D&D 5E Strahd is not a typical vampire

[dave2008]

He doesn't have a sword in my copy of I6, so I'm not sure how "traditional" a sword-wielding Strahd really is.

In fact, Strahd being anything more than "a slightly above-average vampire" and "also a 10th level magic user" always feels out of place for me.

PS - I agree with you that vampire in the MM is intended for Strahd like vampires - vampire masters if you will. However, I do like small tweaks in the main villian of a campaign that are supported by story / adventure specific details.

Now, the Strahd in CoS has these (in particular his lair actions and spells), but I would have like to see some equipment upgrades since his Castle is filled with cool things. Perhaps magical armor, magic weapon, etc. This would result in revising the AC and adding an action line. Not a lot of extra work, IMO.

In fact, I started doing that to the CoS Strahd; however, he quickly jumps to CR17-18 with some realtively minor tweaks (AC to 18, increase in hp to 171), so I can understand why they didn't do that for this adventure.

Of course, they did more than double the MM vampire damage, plus lair actions, and one magic item, so he is quite different at the table I would think. So they have generally covered what needs to be done, and I think if played intelligently he could be very difficult to defeat.

 

[pukunui]

Technically he does have magical armor ...

 

[dave2008]

Technically he does have magical armor ...

Nothing that affect's his AC. Are you talking about the gem?

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Nothing that affect's his AC. Are you talking about the gem?

No his old armor is a animated and can be fought.

 

[dave2008]

No his old armor is a animated and can be fought.

Got it - thanks!

 

[Jediking]

No his old armor is a animated and can be fought.

I guess he figures that the best defense is a good offense

 

[Sunseeker]

I was under the impression, given the variant block below it that the MM vampire was supposed to be Strahd. So I don't mind the copy-pasta.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think the whole no armor thing comes from his 1e roots; in addition to being a vampire, he was a magic-user, and would not have worn armor. But I could be wrong on that.

Running the original module, his spells were a real threat. Opening with a well-placed fireball, combined with his vampiric abilities made him a very dangerous encounter, as it should have been. Two PCs were outright slain, and only one PC was on his feat by the end of the fight.

 

[dave2008]

I think the whole no armor thing comes from his 1e roots; in addition to being a vampire, he was a magic-user, and would not have worn armor. But I could be wrong on that.

Running the original module, his spells were a real threat. Opening with a well-placed fireball, combined with his vampiric abilities made him a very dangerous encounter, as it should have been. Two PCs were outright slain, and only one PC was on his feat by the end of the fight.

Oh he is still a really tough fight. Personally, if played for the kill, I don't think a group of 4 PCs will survive if they fight him in the Castle. he can take out at least one PC per round if he wants.