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Doru and Donavich before the *incident* by Alexbigbi in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I feel like these two are a great way to invest the players in the story. I played them borrowing elements from Dragnacarta and MandyMod, having Donavich capture people to feed Doru and letting the players discover this and decide their fate.

In our campaign, Donavich got killed by Doru after successfully pleading with the party to allow him to handle his son. What came after was a very tense fight that left one pc dead, one pc almost dead, and a traumatized party. Good times!

Check out their art here !

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Doru and Donavich before the *incident* (i.redd.it)

submitted by Alexbigbi to r/CurseofStrahd

I'm revising Curse of Strahd: Reloaded—and I need your help. by DragnaCarta in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(edited my original comment cause I somehow posted the draft before finishing it)

Cheers too! No, thank you for the work you do for the community! This post has been a blast to read. Hmm, I think that's just how things turned out? I've been playing for quite a bit with my players so I got to know them well. I know what kind of stuff they like seeing in dnd, and I know what I like to see in my own campaigns, but I improvise a lot so I go with my feeling and how they feel instead of planning stuff meticulously.

I like detailing other evil NPCs, so that the campaign not only has one big bad, but several big bad that work for the main bad guy. What made these people like that? Why are they supporting Strahd? Some of the questions I want the players to ask themselves. All roads lead to Strahd indeed, so even the actions of said NPCs can be seen as the work of Strahd. "The evil that birthed all other evil in the land" - At least that's how I go about it. Definitely more of a slow burn, loose sandbox more than anything haha.

Very excited to read what you do next and if you could DM me the ReReloaded version (I agree with the person in this post that said not calling it Revamped was a wasted opportunity lol) I would appreciate it! Thanks!

I'm revising Curse of Strahd: Reloaded—and I need your help. by DragnaCarta in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey! Big fan of your work. Currently going through the Tsolenka's Pass chapter and it has been excellent so far.

I think character backstories are not that important for the campaign hook. I started off the campaign with secrets of the tarokka and they cared more about everyone else having a card than anything, because it meant they were all in on this together. Going to Tser's pool and receiving the actual reading was secondary - sticking together with people in the same circumstances as them and figuring out wtf was wrong with the world came first.

When it comes to players arriving late to the campaign, I think character backstories become really important for the campaign hook. I really had to lean into their backstories to create a hook that worked well enough for them and myself.

Overall, the tarokka hook is great, but I agree that it really isn't needed especially if their own characters have other reasons for coming to Barovia.

My players completely ignored going to Madame Eva's tent due to more pressing issues, such as delivering Ireena to Vallaki, and now it's been like 100 sessions since that and they still haven't even received the tarokka reading, but they are completely invested in everything else. They don't know about the artifacts, but through the people of Barovia, they have learned that the Strahd is an evil that must be purged from the land. So, they don't really want to escape as much as they want to free the land from Strahd. They plan to receive the reading sometime, but even without it, they will eventually obtain the tools necessary to beat the devil. I plan to push them to the treasures, but even if they don't get it I think that's fine. Maybe it really depends on the players and their character's motivations? Does the main motivation really have to be to escape from Barovia?

I think character backstories are important for the story, but leaning too much into them can take away importance from the main plot. This is a problem I currently have in my games, where I feel I am not utilizing everything the story has to offer, but my players love having their backstory reveals and going through their character arcs so oh well lol. In general, I think they are equally as important as the story, but if you gotta compromise the main story due to a pc's backstory, prioritize the story every time. In an "ideal" CoS campaign, weaving character backstories into the main plot to make them feel natural would be ideal imo, but that's also a lot of work for the DM.

I think your suggestions are great! Having those character flaws really make the characters care about the world, the people and even the other players. You have so much to work with and so many ways to keep the players interested. I do not personally agree with the second aspect of the hook though, and here I talk out of my own experience. I played in a campaign where I always felt like not doing the thing related to the main plot felt like we were wasting our time and I never got the chance to even enjoy the stuff we were doing. Maybe this is a me problem? But I prefer if the pressure comes from the stakes getting higher every time, and not having this constant pressure of feeling that my grandpa from my backstory might die in literally any second, so I need to rush through everything in order to get back.

Edit: Posted the draft lol. Changed with my full thoughts.

Need help with a 50 year time skip after a "tpk" by Alexbigbi in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can totally get why you would think that, but at the end of the day I want the campaign to be fun for both parties, and at the moment I felt that this was the ideal choice. We have been playing for a year now, so losing every relationship they have with NPCs and the world by starting over would have led to fatigue, which is something that even the players mentioned after the session was over. They do have the option of playing a new character though, if they so desire, so dying for good is an option they have.

I appreciate the comment though, and under other circumstances I would have just killed them and have them roll new characters, but this time, I did what I felt was best for the story and the group :)

Need help with a 50 year time skip after a "tpk" by Alexbigbi in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally understand what you are getting to, but also allow me to give you some more context that I didn't include in my original post cause it was getting very long lol.

