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

[Scott Christian]

3) Dusk Elves. Their "curse" and the "solution" are extremely gross. The former, as a symbol of Strahd's misogyny, is justifiable. The latter is not. I still haven't figured out how I want to resolve this; maybe some type of infertility curse, or something unrelated entirely to reproduction. I do want all want the Amber Temple to house the solution to it, in any case.

In my head ( I have not run it), I used it more Witcher-like. Just added a few female dusk elves, but had them unable to reproduce. This way they existed. This opens the resurrection of the sister at the temple as really anything:

• A brother's yearning to revise his sister
• A tie in to her having the cure (maybe bringing her back lifts the infertility).

 

[Burnside]

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.

I think it’s reasonable to interpret Izek’s “unwholesome” fixation with his sister as being incestuous. At least, I don’t think the reader is like coming from way out in left field with that interpretation. But “Kasimir’s goal is to use his sister to breed back the Dusk Elves” honestly never even crossed my mind. The book actually tells you very explicitly what his goals are and that isn’t part of it at all.

 

[Gradine]

It does not take that much imagination to go from:
1) Dying race because all women are dead
2) Try to resurrect a single woman of that race
3) Race is saved!

It's implicit, rather than explicit, but no less present, unless you're not really paying attention to what's going on, overall.

 

[IndigoTraveler]

I don't know: I think the whole Hag pie/pastry just seems to add to the horror feel of the whole module. Dem be some scary donkey mass stuff in those Ravensloft woods.

 

[MGibster]

1) The Vistani. This is probably the biggest one. There are so many negative Romani stereotypes here. My plan: turn then into more modern Wiccans, and portray them more positively. Replace the drunken degeneracy with joyous revelry. The tarot already fits. Some can still be corrupted by Strahd, an off-shoot that is less "Mother Gaia" and more "LeVayan Satanism".

I don't think that'll be a big problem. There's a good chance none of your players will know the difference.

2) Dead Children. I think I can sell my friends on Gothic Horror, but killing kids is almost certainly a step too far. I'm reframing Death House entirely, so no worries there. I'm running of turning the hags' victims into the elderly of the communities. Not quite as grotesque, but maybe a family gets desperate enough to sell a child, to push the heroes into action.

You're the best judge of what you and your players find acceptable. I think your alternative will work just fine.

3) Dusk Elves. Their "curse" and the "solution" are extremely gross. The former, as a symbol of Strahd's misogyny, is justifiable. The latter is not. I still haven't figured out how I want to resolve this; maybe some type of infertility curse, or something unrelated entirely to reproduction. I do want all want the Amber Temple to house the solution to it, in any case.

I didn't get the impression that this dude wanted to have a child with his sister. It seemed to me that he loved her very much and wanted her back.

 

[IndigoTraveler]

I didn't get the impression that this dude wanted to have a child with his sister. It seemed to me that he loved her very much and wanted her back.

Technically he has a whole bunch of Dusk Elf buddies. Can avoid any incest thing by having the hookups with them.

 

[MGibster]

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.

I don't think that's even implied anywhere in the adventure. Kasimir's primary motivation for bringing back his sister is his love for her. If he just wanted a brood mare he could presumably raise any dusk elf woman.

 

[MGibster]

It does not take that much imagination to go from:
1) Dying race because all women are dead
2) Try to resurrect a single woman of that race
3) Race is saved!

It doesn't take a lot of imagination, no. But in the printing of CoS I have, Kasimir's motives are explicitly spelled that he wants to save his sister from eternal damnation. There's nothing in there that he wants her to be the mother of their race.

 

[IndigoTraveler]

It doesn't take a lot of imagination, no. But in the printing of CoS I have, Kasimir's motives are explicitly spelled that he wants to save his sister from eternal damnation. There's nothing in there that he wants her to be the mother of their race.

He's gonna have a lot more problems than saving her from eternal damnation after she's revived. It's gonna be the Odyssey suitor line up all over again.

 

[Gradine]

Are there entire tables that see "these guys are dying out cause Strahd killed all the women" and then just shrugging their shoulders and saying "sucks to be them". There are groups where not a single person thinks "what can we do to help?" Because the adventure as written provides only one solution for them, and that's "revive this woman to help them repopulate"