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Enhancing "Curse of Strahd" (and DDAL adventures)
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<blockquote data-quote="Weeble1000" data-source="post: 7558848" data-attributes="member: 6983498"><p>My biggest problem with the Amber Temple is that it is too concrete.</p><p></p><p>I like things to be ambiguous, which my players would probably say is weird given how I'm not comfortable doing stuff unless it has a logical explanation even if they'll never figure out what that explanation is.</p><p></p><p>In my opinion, ambiguity is an important element of horror. The best X-Files episodes, for example (in my opinion) are the ones in which the rules are clear, but the ultimate cause or origin is mysterious. </p><p></p><p>This is how this creature works, this is what we need to do to fight it, this is how we win, but where did it come from? How? Why? Those answers are left tantalizingly mysterious.</p><p></p><p>Strahd is already very concrete, being a capital "V" Vampire. He's a monster type, with the basic stat block of that monster, right? On some level, the players know that, even if they don't already know how 5e vampires work and even if they refrain from finding out. They still have a good idea.</p><p></p><p>Given this, I prefer to have Strahd's origins be ambiguous. I want his relationship to Barovia to be mysterious. I want the 'dark powers' to be mysterious. How? Why? This way, Strahd is a little "v" vampire and a capital "V" Villain. What rules does he actually follow? We have to figure that out through hands on experience and guesswork.</p><p></p><p>And in the end, even though we feel confident we know what the rules are, we're still not entirely sure. Can Strahd ever really be killed?</p><p></p><p>The Amber Temple also contradicts long established Ravenloft lore. I just finished re-reading I, Strahd. Where's the Amber Temple in that? Strahd makes a deal with "Death." He is transformed into something more than just a monster, through a process that he himself really doesn't understand.</p><p></p><p>This leaves room for players to draw their own conclusions, to speculate. Is Strahd even a reliable narrator?</p><p></p><p>What we do know, or will discover, is that he breaks some rules about vampires, but he follows other rules. Rules about his motivations, desires, morality, and state of mind.</p><p></p><p>I want my players to get to know <em>Strahd</em>, not the mechanisms of his creation. And I especially do not want those mechanisms to be accessible to the characters.</p><p></p><p>I want them to discover what his boundaries are. What is he willing to do, how far is he willing to go, and why? Does he have moral/ethical/emotional limits? Absolutely, otherwise he would just kill the PCs. What are those limits? Where do they come from? How can we use that against him?</p><p></p><p>If the players wind up getting desperate and are willing to embrace dark power to survive, it is easy to introduce that on the fly.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Especially considering how I have the PCs moving through the campaign, from West to East, essentially, the subplot of Tatyana needs to be the big reveal. Rather than husbanding Ireena throughout Barovia, the players are almost certainly going to be encountering her after they've heard the story of Marina, met the Abbot, encountered Izek and his dolls, and gotten a glimpse into Tatyana's fate through the Tarokka reading.</p><p></p><p>In this context, Ireena suddenly becomes possible leverage. THIS is something we can use against Strahd. Hopefully, by the time the PCs put all this together they'll be at their wits end, afraid to trust anyone, with innocent blood on their hands courtesy of Strahd's manipulation. Will they use Ireena as leverage? Will they try to protect her, even if it puts their possible escape from Barovia at risk?</p><p></p><p>I think the Amber Temple distracts from this.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Weeble1000, post: 7558848, member: 6983498"] My biggest problem with the Amber Temple is that it is too concrete. I like things to be ambiguous, which my players would probably say is weird given how I'm not comfortable doing stuff unless it has a logical explanation even if they'll never figure out what that explanation is. In my opinion, ambiguity is an important element of horror. The best X-Files episodes, for example (in my opinion) are the ones in which the rules are clear, but the ultimate cause or origin is mysterious. This is how this creature works, this is what we need to do to fight it, this is how we win, but where did it come from? How? Why? Those answers are left tantalizingly mysterious. Strahd is already very concrete, being a capital "V" Vampire. He's a monster type, with the basic stat block of that monster, right? On some level, the players know that, even if they don't already know how 5e vampires work and even if they refrain from finding out. They still have a good idea. Given this, I prefer to have Strahd's origins be ambiguous. I want his relationship to Barovia to be mysterious. I want the 'dark powers' to be mysterious. How? Why? This way, Strahd is a little "v" vampire and a capital "V" Villain. What rules does he actually follow? We have to figure that out through hands on experience and guesswork. And in the end, even though we feel confident we know what the rules are, we're still not entirely sure. Can Strahd ever really be killed? The Amber Temple also contradicts long established Ravenloft lore. I just finished re-reading I, Strahd. Where's the Amber Temple in that? Strahd makes a deal with "Death." He is transformed into something more than just a monster, through a process that he himself really doesn't understand. This leaves room for players to draw their own conclusions, to speculate. Is Strahd even a reliable narrator? What we do know, or will discover, is that he breaks some rules about vampires, but he follows other rules. Rules about his motivations, desires, morality, and state of mind. I want my players to get to know [I]Strahd[/I], not the mechanisms of his creation. And I especially do not want those mechanisms to be accessible to the characters. I want them to discover what his boundaries are. What is he willing to do, how far is he willing to go, and why? Does he have moral/ethical/emotional limits? Absolutely, otherwise he would just kill the PCs. What are those limits? Where do they come from? How can we use that against him? If the players wind up getting desperate and are willing to embrace dark power to survive, it is easy to introduce that on the fly. Especially considering how I have the PCs moving through the campaign, from West to East, essentially, the subplot of Tatyana needs to be the big reveal. Rather than husbanding Ireena throughout Barovia, the players are almost certainly going to be encountering her after they've heard the story of Marina, met the Abbot, encountered Izek and his dolls, and gotten a glimpse into Tatyana's fate through the Tarokka reading. In this context, Ireena suddenly becomes possible leverage. THIS is something we can use against Strahd. Hopefully, by the time the PCs put all this together they'll be at their wits end, afraid to trust anyone, with innocent blood on their hands courtesy of Strahd's manipulation. Will they use Ireena as leverage? Will they try to protect her, even if it puts their possible escape from Barovia at risk? I think the Amber Temple distracts from this. [/QUOTE]
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