Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Sammael's Curse of Strahd (CoS) Extravaganza
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sammael" data-source="post: 6974967" data-attributes="member: 4475"><p>After Death House, the party leveled to level 3. As the PCs moved on to explore the village of Barovia over the next two sessions, I realized that CoS would take a lot longer to run than I had anticipated - particularly since they were interested in <em>all</em> the little side-quests and didn't want to leave any stones unturned. At this point, I came up with the milestone system for the adventure. Basically, there is a rather large list of milestones, and PCs gain a new level after resolving any four milestones from the list. Some of the milestones are mutually exclusive, but the total number of milestones is large enough that PCs will hit the L10 level cap before resolving them all. Here it is (note that some locations were updated after the Tarokka reading):</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Interaction Milestones (Location)</u></strong></p><p>Burial for Kolyan Indirovich (Barovia)</p><p>Obtain a Tarokka reading from Madame Eva (Tzer Pool)</p><p>Win Jeny Greenteeth's favor (Tzer Falls)</p><p>Rescue Arabelle from Bluto (Lake Zarovich)</p><p>Forge alliance with Van Richten (Vallaki)</p><p>Resolve the power struggle in Vallaki (Vallaki)</p><p>Restore the Krezkov bloodline (Krezk)</p><p>Reunite Sergei and Tatyana (Krezk)</p><p>Help Donavich with Doru (Barovia, Krezk)</p><p>Forge alliance with Ezmerelda (Anywhere)</p><p>Restore Mad Mage's Sanity (Mount Baratok)</p><p>Save children from the werewolves (Werewolf den)</p><p>Forge alliance with the hags (Old Bonegrinder)</p><p>Restore Patrina to life (Amber Temple, Castle Ravenloft)</p><p>Rescue Gertruda (Castle Ravenloft)</p><p>Befriend Piddlewick II (Castle Ravenloft)</p><p> </p><p><strong><u>Exploration Milestones (Location)</u></strong></p><p>Obtain the Tome of Strahd (Vistani Camp south of Vallaki)</p><p>Recover the Bones of St Andral (Vallaki)</p><p>Find the Sunsword (Vallaki)</p><p>Find the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind (Krezk)</p><p>Deliver bridal dress to the Abbot (Krezk)</p><p>Light the Beacon of Argynvostholt (Argynvostholt)</p><p>Restore Wizard of Wines (2 or 3 gems) (Wizard of Wines)</p><p>Reconsecrate the Shrine of Mother Night (Werewolf den)</p><p>Discover the secrets of Amber Temple (Amber Temple)</p><p>Destroy all amber sarcophagi (Amber Temple)</p><p>Destroy Heart of Sorrow (Castle Ravenloft)</p><p> </p><p><strong><u>Combat Milestones (Location)</u></strong></p><p>Destroy Lady Wachter's book club (Vallaki)</p><p>Disrupt St. Andral's feast (Vallaki)</p><p>Defeat the Abbot (Krezk)</p><p>Defeat Wintersplinter (Wizard of Wines)</p><p>Clear Yester Hill (Yester Hill)</p><p>Reconsecrate the Circle of Standing Stones (Ruins of Berez)</p><p>Clear Old Bonegrinder (Old Bonegrinder)</p><p>Clear Tsolenka Pass (Tsolenka pass)</p><p>Defeat Rahadin (Amber Temple/Castle Ravenloft)</p><p></p><p>I'll detail some of the non-obvious milestones a bit later on. Perhaps I can compile this (and other enhancements) into a document of some sort, if they would be useful...</p><p></p><p>In any case, the party first met warlock's replacement character, <strong>Evendur the Human Fighter</strong>, at the tavern. To supply them with a bit of background information, and to better fit the player's background story, I actually declared that Evendur arrived in Barovia about six months ago with another, more experienced adventuring party. They were overconfident, stormed Castle Ravenloft, and got slaughtered - except for Evendur who was captured by one of Strahd's vampire brides and drained within an inch of his life. The bride then gifted him her funeral bouquet (one of gothic trinkets) and bid him farewell. He reached the village and spent the following months pawning his equipment to pay for food and drink (lots and lots of drink) at the tavern, all the while desperately trying to come up with a plan for revenge. </p><p></p><p>With their new party member in line (and in possession of valuable info concerning Barovia and the castle), PCs set out to:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Go to Burgomaster's mansion with Ismark to meet his sister Ireena</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Visit the church where they learn what happened to Donavich's son (they left him alone and promised they would seek help from the Abbot in Krezk)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Learn about the ghostly adventurers and their midnight march on the castle</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bury Kolyan Indirovich</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Learn about Morgantha and her soul cakes</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hear Mad Mary's plea for help (and tie Gertruda's disappearance to Morgantha)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Escort Ireena to Vallaki</li> </ul><p></p><p>The Ismark/Ireena part went smoothly (although they couldn't convince Ireena to stay barricaded in the house for the funeral), and PCs were disgusted at the villagers who didn't want to help bury their former Burgomaster. I added a few details here and there: </p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There was a mob of villagers picketing in front of the church who accused Donavich and "his monster" of all their problems. Ismark almost got into a fight with them, but PCs managed to stop it by intimidating the hell out of villagers who ran away</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Two PCs were guarding Kolyan's body in the church over night when Rahadin appeared and nailed a proclamation on the church door, placing the church under Strahd's protection (to fuel the villagers' doubts... and play with the PCs minds)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When they were escorting Ireena to the church for the funeral, Strahd himself appeared - as an invisible presence - and started whispering to her; needless to say, they literally ran to the church, hoping it would offer them some