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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8991011" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/v6Xz9p0.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/342606/Strahds-Dark-Servants--Monsters-and-Retainers-for-Curse-of-Strahd" target="_blank">Product Link</a>Product Type: BestiaryCos-Required? Technically no, but all their backstories tie into the moduleWhat is an evil overlord without minions to carry out their dirty work, to menace the heroes of the story before they eventually fight the Big Bad themselves? Strahd Von Zarovich has his own hand-picked agents, such as the dusk elf Rahadin or his three Brides. But said minions are mostly confined to Castle Ravenloft in Curse of Strahd, and the servants operating in the rest of Barovia are less direct servants and more allies of convenience (like Arrigal and the Vistani) or otherwise left to their own devices that happen to line up with his goals (like the night hags in Old Bonegrinder). Strahd’s Dark Servants is a bestiary of special minions appointed by the Devil Strahd in strengthening his grip over the domain. Some have roles closer to Rahadin, in being combat-worthy enemies who may appear throughout the adventure to menace the PCs, while others aren’t optimized for combat and instead hinder the PCs in less direct ways.The Apostate (CR 13) used to be known as Kasimir, a priest of Ilmater who visited Barovia in the hopes of saving its souls. Upon discovering that most Barovians were soulless, he drifted from his noble nature and slain them, thinking them to be monsters. He built up a small army and sought to destroy Strahd; instead of a traditional fight as was expected, Strahd confronted Kasimir with his futile ways, causing the priest to surrender and become his vampire spawn.Now known as Mortimer the Apostate, the priest is Barovia’s closest equivalent to a state-sanctioned religious figure where he travels the domain praising Strahd’s name. The Apostate is able to curse heretics to speak the truth and call down divine flames, sacrificing the slain on an altar.The Apostate is the most powerful of the servants in this book. He is an undead who casts spells as a 13th level Cleric, specializing in offense but with a mixture of divination and utility magic. He has Legendary Actions and five motes of necrotic energy floating around him that he can expend for a variety of effects, such as gaining one-round flight or forcing a creature to save with disadvantage against his spells. The motes are recharged whenever he reduces a creature to 0 hit points.Thoughts: I like the Apostate’s backstory, and it’s a cautionary tale of how even if most Barovians are soulless that doesn’t excuse treating them with cruelty. His fall is all the more poignant and also shows Strahd’s cunning, for the Darklord didn’t have to defeat him in battle but merely had to confront the priest with his own hypocrisy. But beyond that his role feels a little unnecessary. Strahd’s name is already feared in Barovia, he doesn’t need an inquisitor-priest to go around reminding villagers about him. Additionally, the domain’s existing religions already serve ready social functions: the Morninglord provides hope, and Mother Night already fills the role of “Barovians are being punished for their sins” in the form of a wicked deity of monsters and the darkness.Rat Mongrel Jibben is a mongrelfolk with batlike features, living in the attics of Castle Ravenloft. Strahd barely registers him, using Jibben every so often to deliver messages or annoy new travelers. But he is loyal nonetheless, and hopes to be gifted with vampirism one day.Jibben is a CR 3 creature with a natural fly speed and a decent blindsight. He doesn’t do a lot of damage on his own, instead being more of a mobile kite where he opens up casting Darkness to blind foes and stays aloft before coming into melee when the opportunity presents itself. He can move half his speed as a reaction if an enemy ends up within 5 feet of him, along with being able to bite and cast Vicious Mockery as a cantrip in the same round. His main offense is the Vampiric Touch spell.Thoughts: Although not part of the Abbot’s community, Curse of Strahd’s mongrelfolk (and the monster type in general) have unfortunate implications that haven been discussed elsewhere.As a foe, Jibben is less of a direct danger and more of a nuisance, a little-acknowledged servant with an impossible goal. He is tragic in an altogether different way, serving a Lord who uses him without respect in hopes of earning said respect. For tactics, he isn’t much of a danger on his own save to beginning-level PCs, as ranged attacks and means of countering kiting tactics are common in the arsenal of many classes.The Glum Coachman is Igor, Strahd’s carriage driver, and unhappy about his current lot in life. Strahd never uses the carriage, instead being primarily a vehicle to transport adventurers to Castle Ravenloft. Igor is resentful about the fact that Strahd seems to have forgotten hiring him in the first place which helped lift him out of poverty in Vallaki. He takes his anger out on the adventurers he transports, insulting them in hopes of provoking them to violence so he can use the magical carriage to kill them.In terms of stats Igor is CR ⅛ and barely a threat on his own. His special abilities come with a once per day ability to grant his draft horses advantage on attack rolls along with hitting with his whip as a bonus action. Said whip can also cause targets to drop items on a failed Strength save. As for the Black Carriage, it is a CR 3 construct inhabited by the soul of a murdered and bloodthirsty human. It has a multitarget overrun attack, can also do an AoE attack dealing necrotic damage to targets of its choice within 60 feet, and is weak to the prone condition and can’t recover from it save through outside help.Thoughts: The Glum Coachman is most likely going to be a one-time servant, most likely when the PCs receive an invitation to Castle Ravenloft or when the carriage is encountered near Tser Falls in the default adventure. It basically turns that encounter into a role-playing one with the possibility of combat. I do feel that choosing the name Igor is kind of unimaginative.