D&D 5E Curse of Strahd Suggestions for a 2-Person Campaign

[WarpedAcorn]

Hey Guys!

So the situation is that I have lured my girlfriend to the dork-side and now after hearing about D&D, playing a 1-on-1 session, and having had her first legit game, she is totally in. She mentioned that she REALLY wanted us to continue playing 1-on-1 sessions, AND she is a HUGE Horror movie buff. So immediately I thought that the Curse of Strahd would be a great campaign to run (mainly for the setting since I know she will like it and I have always loved Ravenloft).

This obviously going to be tough, and I KNOW I am going to have to adjust a lot of the encounters. I plan on adjusting HP and Damage, as well as possibly the number of enemies per encounter (although not completely nerfing the fights into the trivial realm...I have a reputation of a killer-DM to uphold). I am also going to have a DMPC* in there to help add another punching bag, skill resource, and means to survive in case of a few bad rolls. We've already rolled up the characters and given what I call "Hero Stats" (meaning the average score is 14-15), and I've decided on Max HP / Level.

With that being said, for those that have run the Curse of Strahd, are there any suggestions or tips you would advise when modifying it for a 2-Character adventure?

One thing I had considered (but quickly declined) was letting her play multiple characters. I declined because she is still new to D&D and I don't want to drown her in learning multiple characters and classes. She said she specifically wanted to do something a little more difficult to play, so she is playing a Druid. Her previous character is a Rogue, but she wanted to learn more about the rules without being in front of an entire table of experienced players.

*As for the DMPC, I know that is a slippery slope that a lot of people don't like. Playing with a handful of friends back in High School and College, I got really good at having DMPC's that helped fill out the party (no one wants to be a healer right) but did not steal the players' thunder or ruin the fun. So I'm not looking for advice in that arena, but instead specifically just about the module being run for the fewer than recommended numbers.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Since you are the only other player besides your girlfriend... I don't think you have to worry about upstaging her with a "DMPC". Seeing as how its not really a "PC" anyway... its really just going to be another NPC that you are controlling along with the other several dozen other NPCs already in the game.

Having just about wrapped up a pair of Curse of Strahd games myself... my main recommendation is that this is a setting adventure that works best when Interaction focused, rather than Combat focused. There are lots of areas in the valley which can (and probably should) be worked out through negotiation and deal-making, rather than fighting. This is especially true in your case with only 1 or 2 "PCs" possibly involved in any potential combat. I mean, you could load up the party with other NPCs to help expand the ranks-- your DMPC, Ireena herself, Rictavio and/or Ezmerelda when they are found, etc... but I suspect it'll just be more trouble than its worth and make combat more of a hassle for you (having to run 1 to 3 good-guy combatants in addition to all the monsters.)

So keep fighting to a minimum. Maybe a pair of wolves here, a handful of twig blights there, a couple of zombies, a single vampire spawn once you've leveled a bit. Instead, focus on the story and what her druid wants while here in Barovia.

Oh, and start her at Level 3 and skip Death House. You'll be glad that you did with only a single PC.

 

[Irda Ranger]

Having your only PC be a Druid makes CoS unnecessarily hard. The game is 90% undead and beasts. A paladin or ranger (with the right chosen enemies) or cleric (with martial weapons) would be way, way easier. Paladins and Clerics also have more social Skills that make role-playing your way through all the NPCs easier.

Strahd himself isn't that hard to beat, actually, once you have the Sun Sword and Holy Symbol. But if her PC isn't the one wielding the Sun Sword and Holy Symbol, well, that's kind of scene stealing on your DM-PC's part. My suggestion is that you should change these items to something she can use. Make the Sun Sword a Sun Staff, and the Holy Symbol just an Amulet. Fiddle with the backstory to match.

Also there are no good magic items in the whole campaign for Druids. I know this because one of my PCs when I ran it was a druid and I noticed the lack. I created a +1 club laced with silver (it was a valid Shillelagh item and did extra damage vs shapechangers) that the Werewolf leader dropped, and also the High Druid that was trying to bring that tree alive (what was that called?) in the SW corner of the map dropped a bracelet that let you use Mage Hand or Message (but not both, you had to pick one at the start of each day) while Wildshaped.

