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

[Mouseferatu]

I mean I read through almost every book in the MTG series (from the Brothers War to when they stopped making books, though I missed some around Legends and Kamigawa) and I enjoyed the books, but I wouldn't call any of them great and I doubt I'd re-read more than one or two of them ever.

I'm hurt.

 

[evilbob]

Isn't this the original cover art for module I6?

No, it's not. The original cover looks much more similar to the 3.5 version of Ravenloft; it's just Strahd, lonely, on a castle balcony, with gargoyles.

Who is the woman Strahd is carrying?

Honestly? Her name is Marketing. She's designed to get the presumed straight male audience to buy the product.

You could make a case for Ireena, but she has dark / brown hair in every version of the game. Also, Strahd's skin isn't blue and his eyes aren't orange. So really, it's just cheesecake and has nothing to do with the game.

 

[Sunseeker]

I'm hurt.

I actually never read Agents. Couldn't ever get a paper copy and I don't have an e-reader.

 

[Jabborwacky]

3) The Amber Temple. No. Just... No. There are some cool ideas there, but the implication that the vestiges trapped within are the mysterious Dark Powers, the beings who made the pact with Strahd and tore Barovia off into its own demiplane? No. Leaving aside the fact that the Dark Powers should never be defined--it ruins the mystique--there is nothing about the vestiges to suggest they're powerful enough to accomplish something like that. It doesn't work, on either an in-game or meta level. (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.)

I think a cabal of wizards possessing a host of evil artifacts are more than capable of performing such a feat. We're talking about a fantasy universe where a single wizard can casually create a demiplane once he reaches a sufficiently high level of experience. They're also being treated similarly to the Lady of Pain in the planescape setting: Without stats, only RP can kill it, and that is left up to the discretion of the DM.

 

[jrowland]

3) The Amber Temple. No. Just... No. There are some cool ideas there, but the implication that the vestiges trapped within are the mysterious Dark Powers, the beings who made the pact with Strahd and tore Barovia off into its own demiplane? No. Leaving aside the fact that the Dark Powers should never be defined--it ruins the mystique--there is nothing about the vestiges to suggest they're powerful enough to accomplish something like that. It doesn't work, on either an in-game or meta level. (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.)

thread is TL;DR so forgive me if ground has been covered...

I think the vestiges of the dark powers are just that...a vestige. There is not much left. I think Strahd made his pact with the powers themselves, not the vestiges. The vestiges and Strahd are connected. Check the ending...even in the best case scenario, Strahd is not fully destroyed. I would (its not raw, I know), make destruction of the vestiges from Barovia part of the "complete kill".

I, for one, like the Amber Temple. It's my favorite part.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Well, since the absolute best Ravenloft campaign I ever ran was based heavily on the Strahd/Tatyanna story and her cycle of reincarnation, I might quibble with that.

But you do raise an interesting point. I wonder how many of us who truly, deeply dislike this change are also the ones who consider the Ravenloft novels an important part of "our" canon. The novel I, Strahd is easily one of the best of the line, and is also the source of a lot of the deeper looks into Strahd's background and personality. It heavily influences my view of the character, and indeed Barovia as a whole. I can quite easily see how those who haven't read it might have a different view of the importance of specific details in his history.

I can understand that. If the Strahd/Tatyana relationship is what you want to focus on, then I can see the changes being irksome to some extent. But since this isn't a novel, you can change whatever you like at your table.

I've read "I, Strahd", xand I agree it's clearly one of the best novels in the whole RL line. I don't mind separating the games and the novels. Curse of Strahd is a game to be played, not a story to be read.

And as I said, I plan on changing things...I expect others will do so too.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Tatyana is as important to the Strahd story as the "one ring" is to Gollum. The Dark Powers even torture Strahd by reincarnating her every number of years and he tries to woo her only to have his scene play out all over again and the woman inevitably dies. She is what drove him over the edge to where he makes the pact. Anything outside of that is just change for the sake of change.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Tatyana is as important to the Strahd story as the "one ring" is to Gollum. The Dark Powers even torture Strahd by reincarnating her every number of years and he tries to woo her only to have his scene play out all over again and the woman inevitably dies. She is what drove him over the edge to where he makes the pact. Anything outside of that is just change for the sake of change.

I don't really agree. Without the One Ring, Gollum may have remained Smaegol and never killed his friend. We know this because Frodo was a perfectly good and moral person, and the Ring still corrupted him. Smaegol was a victim with no choice.

Tatyana is not a corrupting influence that makes Strahd do anything. Strahd's already a dick who's jealous of his brother, and scarred from the horrors of war. Tatyana is simply the last straw that makes his jealousy rise up to the point where Strahd actively chooses to kill his brother.

They're very different.

I agree with you about the Dark Powers using Tatyana to taunt Strahd, though. As I said above, she is symbolic in that sense, and as a symbol is quite powerful.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Tatyana is as important to the Strahd story as the "one ring" is to Gollum. The Dark Powers even torture Strahd by reincarnating her every number of years and he tries to woo her only to have his scene play out all over again and the woman inevitably dies. She is what drove him over the edge to where he makes the pact. Anything outside of that is just change for the sake of change.

That still happens in this. (Well maybe not the Ireena dying part if the PC's play their cards right.)

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Tatyana is as important to the Strahd story as the "one ring" is to Gollum. The Dark Powers even torture Strahd by reincarnating her every number of years and he tries to woo her only to have his scene play out all over again and the woman inevitably dies. She is what drove him over the edge to where he makes the pact. Anything outside of that is just change for the sake of change.

That still happens in this. (Well maybe not the Ireena dying part if the PC's play their cards right.)