-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
D&D 5E Curse of Strahd help
- Thread starter pukunui
- Start date
MrHotter
First Post
I also did not like NPC allies overshadowing the players.
I've either arranged for the NPCs to not join the party or adjusted their levels so they are more in line with the players.
For my home game, we have my daughter playing the Esmerelda role (level 3 Eldritch Knight) and my wife is playing the Ireena role(level 3 Battlemaster). The adventure starts with Esmerelda entering Barovia. I don't give NPCs the same reaction to healing abilities as PCs, so Ireena leaves her injured brother in Barovia. I stacked the Tarokka deck to make sure that Van Richten is their ally. I made him a level 9 rogue and they will not get him to help them until they are about ready to enter the castle.
For any other NPC I've removed any reason for them to join the party. If they do end up joining for some reason, they would not last long since healing spells are not instant for NPCs in my game.
I've either arranged for the NPCs to not join the party or adjusted their levels so they are more in line with the players.
For my home game, we have my daughter playing the Esmerelda role (level 3 Eldritch Knight) and my wife is playing the Ireena role(level 3 Battlemaster). The adventure starts with Esmerelda entering Barovia. I don't give NPCs the same reaction to healing abilities as PCs, so Ireena leaves her injured brother in Barovia. I stacked the Tarokka deck to make sure that Van Richten is their ally. I made him a level 9 rogue and they will not get him to help them until they are about ready to enter the castle.
For any other NPC I've removed any reason for them to join the party. If they do end up joining for some reason, they would not last long since healing spells are not instant for NPCs in my game.
Personally, I would have the baron welcome them with open arms to the festival, then have his guards try to arrest them during the festival. He wants to maintain control over the people. He can't have strangers coming into town and killing his guards. My players ended up killing most of the guards after one player got arrested and started "defending" himself.
My players are currently in the castle (they're all level 8+) and they haven't wanted to leave. It's been tough for them, but there's so much to explore they don't want to stop. If it was me, I would have the skull be at Baba's. The fight with the hut was pretty tough for them.
With Ireena gone, I would play Strahd as he's always watching them. He can scry and use his spies to watch their every move. Send zombies and werewolves at them at every turn. Have him make an appearance at a few of the attacks and throw spells from a distance. Let the party know that he has it out for them. They'll eventually get the picture that if they want it to stop, they need to kill him.
My players are currently in the castle (they're all level 8+) and they haven't wanted to leave. It's been tough for them, but there's so much to explore they don't want to stop. If it was me, I would have the skull be at Baba's. The fight with the hut was pretty tough for them.
With Ireena gone, I would play Strahd as he's always watching them. He can scry and use his spies to watch their every move. Send zombies and werewolves at them at every turn. Have him make an appearance at a few of the attacks and throw spells from a distance. Let the party know that he has it out for them. They'll eventually get the picture that if they want it to stop, they need to kill him.
Fleetwood C. DeVille
Explorer
My party killed off Izek and skipped town as well. Later, they had to go back to Valkalli to get the wedding dress for the Abbot. They did the "hoods-up" dodge but found that during the Blazing Sun festival, Lady Wachter pulled off her coup and the town was now run by her and her cultists. The party found the Baron's house burnt to the ground but heard that it had been looted first by Lady Wachter and a wedding dress was seen being taken.
I must confess, all this was done to insure the party went to Wachter House. The description of the house had THE BEST box text EVER!
I must confess, all this was done to insure the party went to Wachter House. The description of the house had THE BEST box text EVER!
pukunui
Legend
So much to think about! Thank you everyone. My next session is tonight. I've planted the seeds: I reminded them about the festival but pointed out that they may not be welcome. Hopefully they will still go to Vallaki, as I think that will be fun for them. (And it means I can continue to put off having them find the sword. *evilgrin*)
Arrived too late to offer advice on this, I fear!
I am running a modded version of curse using characters under 'Masque of the Red Death' setting, so there are guns, victorian manners and lack of AC all over, with brutal Long rests (3 days) and scarce magic for magic users. So - I've got a lot of glass cannons
First, the easier one: I read Strahd's protection as active only when the party goes back to his castle to meet with him. Any other movement within Barovia would not be covered under his benediction and therefore accrues encounters.
Of course, your decision depends on what are you running Strahd as: Evil Monster, a civil, bestial Lord or a mixture of both. In my campaign, I am strong runner of the 'I want to break free' theory - Strahd wishes to be free and searches for love on Tatyana and a worthy heir to his place. He has no problem with the characters or their power - he knows that on his ground, he has everything to gain. Let them roam, but without the free pass. Also keep in mind that Vallaki should lead to the Wizard of Wines quest and the Druidic Ritual subquest: go violent and aggressive there, as to create emotional conversion and the feel that 'This Mofo is really tough'.