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Ja4uQAY.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Head Chef prepares meals for Strahd’s guests, but his food isn’t fit for living consumption, such as ricin cakes and strychnine laced wine that are designed to poison and harm the guests. He is inordinately proud of his work, and is paranoid about people stealing his secret ingredients. So anyone he catches sneaking in the kitchen he will capture and force-feed to death.In terms of stats the Head Chef is CR 2, but honestly his offense is rather below that. In terms of stats the Head Chef is CR 2, but honestly his offense is rather below that. You can read the bulk of his entry in the left-side stat block, but he also has a poison that deals 3d6 damage in food he prepares. It doesn't say whether this damage is resisted or negated by a save, so I presume it applies automatically.Thoughts: The last of our non-combatant opponents, the Head Chef is similar to Igor in likely being a one-time or side character. By the time the PCs encounter him in Castle Ravenloft he will be a trivial nuisance, and during dinner the party’s focus is going to be on Strahd and his Brides. The poisoned food goes well with Strahd’s personality in being a danger lurking beneath a veneer of politeness, but it’s bound to turn a social encounter into a combat one as soon as the players hear “the Barbarian takes 8 poison damage.”Content Warning: Animal cruelty for the next entry.The Hound Marshall is the closest thing Barovia has to a military commander. The domain does not have a standing army, so Strahd’s marshal took to raising hounds as the “perfect soldier.” He lets loose swarms of them around Castle Ravenloft, and deliberately keeps them hungry and starving. The Hound Marshal lets them feed once a week by taking them to Vallaki to attack and devour those too slow and sick to escape indoors.In terms of stats the Hound Marshal is a CR ½ NPC who primarily grants beneficial status to his allied beasts, from giving them a constant advantage on Charisma saves to whipping them as a rechargeable ability that lets them make a melee attack as a reaction with an additional damage die. He can use this ability along with a whip attack during the same round as a multiattack.His Swarm of Hounds is a CR 2 creature that basically uses dog stats but as a swarm and with more hit points. The Swarm can make 2 bite attacks that can knock a target prone as well as a rechargeable Throat Gnash attack that deals additional damage to prone targets and also grapples and restrains them.Thoughts: The Hound Marshal is one of my higher-rated servants. Unlike most of the other entries he doesn’t have a monstrous or supernatural gimmick, but instead is a cruel human that just as much deserves a violent end at the PC’s hands. He can serve as a good recurring foe for low-level PCs, in that while individually not much of a threat the presence of seemingly feral hounds throughout Barovia can serve as a precursor to his appearance.The Jester is the source of humor for the court of Castle Ravenloft, as well as Strahd’s specialized torturer. She doesn’t receive anything in regards to pay besides having a roof to sleep under, but her sadistic nature views the jobs as reward enough. When not on duty she wanders Barovia looking for random townsfolk to murder, and is often sent to harass adventurers Strahd takes interest in what she calls a “true test of character.”In terms of stats Jester is one of the more powerful characters in this book, as a CR 9 NPC who can cast a variety of spells as a 12th level sorcerer. She also has access to sorcery points and metamagic, and the book offers some tactics of hers such as Twinned Dominate Person. In spite of being an arcane caster she likes to get up close and personal with a poisoned dagger and legendary actions themed around agility, such as a damaging somersault strike that grants her free movement or a Tendon Cut that damages and reduces the speed of a target.Thoughts: Evil clowns and jesters are a semi-common archetype in horror, so a wicked court jester in Curse of Strahd fits right in. It does bring to mind what sense of humor Strahd has, as most portrayals of the vampire count paint him as a rather humorless person. Even so, it still paints a more humanizing portrait without necessarily reducing his villainy.The Jester can serve as an in-built recurring foe, but she is pretty dangerous to deploy against low-level PCs. Her poisoned dagger can do a lot of damage and even cripple a fighter. That the poison is automatic and can’t be resisted by a saving throw only compounds this, so I’d save her for middle and higher level PCs.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/OYaBHTh.