CURSE OF STRAHD: Here's The Official Announcement & Cover Image!

WotC just officially announced Curse of Strahd, and unveiled the cover art. In this post, I'll cover whatever coverage appears around the web (such as the art items sent to some sites) so you have it all in one place. Curse of Strahd is "... a new Dungeons & Dragons adventure set in Castle Ravenloft and the surrounding land of Barovia. Written in collaboration with Tracy and Laura Hickman, the authors of the original Ravenloft adventure published in 1983, Curse of Strahd pits players against the vampire Strahd von Zarovich. Curse of Strahd will be available to everyone on March 15, 2016." The adventure is for character levels 1-10 (including a "starter adventure" from 1-3) and was written by Chris Perkins, and original Ravenloft authors Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman. WotC's Jeremy Crawford says "Curse of Strahd focuses on the lands of Barovia, a D&D mini-setting filled with gothic towns, NPCs, and tales."

​

Continued coverage - check back to this page for links to coverage around the web. I'll keep updating this as Strahd Coverage Central.

• Art previews sent to Geek & Sundry and The Escapist.
• Title and other details scooped.
• The official announcement from WotC.
• Geek & Sundry's interview. "What we’ve done in Curse of Strahd is given you a bigger sandbox. The land of Barovia is more detailed than it has been previously, and there are more cool places to go and more cool people to meet, and a mechanism to guide you." - Chris Perkins.
• Polygon interview. "This new version of the story will be more than 250 pages long, and include everything Dungeon Masters will need to get their players situated in the kingdom of Barovia. The centerpiece will be Strahd's castle, Ravenloft, but Perkins says the entire play area is roughly the size of half of Rhode Island and contains many new locations and characters."
• Collecting the Tarokka cards. As they're revealed, they'll be posted in this thread.
• iO9's coverage. Includes a new art piece.
• Chris Perkins mentions that "Curse of Strahd is 256 pages. Same size as OOTA and POTA."
• You can already pre-order it on Amazon.
• Pre-order Tarokka card deck (54 cards) from Gale Force 9 soon.
• Mike Schley has worked on the maps, like he did for previous adventures.
• Here's what Curse of Strahd means for s4 of the D&D Adventurer's League. "As befits a gothic storyline, for season 4 we are releasing fourteen adventures (in addition to new DDAO and DDEP adventures and some other surprises), but unlike previous D&D Adventurers League seasons, where adventures were somewhat more episodic while adding to an overall meta-plot, this season is a tight, continuous story. For maximum enjoyment of this season the intent is that you start 4-1 Suits of the Mist with a 1st-level character, then play 4-2, the 4-3, and so on following in order until your character is 8th-level at the end of the fourteen part series."

Click on the image to see the full set of 54 Tarokka cards, which will be available from GF9


​

A classic Dungeons & Dragons villain rises from the grave in the new storyline, Curse of Strahd.

Today, Wizards of the Coast announced Curse of Strahd, a new Dungeons & Dragons adventure set in Castle Ravenloft and the surrounding land of Barovia. Written in collaboration with Tracy and Laura Hickman, the authors of the original Ravenloft adventure published in 1983, Curse of Strahd pits players against the vampire Strahd von Zarovich. Curse of Strahd will be available to everyone on March 15, 2016.

“Revisiting the land of Barovia with the creators of the original Ravenloft adventure has been a highlight of my professional career,” said Chris Perkins, principal story designer at Wizards of the Coast. “Tracy and Laura Hickman created a timeless villain whose faults reflect the darkest traits of humanity. I can't begin to describe what it's like to walk through the halls of Castle Ravenloft with its creators as your guides.”

Heroes from the Forgotten Realms and other D&D worlds can easily be drawn into Strahd’s cursed land. Once there, they must contend with the horrors of Barovia. Its people are melancholy, misshapen and grotesque, living in fear of the wolves and other creatures that serve Strahd’s evil will. The only hope for the trapped adventurers is to heed the warnings of a mysterious fortune-teller named Madam Eva. Drawing random cards from her tarroka deck, she directs adventurers to search Strahd’s domain for artifacts and allies to help the master of Castle Ravenloft. That is, before he orchestrates your demise for his amusement and feasts on your terror.

Unravel the mysteries of Ravenloft® in this dread adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game

Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd’s face forms the barest hint of a smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came — all according to his plan. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.

• A fantasy-horror adventure for characters levels 1 – 10, Curse of Strahd™ provides everything a Dungeon Master needs to create an exciting and memorable play experience.
• Fans of the Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game can have additional adventures in Ravenloft by participating in the D&D Adventurers League™ organized play program.

Curse of Strahd is produced by Wizards of the Coast. It was written by Chris Perkins, Tracy Hickman, and Laura Hickman, edited by Kim Mohan and Jeremy Crawford, and art directed by Kate Irwin. The adventure incorporates material from the original Ravenloft adventure as well as new story content created by Tracy and Laura Hickman, Chris Perkins, Adam Lee, Richard Whitters, and Jeremy Crawford.

