This article is for first-time Curse of Strahd dungeon masters to act as a sort of Barovia for Beginners to help you build immersion and enable fun for your players in Ravenloft. He also has three level 4 spell slots and one level 5 spell slot. Image of minimal degree representation of quasisimple group unique up to conjugacy. On a more practical level this will help you prepare ahead rather than waiting for your players to do that reading. Copy the n-largest files from a certain directory to the current one. In this encounter, Strahds effective CR is 5the minimummeaning that a party of 5th-level PCs attuned to the Sunsword and Holy Symbol will likely face a challenging, resource-intensive final encounter. This is the whole point of an XP system: to make that a little easier to deal with. Why does the narrative change back and forth between "Isabella" and "Mrs. John Knightley" to refer to Emma's sister? Strahd casts greater invisibility before entering combat. [] Reading through The Curse of Strahd was a thrilling visit to the tortured land of Barovia. Strahd is the Darklord whose dominion is Barovia, but beyond him are the Dark Powers, the omnipotent and immortal beings that control the Mists of Ravenloft and all of the Domains of Dread, each housing its own horrible Darklord. What's a reasonable Green Hag Coven encounter for a party of 3 level 8 PCs? Sometimes massively so. While making their way through "Old BoneGrinder", they encountered the hags in the upper two floors. This was the RECOMMENDED area for players to start if they're level 1, also. 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. Reading it you get the impression that the adventure without extra pre-work anticipates a leveling structure based on milestones. Which only now gets them level 5 but they have been fighting CR 5's most of the way, with the occasional CR 1-3. I played my first tabletop RPG (Pathfinder 1e, specifically) in college. The ghasts and the mound are tough, but certainly doable if the characters play smart. He then drains them to 0 hit points using his bite attack before stabilizing them. This would be a fine and wholly satisfactory answer if the book gave players ways to level up to those challenges. Once in Barovia, the PCs are free to explore the entire region in search of aid in their battle against Strahd as well as several powerful relics strewn throughout the land. Even if they survive to the final basement battle and reveal, the chase upstairs and the houses own mechanisms may well kill them. From what I remember, if you are simply talking about the leveling guide - they award levels for various in-game events (such as finding artifacts, or completing areas). After all: their ally or an artifact may be very nearby! Strahd casts fog cloud before entering combat. I completely agree with @ShadowKras. Hence, assuming the party did head in and end up in fight against the three hags, having the raven summon help in the form of a swarm or a wereraven may be one solution to avoiding a TPK. If you use this option and expect your players to make strategic use of such tactics, leave Strahds default CR unchanged if employing No Phasing and reduce Strahds default CR to 7 otherwise. 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. It is intended for 4 players, taking them from level 1 to 10. Before running the hook, establish who the player characters are and how/if they know each other in their initial setting. Creeping Fog is perhaps the easiest lead into Death House if you deposit your player characters near the village of Barovia, but also the least ceremonious. Curse of Strahd, one of the most popular Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game products of all time, split into three parts: a 224-page perfect-bound adventure for characters of levels 1-10, a 20-page Creatures of Horror booklet of new monsters that appear in the adventure, and an 8-page Tarokka Deck booklet. I know that Zealot's radiant damage would be useful . The book does suggest that milestone-based leveling might be best, but only throws out a few examples of appropriate milestones, leaving the DM to really have to do a lot of thinking about how to award for various things. Curse of Strahd - Boss Encounter (Spoilers) So, Strahd has Polymorph. The adventure is firmly rooted in the horror genre and pits the players against ghosts, werewolves, and the titular vampire himself: Strahd Von Zarovich. Role-playing Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games. She's either a Damsel Scrappy who steals much of the module's focus while lacking a compelling personality to justify protecting her, or she's a likeable character with a good amount of characterization, and someone the players can see as . Curse of Strahd is a fairly free-form adventure where the characters are drawn into Barovia and must defeat Strahd to . Strahd uses 1 legendary action to corner a vulnerable foe or escape a dangerous situation. Looking at the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind's description in Appendix C (p. 222), it looks like something that a group of adventures wanting to take down a powerful vampire would want to have. Bite. So far in my campaign they completed Death House (2 levels), and Old BoneGrinder (1 Level), and found the Sunsword (1 level). I'm currently DMing a Curse of Strahd campaign (slightly modified to fit into an existing world I am slowly building (following core rule books for the most part). 