commandercrud
Hero
How so? I haven't got to the 5e castle part yet, what is different from the original. Or easier, rather.
For one thing he drains two levels with each hit in the original.
How so? I haven't got to the 5e castle part yet, what is different from the original. Or easier, rather.
For one thing he drains two levels with each hit in the original.
...In my opinion, the question is not why would Strahd leave his castle, but why would he stay? He’s the land, yes, but he’s also the lord of the land. He can go wherever he pleases without the slightest of threat or challenge, because it’s his land, and who’s going to stop him? On top of that he’s so interminably bored....
Yup, I think we’re on the same page. I actually do like to have him show up frequently, but it’s always meaningful when he does.Yep, that's part of it. Perhaps the better way to phrase it is that it wouldn't be in character for him to gallop in on a nightmare, harass the low-level PCs like some sort of gym bully at school, pull down their pants, and ride away. He plays a long-term game. Everything has meaning. In my game, his appearances were few and far between, to send a message. When they sought to elevate the Church in Vallaki as a safe haven for Ireena, Strahd tore down its trappings during a service, slaughtered the priest, and sent a loud and clear message that he is the Land. There is no safe haven. They're trying to interfere with his destiny by influencing Ireena. Yet, he won't kill them for that curiosity bit.
All these other times he's failed, Ireena/Tatyana has been surrounded by natives of the land. The party is a novel factor and one he intends to play into altering a legacy of failed attempts. He just hasn't quite figured that part out yet, and this is where the adventure can take a fantastic spin. I had no idea my PCs would do what they did in the way they did.
Did you go the Amber Temple? That is the main place where the Dark Powers come into Curse of Strahd, but some DMs choose to cut that part.The Dark Powers and their influence were completely absent.
Page 24 of the hardback includes a list of alterations to magic: spells that would allow a party to leave Barovia won't work, and Strahd may intercept any spell that attempts to contact another plane. It also has suggested cosmetic changes to spells (for example, mage hand would appear as a skeletal shadowy hand rather than a normal one); did your DM use those?Magic worked just fine and we never had to roll a Dark Powers Check.
There is a system for tracking sanity and rolling for fear/horror/madness in the Dungeon Master's Guide, which your DM could have added to CoS. I do think the book would have benefitted from a pointer to that section of the DMG and a note on how DMs could incorporate it. To really integrate fear/horror/madness checks deeply into the adventure as written would take a lot of work, though.Fear, horror or madness checks were completely absent, too.
I agree. Plus I've heard a number of people say that Strahd should basically "move around/appear outta nowhere" to torment the party.I agree wholeheartedly with basically everything in this post, but this particular bit I wanted to challenge a bit. In my opinion, the question is not why would Strahd leave his castle, but why would he stay? He’s the land, yes, but he’s also the lord of the land. He can go wherever he pleases without the slightest of threat or challenge, because it’s his land, and who’s going to stop him? On top of that he’s so interminably bored. For centuries he’s been trapped in this tiny snow globe of a domain, with the same souls being recycled over and over again, history repeating itself with only minor variations generation after generation. I can’t imagine him being content to just sit in his castle looking menacingly out a window like some gothic Cercei Lannister. I see him going out among his subjects, feeding on who he pleases, manipulating the populace just to make something happen. That’s why he messed with Donnovich and the Abbot and all the others; he hasn’t been surprised in centuries, so he passes his time just screwing with people in the hopes of getting a mildly amusing result.
My players got VERY excited when they learned about existence of Dark Powers and Amber Temple. For them, it was explanation they wanted (their previous, false explanation was existence of ancient vampire beneath Yester Hill). So, make Wereravens or Gray Elves (or Vistani) talk about Dark Powers and point them into Amber Temple. Also, if one of your players die in the meantime, make him comeback with a little gift from Dark Powers. Have fun!So reading this has inspired me that I should get the Dark Powers involved more and try to add a little more of the old Ravenloft flavor into my campaign. They are just finishing up Vallaki, around 6th level. I wonder when would be a good time to introduce it? Maybe having them unleash it at the Amber Temple?