D&D 5E Curse of Strahd - What am I missing? (Possible spoilers?)

[Charlaquin]

We charged the sunblade up to max and then rested in the crypts, all the while laughing that this should not be possible. But it did. Somehow. Did the DM misread how the sunblade worked?

Also, the DM emphasized how important our alignment was going to be during session 0. That it would influence things we could and could not do. But I don't think our alignment ever came up during the course of play. Is this something else that fell through the cracks?

There are a few things in CoS that care about alignment, but it’s really not that much. The one thing I can remember off the top of my head is like... a cool idea, but there’s basically no way for the players to actually find it.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

a cool idea, but there’s basically no way for the players to actually find it.

Many of the official modules are full of this stuff. Things like "if you say the right prayer to the right god in front of this statue, you get a magic weapon"...

 

[Charlaquin]

Many of the official modules are full of this stuff. Things like "if you say the right prayer to the right god in front of this statue, you get a magic weapon"...

I think the writers assume DMs will throw in clues here and there that attentive players might pick up on. This is a useful technique and I use it all the time. The problem is, if the adventure doesn’t say to do it, a lot of DMs won’t. A related phenomenon is how many adventures have intentional loose ends for the DM to come up with their own solutions to, but then neglect to explain that the DM is meant to fill those blanks in themselves. Look at the third Wizard of Wines gem for an example.

I think the folks who write these adventures take for granted a certain degree of initiative on the part of the DMs to personalize their games, but then they’re never actually explicit about it in the adventures themselves. That’s why I recommenced DMs who want to run curse of Strahd watch Chris Perkins do it. Seeing how much he goes “off script” on an adventure he wrote is I think a really informative experience, to show DMs that they are expected to make changes to the adventures, even if they’re never actually told that it’s expected of them.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

One of the reasons it's easier to run an adventure you wrote yourself.

 

[jayoungr]

There are a few things in CoS that care about alignment, but it’s really not that much. The one thing I can remember off the top of my head is like... a cool idea, but there’s basically no way for the players to actually find it.

There's an axe at Yester Hill that will prick you for 1 HP of damage if you wield it and are not of Good alignment.

 

[Charlaquin]

There's an axe at Yester Hill that will prick you for 1 HP of damage if you wield it and are not of Good alignment.

 

[jayoungr]

If you mean that was the thing you were referring to, I don't see why you'd say there's no way for the players to find it. It's pretty much out in the open.

 

[toucanbuzz]

We charged the sunblade up to max and then rested in the crypts, all the while laughing that this should not be possible. But it did. Somehow. Did the DM misread how the sunblade worked?

The Sunsword has no limit to how long the sunlight stays active. So that part worked.

However, your DM really didn't play Strahd intelligently. Notably: Strahd only takes sunlight damage if he STARTS his turn in sunlight. So, he could do his "hit and run" into the aura without harm, running through walls, and take out the sentry, or prevent anyone from getting actual rest. Alternately, he has a virtually unlimited supply of undead minions and wolves that he could send in every hour to disrupt the rest. He could cast spells into the sunlight like a nice old fireball. And so on.

Also, the DM emphasized how important our alignment was going to be during session 0. That it would influence things we could and could not do. But I don't think our alignment ever came up during the course of play. Is this something else that fell through the cracks?

It's not a requirement, though there were several magic items (many are easy to miss) that have alignment restrictions, including ones that would be really helpful in defeating Strahd:

• A Lawful Good sword in the Castle whose mission is to fight evil
• The sunsword is Chaotic Good, though it doesn't have a specific restriction so long as the user wants to destroy Strahd
• A holy symbol that damages anyone evil who touches it
• A holy symbol that can only be attuned to good clerics/paladins
• An icon that can only be attuned to good creatures
• A statuette that grants +1 saves to good creatures
• An axe that damages evil creatures that make attacks with it

Magic items aside, my players and I felt the setting and plots were better suited for good-leaning heroes anyways.

 

[toucanbuzz]

Dark Powers? What are these Dark Powers? I've played I6 a few times and read I6 and I10 many times. I don't remember any references to Dark Powers. Did they get added in a later book?

The Dark Powers may not come up unless someone dies at a lower level and is made an offer they can't refuse.

 

[Charlaquin]

If you mean that was the thing you were referring to, I don't see why you'd say there's no way for the players to find it. It's pretty much out in the open.

Nah, the thing I was referring to was the mirror in Wachterhaus. The was meant as a facetious sort of “woopdeedoo” over the effect of the axe. Just another example of how CoS does technically have effects that care about character alignment, but in practice don’t really make alignment matter to the player experience in a meaningful way.