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<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 6972962" data-attributes="member: 7635"><p>My "perfect" reading would go like this:</p><p></p><p>Tome/Holy Symbol: Either the Abbey, the Wizard of Wines, or Argynstvoltholt. These three are really major set pieces and having an artifact at them gives the PCs reason to be there. Technically, if the group tries to complete the "get Ireena to safety" quest, they can end up going to Krezk/Abbey anyway, so in a perfect world, I'd probably put the Tome in Argynsvoltholt and the Holy Symbol in the Wizard of Wines (which would then spin off to Yester Hill and Berez). </p><p></p><p>Sunsword: Somewhere in Castle Ravenloft that isn't the crypts. The sword is powerful and it can take a bunch of strong battles and make the trivial. Its practically an "I win" card against Strahd in the chosen battle. Putting it IN the Castle gives them a reason to explore, and not putting it in the Crypt forces them to explore more rather than be-lining for Strahd's Tomb</p><p></p><p>Ally NPC: Ezmerelda. They module REALLY wants you to hook up with her. You can befriend her in several places in the module itself, and she is a solid ally with a lot of useful knowledge. The other NPCs range from utterly useless/liabilities (Stella, Arrabelle) to outright overpowering (Mordenkainen, Van Richten). Worse, a good group will most likely get Ezemerelda to help anyway, meaning TWO NPCs could be involved. (If you have a small group, like 4 players, that might not be a bad choice. If that is the case, I recommend the second NPC be one of the nonevil choices like Ismark or Ireena). </p><p></p><p>Final Battle: Strahd's Tomb. Assuming the group has reason to explore and not be-line for the crypt, having Strahd harrass the group throughout the castle but make his stand in his home turf seems appropriate. A lot of the other options are either crowded (study) or really hard use (the LG-only gate on Strahd's parent's tomb means there is a good chance some members of the party might not participate without bypass magic). </p><p></p><p>Never used cards: Unless your gung-ho about using the Amber Temple and making the artifact a late (if ever) gained item, avoid the "Kasimir has it" card as well as any of the Amber Temple cards. I'd also make sure that "Darklord" isn't in the deck; its no fun to not have an ally NPC. Mists hides Strahd's final location, which can be useful if you want to move it unbeknownst to the group (My group drew mists; I originally was going to use Strahd's Tomb but the group headed straight for the crypts to find him. If I had kept it there, they would have done their fated battle in under two hours! Instead, I moved it to the study, which they discovered a game later, allowing them to explore more of the castle). I'd also remove the diviner card; having Madame Eva hand them the sunsword with no effort is like cheating. </p><p></p><p>So my final "perfect" draw</p><p>Tome of Strahd: Avenger or Abjurer (Argynsvoltholt)</p><p>Holy Symbol of Ravenkind: Trader (Wizard of Wines)</p><p>Sunsword: Anarchist, Miser, Necromancer, or Dictator (Castle Ravenloft)</p><p>Ally: Mists (Ezmerelda) or, if the party is small, Executioner, Innocent (either choice), or Artifact (just for the nostalgia sake or if the party lacks a good healer)</p><p>Strahd: Darklord/Horseman (both lead to Strahd's tomb).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 6972962, member: 7635"] My "perfect" reading would go like this: Tome/Holy Symbol: Either the Abbey, the Wizard of Wines, or Argynstvoltholt. These three are really major set pieces and having an artifact at them gives the PCs reason to be there. Technically, if the group tries to complete the "get Ireena to safety" quest, they can end up going to Krezk/Abbey anyway, so in a perfect world, I'd probably put the Tome in Argynsvoltholt and the Holy Symbol in the Wizard of Wines (which would then spin off to Yester Hill and Berez). Sunsword: Somewhere in Castle Ravenloft that isn't the crypts. The sword is powerful and it can take a bunch of strong battles and make the trivial. Its practically an "I win" card against Strahd in the chosen battle. Putting it IN the Castle gives them a reason to explore, and not putting it in the Crypt forces them to explore more rather than be-lining for Strahd's Tomb Ally NPC: Ezmerelda. They module REALLY wants you to hook up with her. You can befriend her in several places in the module itself, and she is a solid ally with a lot of useful knowledge. The other NPCs range from utterly useless/liabilities (Stella, Arrabelle) to outright overpowering (Mordenkainen, Van Richten). Worse, a good group will most likely get Ezemerelda to help anyway, meaning TWO NPCs could be involved. (If you have a small group, like 4 players, that might not be a bad choice. If that is the case, I recommend the second NPC be one of the nonevil choices like Ismark or Ireena). Final Battle: Strahd's Tomb. Assuming the group has reason to explore and not be-line for the crypt, having Strahd harrass the group throughout the castle but make his stand in his home turf seems appropriate. A lot of the other options are either crowded (study) or really hard use (the LG-only gate on Strahd's parent's tomb means there is a good chance some members of the party might not participate without bypass magic). Never used cards: Unless your gung-ho about using the Amber Temple and making the artifact a late (if ever) gained item, avoid the "Kasimir has it" card as well as any of the Amber Temple cards. I'd also make sure that "Darklord" isn't in the deck; its no fun to not have an ally NPC. Mists hides Strahd's final location, which can be useful if you want to move it unbeknownst to the group (My group drew mists; I originally was going to use Strahd's Tomb but the group headed straight for the crypts to find him. If I had kept it there, they would have done their fated battle in under two hours! Instead, I moved it to the study, which they discovered a game later, allowing them to explore more of the castle). I'd also remove the diviner card; having Madame Eva hand them the sunsword with no effort is like cheating. So my final "perfect" draw Tome of Strahd: Avenger or Abjurer (Argynsvoltholt) Holy Symbol of Ravenkind: Trader (Wizard of Wines) Sunsword: Anarchist, Miser, Necromancer, or Dictator (Castle Ravenloft) Ally: Mists (Ezmerelda) or, if the party is small, Executioner, Innocent (either choice), or Artifact (just for the nostalgia sake or if the party lacks a good healer) Strahd: Darklord/Horseman (both lead to Strahd's tomb). [/QUOTE]
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