Curse of Strahd

5 out of 5 rating for Curse of Strahd

Pick an evergreen beauty of a setting / adventure and adapt it nicely to D&D 5... done.
They haven't spoiled anything and at the end the outcome is excellent.
Enjoy!

5 out of 5 rating for Curse of Strahd

Curse of Strahd[FONT=&quot] goes for a significantly different feel from a standard D&D campaign, and it’s right on the money – creepiness abounds, with locations and characters who just drip gothic horror. Groups that hate being “railroaded” will love the sandbox nature of Barovia [/FONT][FONT=&quot]– it’s not just the freedom to pick which large dungeon to tackle first, but a freedom (and probably requirement, really) to wander to and then later revisit various locations. I wouldn’t pick [/FONT]Curse of Strahd[FONT=&quot] as the one 5E campaign I would recommend, because if someone was going to do one thing D&D I’d probably go with something more standard sword & sorcery. But setting that consideration aside, [/FONT]Curse of Strahd[FONT=&quot] is the best 5E campaign book yet.[/FONT]

2 out of 5 rating for Curse of Strahd

The presentation and book are high quality...but that is where it stop. This feels like a rip-off of the original, basically a money grab playing on the nostalgia of days gone by. There really is nothing new, nothing really surprising and nothing really that horrifying here. D&D is a great game but a great horror game it is not...heroes are too heroic. They face every challenge with sword in hand and expect to be victorious. Not very terrifying.......I think you would be better served to get the print on demand of the original or look to a game like "Call of Cthulhu" if you want horror.

5 out of 5 rating for Curse of Strahd

As a long time D&D player and huge fan of horror (especially for the Gothic variety), I was super pumped to hear they were re-visiting the dread realm of Ravenloft. I initially hoped we would see a full campaign book on the setting so I was a little let down when I heard it would be an update of the original module from the 80's. However, having read and been running this adventure for several months now I can honestly say it numbers among the best adventures Wizards have done, and is certainly the best 5th edition adventure yet. Chris Perkins does an excellent job of updating the original module while also filling in information from other sources and expanding the original story to a full blown campaign designed to take a party to around 10th level. The "sandbox" feel of the module combines nicely with the card reading to give players a clear cut goal while also giving them an entire region to explore and goals to achieve. The expansion of Barovia is especially impressive as it takes the single village from the original and adds in several other settlements as well as multiple new dungeons to explore. Most importantly, each of these locations further enhances the Gothic feel of the module and ties back into Strahd von Zarovich's story and background. This gives the whole setting a feeling of dread and interconnection that never lets the player's forget that ultimately, all their paths will end up with a showdown with Strahd. Also impressive is the care that has gone into making sure that Strahd's characterization reflects his truly evil nature: This is not some sappy romantic anti hero (though he would have you believe otherwise) but a truly malign and viscous monster who will stop at nothing to achieve his twisted goals, which is how he should be portrayed. My only real gripes with the adventure are that a few encounters feel a bit "off" challenge wise (The "Old Bonegrinder" hags being an obvious example), and I'm not sure I like the idea of the "vestiges" serving as the Dark Powers. Still, these are fairly minor complaints against what is an extremely strong adventure. I heartily recommend it to those who are fans of the original as well as those who are looking for an adventure with some strong horror themes.

5 out of 5 rating for Curse of Strahd

Two conceits:
You go in knowing this adventure will challenge you as a player and PC.
You accept the theme-park nature of the adventure.

Without allowing for those you'd have to knock this adventure down a star.

Outside of that because of the closed-in nature of the campaign world, the polish is excellent. I would recommend this as a 2nd or later adventure for any table!

5 out of 5 rating for Curse of Strahd

Great enhancement of the original material. The gothic feeling is there, the exploration of Castle Ravenloft is enriched by the quasi-sandbox of Barovia, and many easter eggs make this version of the Ravenloft experience a serious contender for the best one. Yes, it could be better than the original.