Thoughts on running Death House

[MerricB]

I've just written an article - Entering the Death House - which elucidates a few of my feelings about running the introductory adventure.

I really feel that this season gives a lot of opportunities for role-playing. When you have characters having to make ethical decisions, or reflecting on the consequences of those decisions, you can have a very, very interesting game.

We're running the first session this weekend. Hope to restart my regular reports then!

Cheers!

 

[Byakugan]

I think the module looks fun, but it also looks a lot like a tpk at the end.
We dont start running season 4 till next week.

Yeah, its Ravenloft. But players tend to want to play heroes. We're even less likely to let our creepy demons out to play in a casual public group that tends to change frequently.

As both a DM and a player the thing I am most looking forward to in season 4 is The Maimed Virulence getting more screen time.

 

[Caecafortuna]

How long will it take to complete this adventure? The Death House Instructions indicated that it will take 12 - 16 hours to complete. Is that accurate? As a "launch event" I expected it to be one (long) session in length.

 

[Inconnunom]

We ran in just under 6 hours and did everything in the adventure (even the long ending). We didn't rush. In fact they retraced their steps several times.

If your players are smart and trust that everything will try to murder them, the last "boss" is no problem. Even for level 2s.

 

[RCanine]

WARNING LINKS CONTAIN SPOILERS

I'm putting together a DM's Kit for my personal use; it's a bit tough to share because of copyright stuffs despite it being free; but I'm thinking this list of Things To Find is arguably fair use. I prefer handing out cards to players when they find stuff and let them describe it to their party, rather than doing all the narrative myself.

I also pulled Strahd's letter out and typeset it in Google Docs using the "Lover's Quarrel" font, which looks great--even added his crest and "from the desk of"-style letterhead.

Regarding the end seeming like a TPK: it feels very end-heavy to me; you'll spend the first 3/4 doing nothing but exploring pretty much, and then you get an avalanche of scary fights at the end.

What seems odd to me is that there are no rules for resting in Death House. I was thinking of making some quirky stuff that disincentivizes the five-minute work day.

 

[RCanine]

Oh, one other thing that I think is important: for Ravenloft, I think it's extremely valuable for players to have a reason to get back to Faerûn. They need some kind of connection: kids, wealth, oaths etc. Usually players play murder hobos with tentative connections to the world around them, but to truly get the most of Ravenloft, a player needs to have some tension that makes them not want to just set up shop once they get there.

 

[Pauper]

What seems odd to me is that there are no rules for resting in Death House. I was thinking of making some quirky stuff that disincentivizes the five-minute work day.

I would think being inside of a sentient house that wants to kill the party would be disincentive enough to try to rest for an hour or longer. Maybe that's just how I run my games, though. ; )

--
Pauper

 

[Caecafortuna]

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. Our store is running on the 13th and I was hoping we could do it in one long session.

 

[rooneg]

I would think being inside of a sentient house that wants to kill the party would be disincentive enough to try to rest for an hour or longer. Maybe that's just how I run my games, though. ; )

I can see them thinking it was safe enough in the first half of the adventure, but it's also hard to imagine them actually expending enough resources to need to. In the second half they should be punished for trying ;-)

 

[Pauper]

I can see them thinking it was safe enough in the first half of the adventure, but it's also hard to imagine them actually expending enough resources to need to. In the second half they should be punished for trying ;-)

It's almost like the adventure was designed that way!

--
Pauper