Why does the narrative change back and forth between "Isabella" and "Mrs. John Knightley" to refer to Emma's sister? Hence, assuming the party did head in and end up in fight against the three hags, having the raven summon help in the form of a swarm or a wereraven may be one solution to avoiding a TPK. At least one character is capable of casting wall of force to imprison Strahd and does so successfully on the first round of combat. The material components in her summoning spell are an oat milk latte and a high fantasy novel. 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. They did gain two levels after defeating the hags and securing the sword. I'm looking for more ideas for bosses or minibosses to sprinkle through Barovia. He then drains them to 0 hit points using his bite attack before stabilizing them. "Death House" will run your player characters through levels 1-3 if they survive. Role playing epic skill fails and wins can be fun. I tried to give further hints - letting them spot many footsteps around large body sized crates in the dust of the storage room. Here, if Strahd prioritizes low-AC targets, he will likely knock at least one character unconscious before inevitably disintegrating in the sunlight before the start of the third round of combat. There are four possible adventure hooks designed to draw your players into the mists. The shadows, however, are extremely avoidable and are essentially a consequence of a lack of caution. I like Skill Challenges from 4E to let players use their skills to run, hide, find novel solutions that do not have to be fight based. This adventure module is designed to take four to six player characters from 1st level to 10th level. Not to mention Strahd's summons, legendary actions, etc. [] Punctuate your horror tales with moments of relief, comedy, and fortuitous consequences. The following options refer to the lair actions that Strahd may select on initiative count 20 of combat while in Castle Ravenloft. Sometimes massively so. For groups that ride the thrill of horror and intrigue, however, this is 100% the book for your party. Play games anywhere. Open/Unlock Doors and Windows. Curse of Strahd - Boss Encounter (Spoilers), Scan this QR code to download the app now. Curse of Strahd Dragon of Icespire Peak Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Dragons of Stormwreck Isle . There is no escape, not without first defeating the seemingly unstoppable vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Each heading in this guide will direct the Dungeon Master to either pick one option among several mutually exclusive choices, or to select and prioritize multiple options from among several.competing choices. 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). Weaving queer plotlines into D&D games is not hard to do. The following options refer to Strahds preferred means of preparation before entering combat. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Horizontal and vertical centering in xltabular. Its easy to see whyunlike easy-to-use bosses in other modules, a single mistake can lead to Strahds near-instant death, while an unintentionally optimal strategy can turn the final battle into an unpleasantly excruciating experience. Strahd freely uses his Charm ability when able and the PCs are unaware of or unwilling to employ any means to stop it, limiting them to limited post-Charm curatives (e.g., manacles to restrain charmed PCs or the single-use 5th-level spell dispel evil and good). The Dark Powers are formidable entities that, even restrained in the Amber Temple, still influence the world around them. [7], Chris Perkins, Dungeon & Dragons Principal Narrative Designer, in an interview with IGN said, "We don't do a tremendous number of box sets. It was released on March 15, 2016 and is based on the Ravenloft module . [14], In 2017, Cecilia D'Anastasio, for Kotaku, highlighted the inclusion of queer characters in Curse of Strahd and wrote "what was a scattering of queer characters throughout the years formalized into a guiding principle with 2016s Curse of Strahd, an adventure that has players take down the vampire Count Strahd. Now, I realize there was some obvious deficiencies on these monsters that make them slightly easier in general - for instance the first boss fight, they could have easily kited him around the room and never given it the chance to attack (his movement was only 20ft per round). In general, Strahds CR cannot go below 5. At this point the party was level 3, fighting against 3 CR 5s (Hag Coven, Night Hags). In my many times through Curse of Strahd as a marathon, in