Massive. Impossible. Still alive in ways it should not be. And from its enormous boughs hang strange fruit—terrible signs of what the harvested souls may be becoming. The party has found the source. But they may be too late to understand what it has already grown. Some evils do not return as they were. Some take root somewhere worse. And some bear fruit before the world realizes it is starving. ⸻ Highlights 🌑 The party returns to the world of Shadows of Stravia 🌳 The journey leads them back to the old Gulthias tree temple site 🏛️ The party enters the temple in this plane 🛡️ Strange guardians are discovered within the ruins 🔮 A druid diviner named Bumbo anticipated the party’s arrival 🚪 Bumbo prepared a way for them to enter the Grey Plane 🌫️ The Grey Plane is revealed as the place between worlds where the Gulthias tree was banished 🩸 The tree is harvesting souls from Light of Doruusk through the soul plague ❓ The party begins to question why the tree needs so many souls ⚠️ A greater plan begins to emerge from the horror 🍎 The episode ends as the party finds the tree and sees strange fruit growing from its massive boughs 🌌 The boundary between Stravia, Doruusk, and the Grey Plane grows dangerously thin ⸻ 👉 Like, subscribe, and ring the bell to follow the campaign live and never miss an episode. ⸻ Hashtags #DungeonsAndDragons #DnD #DnD5e #ActualPlay #TTRPG #ShadowsOfStravia #FateCasters #LightOfDoruusk #Doruusk #Stravia #Slavoka #GulthiasTree #GreyPlane #SoulPlague #SoulMagic #Nyx #Requiem #Zelphira #Borislav #SmileyTinkersmith #Bumbo #DruidDiviner #Virelia #TempleRuins #DarkFantasyDnD #GothicFantasy #FantasyDrama #DnDIntrigue #EmotionalRP #DnDRoleplay #ParallelWorld #DreamMagic #CosmicHorror #FantasyMystery #TabletopRPG #LiveDnD Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2459829/support]

The Waking Nightmare | Shadows of Stravia | Episode 53

After the horrors of Light of Doruusk, the party briefly returns to the waking world—but not everyone wakes easily. Nyx lies unconscious after the impossible glimpse of Odin’s Eye, touched by something ancient, divine, and far beyond mortal understanding. The rest of the party remains collapsed where they stood, trapped between dream and reality. And Zelphira stands alone. Protected from the mysterious sleep by her mother’s ring, she becomes the only member of the party left conscious enough to witness what has happened—and what may still be coming. As Borislav returns and the sleeping party begins to stir, the lines between the waking world and Light of Doruusk grow more dangerous than ever. Requiem, Borislav, and the others come to a chilling conclusion: if the soul-stealing plague is to be stopped in the parallel world, the answer may lie in the real one. At the old site. Where the Gulthias tree once stood. Where Virelia’s memory still lingers. Where old wounds were buried, but never truly laid to rest. Now, with Smiley Tinkersmith joining the waking nightmare, the party must travel back to the place where so much darkness began and discover what remains after the tree’s destruction. A door? A riddle? A warning? Or something much worse waiting beneath the roots? Some places do not stay dead. And some evils only wait to be remembered. ⸻ Highlights 👁️ Nyx suffers the aftermath of glimpsing Odin’s Eye 💍 Zelphira is protected from the mysterious sleep by her mother’s ring 🌙 The party briefly returns from Light of Doruusk to the waking world 🐻 Borislav returns and helps guide the party toward their next step 🎭 Matt steps in as the NPC Smiley Tinkersmith 🧭 Requiem and Borislav urge the party toward the old Gulthias tree site 🌳 The party realizes the real world may hold the key to stopping the soul plague 🕯️ Memories of Virelia and the cursed site resurface 🚪 The mystery deepens as the party searches for what remains beneath the roots ⚠️ Waking world and dreamworld horror begin to collide 🌑 Old evil stirs in a place the party hoped they would never revisit ⸻ 👉 Like, subscribe, and ring the bell to follow the campaign live and never miss an episode. ⸻ Hashtags #DungeonsAndDragons #DnD #DnD5e #ActualPlay #TTRPG #ShadowsOfStravia #FateCasters #LightOfDoruusk #Doruusk #Stravia #Slavoka #Nyx #Requiem #Zelphira #Borislav #SmileyTinkersmith #Virelia #GulthiasTree #OdinEye #SoulMagic #DarkFantasyDnD #GothicFantasy #FantasyDrama #DnDIntrigue #EmotionalRP #DnDRoleplay #ParallelWorld #DreamMagic #SoulPlague #CosmicHorror #FantasyMystery #TabletopRPG #LiveDnD Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2459829/support]

