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

[Jackdaw]

The final monster is an underpowered Mimic (yup, the shapechanging chest aberration) that was created when the cultists kept making sacrifices with an incomplete copy of the Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion spell! They found the pages torn out of a book near the cliffs of Ravenloft and mistook the spell for something nefarious "It's complicated! It's arcane! It must be eeeevil!". It became the centerpiece for their hackneyed ceremonies and the framework for a haunted house that keeps rebuilding itself.

The mimic appears as a dollhouse replica of Death House and requires a sacrifice of a silver spoon, a miniature portal carved from ivory and a small piece of polished marble. It also likes to eat the hand, arm and face of the person who feeds it

 

[I'm A Banana]

Re Death House: I've noticed a number of reviews commenting that the grick and the shambling mound are too Lovecraftian and don't fit with the overall gothic tone of Ravenloft. Anyone got any good suggestions on what to replace them with?

It's a fair critique. But I'm leaning into the shambling mound (replacing the grick with a bunch of skellingtons from the bone fragments on the floor of the dining room).

I'm leaning into the shambling mound for this reason:

The Durst house? That windmill? That deed? That's Old Bonegrinder, where the hags make sacrifices to Ceithlinn of the Broken Teeth.

IMC, Morgantha and her coven were using the Dursts' failed Strahd cult to fuel a fey cult at the location. That cult had some success - enough to conjure a blood-hungry shambling mound that infests the walls of the place.

This gives Morgantha a reason aside form selling her wares to be in town (checking up on the gestating thing), and, since I'm making the coven a rival for Strahd, it gives Strahd a reason to want the house cleansed (so that the monster doesn't add to their power).

I've got it prefigured by having rests trigger things like "blood-red vines reach up through the floorboards."

I think I'm going to link it to the stillborn child, as well - that site is the site where Walter Durts's fetal body lays, mummified, in a cradle of vines. It's "Walter" that turns the thing into a Shambling Mound.

I want to telegraph that the encounter is NOT survivable, but it IS something you can flee from, so I'm contemplating including some cultists' notes to the effect of "The Thing is what keeps us in this house. It opens the door when feeding, or when hunting. At any other time, it keeps us here, awaiting its next meal."

 

[jayoungr]

Great discussion here!

I just wanted to humbly invite anyone who wants to discuss modifying the adventure to post ideas in the "Enhancing Curse of Strahd" thread:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...ot-Curse-of-Strahd-quot-(and-DDAL-adventures)

I am hoping that thread can be a repository of ideas on how to run the adventure and tailor it for individual groups.

 

[pukunui]

It's a fair critique. But I'm leaning into the shambling mound ...

That's cool. If I were running Curse of Strahd, I might do something similar. However, I'm running "Death House" as a one-shot, divorced of any greater story. The shambling mound stands out as incongruous.

 

[Erik Westmarch]

IMC, Morgantha and her coven were using the Dursts' failed Strahd cult to fuel a fey cult at the location. That cult had some success - enough to conjure a blood-hungry shambling mound that infests the walls of the place.

I like it. If you're also using the idea of the Three Fanes from previous RL lore, you could say that the Shambling Mound (once fully mature) will allow the coven to take control of the Swamp Fane.

Which actually puts the PCs in a bit of a pickle, if you're using the Fanes, because it's the Fanes that tie Strahd to the land and make him unbeatable. If the Fanes can be taken away from him, he can be killed. So there's an incentive to just let the hags have the Fane. Cleansing the Fane is more work.

This gives Morgantha a reason aside form selling her wares to be in town (checking up on the gestating thing), and, since I'm making the coven a rival for Strahd, it gives Strahd a reason to want the house cleansed (so that the monster doesn't add to their power).

Now I like this, but how are the PCs going to learn all this stuff? Do they catch Morgantha monologuing? And if they do learn that the coven is a competitor to Strahd, does that mean they work with the coven?

I want to telegraph that the encounter is NOT survivable, but it IS something you can flee from, so I'm contemplating including some cultists' notes to the effect of "The Thing is what keeps us in this house. It opens the door when feeding, or when hunting. At any other time, it keeps us here, awaiting its next meal."

Ooh, that's good. And it would give the PCs a way to escape after defying the spirits. Maybe the shambling mound is sitting on top of a sewer grate. If the PCs lead it away they can circle back through the secret door and escape through the sewer to a nearby midden. Like Andy Dufresne.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I like it. If you're also using the idea of the Three Fanes from previous RL lore, you could say that the Shambling Mound (once fully mature) will allow the coven to take control of the Swamp Fane.

Which actually puts the PCs in a bit of a pickle, if you're using the Fanes, because it's the Fanes that tie Strahd to the land and make him unbeatable. If the Fanes can be taken away from him, he can be killed. So there's an incentive to just let the hags have the Fane. Cleansing the Fane is more work.

It'd work! I think I'm going to use the fanes, but keep that plot thread a bit separate from this.

Now I like this, but how are the PCs going to learn all this stuff? Do they catch Morgantha monologuing? And if they do learn that the coven is a competitor to Strahd, does that mean they work with the coven?

I think this will mostly be revealed by connections to Old Bonegrinder. The windmill. The Durst family. Scraps of prayers to the Broken Teeth. A recipie for bones ground to a fluffy pastry crust...

Ooh, that's good. And it would give the PCs a way to escape after defying the spirits. Maybe the shambling mound is sitting on top of a sewer grate. If the PCs lead it away they can circle back through the secret door and escape through the sewer to a nearby midden. Like Andy Dufresne.