My group freed Ireena with Sergei and now Strahd has them on his sights, so an increase on random violence and despair is to follow. I am also running a metaplot based on Westworld here - the characters are hosts in a game where only the 'Souled' Barovians are human and Strahd who is a guest based on the consciousness from a human, who lives trapped within Barovia. This supports why you can never defeat him truly - and I will end with a Westworld ending type of closing.
Vallaki was absolutely awesome for us - the group figured the theft of the bones in the church, went to the coffin maker and wound up blowing up half the house with dynamite and getting close to a TPK. Then, during the Festival, they wound up causing a peasant revolt which saw both the Wachters and the Vargas bloodily murdered and the Martikov ensconced into leadership. I am using the Points of Light logic... but my party has been saving Barovia under a sea of blood.
I ran Vargas Vallakovich as this guy:
Hysterical reactions, loud repetition of the 'All will be well' mantra and overzealous exaggeration in action conveys a beautiful protrayal of this sad, sad man.
I stole it from someone's obsidian portal campaign - but the effect is delicious. You can also roleplay his wife as:
Under this logic, Vargas would never dare to defy the PC's - Izek is gone and he lacks the manpower to stop them. Have the Festival proceed as detailed and see whether they support Vargas or not when the guard laughs.
I heartily support changing Arg's skull as Baba Lysaga's. Keep in mind that Baba can go downhill if they are lower than 8.
I am running a modded version of curse using characters under 'Masque of the Red Death' setting, so there are guns, victorian manners and lack of AC all over, with brutal Long rests (3 days) and scarce magic for magic users. So - I've got a lot of glass cannons
First, the easier one: I read Strahd's protection as active only when the party goes back to his castle to meet with him. Any other movement within Barovia would not be covered under his benediction and therefore accrues encounters.
Of course, your decision depends on what are you running Strahd as: Evil Monster, a civil, bestial Lord or a mixture of both. In my campaign, I am strong runner of the 'I want to break free' theory - Strahd wishes to be free and searches for love on Tatyana and a worthy heir to his place. He has no problem with the characters or their power - he knows that on his ground, he has everything to gain. Let them roam, but without the free pass. Also keep in mind that Vallaki should lead to the Wizard of Wines quest and the Druidic Ritual subquest: go violent and aggressive there, as to create emotional conversion and the feel that 'This Mofo is really tough'.
My group freed Ireena with Sergei and now Strahd has them on his sights, so an increase on random violence and despair is to follow. I am also running a metaplot based on Westworld here - the characters are hosts in a game where only the 'Souled' Barovians are human and Strahd who is a guest based on the consciousness from a human, who lives trapped within Barovia. This supports why you can never defeat him truly - and I will end with a Westworld ending type of closing.
Vallaki was absolutely awesome for us - the group figured the theft of the bones in the church, went to the coffin maker and wound up blowing up half the house with dynamite and getting close to a TPK. Then, during the Festival, they wound up causing a peasant revolt which saw both the Wachters and the Vargas bloodily murdered and the Martikov ensconced into leadership. I am using the Points of Light logic... but my party has been saving Barovia under a sea of blood.
I ran Vargas Vallakovich as this guy:
Hysterical reactions, loud repetition of the 'All will be well' mantra and overzealous exaggeration in action conveys a beautiful protrayal of this sad, sad man.
I stole it from someone's obsidian portal campaign - but the effect is delicious. You can also roleplay his wife as:
Under this logic, Vargas would never dare to defy the PC's - Izek is gone and he lacks the manpower to stop them. Have the Festival proceed as detailed and see whether they support Vargas or not when the guard laughs.
I heartily support changing Arg's skull as Baba Lysaga's. Keep in mind that Baba can go downhill if they are lower than 8.
pukunui
Legend
[MENTION=6858221]Kalaron[/MENTION]: Thanks for posting your thoughts anyway, even if they were too late.
Here's what my group ended up doing last night: They decided to go back to Krezk to see if they could convince the abbot to raise Ismark from the dead. I had Strahd's carriage waiting for them at the crossroads but they ignored it, so they were met with two (randomly rolled) dire wolves. They proved to be no match for three 6th level PCs (we were down a player).
Back in Krezk, the abbot agreed to raise Ismark provided they found him a wedding dress for Vasilka first. They went and got the sunsword from the abbey garden and fought off the scarecrows, but only just barely, so they ditched the idea of going to Vallaki for the festival and spent the night in the Krezkovs' house. (I also had Ilya, whom the abbot had raised during the previous session, run off ... his madness was the paranoia one, and I'd read something similar elsewhere as a hook for the werewolf den.)
