D&D 5E Sanitizing Curse of Strahd (+)

[Lanefan]

What better metaphor for the terrifying and isolating world we live in than Barovia? And what better escapism is there than to have the power to make things better? Eliminate danger and bring people together?

It's an unconventional take on the setting, I'll admit, but it's one I stand strongly behind, now more than ever. Of course, this is not necessarily the aspect of my plans that I need help with. It's in figuring out how to run the Dusk Elves and the Abbey in a way that there are solutions that bring hope to their people, however difficult or even impossible as it may seem. And, of course, to avoid any unpleasant connotations in the process.

One tiny word of caution here: make sure the players/PCs still have a very real chance (and know it!) of messing this up completely and - even if not a TPK - failing to save Barovia.

I say this because if you-as-DM have any pre-determinations that they're for sure going to succeed then no matter what you do this pre-determination will at some point find a way to become obvious to the players, and that kinda cheapens the whole experience.

 

[Charlaquin]

On the subject of being able to make a Lawton impact on Barovia rather than just escaping it, I like to provide multiple possible endings. Killing Strahd and escaping (only for the cycle to repeat itself again) is the “neutral” ending, and the easiest to get. There are two “secret” endings, which both require learning about the amber Vestiges and realizing that Vampyr is the true power behind Strahs. The “bad” ending involves not only defeating Strahd, but taking his place as the host of Vampyr (or another Vestige, if one of the characters - such as Kasimir - makes a deal with one) and becoming the new Dark Lord of his demiplane of dread. The “good” ending requires the players first of all to not release any of the other Vestiges from their Amber Sarcophagi (which means not helping Kasimir realize his plan of resurrecting Partina), and forcing Vampyr back into his amber sarcophagus. In this case, give Strahd a Mythic form representing Vampyr. With the Vestiges all imprisoned again, the Dark Powers lose their hold over Barovia, finally freeing it of the mists. Though there is still the looming threat that if someone else finds their way to the Amber Temple and releases one of the Vestiges, they may become a new thrall of the Dark Powers.

 

[Eltab]

Err... Not necessarily incest, as Kasimir isn’t the only surviving elf. It’s entirely possible that his intent was “just” to volunteer her for a breeding program, but not to participate in it himself. That would still be deeply misogynistic, and I suppose there would need to be incest by the second generation, but I didn’t get the impression that he wanted to sleep with her.

This has Kasimir setting the stage for his sister to be used as a prostitute, probably unpaid, by the rest of the males in the community. Which provides its own problems and potential heroic opportunities.

If there are enough males, and some way to make every newborn a female, incest need not arise: every grown woman will be married off to a man other than her father / father's-family. A breeding record for several generations must be kept (plot hook for Return of Stradh), and the percentage of each sex must be balanced. How are the elves and your players about out-of-generation relationships - you will have an older man with a younger woman, every time.

I also foresee a cultural taboo against ... non-IRL-traditional ... relationships becoming a thing among the elves, as long as the breeding program records are kept / followed (again, a Return of Stradh hook). This might come up during off-table discussion. I can see widely varying reactions to the situation.

 

[Charlaquin]

This has Kasimir setting the stage for his sister to be used as a prostitute, probably unpaid, by the rest of the males in the community. Which provides its own problems and potential heroic opportunities.

If there are enough males, and some way to make every newborn a female, incest need not arise: every grown woman will be married off to a man other than her father / father's-family. A breeding record for several generations must be kept (plot hook for Return of Stradh), and the percentage of each sex must be balanced. How are the elves and your players about out-of-generation relationships - you will have an older man with a younger woman, every time.

I also foresee a cultural taboo against ... non-IRL-traditional ... relationships becoming a thing among the elves, as long as the breeding program records are kept / followed (again, a Return of Stradh hook). This might come up during off-table discussion. I can see widely varying reactions to the situation.

