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Enhancing "Curse of Strahd" (and DDAL adventures)
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<blockquote data-quote="Weeble1000" data-source="post: 7558728" data-attributes="member: 6983498"><p>So what do y'all think about stacking the deck for the Tarokka reading?</p><p></p><p>When I first started my prep for the campaign I did it randomly, but there are some potentially hokey results. I've since decided to choose the results (which is fine since my players haven't had their reading or encountered any of the artifacts), and I think that will work out a lot better for the campaign.</p><p></p><p>Stacking the deck helps make a good story, and can be a way to drive characters towards areas you want them to go that they might otherwise miss or avoid.</p><p></p><p>I also wanted all of the items to be found outside of Castle Ravenloft, because I think the campaign works better if the castle itself is the penultimate area/encounter of the campaign.</p><p></p><p>Choosing the results has also allowed me to beef up the fluff of the reading, which is nice. With so many results the amount of text in the book is understandable, but I wanted something more substantial, and I'm not the best at ad-libbing that kind of stuff in the midst of all the other organizational crap that goes into the prepping and running a game.</p><p></p><p>I'm having the PCs encounter Esmeralda first thing in our upcoming session, which I expect will lead to a tarokka reading. Here is what I've done:</p><p></p><p>Note that I like the idea of breaking up the Sunsword into the hilt and the blade, and having the characters reassemble it. The hilt is with the Hags in Old Bonegrinder, and the blade will be behind the secret panel of Van Richten's Tower, which makes sense to me if the Archmage was not able to actually destroy the blade, and merely separated it from the hilt and hid it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Tome of Strahd</strong>: Rictavio’s Carnival Wagon 5N5 – (7 of Stars – Illusionist - Reversed)</p><p></p><p><em>“This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“The Illusionist… but upside down. This card shows deception; pointed, deliberate, malicious. This is a land of deception, of mists and shadows. Many will seek to deceive you. Many will wear masks to hide their true forms. Many will lie to you, and many more will lie to themselves about what they have become. But I see one whose deception is not meant to harm, but to protect. I see a man who will lie to you. He will tell you false tales and wear a false face. He will do everything in his power to deceive you, but he is not your enemy. Within his lair of lies, his house that moves, his menagerie of one, is the truth that will guide you toward salvation.”</em></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p><strong>Holy Symbol of Ravenkind</strong>: Watcherhaus Master Bedroom 5N4o – (9 of Glyphs – Traitor)</p><p></p><p><em>“This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“The Traitor… a dangerous card in any reading. Here the land itself is bent against you. The eyes of the enemy are everywhere. They peer at you from forests cloaked in darkness and craggy peaks shrouded in mist. They gaze down upon you from the roiling clouds and from beneath the silent surface of abyssal pools. They stare at you through the eyes of innocent children and twisted souls alike. You will be betrayed by those you most trust, at times you least suspect. There is one, however, who will betray all around her; her neighbors, her friends, her loved ones, and her children. She grasps at power for the sake of vengeance, and she will not shrink from betraying strangers, no matter how dangerous they may seem. She keeps this treasure under lock and key, mingled with the bones of an ancient enemy, kept for the sake of one who even now betrays the one everlasting fidelity she keeps.”</em></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p><strong>Sunsword</strong>: Old Bonegrinder (7 of Glyphs – Charlatan - Reversed)</p><p></p><p><em>“This card tells of power and strength. It tells of a weapon of vengeance: a sword of sunlight.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“The Charlatan… upside down. The Charlatan is always a card of deception, even in reverse. The Charlatan brings false hope; hope of knowledge, skills, and power he does not truly possess. The Charlatan can show a lack of knowledge, it can show self-deception, it whispers of hubris and vainglory. But here I see true power, terrible power, purchased at an unspeakable price. I see false hope, hope of escape from the terrible, grinding wheel of life. Grinding, grinding, grinding, even after death. Lifetimes upon lifetimes ground to dust beneath the black millstone of life! They seek an escape, as do you, from the constant, grinding despair of Barovia, but there must ever be grist for the mill. A lonely mill…on a precipice. Seek your weapon there, but know that it is a false hope, a charlatan’s hope. You will find a spear with no haft, an axe with no head, a sword with no blade. Let the wizard’s name and servant guide you to the edge you seek against your foe. Only with knowledge, skill, and selfless desire will you be able to forge a weapon of light to restore hope to the people of Barovia!”