I decided to have Strahd pay the PCs a visit during the night. I rolled randomly to determine who was on watch at the time and got the fighter who happened to have the sword hilt on him. Strahd charmed him and got him to come outside and bit him, knocking him out but not killing him. The player then asked me if Strahd had looted his body ... so I asked if he'd had the sword on him at the time, and when he said yes, I grinned very evilly and said yes, the sword was gone, but that was the only thing Strahd had taken. He's now sure that that was my plan all along but I actually didn't think of it until he asked.
I'm thinking of having Strahd take the sword to the werewolf den, as I like the idea of the PCs having to suffer Mother Night's curse to get the sword back.
Anyway, after that, they decided to head for Vallaki. They found the carriage waiting at the crossroads again, and one of the players was adamant they should get in. The other two were equally adamant that they shouldn't, so there was a bit of back and forth before they eventually decided to go to Argynvostholt instead!
They were met with four more dire wolves that also proved to be no match for the PCs.
At Argynvostholt, I did the Vistana with the coffin. The PC whose name was on it opened it and got surrounded by the bat swarm, but the other two PCs killed it before it could even get one set of bites in. Boo!
In the mansion, they decided it would be best to head up to the top and then work their way back down, so they pretty much went straight to Vladimir and Sir Godfrey. They got nowhere with Vladimir, but they learned about the history of the place from Sir Godfrey, who told them he would help them if they lay Argynvost's spirit to rest first by retrieving his remains from Castle Ravenloft and interring them in the mausoleum.
As per the text, this decision of Sir Godfrey's angered the other four revenants in the room and they rose up to attack. That is where we ended the session.
One thing I'm not sure about, though: it just says that it incurs the other revenants' wrath and provokes an "armed conflict". I'm not entirely sure what this means. Would they focus their attacks on Sir Godfrey, or would they also attack the PCs?
As for Vallaki, if they do eventually make it there, it could end up being a very different place. It's a little unclear when the attack on the church is meant to happen - possibly the night of the festival or the night after. It also says that the villagers don't attack the baron and burn his house down until a few days after the attack on the church, so I guess some of this stuff might not have happened yet by the time the PCs get there. But if they take too long, they'll find Lady Wachter in charge instead of the baron.
Here's what my group ended up doing last night: They decided to go back to Krezk to see if they could convince the abbot to raise Ismark from the dead. I had Strahd's carriage waiting for them at the crossroads but they ignored it, so they were met with two (randomly rolled) dire wolves. They proved to be no match for three 6th level PCs (we were down a player).
Back in Krezk, the abbot agreed to raise Ismark provided they found him a wedding dress for Vasilka first. They went and got the sunsword from the abbey garden and fought off the scarecrows, but only just barely, so they ditched the idea of going to Vallaki for the festival and spent the night in the Krezkovs' house. (I also had Ilya, whom the abbot had raised during the previous session, run off ... his madness was the paranoia one, and I'd read something similar elsewhere as a hook for the werewolf den.)
I decided to have Strahd pay the PCs a visit during the night. I rolled randomly to determine who was on watch at the time and got the fighter who happened to have the sword hilt on him. Strahd charmed him and got him to come outside and bit him, knocking him out but not killing him. The player then asked me if Strahd had looted his body ... so I asked if he'd had the sword on him at the time, and when he said yes, I grinned very evilly and said yes, the sword was gone, but that was the only thing Strahd had taken. He's now sure that that was my plan all along but I actually didn't think of it until he asked.
I'm thinking of having Strahd take the sword to the werewolf den, as I like the idea of the PCs having to suffer Mother Night's curse to get the sword back.
Anyway, after that, they decided to head for Vallaki. They found the carriage waiting at the crossroads again, and one of the players was adamant they should get in. The other two were equally adamant that they shouldn't, so there was a bit of back and forth before they eventually decided to go to Argynvostholt instead!
They were met with four more dire wolves that also proved to be no match for the PCs.
At Argynvostholt, I did the Vistana with the coffin. The PC whose name was on it opened it and got surrounded by the bat swarm, but the other two PCs killed it before it could even get one set of bites in. Boo!
In the mansion, they decided it would be best to head up to the top and then work their way back down, so they pretty much went straight to Vladimir and Sir Godfrey. They got nowhere with Vladimir, but they learned about the history of the place from Sir Godfrey, who told them he would help them if they lay Argynvost's spirit to rest first by retrieving his remains from Castle Ravenloft and interring them in the mausoleum.
