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They were a party of four level 2's at this point - fighting a CR5 monster, Shambling Mound). 1. How long should it take to travel across Barovia? Session 5 of our Curse of Strahd campaign. If you expect to successfully use this option to incapacitate a character wielding the Sunsword for at least one minute, increase Strahds CR by 2; if not, use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Episode about a group who book passage on a space ship controlled by an AI, who turns out to be a human who can't leave his ship? Under such circumstances, a party of 10th-level PCs is doomed to inevitable failure unless: A character has attuned to the luck blade and uses it to cast wish (replicating the effects of the spell forcecage) to imprison Strahd on the first round of combat, or. Even though there is not much detail about them in the book, they make great mini-bosses for the party to encounter. Knowing a few of my players had been through it before, I dec. For more information, please see our I think you need to add monsters if you aren't using milestones to ensure the PC's are of sufficient level to enter that area. rCurseOfStrahd - YouTube Copy the n-largest files from a certain directory to the current one. Strahd freely uses his Charm ability when able and the PCs are unaware of or unwilling to employ any means to stop it, limiting them to limited post-Charm curatives (e.g., manacles to restrain charmed PCs or the single-use 5th-level spell dispel evil and good). At that point it is down to each DM how such an encounter plays out - nothing precludes you from granting strokes of luck, fudging rolls, or throwing in timely ally arrivals when things go south. Note that each strategy assumes that, before preparing for combat, Strahd uses his phasing ability and/or legendary actions to retreat, waits at least one minute, and attacks again only once the PCs have left initiative. +1 for that's how sandbox works - this is teaching a whole new generation of gamers they gotta play smart and recon and not bite off more than they can chew. Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Sever Shadow. Reading it you get the impression that the adventure without extra pre-work anticipates a leveling structure based on milestones. Strahd is unaffected by any PC taunts specifically regarding Sergei, King Barov, Queen Ravenovia, or Tatyana. As always, be prepared to tune your preparations to the needs, skills, and expectations of your playersand above all else, make sure that you and your players have fun. Use this option if you want to destroy player agency and create an unsatisfying, doomed final battle. Even so, multiple encounters could TPK your party in one round, especially if they run away through the territory of another creature. Image of minimal degree representation of quasisimple group unique up to conjugacy. Strahd isn't actually the end boss of Curse of Strahd Use this option if you want to slowly (i.e., over 10 rounds or more) create a small army of shadows that can eventually one-turn kill an isolated, low-Strength PCor a PC that has been polymorphed into a frogoutside of sunlight using their strength drain attack. Strahd's face forms the barest hint of a smle as his dark plan unfolds. So far, the "bosses" they've fought have been Baba Lysaga, a suped alpha werewolf, and a beast at the Abbey of Saint Markovia I shamelessly stole from Bloodborne. Sleep. That means by right-clicking you can change the appearance of that characters token. In this case, you can have your player characters meet in the mist or camping together, but I would caution against starting in Barovia near Krezk. Now, Strahd has become convinced that a young Barovian woman is the reincarnation of his beloved Tatyana and wishes to make her his bride. These moments of hope help characters push through the dark to the thrill of dawn.. Strahd is unaffected by any PC taunts specifically regarding Sergei, King Barov, Queen Ravenovia, or Tatyana unless the PC succeeds on a DC 15 Charisma (Performance) check (made with advantage if the PC has read the Tome of Strahd), in which case Strahd prioritizes that PCs injury or death above other competing targets. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It influences Strahd. - Role-playing Games Stack Exchange Even with this, however, encounters can and should have the potential to be fatal. Strahd uses his lair action to attempt to sever a PC's shadow, creating an undead shadow. Are there any overpowered race/class combinations for Curse of Strahd? Although the ZIP files are now outdated (I have released . As with many pre-written adventures for D&D, it was a bit like reading a choose-your-own-adventure book from front to back, rather than following the breadcrumbs. . Your players likely know to expect monsters and adventure from their Dungeons & Dragons games, but Barovia provides a suspenseful atmosphere for your players to immerse themselves in. This official /r/CurseOfStrahd YouTube channel will be used to store many . If you use this option, increase Strahds CR by 1. 