Have this be the most fun session of the campaign. It's somewhat small and confining, no places available to hide (I personally wouldn't let the Rogue hide behind the stone slab on the far side of wherever Strahd is) and otherwise barren of items. Deciding that the first priority is to get the sacred bones back to St. Andral’s in order to remake it as a safe haven from Strahd, we track down the little shit grave digger kid who was snarky to us before. As an aside, don't be afraid mid-encounter to take advantage of impromptu knowledge … Our party is an increadbly devout Dwarfish Devotion Paladin who will smash any undead in sight, a Halfling Arcane Trickster with a pet rat and a love of electrum, A Drow Light Cleric (long story), and a Fiendish Tiefling Warlock who is trying to gain power to fight his pact maker. First up is Varis … Clearly, the lord of Barovia wanted this fight on his terms, not theirs. And just recently, Count Strahd has been paying visits to the town; trying to … The GUIDE index for Curse of Strahd and other related articles can be found here ! Then there needs to be wood, so woodcutters have to be able to fight off attacks or be guarded when in the process, then a sawmill by a river to properly cut the logs to be used for construction, and firewood can be gathered from the pieces of wood they cut off the main log of the tree. Couldn't you find a way to lead the party to the various event sites you're looking to run, and if it is reasonable that they would encounter and fight strahd at those moments, let them. I believe it is Strahd’s … Ravenloft is one of Dungeons & Dragons’ most iconic settings —its go-to source for all things spooky and horrifying. While the exchange seemed to ruffle Davian's feathers a bit, he did pledge the support of the Keepers of the Feather in achieving their goal. After the Village of Barovia, this is the first settlement the party will visit. Final showdown’s location is dependent of the tarokka reading. Strahd should be played with more gorilla tactics. It helped out a lot in this place. Curse of Strahd Spoilers ahead! No you must resist!” Ezmerelda, with a … It would have been better for your DM to tell you he was running that adventure. Alternatively you can let a player who is far away from the NPC in initiative control the NPC. Or maybe Strahd even acts as the patron of the players - "Something strange is happening in Vallaki, you'll be well rewarded if you can sort it out", etc. The original intent of the module is for the players to find themselves stranded in Barovia. His father was a king and Strahd was his first born. He gives up the local coffin maker – who himself was hired by a Vassili … I'm currently DMing CoS for a group of friends. This made it possible to fight with one of my mages to the right because they can only use ranged weapons. He takes a round of hits and then mists … Fight Strahd. I put a X-sign on every house explored and marked places of certain interests. This is pivotal point in the Curse of Strahd Module. There are day/night cycles in the game and especially at night the streets are more dangerous. My goals are these: Keep everyone engaged. Furthermore, there are a few new places in Vallaki, the most important one being Van Peltz' Pelts, a general store/tailors that specializes in working with wolf-pelts and is run by the charismatic Vasili Von Holtz (actually a front for the cult, although Vasili is not really … It plays out in realtime but … I highly recommend reading through a couple times how to best play his character. Working quickly, Feyre attacks the druid while Negnal places a bubble of silence around the two so she cannot call for reinforcements. My group had four experienced players (anywhere from 10 to 40 years; we're old), with a 5th playing part-time, we knew in advance it was Curse of Strahd, we chose character classes accordingly, optimized them for killing undead, and it was His father was a king and Strahd was his first born. He looks around knowingly, as if he knows someone is here or has been here. This means he will attack at the end of an arduous adventuring day, perhaps while the PCs are currently engaged in a different fight … In the same way that it’d be kinda bullshit to get the Sunsword and Holy Symbol in the first few scenes of Curse of Strahd, or have the PC’s Ally be someone they don’t care about or someone that might outshine the party (Ezmerelda or The Mad Mage), or to fight Strahd in some small room that denies everyone the Duel of Fates style conclusion they deserve. That people can prosper there and that the Burgomaster is in a constant fight against Strahd’s evil. Escher used to be an adventurer, brought into the mists of Barovia to fight Strahd like many before and after him. The village is isolated from the other places in the valley by either forest or mountains. This winery is the best in the multiverse because it is the only