Welcome to the third episode of 'Warriors of Good Chaos: The Return of Strahd'! Last we left off, the Warriors of Good Chaos and their two new companions, Crail and Cedric, have made their way into the heart of Durst Manor. After refusing to make a living sacrifice to a group of ghostly cultists, the group is faced with their deadliest challenge yet - a Shambling Mound. This episode features a cover of Adele's 'Hello' performed and translated by Polish recording artist Marta Carillon. Special thanks to her for allowing us to use this fantastic cover!!!!

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ABOUT THE ENEMY:

A shambling mound, sometimes called a shambler, trudges ponderously through bleak swamps, dismal marshes, and rain forests, consuming any organic matter in its path. This rotting heap of animated vegetation looms up half again as tall as a human, tapering into a faceless “head” at its top.
All-Consuming Devourers. A shambling mound feeds on any organic material, tirelessly consuming plants as it moves and devouring animals that can’t escape it. Only the shambling mounds’ rarity and plodding speed prevent them from overwhelming entire ecosystems. Even so, their presence leeches natural environments of plant and animal life, and an unsettling quiet pervades the swamps and woods haunted by these ever-hungry horrors.
Unseen Hunters. Composed of decaying leaves, vines, roots, and other natural swamp and forest compost, shamblers can blend into their environs. Because they move slowly, they rarely attempt to pursue and catch creatures. Rather, they remain in place, sustaining themselves by absorbing nutrients from their surroundings as they wait for prey to come to them. When a creature passes near or alights upon a shambling mound, the monster comes to life, seizing and absorbing the unwary prey.
The Weed that Walks. The instinct that drives a shambling mound is its central root-stem, buried somewhere inside its ponderous form. The rest of a shambler consists of the rotting heap that it simultaneously accumulates and feeds on, which protects the root-stem and animates to smash and smother the life from any creature.
A Resurgent Menace. If a shambling mound faces defeat before an overwhelming foe, the root-stem can feign death, collapsing the remains of its mound. If not subsequently killed, the root-stem beds down in the shambler’s remains to slowly regrow its full body, then once again sets out to consume all it can. In this way, shambling mound infestations long thought destroyed can recur time and again.

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The Warriors of Good Chaos are a motley team of adventurers from across the forgotten realms, who have joined forces in friendship against evil. Join our quirky, wholesome,  mischief-loving adventurers as they take on the demiplane of Barovia, finding humor amid fear, light in times of darkness, and proving time and again the power of friendship over adversity.

This is a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition gameplay podcast that follows the Curse of Strahd storyline. For more, please follow us on social media at www.facebook.com/warriorsofgoodchaos or on Instagram @warriorsofgoodchaos.

Recommended listener age is 14 and up. Content warnings for this episode include: violence, horror, death, mentions of skeletal remains, and swearing.

Stories from the Misty Tavern is not an official Wizards of the Coast podcast. Warriors of Good Chaos do not own any of the Curse of Strahd copyrighted materials including NPC’s, maps, and concepts. Sound engineering performed by Nicole Provost.

Special thanks to YWolf for allowing us to use their cover of 'Saffron's Curse' by 'Cradle of Filth' for our intro song. For more by Ywolf you can check them out on Bandcamp at: https://ywolfofficial.bandcamp.com.

Thank you!