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<blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 8999936" data-attributes="member: 6779196">Your players are actually scared enough to try and avoid combat in Curse of Strahd? What a gift! Personally, I wouldn’t try to undo this if I were you. If you’re trying to run a horror campaign, the fact that the PCs are too weak to defeat enemy monsters in combat is a good thing.My advice would be to embrace the fact that you’ve now got a campaign where fighting is almost always going to be a losing proposition, and instead encourage your players to look for non-combat solutions to the obstacles they face. Rather than a quest to amass enough martial power to defeat Strahd in combat, it becomes a campaign of gathering allies, fostering connections between the isolated and frightened communities, and inspiring Barovia to conquer their fears and unite against Strahd. Tie the Fortunes of Ravenloft in with that quest. Maybe the sun sword isn’t even a magic weapon anymore, but a symbol that will inspire hope and fan the flames of rebellion. Strahd’s enemy isn’t just someone who will help the players fight him, they’re a figure around whom the resistance will rally. The Tome of Strahd isn’t just a neat bit of lore, it’s proof that Strahd is, despite all his power, just a sad, petty little man, and he does have weaknesses that can be exploited.Then, offer an alternative, at a terrible price. Wield the Bloodspear, seek out the curse of lycanthropy, take up the Gulthias Staff and use it to command an army of blights, enslave yourself to the vestiges of the Amber Temple. These are the dark paths the would-be heroes will have to go down if they wish to defeat their enemy through direct, individual force… and in so doing they might just make themselves the new objects of the Dark Powers’ interests.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Charlaquin, post: 8999936, member: 6779196"] Your players are actually scared enough to try and avoid combat in Curse of Strahd? What a gift! Personally, I wouldn’t try to undo this if I were you. If you’re trying to run a horror campaign, the fact that the PCs are too weak to defeat enemy monsters in combat is a [I]good[/I] thing. My advice would be to embrace the fact that you’ve now got a campaign where fighting is almost always going to be a losing proposition, and instead encourage your players to look for non-combat solutions to the obstacles they face. Rather than a quest to amass enough martial power to defeat Strahd in combat, it becomes a campaign of gathering allies, fostering connections between the isolated and frightened communities, and inspiring Barovia to conquer their fears and unite against Strahd. Tie the Fortunes of Ravenloft in with that quest. Maybe the sun sword isn’t even a magic weapon anymore, but a symbol that will inspire hope and fan the flames of rebellion. Strahd’s enemy isn’t just someone who will help the players fight him, they’re a figure around whom the resistance will rally. The Tome of Strahd isn’t just a neat bit of lore, it’s proof that Strahd is, despite all his power, just a sad, petty little man, and he does have weaknesses that can be exploited. Then, offer an alternative, at a terrible price. Wield the Bloodspear, seek out the curse of lycanthropy, take up the Gulthias Staff and use it to command an army of blights, enslave yourself to the vestiges of the Amber Temple. These are the dark paths the would-be heroes will have to go down if they wish to defeat their enemy through direct, individual force… and in so doing they might just make themselves the new objects of the Dark Powers’ interests. [/QUOTE]

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