Having now taken the time to carefully study the cross-connections between the various NPCs and storylines in Curse Of Strahd (and then more time to read the novel "I, Strahd" which I found through a used-books seller online), I find myself fascinated by two points in particular of the module. First, that for every pair of same-level chapters in the book, the order presented on page 6 is precisely the opposite of the natural flow of the plot (with S requiring W for entry, V's combat-event providing directions to Z, and both T and O respectively being en route to X and N). An inversion so uniform it could only have been by design.
Secondly, I can't shake the feeling that there's an entire page worth of content missing from Vallaki. Izek Strazni has a barbed devil's arm that shoots magical fire. The climax of the chapter comes when the rain extinquishes the Burgomaster's mundane torch. Magical fire. Diobolic arm. Diabolic cult seeking to usurp the Burgomaster. Izek doesn't know where his new arm came from. Diaboic cult summoning devils. But instead of tying these threads together, all we get is a note that Fiona Wachter plans to have Izek killed during the process of her seizing power.
It seems obvious to me that the mysterious devil's arm and the only person in the whole book explicitly summoning devils are supposed to be connected. So when my game gets to the Festival of the Blazing Sun, I see it playing out very differently (asuming the heroes do nothing to interfere). The rain puts out the torch, Izek's diabolic arm tenses up, Izek looks at it in horror because he's not controlling it, the flame is hurled, the Burgomaster is ignited, he staggers into the wicker effigy, the effigy is ignited, Izek drops to his knees and screams, as his devil-arm bulges obscenely. The arm tears free of his body, forming a full barbed devil that emerges from the stump, cue the battle-climax while Izek kneels on the ground, not even crying, because his devil-arm was the only part of him that had soul-type feelings.
On the up side, I've also worked out where exactly the three treasures and fated ally will be to fit the game I have in mind. The Tome will be in the main room of the Abbey (S13), so that the Abbot's fall from grace is tied in to his buying the "I'm so tortured and sympathetic" routine hook line and sinker. The Sword will appear at the Beacon of Argynvostholt (Q53) only when the dragon's skull is returned and the Beacon is lit. And the Symbol lies in the iron chest above the Heart Of Sorrow (with a 240' drop to the stone floor offering a not at all subtle option for breaking open the iron chest, if the heroes are willing to risk destroying its contents), for the heroes to be able to sneak off to after the dinner party they were invited to by "Strahd XI" before they knew anything about his family's reputation.
On the ally side, I have no tolerance for vastly omnipotent signature NPCs inviting themselves along on the heroes' quest so that they can effortlessly resolve crises and reduce the (lower-levelled) PCs to mere cheerleaders. And given that most of the available Allies are entirely recruitable by an L5 party, even a "merely" L9 NPC spellcaster is too omnipotent for my particular tastes. But I also don't want the fated ally's only use being to provide Inspiration during the final assault on the castle. So after much consideration, I settled on Viktor Vallakovich, the (less than competent) amateur wizard of Vallaki. Strip down his spellcasting omnipotence a bit, and he'd make a good loremonkey to study the Tome in the Abbey while the heroes travel the land dealing with more combative problems. And, when the time comes to assault the castle, he'd certainly be able to make himself useful with the various ingredients in the witches' upper apartment suite.
But in the course of picking my Tarokka reading content, I looked back over the equivalent section in the 3rd ed "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft", and was amazed that it was literally triple the narrative content. Five questions yes, with three cards each. And I find myself wanting to expand the 5th ed reading similarly; with a Focus card for the question, a Covering card for the location/purpose of the answer, and a Crossing card for the complication thereupon.
(Focus card) "You must seek the knowledge of the Devil's secrets..." (Covering card) "Hidden behind the sun, in the house of a saint..." (Crossing card) "But it is held by a man who does not see that his hands are already covered in blood; he will not relinquish those secrets until your own hands are equally unclean."
That sort of thing. And I invite suggestions for cards to fit the following meanings:
Tome / 1 Glyphs=S13 / unclean hands
Sword / 4 Stars=Q53 / restore the light
Symbol / 1 Stars=K60 / brief window of invitation
Ally / Donjon / ??? (haven't figured out a suitable complication for Viktor yet)
Location / Mists / history repeating
Werewolves plot hook / stealing children / they believe sweet lies
Lord of the castle / seeks security for his domain / minions serving two masters (seems to paint my "Strahd XI" and "Strahd the First and Only" as adversaries, but actually refers to the heroes' desire to be heroic while they're eliminating rivals on his behalf)
Master of the land / seeks to escape his well-earned fate / needs Ireena's soul to get freedom
Also, has anyone else tried opening the floodgates to player-generated questions for Madam Eva's cards? And if so, what questions did they ask in your games?