one … Each household keeping some animals like pigs, sheep, and chickens sounds right as long as they raise them and harvest only … Much of Barovia lives under Strahd's iron fist, they probably know that the list of places he can enter is a lot longer than where he can't. … They might have heard that the town is secured and walled. Characters in Strahd are tragic heros - both the PC protagonists and the NPC antagonists - there is no escape from their destiny as the Epilogue makes very clear. Some more failed persuasion and intimidation rolls are followed by Gwaihir breaking down and casting Suggestion on him. Strahd gestured, then vanished amid the swarms of bats. Zach, Nick, Elias, and Jonathan stay away! The family instructed Rolen in how to use the family's trained ravens to send messages, and said they would keep an eye out for the party … Fortunately, Strahd's cult (the Living Body of Strahd) is strong: led by Fiona Wachter and the Doppelganger Empaiva, they will help him in. However nothing is farthest from the truth. In … How to Play Ravenloft in a Single Night If that window has been missed, you can re-open it the next time the players have a discussion with any NPC about Strahd by just making that character inquisitive about what Strahd did. Barovia is the first domain with which the Demiplane of Dread and the Core began, arising from the heinous actions Strahd von Zarovich in 351 BC.Strahd has continued to rule the land and the dour Barovian people through a fake line of successive rulers all bearing his name. The mists are thicker here. Eventually we completed the levels and returned to the trapped priest and read the ritual to free him. Three weeks ago, during an attack from the evil hag Baba Lysaga, another … He learned to fight in a castle and he learned about war from his father. Investigating the vats, they discover that the wine is certainly poisoned, and they take some bottles’ worth for use later — before noticing a crack in the most eastern vat, rendering it unusable. Race-wise, aasimar, elves and gnomes have some pretty useful abilities against the kinds of monsters you'll be fighting. Strahd has been aware of the PCs since they entered Ravenloft. It's a bit of a twist - Strahd acts like a good guy and asks the PCs to help him out, and it's only after a few of these … Once the characters are sufficiently unnerved, he snuffs the fire, if it has not been already and pulls the poker, stepping through the secret … No one knows what happened to the gem. Curse of Strahd book. Strahd is ever … You want the randomness to inspire … Curse of Strahd is explicit that this is an appropriate and encouraged style of play in keeping with its theme of gothic horror. And if the fight is to easy throw in some … Alternatively, if your characters are raring for a fight, you may include Strahd's Guardian Portrait. I believe it is Strahd’s … The players should feel like the fight is unfair because it is. For our adventure, four men and women of varying races and abilities have decided to come together after finding themselves stuck within a gaunt world with no escape. At the point where the party was fighting Strahd they were easily handling him with the Sun Sword. I would try it again another way next time I run the campaign. Castle Ravenloft is ever looking down upon them. The GUIDE index for Curse of Strahd and other related articles can be found here ! From behind him, Marek’s shadow stretched and lengthened, then fully detached from the lich’s form, rising up to its full height as Marek turned to face it… Van Richten saw Ezmerelda stalking towards them and shouted, “Ezmerelda! The entire world is full of evil creatures doing evil things. None of … Maybe Strahd invites the players there when they enter Barovia, and uses it to set the scene of "this is my land, don't mess with it". This objective assumes that the party is level 10 and has visited the castle a few times before. He learned to fight in a castle and he learned about war from his father. It helps to have goals for this. The memories of his past live on in his paintings, but, slowly, even that fades away... Series . Lady Petrovna plants her foot on this, and says that she does not share their confidence – she does not believe there exists such an item that could help them stand a chance against the Devil Strahd. After the characters have had time to explore the space, Strahd returns to the room and pauses. This objective assumes that the party is level 10 and has visited the castle a few times before. I had the rogue make Strength checks to pound the steak into Strahd while the barbarian had to fight off the three vampire brides. Chapter 3 – Village of Barovia. Note that the location of Strahd’s Location is not the place where the battle will take place; it’s just the place where the battle will begin. It’s safe to assume he was very well educated in science, arts and literature