D&D 5E Curse of Strahd spoiler-filled general discussion

[delericho]

(Also, I really dislike the "disposable lich NPC around every corner" trope we see in so many D&D adventures, but that's a separate issue.)

That's hilarious, given that the foreword says Tracy Hickman came up with Strahd as a result of a D&D encounter with a "disposable vampire" around a corner.

 

[delericho]

I never felt that if we let him have Ireena, then everything on Barovia would be better off.

Now that you mention it, it would probably make for a better story if giving Ireena to Strahd did make things better for Barovia. The PCs then face a dilemma - do they sacrifice one innocent to save a whole nation?

That might also work especially well if Strahd is looking for a successor: he'll take Ireena, appoint the relevant PC his successor, and ride off into the... well, not sunset, but you know... The only problem being that the PC in question has just signed his own pact with the Dark Powers, so maybe things aren't actually any better after all.

 

[Mercule]

I was toying with the idea of letting the PCs be native Barovians. My gut says that would work poorly, but it still seems interesting.

More likely, I'll prefer that replacement PCs come from some of the NPCs the party has run into. There could be some tweaks to class, to allow some customization, but it feels cleaner to have a player step into the role of Ireena, Ismark, or even Van Richten than for the group to trust a random passer-by in Ravenloft.

It could actually make for great horror roleplaying to have Ireena, as a PC, convinced that becoming Strahd's vampire bride will break the curse on Barovia and have to make that choice.

 

[MrHotter]

I was toying with the idea of letting the PCs be native Barovians. My gut says that would work poorly, but it still seems interesting.

More likely, I'll prefer that replacement PCs come from some of the NPCs the party has run into. There could be some tweaks to class, to allow some customization, but it feels cleaner to have a player step into the role of Ireena, Ismark, or even Van Richten than for the group to trust a random passer-by in Ravenloft.

It could actually make for great horror roleplaying to have Ireena, as a PC, convinced that becoming Strahd's vampire bride will break the curse on Barovia and have to make that choice.

I had thought about this too. It would make an interesting concept if a few locals decided they were tired of being scared and tried to go William Wallace on Strahd. Strahd would not want to just defeat them, he would want to break them and then use them as a cautionary tale for the other citizens.

The problem with this is, is that part of the adventure is discovering what's going on in Barovia as you explore different areas. Characters who are Barovian would probably already know most of the things that the players would be discovering by talking to locals.

I still may give the option to the characters to be locals, but I've not talked with my players about it.

 

[Mercule]

The problem with this is, is that part of the adventure is discovering what's going on in Barovia as you explore different areas. Characters who are Barovian would probably already know most of the things that the players would be discovering by talking to locals.

Yeah. That's my biggest concern. One of the keys to horror is the unknown. As soon as you have PCs who have steeped in the environment, you lose a bit of that edge.

Because this is D&D, not Call of Cthulhu, the PCs are expected to have a reasonable chance at success and survival (maybe not all of them, but enough). Therefore, the tone will eventually have to morph from horror to dark fantasy. At that point, characters with a bit more information wouldn't be a big deal. Which is why I'm thinking that natives as replacements would be best.

I suppose that the natives probably rarely travel the valley and would know little more than the lore listed in the book. If they came from one of the outlying towns instead of Barovia, it might work. I'll have to read more on the town of Barovia, but I could even see where Death House becomes the first test for a native who is tired of that thing. Maybe they don't even have greater ambitions than to get rid of it, initially.

Actually, there's the hook. One (or more) of the PCs is a passer-through (random fog) who gets sucked into the house. One or more of the other PCs is a member of the town guard who goes in after them. Rewrite to add romance, child PCs, etc.

 

[evilbob]

I was toying with the idea of letting the PCs be native Barovians. My gut says that would work poorly, but it still seems interesting.

