Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 9090029" data-attributes="member: 7006">The point of the reading I always took to be that is the one location where he definitely CAN be found.&nbsp; If/when the party ever entered the Castle, they could easily run into him everywhere, whenever he decided to pop out and attack them (if he chose to.)&nbsp; So there could be little in the way of ever finding him to take him out-- except the reading told the party that the Study is the one location they WILL be able to find him.&nbsp; He might hit and run anywhere else through the Castle... but you'll definitely find him in his Study (lost in thought staring at Ireenya's painting.)But he is by no means tethered to the room.&nbsp; He can certainly leave if he finds himself de-powered from the Sunsword and/or Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and getting hurt badly.&nbsp; I do agree that him bolting immediately would be kind of lame-- there is an arrogance about him that would let him take the party on for at least a round or two (which is much easier to survive if you go with one of the beefed-up Strahd statblocks from above)-- but once he discovers that his regeneration no longer works due to the sunlight and holy symbol... there's no reason he wouldn't use his Lair Action to go through walls to escape.That being said... if a wild goose chase through the Castle isn't what would be interesting or fun for you or your players... that's why I think even just going through the back of the fireplace to recuperate in the belfry or Treasury might be the best way to go.&nbsp; It gives the final battle a &quot;two-part&quot; feeling to it... the party has a big fight with Strahd in the Study, he phases through the back of the fireplace once he's gotten hurt very badly (maybe when he becomes 'Bloodied', to use a 4E phrase), the party then has to solve a few secret door puzzles to get through the fireplace and the false treasury to keep up the chase (giving Strahd gets several minutes to heal himself back up), and then the final-final battle can occur in the back are of the Treasury.&nbsp; And you have your &quot;extra minions&quot; already there in the half-dozen giant spiders up in the rafters.&nbsp; Strahd + giant spiders versus the party would be the ending you might want.&nbsp; And on top of that... the party is now right there at the Treasury to get rewarded for all their hard work after defeating Strahd.&nbsp; It's a win-win.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 9090029, member: 7006"] The point of the reading I always took to be that is the one location where he definitely CAN be found. If/when the party ever entered the Castle, they could easily run into him everywhere, whenever he decided to pop out and attack them (if he chose to.) So there could be little in the way of ever finding him to take him out-- [I]except[/I] the reading told the party that the Study is the one location they WILL be able to find him. He might hit and run anywhere else through the Castle... but you'll definitely find him in his Study (lost in thought staring at Ireenya's painting.) But he is by no means tethered to the room. He can certainly leave if he finds himself de-powered from the Sunsword and/or Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and getting hurt badly. I do agree that him bolting [I]immediately[/I] would be kind of lame-- there is an arrogance about him that would let him take the party on for at least a round or two (which is much easier to survive if you go with one of the beefed-up Strahd statblocks from above)-- but once he discovers that his regeneration no longer works due to the sunlight and holy symbol... there's no reason he wouldn't use his Lair Action to go through walls to escape. That being said... if a wild goose chase through the Castle isn't what would be interesting or fun for you or your players... that's why I think even just going through the back of the fireplace to recuperate in the belfry or Treasury might be the best way to go. It gives the final battle a "two-part" feeling to it... the party has a big fight with Strahd in the Study, he phases through the back of the fireplace once he's gotten hurt very badly (maybe when he becomes 'Bloodied', to use a 4E phrase), the party then has to solve a few secret door puzzles to get through the fireplace and the false treasury to keep up the chase (giving Strahd gets several minutes to heal himself back up), and then the final-final battle can occur in the back are of the Treasury. And you have your "extra minions" already there in the half-dozen giant spiders up in the rafters. Strahd + giant spiders versus the party would be the ending you might want. And on top of that... the party is now right there at the Treasury to get rewarded for all their hard work after defeating Strahd. It's a win-win. [/QUOTE]

Verification