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. In this encounter, Strahds effective CR is either 17 or 21. Strahd freely uses his Charm ability when able, but the DM has made clear to the players that they are able to protect themselves by closing their eyes or refusing to look at him, which the players frequently do. They were a party of four level 2's at this point - fighting a CR5 monster, Shambling Mound). Conjure Specter. Use of this option does not change Strahds CR. Why refined oil is cheaper than cold press oil? 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. 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). A warforged colossus is designed to carry wizards and soldiers within its body, so they can function as final dungeon and final boss all wrapped up in one. Greater Invisibility. Lets assume that Strahd uses his No Phasing strategy and does not expect to retreat upon taking damage, setting his default CR to 6. 1: Into the Mists Strahd von Zarovich Fortunes of Ravenloft Adventure Hooks Ch. [17] Christian Hoffer, for Comicbook, wrote "while it doesn't have enough extra material to justify a second purchase, Curse of Strahd Revamped is a great box set for the DM/player group that hasn't traveled to Ravenloft and wants to commit to the campaign with a grim flourish. By contrast, a party of 10th-level PCs will face a difficult, grueling encounter that risks draining their resources dry and killing at least two characters. The Dark Powers are formidable entities that, even restrained in the Amber Temple, still influence the world around them. 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. What's a reasonable Green Hag Coven encounter for a party of 3 level 8 PCs? The REAL real boss of Curse of Strahd is finding a way to get Strahd to abandon his tactical bullshit and fight you blindly like a man. I tried to give further hints - letting them spot many footsteps around large body sized crates in the dust of the storage room. If youre a new dungeon master thinking about running one of D&D 5es most enduringly popular adventures, this guide should point you in all the right directions. This subreddit serves as a helpful place for anyone running the Curse of Strahd module for D&D 5e. [] While modifications do fix things like the stereotyping of the Vistani people as 'uncivilized' and heavy drinkers, the module still gives the Vistani abilities to curse and hypnotize players or cast spells like Evil Eye, which, along with unrevised art that heavily conjures stereotyped imagery of the Romani, leans into tropes that suggest the Romani have mystical, dangerous powers, tropes that have been used in the past to target Romani for persecution". If you use this option, increase Strahds CR by 1. There is no escape, not without first defeating the seemingly unstoppable vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. It then attacked them back. 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. Instead, they separated, two distracted the coffin maker, whilst the remainder broke into his house. Use this option if you want to threaten a particular low-HP target and/or grapple a PC who you plan to separate from the party. 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. View Cover Art Contents Foreword Introduction Running the Adventure Marks of Horror Ch. Curse of Strahd - Boss Encounter (Spoilers), Scan this QR code to download the app now. [9], Publishers Weekly included the book in their "Best-selling Books Week Ending March 28, 2016", in which Curse of Strahd was #6 in "Hardcover Fiction". Best Race/Class to play Curse of Strahd!! - D&D Beyond If you use this option on at least one-third of rounds in combat, reduce Strahds CR by 2. 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. The events of this module are referenced in the novel Death Masks by Ed Greenwood. Let me start off by saying that Curse of Strahd certainly has some very challenging encounters, many of which can be stumbled into at points when the party is woefully under-levelled. Combined with the magic items that are vicious vs vampires, Strahd as written was severely overmatched. Bosses in Barovia? : CurseofStrahd - Reddit 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. Use this option if your players appear uninterested in using Strahds history against him. However, it is entirely possible to run St. Andral's Orphanage as a stand alone adventure or incorporate it into another campaign. 2: The Lands of Barovia Lay of the Land Barovians Vistani Virtual Tabletop Journey all Demongund patrons presents the iconic Curse of Strahd - Baba Lysaga's Walking Hut recreated for use in TaleSpire! 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. My L4 party is doing Death House, and I do not have to scale original stuff meant for L1-3 much. Which ability is most related to insanity: Wisdom, Charisma, Constitution, or Intelligence? Most player characters know they are trapped, and the Mists of Ravenloft are an omnipresent reminder of the stakes of their adventure and the challenges they must overcome. Weaving queer plotlines into D&D games is not hard to do. The following options refer to Strahds preferred means of preparation before entering combat. 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. As such, Dungeon Masters running Curse of Strahd are often encouraged to modify Strahds statblock to increase his offensive and defensive capabilities. If at least one of your players knows the spell wall of force, Strahds CR cannot go above 9. What would stop him from turning into a T-Rex 4 times before actually taking on the party in his true form? How could the Awaken spell be cast on highly intelligent plants and beasts? You and your players should communicate about the games rules, plots, and content before starting play, but during play you can use tools like Lines and Veils and the Safety Deck available in every Roll20 game to ensure everyones having fun. 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. Guide to Curse of Strahd for New DMs - Roll20 Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. In addition to a softcover adventure book, the boxed set includes the following:[1], Curse of Strahd was written by Jeremy Crawford, Laura Hickman, Tracy Hickman, Adam Lee, Christopher Perkins, Richard Whitters, and was published by Wizards of the Coast in 2016. Dancing With The Wolves (Combat Theme) - Curse Of Strahd Soundtrack by Travis Savoie RPG Music Maker - Travis Savoie 24.7K subscribers Subscribe 1.8K 180K views 2 years ago Perfect for. 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". Here are some examples we have come across so far. ISBN. 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.. Figure out what your players care about and what leans into the aspects of play they enjoy, and make that narrative happen in the cards. Curse of Strahd is an amazing fantasy-horror D&D 5e campaign set in the demiplane of Barovia which is ruled by the legendary vampire Strahd von Zarovich. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The coffin maker (at least under my interpretation) is being kept as an unwilling servant/hostage of these vampires. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to fight at full strength while within sunlight (i.e., by inflicting the blinded condition against PCs who refuse to look at him) and increase his survivability against damaging attacks and vision-based spells (e.g., hold monster). It was released on March 15, 2016 and is based on the Ravenloft module . Is it safe to publish research papers in cooperation with Russian academics? The module contains everything you need to run Curse of Strahd. Its worth considering leveling up Strahds Enemy (the partys ally from the Tarokka reading) and any NPC tagalongs alongside the characters. 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. Death House - this is a hard starting adventure, but one that I found to really set the scene and vibe of the campaign. The following options refer to Strahds preferred means of isolating and subsequently eliminating a grappled (via Strahds unarmed strike attack) or incapacitated (e.g., via polymorph or sleep) PC. As a result, they defeated every mini-boss and side quest and advanced to level 11 in the first half of the castle before the final encounter with Strahd. Make notes on Strahd's abilities, tactics, and weaknesses. I completely agree with @ShadowKras. Unfortunately the party didn't take the hint. Sometimes massively so. I even pointed out that the cleric in the party felt something deeply disturbing from the room. Have fun storming the castle! 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. 6 of Curse of Strahd under character levels? 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. I defeated the big story foe in the area, gain a level.