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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6851751" data-attributes="member: 37579">Kinda. He's an appropriate challenge for the end of the adventure, especially if played smart, but he's not the right CR. Including resistances and regeneration (which will almost certainly not come into play), vampires have a defensive CR of 10-11 and the reliable damage of a CR 5-6 creature. Including some of their special abilities, they should really be a CR 9 or 10, with the spellcaster *maybe* an 11 or 12. The extra damage Strahd does compared to a regular vampire doesn't really do much to change that, and his spell choices are equally minor. He's a CR 12. An appropriate boss for a level 10 party.To be a CR 15, Strahd should be as deadly as a death tyrant, a purple worm, or an adult green dragon. His damage output would need to be doubled and he needs more health. A creature's Challenge Rating should reflect their absolute threat, not their threat when played by a master tactician. A cunning DM can make kobolds a threat. This also relies on the DM having better strategy than all their players… combined. Plus, with his current hp, a lucky crit or a party readying the right actions could drop him in a single round. You can't hit and run when you're dead. Even then, there's a fine line where hit-and-run tactics are making a monster a smart opponent and a challenge and when an encounter just ceases to be fun. If the players can't do anything and are just taking damage, then Strahd isn't a monster, he's a terrain feature. It makes sense for Strahd to attack when the party is distracted or vulnerable or separated. But it also makes sense for him to send all the monsters to attack at once en mass when the party is sleeping while holding their friends and loved ones hostage… when the party is level 6 and before they're remotely a threat. And then display their remains as a warning for future adventurers. Strahd should have the entire Evil Overlord List memorized. But that quickly ceases to be fun. So the DM needs to find the balance between being effective and being fun, which is tricky and takes some gamemastering chops.</blockquote>

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