since he places high value on written material, else he wouldn’t have such an amazing library (K37, page 66). Final showdown’s location is dependent of the tarokka reading. He probably received the best education on law, state keeping and accounting. Goals for the Battle. Ten years ago, one of the vineyard’s magic gems was dug up and stolen, and as a result, the winery stopped producing its best vintage, the champagne. The actual fight with Strahd is actually very difficult to do right. The Village of Barovia is easily the grimmest place in Barovia. For starters it’s optional, but this one has strong hooks that connect it to other areas in Barovia and other quests. You have enough on your plate, and it will be pretty easy to find someone who will want to fight Strahd. There are a variety of artifacts and … But Curse of Strahd also involves plenty of exploration and and social interaction, so Bards, Druids, Paladins, Rangers, Rogues, Purple Dragon Knight Fighters, Samurai Fighters, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and anyone with the Prodigy feat can be huge assets outside of combat too. We engaged Strahd for the very first time and we will be wrapping up that battle. Even after Strahd’s curse settled over Barovia, the gems kept the vines and their grapes from succumbing to the darkness. In 740 BC, the Grand Conjunction dissolved the neighboring land of Gundarak and caused part of it to be absorbed by … So a fighter against Strahd there could be a little anticlimactic as was said above, especially if you have … On the other hand, it's really compelling. Enter Curse of Strahd, a gothic horror adventure set in the terrifying and eerie world of Ravenloft. Don’t let the fight go too long or too short. Long gone are his companions, only he remained as one of Strahd's consorts. Curse of Strahd is a difficult adventure, especially with only three players! The party might also try to destroy the Heart of Sorrow in area K20 (top of the tower actually). The party is understanding of Lady Petrovna’s position, but say that if there’s something powerful or useful here, they can use it in their fight against Strahd. Strahd Must Die Tonight! Fortunately you could rest quite liberally except when in immediate danger. Here is … He attacks from the most advantageous moment and position. Part 1 of Curse of Strahd Shorts Collection; Language: English Words: 540 Chapters: 1/1 Comments: 2 Kudos: 9 Bookmarks: 1 … As they kill her, Elvir runs upstairs to release the winch while they search around. When Davian asked for the winery's stolen gem, the party attempted to leverage him for more support in the fight against Strahd. This is a very interesting chapter. The party might also try to destroy the Heart of Sorrow in area K20 (top of the tower actually). He probably received the best education on law, state keeping and accounting. As far as what a fight in Strahd's crypt would be like... it would probably be like any other location. Note that the location of Strahd’s Location is not the place where the battle will take place; it’s just the place where the battle will begin. Strahd is a classic villain, and once you piece it together, Barovia is a great sandbox of a setting, and it's one of the few times I've read a published RPG setting and felt like the PCs actually had … There is a tribe of werewolves that forces human children to fight to the death so that the last standing can be bitten and converted to a werewolf. Strahd is ever … Have the PCs win. He has been scrying on them and knows their weaknesses and strengths. Fight Strahd. I wanted a campaign that focused less on the players’ ability to fight and more on their decision making process. Due to these interconnections it is probable that the party will wind up at the winery and try to help the Martikovs. Dont miss out on the excitment or the XP! Read 95 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. The only hope and possible escape they have is to defeat Strahd. Strahd can mist at will IIRC, where he effectively becomes immune to most damage and can then escape through cracks in the wall, open windows, chimneys, locked doors, etc. I also had much help of my elven mage that has an innate ability to find secret doors. The GUIDE index for Curse of Strahd and other related articles can be found here ! As always lovely and helpful comments from the group from time to time: … Looking forward to our part two fight this sunday. It's sort of a heap of a book with places and combats and characters, but it doesn't do a great job at giving the DM an idea of how to smoothly connect them all. It got really tense when the rogue rolled a 3 on one of his strength checks. … I was attacked by several brigands/thieves which I had to fight off. She says they are not the first of their kind, … I must tell you that the combat system is really awkward. 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