The Ghosts Beneath the Tree | Shadows of Stravia | Episode 52

After waking in the twisted parallel reality known as Light of Doruusk, the party quickly discovers that something is terribly wrong. People are collapsing without wounds. Entire districts are falling sick overnight. And worst of all, ghostlike serpent entities—half spirit, half nightmare—have begun tearing something far more important than flesh from their victims. Their souls. As panic spreads, the party races to uncover the source of the growing catastrophe before the damage becomes irreversible. But the deeper they investigate, the more the truth begins pointing toward a place they prayed they would never revisit. The old site. The Gulthias tree. The memory of Virelia. And whatever still waits beneath its roots. With time running out and the soul-sickness spreading faster by the hour, the party must descend back into a place tied to some of their darkest memories and uncover what has changed in this broken reflection of reality. But some mysteries do not ask for understanding. They ask for sacrifice. And before the night is over, one member of the party may be forced to give up everything for the chance to stop what is coming. ⸻ Highlights 👻 The party investigates a supernatural plague draining victims of their souls 🐍 Ghostlike serpent entities begin attacking throughout Light of Doruusk 🕯️ Entire districts fall sick as panic spreads across the parallel world 🧭 The party follows a terrifying clue back to a familiar cursed location 🌳 The Gulthias tree returns with new horrors hidden beneath its roots ⚠️ Old memories and alternate histories collide in unexpected ways 🩸 The mystery deepens as the party uncovers the scale of the soul corruption ⏳ Time begins running out as the sickness spreads faster than expected 💔 One party member may be forced into an impossible sacrifice 🌑 Parallel-world horror and emotional consequences take center stage ⸻ 👉 Like, subscribe, and ring the bell to follow the campaign live and never miss an episode. 'The Long Dark' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au ⸻ Hashtags #DungeonsAndDragons #DnD #DnD5e #ActualPlay #TTRPG #ShadowsOfStravia #FateCasters #LightOfDoruusk #Doruusk #Stravia #Slavoka #Nyx #Requiem #Zelphira #Virelia #GulthiasTree #SoulMagic #DivineHorror #DarkFantasyDnD #GothicFantasy #FantasyDrama #DnDIntrigue #EmotionalRP #DnDRoleplay #ParallelWorld #UndeadHorror #SoulPlague #CosmicHorror #FantasyMystery #TabletopRPG #livednd Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2459829/support]

