D&D 5E Curse of Strahd spoiler-filled general discussion

[MechaPilot]

She is what drove him over the edge to where he makes the pact.

He drove himself to the edge. She just refused to love a monster.

Anything outside of that is just change for the sake of change.

Change is almost never just for the sake of change. Presumably, the authors had reasons for the changes they made. Without being able to read their minds, we are in the dark as to those reasons, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

I gave an XP for the "refused to love a monster" comment, as it is very true. Strahd is a monster and it disappointing people try to blame her for the fact.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Tatyana is as important to the Strahd story as the "one ring" is to Gollum. The Dark Powers even torture Strahd by reincarnating her every number of years and he tries to woo her only to have his scene play out all over again and the woman inevitably dies. She is what drove him over the edge to where he makes the pact. Anything outside of that is just change for the sake of change.

I actually find this post pretty disturbing, in a real life sort of way. You're seriously blaming the target of his obsession for being too tempting?

 

[MrHotter]

Was anyone opening with The Death House adventure?

I'm trying to decide the best way to work the Death House into the mix. If they come up on the town of Barovia as written and investigate the sobbing and then check out the shops then they may not even stumble on the kids in front of the Death House. At this point they'll probably have a few things they want to do and may not want to bother with the kids.

I was thinking about having the party run into the kids while the town is still quiet so they investigate. If I do that I probably won't show them the art of the kids in the book. The creepy kids in the book would probably get magic missiled if that was the first people that the party sees when it goes into the town.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Change is almost never just for the sake of change. Presumably, the authors had reasons for the changes they made. Without being able to read their minds, we are in the dark as to those reasons, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I think we can postulate at least one reason for the change... there is now a methodology in the adventure for one of the PCs to do exactly what Strahd did and become a vampire themself, using the exact same methodology Strahd undertook. And while the adventure states that while Strahd is looking for someone to hand over the reins of the land to, his arrogance and belief that no one is good enough will most likely mean that won't happen... the door is left slightly open for it to actually occur.

So the game allows for a PC to have their own tragic fall and potentially make the choice to accept the power of the same vestige that made Strahd a vampire in the first place by undertaking the two things Strahd himself had to do. Should that occur... then there's as a good a reason as any for that game's particular DM to decide that Strahd might in fact abdicate to that PC.

The idea that the adventure has a path in it for a PC to replace Strahd as master of the domain is actually kind of cool. It ain't gonna happen often (if at all) because there's a whole crapload of adventure that has to spiral downward in such a way that a PC would not only get to the point of finding the sarcophagus, but then agree to the pact with the vestige and then have the other PC/NPCs of the game in positions to allow the PC to actual fulfill the terms of the pact. The odds of that all working out are rather small... but the idea that it COULD happen I think makes for a compelling version of one of the game's potential endings.

 

[Rils]

Was anyone opening with The Death House adventure?

Just have the PC's roll into town after dusk or nightfall. Everyone else in town is blocked up in their house, and refuses to answer any knocks or calls from help, assuming it's a vampire trick. No inn, no shops, no nothing except locked doors and silence. The kids aren't there at first, and the PCs think it's just an empty town. On a second pass though, the kids ARE there, sobbing and alone in the street, requesting help with "the monster in the basement". Feel free to play the Pity Card - no-one else in town will open a door to the adventurers because of what might be OUTside, but these kids are sobbing in the street, more afraid of what's INside the house...

It worked for us.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Was anyone opening with The Death House adventure?

I'm trying to decide the best way to work the Death House into the mix. If they come up on the town of Barovia as written and investigate the sobbing and then check out the shops then they may not even stumble on the kids in front of the Death House. At this point they'll probably have a few things they want to do and may not want to bother with the kids.

I was thinking about having the party run into the kids while the town is still quiet so they investigate. If I do that I probably won't show them the art of the kids in the book. The creepy kids in the book would probably get magic missiled if that was the first people that the party sees when it goes into the town.

My version of Death House: the hags in Old Bonegrinder (an old Durst family mill) have been nurturing the Big Monster inside (it's why one of 'em shows up selling cakes in the village). The House creates an illusion of a wealthy noble who has inherited the house, but has heard the rumors, and wants to hire some violent types to stay the night there and weed out any weirdness.

 

[evilbob]

Was anyone opening with The Death House adventure?

I'm trying to decide the best way to work the Death House into the mix.

I think you can just open as normal and have the sobbing being the kid who is crying. (Later, when they leave, you can introduce Mad Mary, although by then they may be suspicious of random people crying...) Technically the fog can force them to go there if you don't have any other excuses, and while that's a little lame, it's also just the very beginning so usually people are forgiving.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

I don't have the book yet, but I've read the Death House adventure and plan to simply have the mayor ask the PCs to do with the house.

 

[Mercule]

By my reading of the timeline, Strahd made the pact with the Dark Powers after the death of his father and the conquest of Barovia but before the beginning of construction on Castle Ravenloft. That mean it was several years before he killed his own brother. During that whole time, the Dark Powers were tempting him with immortality -- "Just kill your brother and you can live forever!" -- and Strahd resisted. Hell, Strahd probably thought he was a virtuous badass for "conquering" this temptation and not giving in to such vile darkness.

Yeah. That's the problem. The pact was sealed in a fit of dark pique and with the death of his brother. He went looking for immortality because he realized (mostly because of Tatyana) that he had squandered his youth. There can be no pact before the moment he kills his brother.

I can accept that he went looking for youth/immortality before then. He may have even kicked at a hornet's nest. I actually assumed that he was a Fighter while conquering and duel-classed into a Magic-User to search for youth. Tatyana was the point at which the price didn't matter. Before her, he was interested. He was almost certainly a cold and calculating tactician who seemed a bit "cruel". There was a balance, though. He was likely LN with evil tendencies or a neutral-friendly LE.

Whether Tatyana was "true love" or the ultimate prize doesn't really matter. It's probably fair to say Strahd couldn't tell the difference -- he "loves" his land, too. But she was what he was willing to sacrifice his humanity for. He committed fratricide and was marked and lost his treasure -- parallels could be drawn to Cain, if you wanted to go for a V:tM vibe. Without that act, there would be no Curse of Strahd. Nor would there be a demi-plane of dread, as we know it.

Okay, discussion of Strahd's backstory aside, I still think Strahd needs more of an active goal he's working towards the second half.

Maybe expanding his borders.
Or perhaps moving his prison to the Forgotten Realms, tying in that world a little more.
Maybe he wants to increase his power. Perhaps there's something in the Amber Temple he wants to claim and use to increase his vampiric might. Perhaps he wants to remove some of his vampiric weaknesses.

While I appreciate having wheels within wheels for Strahd, I think moving to the Realms would be a punishment worse than Ravenloft. It would also make me question whether to get the book -- it's already too closely tied to the Realms by way of including (wasting) a page and a quarter on plot hooks for the factions.