D&D 5E Running Castle Ravenloft, with a twist: seeking advice from the community.

[LUZ_TAK]

Hello folks! I seek advice and ideas on running Castle Ravenloft with a tweak I have in mind. Naturally, this is a spoiler heavy thread regarding that module. Also, it’s kind of a longread; hope you enjoy it anyway and thanks for your input.

First of all, you will notice I’m willing to deviate heavy from certain elements of the adventure; yet I wish to retain the essence of what makes Ravenloft great. The adventure will be played by 4^th level Fighter, Cleric, Sorcerer and Rogue. I will adapt encounters and monsters accordingly. I’m also willing to change or alter any stat, ability or equipment of the NPCs to make the adventure run smoothly, or give the PCs any special boon or equipment needed for success.

Ok, the crux of the matter is that I want to climax of the adventure to be a tough choice the Players have to make. At the height of the adventure they must choose one outcome from these hard choices:

• Destroy Strahd for good, perhaps preventing the Domains or Ravenloft to form at all, but certainly liberating the people of Barovia from him, forever.
• Save Tatyana from an eternity of torment and reincarnation (note this is should not happen if they destroy Strahd by a conventional way, more on this latter).
• Rescue a dear friend (a NPC elven wizard, which used to be a PC of mine and adventure with the party with a DM which is now a player) from the clutches of Strahd, or from the Ravenloft Powers themselves. This NPC, has been (or can be during the adventure) turned into a Vampire Spawn by Strahd.

To make this happen, I intend to introduce a powerful artifact to be called “The Tears of Ilmater”, which the PCs have obtained in a previous adventure. This artifact (whose details I have yet to define, more on this latter) is a powerful one-time-use divine object with the power to cleanse the most potent and powerful corruption and malice, restoring thing to its purest form.

This one-use artifact is what enables the choice I described earlier:

• Using the artifact on Strahd would turn him back to human form, able to be defeated and punished for his crimes, as well as ending his reign of terror. He will be Human, but still be a villain and evil entity (no purging your sins with this). The Artifact can have a different effect on him is someone has a better idea.
• Using the artifact on Tatyana will free her from the eternal cycle of rebirth, suffering and tragic death she has been trapped into. Of course, she might still need rescuing from Strahd after this, but could possibly be taken back with the PCs when they leave the Domain of Dread (something I intend them to be able to do after this adventure).
• Using the artifact on the friend NPC will restore her to elven form and remove the curse of vampirism, preventing her from being a slave of Strahd, becoming a full vampire or become trapped by the Ravenloft Powers as a Lord.

Some additional info on the adventure the way I’m running it:

• The PCs will enter Castle Ravenloft with Tatyana and the Tears of Ilmater after exploring the town of Barovia and the Vistani camp, where the card reading should give them a glimpse of the ordeal they will face, and also seeing how the town suffers under Strahd rule.
• Strahd have used the PC’s to have them retrieve the Tears of Isha and bring it along with Tatyana to his Castle. Strahd knows he cannot use the artifact himself, so he plans on forcing/charming the PCs to do it for him. Strahd wants them to use artifact on Tatyana because he believes it will allow her to be freed from the Powers of Ravenloft grasp and finally be with him, forever. This can be true, or he can be deceived in this.
• One risk is that the PCs discover the nature of Tatyana and the Artifact before entering the castle, or reaching a suitable climax. They could use the artifact on her beforehand, which would ruin the plan. I think I need to introduce a caveat that the Artifact can only be used on Tatyana if she is laying on her grave deep in the crypts of Castle Ravenloft, that it requires some fresh blood from Strahd or something like that. Strahd can also threaten them with torturing the NPC friend for an eternity if they do not come forward with both Tatyana and the Artifact intact.
• The PCs know their NPC friend is held hostage by Strahd, but know nothing of her status. It was because of her that they came into Ravenloft in the first place. I plan on them discovering that she actually knew Strahd true nature and thought to trick him into something for her advantage, something with good intentions but folly still. The point is that the NPC friend is in big part responsible for her situation know; yet being eternally tormented by Strahd should be a prospect that the PCs abhor. This NPC can be a loose cannon in the Castle, seeking either to become a full vampire, or to be free from the vampirism, trying to convince the PCs to act in her favor or looking to take the Tears of Isha for herself, believing she can use the artifact. She can also look for an opportunity to attack Strahd and drinking his blood to become a full vampire, something the PCs might try to prevent. She IS a good natured character, but is being cuppupted by the vampire curse and the Powers themselves. I can picture some nasty scenes with Strahd toying with the PCs using this “pawn”. The PCs could destroy her in a conventional way if they wish to, but should look for a way to save her (that’s what I’m hoping for). Strahd can have her charmed or be turned into a vampire spawn at any point of the plot for maximum effect or to move the story forward
• I’m considering removing the Sunsword from the adventure entirely, since it would give them a second option to destroy Strahd.
• Another option I’m considering is that Strahd wants the Tears of Ilmater to be used on himself, but so far I have no good ideas down that path…