I would create a friendly faction within the barbarian tribes of the wood (ones that haven't dedicated themselves to Strahd) and have them recognize the PC as a holy person. They can be a source of respite and aid when necessary.

 

[MrHotter]

I have a similar campaign going.

One thing to keep in mind is that a single player game will have a much different feel than a group game. I love the single player games I have because it can be a story that completely caters to the one player's needs/wants. Be sure to adjust the story to make it relate to your player's backstory. Since she is a druid, there should be plenty of opportunities to link in some connections with the druids in the game or the elves.

You pretty much have to tone down the fighting in favor of story solutions to obstacles. A 4 player party has much more fun with the battle parts of the game. With a single player, fights seem to drag on past the point where they are interesting. When I have a DMNPC or two with the party I try not to let them make any rolls. They are normally doing something in the background while the player is doing the fighting. I'll normally say what the NPC is doing, and if the PC wins their battle then I assume the NPC also won their fight or completed their task. If the player needs the DMPC to do something, I let them roll for the NPC.

I would think a DMPC should be pretty much mandatory. It does not have to be the same DMPC for the entire campaign, and definitely, use the DMPC to fill in the weaknesses of your player and have as little overlap as you can. If you are using the Tarot cards, you can hand pick the ally card that best fits the player's needs.

In my single player (sometimes 2 players if my wife and daughter can both play) I have my daughter playing the role of Esmerelda and we started off as a level 3 Eldrich Knight. She changed the name and most of the backstory, but she is still looking for her mentor. My wife is playing as Ireena, but she is now a battlemaster fighter. There are a lot of story tie-ins for these two characters, and I tossed in more by giving my daughter a silver dragon medallion that is always cold to the touch as her trinket. She has always had the medallion, but does not know where it comes from.

I tossed in an NPC bard (Wilhelm Shakenspear) who never wanted to enter barovia in the first place as a support/comic relief character. At some point, the bard will become a vampire and an enemy or he will just find a good place to hide and leave the party. I loaded the Tarokka deck to have them pull the card for Rictavio as Strahd's enemy. By the time they enter Strahd's castle to fight him, Rictavio will be about the right level to be an asset in their melee heavy group.

 

[WarpedAcorn]

Thanks guys!

Since she is new, I don't want to dissuade her from playing a Druid if that is something that has caught her eye. I like the ideas about reskinning magic items (especially plot important ones) so they will work for her character. I plan on having the starting DMPC (not sure if she will live through it all) be a Paladin. I like the idea of having any support NPC just fighting over to the side and letting my GF have her own little fight that will determine the greater outcome. I will try that out for a bit and see how it works out.

I've also heard prior to this about skipping the Death House scenario. I'm hesitant on doing that, but I may tweek it. Firstly, I don't want her to start off at 3rd Level without a little bit of work (her Rogue in another campaign is almost 2nd). Also, after reading through Death House, the concept of it is something I KNOW she will enjoy.

 

[robus]

You pretty much have to tone down the fighting in favor of story solutions to obstacles. A 4 player party has much more fun with the battle parts of the game. With a single player, fights seem to drag on past the point where they are interesting. When I have a DMNPC or two with the party I try not to let them make any rolls. They are normally doing something in the background while the player is doing the fighting. I'll normally say what the NPC is doing, and if the PC wins their battle then I assume the NPC also won their fight or completed their task. If the player needs the DMPC to do something, I let them roll for the NPC.

This is excellent advice - there's nothing more boring than watching the DM play dice games by themself.

I would roll a dice to figure out if the DMPC wins their fight (basically set a DC for the matchup and see if the DMPC beats it - if it does when the main PC finishes her combat the combat is over, if not then the DMPC needs help from the PC and she can come into the rescue - makes a bit more varied than the DMPC always wins).

 

[DEFCON 1]

I've also heard prior to this about skipping the Death House scenario. I'm hesitant on doing that, but I may tweek it. Firstly, I don't want her to start off at 3rd Level without a little bit of work (her Rogue in another campaign is almost 2nd). Also, after reading through Death House, the concept of it is something I KNOW she will enjoy.

