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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8981554" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/04c8veH.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Act I: Fight me, I’m Right HereGlass & Diamonds kicks off the adventure by having what is supposedly the Church of Tymora hiring the PCs to defeat the Vampire Lord of Ravenloft, even though their oracles insist that they’ve been hired in the future so their contract is just as legitimate. This is actually Gertruda setting up the group to be pulled into the Domains of Dread. Then the party finds themselves on an island floating amid an endless silver sky, with other islands drifting across the horizon. The island the PCs are on is home to a greenhouse converted into a shop managed by Omu the slaadi. He’ll answer a few questions the PCs may have and then give them some free equipment. In addition to a Robe of Useful Items with some custom anti-vampire equipment, they can choose one of several gear packets which have 3 magical items each. They have quite a bit of options, and the underlined ones can be found elsewhere in this book. Spellbeads are basically scrolls which anyone can use, and a cursed alchemy jug creates lava instead of mayonnaise, dealing 10d10 fire damage on a failed DC 10 DEX save.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/fIujff7.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Gertruda then appears to the party disguised as Neon Madonna, a woman that is literally drawn in front of them via magic rods. The faces of certain NPCs appear, who she explains are the major players of how Ravenloft’s present came to be,* while also giving them a Tarot** reading. Unlike other Ravenloft adventures this deck is pre-determined, and each result relates to a future adventure locale. Four cards relate to treasure and where they can be found, with results depending on whether the DM intended Strahd or Irena as the main villain, as well as a “hard mode” entry which changes up some items by having them appear later than they should. PCs can use Sleight of Hand to make it so the cards end up in certain places to control where the magic items are; this is very metagamey and most likely done by gaming groups playing this module subsequent times.*This is a brief handout which intentionally omits certain key figures. Such as referencing Strahd, but not Irena.**Not Tarokka, sadly.The four treasures are the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, the Sun Blade, and two new items being Morningstar’s Kiss and Druid’s Spine. Morningstar’s Kiss is a silver +1 whip that is treated as a light weapon, with 15 foot reach, deals 2d4 radiant damage as its base weapon damage, and can expend up to 10 charges per day to cast some useful spells: Sanctuary, Counterspell with a 15 foot range, and Haste that is self-only requires no concentration. Druid’s Spine is a +3 leather armor that increases the wearer’s walking speed by 10 feet and has up to 5 charges per day that can be used to turn the wearer incorporeal until the end of their next turn. The Holy Symbol and Sun Blade have the same stats as in Curse of Strahd.The treasure locations tend to be split up evenly, with two being found in Act 1 areas and two being found in Act 2 areas. Weirdly, not all treasures can be gained in one go: for the Act 1 areas one treasure can be found in Sunlit Shrine, the other in Dog Days. As these areas are mutually exclusive and the PCs can visit only one, they’ll have at most 3 out of the 4 treasures.Once the tarot readings are finalized, two portals will appear. One leads to the domain of Yggdrasil, the other to the Svalich Woods. We also have a Late Arrival handout for players who show up late, giving a brief rundown of the adventure’s beginning.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/8LsnUEJ.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Sunlit Shrine places the PCs in the Svalich Woods, with the Brides of Strahd becoming aware of their presence upon entry. They will begin hunting the party, but will pull back once 4 PCs are slain. This is a common theme in Act 1 areas; as the module has been playtested by many people, the authors note that if 2 PCs die then the group may be built suboptimally, and if 4 PCs die that’s a sign to scale back the future encounters.It’s also here we get a format example of encounter flows in a more detailed explanation. We also get battle maps for pretty much every area that can have combat, as well as sample tactics for enemies in combat.Winter will be the first to approach the party nonviolently and by herself, vaguely warning them about the hunt before dropping a golden pinecone. PCs who take the pinecone will gain her interest, which is a factor in recruiting her later on, as well as Inspiration. PCs who defeat a bride in combat can gain one thornbow (magical, deals 2d4 piercing damage) or 1-2 antlers that grant inspiration when used.* PCs who decide to stop running during the hunt and make a stand will face four dire wolves in addition to surviving Brides.