Thoughts on running Death House

[Inconnunom]

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

My players second guessed themselves many times. It really came down to a single failed roll that would have seen them in the basement 45 minutes in. After that, (in the basement), if they had chosen to go right instead of randomly deciding left they would have gone immediately to the finale. Instead they methodically scour every room in the house and basement and take almost 6 hours.

To sum up and rephrase: Had they chosen differently on these two occasions, they would have been out of the house within 2 hours instead of 6.

 

[Caecafortuna]

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

The instructions indicate that upon reaching 2nd level, the party can take a long rest. Would you not allow that in your games? If you would allow it, how do they take a long rest inside that house?

 

[Inconnunom]

The instructions indicate that upon reaching 2nd level, the party can take a long rest. Would you not allow that in your games? If you would allow it, how do they take a long rest inside that house?

I had the players rest at that time as well. To me it makes a lot of sense that they would be undisturbed. (Although I did play creepy door opening and footstep noises to screw with my players). The house doesn't want to outright murder the players (yet). It is toying with them, playing mind games, and offering a glimmer of hope before the descend into the basement. Ultimately the house wants to build more and more tension to the point where the players sacrifice one another.

 

[Rils]

I'm running this Saturday as well, really looking forward to it. I'm not sure though how to build the tension leading to the final scene at the... Is this a spoiler-safe zone? ...in the dungeon. How do you get the PCs to the point where they'll do the thing the house wants them to do? Because everybody I've ever gamed with will refuse on principle and just make a run for it. I'm having trouble figuring out how to make that an option they'd even consider.

 

[Pauper]

How do you get the PCs to the point where they'll do the thing the house wants them to do?

They're going to end up doing the thing the house wants them to do, regardless.

[sblock]Check the map, and remember that moving through an ally's space costs double movement cost ("Remember that another creature's space is difficult terrain for you." SRD 5.0, p.92). Even if the entire party takes nothing but Dash actions, the monster from the final encounter should be able to catch and destroy at least one PC before they escape.[/sblock]

Ideally what will happen is that the Light cleric or Devotion paladin specifically created to enter Ravenloft will realize that this is their moment and sacrifice themselves to save the rest of the party. Then the player will realize why creating an 'uber-good guy' character is generally a mistake in Ravenloft, if your goal is to survive to a high level.

--
Pauper

 

[Inconnunom]

I'm running this Saturday as well, really looking forward to it. I'm not sure though how to build the tension leading to the final scene at the... Is this a spoiler-safe zone? ...in the dungeon. How do you get the PCs to the point where they'll do the thing the house wants them to do? Because everybody I've ever gamed with will refuse on principle and just make a run for it. I'm having trouble figuring out how to make that an option they'd even consider.

[sblock]First off, don't forget that nearly all the encounters in the module are in response to a player doing things. Very frequently the players are surprised. So they should be a little on edge anyways. I also had some music of chanting playing in the background. When they were sitting on the alter trying to figure out what to do, I personally kept chanting, "One Must Die. One Must Die." Lastly when there was a religion roll to find any other information, I told them, "You are able to discern that a sacrifice must made in order to finally appease the dark essences of the house." They got really close but someone stepped off the alter and the dark spirits got mad and the house started shaking and rumbling.[/sblock]

 

[Tyranthraxus]

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.

You have linked to your things to find twice. Whats the link to your crest letter?

 

[RCanine]

You have linked to your things to find twice. Whats the link to your crest letter?

WARNING LINKS CONTAIN SPOILERS

woops here's the crest:

Strahd's Crest

I wasn't going to post the letter because I figured it was too much verbatim copypasta, but is Wizards really going to C&D me for it? Probably not. Here it is:

Strahd's Letter

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Thanks. I love props

 

[Rils]

Question for ya'll - In prepping for the dungeon, it seems weird to me that the Dursts are just hiding in a hole behind the walls in their bedroom, sitting there waiting for adventurers who just happen to come along. I'm toying with the idea of making them intelligent undead for the players to interact with - a) because it's more interactive and b) as a means to deliver some exposition on the background of the adventure (because otherwise there is very little means of giving the players any backstory, as it's written).

So I'm trying to decide whether the adventurers find the ghastly pair sitting in their parlor, playing cards or something, and the PCs can have a nice conversation before the Dursts attack. Alternatively, it could be more of a surprise situation - maybe the two are lying on their bed, appearing to be two mummified people locked in an embrace of death, until the PCs lean over to investigate and they open their glowing eyes to hiss "it appears we have guests, my dear..."

As a side note, this could also be an opportunity to explore the relational rift caused by Gustav's infidelity - that could be a component of the conversation, and again, serve as a means of backstory delivery.

Any other ideas on how to play this up? What are your plans to introduce the Dursts?