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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shager" data-source="post: 6899741" data-attributes="member: 6783310">Greetings all -First off, I need to perform due diligence and make the following statement:TO MY THREE PLAYERS - DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! ONLY DEVILS EXIST IN THESE PARTS....Thank you for your understanding. OK, here is what we have going on: We are ten sessions deep into what has proven to be thus far a very enjoyable "Curse of Strahd" campaign. The characters are as follows -Aloyne - Paladin of Alitur. (Lawful Good)Kryszentia - Enchantress Wizard (with one level of cleric of Mhyriss) (Neutral Good)Emrakabia - Wolf Nomad Barbarian, who is currently 4 levels strong into being a sorcerer of the Shadow origin mentioned in UA articles. (Chaotic Neutral)Raelyn - Grugach Elf Arcane Trickster Rogue, who also has one level of cleric  - Fenmarel Mestarine being his deity. (Chaotic Neutral)If you haven't discerned as of yet, the characters originate from the WORLD OF GREYHAWK fantasy setting. Everyone is at 5th level. Here is a very quick summation where we are in the campaign:Arrived in Barovia. Went through the following phases. Encountered the Death House and escaped, met Ismark, received card reading from Madame Eva, went back to village, went through the church encounter successfully, went back to the Death House and succeeded at great peril. On the way out, encountered Strahd and his minions who successfully terrified the group. Absconded with Ireena and Ismark to Vallaki, defeated the vampire nest in the Coffin Makers shop and solved that mystery. Stashed Ireena and Ismark with Father Lucien after the bones of Andral were recovered. Saved Arabelle at Lake and gained loads of new insight (she is the foretold ally). Went to Dusk Elf/Vistani camp, gained new insight, participated in Festival of the Blazing sun, helped Rictavio escape. Went to Van Richten's Tower and met Esmerelda. Went to Krezk with Esmerelda in tow, are currently meeting with Abbott. Here is the card draw:Holy Symbol of Ravenkind - In Abbott's hall at Monastery.Tome of Strahd -In Castle Crypt.Sun Sword - in another tomb in Castle Crypt not far away.Ally - ArabelleStrahd's location - Hall of Bones in Castle.So, kind of a tough draw in terms of ally and the two items in Castle. Here is my conundrum of the day -The characters encounter Esmerelda at the tower, and she has joined the group. I soon regretted this decision, as I now wish I had inserted Ricatvio/Van Richten into the scene - they had already established a very well received dialog and relationship with Rictavio in disguise, and I wish I had put him there instead. I'm not too keen on Esmerelda running around with them, and since she has escaped the castle at great peril, Strahd is now on the hunt for her. Here is what I would like to do: they are currently in conference with the Abbot and his freakshow - they have agreed to obtain the wedding dress for Vasilka in exchange for his favor and him letting them take the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind from the room. That is where we left off - when they emerge from the monastery, I plan on it being night. This is important because I have modified the rules of the published campaign a bit - daytime in Barovia is actual daytime, and vampires are vulnerable to sunlight. Being outside, especially in the wilderness at night, is very bad. Thus the characters have learned how to time their travels. So, what I am after here are ideas for a potential next encounter, one which will they will encounter Strahd again.My abstract is this - Strahd is angry at the characters because he knows they have assisted Ismark and Ireena. He is also quite angry with Esmerelda for thinking she was going to roll up in his castle and take him out.  His spies have lead him here, where they all are. What I would like is for Strahd to capture Esmerelda and turn her into a vampire spawn, and then set her against the party at a later time. We are in Krezk at night, walking through the quiet village. 1. Any ideas on how to lure them out of the gates? (Where I would prefer the encounter to occur)2. If you were going to run the encounter inside the town, any ideas on how to pull it off?My main goal here is for Esmeralda to dissapear, which Strahd can most certainly pull off due to his insane level of power, but I want the scene to fire off believably as possible for the characters.Thanks in advance....I'm looking forward to your ideas. Please excuse grammatical mistakes, I don't have much free time at the moment and am forced into typing this up fast.</blockquote>

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