*There’s quite a number of magic items in One Night Strahd that grant Inspiration when used. I take it this is a means of encouraging PCs to spend it more when they know they can get it back without DM Fiat.There are 9 locations of note within this event. The PCs start out at a cairn where PCs who speak Druidic can read about the history of an old druidic order and the rise of “a dark and beautiful king who strides the land as a glorious wolf.” Other possible locations they can visit include a sword in a stone, Year’s End, that was Winter’s sword which she lost,* windstruck cliffs where one of the Brides will attack them with a lightning bolt spell, and a lake with a shrine surrounded by seven minaret pillars. The door to the shrine is magically barred, and depending on the PCs’ skill tests determines how rounds it takes for the door to open as the surviving Brides attack.*Can be attuned to, deals max damage to objects, can be lit up like a torch to deal additional radiant damage, and via a ritual can absorb other magical weapons into its form and gain their properties. Some weapons in this module cannot be combined with it.In terms of stats all the Brides save for winter are CR 6 undead with 95 hit points each, AC 16, some limited vampire traits (regenerate HP, weak to sunlight) along with a few innate druid spells. They can shoot with thornbows, although due to their hunger they will prioritize biting living creatures if the situation permits. They’re pretty strong for PCs to fight, even individually; the point isn’t to fell them all in combat but to outmaneuver them. As for Winter, she has the same stats but can also transform into a dire wolf (cosmetic change, same stats), has a higher Strength score, and is proficient in Arcana and Athletics checks.Winter will only join the party during the Eclipse event of Act 3, and only if they weren’t needlessly cruel to her and give her back her sword, where it will become a new weapon known as Winter’s Fury. If given to her before Act 3, she will disappear, leaving the new and improved sword in its place. Winter’s Fury is a +2 weapon with the finesse property, makes the wielder immune to necrotic damage and resistant to cold even while wildshaped, their attacks are magical in wildshape form, and if the PC who is attuned to it dies, they will reincarnate as Winter.  As a party member she is pretty strong; barring some supremely lucky die rolls for a high-CON fighter-type she likely has double or almost double the amount of hit points any other PC has. Amusingly the finesse property of her greatsword is redundant in her hands, as she has a higher Strength than Dexterity.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/hRaUAac.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Shrine Interior leads off from the encounters in the Svalich Woods or their climb down Yggdrasil. Which makes me wonder why it isn’t after Dog Days, then. The shrine is a safe haven, and Gertruda is using it as a living space. PCs who look around can find one of the Tarot treasure results, along with a puzzle involving manipulating the henge monoliths of a diorama telling a history of Strahd. Figuring out the puzzle gives the party a steel lantern in a hidden compartment, and said lantern can be placed on a mote that fits it perfectly to “unlock the ethereal gate far below.” The diorama also gives a visual hint of Strahd’s ability to turn into a giant wolf, one of his boss forms later in this module.I looked elsewhere in this section along with CTRL + F, and can’t find any other mention of an ethereal gate in this book. I’m pretty sure it’s referencing Strahd’s weakness in having a spiritual form on the Ethereal Plane in Act 3, but as this info is only found out much later in this large book it’s a bit confusing at first. It also says if they read the “Tome” then they’ll know what to do, which I presume mentions the Von Zarovich Tome gained as a treasure in Act 2. Obviously intended to be a kind of New Game Plus for repeat players, but it would be nice to know what the book is referencing as a reward for this puzzle.Gertruda’s study room has a letter saying she’ll “see you below,” a tarot deck that can cast Augury once per long rest, a golden locket portraying Sesame the dryad, and some books about vampires such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This isn’t just an easter egg, it can be used to more quickly decode the Von Zarovich Tome in Act 2.The way forward is in the shrine’s center, where a staircase leads into a hallway with eight sconces that only contain five torches. The hallways leads to a causeway portraying the Barovian coat of arms, along with a way to the Amber Depths.This is a reference to an encounter later on in Act 2 where the PCs visit Irena’s tomb where eight unlit torches surround her coffin, and the correct combination must be done in order to open it. Basically there are 255 combinations, and the PCs must light the torches in the same pattern as the ones in the hallway…except that this is a circular pattern, while a hallway is presumably straight. While a skill check can remind players of the Sunlit Shrine and there are NPCs in Act 3 who can help the party crack the code, the way it’s written is rather unintuitive IMO.