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Last Stalker was once known as Luirlan, and is the last remaining female dusk elf. Strahd captured and broke her to his will, removing the memories of her old life. She now patrols the Svalich Woods, keeping the forest sacrosanct against poachers and lumberjacks as well as any who see her.In terms of stats the Last Stalker is a CR 4 enemy with the Cunning Action of a Rogue and the hiding among foliage ability as the Wood Elf subrace. She has a rechargeable Trap attack where she moves up to her speed and lays a hidden trap of indefinite duration that can damage and restrain targets who pass through its space. She also has an arsenal of special ammunition in the form of arrows with various abilities, such as a Barbed Arrow that has -2 on attack rolls but deals +1d4 slashing damage, or a Rechargeable Cursed Arrow that never misses and deals 2d8 psychic damage and affects the target as per the Bane spell.The special arrows can be looted off of her, save for the Cursed Arrows.Thoughts: The Last Stalker is a cool enemy that is best deployed by a patient DM. She can afford to put distance between herself and the PCs via traps and Cunning Action, and her arrows can keep the party guessing in cause they grow too used to her attacks. Her backstory tying in with the Dusk Elves is also a nice touch, for it reveals that Strahd isn’t ever satisfied with just beating his opponents. He must make them suffer for challenging him at all.The Pickled Zombie is stored in a barrel of wine in Castle Ravenloft, both to preserve it as well as to give the wine a rather unique taste. Strahd has a twisted sense of sentimentality for this particular zombie, as it’s the corpse of a soldier dating back to a war during a time before Barovia was absorbed into the Demiplane of Dread. Strahd brings out the zombie and wine only for special occasions, and any PCs who destroy this monster will earn the vampire’s special enmity on top of whatever else they did that may earn his ire.Statwise the Pickled Zombie is a CR 3 undead that has predictable multiattack bite and claws along with being able to fall to 1 hit point rather than 0 if it would otherwise die from non-fire, non-radiant damage sources up to 3 times per day. The Zombie also has legendary actions, including a special AoE miasma that can inflict poison damage and the poisoned condition. The zombie is also intelligent and can speak Common.Thoughts: The Pickled Zombie is rather underpowered for most PCs venturing into Castle Ravenloft. It is also lacking in ranged attacks, although given the close confines of the dungeon this may not be as big of a hindrance like in larger open spaces. But in terms of backstory it is rather lacking in comparison to the other entries, being more or less an unknown soldier whose history will be made up by the GM if the PCs deign to engage the zombie in conversation.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/RllFuAa.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Scharfrichter is Strahd’s personal executioner. When the Darklord wants someone personally dead but isn’t otherwise a big enough problem to personally take care of (typically people who criticize him in public or break laws he cares about), he sends Scharfrichter out with a signed letter marking the guilty party for death. Scharfrichter’s name and identity is unknown, as he never takes off his hood nor does he speak in conversation. The executioner also carries with him a bag of severed digits and limbs as trophies, which in addition to humans include some more monstrous prizes such as werewolf teeth.Statwise Scharfrichter is a CR 4 NPC who specializes in melee combat. His signature weapon is a greataxe he can attack twice with as a multiattack, and has advantage on all attack rolls against creatures he attacked during his last turn, as well as a rechargeable special attack that can cripple or even sever a limb on a failed Dexterity save in addition to damage. He also has legendary actions, such as a Foot Sweep that can knock prone and even sever the limbs of a struck target.Thoughts: Scharfritchter is another one of my favorite minions in this book. He is a kind of minimalist horror, where what people don’t know about him allows others to fill in the blanks, and the warrant of execution being an in-character handout is an amusing and brief way of telling you what he’s all about. Like the Pickled Zombie his lack of ranged attacks and mobility is a weak point, although his ability to sever limbs (along with rules for reattaching and healing them) imposes a risk in fighting Scharfritchter that ensures PCs will take him seriously.Knorka the Werewurm is a unique pet of Strahd’s, a lunar parasite that was born in an outhouse and is most fond of attacking people who seek to relieve themselves.The Werewurm is a CR 8 shapechanger that can take on lycanthrope-like alternate forms, which isn’t so much a worm as a vague insectile serpent with a lamprey-like mouth. It is primarily melee-focused, with a bite and constrict attack along with a rechargeable AoE where it spews a cone of bile that deals poison damage and the poisoned condition. Those bit by it also risk contracting lycanthropy.Thoughts: I’m not feeling the Werewurm; it’s too silly in comparison to the rest of the servants, as well as Curse of Strahd’s darkly serious tone. Even when the module goes for humor there’s still a lingering sense that you’re in a Domain of Dread, like with Blinksy’s macabre toys. And this applies even in contrast to the other entries, such as Jester’s demented sense of humor or Scahfrichter’s warrant.Overall Thoughts: Strahd’s Dark Servants is a mixed bag for me. There are some NPCs who work for me and have cool potential, others not so much. The servants in question have a variety of roles and backstories, which I like, and only a third of them are exclusively in Castle Ravenloft with the rest being able to plausibly appear elsewhere in Barovia.My main complaints would be that some of them don’t exactly feel lore-friendly or make sense with how Barovia and Strahd are imagined in the module, such as the Apostate putting a religious spin on enforcing Strahd’s will or the Hound Marshal menacing Vallaki whose current baron is hostile to Strahd. Or how around half don’t have reliable ranged attacks, notably the Glum Coachman, Head Chef, Pickled Zombie, Scharfrichter, and the Werewurm.But I don’t regret this purchase, and of the minions I liked I like enough to incorporate into the next time I run Curse of Strahd.</blockquote>

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