This adventure module is designed to take four to six player characters from 1st level to 10th level. This is a great lead into Death House, with little additional work required. Have fun storming the castle! Strahd casts the ray of frost cantrip. As always, be prepared to tune your preparations to the needs, skills, and expectations of your playersand above all else, make sure that you and your players have fun. Petty. Id recommend simultaneously improving Strahds abilities alongside the characters starting at level 7-8, and especially once they have access to magic that generates sunlight. As you read this guide, make sure to keep opportunity costs at the forefront of your mind. Thats good advice - I'v been slowly working through the book to make sure I get all the connections correct. In this encounter, Strahds effective CR is 5the minimummeaning that a party of 5th-level PCs attuned to the Sunsword and Holy Symbol will likely face a challenging, resource-intensive final encounter. This adventure hook leads into the Tarokka deck reading with Madam Eva very well, but not "Death House.". 6 of Curse of Strahd under character levels? Role-playing Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games. Use this option if you want to transform a one-monster "boss fight" into a sprawling dungeon-crawl that occupies the bulk of one or more sessions, forcing your players into a punishing war of attrition and navigation that ends as soon as the PCs successfully grapple or incapacitate him. Looking at the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind's description in Appendix C (p. 222), it looks like something that a group of adventures wanting to take down a powerful vampire would want to have. [1] It was released on October 20, 2020. Curse of Strahd is an adventure book for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. In particular, my party found the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind quite early and it made the Coffinmaker's house encounter fairly trivial. Adventurers are mysteriously drawn to the realm of Barovia which is surrounded by deadly fog and ruled by the vampire wizard Strahd von Zarovich. If you choose this option, set Strahds default CR to 11. The Dark Powers delight in tormenting villains as much as they do innocents, the Mists equally confound both predators and prey, and Darklords frequently exhibit hubris or other exploitable flaws. You can read our full guide to Strahds history, his personality, and how to run him at the table HERE. Move. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Before "Death House" youll likely want to run one of the initial adventure hooks: Plea For Help, Mysterious Visitors, Werewolves in the Mist, and Creeping Fog. Sever Shadow. Is this homebrew variant of Leomund's Tiny Hut a problem? Set in the Ravenloft campaign setting, the module revolves around the vampire Strahd von Zarovich and the Demiplane of Dread that serves as his prison. Keeping level 1 characters alive is no small task, and "Death House" monsters have high armor classes and hit hard. If you use this option, leave Strahds CR unchanged. the ending of the death house section completes with two scenarios both leveling your party to level 3. Just in case someone or something tries to push them down the stairs. I'm currently DMing a Curse of Strahd campaign (slightly modified to fit into an existing world I am slowly building (following core rule books for the most part). This was the RECOMMENDED area for players to start if they're level 1, also. Even with this, however, encounters can and should have the potential to be fatal. I'm looking for more ideas for bosses or minibosses to sprinkle through Barovia. The daylight spell produces light that is not considered sunlight. She's either a Damsel Scrappy who steals much of the module's focus while lacking a compelling personality to justify protecting her, or she's a likeable character with a good amount of characterization, and someone the players can see as . Strahd's face forms the barest hint of a smle as his dark plan unfolds. From what I remember, if you are simply talking about the leveling guide - they award levels for various in-game events (such as finding artifacts, or completing areas). Only you know your players and the game you are running, hence it's up to you and what you most feel makes for a fun game around your table. There is, as always, a driving main quest that keeps the action moving forward, but each stop along the way brings moral and ethical dilemmas to the partyand Strahd is always watching, waiting to see which party members evidence a dark side that he can play off the others". Why did US v. Assange skip the court of appeal? The Dungeons & Dragons SRD rules are available by search in the sidebar, as well as any other content you own and have added to