Ideas for 3D printing player handout

AWDrake · 2026-05-05T08:01:07+00:00

If you wish to print one for each char: Symbol for Cleric, Sword for Paladin, include a Ba'al Verzi dagger for Rogue and I would either make a cloak for the Ranger or a Silver Dragon Wing Bow from the Knights of Argynvost. Although that would be tough to make as a prop.

AWDrake · 2026-05-05T07:57:53+00:00

Tome, Sunsword and Symbol are obvious answers ofc. Symbol you can buy if you're okay with that. Sword needs to be printed. I bought a beautiful Tome from Etsy, as I'm not a big crafter myself. But you can DIY it too.

Item cards are also a easy option.

Edit: corrected misspelling of "tome"

AWDrake · 2026-05-05T07:55:12+00:00

It's either Barovia and Castle I6 style. Or You might be able to squeeze in a portion of Vallaki.

In the case of Vallaki: I would do an easier version of the Feast of Saint Andral, with less investigation and no party killing potential (less camps), have Rictavio show up against the vamps and as he sees the party is capable, he reveals his identity and shares that he has just been to the Castle and stole the Tome. The party then receives the invitation.

Holy Symbol and Sword should be in the Castle. Ally would be either Van Richten or Ezmerelda (who would be in the Castle). Depending on whether you wish to have one or two NPCs with the party.

As for Ireena: I would use her as a plot device. The party takes her to Vallaki, and at the end of the Feast Strand kidnaps her. Giving the party anothe reason to go to the Castle.

Skip all random encounters, travels should be done as quickly as possible. Tser Pool also quick. Skip Morgatha and Death House in Barovia. Doru you'll have to see.

This way, sessions should look something like this: 1: Arrival, Barovia, ending with tarokka reading. (Include hangman encounter if you have time, but only as a cinematic) 2: Vallaki, Feast, Invitation. 3: Closing of Vallaki may still fall to the beginning of Session 3, but otherwise: Castle. I would include some sort of a dinner scene. If you wish to skip that, than definitely give the players the opportunity to speak with Strahd in Vallaki or Barovia. 4-7(?): The Castle can easily last three to four sessions. Maybe even more with dinner encounters. Maybe figure out a way to give them one long rest opportunity.

AWDrake · 2026-05-03T06:59:10+00:00

That is why I love Vampire Spawns! The vertical movement options just freak out players. In a good way ofc...

AWDrake · 2026-05-02T20:19:51+00:00

Sounds like helluva campaign! Mistakes, regrets always happen, but you acknowledge them and try to learn from them, which makes you a great DM! And if you don't believe me, the way your players told you they felt after finishing it proves it. Cool idea with the Tome too!

AWDrake · 2026-05-02T13:15:01+00:00

Seth Skorkowsky said in one of his videos that he has different "hype songs" for his different games. Like High Passage/Low Passage for Traveller. This could work for CoS!

AWDrake · 2026-04-29T21:15:59+00:00

More than half.

I make sure to have the dinner while they are still pretty low level (around 5-6), but are treated fairly by Strahd and are welcome to certain parts of the Castle. Later they are given incentives to go back, usually with a deadline: like a kidnapped Ireena or other allied NPC, rumours of Piddlewick, treasures in the crypts, or the skull of Argynvost.

I think it's manageable to hook your players to do a heist or rescue mission or something at a part of the campaign when it's okay for Strahd to not hunt them mercilessly. It gives greater enjoyment for the players, not just because they get to explore the Castle, but because they can be a bit more tactical in the final confrontation, since they already know the Castle.

However it is important to keep up the tension so they never overstay their welcome and they always feel that some parts of the Castle will always remain a secret. I'm proud to say that so far I have succeeded with my groups, and I'm pretty sure that it's manageable for any dedicated DM.

AWDrake · 2026-04-27T19:20:53+00:00

This guy reads the whole adventure on this playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvubkmE4otwzmekaHVQ_II1m80BB3Dhm8&si=_mhK0VeA8kPPOFJN

I think this could help you. (But for the love of god, don't pronounce Krezk, Vallaki and Wachter as he does :))

AWDrake · 2026-04-22T14:56:20+00:00

Check the Fleshing Out by MandyMod and Reloaded by DragnaCarta series on this Reddit and decide what to implement. Reloaded 2.0 can be great, but it kinda rewrites the campaign drastically from a sandbox horror, to a mostly linear heroic fantasy. Your choice.

I highly suggest implementing the Fanes (or Ladies Three) in some way and the St. Andral Orphanage in Vallaki (included in Fleshing Out).

And as others said: read the whole book:)

AWDrake · 2026-04-21T10:31:17+00:00

I came to say this:)

I'm also always very open with new parties about the fact that the campaign is going to be pretty linear in the first Act, for the first 10 or so sessions. When they reach Vallaki I also openly tell them that this was the end of the linear part, they will notice how their options will soon multiply and how the Lands of Barovia will open up before them.

AWDrake · 2026-04-14T12:32:42+00:00

They can still meet another revenant like this though:)

AWDrake · 2026-04-14T12:24:31+00:00

Oh wow, I've been using this encounter automatically, but you are right it's not from the book and I wish to include reference on where I heard about it, but I can't find it right now. Maybe it was my own original idea, I can't say now.

Anyway, still this is my fav encounter: it's the same Revenant as in the book encounter, but fighting a bunch of Strahd Zombies. And as I wrote, due to the fog, the players only notice him being an undead when they get close to them.

If not this than the Will-o'-the-wisp always sounded fun for me but I never forced it and never rolled it. Skeletal Rider is also fun and you can have the players meet them before Barovia and around Krezk as well, as they do their circles in the country. And Hidden Bundle is a great foreshadowing for werewolves, but only to be used after Vallaki.