one night, and as a long campaign, Ive had the most fun running and playing in games with pre-chosen rather than randomized Tarokka readings. If Strahd ever takes more than 21 damage in a single round, or if Strahd ever takes radiant damage, he immediately retreats to a safe location in order to fully regenerate his hit points. For a very well-thought-out expansion on the implications of each of these plot hooks, Reddit user u/DragnaCarta has put together this excellent post on the r/CurseofStrahd subreddit, which is probably the single best D&D community subreddit in existence. None. [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. Petty. Much of their threat depends on the party composition and their ability to output magical damage. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! In this scenario, Strahd fights to swiftly neutralize threatening targets, isolate and eliminate weaker enemies, and reduce the partys resources through a lengthy war of attrition, ending only if he is either successfully grappled or somehow incapacitated. Fall damage: a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet fallen to a maximum of 20d6. [] It was always my wish that at some point we could put a version of the adventure together that actually had the cards with it, and it's out of that idea that this boxed set emerged. The Ravenloft Setting and Setting Expectations, Icovered the Tarokka reading in another article. Curse of Strahd Adventure Summary and Contents, Four Random Tables To Improve Your Next DnD Campaign, Mousefolk Playable Race in DnD 5e: Homebrew Lineage Guide, Feinting Attack - DnD 5e Battle Master Maneuver Guide, Lost Mine of Phandelver DnD 5e Starter Set Adventure Guide, Tales From the Yawning Portal DnD 5e Summary and Guide. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to attack without disadvantage in sunlight, force the PCs to attack with disadvantage, prevent PC spellcasters from casting spells that require sight, and observe the PCs' conduct and location without revealing himself. [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. The following options refer to the attacks and spells that Strahd might employ using his action on his turn in combat. [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. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. and our and our They survived by sheer luck since I rolled poorly on attack rolls. There was not much room for exploring, they simply followed the road and noted that this was one of the places they were recommended to visit. Let me start off by saying that Curse of Strahd certainly has some very challenging encounters, many of which can be stumbled into at points when the party is woefully under-levelled. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. :). Strahd never allows initiative to lapse and reliably attacks or appears to the party at least once every 2 to 4 rounds. He also has three level 4 spell slots and one level 5 spell slot. 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! Curse of Strahd is a 257-page adventure for D&D 5e that transports players into a horrifying pocket dimension called Barovia. No Phasing. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner, Adrian Martikov Alenka Alexei Amalthia Anastrasya Karelova Angrath Woodwise Anna Krezkov Arabelle Ariel du Plumette Arik Lorensk Arrigal Aziana Baba Lysaga Bella Sunbane Beucephalus Bianca Bildrath Cantemir Bluto Krogarov Bray Martikova Brom Martikova Carlon Amoffel Clovin Belview Cyrus Belview Dag Tomescu Damia Danika Dorakova Davanka Davian Martikov Davra Jassur Dmitri Krezkov Donavich Doru Elvir Martikov Emil Toranescu Endorovich Eravien Haund Ernst Larnak Escher Exethanter Ezmerelda d'Avenir Fiona Wachter Freek Gadof Blinsky Gertruda Godfrey Gwilym Gunther Arasek Haliq Helga Ruvak Henrik van der Voort Ireena Kolyana Ismark Kolyanovich Izek Strazni Karl Wachter Kasimir Velikov Kellen Kiril Stoyanovich Klutz Tripalotsky Kolya Kolyan Indirovich Kretyana Dolof Lanniver Strayl Lars Kjurls Lazlo Ulrich Lief Lipsiege Lucian Jarov Lucian Petrovich Ludmilla Vilisevic Luvash Lydia Pertrovna Mad Mary Madalena Madam Eva Majesto Marzena Belview Milivoj Mirabel Mishka Belview Mordenkainen Morgantha Morwen Daggerford Muriel Vinshaw Myrtle Neferon Nikolai Wachter Norganas Offalia Wormwiggle Otto Belview Parpol Cantemir Patrina Velikovna Piccolo Pidlwick II Rahadin Ratka Rudolph van Richten Sangzor Savid Sasha Ivliskova Selvek Serelim Skennis Sorvia Strahd von Zarovich Stefania Martikov Stella Wachter Stanimir Szoldar Szoldarovich Udo Lukovich Urwin Martikov Vargas Vallakovich Varushka