Flamestrike
Legend
One werewolf! Two werewolves..! Blaah!
D&D 5E Curse of Strahd: Roleplaying as Strahd
One werewolf! Two werewolves..! Blaah!
The trick is not to TRY to roleplay him as scary. Roleplay him as a normal guy - who is so far above the level of the PCs that he isn't remotely concerned about them. As others mentioned, his actions speak louder than his words. have him standing by while something else (zombies, wolves, etc) attack the party - and if they try to take the fight to him, he just fireballs them all. Like @pukunui, I had him show up at the father's burial as well - where he one-shotted a player with an unarmed strike; he literally slapped the PC dead in one hit. That will scare the bejeebers out of the players way more than cheesy tag lines.
When he does speak, I see it more as a condescending sort of thing - "Welcome to my home, enjoy yourselves, but don't make too much of a nuisance of yourselves or this game will end early..." They should encounter him several times before the final battle. At first, he can be nice and welcoming - after all, the PCs are there at his whim. Hhe toys with them a bit, but nothing too serious, just testing the waters. As they rise in level and get more involved in righting wrongs in the valley, maybe he issues a "stern warning" to keep their nose out of his business, and then attacks for a few rounds just to bloody them a bit before walking away unconcerned. It's only once they get the artifacts and a higher level that he really starts to take them seriously - at which point he invites them to his castle and messes with them till they go nuts or die.
When he does speak, I see it more as a condescending sort of thing - "Welcome to my home, enjoy yourselves, but don't make too much of a nuisance of yourselves or this game will end early..." They should encounter him several times before the final battle. At first, he can be nice and welcoming - after all, the PCs are there at his whim. Hhe toys with them a bit, but nothing too serious, just testing the waters. As they rise in level and get more involved in righting wrongs in the valley, maybe he issues a "stern warning" to keep their nose out of his business, and then attacks for a few rounds just to bloody them a bit before walking away unconcerned. It's only once they get the artifacts and a higher level that he really starts to take them seriously - at which point he invites them to his castle and messes with them till they go nuts or die.
Bladecoder
First Post
Thanks this was very helpful
I'd make Strahd downright helpful. Have him bail the party out of their first few TPKs. When the group foolishly assaults the windmill, for example, and gets their asses handed to them by the hags, have Strahd rescue the PCs. Have him send the party on quests. Have Strahd appear especially delighted whenever the group descends into typical murder-hobo behavior. Killing the revenants, for example, should make Strahd positively light up with glee.
Nothing is scarier in an RPG than having a patron who you KNOW is out to screw you, but you just can't figure out how...
Nothing is scarier in an RPG than having a patron who you KNOW is out to screw you, but you just can't figure out how...
Ganymede81
First Post
When our bard had to leave the group, we worked together to make it memorable: he betrayed the group at a key confrontation. It would have been more fun if he didn't spend the entire fight failing Hold Person saves.
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
Strahd pulls adventurers into his realm to play with them, and perhaps find one to take his place so he himself can escape the mists. He should be supremely confident. He should exude menace.
All the best aspects of Darth Vader should apply. Have him speak little, but to great affect. Have him rarely get his own hands dirty, but when he does have him show displays of casual but focused brutality. Have him offer great power in exchange for the players services and don't even bother making threats.
All the best aspects of Darth Vader should apply. Have him speak little, but to great affect. Have him rarely get his own hands dirty, but when he does have him show displays of casual but focused brutality. Have him offer great power in exchange for the players services and don't even bother making threats.
Sammael
Adventurer
^This. Excellent advice. Strahd doesn't need to threaten - PCs should get the feeling that they are so far beneath him that he doesn't consider them as threats at all - rather, he believes they can be useful or entertaining to him.
Also consider the following:
- Strahd is not only an ancient vampire, he is also a tactical genius with a myriad plans and contingencies as well as a powerful arcane caster - so he pretty much has everything covered. The way I envision him, his one weakness (aside from Tatyana) is when things deviate from his plans and when PCs do unpredictable things.
For instance, if he learns they own (and have read) the Tome of Strahd he will likely lose it and replace his cool, calculating veneer with screaming rage. Same applies if PCs somehow harm Ireena, or allow her to be harmed by monsters, or if they let her reunite with Sergei. But, in order for this to play out right, they must first meet Strahd's composed, calculating, civilized persona several times - that will make his frenzied self even scarier.
- Strahd is bored after 400+ years of solitude. He needs distractions. As long as the PCs are providing some entertainment, he will let them live (unless they commit one of the capital offences noted above). Perhaps PCs should occasionally even receive gifts from him as "payments" for "their services." This should confuse or enrage the hell out of the players.
- Drop liberal clues about Strahd's past. I am writing a series of detailed excerpts from the Tome for that purpose - to share some of his history with the PCs and also make them think he has a human, redeemable side to him (he never got his father's approval, he wasted his youth on the battlefield, he made horrid decisions justified in the name of war). When they learn the full truth about the monster he later became because of those actions, it will make him even more horrifying. One story that got my players in particular was the punishment of dusk elves, where he had Rahadin slay all their females, effectively killing off their entire race. That's Hitler-level stuff and should make even the most jaded players a bit nervous.
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
I would also add, consider delaying having the party meet Strahd directly for a while. Let the mystique build a bit, have the party see a mysterious figure in the distance. Sometimes when they are being attacked by Strahd's minions, and sometimes when nothing is happening at all. It never hurts to keep players anticipating what will happen.