One of my concerns is that the party won't KNOW they can leave once the mound is activated, so I really want to make sure that they kn

 

[Erik Westmarch]

One of my concerns is that the party won't KNOW they can leave once the mound is activated, so I really want to make sure that they kn

Yeah, that is key.

Originally I was going to alter the Death House such that a member of the Order of the Feather would give the PCs a reliquary of St Andral (like a finger bone or something) to put on the alter and break the spell. But now I'm thinking the Death House is too powerful to defeat at 2nd level, and goal should be to escape. They can come back later (when a CR5 monster is something they can handle) to clear it out if they want to.

As for making sure the PCs know, there's always the Durst children's ghosts. They can tell the PCs, or if they possess one of the PCs the PC can start rambling about "Must get out! Must get out! The Beast sits on the way out!"

Or maybe there's a spirit of one of the old cult members who was sacrificed by the cult when she started having second thoughts and wanted out. she's wandering the basement level, mumbling to herself, with her (ghostly) throat slit open where they drained her of blood, so the words are kind of slurred.

 

[evilbob]

Oh, here's an idea: maybe the murals upstairs that have all the skeletons and other freaky stuff actually foreshadow the mound? Like, instead of apple trees you can see it's really terrible vines choking people, and others are running from the horrible creature - emphasis on the running. That at least makes the creature make more sense, too. (And it potentially ties in the grick - is that what they were running from? I think not...)

Also, I plan on having the portrait of the mom and dad have some sort of distinctive jewelry - like a necklace or something - that makes it more obvious who they are in the dungeon. Otherwise there's not really any way you'd know.

One more thing: it doesn't feel much like cheating to have the mound also half-starving and a little lower on HP, since it's probably not fed much in the last ~400 years...

 

[Gradine]

I'm curious how (or if) DMs are encouraging their players to establish Bonds for this AP. I imagine it's pretty difficult to work a loving family member or temple you're sworn to protect into a Closed Circle like Barovia. I haven't had a chance to run a 5e AP yet so I don't know if this is a typical problem with a standard answer or not, but I imagine CoS makes it even harder to work in unless players choose Bonds that are personal in nature.

 

[MrHotter]

I'm curious how (or if) DMs are encouraging their players to establish Bonds for this AP. I imagine it's pretty difficult to work a loving family member or temple you're sworn to protect into a Closed Circle like Barovia. I haven't had a chance to run a 5e AP yet so I don't know if this is a typical problem with a standard answer or not, but I imagine CoS makes it even harder to work in unless players choose Bonds that are personal in nature.

I liked how in The Lost Mines of Phandelver every pre-gen had a tie to the adventure, so I wanted to keep that going with this one. I'm putting Barovia in my world, so it's easier to have ties for the players. The Vistiani have tricked enough adventurers into going in to the fog that the players should know better than to trust them if they try to get them to enter.

I'm starting the campaign just outside the fog in a small inn that used to be along a busy trade route before the fogs surrounded Barovia. Most merchants take a longer path to avoid coming close. The players are either just passing by the fog or are at the inn seeking information about their personal story connection to Barovia. They should have no plans to enter the fog, but the fog (and Strahd) have other ideas.

Here is the information I gave the players for when they made their characters. Much of this information is campaign specific and I've changed the Sunsword back to be closer to what it was in I6.:

The players are at the Abandoned Hope Inn outside the lands of Barovia. We'll need to determine why each player is there and if they know each other.

Possible adventure tie ins. These are in addition (or as an enhancement) to your background choice:

The half sword: A strange man that says he came from Barovia once tried to sell your ancestor a sword that he claimed came from a hero of your family. It was just the blade and your ancestors did not even know who the hero was. Your relative took the sword blade and killed the strange man thinking he was a con artist. Before he died, he put a curse on your family (decide what happened with the curse). The sword blade has been passed down to you and it is either an heirloom or a warning. What happened to your family and why do you want to find out more about the sword? Restrictions: Must be of good alignment and own a sword.

The Tome of Strahd: It is rumored that there is a Journal from the conquering king that may explain where the fog comes from and how to remove it. Figure out why you know about it, and why you want it.

Religious relic seeker/faithful of the Morning Lord: Barovia could hold relics dedicated to the Morning Lord. Why do you know about relics, and why do you seek them? Restrictions: Must be of good alignment and a divine class.

Missing relative/mentor/friend: You have a close acquaintance that thought he could enter the fog and return. He/she did not. Someone at the Abandoned Hope Inn may be able to give you some answers. Was he a powerful wizard, an adventurer, or maybe a vampire hunter? (note to DMs: The players may just see the person among the marching ghosts or it could be an important NPC who is still alive).

Barovia shut in: You live inside of Barovia, but your mother has kept you in your boarded up home since birth. You only have your sister to keep you company and she loves to tell you stories of elves and knights in shining armor to keep you from falling into despair. Last week she tore the boards off the back window and escaped.

Ghost/witch/undead hunter: You belong to a group that hunts evil creatures in blighted lands. Barovia is the largest area of blighted lands, but no hunter has ever returned from the fog. Work with the DM to determine the group name.

Voices of a fiend: Nightmares have brought you here. Do you want to remove the voices in your head, or find out what they are saying?

Fey seeker: You have heard that Barovia was once a fey land that held elves and other magical creatures. What do you seek by coming so close to Barovia?​