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. Am I missing something here - or is this the proper sequence? Fireball. And instead of relying on stereotypes or fixating on their sexuality, these characters fleshed-out backstories make them people, not icons". All encounters are done exactly as-is. Strahd uses 2 legendary actions to bite a charmed or grappled enemy. 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. It then attacked them back. If you choose this option, set Strahds default CR to 11. None. Aarakocra and Flying Players If you use this option on at least one-third of Strahds turns in combat, increase Strahds CR by 2 if Strahd is employing Hit-and-Run Phasing (see above), and reduce Strahds CR by 2 if not. 28. Alternatively, if Strahd has isolated and incapacitated a character, use this option if you want to create a cinematic and dramatic moment where the incapacitated PC can attempt to break free and delay Strahd until their allies can arrive. 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. As a module, Curse of Strahd does a pretty good job of keeping the pressure on with very little work from the DM. In this scenario, Strahd fights to swiftly neutralize threatening targets, isolate and eliminate weaker enemies, and reduce the partys resources through a lengthy war of attrition, ending only if he is either successfully grappled or somehow incapacitated. It was released on March 15, 2016 and is based on the Ravenloft module . I am however following the setup/plot within the actual setting exactly. Id recommend simultaneously improving Strahds abilities alongside the characters starting at level 7-8, and especially once they have access to magic that generates sunlight. I tried to give further hints - letting them spot many footsteps around large body sized crates in the dust of the storage room. How can I prepare for DMing the Curse of Strahd adventure effectively? Important to preface that the party was pretty beat up after the boss fight in the House of Lament, so they decided to rest at the Vistani Encampment (at approximately 2pm, when the sun was heavily . I'm looking for more ideas for bosses or minibosses to sprinkle through Barovia. This scenario most closely resembles that run by novice DMs encountering Strahds statblock for the first time. Use this option if you want to make your players, one-by-one, rip up their character sheets in the middle of the session. [19] Muncy highlighted that the errata and the Revamped edition "sought to undo some of the harmful stereotyping of the Vistani people, along with revising the books approach to a specific characters disability to avoid ableist stereotypes. The Dungeons & Dragons SRD rules are available by search in the sidebar, as well as any other content you own and have added to the game via Compendium Sharing. With only a few quick copy/pastes, your adventurers can get stomped into the muddy waters of the Ruins of Berez! Here are some examples we have come across so far. Strahd attempts to always maintain a distance of at least 40 feet from any hostile melee combatant who has a Strength (Athletics) modifier of +4 or greater. Make sure to give . He also has three level 4 spell slots and one level 5 spell slot. [] Play is easy, and intuitive, given youve familiarized yourself with the adventure ahead of time. Petty. 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. Descriptions and events can be too much for young kids, so beware running this campaign with little ones. Was Aristarchus the first to propose heliocentrism? The Ravenloft Setting and Setting Expectations, Icovered the Tarokka reading in another article. First of all, the Roll20 Curse of Strahd conversion includes the Castle Ravenloft maps and Tarokka deck addon, so no need to buy them separately. If you use this option, increase Strahds CR by 1 if you expect the battle to largely range between the first and second floors of Castle Ravenloft, and leave Strahds CR unchanged if not. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Strahd constantly lures the PCs to new locations throughout the castle, moving the scene of battle to monster- or trap-filled chambers (e.g., the gargoyles in K7 or the elevator trap in K61), while reserving multiple safe spaces to regenerate his health fully before returning to the fray. Now, I realize there was some obvious deficiencies on these monsters that make them slightly easier in general - for instance the first boss fight, they could have easily kited him around the room and never given it the chance to attack (his movement was only 20ft per round). A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. Wiki Le Monde des Royaumes Oublis (French), The Blade of Truth: The Uses of Logic in the War Against Diabolist Heresies, as Fought by the Ulmist Inquisition, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Vengeful. Open/Unlock Doors and Windows. If you use this option and expect your players to make strategic use of such tactics, decrease Strahds CR by 1. 