</em></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p><strong>Enemy</strong>: Sir Gregory 7Q37 – (Ghost)</p><p></p><p><em>“This card sheds light on one who will help you greatly in the battle against darkness.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“The Ghost… This is a haunted land, filled with the ghosts of the past, tormenting the living who can do naught but close their eyes and cower in darkness… alone, afraid, forsaken. You will encounter shades, specters, and spirits of all descriptions, forever haunting this accursed realm and forever tormented by a past they cannot escape. If you would avoid this same fate, you must be a guiding light in this darkness. You must open the eyes of those around you and show them that they are not alone. I see many spirits, but one in particular whose love and duty has kept him slumped in darkness and despair. I see a knight in silver armor, a sleeping dragon, lost in a nightmare of grief. It is your valor alone that can awaken him. Let the strength of your resolve be a beacon of hope to chase away the shadows of his anguish. Remind him of the true meaning of the oaths he holds so dear, and he will wield a cold blade of vengeance against your common enemy.”</em></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p><strong>Strahd</strong>: Castle Overlook – (Executioner – Reversed)</p><p></p><p><em>“Your enemy is a creature of darkness, whose powers are beyond mortality. This card will lead you to him!”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“The Executioner… reversed. This is a dark card. It is a card of untimely death, woven not by fate, but wrought by the hands of men. Though the Executioner is always an omen of violent death, it is normally tempered by justice. Reversed, it speaks instead of cruelty and iniquity. It speaks of death undeserved, unjust, and unconscionable. I see a woman… a woman running. Her face streams with tears, tears of grief, tears of agony, tears of terror. Her tears are washed away by the rain as she runs through a garden, pursued by a creature shrouded in darkness, the flowers wilting in its wake. The woman is on a balcony, in a sea of mist. Her fingers grip the stone railing as she stares down into an unknown abyss. She looks back as he glides toward her, cloaked in a mantle of rage and desire. Her features are twisted into a mask of horror and desperation. He reaches out to claim her, but she flings herself over the balcony, plunging down, down, down, into the welcoming arms of death. I see him now, on the rain-slicked stones, staring down into the swirling mists, willing death itself to return his rightful property. Here is where you will find him, lost in the mists of the past, defying death and cursing life.”</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Weeble1000, post: 7558728, member: 6983498"] So what do y'all think about stacking the deck for the Tarokka reading? When I first started my prep for the campaign I did it randomly, but there are some potentially hokey results. I've since decided to choose the results (which is fine since my players haven't had their reading or encountered any of the artifacts), and I think that will work out a lot better for the campaign. Stacking the deck helps make a good story, and can be a way to drive characters towards areas you want them to go that they might otherwise miss or avoid. I also wanted all of the items to be found outside of Castle Ravenloft, because I think the campaign works better if the castle itself is the penultimate area/encounter of the campaign. Choosing the results has also allowed me to beef up the fluff of the reading, which is nice. With so many results the amount of text in the book is understandable, but I wanted something more substantial, and I'm not the best at ad-libbing that kind of stuff in the midst of all the other organizational crap that goes into the prepping and running a game. I'm having the PCs encounter Esmeralda first thing in our upcoming session, which I expect will lead to a tarokka reading. Here is what I've done: Note that I like the idea of breaking up the Sunsword into the hilt and the blade, and having the characters reassemble it. The hilt is with the Hags in Old Bonegrinder, and the blade will be behind the secret panel of Van Richten's Tower, which makes sense to me if the Archmage was not able to actually destroy the blade, and merely separated it from the hilt and hid it. [B]Tome of Strahd[/B]: Rictavio’s Carnival Wagon 5N5 – (7 of Stars – Illusionist - Reversed) [I]“This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy.” “The Illusionist… but upside down. This card shows deception; pointed, deliberate, malicious. This is a land of deception, of mists and shadows. Many will seek to deceive you. Many will wear masks to hide their true forms. Many will lie to you, and many more will lie to themselves about what they have become. But I see one whose deception is not meant to harm, but to protect. I see a man who will lie to you. He will tell you false tales and wear a false face. He will do everything in his power to deceive you, but he is not your enemy. Within his lair of lies, his house that moves, his menagerie of one, is the truth that will guide you toward salvation.”