Secondly, I can't shake the feeling that there's an entire page worth of content missing from Vallaki. Izek Strazni has a barbed devil's arm that shoots magical fire. The climax of the chapter comes when the rain extinquishes the Burgomaster's mundane torch. Magical fire. Diobolic arm. Diabolic cult seeking to usurp the Burgomaster. Izek doesn't know where his new arm came from. Diaboic cult summoning devils. But instead of tying these threads together, all we get is a note that Fiona Wachter plans to have Izek killed during the process of her seizing power.
It seems obvious to me that the mysterious devil's arm and the only person in the whole book explicitly summoning devils are supposed to be connected. So when my game gets to the Festival of the Blazing Sun, I see it playing out very differently (asuming the heroes do nothing to interfere). The rain puts out the torch, Izek's diabolic arm tenses up, Izek looks at it in horror because he's not controlling it, the flame is hurled, the Burgomaster is ignited, he staggers into the wicker effigy, the effigy is ignited, Izek drops to his knees and screams, as his devil-arm bulges obscenely. The arm tears free of his body, forming a full barbed devil that emerges from the stump, cue the battle-climax while Izek kneels on the ground, not even crying, because his devil-arm was the only part of him that had soul-type feelings.
On the up side, I've also worked out where exactly the three treasures and fated ally will be to fit the game I have in mind. The Tome will be in the main room of the Abbey (S13), so that the Abbot's fall from grace is tied in to his buying the "I'm so tortured and sympathetic" routine hook line and sinker. The Sword will appear at the Beacon of Argynvostholt (Q53) only when the dragon's skull is returned and the Beacon is lit. And the Symbol lies in the iron chest above the Heart Of Sorrow (with a 240' drop to the stone floor offering a not at all subtle option for breaking open the iron chest, if the heroes are willing to risk destroying its contents), for the heroes to be able to sneak off to after the dinner party they were invited to by "Strahd XI" before they knew anything about his family's reputation.
On the ally side, I have no tolerance for vastly omnipotent signature NPCs inviting themselves along on the heroes' quest so that they can effortlessly resolve crises and reduce the (lower-levelled) PCs to mere cheerleaders. And given that most of the available Allies are entirely recruitable by an L5 party, even a "merely" L9 NPC spellcaster is too omnipotent for my particular tastes. But I also don't want the fated ally's only use being to provide Inspiration during the final assault on the castle. So after much consideration, I settled on Viktor Vallakovich, the (less than competent) amateur wizard of Vallaki. Strip down his spellcasting omnipotence a bit, and he'd make a good loremonkey to study the Tome in the Abbey while the heroes travel the land dealing with more combative problems. And, when the time comes to assault the castle, he'd certainly be able to make himself useful with the various ingredients in the witches' upper apartment suite.
But in the course of picking my Tarokka reading content, I looked back over the equivalent section in the 3rd ed "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft", and was amazed that it was literally triple the narrative content. Five questions yes, with three cards each. And I find myself wanting to expand the 5th ed reading similarly; with a Focus card for the question, a Covering card for the location/purpose of the answer, and a Crossing card for the complication thereupon.
(Focus card) "You must seek the knowledge of the Devil's secrets..." (Covering card) "Hidden behind the sun, in the house of a saint..." (Crossing card) "But it is held by a man who does not see that his hands are already covered in blood; he will not relinquish those secrets until your own hands are equally unclean."
That sort of thing. And I invite suggestions for cards to fit the following meanings:
Tome / 1 Glyphs=S13 / unclean hands
Sword / 4 Stars=Q53 / restore the light
Symbol / 1 Stars=K60 / brief window of invitation
Ally / Donjon / ??? (haven't figured out a suitable complication for Viktor yet)
Location / Mists / history repeating
Werewolves plot hook / stealing children / they believe sweet lies
Lord of the castle / seeks security for his domain / minions serving two masters (seems to paint my "Strahd XI" and "Strahd the First and Only" as adversaries, but actually refers to the heroes' desire to be heroic while they're eliminating rivals on his behalf)
Master of the land / seeks to escape his well-earned fate / needs Ireena's soul to get freedom
Also, has anyone else tried opening the floodgates to player-generated questions for Madam Eva's cards? And if so, what questions did they ask in your games?