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. If you use this option twice or more per round on at least one-third of all combat rounds, reduce Strahds CR by 2; otherwise, use of this option does not change Strahds CR. It should also be noted - I gave them as much warning as possible prior to the encounters, noting the ominous feelings, and a number of other things to give them every chance. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So, Strahd has Polymorph. By contrast, a party of 10th-level PCs will likely slaughter Strahd within two rounds. [] It was always my wish that at some point we could put a version of the adventure together that actually had the cards with it, and it's out of that idea that this boxed set emerged. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Contrary to the book I would probably not have the shadows pursue the party out of the room, and may have them vanish if (for example) the orb was returned. I am creating classic rock playlists for music in curse of strahd and I need some help with Strahds Final Battle music. This official /r/CurseOfStrahd YouTube channel will be used to store many . Stadh is the perfect cat - after 400 years he is bored. 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. (Note that, if swallowed by the sperm whale, Strahd has protection from sunlight and can escape through the blowhole by changing into mist). Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. If at least one of your players knows the spell wall of force, Strahds CR cannot go above 9. Have you tried checking pg. Thats good advice - I'v been slowly working through the book to make sure I get all the connections correct. The story is set in the pocket dimension of Barovia, a nightmarish domain of dread ruled by a powerful vampire: Count Strahd Von Zarovich. Use this option if you want to destroy player agency and create an unsatisfying, doomed final battle. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to dictate the terms of every engagement before the PCs have a chance to respond, either by casting a spell like polymorph or animate objects or by swiftly grappling and isolating a chosen victim. This adventure module is designed to take four to six player characters from 1st level to 10th level. Sever Shadow. I picked Barbarian because I wanted to be the tank for the group. Is this homebrew variant of Leomund's Tiny Hut a problem? For groups that ride the thrill of horror and intrigue, however, this is 100% the book for your party. Use this option if you want to dramatically increase Strahd's ability to avoid his most potent weaknessgrapplesand force your players to waste spell slots casting dispel magic. In keeping with the logical structure of the original campaign, Curse of Strahd also finds countless ways to intertwine the larger themes of the campaign into its side adventures. Irrespective, he cracked open the crates, triggered an enormous fight and ended up dying. First published. 978-0786965984. You can see more Curse of Strahd resources and commentary by following me on Twitter. 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. Strahd is a bit problematic as a boss because his optimal combat style, while quite dangerous, is generally frustrating instead of fun; just sneak up on the party (Stealth +14), fight for one or two rounds, then use Lair Action (pass . So this is kind of filling in middle space between what they would normally do and what we would normally sell". If you choose this option, set Strahds default CR to 13 if your players know at least one spell of 7th level or higher that can automatically incapacitate Strahd, such as power word pain or forcecage; and 17 otherwise. As you read this guide, make sure to keep opportunity costs at the forefront of your mind. Use this option if you want to provide your players with a simple, traditional boss fight. The party is his new toy, he does not want to break it too soon. Also to note. Strahd casts the sleep spell, placing the sphere such that it will only impact a specific wounded target. Tease, taunt, humiliate - Yes. I realized later one of the other problems is a lot of the "warnings" are probably just waived off as flavor text, considering the campaign setting. [12], In 2016, Henry Glasheen, for SLUG Magazine, highlighted the legacy of the original Castle Ravenloft and wrote "Curse of Strahd carries on this legacy admirably, diving deeper into the bloody past of Count Strahd. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to attack without disadvantage in sunlight, force the PCs to attack with disadvantage, prevent PC spellcasters from casting spells that require sight, and observe the PCs' conduct and location without revealing himself. 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. Werewolves in the Mist is excellent for player characters built for Adventurers League and for uniting characters with disparate faction allegiances. What player characters dont know is that, like them, Strahd von Zarovich is trapped by the Dark Powers in his Domain of Dread. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs. Its worth considering leveling up Strahds Enemy (the partys ally from the Tarokka reading) and any NPC tagalongs alongside the characters. 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". The following points apply to any final battle with Strahd, notwithstanding any alterations made by specific tactics below: Strahd prioritizes targets in the following order: the PCs foretold ally; the holder of the Tome of Strahd (if known); wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers; bards, clerics, druids, and artificers; monks, rangers and rogues; fighters, paladins, and barbarians. Much of their threat depends on the party composition and their ability to output magical damage. Doesn't Use Charm. [6] This module is the first released with the publisher's new focus on diversity and inclusion. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Like so many RPG video game sandboxes, the mists surrounding Barovia act as a warning: leaving the playable area that limits the narrative of the game, but they are especially unique in one regard: they act as both barrier and catalyst for adventure. If you use this option, leave Strahds CR unchanged if at least one PC can cast dispel magic or if the PCs cannot see Strahd (e.g., because the PCs are avoiding looking at Strahd in order to evade his Charm), and increase Strahds CR by 2 if not. Curse of Strahd Dragon of Icespire Peak Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Dragons of Stormwreck Isle . As it stands, it sure seems to throw a whole lot of level 5+ stuff, right off the bat, with few opportunities, other than random encounters, to actually get characters there. 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? 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. +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. They survived by sheer luck since I rolled poorly on attack rolls. Curse of Strahd is a 257-page adventure for D&D 5e that transports players into a horrifying pocket dimension called Barovia. Sleep. Strahd pulls a grappled or incapacitated character to an open window and pushes them out, letting them fall down to the castle courtyard below. Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 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). Strahd uses his lair action to summon a specter, which attacks a single PC and then vanishes. Lets talk a little bit about the things the conversion has that the book doesnt have: The topdown Castle Ravenloft maps in Roll20s conversion were lovingly, painstakingly crafted by Kristin Carlson, andwhile the isometric maps provided in the original content really capture that Curse of Strahd unique aesthetic styleweve only introduced isometric support recently on Roll20! Use this option if you would like to allow your players to turn a difficult fight into an easy one by properly provoking Strahd. Advanced Phasing. Authors. Strahd pulls a grappled or incapacitated character to the Ravenloft drawbridge or overlook and pushes them over, letting them fall a thousand feet to their death below. Here, assume that Strahd uses the Advanced Phasing strategy, setting his default CR to 11. Lets also assume that his preferred actions include unarmed strike, fireball, sleep, and polymorph (frog); that his preferred legendary actions include unarmed strike and move; that he cannot use charm (+1 CR); that he primarily uses his phasing lair action; that he prefers to isolate characters through imprisonment; that he prepares between consecutive combats by casting fog cloud; and that his responses to provocation are vengeful (-1 CR). Their image didn't match the Bela Legosi [sic] vampire quite so much. In this encounter, Strahds effective CR is either 17 or 21. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Lured to Barovia by the lands dark master and trapped there by a supernatural mist, the players are forced to travel throughout the realm gaining knowledge and experience before finally confronting the vampire Strahd himself. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Looking at your instances I see your group was level 3 for Old Bonegrinder which is an average level 4 area. I never used to be very good at DMing combat, due to disliking it as a player, but I've been DMing CoS for over a year on and off and have focused really hard on improving combat. Stoic. For instance, my group is on the way to vallaki (a level 5 area) but the group is only level 4. Lets also assume that his preferred actions include unarmed strike, fireball, and bite (-1 CR); that his preferred legendary actions include unarmed strike and bite (-2 CR); that Strahd doesnt use charm; that he primarily uses his conjure specter lair action; that he prefers to isolate characters through defenestration; that he does not prepare between consecutive combats; and that his responses to provocation are wrathful. Conjure Specter. I'm having the same issue. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. Curse of Strahd runs to level 10, but if you level your characters every time the texts suggest you do (typically at the end of a chapter), theyll be massively overleveled for the titular villain and climactic end of adventure fight. The box set definitely will enhance your Curse of Strahd experience, and the box alone makes for a great display piece on top of your bookshelf or in the D&D corner of your room". These moments of hope help characters push through the dark to the thrill of dawn.. Then, because the woman he wanted to creepily possess fell in love with his younger (well-adjusted) brother, he murdered his brother, chased his beloved Tatyana off a 1,000-foot cliff, and made a pact with the mysterious Dark Powers to become the unholy terror he is today. Strahd uses 1 legendary action to corner a vulnerable foe or escape a dangerous situation. 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. Here is the final theme of the CoS soundtrack ! Players should be made aware of this when starting the campaign and they should note that often discretion will be the better part of valor. Of course, a highly strategic or well-equipped party will likely face a somewhat easier encounter, while a novice or ill-prepared party will face a correspondingly harder encounter. Mirror Image. It only takes a minute to sign up. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. The shadows at the statue, the two ghasts, and the shambling mound stand out as all potentially being fatal encounters. Strahd uses a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to cast fireball. Weaving queer plotlines into D&D games is not hard to do. Hit-and-Run Phasing. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Use this option if you would like to provide value to the Tome of Strahd and permit your PCs to win a moral and psychological victory over Strahd. Not to mention Strahd's summons, legendary actions, etc. I like Skill Challenges from 4E to let players use their skills to run, hide, find novel solutions that do not have to be fight based. Use this option if you want to incapacitate a low-Wisdom PC or NPC and/or prevent them from using the Sunsword to generate sunlight. Use this option if you want to give your players a clear opportunity to easily kill Strahd with massive damage and/or grapple attempts without giving him an opportunity to react. There are four possible adventure hooks designed to draw your players into the mists. Would love to hear some ideas. They should have a sense of progress and "next time we'll get em". Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Ashton Duncan started as a Roll20 content conversion contractor with Curse of Strahd five years ago and is now a product manager. This module was designed to be inserted into the main Curse of Strahd campaign, in the centralized town of Vallaki. Curse of Strahd is an adventure module for the 5th-edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published by Wizards of the Coast in 2016. A Comprehensive Guide to Strahd's RAW Final Battle Tactics. With delightfully macabre props and thoughtful changes, Curse of Strahd Revamped is the definitive version of a classic. The shadows, however, are extremely avoidable and are essentially a consequence of a lack of caution. Strahd flees combat as soon as a PC casts a powerful Concentration spellsuch as Haste or Polymorphand returns only once those spells have ended, even if that takes multiple minutes or an hour. Why did DOS-based Windows require HIMEM.SYS to boot? The following options refer to Strahds use of his phasing lair action, which permits him to temporarily pass through the solid walls, doors, ceilings, and floors of Castle Ravenloft as if they werent there. Use this option if you want to preserve player agency and allow your players to fight at full strength without making tradeoffs or difficult decisions. What would stop him from turning into a T-Rex 4 times before actually taking on the party in his true form? Is it safe to publish research papers in cooperation with Russian academics? Strahd takes the hide action using his +14 to Stealth (Dexterity) checks. No content creator has published a comprehensive guide to customize Strahds Rules-As-Written tactics to perfectly suit a partys preferred play experience and skill leveluntil now. [19], Jon Ryan, for IGN, wrote "the updates to the adventure itself mostly consist of previously-published amendments to the book, such as tweaks to an additional character option or corrections of printing errors, but the most notable updates are to some items that were deemed insensitive or offensive after the original publishing []. It's a great adventure - but it can also be a bit overwhelming and hard to run, especially if it's your first time as a DM. Even though there is not much detail about them in the book, they make great mini-bosses for the party to encounter. It has also been updated to reflect Wizards of the Coasts June 2020 errata. Ireena Kolyana, who remains the most divisive character in the module for players. [7] Wizards of the Coast stated that "the adventure includes the latest errata and a revised depiction of the Vistani" who are based on stereotypes about the Romani people. The answer would certainly be improve by including an explanation of why it's the solution.

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