First published. Curse of Strahd has a specific leveling style all its own. Curse of Strahd Leveling Question - Dungeon Masters Only - D&D Beyond Pace it well, let them have a victory or two to avoid too much frustration. So far in my campaign they completed Death House (2 levels), and Old BoneGrinder (1 Level), and found the Sunsword (1 level). 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. The following points apply to any final battle with Strahd, notwithstanding any alterations made by specific tactics below: Strahd prioritizes targets in the following order: the PCs foretold ally; the holder of the Tome of Strahd (if known); wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers; bards, clerics, druids, and artificers; monks, rangers and rogues; fighters, paladins, and barbarians. The entire time I was reading this I kept thinking that your descriptions were validating the players that they were on the right track and should continue investigating. [2] It acts as an adaptation of the original Ravenloft module for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. It has also been updated to reflect Wizards of the Coasts June 2020 errata. Then, he built a gigantic gothic monstrosity of a castle because of his gigantic (gothic) unresolved mommy issues. Want to support my work and get cool perks like personal campaign advice, mentoring, DMing resources, homebrew TTRPG encounters, & early access to guides? Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them? 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. Bosses in Barovia? : CurseofStrahd - Reddit 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. 4. Dancing With The Wolves (Combat Theme) - Curse Of Strahd Soundtrack What would stop him from turning into a T-Rex 4 times before actually taking on the party in his true form? Preparing to take a character into Curse of Strahd and having them die in the optional introductory adventure may feel like an anticlimax to your players. 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". Even with this, however, encounters can and should have the potential to be fatal. The following options refer to the legendary actions that Strahd might employ immediately after a given creatures turn while in combat. Use this option if you want to give your PCs a "breather" round in which Strahd does little-to-nothing of consequence. 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. [6] This module is the first released with the publisher's new focus on diversity and inclusion. Minor Phasing. Role playing epic skill fails and wins can be fun. They did gain two levels after defeating the hags and securing the sword. As a module, Curse of Strahd does a pretty good job of keeping the pressure on with very little work from the DM. The result was a torrent of ideas for new locations, characters and encounters". Use this option if you want to threaten a particular low-HP target and/or grapple a PC who you plan to separate from the party. Curse of Strahd is an adventure book for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Close/Lock Doors and Windows. [] 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 []. Two of my players ALMOST sided with Strahd : r/CurseofStrahd - Reddit Strahd uses his lair action to summon a specter, which attacks a single PC and then vanishes. Guide to Curse of Strahd for New DMs - Roll20 This article is for first-time Curse of Strahd dungeon masters to act as a sort of Barovia for Beginners to help you build immersion and enable fun for your players in Ravenloft. Its worth considering leveling up Strahds Enemy (the partys ally from the Tarokka reading) and any NPC tagalongs alongside the characters. And in fact - both encounters gave them the opportunity to back out prior to the combat, and the option to run away when they realized how hard the fights would be. Werewolves in the Mist is excellent for player characters built for Adventurers League and for uniting characters with disparate faction allegiances. If you choose this option, set Strahds default CR to 8 if Strahd expects to retreat upon taking damage he is unable to fully regenerate, and set Strahds CR to 6 if not. If you use this option and expect your players to make strategic use of such tactics, leave Strahds default CR unchanged if employing No Phasing and reduce Strahds default CR to 7 otherwise. Is this homebrew variant of Leomund's Tiny Hut a problem? Wrathful. DnD 5e Curse of Strahd: What DMs Should Know - CBR In keeping with the logical structure of the original campaign, Curse of Strahd also finds countless ways to intertwine the larger themes of the campaign into its side adventures. Tease, taunt, humiliate - Yes. Strahd uses his Unarmed Strike attack against an adjacent PC. In general, Strahds CR cannot go below 5. Petty. Privacy Policy. Horizontal and vertical centering in xltabular. Tracy found an old daguerreotype [an early type of photograph captured on a silvered copper plate] [sic] that captured the look of Strahd in his mind, and we used that image as a reference to create a new look for the vampire". At least one character is capable of casting wall of force to imprison Strahd and does so successfully on the first round of combat. If a PC taunts Strahd specifically regarding Sergei, King Barov, Queen Ravenovia, or Tatyana, Strahd prioritizes that PCs injury or death above over competing targets and refuses to leave that PCs vicinity until he has knocked that PC unconscious, either by attacking them outright or by isolating them from the party (see Methods of Isolation above). In Curse of Strahd, who's feeding everyone? 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. 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. Curse Of Strahd mentions the dark powers and vestiges a little in the Amber temple. Curse of Strahd | Ravenloft Wiki | Fandom The book does suggest that milestone-based leveling might be best, but only throws out a few examples of appropriate milestones, leaving the DM to really have to do a lot of thinking about how to award for various things. Curse of Strahd - Wikipedia [] Play is easy, and intuitive, given youve familiarized yourself with the adventure ahead of time. (straight from pathfinder's gamemastery guide). After all: their ally or an artifact may be very nearby! The module contains everything you need to run Curse of Strahd. I Changed the Final Boss in Death House - Curse of Strahd Story March 15, 2016. Strahd casts the ray of frost cantrip. 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. Like so many RPG video game sandboxes, the mists surrounding Barovia act as a warning: leaving the playable area that limits the narrative of the game, but they are especially unique in one regard: they act as both barrier and catalyst for adventure. For Dungeon Masters, Curse of Strahd is a wide-open expanse, full of possibilities and different stories to tell. Virtual Tabletop Journey all Demongund patrons presents the iconic Curse of Strahd - Baba Lysaga's Walking Hut recreated for use in TaleSpire! Make notes on Strahd's abilities, tactics, and weaknesses. Strahd attempts to always maintain a distance of at least 40 feet from any hostile melee combatant who has a Strength (Athletics) modifier of +4 or greater. If you expect to successfully use this option at least five times while employing Advanced Phasing or Hit-and-Run Phasing (see above), increase Strahds CR by 1. Strahd uses 1 legendary action to corner a vulnerable foe or escape a dangerous situation. Use this option if you would like to highlight Strahds status as a flawed, fallible villain. The more details or "clues" you hand out, the more they want to know what is happening. Use this option if you want to give your players a clear opportunity to easily kill Strahd with massive damage and/or grapple attempts without giving him an opportunity to react. "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.