Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Enhancing "Curse of Strahd" (and DDAL adventures)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6895249" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Hrm... they have the Holy Symbol and the Sunsword but are only 6th level? Yeesh. They might very well be in trouble. Yes, they have the two items necessary to allow for a permanent destruction of Strahd (the two items that can generate true sunlight).. but aren't nearly the level necessary to stand up to a hit 'n run assault by the Vampire Lord should be decide to put them down once and for all.</p><p></p><p>Thus if I was in your shoes... I think that if the party is now going through the castle making a nuisance of themselves (especially since they're tying up the castle's manservant), I'd make it a point to have Strahd not take that sort of affront lying down, but also not willing to get his hands dirty. The next time the party does something actually against the castle or one of its inhabitants... I'd probably have Strahd send a good half-dozen Vampire Spawn after the party to put them in their place. The book says that any previous adventurers to Barovia who attempted to go after him were made into Spawn, and there are always many places where Spawn show up across the valley... so having a large supply of Spawn available on hand, and him send an adventuring party of Spawn (or two) after your group is not out of place.</p><p></p><p>At that point... if your group puts the Spawn down, then Strahd realizes who he is up against and will start getting pissed (and thus devious). But if the group gets taken out by the Spawn because they just aren't high enough level to accomplish it (and/or because they haven't yet found the Tome of Strahd, and thus not learned whatever other "weaknesses" the book might state he has)... then some can be allowed to flee, while others might get knocked out and then later wake up to find themselves either bitten, or at the very least locked within one of the crypts underneath the castle.</p><p></p><p>I can't remember which of the various Ravenloft books/adventures this info has been printed in (or indeed if I just cobbled all of it together from various sources into one infodump)... but I might take the history of Saint Markovia as a good indicator of what might happen if the party is becoming too much of a threat:</p><p></p><p><strong>SAINT MARKOVIA</strong></p><p><em>Lore: As a youth in the village of Kresk, the young woman Markovia followed her heart and became a priestess in the church of the Morninglord soon after her eighteenth birthday. She proved a charismatic proselytizer and a cunning warrior, and consequently rose quickly in reputation. By her late twenties she had become a paladin, and had gained a reputation that no evil could stand before her. One day, the vampire Strahd heard townspeople make the boasts that Markovia could probably defeat even the Master of the Castle himself, she was so holy. Enraged by this comparison and the besmirchment of his power, he sent a passel of vampire spawn to her small home in Kresk that very midnight. They confronted Markovia in her sanctum and were destroyed to a one. Suffused with righteous victory after defeating a force of vampire spawn, Markovia advanced on Castle Ravenloft that very night. A great battle raged from the highest catacomb to the lowest parapet, but in the end, Markovia never returned to Kresk, and the Master of the Castle long walked with a limp and a grimace of pain. It is said he trapped Markovia in a crypt beneath his castle, and her remains linger there yet.</em></p><p></p><p>There is still plenty of time for you to keep the adventure going. It need not be a "Fight for the final time!" situation right now. They may want to try and go for the endgame at this point, but you have a lot of things at your disposal in the castle before sending Strahd in on a "All or nothing!" attack. Play with your players a bit... don't let them take it easy in the castle... especially if they act like they own the place have Strahd show them who the real Lord of the castle is.</p><p></p><p>Then, once they've left, gotten more powerful, found the Tome, and found their ally... then they can come back for the final showdown. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 6895249, member: 7006"] Hrm... they have the Holy Symbol and the Sunsword but are only 6th level? Yeesh. They might very well be in trouble. Yes, they have the two items necessary to allow for a permanent destruction of Strahd (the two items that can generate true sunlight).. but aren't nearly the level necessary to stand up to a hit 'n run assault by the Vampire Lord should be decide to put them down once and for all. Thus if I was in your shoes... I think that if the party is now going through the castle making a nuisance of themselves (especially since they're tying up the castle's manservant), I'd make it a point to have Strahd not take that sort of affront lying down, but also not willing to get his hands dirty. The next time the party does something actually against the castle or one of its inhabitants... I'd probably have Strahd send a good half-dozen Vampire Spawn after the party to put them in their place. The book says that any previous adventurers to Barovia who attempted to go after him were made into Spawn, and there are always many places where Spawn show up across the valley... so having a large supply of Spawn available on hand, and him send an adventuring party of Spawn (or two) after your group is not out of place. At that point... if your group puts the Spawn down, then Strahd realizes who he is up against and will start getting pissed (and thus devious). But if the group gets taken out by the Spawn because they just aren't high enough level to accomplish it (and/or because they haven't yet found the Tome of Strahd, and thus not learned whatever other "weaknesses" the book might state he has)... then some can be allowed to flee, while others might get knocked out and then later wake up to find themselves either bitten, or at the very least locked within one of the crypts underneath the castle. I can't remember which of the various Ravenloft books/adventures this info has been printed in (or indeed if I just cobbled all of it together from various sources into one infodump)... but I might take the history of Saint Markovia as a good indicator of what might happen if the party is becoming too much of a threat: [b]SAINT MARKOVIA[/b] [i]Lore: As a youth in the village of Kresk, the young woman Markovia followed her heart and became a priestess in the church of the Morninglord soon after her eighteenth birthday. She proved a charismatic proselytizer and a cunning warrior, and consequently rose quickly in reputation. By her late twenties she had become a paladin, and had gained a reputation that no evil could stand before her. One day, the vampire Strahd heard townspeople make the boasts that Markovia could probably defeat even the Master of the Castle himself, she was so holy. Enraged by this comparison and the besmirchment of his power, he sent a passel of vampire spawn to her small home in Kresk that very midnight. They confronted Markovia in her sanctum and were destroyed to a one. Suffused with righteous victory after defeating a force of vampire spawn, Markovia advanced on Castle Ravenloft that very night. A great battle raged from the highest catacomb to the lowest parapet, but in the end, Markovia never returned to Kresk, and the Master of the Castle long walked with a limp and a grimace of pain. It is said he trapped Markovia in a crypt beneath his castle, and her remains linger there yet.[/i] There is still plenty of time for you to keep the adventure going. It need not be a "Fight for the final time!" situation right now. They may want to try and go for the endgame at this point, but you have a lot of things at your disposal in the castle before sending Strahd in on a "All or nothing!" attack. Play with your players a bit... don't let them take it easy in the castle... especially if they act like they own the place have Strahd show them who the real Lord of the castle is. Then, once they've left, gotten more powerful, found the Tome, and found their ally... then they can come back for the final showdown. :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Enhancing "Curse of Strahd" (and DDAL adventures)
Top