[h=3]ITEM DETAILS[/h]Price: $49.95
Release Date: 15 March, 2016
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780786965984
Pagecount: 256 pages
Pre-order on Amazon

Heroes from the Forgotten Realms and other D&D worlds can easily be drawn into Strahd’s cursed land. Once there, they must contend with the horrors of Barovia. Its people are melancholy, misshapen and grotesque, living in fear of the wolves and other creatures that serve Strahd’s evil will. The only hope for the trapped adventurers is to heed the warnings of a mysterious fortune-teller named Madam Eva. Drawing random cards from her tarroka deck, she directs adventurers to search Strahd’s domain for artifacts and allies to help the master of Castle Ravenloft.

While waiting for the adventure, experience the power of Madam Eva for yourself each day. Head to Twitter and retweet the official @Wizards_DnD Twitter account using the hashtag #DNDFortune. Madam Eva’s fortunes are based on which random card she draws from her tarokka deck and displays for each reading. Check back each day with Madam Eva to see what your #DNDFortune will foretell.

Players will also love to get their hands on a physical tarroka deck of cards produced by Gale Force 9 and available with the release of the adventure. The tarokka deck is a powerful tool for both Madam Eva and for Dungeon Masters running Curse of Strahd. By using the tarokka deck to randomize locations within the adventure, Dungeon Masters can customize each party’s exploration of Barovia, allowing Curse of Strahd to be replayed for years to come.

Strahd is waiting for you … What are you afraid of?

 

[dead]

Sure, but that amounts to a few years of time in Ravenloft. There's nothing equivalent to the century-jump experienced by FR during the 3e -> 4e transition. So they could move the Barovian calendar forward 5 years and still recognise the RL metaplot; there's no need to move it forward the full century.

Fair enough. I guess it could be explained as a temporal anomaly brewed up by the Dark Powers (or Strahd himself) to explain why the FR heroes go backwards in time.

 

[rookrock]

During the podcast, Tracy off handedly talks about sheltered teenage girl Gertrude. For anyone familiar with I6, Gertruda (with an a) is described almost exactly this way, with other similarities. With this in mind, it might be that either A) this is a retelling of the classic with some new spins, B) Gertrude and Gertruda are relatives that both happen to fall victim to the lures of Strahd, or perhaps the just as likely C) they repeated the plot element without even realizing.

Or something.

Edit: So with regards to the time line it could be we're back at the beginning retconning everything, or we have time jumped like the FR. Or perhaps something else entirely.

 

[Jabborwacky]

I love the fact they're bringing Ravenloft back into play, but I think I'll pass on the adventure league if its going to take fourteen adventures to reach 8th level. It sounds far too drawn out, to be honest.

 

[gweinel]

I love the fact they're bringing Ravenloft back into play, but I think I'll pass on the adventure league if its going to take fourteen adventures to reach 8th level. It sounds far too drawn out, to be honest.

On the other hand i like the slow pace and i think it is missing from the APs.

 

[HonorBoundSamurai632]

The RPG industry has changed since then? Better story telling techniques? Less railroading? Refreshing an adventure that has been done three times already?

Better story telling? You do realize that all the adventure books WoTC has released so far, (with the exception of the Starter Set adventure,) are based on old adventures from earlier editions right? Even Out of the Abyss has elements of Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow.

 

[Kramodlog]

Better story telling? You do realize that all the adventure books WoTC has released so far, (with the exception of the Starter Set adventure,) are based on old adventures from earlier editions right? Even Out of the Abyss has elements of Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow.

Yes, I do realize that. That doesn't contradict the fact that today's story telling methods are better than the old ones. That doesn't mean those methods will lead to better modules thought.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Better story telling? You do realize that all the adventure books WoTC has released so far, (with the exception of the Starter Set adventure,) are based on old adventures from earlier editions right? Even Out of the Abyss has elements of Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow.

What is tyranny of dragons based on?

 

[rookrock]

Better story telling? You do realize that all the adventure books WoTC has released so far, (with the exception of the Starter Set adventure,) are based on old adventures from earlier editions right? Even Out of the Abyss has elements of Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow.

"Based on" and "elements of" don't=bad story telling.

Just because one thing is inspired by another doesn't mean it is a carbon copy of that thing. Many suggested Tyranny if Dragons was a clone of the war if the Lance. This is clearly not true beyond the plot of "bad guys want to bring big big bad into the world", but that's a pretty generic plot.

Similarly Princes of the Apocalypse, though inspired heavily by Temple of Elemental Evil is not the same as. A modern retelling, perhaps, but it it's own story.

And Out of the Abyss is just a great adventure and store. I never played either of the modules you mentioned, so I can't speak to how heavily or lightly they borrowed material. But the fact that I didn't play those means that any tribute that OotA can offer is great.

Curse of Strahd will likely have a lot of recycled material, but so will it be innovative in its own way.

Again, I'm not sure what you mean when you suggest bad story telling on WotC's part

 

[KahlessNestor]

And it was made pretty clear Out of the Abyss was inspired more by Alice in Wonderland than any previous D&D.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, I'm really not seeing the ToD - Dragonlance similarity. Dragons are in the name of the game.