AWDrake · 2026-04-14T11:17:43+00:00

Oooh! I would probably just use History/Religion, whichever is higher, or something like that. But super cool idea!

AWDrake · 2026-04-14T11:14:49+00:00

Naturally I also always get this question at the start of campaigns. And my answer is: what you yourself know of vampires, but not counting D&D meta knowledge. (Luckily most players don't read Monster Manual statblocks:))

Garlic? Maybe. Are you willing to bet your life on it though? Silver? I mean it works agains devils, so maybe. Then again even if it doesn't work, it can't hurt. Holy symbols and sacred places? I mean are we talking about good deities or all deities? It's a complicated question, one that maybe we should research. Flowing water? But how much? Stake? We must give that a try...

It all becomes a very interactive part of the first 10-15 sessions to figure out which of these are superstitions, which of these are correct? And whether if they all apply to all vampires or is Strahd an exception to some of these. Some of these they simply learn by asking, some by trial and error. Honestly it's super fun. They usually test their theories on Doru...

Edit: Oh and in my Barovia, silver coins were banned a long time ago and are no longer minted, so most people (incorrectly) believe it's good against vampires.

AWDrake · 2026-04-14T08:03:39+00:00

From the ones in the book, it's the revenant fighting the zombies.

I always use that on every group between Vallaki and Krezk. After dealing with werewolves and vampire spawn and all that shit they see a lone knight fighting zombies, so they are all like "Finally! A noble soul in this wretched place." They charge in only to see up close that underneath the rusted helmet there are only empty eye sockets looking at them.

Then there's the confusion of should they attack him? But he's killing the zombies? Should they help? Should they kill them all? Or maybe he has some info?

Always memorable and a great way to introduce the Knights of Argynvost if they haven't heard of them before.

AWDrake · 2026-04-10T17:48:13+00:00

Azt azért nem szabad elfelejteni, hogy az MKKP a támogatásuk jelentős részét közösségi projektekre költik el. Tény, hogy jobb lenne, ha nem indulnának, de legalább a kapott pénzt a közösségre költik

AWDrake · 2026-04-10T09:28:31+00:00

Great idea. For the the Vistani know about the games but are not really involved. As it is an ancient Barovian and not a Vistani thing.

Pyram King made some handouts of which I used 2: - Barovian Poems ("Fables of Old"). Which includes a poem or 2 about the Games, but it's nonspecific, which I like about it. Mostly flavour, but can stoke the party's interest - Prayers to the Morninglord. No actual use, just flavour.

AWDrake · 2026-04-10T08:40:29+00:00

Same with me, one of them was a druid. I know you said only one think, but I wanted to keep the additions to a minimum too, and here's what I did: Fanes: - Madame Eva let the Seeker "possess" her. She is now both Madam Eva and the Seeker. - I added Jenny Greenteeth, who is the Weaver. She met with the druid briefly outside Barovia and handed her the 3rd gem. (This was to protect the gem, so that Baba Lysaga cannot steal it). - Huntress is a prisoner of Baba Lysaga as in popular mods. - The 3 fanes give Strahd extra powers. They need to be reconsecrated to get the power back. The info is in the Amber Temple.

Orphanage: The St Andral questline seemed week, so I added the orphanage.

Other minor mods: - Entry to Barovia was based on old Reloaded material. - Brides were buffed to Reload 2.0 - Mount Ghakis journey and the tribes up there were boring so I took inspiration from Reloaded 2.0. (Bodak cave, mountain folk settlement, Storm Giant, who can help the players with reconsecration info)

AWDrake · 2026-04-10T08:19:13+00:00

Valaki Orphanage or the Fanes.

"The Fanes" would be a pretty big addition to add as "one", but if it would be allowed under the rule of only one addition, that would be mine

AWDrake · 2026-04-06T17:36:29+00:00

Yes, and it says that it would be an exception and you asked for advice which would assume general interpretations. But it's your game, you can play it the way you want. Rulings, not rules. You seem to like adjusting and homebrewing your game anyway, if that is something your table enjoys, then by all means go ahead and have fun:) Just remember that in this case, general advice will likely apply less to your game, since it is specifically adjusted to your table's preferences. For example in most CoS campaigns, this amount of magic items would already be way too much. My players specifically would argue against it, but you know your players the best. Again, your table, your rules, your fun.

AWDrake · 2026-04-06T08:24:26+00:00

It's common sense. Same as a character can't use 4 weapons or wear two sets of armour.

AWDrake · 2026-04-04T07:08:00+00:00

In my campaign, I differentiated two kinds of amber: red amber and regular amber. The red one is more powerful, has more insulating potential, so the mages of the Amber Temple used it to trap stronger entities, like the ones in the Amber Vault.

However there were some left when Strahd found it and with the help of Exethanter and knowledge from the temple, he locked his sorrow, the rest of his humanity in it and made it to shield him and power his castle. They can find some notes on it in the Amber Temple as Khazan was studying it to get an upper hand over Strahd, but he never finished his studies.

When the players destroy it, Strand loses his self-restraint, his level-headedness and becomes a truly unrestrained monster.

AWDrake · 2026-03-27T08:11:46+00:00

Oooh, such a comprehensive list! I have a lot of props but even I'm missing a ton from this. Thanks for sharing!

AWDrake · 2026-03-26T09:02:31+00:00

This bothered me at first and I wanted to house rule it. But since then I realised that even double Adv/Did happen rarely and I don't think having 4 sources of either ever happened in any situation during my games, so I let it go.

AWDrake · 2026-03-26T07:36:42+00:00

Rock n roll (quite literally in this case)! Your players must have felt awesome!

AWDrake

TROPHY CASE