When Souls Go Quiet | Shadows of Stravia | Episode 51

Nyx has always known his father was not like other fathers. Mostly because most fathers do not arrive as undead ravens offering impossible power in the voice of a god. On the long road back to Slavoka, the party’s fragile peace is shattered when Nyx is visited by the Faceless God himself—his father, his shadow, his inheritance, and possibly the worst possible family reunion Stravia has ever hosted. The offer is simple. Power. Unthinkable power. The kind that could reshape Nyx’s future, protect the people he loves, and maybe even prove that monsters and gods are sometimes just family with better branding. So, naturally, that is not emotionally complicated at all. But before the party can fully recover from that divine little nightmare, something stranger happens. Sleep takes them. All of them. Mysteriously. Supernaturally. Wrongly. And when their eyes open, the world is not the world they left behind. In a surprise DM switch-up, Eric steps behind the screen once again as the party is pulled into the parallel reality known as Light of Doruusk—a world where history bent differently, old wounds wear new faces, and something unseen has begun striking at souls themselves. The party must uncover what is happening before the damage spreads too far. Because in this world, the Faceless God’s shadow may not fall the same way. But something is still hungry. And this time, it is coming for the soul. ⸻ Highlights 🐦 Nyx receives a visit from his father, the Faceless God, in the form of an undead raven 🌑 An offer of unthinkable power tempts Nyx toward something dangerous 🛤️ The road back to Slavoka becomes anything but peaceful 💤 The party falls asleep under mysterious supernatural influence 🎲 Eric returns for a surprise DM switch-up 🌄 The party awakens in the parallel world known as Light of Doruusk 🕯️ A mysterious force begins attacking souls ⚔️ The party must investigate before the damage becomes irreversible 👁️ Different world, different history, same creeping dread 🖤 Family drama, divine temptation, and soul-level horror collide ⸻ 👉 Like, subscribe, and ring the bell to follow the campaign live and never miss an episode. ⸻ Hashtags #DungeonsAndDragons #DnD #DnD5e #ActualPlay #TTRPG #ShadowsOfStravia #FateCasters #LightOfDoruusk #Doruusk #Stravia #Slavoka #Nyx #FacelessGod #UndeadRaven #Requiem #Zelphira #DarkFantasyDnD #GothicFantasy #FantasyDrama #DnDIntrigue #EmotionalRP #DnDRoleplay #ParallelWorld #DivineHorror #SoulMagic #livednd Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2459829/support]

Soup, Silver, and Shadows | Shadows of Stravia | Episode 50

Leaving the Black City is, in theory, the easy part. In practice, this party has never met an “easy part” they couldn’t make emotionally complicated. After the chaos of the Crimson Court, the party prepares to depart Drogmalhar with final words from Prince Lariel, a farewell from Valroth, and one small but heavy reminder for Zelphira: Virelia’s ring. Because apparently one emotionally devastating family heirloom was not enough. With Requiem leading the way, the party begins the long road back to Slavoka. And for once, they find something almost suspiciously rare: Peace. No court assassinations. No vampire politics. No public betrayals. Just wilderness, allies, and enough quiet for everyone’s unresolved feelings to start making eye contact. Naturally, Karina uses this moment to investigate Requiem’s portable hole, where Plop has apparently been storing ingredients for what can only generously be called “experimental soup.” A meal is made. Questions are raised. No one is legally prepared to call it food. But even comedy has teeth in Stravia. For Requiem, the soup stirs something darker: a terrible voice, the scent of blood and dried flowers, and the lingering shadow of Selene. Meanwhile, Reginold returns Zelphira’s pendant, not only found, but masterfully repaired—a quiet, careful act of devotion from a prince who apparently expresses affection through craftsmanship and emotional damage control. And just when the road begins to feel safe, Nyx receives an unexpected visitor. His father. Because nothing says “peaceful travel episode” quite like family showing up with plot implications. The party has left the Black City behind. Mostly. But the things they carry are starting to speak. And some of them have teeth. ⸻ Highlights 🏰 The party departs Drogmalhar after the Crimson Court 👑 Prince Lariel offers parting words 🖤 Valroth reminds Zelphira of Virelia’s ring 🌲 Requiem leads the long road back to Slavoka 🕳️ Karina investigates Requiem’s portable hole 🍲 Plop makes experimental soup, allegedly 🌹 Requiem is haunted by blood, dried flowers, and Selene’s lingering shadow 📿 Reginold returns Zelphira’s repaired pendant as a sign of devotion 🐺 Nyx’s father arrives at the end of the episode, because peace was apparently getting too comfortable ⸻ 👉 Like, subscribe, and ring the bell to follow the campaign live and never miss an episode. ⸻ Hashtags #DungeonsAndDragons #DnD #DnD5e #ActualPlay #TTRPG #ShadowsOfStravia #FateCasters #Drogmalhar #Slavoka #Nyx #Requiem #Zelphira #Reginold #PrinceLariel #Valroth #SeleneBlackheart #Karina #Plop #DarkFantasyDnD #FantasyDrama #DnDIntrigue #GothicFantasy #EmotionalRP #DnDRoleplay #livednd Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2459829/support]