10 Best Endgame Bosses To Use In Your Next Dungeons & Dragons - CBR Sometimes the solution is not a fight; it is their job to know when to fight, when to run, and when to find different solutions, Use foreshadowing and foreboding to warn players. Why refined oil is cheaper than cold press oil? 1-10. Curse of Strahd - Boss Encounter (Spoilers) : r/dndnext - Reddit I'm looking for more ideas for bosses or minibosses to sprinkle through Barovia. These include changes like undead familiars and steeds as well as alarm screams and ominous telepathic eavesdropping. The daylight spell produces light that is not considered sunlight. Curse Of Strahd is one of the best campaigns for Dungeons & Dragons. Bumping up HP and AC are obvious first choices, but giving him access to a mythic action and regenerated health after initially being reduced to zero may be more fun for your players (and mimics the final form video game boss experience players may be familiar with from other Dracula-inspired vampires). [] Every adventure since Curse of Strahd has included one or several queer characters, and Crawford assured Kotaku that this will be a constant into future adventures []. Tracy found an old daguerreotype [an early type of photograph captured on a silvered copper plate] [sic] that captured the look of Strahd in his mind, and we used that image as a reference to create a new look for the vampire". First published. there is a passage there that I'm not entirely sure I can repeat here without a copyright issue, but it should solve your problem. With Roll20 as your virtual tabletop, your adventures are limitless. It is intended for 4 players, taking them from level 1 to 10. And it's especially brutal with Strahd because it's his home base and he fights DIRTY. Due to his unique phasing ability, low hit point maximum, eccentric spell list, and severe vulnerability to sunlight, Strahds Rules-As-Written statblock is difficult for any Dungeon Master to run in combat. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. The adventure is firmly rooted in the horror genre and pits the players against ghosts, werewolves, and the titular vampire himself: Strahd Von Zarovich. I tried to give as many hints as possible that the coffin maker was scared of something in the shop - he was glancing over his shoulder, refused to let them in, would only speak in a whisper and asked the party to meet him later 'somewhere safe' suggesting the inn. Any Domain of Dread is a fascinating setting for an adventure; each is a limited sandbox for player characters to explore encompassed by the Mists. Use this option if you want to deal a decent amount of damage to a number of PCs simultaneously, punishing them for grouping up, forcing them to separate, and reducing their resources. 28. Pace it well, let them have a victory or two to avoid too much frustration. Keeping level 1 characters alive is no small task, and "Death House" monsters have high armor classes and hit hard. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. For a very well-thought-out expansion on the implications of each of these plot hooks, Reddit user u/DragnaCarta has put together this excellent post on the r/CurseofStrahd subreddit, which is probably the single best D&D community subreddit in existence. Curse of Strahd DnD 5e Summary and DM's Quickstart Guide If the DM hasnt read the full adventure, be prepared for a bored party. That said, since I want to be a tank in the more traditional sense of supporting the group by enticing enemies to attack me instead, I am leaning toward Ancestral Guardian more than Bear. 10 On top of that, this is a horror campaign - it is not unreasonable that if the characters poke around the dark corners of Barovia whilst uninformed of what lies within, they may end up angering something much more powerful than themselves. Jeremy Crawford, Laura Hickman, Tracy Hickman, Adam Lee, Christopher Perkins, Richard Whitters. Strahd uses his lair action to close and lock one or more doors and windows. Ireena Kolyana, who remains the most divisive character in the module for players. The second fight, the majority of their spells are not terribly bad, and can be resisted if lucky. Strahd casts the sleep spell, placing the sphere such that it will only impact a specific wounded target. The following options refer to the frequency with which Strahd chooses to use his Charm ability in combat and the means by which the players avoid or resist it. What would stop him from turning into a T-Rex 4 times before actually taking on the party in his true form? Virtual Tabletop Journey all Demongund patrons presents the iconic Curse of Strahd - Baba Lysaga's Walking Hut recreated for use in TaleSpire! In this encounter, Strahds effective CR is 9, meaning that a party of 9th-level PCs attuned to the Sunsword and Holy Symbol will likely face a challenging, resource-intensive final encounter. The entire time I was reading this I kept thinking that your descriptions were validating the players that they were on the right track and should continue investigating. Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft, which expands the Domains of Dread for fifth edition, has an excellent sidebar on the importance of cultivating hope in your Ravenloft games. Strahd takes the hide action using his +14 to Stealth (Dexterity) checks. Use this option if you want to isolate a single PC in a place where Strahd can easily attack them and/or drag them away. I'd also love to put some bosses in there that mimic Strahd's tactics (retreating, summoning minions etc) so that when they finally face him, they have some form of believable tactics so it feels like their characters have improved tactically. Lets assume that his preferred actions include unarmed strike, fireball, and polymorph (sperm whale or killer whale), which he expects to successfully wield against a low-Wisdom rogue in order to incapacitate the Sunsword (+2 CR). Strahd constantly moves between multiple rooms in the same vicinity, always reserving one hard-to-reach space such as K18a (High Tower Shaft) as a safe place to regenerate his health