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Enhancing "Curse of Strahd" (and DDAL adventures)
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<blockquote data-quote="toucanbuzz" data-source="post: 7552061" data-attributes="member: 19270"><p>We're getting close to finishing up one of the best campaigns I've ever ran in 20+ years of DMing, so kudos to Curse of Strahd. I used and modified Sean McGovern's Curse of Strahd guide (it's online but paid for the DM Guild version, it was a good investment). I'm not attaching my full notes but here's some materials:</p><p></p><p>1. Character creation guide. The campaign is all about despair and dread. If your players aren't on board, it's not going to be as good. We emphasized getting to gothic characters, using Slavic/Romanian/Russian names and human, elf, and dwarf rather than exotic races that would make less sense for Barovians to interact with. The hope and despair dynamic needs to be the center of your campaign, not combats. The Ravens eventually explain why they do what they do to the party, and it really can be overlooked or glossed over, but it's the major theme. Again and again I hit the players with "give up" dilemmas. Just leave Ireena, you don't owe her anything, and you go home. The fog will lift. [sblock] Strahd shouldn't be a villain who pops in, attacks and taunts, then pops out. That's stupid. He's an ancient god, and the party no more than another obstacle in his eternal quest. He's played this game before, and the land keeps winning, but he knows the rules and he knows he can win, this time. In my game, he needs to emotionally wear down Ireena so she comes to him willingly, and if he can convince the party to convince her, all the better. There would be less chance of the follies of his past, like her committing suicide or villagers lynching her. He hates having to bury villages or kill off an entire race when he is frustrated. He has a ticker, a timeline, in which the marriage has to happen, recreating the age Tatyana was when she was to marry Sergei. If Strahd really wanted Ireena, he'd just come down and grab her, and there isn't a thing the party can do. But it doesn't work that way. Despair. </p><p></p><p>And, it's not just Strahd. Despair fills everything, and if the party can briefly bring some hope to people, it's worth it. But the bad guys, they need to be more than simple combat stats. See the last spoiler as it involves the Abbott. The bad guys can't ever see a different perspective, and the twisted nature of Ravenloft is when you understand why they see things the way they do, why they firmly believe with all their nature they're right and that will never change. It's horrifying because it lets them do horrifying things without batting an eye, and it's horrifying because some tiny part of you might begin to nod, and begin to say "I see why you're doing what you do." That's horror.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p>2. Tarokka conversion. We used an actual Tarot deck. I did a 6 card telling by modifying the Sun Sword, returning it to its original crystal sword version (partially because we had a sunblade in our previous campaign and partially because I hate light sabers in D&D). The party had to find both. I also used a DM Guild publication, "Tarokka Deck Unleashed," wherein Madame Eva's deck had attuned to the party. They could flip a card and gain its benefits or hindrance as listed, mostly minor effects unless one drew a High Card, at which time it was a moderate hindrance until the despair could be shaken (a 50/50 during a long rest, affected by luck). It took minor work to make the "Unleashed" publication work for my campaign.</p><p></p><p>3. Magic Item handouts. I turned the major relics into legacy items that require a quest and ritual to unlock additional abilities beyond the basic one. They're not listed on the items and you can create your own to give an incentive for players to venture to unexplored areas, so long as they make sense. For example, to activate the Sun Blade's extra damage, I had it so the user must damage a creature of darkness (such as a vampire or specter), then beseech the Morninglord for 8 hours to restore the blade. </p><p></p><p></p><p>4. Extended Gifts. This is simply the free AL expansion. Ravenloft handles death a little differently, and there's always a price. If you're not pulling punches, characters will die in this campaign. These gifts are amazing additions to the creepiness of the campaign. [sblock] The ultimate "horror story" ending awaits my players as those who accepted the dark gifts of resurrection or were raised by someone "blessed" in the Amber Temple is that their soul is now eternally tied to Barovia, and they will be reincarnated again and again here.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p>I have a ton more in my campaign notes, but it's a mess right now. I adapt things as I go, and certain things I never anticipated became key to my campaign. [sblock] The Abbott is my creepiest character, and once he learned about Ireena and the party, he implored them to drown her (it's better coming from friends) and explained Strahd was blinded by her harlot nature so he couldn't see the true beauty of his homemade bride. He threw an engagement party that the party was invited to (Strahd didn't show), and when the party didn't kill Ireena, he calmly accepted it, prayed again, and came up with more options, always believing the Morninglord works in mysterious ways to show him the truth. Our finale involved the party returning (after it was revealed the Morninglord didn't require her death, he had been shown the truth) and finding the Abbott took Ireena's face, then healed her ruined mass so she was permanently disfigured. In his mind, that worked, and he calmly explained (I used a creepy low calm voice with hands always clasped in front of me, head