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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6852177" data-attributes="member: 37579">I have a few big problems with the module: it runs roughshod over the setting, it's a rehash of something that's been done (multiple times) before, and the goals & hooks for the PCs aren't always clear. I would have liked the whole thing more if it wasn't "here's I6: Ravenloft… again" but instead "here's a sequel telling of what happens when Strahd returns from the grave." It's cool being able to play through a classic… but anyone can do that with a cheap PDF of I6 off DMsGuild/ DnDClassics. You can pretty much update the adventure on the fly. So Curse of Strahd is basically something you can do on your own with a whole schwack of filler to get you to the right level.But my biggest problem with the adventure is Strahd himself. Curse of Strahd is a larger adventure than I6. Strahd should be in the center of everything, but a lot of the module is just dealing with other problems. Some of those are his doing (as side evil schemes) but a lot is just separate, and there's no cohesion. His motives just aren't there. He's actually got fewer evil schemes on the go compared to the original. Strahd's not really doing anything apart from sitting in his castle being evil. Which is fine for a location based adventure where you're expected to go right to that castle and kill him, at most spending two or three sessions dealing with the Devil Strahd. But for a larger local and regional sandbox, Strahd is pretty absent. Everyone is talking about him but he's only really a presence and not an active participant. Even the otherwise mediocre Expedition to Castle Ravenloft realized this and gave Strahd a half dozen secondary goals. His two main goals in CoS are Ireena Kolyana and finding an heir. However, there's good odds Ireena gets taken out of the equation fairly early on, and Strahd doesn't strike me as the kind of dude who would surrender power. And once Ireena does get removed from play the heir motive is gone as well, as the PCs become Strahd's enemies. So for half the adventure, Strahd really lack a motivation or a goal beyond "kill the PCs", which doesn't work since - at that point - killing the characters should be damn easy. He needs a scheme. Something he's working towards. Something that adds a time element and some pressure, so the players' don't slacken near the end and leisurely explore the castle over a number of weeks</blockquote>

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