D&D 5E Strahd v Witchlight?

[Jack Hooligan]

For those that have played through both of these, what are your comparison thoughts? I’m going back and forth on deciding which of these two to attempt. The players are middle and high schoolers. I can see both potentially being hits based on theme.

Does one play faster? Less sessions? More PC involvement? Any general pros and cons of each?

 

[JohnF]

Witchlight is more easily adaptable to suit younger tastes than Strahd, even if those tastes lean toward the darker side.

Edit: And Witchlight’s pacing can be adjusted without hurting the emergent narrative.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Witchlight is faster and is less likely to run off the rails. And it still works if the party are murder hobos. There are a lot of ways CoS can go wrong: the players decide they want to be on Strahd's side, are simply not interested in trying to help, or can't be bothered to wander around looking for McGuffins and go straight the Castle at level 3.

 

[HammerMan]

Apples and oranges. The two are about as far in design as I can imagine. Having said that I would love to play a CoS that has been modified after the release of witch light and strixhaven with more social challenges explored.

Imagine tracking connections to NPCs and having entire groups of enemies there is no need to fight. I would take the beloved mechanic from strixhaven and rename it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

A drawback with Witchlight is it's a bit of an easter egg hunt, for which the young will be at a significant disadvantage.

It still works, but they may not understand the reasons for the inclusion of a good many things.