I agree with your gut. As mentioned, it ruins a lot of the surprise, but it also ruins the "outsider" feel you get. It also weakens the overall driving force for the entire campaign - that the PCs want to leave. Anyway, our group started to think in that direction and I pushed it away - it's just too problematic. Plus, the village is so completely saturated with despair it's hard to imagine any PCs coming from there: I think that's part of the point (Strahd doesn't want resistance).

 

[evilbob]

Question: Does Strahd have male vampire spawn about Barovia? IIRC the original Ravenloft had only a couple of female vampire spawn at the castle? I'm thinking about adding a male vampire spawn spy, and wondering if it would go against theme?

This thread is impossibly long already, but here's a post from earlier:

One thing I give the book some credit for is the inclusion of non-hetero relationships. There is one specifically gay relationship that gets called out, and Strahd himself is specifically very open in his preferences. He has at least one male consort and the language about how he may be interested in a party member is deliberately neutral.

I don't know if you were looking for a consort per se, but the short answer is yes: it would be thematically appropriate.

 

[MrHotter]

I agree with your gut. As mentioned, it ruins a lot of the surprise, but it also ruins the "outsider" feel you get. It also weakens the overall driving force for the entire campaign - that the PCs want to leave. Anyway, our group started to think in that direction and I pushed it away - it's just too problematic. Plus, the village is so completely saturated with despair it's hard to imagine any PCs coming from there: I think that's part of the point (Strahd doesn't want resistance).

I'm getting a campaign guide together for my game and I'm coming up with ties for the players to the story. While some involve the Sun Sword or Strahd's journal I'm also thinking of seeing if a player wanted to be a Barovian shut in. They could be another child of Mad Mary and been trapped in their house for their entire life with just their sister Gertruda and their mother. That would mean that their sister recently ran away and now the shut in has a reason to join the adventurers (against the wishes of Mad Mary) who have come around at just the right time. That would also mean they have little information or bad information about what happens outside the house they grew up in.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

My copy finally arrived in the mail this morning and so i am looking through it. Is it just me, or is the Amber Temple pointless and generally useless for the over all plot?

 

[Coreyartus]

I really like the analogy of this version's Strahd hearkening to Jessica Jones's Killgrave, mentioned very early on in the thread.

IMO, the difference between this 5.0Strahd and the Strahds of the past is that this one seems to be a complete and utter narcissist. Of course he should conquer Barovia--rulers should desire to expand their territory. Of course he would treat his subjects with disdain--it's their lot to be there for him anyway because he's at the top of the social hierarchy. It's all very reasonable. Of course he would seek out the Dark Powers--power is, after all, what it's all about and if they're going to help him live forever and conquer more and control his political opponents then that's the right and proper thing to do... He deserves it, of course...

Power breeds contempt. And sycophants. Strahd lived in a world where everyone and everything has revolved around him.

Except his parents, apparently. And the one creature he desired but couldn't have: Tatyana. I think Strahd thinks he loved her, but he doesn't know what love is any more than Killgrave. That's why her death was something he now sees as inevitable--of course he'd rationalize it away as "not his fault"! Nothing is his fault according to him, and nothing he's done is wrong--he's had logical reasons for everything.

And he's bored. OMG, 300 years after the choices he made he wants out, but he's running out of playthings let alone finding someone that's worthy of Barovia. He's gone through so many and none. of. them. live up to his standards. He gives them so SO many chances. Over and over again he tests their mettle, helping them grow, putting them out of their misery when they don't measure up...

He doesn't see himself as a tragic figure--that would imply that he's actually lost something. And he doesn't need to be benevolent except when it serves his interests. He wavers back and forth between Tatyana as love and Tatyana as possession... Her loss is not tragic. To him it's inconvenience. She'll come around. Her soul at any rate. She just has to learn.

Strahd couldn't understand how Tatyana couldn't love him, just as Killgrave can't understand Jessica.

And his toying congeniality with the party is simply a means to an end. Perhaps one of them will live up his expectations this time? Probably not--the chances aren't good. But still... One will come eventually. He can't just dismissively cut them all down before they're ripe, can he?