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/zSNrV5d.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Dog Days is the other portal option for PCs in the beginning of this adventure, where they end up in the Dead Reaches, a domain of hunger and desolation whose darklord is Níðhöggr, the dragon of Norse myth. He lives at the bottom of the domain as a sea of endless scales eating away at the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree. Portions of Yggdrasil run through this domain, which makes it a reliable yet dangerous “inter-domain highway.” It is these roots that the PCs will use to venture to the domain of Barovia. Instead of the Brides of Strahd, the PCs will be hunted by a total of seven Feypact Werewolves in smaller groups of 2-3, and like the Brides they will satiate themselves once four PCs are slain. The lycanthropes have lived in the Reaches for generations and are desperate and starving. It’s possible that the PCs may be able to make peace with them via three acts of kindness throughout this event (and also provided they didn’t kill two or more of them). In such a case, they will safely escort the PCs to the town of Last Standing, and can venture through the rest of Yggdrasil without danger.There are 8 locations in this section. The starting location is a central crown of branches where three Feypact Werewolves appearing as emaciated starving wolves attack the party. They can cast Hex as a concentration spell for up to 8 hours, which they’ll use to mark PCs for the rest of the hunt if possible. Other locations include a ruined stave church containing werewolf children who if fed even a little can be marked as an act of kindness and reduce the skill checks for this section by 3, a makeshift balcony in the branches inhabited by ravens which gives the PCs a grand view of the Dead Reaches as well as lights far below that is the town of Last Standing, and the Skyway, a gondola which is a series of buckets linked to a chain loop connected to the trunk that can be used to exit the domain.Much like the Brides, the Feypact werewolves are pretty tough monsters, with the same AC and Hit Points as the Brides. However, they are more bestial in their fighting and have several werewolf/wolf abilities such as advantage on hearing and smell-based Perception checks as well as Pack Tactics. They can also cast some warlock-upcast offensive magic, such as Thunderclap (which they can cast while moving half their speed to avoid opportunity attacks), Hellish Rebuke, and Hex. As for Hex, they can as a bonus action control a hexed target’s movement on a failed Charisma save.[spoiler=Child Death]The werewolf children are just strong enough to let out eldritch blasts before being slain. This counts as an evil act and precludes the possibility of peace with the Werewolves.[/spoiler]There are some roleplay-heavy locations, too, that have characters who can tell the PCs a bit more about the history of the Domains and the other notable characters of One Night Strahd.Nidhogg’s Rest is a way station along a road forged of cold iron managed by a fire giant Vistani and dwarf. They are drinking buddies and can be talked to in learn a little bit about the domain. The fire giant is Esmerelda’s sister and will offer one of the PCs a tankard of lava-like alcohol which deals fire damage when drunk, but grants a surviving PC the ability to cast Fireball. The pair will also give healing potions to the PCs if they mention they’re going to Barovia.The town of Last Standing is located in a crater, its buildings made of obsidian and iron sized for giants. The town is inhabited by the Vistani, and a talking raven can give instructions to Nidhogg’s Rest as well as serve them as a familiar and directions to the Bent Bough if they get enough successes on skill checks.The Bent Bough is inhabited by Sesame the dryad, who due to her partial giant heritage has hard skin seemingly made out of jade. She can give the PCs some items on successful skill checks, such as the +1 longbow Opener that uses Strength instead of Dexterity for attack and damage, deals 2d6 bludgeoning damage, and once per turn lets allied creatures move up to their speed when the wielder dashes. The PCs may also gain Masterwork Tinker’s Tools/Master Tinker’s Kit* from her as well, although the book doesn’t say what makes these different from the normal tool item.*the module uses different terms for the same item.Sesame has quite a bit of backstory. She serves as the mouthpiece of both Yggdrasil and Níðhöggr, although she is not an evil soul. Sesame’s homeland has been devastated by Ragnarok, and now she merely wishes to live out the rest of her life with those she cares about, Gertruda being one of them as well as her current romantic interest. Sesame has no love for the rulers of Ravenloft, and there’s an entire page worth of helpful bits of information she can tell about the module:<img src="https://i.imgur.com/1HI7fim.