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Curse of Strahd for Dummies (confessions of a DM new to the idea of 'sandbox' blecch!!)
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<blockquote data-quote="shoak1" data-source="post: 6889714" data-attributes="member: 54380"><p>Pedro, every game has a genre, but understand that that's only for ease of description. In reality, its more like they are x% roleplay, x% board gamish, x% miniatures, etc. Various D and D editions have floated between 60% and 90% roleplay. My hot zone is around 60% roleplay, so from that standpoint 4e hit the spot (except I hated the rule system compared to 3.5). My group consists of players that fall are only 30%-70% RPGish in their thinking. So we have lots of fun. </p><p></p><p>So back to Curse of Strahd, case in point. With the money, time, and inclination, I built a giant castle, Baba Yagas hut , a couple villages, and all the other scenes, and spent 100s of hours prepping. I modified and crafted the published adventure to more like a tabletop roleplaying game and less as a straight roleplaying game. I steer them toward specific places at specific times, but then give them plenty of options/choices once there. What would players prefer to play? My non-sandbox tabletop game style or your straight RPG game style? My players certainly prefer my style (which I have blended w/my players style to be a composite style very close to my own), but to each their own. People who love talking to innkeepers for hours and roaming wherever they wish in the world whenever they want to will not like my game style for sure. </p><p></p><p>So HawaiiSteveO, the original poster, said: </p><p></p><p>My advice to HawaiiSteveO is this: Cut off options for players as to WHERE to go and do your prep work. If your players are like you, they will probably be happy trading off choices of where to go in favor of getting steered to level appropriate areas and in favor of better DM-prepped content. So if the PCs decide to enter the castle from the roof, your prep means you know exactly how Strahd responds, and with what force. You have listed your available minions and noted their locations, and how far they can move each round, so you know how long it takes them to respond to the roof assault. You have the stat sheets ready, with special powers/tactics you want to use noted. You have pre-decided what rooms Strahd might attack the party in. You may have custom added a cool trap or two you found online. You have prerolled the first 100 rolls on the wandering monster list, rolled to see what monsters they are, and have their stat sheets handy. You are ready, and the game will play quicker as a result. The players wont feel you are fudging stuff because you are under prepared.</p><p></p><p>Bottom line: Foster player options within each area as a substitute for freedom of movement. My players don't mind me steering them to this beautiful castle, as long as they have options on HOW to assault the castle. </p><p></p><p>You can use a variety of tools to cut off sandbox play. One is the referral - so NPCs in Barovia tell you Strahd is too powerful for you to handle, and that you need aid from Von Richten in Vallaki. The Barovians may offer other info about Vallaki, and even Castle Ravenloft/Strahd, but no info that steers them in a direction other than Vallaki. Some NPCs also tell the PCs that its dangerous in the wilderness, and advises them to stick to the road to Vallaki and away from Castle Ravenloft.</p><p></p><p>On the way, they run into madame eva's tent /camp on the side of the road. If they dont take the bait there, no worries, an NPC in Vallaki will refer them back to Eva. </p><p></p><p>In Vallaki, Von Richten says the Tome, which can be found in Old Bonegrinder, is neccessary to discover what might aid in defeating Strahd. Don't have NPCs in Vallaki steer the PCs anywhere else, and in fact, have the NPCs talk about the danger in going to such-and-such place.</p><p></p><p>and so on...Just remember to give them plenty of options once in each location. If the objective is info gathering, they should be able to get it by burglary/stealth, by force, by persuasion through act or deed, or maybe thru independent study. Each option should be preset by you as to what bonuses/maluses it may have for later. If the objective is assaulting Castle Ravenloft, don't make them go thru the front door</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shoak1, post: 6889714, member: 54380"] Pedro, every game has a genre, but understand that that's only for ease of description. In reality, its more like they are x% roleplay, x% board gamish, x% miniatures, etc. Various D and D editions have floated between 60% and 90% roleplay. My hot zone is around 60% roleplay, so from that standpoint 4e hit the spot (except I hated the rule system compared to 3.5). My group consists of players that fall are only 30%-70% RPGish in their thinking. So we have lots of fun. So back to Curse of Strahd, case in point. With the money, time, and inclination, I built a giant castle, Baba Yagas hut , a couple villages, and all the other scenes, and spent 100s of hours prepping. I modified and crafted the published adventure to more like a tabletop roleplaying game and less as a straight roleplaying game. I steer them toward specific places at specific times, but then give them plenty of options/choices once there. What would players prefer to play? My non-sandbox tabletop game style or your straight RPG game style? My players certainly prefer my style (which I have blended w/my players style to be a composite style very close to my own), but to each their own. People who love talking to innkeepers for hours and roaming wherever they wish in the world whenever they want to will not like my game style for sure. So HawaiiSteveO, the original poster, said: My advice to HawaiiSteveO is this: Cut off options for players as to WHERE to go and do your prep work. If your players are like you, they will probably be happy trading off choices of where to go in favor of getting steered to level appropriate areas and in favor of better DM-prepped content. So if the PCs decide to enter the castle from the roof, your prep means you know exactly how Strahd responds, and with what force. You have listed your available minions and noted their locations, and how far they can move each round, so you know how long it takes them to respond to the roof assault. You have the stat sheets ready, with special powers/tactics you want to use noted. You have pre-decided what rooms Strahd might attack the party in. You may have custom added a cool trap or two you found online. You have prerolled the first 100 rolls on the wandering monster list, rolled to see what monsters they are, and have their stat sheets handy. You are ready, and the game will play quicker as a result. The players wont feel you are fudging stuff because you are under prepared. Bottom line: Foster player options within each area as a substitute for freedom of movement. My players don't mind me steering them to this beautiful castle, as long as they have options on HOW to assault the castle. You can use a variety of tools to cut off sandbox play. One is the referral - so NPCs in Barovia tell you Strahd is too powerful for you to handle, and that you need aid from Von Richten in Vallaki. The Barovians may offer other info about Vallaki, and even Castle Ravenloft/Strahd, but no info that steers them in a direction other than Vallaki. Some NPCs also tell the PCs that its dangerous in the wilderness, and advises them to stick to the road to Vallaki and away from Castle Ravenloft. On the way, they run into madame eva's tent /camp on the side of the road. If they dont take the bait there, no worries, an NPC in Vallaki will refer them back to Eva. In Vallaki, Von Richten says the Tome, which can be found in Old Bonegrinder, is neccessary to discover what might aid in defeating Strahd. Don't have NPCs in Vallaki steer the PCs anywhere else, and in fact, have the NPCs talk about the danger in going to such-and-such place. and so on...Just remember to give them plenty of options once in each location. If the objective is info gathering, they should be able to get it by burglary/stealth, by force, by persuasion through act or deed, or maybe thru independent study. Each option should be preset by you as to what bonuses/maluses it may have for later. If the objective is assaulting Castle Ravenloft, don't make them go thru the front door [/QUOTE]
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