slightly bowed) that he was inspired by the party because of their physical changes (thanks to accepting dark gifts). [/sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="toucanbuzz, post: 7552061, member: 19270"] We're getting close to finishing up one of the best campaigns I've ever ran in 20+ years of DMing, so kudos to Curse of Strahd. I used and modified Sean McGovern's Curse of Strahd guide (it's online but paid for the DM Guild version, it was a good investment). I'm not attaching my full notes but here's some materials: 1. Character creation guide. The campaign is all about despair and dread. If your players aren't on board, it's not going to be as good. We emphasized getting to gothic characters, using Slavic/Romanian/Russian names and human, elf, and dwarf rather than exotic races that would make less sense for Barovians to interact with. The hope and despair dynamic needs to be the center of your campaign, not combats. The Ravens eventually explain why they do what they do to the party, and it really can be overlooked or glossed over, but it's the major theme. Again and again I hit the players with "give up" dilemmas. Just leave Ireena, you don't owe her anything, and you go home. The fog will lift. [sblock] Strahd shouldn't be a villain who pops in, attacks and taunts, then pops out. That's stupid. He's an ancient god, and the party no more than another obstacle in his eternal quest. He's played this game before, and the land keeps winning, but he knows the rules and he knows he can win, this time. In my game, he needs to emotionally wear down Ireena so she comes to him willingly, and if he can convince the party to convince her, all the better. There would be less chance of the follies of his past, like her committing suicide or villagers lynching her. He hates having to bury villages or kill off an entire race when he is frustrated. He has a ticker, a timeline, in which the marriage has to happen, recreating the age Tatyana was when she was to marry Sergei. If Strahd really wanted Ireena, he'd just come down and grab her, and there isn't a thing the party can do. But it doesn't work that way. Despair. And, it's not just Strahd. Despair fills everything, and if the party can briefly bring some hope to people, it's worth it. But the bad guys, they need to be more than simple combat stats. See the last spoiler as it involves the Abbott. The bad guys can't ever see a different perspective, and the twisted nature of Ravenloft is when you understand why they see things the way they do, why they firmly believe with all their nature they're right and that will never change. It's horrifying because it lets them do horrifying things without batting an eye, and it's horrifying because some tiny part of you might begin to nod, and begin to say "I see why you're doing what you do." That's horror.[/sblock] 2. Tarokka conversion. We used an actual Tarot deck. I did a 6 card telling by modifying the Sun Sword, returning it to its original crystal sword version (partially because we had a sunblade in our previous campaign and partially because I hate light sabers in D&D). The party had to find both. I also used a DM Guild publication, "Tarokka Deck Unleashed," wherein Madame Eva's deck had attuned to the party. They could flip a card and gain its benefits or hindrance as listed, mostly minor effects unless one drew a High Card, at which time it was a moderate hindrance until the despair could be shaken (a 50/50 during a long rest, affected by luck). It took minor work to make the "Unleashed" publication work for my campaign. 3. Magic Item handouts. I turned the major relics into legacy items that require a quest and ritual to unlock additional abilities beyond the basic one. They're not listed on the items and you can create your own to give an incentive for players to venture to unexplored areas, so long as they make sense. For example, to activate the Sun Blade's extra damage, I had it so the user must damage a creature of darkness (such as a vampire or specter), then beseech the Morninglord for 8 hours to restore the blade. 4. Extended Gifts. This is simply the free AL expansion. Ravenloft handles death a little differently, and there's always a price. If you're not pulling punches, characters will die in this campaign. These gifts are amazing additions to the creepiness of the campaign. [sblock] The ultimate "horror story" ending awaits my players as those who accepted the dark gifts of resurrection or were raised by someone "blessed" in the Amber Temple is that their soul is now eternally tied to Barovia, and they will be reincarnated again and again here.[/sblock] I have a ton more in my campaign notes, but it's a mess right now. I adapt things as I go, and certain things I never anticipated became key to my campaign. [sblock] The Abbott is my creepiest character, and once he learned about Ireena and the party, he implored them to drown her (it's better coming from friends) and explained Strahd was blinded by her harlot nature so he couldn't see the true beauty of his homemade bride. He threw an engagement party that the party was invited to (Strahd didn't show), and when the party didn't kill Ireena, he calmly accepted it, prayed again, and came up with more options, always believing the Morninglord works in mysterious ways to show him the truth. Our finale involved the party returning (after it was revealed the Morninglord didn't require her death, he had been shown the truth) and finding the Abbott took Ireena's face, then healed her ruined mass so she was permanently disfigured. In his mind, that worked, and he calmly explained (I used a creepy low calm voice with hands always clasped in front of me, head slightly bowed) that he was inspired by the party because of their physical changes (thanks to accepting dark gifts). [/sblock] [/QUOTE]
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