to full and re-cast his spells before returning to the fray. The material components in her summoning spell are an oat milk latte and a high fantasy novel. Ways To Improve DnD: Curse Of Strahd - The Gamer Here's a list of preparations a DM should consider when preparing the final battle with Strahd in the D&D 5e Curse of Strahd adventure module: Review the adventure material: Read through the Curse of Strahd book (or review this article to review the information in one place). I picked Barbarian because I wanted to be the tank for the group. DnD 5e Curse of Strahd: What DMs Should Know - CBR Based on the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure, I6 Ravenloft, released in 1983, Curse of Strahd expands the original adventure into an entire region complete with 13 adventuring locations, including the Village of Barovia and Castle Ravenloft. Use this option if you desperately need to deal a tiny bit of damage to an isolated, low-AC, low-HP PC outside of sunlight, or if you want Strahd to waste his lair action. Combined with the magic items that are vicious vs vampires, Strahd as written was severely overmatched. Final Boss Music For Strahd : r/CurseofStrahd - Reddit He also has three level 4 spell slots and one level 5 spell slot. Rogue turning a slip into a tumble and roll, etc. Use this option if you want Strahd to slowly chip away a single PC's hit points over a long period of time (e.g., 20 or more rounds of combat) from a position of near-absolute safety. The series of events literally led them straight here after the fortune reading to find an artifact. Each magic item and named NPC has a distinct handout you can show to your players, and the adventure text interlinks to these, to descriptions of locations, and to included rules text, so you never have to leave the virtual tabletop to look up pale tincture or desecrated ground. They tend to go [] in the hundreds of dollars. Close/Lock Doors and Windows. Strahd expects his battle with the PCs to be a marathon, not a sprint. Use this option if you want to provide your players with a multi-stage boss fight that artificially inflates Strahd's hit points, providing for a longer, more satisfying finale that ends as soon as the PCs successfully grapple or incapacitate him. This guide aims to fill that gap, providing a comprehensive suite of options to allow Dungeon Masters to precisely customize the outcome and experience of their final boss fightas if customizing a statblockbefore initiative is even rolled. Minor Phasing. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. [10][11] The book was generally well received, earning the 2016 ENnie Awards for Best Adventure and Best Art/Cover and runner up for Product of the Year. If you dont have a healer (or they dont have that ability yet, like paladins or rangers), consider adding a potion of healing or two to the hidden room in the library. We find that more exciting (not that there are not ways to act tactically to adjust deadliness). Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to isolate a grappled PC or keep Strahd away from sources.of sunlight, out of sight of hostile spellcasters, and/or out of range of hostile melee enemies. In Curse of Strahd, as part of the Tarokka card reading, the party are told the locations of three "treasures"; the Sunsword, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and the Tome of Strahd.. Hit-and-Run Phasing. With delightfully macabre props and thoughtful changes, Curse of Strahd Revamped is the definitive version of a classic. Use this option if your players appear uninterested in using Strahds history against him. ISBN. Curse of Strahd - Adventure Lookup Defenestration. Some things to keep in mind to make this work well: (*) I roll my dice in the open (when I can), my players know my monsters may kill the characters and I don't fudge the die for or against them. Kill, some day, but not today. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to attack without disadvantage in sunlight and force the PCs to attack with disadvantage in a single pre-defined space. They refused to leave so the mother called her two daughters to help her and attacked the adventurers. Personally, I find it MUCH easier to do milestone based leveling in custom adventures I write myself than to try to mind-meld with a published adventure series to that deep of a level and try to just guess its intentions toward specific milestones, but maybe that's just me. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It then attacked them back. Want to support my work and get cool perks like personal campaign advice, mentoring, DMing resources, homebrew TTRPG encounters, & early access to guides? Even if they survive to the final basement battle and reveal, the chase upstairs and the houses own mechanisms may well kill them. Unfortunately the party didn't take the hint. [4] On the development process, Perkins said: "Without the Hickmans, this project would've died on the vine" and that "the Hickmans envisioned Strahd differently than he's depicted in the original Ravenloft adventure. In general, Strahds CR cannot go below 5. Use this option if you want to keep the fight short and sweet, with minimal disruptions or slowdowns. Castle Ravenloft is frankly a BRUTAL dungeon, especially if you make your players go into it mostly blind (which I do) and don't allow them to rest. Note that the use of a Lair Action other than phasing can allow your players to restrain and/or kill Strahd within 1-2 rounds unless he has a clear escape route and ample distance (60-90 feet) separating him from the majority of the party.