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />PCs who reach the end of this event make their way to an arching root-gate that leads into the Mists. They may find a Tarot-assigned treasure at a Shrine to Mother Night, as well as Sergei the skeleton who wordlessly greets the PCs with a smoking pipe to share as well as a letter reading “The Lord of Ravenloft asks you to dinner.” The PCs will make their way through some woods growing in the shadow of Yggdrasil and then the entrance to the Sunlit Shrine’s Interior.The Amber Depths happens when the PCs leave the safe confines of the Sunlit Shrine. This encounter only happens in single-group play; in double-group play the second team will skip this section to move on to Totally Safe Ghost Canisters. The Depths are the remains of the Amber Temple, whose foundations were built from the amber sap of Yggdrasil. Burr and his simulacrum Bur are the only inhabitants here, and have placed a series of magical traps and alarms around the place. PCs who manage to get good results on skill checks, disable the traps, and/or make clever use of abilities and spells can get a surprise round on the arcanoloths if combat begins, even if said combat is preceded by talking with the Bur(r)s.Burr is not initially interested in yet another boring brawl with would-be do-gooders. He is straight and to the point, and wants to strike a bargain with the party. Burr wants to escape the Domains of Dread, but needs a guarantee that the PCs will be able to kill Strahd/Irena where before so many have failed. The PCs must succeed on two consecutive social skill checks to earn his confidence. On a success, he will transfer his simulacrum into a Cursed Ring of Telekinesis to give to the PCs and do his best to guide the party to the Tower event in Act 2. As to why, Burr knows the command words for the animated armors in Patrina’s tower, and given their immunities to the building’s spell drain effect he hopes to use them to smuggle his soul out of Barovia.But if the PCs fail the skill challenge, Burr won’t be confident in their abilities: instead he will let them pass through the Depths if he lets the party kill one of their own, letting his Simulacrum assume that PC’s form followed by Modify Memory to try and erase the memory of the bargain. The player of the slain PC will then control Bur as a PC.While the adventure claims the last part to be a “garbage bargain,” Burr’s simulacrum is super-strong at this point in the game. A CR 9 fiend with 17 AC, 162 hit points, a 30 foot fly speed and can teleport 60 feet as an action, telepathy and truesight both out to 120 feet, is resistant to a variety of damage types, and can trade places with a willing ally 60 feet as a reaction upon being targeted by an effect that will hit the ally instead. In regards to spells, Bur can cast Darkness and Heat Metal at will, and has the capabilities of a 16th-level spellcaster using 20 Intelligence as their casting stat. However, they can only cast up to 5th level spells, and due to being a simulacrum cannot recover spell slots higher than 1st level when resting nor recover spell slots. But even then, we have some good spells, such as Counterspell, Mirror Image, Greater Invisibility, and Steel Wind Strike among others. Even should Bur have to resort to melee combat, his claws are magical weapons that deal 4d4+5 slashing damage with 15 foot reach.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/TkfyMnP.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Burr has the same stats as his simulacrum but with some spells added such as Maze and Disintegrate, which would make him very dangerous to pit against 6th-level PCs. However he will not go for the kill; Burr will cast non-damaging and less-powerful spells initially, repeating the offer to bargain every round. Only on the 4th and later rounds does he resort to more dangerous spells such as Disintegrate and Fireball. As for Bur, he will use Greater Invisibility to open up combat, then cast Spiritual Weapon to use that as the primary means of attack along with more damaging spells at 4th and later rounds. The arcanaloths will taunt the PCs and leave if at least 4 have been incapacitated or killed, saying that they should have a better understanding of their own capabilities now.The Amber Depths end with a long rest and some treasure, such as the Arcanaloth’s spellbook, 8,000 gold pieces worth of materials to scribe spells into spellbooks, and the weapon Nienoriel. The book doesn’t exactly say how they get the treasure besides presumably being found while exploring the Depths. Nienoriel is a longbow* that grants advantage on initiative rolls and can expend up to 6 charges to cast Guiding Bolt, using Dexterity as the spellcasting ability and the level of the spell is based on the number of charges spent.