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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8796580" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/LM4ja2T.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/343412/Duskwalker--A-Barovia-Adventure-for-Curse-of-Strahd" target="_blank">Product Link</a>Product Type: AdventureCos-Required? YesDuskwalker is a short, 33-page adventure meant to be used as part of the greater Curse of Strahd campaign. Upon opening this book, it has a distinctly different outline and art style, and looking up the author’s other works on Drive-Thru RPG it is clear why: he publishes 3rd party content for MÖRK BORG, a dark fantasy OSR game whose pages look like something out of a death metal magazine.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/QKQjd4G.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Duskwalker is meant to trigger sometime when the PCs are 5th or 6th level, coming back to the town of Vallaki after completing some other quest, likely after the PCs interrupted the druidic ceremony on Yester Hill. The title of the book is the same name as the major monstrous threat, where the Strahd-worshiping druids sent an emissary to the Shadowfell to summon a being of great power to Barovia. A towering, shadowy beast seemingly made of oil descended upon Vallaki, reaching through windows to snatch villagers out of their beds and carry them off into the mists. The Duskwalker cannot be killed from wounds alone; those who see the monster become cursed on a failed Charisma save, and every night they risk turning into the monster on a natural 1…of a 1d100 roll. The PCs roll this every night they remain cursed, but if none trigger it then a villager does and becomes the monster.Complicating factors are that members of the Keepers of the Feather have been kidnapped when trying and failing to kill the beast themselves. Urwin Martikov was poisoned as a result, and has quarantined himself in a secret basement beneath the Blue Water Inn. The basement serves as a six-room dungeon occupied by shadow monsters Urwin is vomiting up, although PCs can convince a swarm of ravens to fight by their side in freeing their friend. PCs who exorcise the curse from Urwin cause a shadow elemental to leave his body and attack. It is like the classic four elemental monsters, albeit its attacks can drain Wisdom, it can create an aura of damaging magical darkness, is weak to sunlight, and can move through narrow spaces and the squares of hostile creatures.In addition to the gratitude of the Keepers, the PCs can find some useful items and treasure down here, such as partial maps of Castle Ravenloft that allow them to avoid a limited number of random encounters in that dungeon.The Duskwalker will attack the first night the PCs spend in Vallaki. It is a very strong Huge undead with high physical saves and poor mental ones along with a bunch of condition immunities. Its physical blows can cause cumulative Dexterity loss in addition to damage, has a necrotic breath weapon, can vomit up shadows by sacrificing some of its own hit points, and also has Legendary Actions.Even if PCs are victorious against the monster it will continue to rise every night thereafter. Finding a more permanent solution involves following it leaving the town, which it will do if it manages to grapple and kidnap five people. PCs who follow it into the Svalich Woods can trigger one of six random encounters in following it. They all have strange and supernatural events, such as a hunter cursed into the form of a talking stag asking the PCs for help in changing back somehow, a pair of phase spiders luring prey into a cave with illusions and whose organs can be used to brew Oils of Etherealness, and a blink dog who can join the party if saved from six dire wolves.The Duskwalker takes its victims into a large and colorful meadow, adorning a massive tree with captured villagers. The monster fades away as the sun rises, and the villagers are trapped in a magical resin which can be melted via Dispel Magic or a similar effect. PCs must fight a insect swarms and a Carnivorous Tulip (new monster that ensnares targets and digests them via burrowing underground and springing up beneath their feet) to reach the tree.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/5LhkLjH.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Weeping Tree is a three-room dungeon. The Erzdruid, the evil mastermind who summoned the Duskwalker to Barovia, is here and will fight the PCs, with help being summoned every other round from a random table of nature-themed enemies. The final room has a being only briefly described as a shriveled, shadow-infused creature called simply “the Thing.” It is practically a noncombatant with Commoner stats, but killing it ends the Duskwalker curse and thus the monster, although Greater Restoration and Wish can have the same effect.The adventure has two resolutions. A win scenario that permanently banishes the Duskwalker makes it so that the druids scatter in disarray and it will take decades for them to build back up their power. But if the PCs die or are otherwise unable or unwilling to stop the Duskwalker, Vallaki ends up all but depopulated in short order. In addition to the loss of Barovia’s largest town and its various benefits, Strahd is granted a gift by the Erzdruid where in the final fight the vampire lord will have two shadow elementals accompanying him.Overall Thoughts: This is a cool, creepy adventure that makes for an inventive change of pace. Individually most of the encounters are not too hard for 5-6th level PCs, but the major threat is the race against time. The more the PCs wait, the more people the Duskwalker claims. I also like how the PCs can gain some aid in their quest, albeit of the furry and feathery kind than your more typical two-legged NPCs. The treasure types that can be earned are pretty neat, and the creepy garden and mossy tree make for a rather atmospheric dungeon crawl for a group of evil druids.I do have some criticisms. The adventure is a bit railroaded in that several areas of resolution (curing Urwin, saving the resin-coated villagers) can only be accomplished by magic spells not all PCs may have. Additionally, the brevity of descriptive text doesn’t leave much room to expand on tactics. For some, such as the Carnivorous Tulip, this isn’t a big deal, but for the boss-level enemies such as the Duskwalker and Erzdruid it would’ve been helpful to list likely actions the enemies would do in response to common scenarios. While I do appreciate it tying in the Keepers of the Feather to show that Vallaki isn’t entirely defenseless, it doesn’t take into account its other likely monster-hunting occupant, Rudolf Van Ri-I mean, Rictavio! What’s the unassuming carnie doing when an undead kaiju is kidnapping villagers?Join us next time as we set sail and explore new places with Captain Snowmane’s Guided Cruise Through the Domains of Dread!</blockquote>

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