D&D 5E Curse of Strahd: Death House

[Grand DM]

This past weekend we played through the Death House. Here is my recap: http://www.ultanya.com/2016/04/curse-of-strahd-death-house.html

WARNING: Spoilers!

 

[Sacrosanct]

I just finished that up myself in an AL game, but had to quit the AL, sadly. The problem with gaming with new people is that there is no table cohesion/you don't know the other players' personalities, and people all wanted to go do their own thing, parties were split, some kept talking nonstop about how PF was way better, or how when my F2 got killed by the Shambling mound, it was my fault because I had a poor build choice (I was a 2nd level fighter, who got critt'd by it, not sure what my PC choice had to do with anything), or how the one guy wanted to torture and mock the child ghosts the whole time.

As Mike Monard is fond of saying, "no gaming is better than bad gaming." Sad, but true.

 

[Grand DM]

While I'm sure some players have a great time with AL play, it's not for me either. Sorry you had a bad experience as the Death House is a great introduction adventure in the right setting.

 

[evilbob]

Thanks for the write-up! Of the ones posted on this forum, that makes: (minor spoilers!)

1 - TPK: the party lost one person in the dungeon, then gained two more (different person joined); the final challenge was dropping them like flies and they tried to help each other which doomed them all

2 - a couple survived: 7 went in, 2 came out (after stabilizing at 0 HP and waking up after a few hours), and one person elected that their character would starve to death in the house rather than try to escape (?!?!)

3 - this adventure, where they apparently all made it

Others have mentioned PC deaths in the intro at least. Not a very good survival rate!

 

[Ganymede81]

The group I run had two deaths in the Death House, and both were slain in the climax by the Shambling Mound. There would have been a third death due to a critical hit by a rat swarm during the escape, but one player rolled a healing potion through the scything blades to a player on the other side which used it to bring back the rat-critted hero.

They were able to handle the ghoul ambush surprisingly well, despite the fact that they accidentally brought in the mimic mid-fight.

 

[evilbob]

Killing PCs - especially lots of low-level PCs - can certainly ramp up the "horror" vibe but in my mind it mostly ramps up the "frustration" vibe. A lot of work typically goes into character generation and throwing it all away after the first session just feels cruel. This is one of the few things I dislike about both this and the 3.5 version of Ravenloft: they're secretly a grindhouse. I know the intent is to communicate that "death is around every corner" - but to me it communicates "poor encounter balance."

I highly recommend - as Grand DM does in the link from the opening post - using the Adventure League DMG's "Death in Ravenloft" sidebar on page 8 of the ALDMG linked here (link from Grand DM): https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8ccm7NasSlWN1RsMGRwQzB5dGM&usp=sharing&target="_blank"
It gives characters level 1-4 a free, actionless revivify (with effectively a long rest to boot) - but at a dark cost, of course. And most of the costs can eventually be removed by a "remove curse." It seems like a decent way to handle the situation.

 

[Grand DM]

I don't mind Ravenloft being very dangerous. Players should have no expectation of things being fair in Barovia. Sometimes players need to use common sense. If they are first level and trek to a vampire lair because "it was on the map"...they should have an educational experience. The DM should always give the players ample warning signs and if they don't heed them - well that is their mistake. Additionally just because a monster is presented, does not mean you should slog it out. These are old school lessons that the current generation needs to learn. I'm in no way advocating the "Death DM" style, which I think it moronic. The DM indeed has a responsibility to carefully consider obstacles and the fun of the table. But total balance is for board games, not dynamic campaign worlds.

 

[Ganymede81]

Killing PCs - especially lots of low-level PCs - can certainly ramp up the "horror" vibe but in my mind it mostly ramps up the "frustration" vibe. A lot of work typically goes into character generation and throwing it all away after the first session just feels cruel.

It depends on how you handle the death.

Two characters died in the game I ran. One continues on as a vessel possessed by Rosavalda Durst while the other was left for dead in the escape and is now an undead revenant. Their characters live on, but have to deal with some serious blowback, including how to roleplay as a ten-year-old girl who is also a stoic cleric of Cuthbert.

 

[Guest 6801328]

They were able to handle the ghoul ambush surprisingly well, despite the fact that they accidentally brought in the mimic mid-fight.

Ha! My group fought the shadows and the mimic at the same time. The DM showed us mercy, though, and when I pointed out that his placement of one of the Shadows was closest to the mimic, he agreed and had the Shadow attack the mimic. I think we would have TPK'd without that.

 

[Ganymede81]

Ha! My group fought the shadows and the mimic at the same time. The DM showed us mercy, though, and when I pointed out that his placement of one of the Shadows was closest to the mimic, he agreed and had the Shadow attack the mimic. I think we would have TPK'd without that.

My group was saved by the Cleric's Turn Undead. It turned two of the ghouls. Then again, he was the one who woke the mimic by grabbing its handle/tongue.