Vasilka Victor Vallakovich Vilnius Vladimir Horngaard Volenta Popofsky Wencensia Wintersplinter Yelena Arasek Yeska Yevgeni Krushkin Zelraun Roaringhorn Zuleika Toranescu Zygfrek Belview, Animated object Arcanaloth Baboon Banshee Bat Barovian Black pudding Blue dragon Cat Clay golem Crawling claw Death slaad Deer Deva Dire wolf Dretch Elf Flameskull Flesh golem Gargoyle Ghast Ghoul Ghost Giant goat Giant spider Goat Gray ooze Grick Hell hound Horse Human Imp Invisible stalker Iron golem Lich Mongrelfolk Needle blight Night hag Nightmare Nothic Phantom Quasit Rat Raven Red dragon Revenant Roc Saber-toothed tiger Scarecrow Shadow Shadow demon Shambling mound Shield guardian Skeleton Smoke mephit Spectre Strahd's animated armor Stirge Stone golem Toad Tree blight Troglodyte Twig blight Vampire Vampire spawn Vine blight Vistani Vrock Wereraven Werewolf Wight Will-o'-wisp Wolf Wraith Zombie. Be warned that, without the Heart of Sorrow, Strahd will likely die within 1-2 rounds due to sunlight and high-damage attacks, and may struggle to meaningfully damage the PCs. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to attack without disadvantage in sunlight and force the PCs to attack with disadvantage in a single pre-defined space. The adventure is firmly rooted in the horror genre and pits the players against ghosts, werewolves, and the titular vampire himself: Strahd Von Zarovich. Curse of Strahd 5th Edition Levels 1-10 256 pages Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. 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. The second fight, the majority of their spells are not terribly bad, and can be resisted if lucky. Strahd uses his lair action to attempt to sever a PC's shadow, creating an undead shadow. Role-playing Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games. If you use this option and expect your players to make strategic use of such tactics, decrease Strahds CR by 1. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Now, Strahd has become convinced that a young Barovian woman is the reincarnation of his beloved Tatyana and wishes to make her his bride. This is what I have so far https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5mgM5oI1_wWjMitfseiljKhUGVZJu_dd Please help, Scan this QR code to download the app now, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5mgM5oI1_wWjMitfseiljKhUGVZJu_dd. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. If youre a new dungeon master thinking about running one of D&D 5es most enduringly popular adventures, this guide should point you in all the right directions. Strahd uses his lair action to summon a specter, which attacks a single PC and then vanishes. Just in case someone or something tries to push them down the stairs. Curse of Strahd Unravel the mysteries of Ravenloft in this dread adventure for the world's greatest roleplaying game. We did want to make sure that if Beadle and Grimm [a company that specializes in high-end D&D box sets like this one or this one] [sic], for instance, were doing their own version of it, we wouldn't eventually be duplicating what they would do. Which ability is most related to insanity: Wisdom, Charisma, Constitution, or Intelligence? Strahd is unaffected by any PC taunts specifically regarding Sergei, King Barov, Queen Ravenovia, or Tatyana unless the PC succeeds on a DC 15 Charisma (Performance) check (made with advantage if the PC has read the Tome of Strahd), in which case Strahd prioritizes that PCs injury or death above other competing targets. It is intended for 4 players, taking them from level 1 to 10. Make notes on Strahd's abilities, tactics, and weaknesses. [] Every adventure since Curse of Strahd has included one or several queer characters, and Crawford assured Kotaku that this will be a constant into future adventures []. Use this option if you want to isolate a single PC in a place where Strahd can easily attack them and/or drag them away. A party of adventurers can begin the adventure either at 1st level (beginning with the notoriously lethal starter adventure. Strahd uses 2 legendary actions to bite a charmed or grappled enemy. Even if my 4 party members get to level 10 before they face him, 4 CR 8 T-rexes and a CR 15 Strahd is a hard fight. Even if they survive to the final basement battle and reveal, the chase upstairs and the houses own mechanisms may well kill them. Creeping Fog is perhaps the easiest lead into Death House if you deposit your player characters near the village of Barovia, but also the least ceremonious. If you choose this option, set Strahds default CR to 11. They tend to go [] in the