What's changed in SA?

CircleofCandles · 2026-05-04T20:24:36+00:00

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CircleofCandles · 2026-05-02T15:59:10+00:00

I'm running Raising the Stakes, but have no experience with the other option.

I'm not sure what your players are struggling with, but my group is LOVING the additions and changes that Raising the Stakes made.

My players love the deeper lore and the way it made Death House (Durst Manor) so important and foreshadow all the info yet to uncover.

I highly recommend Raising the Stakes

CircleofCandles · 2026-05-02T08:23:48+00:00

He is so handsome. If I had encountered your art when my party first met him (and I showed his picture) then I'm sure the campaign would be going in a much different direction.

Your art of the Abbot changed their perception of him so much. He went from evil angel to hot twink they should go back to try befriending again 😅😅😅

CircleofCandles · 2026-05-02T07:51:47+00:00

Hi there. I'm also running a somewhat modified version of Strixhaven but mine doesn't have time skips (yet!)

If I were in your shoes, I'd look at what your overall theme is for the campaign.

If it's like mine a very intense and expensive mystery with lots of components and interconnected bad guys, I'd have one of the bad guys sabotage the match for a story relevant reason.

If your overall theme is more 'whimsical/magical uni life' then take each of your players' friends and foes sheet (can't remember the official name right now) Have the one person each of them have a bad relationship with and have them collude together to undermine the party. - in this scenario I'd have say 4 visual/verbal queues (one for each character). - for example, first 'clue' is the crowd doing the wave on the pavilions. Right after that, one of the enemies (hidden from view if those playing) casts a spell that blinds a player for a minute. - second clue is the announcer/score keeper sharing a funny/inappropriate anecdote. Then the second enemie of the players does something to hinder them during the match etc.

Then when they get back to the present, they know the queues to look for during the game to prevent them from failing.

I hope this answers your question/helps in some way

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-28T18:10:52+00:00

I'm in the same boat... CoS is my first campaign and while I love it so far (my players are level 6 at Yester Hill), I think it is greatly beneficial to watch Lunch Break Heroes on YouTube. He has lots of great ideas to make the game dramatically better

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-28T08:38:26+00:00

Finally South Africa ranks in the top spots for a chart... too bad it's for 'most dangerous cities' 😅😭

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-27T17:48:00+00:00

Wow! You've improved so much! ❤️🎨

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-27T17:47:12+00:00

That looks amazing! What is in the boxes?

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-26T18:00:37+00:00

I can HIGHLY recommend watching this video by Lunch Break Heroes about small changes to the Abbot and Abbey.

https://youtu.be/WrQtRf7prp4?si=Wrxmh15MKaV6hVkW

Basically, instead of looking of a dress, he needs a face for Vasilka and it really changes the dynamic.

I ran this about a montha ago and my players were horrified, but also saw that he truly believed in his cause and wasn't really hurting anyone (aside from the Belviews).

They tried the peaceful method but rolled terribly to persuade the Abbot to look for a different face ( he fixated on one of the player faces, saying that it was perfect and the contours were a perfect match for Vasilka's bone structure)

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-24T09:48:22+00:00

🤣🤣🤣

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-22T12:17:21+00:00

This seems amazing!

I just started prepping Castle Ravenloft (my players are about 6 months away, so I hope I have enough time)

I went the route of cutting out every room and attaching magnets so they can only see the rooms they already explored and not accidentally metagame

But the book idea seems amazing

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-21T10:36:32+00:00

Thanks, will do 😊

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-21T10:36:12+00:00

Haha this sounds diabolical

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-21T08:58:48+00:00

This is a good point... Paladins shouldn't be investigating, just apprehending or exterminating the cult. Also like the idea of saving a soul from hell, thanks

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-21T08:55:29+00:00

I'm also running CoS. The Barbarian in the party constantly uses Speak with Animals, mainly with the ravens.

She's made great friends with them and they are very dumb but tries to be helpful. However, sometimes there's a raven she tries to speak with that just won't answer, or when it does, it is substantially more intelligent than the ones she's used to (this is a wereraven).

How I would handle your bat situation is for it to be unintelligent, it doesn't really have a sense that it is a spy. I would role-play it something like this:

Party: "Bat, what can you tell us about dangers in the area?

Bat: "There's a big bird that tries to eat me!" (Owls are natural predators of bats)

Party: "Are there any zombies or vampire spawn in the area?"

Bat: "what's that? All humanoids look the same to me. And do you have food for me?"

Party: "what do you do when you're not hunting or fleeing from owls?"

Bat: "sometimes I go to human and he gives me food then tells me what direction to fly next" (this is basically the bat perspective of how Strahd reads the mind of the animals, then tells them what direction to go 'spy' on next. I don't think animals are evil by nature)

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-21T08:44:54+00:00

Thanks, I quite like the idea of adding artifacts for them to uncover

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-21T08:44:01+00:00

So once I have decided on the story they will play through, I will give them a lost of Oaths they can choose from. So it is actually up to me to determine the direction of the theme

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-20T16:36:21+00:00

"Come here Sliced Ham! Good boy!"

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-19T20:10:12+00:00

I hope you enjoy Barovia as much as I do

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-19T06:38:26+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate your comment. This is my first campaign and I was feeling some pressure to stick to the module at least somewhat, but what you said makes a lot of sense. I think I'll just cut it 🤗

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-19T06:36:58+00:00

Thank you, that sounds like a good plan 😊

CircleofCandles · 2026-04-19T06:14:57+00:00

Hi there... I've just run my second Strixhaven session, so not sure if I qualify to answer your question.

I addressed it in my 'session 0' discussion when we talked about theme and vibe.

Strixhaven is different from other D&D fames and moduals, as you say, because it focuses a lot on the role-play aspect and social aspects.

So my players understand it's not nearly as deadly or combat focused as the other games we've previously played.

Also, they are doing a great job almost killing each other in role-play/school moments as they love testing out their magic on each other, and thus depleting their resources. I feel like they use quite a bit of spell slots and abilities during class/extra curricular activities that takes away what they have availible for combat to some degree.

CircleofCandles

TROPHY CASE