[/I] * * * [B]Holy Symbol of Ravenkind[/B]: Watcherhaus Master Bedroom 5N4o – (9 of Glyphs – Traitor) [I]“This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope.” “The Traitor… a dangerous card in any reading. Here the land itself is bent against you. The eyes of the enemy are everywhere. They peer at you from forests cloaked in darkness and craggy peaks shrouded in mist. They gaze down upon you from the roiling clouds and from beneath the silent surface of abyssal pools. They stare at you through the eyes of innocent children and twisted souls alike. You will be betrayed by those you most trust, at times you least suspect. There is one, however, who will betray all around her; her neighbors, her friends, her loved ones, and her children. She grasps at power for the sake of vengeance, and she will not shrink from betraying strangers, no matter how dangerous they may seem. She keeps this treasure under lock and key, mingled with the bones of an ancient enemy, kept for the sake of one who even now betrays the one everlasting fidelity she keeps.”[/I] * * * [B]Sunsword[/B]: Old Bonegrinder (7 of Glyphs – Charlatan - Reversed) [I]“This card tells of power and strength. It tells of a weapon of vengeance: a sword of sunlight.” “The Charlatan… upside down. The Charlatan is always a card of deception, even in reverse. The Charlatan brings false hope; hope of knowledge, skills, and power he does not truly possess. The Charlatan can show a lack of knowledge, it can show self-deception, it whispers of hubris and vainglory. But here I see true power, terrible power, purchased at an unspeakable price. I see false hope, hope of escape from the terrible, grinding wheel of life. Grinding, grinding, grinding, even after death. Lifetimes upon lifetimes ground to dust beneath the black millstone of life! They seek an escape, as do you, from the constant, grinding despair of Barovia, but there must ever be grist for the mill. A lonely mill…on a precipice. Seek your weapon there, but know that it is a false hope, a charlatan’s hope. You will find a spear with no haft, an axe with no head, a sword with no blade. Let the wizard’s name and servant guide you to the edge you seek against your foe. Only with knowledge, skill, and selfless desire will you be able to forge a weapon of light to restore hope to the people of Barovia!”[/I] * * * [B]Enemy[/B]: Sir Gregory 7Q37 – (Ghost) [I]“This card sheds light on one who will help you greatly in the battle against darkness.” “The Ghost… This is a haunted land, filled with the ghosts of the past, tormenting the living who can do naught but close their eyes and cower in darkness… alone, afraid, forsaken. You will encounter shades, specters, and spirits of all descriptions, forever haunting this accursed realm and forever tormented by a past they cannot escape. If you would avoid this same fate, you must be a guiding light in this darkness. You must open the eyes of those around you and show them that they are not alone. I see many spirits, but one in particular whose love and duty has kept him slumped in darkness and despair. I see a knight in silver armor, a sleeping dragon, lost in a nightmare of grief. It is your valor alone that can awaken him. Let the strength of your resolve be a beacon of hope to chase away the shadows of his anguish. Remind him of the true meaning of the oaths he holds so dear, and he will wield a cold blade of vengeance against your common enemy.”[/I] * * * [B]Strahd[/B]: Castle Overlook – (Executioner – Reversed) [I]“Your enemy is a creature of darkness, whose powers are beyond mortality. This card will lead you to him!” “The Executioner… reversed. This is a dark card. It is a card of untimely death, woven not by fate, but wrought by the hands of men. Though the Executioner is always an omen of violent death, it is normally tempered by justice. Reversed, it speaks instead of cruelty and iniquity. It speaks of death undeserved, unjust, and unconscionable. I see a woman… a woman running. Her face streams with tears, tears of grief, tears of agony, tears of terror. Her tears are washed away by the rain as she runs through a garden, pursued by a creature shrouded in darkness, the flowers wilting in its wake. The woman is on a balcony, in a sea of mist. Her fingers grip the stone railing as she stares down into an unknown abyss. She looks back as he glides toward her, cloaked in a mantle of rage and desire. Her features are twisted into a mask of horror and desperation. He reaches out to claim her, but she flings herself over the balcony, plunging down, down, down, into the welcoming arms of death. I see him now, on the rain-slicked stones, staring down into the swirling mists, willing death itself to return his rightful property. Here is where you will find him, lost in the mists of the past, defying death and cursing life.”[/I] [/QUOTE]
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