D&D 5E Curse of Strahd help

[pukunui]

I would give one last warning about the church attack ...

What sort of warning? I already had one of them witness the attack in a dream. The player had his character tell the others about the dream, and yet, when they went to the church (which was like the first place they went to that day as well), none of them mentioned the dream to the priest. I have reminded them of it once or twice since then, too, as we go through the list of outstanding quest options.

The attack should not occur yet. Sir Godfrey is not going with the PC's yet (he waits for the beacon isn't he?).

Yes, but I reckon they'd still attack. Sir Godfrey's offering to help put an end to Strahd, which goes against Vladimir Horngaard's desire to see Strahd suffer. I think the loyal revenants would want to put an end to any traitorous talk right away.

Two: Make them wary of returning the skull.

I don't think I want to make them wary of returning the skull. On the contrary, I want to make it more worth their while. If they fight the revenants now, knowing (as Sir Godfrey has already told them) that they will only come back again if they are killed, should give them some incentive to actually complete the Argynvostholt quest. Especially if the revenants *do* keep coming back to haunt the PCs.

 

[Wepwawet]

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 Baron is much weaker now without his monstrous henchmen, and a few less guards, it's much easier now for Lady Wachter to take control. Or the populace itself. He kept enforcing his crazy festivals mostly because he had Izek's arm.

I'd wait for the characters to go back to run the Feast of St. Andral, they're strong enough to stop the attack now, and that would teach them to pay attention to their dreams. Plus, that would be the perfect trigger to have the baron overthrown.

In any case you can leave him for dead

 

[pukunui]

The Baron is much weaker now without his monstrous henchmen, and a few less guards, it's much easier now for Lady Wachter to take control. Or the populace itself. He kept enforcing his crazy festivals mostly because he had Izek's arm.

Mmm. It's much easier for the PCs to take control too. No one in Vallaki is powerful enough to stop them. Lady Wachter's a bit of a pushover. I suppose if *all* her cultists ganged up on the PCs at once, complete with a mob of commoners backing them up, the PCs might have some trouble.

Still, if the PCs took control of Vallaki, it would also give Strahd more freedom to have his way in the town. The baron is a useful tool and Lady Wachter is a loyal stooge. Without either of them in charge, Strahd hasn't got any incentive to not turn Vallaki into another Barovia Village. He can terrorize the townsfolk to his heart's content, and the PCs will most likely be unable to stop him. In fact, it might even turn the townsfolk against the PCs. ("Go away so Strahd will stop harassing us!")

I'd wait for the characters to go back to run the Feast of St. Andral, they're strong enough to stop the attack now, and that would teach them to pay attention to their dreams. Plus, that would be the perfect trigger to have the baron overthrown.

I suppose, although wouldn't having them miss the feast also teach them to pay attention to their dreams?

 

[Wepwawet]

Mmm. It's much easier for the PCs to take control too. No one in Vallaki is powerful enough to stop them. Lady Wachter's a bit of a pushover. I suppose if *all* her cultists ganged up on the PCs at once, complete with a mob of commoners backing them up, the PCs might have some trouble.

I did that, my players went for her and killed her
Well, without commoners. There's no reason why commoners would support her, only if they're part of her cult.
I did have her try to convince the guards to fight with her to overthrow the Baron, a few confused guards went forward, but most just stood back confused (she rolled badly)

Still, if the PCs took control of Vallaki, it would also give Strahd more freedom to have his way in the town. The baron is a useful tool and Lady Wachter is a loyal stooge. Without either of them in charge, Strahd hasn't got any incentive to not turn Vallaki into another Barovia Village. He can terrorize the townsfolk to his heart's content, and the PCs will most likely be unable to stop him. In fact, it might even turn the townsfolk against the PCs. ("Go away so Strahd will stop harassing us!")

Vallaki is his. I'm sure he and his spawn feed on Vallakians as well. The only reason he keeps that useless burgomaster is to give the people an ilusion of safety. Same if Lady Wachter takes the power. In fact he seems to have grown bored of Baron Vallakovich and is toying with him. Because he can.

I suppose, although wouldn't having them miss the feast also teach them to pay attention to their dreams?

Yes, true. I meant it as the dreams are prophetic and do come true. I just think it would be a great fight for PCs with a level high enough. Also, that would earn the respect of the locals. Instead of being the strangers that killed Izek and lots of guards they'll be the heroes that saved the church.
You could nudge them to give the power to the Martikovs.