As per the text, this decision of Sir Godfrey's angered the other four revenants in the room and they rose up to attack. That is where we ended the session.
One thing I'm not sure about, though: it just says that it incurs the other revenants' wrath and provokes an "armed conflict". I'm not entirely sure what this means. Would they focus their attacks on Sir Godfrey, or would they also attack the PCs?
As for Vallaki, if they do eventually make it there, it could end up being a very different place. It's a little unclear when the attack on the church is meant to happen - possibly the night of the festival or the night after. It also says that the villagers don't attack the baron and burn his house down until a few days after the attack on the church, so I guess some of this stuff might not have happened yet by the time the PCs get there. But if they take too long, they'll find Lady Wachter in charge instead of the baron.
The attack on the church is specifically timed: "If the characters stay in Vallaki for three days or more and don't retrieve the bones or destroy the vampire spawn, Strahd visits the coffin maker's shop the following evening and orchestrates an attack on the church." (p.124). You could say that they have not remained long enough to trigger it or not - since they have not been to the church, they can't even know there's a quest and eventually might find it 'unfair' that it happened without their agency.
Or not - Barovia is a ruthless place where Strahd acts overtly and secretly so it might well happen - sinking Vallaki into despair and paving the road for Wachter.
I'd say the revenants, consumed by hatred, charge all over the place against Godfrey and the ones who made him take his choice.
Or not - Barovia is a ruthless place where Strahd acts overtly and secretly so it might well happen - sinking Vallaki into despair and paving the road for Wachter.
I'd say the revenants, consumed by hatred, charge all over the place against Godfrey and the ones who made him take his choice.
pukunui
Legend
They certainly have not remained long in Vallaki at any point. They tried spending the night once but it got interrupted when the guards came for Rictavio. They finished that night in one of the abandoned houses outside the western gate.
But yes, I'm thinking the attack on the church should happen anyway. I did foreshadow it in a PC's dream, and they did visit the church but chose not to mention the dream to the priest, and as there was no cleric or paladin in the party, the priest did not bring up the missing bones himself. I'd say that set the clock on the attack, even if the PCs didn't stay in Vallaki for another three days.
Well, there are four of them, so I'm trying to think what they would do. Would all of them attack Godfrey first and, assuming they can take him out, turn their attention on the PCs? Or would two of them attack Godfrey while the other two attack the PCs? Or what? And would Vladimir get involved? He's right across the hall and would no doubt hear the combat ...
Helldritch
Hero
The Church
I would give one last warning about the church attack and if they do nothing about it, let them learn about it from Strahd himself or one of his agents. Something like:" Thank for letting my friends put this church into rumble. I would I've failed if not from your lack of interest. We are a lot more alike than I first thought. I did not forget about Ireena however. Maybe the Dark Powers will reward you? But not me! Ireena was mine. We have a matter to resolve. Come to my castle as guests. We have a lot to negociate." The players should feel cheap and should even start to doubt if they didn't miss something important.
Sir Godfrey attack.
The attack should not occur yet. Sir Godfrey is not going with the PC's yet (he waits for the beacon isn't he?). He should get a stern warning from the spirit that they would not allow that nor would Sir Vladimir. They should warn the players that if they ever try to get inside the hold again that they will be enemies. I would have the players followed by revenants for a few days. These revenants (a medium to hard encounter) would act only if the players attempted to enter the castle. This would serve two goals:
One: Weaken the party a bit and putting them on the more prudent side inside the castle.
Two: Make them wary of returning the skull.
I would give one last warning about the church attack and if they do nothing about it, let them learn about it from Strahd himself or one of his agents. Something like:" Thank for letting my friends put this church into rumble. I would I've failed if not from your lack of interest. We are a lot more alike than I first thought. I did not forget about Ireena however. Maybe the Dark Powers will reward you? But not me! Ireena was mine. We have a matter to resolve. Come to my castle as guests. We have a lot to negociate." The players should feel cheap and should even start to doubt if they didn't miss something important.
Sir Godfrey attack.
The attack should not occur yet. Sir Godfrey is not going with the PC's yet (he waits for the beacon isn't he?). He should get a stern warning from the spirit that they would not allow that nor would Sir Vladimir. They should warn the players that if they ever try to get inside the hold again that they will be enemies. I would have the players followed by revenants for a few days. These revenants (a medium to hard encounter) would act only if the players attempted to enter the castle. This would serve two goals:
One: Weaken the party a bit and putting them on the more prudent side inside the castle.
Two: Make them wary of returning the skull.
