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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9481150" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Pcmer9a.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/374086/Curse-of-Strahd-1995--A-pixel-art-token-set-fo-CoS" target="_blank">Product Link</a>Product Type: DMing ToolsCoS-Required? YesThe original Ravenloft adventure might have been published in 1983, but it was in the 90s that it became a full-fledged setting and we got a great expansion on our favorite Darklord’s backstory in the novel I, Strahd. This decade also saw the release of Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania: Symphony of the night, two of the most beloved entries in that series and a franchise that Ravenloft is often compared to. Curse of Strahd 1995 intentionally goes for the pixel art aesthetics common to video games at the time, creating tokens for just about every monster and NPC in the module. The author notes that working on pixel art maps would be an entire project of its own, but still managed to include maps for the Barovian overland and the Village of Barovia.As to why? Well, part of it is the author’s love for retro video games and Curse of Strahd, but also in that the limitations of sprite art served as a creative challenge for visualizing details with one’s imagination more. They also argue that the adventure’s gritty tone matched up with the color palette in games of this era.This product contains a 38 page PDF booklet along with 3 folders full of images suitable for virtual tabletops. They’re divided into creatures, NPCs, player tokens, and props, with a separate folder for the 2 maps. The booklet has an introduction giving instructions for how to upload the images to VTTs as well as how pixel image sizes map to creature size categories,* given that most websites have filters to avoid pixelation and thus special care is needed to preserve that retro feel. Additionally, the author shares the color palette they used, divided by hexadecimal code and RBG values. The rest of the book showcases all of the tokens divided by monster type, with each type sorted alphabetically and includes descriptions of size categories and locations in the adventure if appropriate. Only the Quasit is lacking descriptive detail, described as “test text” which indicates a pre-publishing holdover accidentally left in.The author did their due diligence in covering Barovia’s monsters and inhabitants with a wide brush. From my initial reading they seem to have included just about everyone, but I don’t see a sprite token for Ernst Larnak, Lady Wachter’s spy. While there’s a flesh golem token, there’s no unique one for Vasilka. I am not going to include all or even most of the tokens, but instead will share some that particularly caught my eye.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/qP9rp0s.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />This is Baba Lysaga’s Creeping Hut.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/dFZ0Xyq.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />And here’s one of the gargoyles perched around Castle Ravenloft.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/sIoIi4Q.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Want some named NPCs? Here’s Clovin Belview, the worst Fated Ally who doesn’t have Commoner stats!<img src="https://i.imgur.com/tsTIioD.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6q46Tkr.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />We even have two different sets of art for Rudolph Van Richten and his Rictavio disguise!<img src="https://i.imgur.com/nthS2hr.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Generic villagers and Vistani also have tokens divided by gender and age. Oddly, there’s no token for a male Vistani Commoner. There is a generic Vistani Male, but he’s labeled as a Bard rather than a Commoner.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/YsgKx4q.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Cr1TMaC.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Strahd Von Zarovich has two different tokens. As for what separates them in the module itself, I’m unsure, besides the one on the right looking paler and more undead.Overall Thoughts: While it isn’t necessarily my style, sprite art does have its appeal, and I do think it works well for gaming groups that want Curse of Strahd to feel more “retro.” My only real piece of criticism is that the pixel art looks a bit too old school for 1995. By that year, consoles such as the SNES had really smooth-looking and detailed sprite art from Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Secret of Mana, and more. The NPCs here look more appropriate to a late 80s-early 90s NES-era game. Additionally, I feel that having profile-style portraits would’ve added something, given that 90s-era RPGs quite commonly had those. With just tokens, it feels rather lacking.But all in all, this is a beautiful piece of work, and I am impressed in how many characters this product covered.Join us next time as we earn Ismark Kolyanovich’s trust in order to escort Ireena to safety with a new sidequest in Zombies at the Zalkens!</blockquote>

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