Right, so like I said. Not necessarily incest, but still subject matter some players might not be comfortable with.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Not on the same level as some of the other concerns that have already been brought up, but one other subtle change I made: Walter in Death House was not stillborn. I edited the note from Strahd that can be found in the secret library room to therefore say "illegitimate son" instead. Our player pool contains a number of people that I don't know super well and I just didn't want this detail to potentially be a trigger for anyone that may have had or may be having difficulty with a pregnancy in their family.

 

[Charlaquin]

Not on the same level as some of the other concerns that have already been brought up, but one other subtle change I made: Walter in Death House was not stillborn. I edited the note from Strahd that can be found in the secret library room to therefore say "illegitimate son" instead. Our player pool contains a number of people that I don't know super well and I just didn't want this detail to potentially be a trigger for anyone that may have had or may be having difficulty with a pregnancy in their family.

Yeah, I do the same. I’ve also seen it suggested that Rose and Thorne be in a magical stasis induced by the maid, rather than dead, if there are players who are likely to be sensitive to that.

 

[TheSword]

This has Kasimir setting the stage for his sister to be used as a prostitute, probably unpaid, by the rest of the males in the community. Which provides its own problems and potential heroic opportunities.

If there are enough males, and some way to make every newborn a female, incest need not arise: every grown woman will be married off to a man other than her father / father's-family. A breeding record for several generations must be kept (plot hook for Return of Stradh), and the percentage of each sex must be balanced. How are the elves and your players about out-of-generation relationships - you will have an older man with a younger woman, every time.

I also foresee a cultural taboo against ... non-IRL-traditional ... relationships becoming a thing among the elves, as long as the breeding program records are kept / followed (again, a Return of Stradh hook). This might come up during off-table discussion. I can see widely varying reactions to the situation.

Can someone, anyone, please reference where in the book it states that Kassimir is intending to revive Petrina for purposes of breeding rather than for the stated reason of saving her from eternal torment as recorded by Kassimir’s goal, bond and flaw?

Otherwise there is a HEAVY dose of projection going on here that means maybe it isn’t the book that needs sanitizing...

 

[Charlaquin]

Can someone, anyone, please reference where in the book it states that Kassimir is intending to revive Petrina for purposes of breeding rather than for the stated reason of saving her from eternal torment as recorded by Kassimir’s goal, bond and flaw?

Otherwise there is a HEAVY dose of projection going on here that means maybe it isn’t the book that needs sanitizing...

It’s not explicitly stated to be his intent as far as I know.

 

[Burnside]

Can someone, anyone, please reference where in the book it states that Kassimir is intending to revive Petrina for purposes of breeding rather than for the stated reason of saving her from eternal torment as recorded by Kassimir’s goal, bond and flaw?

Otherwise there is a HEAVY dose of projection going on here that means maybe it isn’t the book that needs sanitizing...

I was thinking the same thing! The book doesn’t say this AT ALL. He wants to bring her back because he feels guilty for his role in her death and he wants to save her from damnation as Strahd’s concubine. There is NOTHING in there about he or anybody else wanting to use her to breed back the Dusk Elf race.

 

[TheSword]

It’s not explicitly stated to be his intent as far as I know.

I was thinking the same thing! The book doesn’t say this AT ALL. He wants to bring her back because he feels guilty for his role in her death and he wants to save her from damnation as Strahd’s concubine. There is NOTHING in there about he or anybody else wanting to use her to breed back the Dusk Elf race.

Precisely... I’m seeing a lot of extrapolation. I’m not entirely sure that Izack is specified as being incestious either. The word they use is ‘unwholesome’ which can apply to a lot of unhealthy relationships. Not least of which is locking a person away in a room as stated by the book.

Now you can play it that way. Though I had Izek by the brother of a female PC with an unknown origin similar to @Charlaquin simply because it was more engaging than yet another person be after Ireena.

A lot of the issues are springing from the fertile minds of readers. Not that this is a problem, or rather it’s a PICNIC... Problem-In-Chair-Not-In-CurseofStrahd.