*Boy, there’s an awful lot of these weapon types here.Totally Safe Ghost Canisters is One Night Strahd’s take on the Dark Powers bargains in Curse of Strahd’s Amber Temple. They too appear as amber sarcophagi, but unlike CoS the dread entities contained within are unknown, left to the DM’s imagination if they ever decide to reveal it. This section does not have any combat, and is instead a means of giving the PCs extra power in exchange for drawbacks. Every player can choose a single Great Patron or Small God for their PC, which persists for that PC only meaning it is lost if another PC comes into play. In double-group play the PCs of both parties will converge here, and they can switch tables if they want.While the PCs are making camp in the Amber Temple, they will see in the light of their fire blocks of amber carved with names upon them. Bur will show up again, angrily telling the PCs to ignore them, but a disembodied voice from the coffins will offer their powers to the party.The Great Patron and Small God system is semi-randomized: each power is a card-like handout, and 2 Great Patrons are dealt to a player. Cards cannot be traded, and players can spend Inspiration to draw from the deck for another option. A player may trade in a Great Patron for a Small God of their choice. It’s possible for more than one PC to have the same Small God.There are 12 Great Patrons and 4 Small Gods. Each Patron has a power, along with a Consequence as a drawback. For example, Star of Ice and Hate grants the PC the benefits of Ring of Warmth and can cast Cone of cold 5 times,* but as a Consequence are terrified by fire as a Flaw. While Tethered Martikov grants a PC silver raven wings that give a fly speed equal to their walking speed, but they take 2d6 radiant damage once per round that they touch a silver object.*Doesn’t say if it’s 5 times period, or 5 times that are refreshed on a rest.There is one patron that kind of bucks the trend: Gentler Fenrir grants proficiency in the Giant language and the ability to summon two Winter Wolves to combat who can both take an action by their commanding PCspending a bonus action. But as a Consequence, a PC who dies reincarnates as a winter wolf whose natural attacks are treated as magical and can cast Mage Hand and Chill Touch. This honestly doesn’t sound that bad of a drawback, and the book even notes that a character can ride upon the wolf’s back. Hello sweet, sweet Mounted Combat feat!<img src="https://i.imgur.com/cxt8rDH.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />As for the Small Gods, they exist for PCs who don’t want to make deals that carry a consequence but are still there for PCs who need a bit of a boost. They are shrines in the same location that are not the sarcophagi, and include the blessings of Mother Night and 3 Orphaned Sisters whose shrines are carved from dragon scales. One Sister grants +2d4 fire damage to a character’s fists which are then treated as magical, another increases their melee reach by 5 feet, and a third raises their AC by 2 unless this would raise their AC above 23.* The shrine to Mother Nights lets the PC spend a bonus action to take 2d6+2 psychic damage to gain Inspiration.*if their AC is already 23, they gain Inspiration as the being at the shrine nods proudly at them.Thoughts So Far: One Night Strahd starts off quickly, and the events do a good job of making the PCs aware that they’re in a place they do not belong. The hunt mechanics help give a fast pace and lingering tension even when combat isn’t occurring, and there are meaningful ways for PCs to meaningfully progress via useful treasure and boons when they do a good job in resolving certain encounters. I do like how the arrangement of encounters in the events along with DC for challenges and sample skills helps keep the adventure flowing. Some of the 0 successes having consequences of the hunters getting free attacks on the characters still carries a penalty for failure that doesn’t necessarily involve rolling for initiative.However, the events are riddled with various small flaws. The Act suffers from disorganization, such as the oddly-placed Shrine Interior being between Sunlit Shrine and Dog Days, or how certain terms such as Sesame’s tinker’s kit or “the Tome” either can’t be found elsewhere in the book or are too vague. The puzzles in the Shrine Interior read as being rather unintuitive, and I can’t see players making the connection between the torches in the hallway and that of Irena’s Tomb without outside help and skill checks. Having not one, but 3 longbows as unique magical weapons feels a bit unimaginative. There’s also the fact that while it may not be morally appropriate for various PCs, Bur’s simulacrum is a very powerful playable option. And finally, it’s clear that Dog Days has more development on the backstory and characters in One Night Strahd; the book even says that it should be run instead of Sunlit Shrine for single-group playthroughs, but this isn’t a mandate so much as suggesting the DM give them incentives to choose one portal over the other at the start. So why not just make it one portal?Join us next time as we venture into Castle Ravenloft in Act 2!</blockquote>

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