protection</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When leaving the village, Ismark dug out the third Wizard of Wines gem from his garden (unaccounted for in the actual adventure) and gave it to the PCs as payment, explaining that his father obtained it ten years ago during a famine and it had saved the village from starvation</li> </ul><p></p><p>And while the PCs didn't wonder how Strahd was able to enter Burgomaster's mansion uninvited and bite Ireena, I did... and here's what I came up with:</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sammael, post: 6974967, member: 4475"] After Death House, the party leveled to level 3. As the PCs moved on to explore the village of Barovia over the next two sessions, I realized that CoS would take a lot longer to run than I had anticipated - particularly since they were interested in [I]all[/I] the little side-quests and didn't want to leave any stones unturned. At this point, I came up with the milestone system for the adventure. Basically, there is a rather large list of milestones, and PCs gain a new level after resolving any four milestones from the list. Some of the milestones are mutually exclusive, but the total number of milestones is large enough that PCs will hit the L10 level cap before resolving them all. Here it is (note that some locations were updated after the Tarokka reading): [B][U]Interaction Milestones (Location)[/U][/B] Burial for Kolyan Indirovich (Barovia) Obtain a Tarokka reading from Madame Eva (Tzer Pool) Win Jeny Greenteeth's favor (Tzer Falls) Rescue Arabelle from Bluto (Lake Zarovich) Forge alliance with Van Richten (Vallaki) Resolve the power struggle in Vallaki (Vallaki) Restore the Krezkov bloodline (Krezk) Reunite Sergei and Tatyana (Krezk) Help Donavich with Doru (Barovia, Krezk) Forge alliance with Ezmerelda (Anywhere) Restore Mad Mage's Sanity (Mount Baratok) Save children from the werewolves (Werewolf den) Forge alliance with the hags (Old Bonegrinder) Restore Patrina to life (Amber Temple, Castle Ravenloft) Rescue Gertruda (Castle Ravenloft) Befriend Piddlewick II (Castle Ravenloft) [B][U]Exploration Milestones (Location)[/U][/B] Obtain the Tome of Strahd (Vistani Camp south of Vallaki) Recover the Bones of St Andral (Vallaki) Find the Sunsword (Vallaki) Find the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind (Krezk) Deliver bridal dress to the Abbot (Krezk) Light the Beacon of Argynvostholt (Argynvostholt) Restore Wizard of Wines (2 or 3 gems) (Wizard of Wines) Reconsecrate the Shrine of Mother Night (Werewolf den) Discover the secrets of Amber Temple (Amber Temple) Destroy all amber sarcophagi (Amber Temple) Destroy Heart of Sorrow (Castle Ravenloft) [B][U]Combat Milestones (Location)[/U][/B] Destroy Lady Wachter's book club (Vallaki) Disrupt St. Andral's feast (Vallaki) Defeat the Abbot (Krezk) Defeat Wintersplinter (Wizard of Wines) Clear Yester Hill (Yester Hill) Reconsecrate the Circle of Standing Stones (Ruins of Berez) Clear Old Bonegrinder (Old Bonegrinder) Clear Tsolenka Pass (Tsolenka pass) Defeat Rahadin (Amber Temple/Castle Ravenloft) I'll detail some of the non-obvious milestones a bit later on. Perhaps I can compile this (and other enhancements) into a document of some sort, if they would be useful... In any case, the party first met warlock's replacement character, [B]Evendur the Human Fighter[/B], at the tavern. To supply them with a bit of background information, and to better fit the player's background story, I actually declared that Evendur arrived in Barovia about six months ago with another, more experienced adventuring party. They were overconfident, stormed Castle Ravenloft, and got slaughtered - except for Evendur who was captured by one of Strahd's vampire brides and drained within an inch of his life. The bride then gifted him her funeral bouquet (one of gothic trinkets) and bid him farewell. He reached the village and spent the following months pawning his equipment to pay for food and drink (lots and lots of drink) at the tavern, all the while desperately trying to come up with a plan for revenge. With their new party member in line (and in possession of valuable info concerning Barovia and the castle), PCs set out to: [LIST] [*]Go to Burgomaster's mansion with Ismark to meet his sister Ireena [*]Visit the church where they learn what happened to Donavich's son (they left him alone and promised they would seek help from the Abbot in Krezk) [*]Learn about the ghostly adventurers and their midnight march on the castle [*]Bury Kolyan Indirovich [*]Learn about Morgantha and her soul cakes [*]Hear Mad Mary's plea for help (and tie Gertruda's disappearance to Morgantha) [*]Escort Ireena to Vallaki [/LIST] The Ismark/Ireena part went smoothly (although they couldn't convince Ireena to stay barricaded in the house for the funeral), and PCs were disgusted at the villagers who didn't want to help bury their former Burgomaster. I added a few details here and there: [LIST] [*]There was a mob of villagers picketing in front of the church who accused Donavich and "his monster" of all their problems. Ismark almost got into a fight with them, but PCs managed to stop it by intimidating the hell out of villagers who ran away [*]Two PCs were guarding Kolyan's body in the church over night when Rahadin appeared and nailed a proclamation on the church door, placing the church under Strahd's protection (to fuel the villagers' doubts... and play with the PCs minds) [*]When they were escorting Ireena to the church for the funeral, Strahd himself appeared - as an invisible presence - and started whispering to her; needless to say, they literally ran to the church, hoping it would offer them some protection [*]When leaving the village, Ismark dug out the third Wizard of Wines gem from his garden (unaccounted for in the actual adventure) and gave it to the PCs as payment, explaining that his father obtained it ten years ago during a famine and it had saved the village from starvation [/LIST] And while the PCs didn't wonder how Strahd was able to enter Burgomaster's mansion uninvited and bite Ireena, I did... and here's what I came up with: [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Sammael's Curse of Strahd (CoS) Extravaganza
Top