the game via Compendium Sharing. Using a deck of tarokka cards, the Dungeon Master can randomize parts of the adventure such as the identity of a powerful ally, the placement of important magic items across Barovia, and Strahd's location within Castle Ravenloft. Ireena Kolyana, who remains the most divisive character in the module for players. The result was a torrent of ideas for new locations, characters and encounters". Doesn't Use Charm. Curse of Strahd is an adventure module for the 5th-edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published by Wizards of the Coast in 2016. Curse of Strahd has a specific leveling style all its own. Note that each strategy assumes that, before preparing for combat, Strahd uses his phasing ability and/or legendary actions to retreat, waits at least one minute, and attacks again only once the PCs have left initiative. None. The short version is that he was a mortal warlord who murdered an entire valley full of people because of his unresolved daddy issues. [12], In 2016, Henry Glasheen, for SLUG Magazine, highlighted the legacy of the original Castle Ravenloft and wrote "Curse of Strahd carries on this legacy admirably, diving deeper into the bloody past of Count Strahd. [10][11] The book was generally well received, earning the 2016 ENnie Awards for Best Adventure and Best Art/Cover and runner up for Product of the Year. Given that I've now completed all the official maps for the Curse of Strahd adventure, I thought it might be helpful to provide a list of the maps and links! However, it is entirely possible to run St. Andral's Orphanage as a stand alone adventure or incorporate it into another campaign. So far, my players have been most impressed/engaged when fighting a "boss," just a unique enemy they had not seen before who had enough health and hit super hard so they had to really consider their tactics as individuals and as a group. Use this option if you want to destroy player agency and create an unsatisfying, doomed final battle. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. As a module, Curse of Strahd does a pretty good job of keeping the pressure on with very little work from the DM. And it's especially brutal with Strahd because it's his home base and he fights DIRTY. If you choose this option, set Strahds default CR to 13 if your players know at least one spell of 7th level or higher that can automatically incapacitate Strahd, such as power word pain or forcecage; and 17 otherwise. If you use this option on at least one-third of rounds in combat, reduce Strahds CR by 2. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I'm looking for more ideas for bosses or minibosses to sprinkle through Barovia. Set in the realm of Barovia, a Domain Of Dread within Ravenloft, your players find themselves transported here and trapped. Support me on Patreon! In this case, you can have your player characters meet in the mist or camping together, but I would caution against starting in Barovia near Krezk. It was a rocky start but I had a blast and now, the better part of a decade later, I play, write, and write about tabletop RPGs (mostly5e, but also PBtA, Forged in the Dark and OSR) games for a living, which iswild. Strahd uses 1 legendary action to corner a vulnerable foe or escape a dangerous situation. With only a few quick copy/pastes, your adventurers can get stomped into the muddy waters of the Ruins of Berez! Curse of Strahd was the first project I worked on as a Roll20 content conversion contractor in 2017 and the first Wizards of the Coast storyline I ever played (my ranger survived Death House in a particularly cutthroat way), so its a sentimental storyline for me. And instead of relying on stereotypes or fixating on their sexuality, these characters fleshed-out backstories make them people, not icons". The specter and the animated armor might seem obvious threats, but the shadows that surround characters, the ghouls in maze-like corridors, the mimic door that prevents escape, and the ghasts guarding needed supplies are even more deadly. The material components in her summoning spell are an oat milk latte and a high fantasy novel. This official /r/CurseOfStrahd YouTube channel will be used to store many . I tried to give as many hints as possible that the coffin maker was scared of something in the shop - he was glancing over his shoulder, refused to let them in, would only speak in a whisper and asked the party to meet him later 'somewhere safe' suggesting the inn. "Death House" will run your player characters through levels 1-3 if they survive. Curse Of Strahd mentions the dark powers and vestiges a little in the Amber temple. I have one idea so far in that I home-brewed that the mongrelfolk are actually all afflicted with a disease that transforms them at different rates into beasts (hence the beast in the Abbey). Use this option if you want to slowly (i.e., over 10 rounds or more) create a small army of shadows that can eventually one-turn kill an isolated, low-Strength PCor a PC that has been polymorphed into a frogoutside of sunlight using their strength drain attack. If you use this option at least twice per 10 rounds, leave Strahds CR unchanged if employing No Phasing (see above), and decrease Strahds CR by 2 if not. Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them? Make sure to give . Copy the n-largest files from a certain directory to the current one. Curse of Strahd transforms Dungeons & Dragons 5e from sword-and-sorcery fantasy to a nightmarish realm of gothic horror where the master of Ravenloft awaits atop his castle as lightning flashes across the sky with blood dripping from his fangs. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to fight at full strength while within sunlight (i.e., by inflicting the blinded condition against PCs who refuse to look at him) and increase his survivability against damaging attacks and vision-based spells (e.g., hold monster). The shadows, however, are extremely avoidable and are essentially a consequence of a lack of caution. If you use this option at least twice per 10 rounds, leave Strahds CR unchanged if employing No Phasing (see above), and decrease Strahds CR by 2 if not. A passing mention of a same-sex couple might be enough to assert that queer sexuality is a natural part of the D&D universe. Curse of Strahd is an adventure module for the 5th-edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published by Wizards of the Coast in 2016. Strahd fails to use his Charm ability, either because the players have the Icon of Ravenloft, the party includes a Paladin with the Oath of Devotion, or the DM has chosen not to use the ability. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. "Dungeons & Dragons: Curse of Strahd Revamped Announced for October Release", "Curse of Strahd - RPGnet d20 RPG Game Index", "D&D's Ravenloft returns with the help of its original creators", "Curse Of Strahd Interview With Chris Perkins", "Curse of Strahd Revamped | Dungeons & Dragons", "One of Dungeons & Dragons' best campaigns is getting two extravagant new reprints", "Popular D&D tabletop campaign Curse of Strahd is being re-'vamped', "Exclusive: First Look at D&D's 'Curse of Strahd Revamped' Collector's Edition", "This Week's Bestsellers: March 28, 2016", "Best-selling Books List | Back issue 03/28/16", "Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Curse of Strahd", "Feel the Horror in 'The Curse of Strahd', "Dungeons & Dragons Promises To Make Its Adventures More Queer", "Dungeons, Dragons, and Vampires: Curse of Strahd Black Gate", "The Mary Sue Gift Guide for the Dungeons & Dragons Fan", "Dungeons & Dragons Returns to Ravenloft With Curse of Strahd Revamped", "D&D's Culturally Sensitive Strahd Revamp Is Here, But It'll Cost You [Updated]", Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods, and Heroes, Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curse_of_Strahd&oldid=1146122728, Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Creatures of Horror book, describing new monsters, A double-sided poster-sized map of Barovia and Castle Ravenloft, 12 postcards themed around locations in the adventure, This page was last edited on 22 March 2023, at 22:10. Descriptions and events can be too much for young kids, so beware running this campaign with little ones. Kill, some day, but not today. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. By using a legendary action to make an unarmed strike instead of moving, for example, Strahd may gain additional damage or a grapple effect against a target, but he is simultaneously sacrificing additional mobility, survivability, and tactical advantage. I know that Zealot's radiant damage would be useful . First published. I rocked up late to the first session with an unread rulebook and a human bard called Nick Jugger. Use this option if you would like to highlight Strahds status as a flawed, fallible villain. Curse of Strahd. Dynamic lighting is included for Plus and Pro subscribers with the Curse of Strahd module, and youre able to add your own Jukebox tracks in the VTT sidebar. Note that the use of a Lair Action other than phasing can allow your players to restrain and/or kill Strahd within 1-2 rounds unless he has a clear escape route and ample distance (60-90 feet) separating him from the majority of the party. All encounters are done exactly as-is. I even pointed out that the cleric in the party felt something deeply disturbing from the room. [7] Wizards of the Coast stated that "the adventure includes the latest errata and a revised depiction of the Vistani" who are based on stereotypes about the Romani people.
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