If you do decide to use Death House, I would greatly recommend you at the very least remove the second basement level. That level is all about the Ritual Chamber, which asks for either someone to be sacrificed (not really useful for a single PC group), or a Shambling Mound appears to kick the ever-loving crap out of the group. And from all accounts it does that to even full-sized groups-- a single PC and DMPC would be no fight at all and a pointless slaughter.

My own personal opinion is to change the ending of Death House to be when the PC puts Rose and Thorn to rest by placing their bones in their respective coffins. Once that occurs, both children get sent to their rest and then all the doors to the House unlock, allowing the PC to leave. That makes the most sense for a single-PC group, and it avoids most of the unnecessary combats throughout the rest of the level-- the grick, the ghouls, the shadows and the wights. Those will also kick the crap out of a single PC and plot-wise aren't necessary. If she explores the basement she can discover the story of the adventure-- how there was this cult and the cult members slept down there in the basement and that there was a shrine dedicated to Von Zarovich, and perhaps she could even find the desicated bodies of the Durst parents themselves in the Cult Leaders' Quarters if you wanted to (not as ghasts obviously as those are too tough, but you could always make them a pair of zombies instead), but not have all of these people "come to life" as more and more undead as it were. A single pair of zombies at that point would pack just as much of a punch as anything else, so no need to follow the adventure that closely.

Best of luck with your game!

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

If you're going to have a Paladin as the DMPC, just bear in mind that even though they will probably have a higher Charisma than the Druid, they should still take the back seat when dealing with NPCs in social situations. Settle for providing advantage on social interaction checks occasionally.

 

[Irda Ranger]

My own personal opinion is to change the ending of Death House to be when the PC puts Rose and Thorn to rest by placing their bones in their respective coffins. Once that occurs, both children get sent to their rest and then all the doors to the House unlock, allowing the PC to leave.

This is basically what I did (even though I had 6 PCs).

Basically I introduced the Death House because I wanted to lay out how Curses worked in Barovia. The Death House is like a mini-Barovia, surrounded by its own Mist you cannot leave, and the events of the curse unfolding over and over again until the cycle is broken by fixing the original wrong. (I even had the old witch who wander Barovia explain this to the PCs in a bit of exposition)

In the case of Death House, the curse is broken by laying the kids to rest in their proper graves and reuniting them in death--and also by killing the Shambling Mound the cult summoned, but you don't have to include that requirement in your version. In the case of Barovia, it's by taking Sergei and Tatyana out of the loop of endless birth-Strahd's pursuit--suicide-rebirth (by bringing Tatyana to the sacred pool) and killing off Strahd.

The neat thing about playing a Druid is that even if she isn't able to save Ireena from Strahd early in the game, if she completes all the side quests she'll reach 10th level and she can Reincarnate Ireena (and there's no time limit, because her soul never really leaves Barovia) and bring her reincarnated form to the pool. You can have a scroll from the Abbey explain how to accomplish this because that was the plan all along; that's why Sergei's soul is kept at the pool.

 

[WarpedAcorn]

If you do decide to use Death House, I would greatly recommend you at the very least remove the second basement level. That level is all about the Ritual Chamber, which asks for either someone to be sacrificed (not really useful for a single PC group), or a Shambling Mound appears to kick the ever-loving crap out of the group. And from all accounts it does that to even full-sized groups-- a single PC and DMPC would be no fight at all and a pointless slaughter.

Oh yeah! I sprung a Shambling Mound on my players at 3rd level right after they fought their way through an old elven temple. They thought the finale was a pair of Black Dragon Wyrmlings, but the Shambling mound rose from their blood. I did it in a cinematic way though where the Shambling Mound took a couple of rounds to form and the players (without much prompting) understood that this was the point where they grab the artifacts and run. I plan to use the Shambling Mound in Death House in a similar situation (because I doubt she will sacrifice the helpful NPC), letting it form over a few rounds and act more as a lesson of "you can't beat everything you see, discretion is the better part of valor". Of course, being a Druid, if she gets creative and wants to somehow use Druidic magic to overcome the situation then I will come up with some BS rolls for her because I want to encourage that type of creativity. =)