So that is the setup. I intend to have the PCs crawl thru Castle Ravenloft playing cat and mouse with Strahd, but the adventure should lead to a climactic confrontation with this bittersweet choice to be made at the end. Still, I find that there are several loose ends and possible problems I need to take care of, and this is where I will seek help and advice from you.

My main concerns are:

• First, how to avoid the PCs using the artifact on Tatyana or her NPC friend before fully understanding the consequences of their choice, or before I have them fight their way thru Castle Ravenloft and its denizens
• Second concern is how they leave Castle Ravenloft if they choose saving Tatyana or her NPC friend; Strahd would certainly want to punish them and they would be deep into his castle. An idea is that the NPC friend locks into battle with Strahd and giving them an opportunity to flee…
• I have not described the Tears of Ilmater to the PCs, so far they have it in an enclosed box they have not opened yet. The most straightforward option would be for it to be a liquid that has to be drinked/poured over the target, perhaps with some power word that activates it. It is important that it can be used aggressively against Strahd, as he should resisit this attempt (or maybe not? see below). Anyway, I have yet to define how his artifact looks or is to be used. It can be anything.

Ok, that’s pretty much what’s on my mind. For this adventure to be a success, it should have the PCs crawling thru the Castle, defending Tatyana from Strahd minions, fighting/protecting the NPC friend who might be an enemy by herself; and reach a final confrontation with Strahd that have them choose among three hard choices.

Now, how do I pull this off? Help me Obi Wan…

Any other inputs and ideas will be most welcomed.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

For the first worry, I think adding a conditional to when it can be used could work - say the stars have to align, or the moon has to be full, which just so happens to be at the crux of the adventure. Or you could make it a two-part item, and the second part just happens to be there at the exact moment needed.

I think that your second concern is easy enough to deal with...the module is predicated on a showdown with Strahd. That being said, if your concern is that they will face him before they're ready... Just have them fight him, and if they lose, have them all wake up nearly drained of blood and coming down with a case of vampirism, which they will have to seek a cure for next adventure. If anyone thinks this would be a good thing, remind them that they'd all be thralls of Strahd.

As for the third, I'd say look at the symbolism already present in the module. There's the sword and the symbol...what follows next? A chalice or shield comes to mind for me, but yeah, it could be anything.

One additional set of advice for the module is to take your time. I rushed through it in one long session, and really regretted not spending more time with it. Also, watch those isometric maps, they can be tricky to manage.

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6797738]Dorack[/MENTION] Great setup! And welcome to ENWorld

My instinct as a player in that 3-choice scenario you set up would be: Destroy Strahd for good, because everybody knows if you kill the master vampire the vampires he's created will die, and with him dead then Tatyana has no reason to haunt Castle Ravenloft anymore and would be freed.

So it would be 3 for the price of 1!

If that is not true, then you'd need to explicitly call out the following things in the lore of your game, either directly telling your players or with ample foreshadowing:

(a) Killing a vampire does not kill its spawn...instead the spawn may grow to become vampires in their own right (or something along those lines).

(b) Tatyana doesn't just haunt Strahd. Perhaps something more than him binds her to Castle Ravenloft? Perhaps she is bound to all of Barovia somehow?