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I read through the thread - I think I missed the part where you say who/what knows how to create a Soulmonger and would pass along that information to the PCs.

I just started running ToA (6 sessions in) and I'm anticipating the same issue with my players. Chult is a good setting but the mega-plot hooks do not collect into any sort of compelling thread. "There be evil over yonder" should not be the driving thematic force of a modern published D&D...

The guideline I use in my own games is informed by the fact that 5e animals usually have a decent Wisdom but a low Intelligence. They're good at Perception rolls but bad at Investigation rolls. It's been an amazingly helpful distinction. Perception: The information is something that an animal...

I've been using "the animal test" to distinguish Perception and Investigation, since may animals have a good Perception but usually a low/negative Investigation. If an animal could usefully react to the information (immediate threats, tracking, signs of struggle that mark the area as...

It's expected that each generation of Vistani will produce a girl with "the sight". Some have been more gifted than others, but there's a belief among their people that this girl is essential to their survival and her premature death (before a successor is chosen and trained) represents a time...

In my campaign Eva isn't related to Strahd nor is she a hag. She's an old Vistani woman who has read the fortune of her own people in the tarokka. It told her that Strahd will withdraw his favor from them in a horrific fashion. The Vistani are free to come and go only because Strahd sees it as...

Most Barovians have spent 400+ years in enforced isolation in a valley that may not be native to the PCs' homeworld. Some sub-groups are allowed free passage through the mists but none of them would be central to the language evolution of the core Barovian villager. Their speech would be alien...

Has anyone come across a narrative (in-game) explanation for attunement mechanics which make passable sense (in a rules of magic way) or are at least interesting? You would think the “rule of three on some but not others” would be subject of meaty arcane discourse, but it seems to be completely...

I leave it up to my players do decide what their character knows, based on their background and skills. If I can't trust them with that basic level of roleplaying I probably shouldn't have them in my game. If I have a player who I feel is regularly challenging that trust, I'll just go way...

Interesting angle, but I think liches and "ancient evils" are going to seem commonplace to my players. What I'm looking for is something that throws them off kilter and truly frightens and weirds them out - the players as much as the characters. It's a tall order. Basically something new.

I consider myself a good DM. My worry about campaign derailment doesn't come from a fear of running a completely off the book treatment (my Rise of the Runelord's campaign turned into a political game about the sovereignty of city states and the spread of slavery). It's more of a concern about...

I agree. Canon is there to be messed with, especially canon that's so esoteric and specialized that the PCs would have no way of knowing it. It's just a meta wink, which can be fun, but I find it strips a story of mystery and puts the players in a very safe headspace, which is a horrible place...

You're right! I did mis-remember why the deva first came to Barovia. I'm still on the fence with the mongrelfolk but it could go either way depending on how I lay out the rest of the campaign. I am curious how the deva came to the realization that the curse would not end with Strahd's death...

I should elaborate. He's bestial but he can assume a facade of civility. He's eloquent, though its disturbing to witness because sociopathy emanates from him like a stench. Animals, children and adults (with a decent Wisdom score) recognize it and know he's a monster regardless of his careful...

Some good ideas in here! I started running Curse of Strahd last week and I have many deviations in the works but the change pertinent to this discussion is the nature of Strahd and Barovia. In my campaign he’s a bestial incarnation of envy, a man-sized smudge of darkness with a leprous snow...

Moved post to new thread

Thank you for the helpful list Jay. And evilbob...stop creating so many Curse of Strahd threads. I'm interested in it - hell, I'm currently running it - but it's hard to decide which of your threads to post to! :-S

The final monster is an underpowered Mimic (yup, the shapechanging chest aberration) that was created when the cultists kept making sacrifices with an incomplete copy of the Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion spell! They found the pages torn out of a book near the cliffs of Ravenloft and mistook...

After two weeks of prep and rewrites we began Curse of Strahd last weekend. Some of my players know the basic backstory, and have probably peeked at the adventure (the lowlifes), so I’ve taken a lot of liberties to keep them on their toes. Death House has been placed in Vallaki, a rumored way to...

Criminal 21 Entertainer 18 Folk Hero 12 Gladiator 21 Guild Artisan 15 Guild Merchant 22 Knight 19 Noble 21 Outlander 19 Pirate 22 Sage 11 Sailor 16 Soldier 21 Spy 21 Urchin 18 Folk Hero -3 Noble +1 Filthy peasants!