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."

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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


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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?

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

How long do you guys think the PCs will stay on the Sword Coast before they enter Barovia?

I'll actually be a bit surprised if the Sword Coast portion of the adventure is much longer than "You are traveling from Baldur's Gate in the direction of Neverwinter when a strange fog overtakes you."

However it happens to be written, that's about as long as the characters will be not in Barovia when I run the adventure.

 

[delericho]

I'll actually be a bit surprised if the Sword Coast portion of the adventure is much longer than "You are traveling from Baldur's Gate in the direction of Neverwinter when a strange fog overtakes you."

Yep. That's pretty much what I'd expect - and expressed far more succinctly than I managed!

 

[Kramodlog]

The RPG industry has indeed changed since then.

That is why I said it. Quality of adventures have also changed. For the better mostly. We are far from exploring rooms with random monsters of inappropriate levels. Plot is more important now and designers are people who actually play the game.

Unlikely. The premise of this adventure seems to be that the PCs are summoned from their home plane and whisked off to Barovia for the adventure. They're unlikely to get any more choice about it than the PCs at the start of "Out of the Abyss" got about starting as slaves of the drow.

Ashame. But even if it is railroading, it still can take a few pages or levels.

Doing something different doesn't necessarily mean they need more pages.

But it can also mean it needs more pages.

 

[delericho]

That is why I said it. Quality of adventures have also changed. For the better mostly. We are far from exploring rooms with random monsters of inappropriate levels. Plot is more important now and designers are people who actually play the game.

To a large extent, it was actually I6 that saw the start of the move towards more plot-driven adventures.

Unfortunately, many of the modules that followed mistook "write an adventure" for "write a story". They're not the same thing.

A shame. But even if it is railroading, it still can take a few pages or levels.

Funnily enough, one of those "better story telling techniques" you mentioned up-thread would be the scene-framing advice to arrive late and leave early - getting the PCs to the start of the adventure is something that shouldn't be allowed to take any more time than it absolutely needs. Hell, they should treat it as backstory if they can get away with it.

But it can also mean it needs more pages.

It might.

 

[rookrock]

Just responding to the question of time passing. After a cursory glance around google and a few wiki's, it looks like time passes at the same pace in the Shadowfell as it does on the Prime Material Plane. This might not mean ALL of the Shadowfell, and so Barovia may be different, but I'm betting that, by the Barovian Calendar, the same amount of time will have passed.

Maybe.

 

[Remathilis]

Just responding to the question of time passing. After a cursory glance around google and a few wiki's, it looks like time passes at the same pace in the Shadowfell as it does on the Prime Material Plane. This might not mean ALL of the Shadowfell, and so Barovia may be different, but I'm betting that, by the Barovian Calendar, the same amount of time will have passed.

Maybe.

I think it will be addressed by ignoring it. Time between various settings are hard to gauge, and even if you used canon various events to set the date (Jandar, Hazlin, or Hiregaard's entrances) to forge a firm link between the two settings (FR's Calendar of Harptos and RL's Barovian calendar) ultimately it's a pointless endeavour as far as Wizards is concerned. I don't expect a year to appear because the Barovian year doesn't matter to FR and there is no RL continuity worth worrying about anymore.

So make it any year you want in Barovia.

 

[Nikosandros]

Plot is more important now and designers are people who actually play the game.

Are you actually arguing that people like Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Frank Mentzer, Dave Cook, etc. didn't play extensively back then?

 

[ki11erDM]

that would suck for all returners

Humm... OR maybe it is a perfect way to skip the whole spell spellplague!

 

[Kramodlog]

Are you actually arguing that people like Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Frank Mentzer, Dave Cook, etc. didn't play extensively back then?

A rather weak strawman.

 

[Nikosandros]

A rather weak strawman.

A strawman? You were stating that designers now are people who actually play the game. This implies that it wasn't the case in the past and I disagree with this statement. I listed some people who are famous for writing old modules.

Note that I didn't argue your other point, since I agree that "modern" design cares far more about plot than older modules.