 

[pukunui]

Moving on, what do you think Strahd would do with the sunsword?

I've been leaning towards having him leave it at the shrine to Mother Night in the werewolf den so that whoever claims it has to suffer the curse. Putting it in the werewolf den also keeps it far away from Strahd.

On the other hand, I could easily see him locking it away in his treasury, but that would make it incredibly difficult for the PCs to reclaim and might come across as too heavy-handed. Instead, he could just hide it in one of the crypts, although that would mean it would end up being very close to his own crypt, and he might not like that ... but then it would also mean he could keep a close eye on it. And it would also make it hard for the PCs to use it properly as they might end up facing Strahd before they get a chance to attune to it.

Another option would just be to determine the sword's new hiding place randomly with a card draw.

 

[hastur_nz]

or he could give it to Rahadin, his dusk-elf Chamberlain - as written, Rahadin is too easy for the PC's to be killed, so he needs all the help he can get...

Remember - Strahd hates and fears the sword - I figured he doesn't really want to be touching it, in fact he'd like it destroyed (IIRC, he already tried to destroy it earlier).

 

[pukunui]

or he could give it to Rahadin, his dusk-elf Chamberlain - as written, Rahadin is too easy for the PC's to be killed, so he needs all the help he can get...

Yes, that's true. He was a bit of a pushover.

Remember - Strahd hates and fears the sword - I figured he doesn't really want to be touching it, in fact he'd like it destroyed (IIRC, he already tried to destroy it earlier).

In my version, he hated and feared the sword way back when ... but I decided to combine the Heart of Sorrow with the 3.5 Expedition adventure's Dayheart, so as long as the heart exists, Strahd is immune to the effects of sunlight ... and he is thus not as afraid of the sword now as he once was.

As for destroying it, he had to get an archmage to do it the first time. The only archmage around now is the one he drove mad ...


[As an aside, since I ran the Amber Temple as a standalone adventure in my previous campaign, I am leaving it out of my actual Curse of Strahd campaign, so having him hide it - or look for a way to destroy it - there isn't an option.]

 

[hastur_nz]

So 'realistically', Strahd should use the sword himself - there's an enhanced version of Strahd around somewhere, that upped his CR slightly and had him using a sword to good effect. That might be a bit too heavy-handed, but once the PC's Destroy the Heart, Strahd won't be able to wield it anymore (so could give it to Rahadin), so that could work.

Next best is giving it to his Chamberlain first-up, especially if you ensure the two are found together (not separate as written).

I think that since you let Strahd get the sword, having him just chuck it away somewhere random again, stretches one's suspension of disbelief. For me, I'd have Strahd keep that sword as close to him as possible (but give the players a chance of getting it back, after all, it was fated that the sword would help them out a lot).

 

[pukunui]

That's a good idea. That might also help clue them in to the Heart's extra power. How is Strahd able to wield a sword with a blade made of sunlight? They might have to retreat from the castle and ask Ezmerelda or van Richten. EDIT: Actually, come to think of it, since the sword is a chaotic good sentient item and its purpose is to destroy Strahd, he'd have to make regular opposed Charisma checks to use it. And they're no guaranteed thing, since the sword's Charisma is only one point less than Strahd's (+3 vs +4). Rahadin's is the same as Strahd's. Having him use it might cause less of a conflict for the sword, although I'm sure it still wouldn't be happy being wielded by Strahd's chamberlain.

Speaking of retreating from the castle, I'm curious to see what they do once they realize that Argynvost's skull is really big and heavy. (It weighs 250 lbs!) It's not too far from the teleport device, so if they can carry it that far, they can teleport it to either Vallaki or Krezk. Then they just need a wagon or something to get it from there to Argynvostholt.

 

[Savage Wombat]

My party had a lot of "fun" with the discovery that the skull weighed 250 lbs. Luckily the druid pulled a Giant Elk out of the bag of tricks and they were able to rig a travois. Good thing the corridors were barely wide enough for the beast.

According to the rules of Ravenloft, Strahd can't destroy the Sunsword or permanently conceal it. But he'd probably try. Throw it into the lake, teleport it to the Amber Temple. He might conceivably get the Vistani to carry it through the mists, out of Barovia altogether. Although the Mists would obviously take matters into their own "hands" at that point.