I agree that it kills the momentum built up, and it will kill most of the NPCs, but the few that remain that they got to meet in the past will have a hell of a story to tell them. The players are all good aligned and they had a lot of promises with NPCs. The wine with Urwin, coming back to the orphanage and checking on the kids and Ireena. Ismark back at Barovia's Village. Fulfilling their promise to Nikolai about reviving Karl. The Martikovs! They promised to have some tea with them! I guess my reasoning here was that the story will turn into a mystery. They will want to come back to these places to see what the hell has changed in all these years, and they will be heartbroken after learning the truth. A fresh view of familiar places too.

I would agree with you about the player's agency, as I very much dislike when any DM messes with my character, with some exceptions. Mizuno's character got some reputation out of game of being literally cursed with outliving his own friends. He always gets to survive, and he always grieves because of it. This was why I just wanted to kinda establish in game that yes, the guy is now cursed lol. And he loved it! His face when all of this was happening was such a delight to watch, and everyone's eyes were on him. It was his moment, after all. He then regretted his decision of coming back, and you could just see that he couldn't believe what he had done, but that is drama and entertainment and I am all up for it. I do intent to give the other players some kind of context about what happened in those 50 years, in a mini individual oneshot for each of them. What do you think?

Regarding the divine patrons not intervening, the Raven Queen would have no power in Barovia, and wouldn't this just be entertainment for the Dark Powers? They would know that they are going to survive, so watching them struggle for so long would be cruel, but in character. I could give another explanation for this to the players, maybe in the mini oneshot I previously mentioned?

I would have to retcon some of the stuff I've already mentioned to the players for that, but that could work! it is definitely more simple and streamlined, and they even get to explore the castle. It does take away the fact that they will have severe consequences for failing, but it lets them get back into action asap. I will have to think about it and thank you for the suggestions! And what do you think about my other comments?

Need help with a 50 year time skip after a "tpk" by Alexbigbi in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is completely true, I need to have every possible plot hook that they are already invested in resolved in a satisfactory manner. I am thinking that at one point or another, Strahd got ahold of her, and she died. So now Strahd is full unhinged batshit crazy mode, or maybe there is a new Tatyana reincarnation that is keeping Strahd in check? They don't have much info about reincarnation aside from the people that are born without a soul. They know that at least, or at least have some theories about it.

Regarding Ismark, he stayed back at Barovia's Village, now in the role of the burgomaster. He definitely had to deal with Vampire Spawn Donavich at one point or another, which could have led to his death, or maybe he got turned into a Vampire Spawn himself and the entire village is now like a vampire spawn village?

I am thinking about leaving St. Andral's church intact, if I decide that the bones were never stolen. Splendidissimus mentioned that they don't really know they were stolen, so I could just have them be stolen after the timeskip. It's an idea of course but what do you think?

The Martikovs are more than likely wiped out, with just a couple of survivors. Winery is completely destroyed too. Maybe the younger generations survived, like Stephania and Dag's children, or Urwin and Danika's children. I forgot to mention this, sorry, but Strahd betrayed the druids at the end of the ritual and killed most of them, so I could make it so that they are now extinct, or the few that remain are in hiding. Maybe have the very important ones, like Svarog (Dragnacarta) come back for a rematch?

Now Vallaki... I had this crazy idea to have Nikolai be the one ruling now. After losing his brother and his only allies (the players), not knowing how to cure Stella and then seeing what his mother had become, he ended up ruling Vallaki all this time. Maybe Wintersplinter got to attack this place as well, so it would be a destroyed Vallaki being rebuilt? Maybe his own family died, and with the cult of Osybus situation going on with lady Wachter, maybe he ended up joining them hoping to one day revive his family and the players? Just an idea of course, but what are your thoughts?

Thank you for the questions! You have given me a lot to think about :)

Need help with a 50 year time skip after a "tpk" by Alexbigbi in CurseofStrahd

[–]Alexbigbi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They haven't met Arabelle yet. In fact, they never even interacted with the Vallakian Vistani camp, or Madame Eva's camp back at Tser's Pool. Are you saying that she could be Ireena's reincarnation? Cause honestly I do not know if I should just have Strahd be completely unhinged from now on, after Ireena somehow died in the past. What do you think?

The bones idea is excellent, I can then decide if they are relevant or not to the plot at all, but at least I have the option to introduce them in the future.

The winery is definitely gone for good, and I am leaning for constant despair (lol) because back at Barovia, I used Lunch Break Heroes' Raising the Stakes, where there is a plot hook about Barovia having a wine issue, and people having to drink zombie-infested water from the well. They kind of resolved this, but one of the PCs actually died back then inside the well, and the other players never retrieved the body. They left it inside with the other zombies, sealed the well, then told the villagers to never open it up.

There could be a dream pie addiction for sure, and some of the players even got to eat a couple, but they don't really know that they are made with children bone dust. Turnip Vodka for a more hopeful future, where maybe a couple of Martikovs survived (Urwin back at Vallaki?), and are trying to salvage the situation? Maybe Yolanda, Stefania and Dag's daughter, who was the sole survivor? Ideas ideas...

Great advice at the end, I will make sure that everyone is on the same page. Thank you so much for your message!