hundreds of dollars. The following options refer to the legendary actions that Strahd might employ immediately after a given creatures turn while in combat. Which was the first Sci-Fi story to predict obnoxious "robo calls"? So far, the "bosses" they've fought have been Baba Lysaga, a suped alpha werewolf, and a beast at the Abbey of Saint Markovia I shamelessly stole from Bloodborne. Encourage and reward creative problem-solving. If you use this option, leave Strahds CR unchanged if at least one PC can cast dispel magic or if the PCs cannot see Strahd (e.g., because the PCs are avoiding looking at Strahd in order to evade his Charm), and increase Strahds CR by 2 if not. [15], In a review of Curse of Strahd in Black Gate, Andrew Zimmerman Jones said "Curse of Strahd is really a mix of setting manual and adventure module in one, with a storyline that is extremely open-ended, with endings that (assuming the players survive) allow for continued adventures centered around the consequences of the players' actions in Castle Ravenloft. Use this option if your players appear uninterested in using Strahds history against him. Have you tried checking pg. I wanted them to talk to one turning into a spider, who will eventually disappear, and on their way to the Amber Temple they will be followed by hordes of little spiders, webs appearing on their tents at night etc, until eventually they face off with the spider boss and spider minions. It's worth noting that the book's illustrations of the Vistani still evoke Romani culture, and some players may still associate certain abilities (such as their ability to cast curses or hypnotize players using an 'Evil Eye') with outdated cultural stereotypes".[9]. Reading it you get the impression that the adventure without extra pre-work anticipates a leveling structure based on milestones. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. 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. The more details or "clues" you hand out, the more they want to know what is happening. Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Knowing a few of my players had been through it before, I dec. Strahd takes the hide action using his +14 to Stealth (Dexterity) checks. By contrast, a party of 10th-level PCs will face a slightly easier encounter, expending fewer resources and facing lower risk. Your players likely know to expect monsters and adventure from their Dungeons & Dragons games, but Barovia provides a suspenseful atmosphere for your players to immerse themselves in. Leave them in the comments below! If you dont have a healer (or they dont have that ability yet, like paladins or rangers), consider adding a potion of healing or two to the hidden room in the library. For Dungeon Masters, Curse of Strahd is a wide-open expanse, full of possibilities and different stories to tell. 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". If you expect to successfully use this option to incapacitate a character wielding the Sunsword for at least one minute, increase Strahds CR by 2; if not, use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Castle Ravenloft is frankly a BRUTAL dungeon, especially if you make your players go into it mostly blind (which I do) and don't allow them to rest. Session zero: Let players know there are things that go bump in the night that can kill them without breaking a sweat. Strahd uses 1 legendary action to strike and grapple a nearby enemy. Use this option if you would like to provide value to the Tome of Strahd and permit your PCs to win a moral and psychological victory over Strahd. [17] Christian Hoffer, for Comicbook, wrote "while it doesn't have enough extra material to justify a second purchase, Curse of Strahd Revamped is a great box set for the DM/player group that hasn't traveled to Ravenloft and wants to commit to the campaign with a grim flourish. Should my party have been doing these encounters or should they have run away? I know that Zealot's radiant damage would be useful . If you use this option, increase Strahds CR by 1 if you expect the battle to largely range between the first and second floors of Castle Ravenloft, and leave Strahds CR unchanged if not. This adventure hook leads into the Tarokka deck reading with Madam Eva very well, but not "Death House.". Based on the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure, I6 Ravenloft, released in 1983, Curse of Strahd expands the original adventure into an entire region complete with 13 adventuring locations, including the Village of Barovia and Castle Ravenloft.
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