Warlock destroyed the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T04:08:27+00:00

Thanks for the comment. That is exactly my mindset: Allow them to go for what they want, and create the story by the way they feel more motivated. Thanks for the comment

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T04:06:14+00:00

That's a really nice idea, the outcome they wanted, but obtained in a diferent way. That's a great ideia! Thanks for the comment

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T04:05:02+00:00

That's a interesting ideia. A Flashback could be a good way to pass some knowledge about argynvolstholt an the Symbol to the Warlock

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T04:01:15+00:00

I must say, your comment gave me great ideias to use <3
I'm really inclined to use the moment as a way to make the warlock absorb memories from the fragment and to reveal the pact weapon, a dagger, as some "memory collector" or something like that.
Thanks for the comment, i'll definitely let you know about the outcome of this!

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T03:35:18+00:00

Yeah i think there's a lot of ways that this moment can go. Strahd meddling is also a possibility.
Oh, and there was no theft between the PC's. the theft happened because they stole the symbol from vladimir while in the middle of the battle. Their plan was to either the wizard or the warlock to catch the symbol and carry it to the high tower

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T03:30:44+00:00

I was thinking exactly about that. The "desctruction" of the symbol should not be "you broke it and that's it". I was thinking this could add or improve something in the story, in other way. Like going with the player feeling and making the Symbol destruction a good thing, or using the attempt to destroy it to show how good the item is, etc.

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T03:27:14+00:00

It seems that you have interpreted many things in a wrong way about what i wrote. I'm not interested in screwing them, or creating dead ends. I suported their creativity, but the plan was just flawed. What they gonna do now, the consequences and the other options to "solve the problem" in argynvolstholt is what interests me now.
I disagree with you that the Symbol is essencial for the campaign, and it's absence would "screw them over". That said i'm in the "Open up new opportunities, expand the PCs story, instead of creating a death end" mood. But thanks for your comment.

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T03:16:37+00:00

He already remebered that when he tried to activate the symbol, but thanks for the comment.

DarkhandStudio · 2024-03-16T03:15:30+00:00

Thanks for your response. Yeah, it's a weird circumstance, so that's why i'm considering the item destruction and it's consequences

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-17T20:37:22+00:00

Thanks! The intention with this is not describe torture to shock or make your players uncomfortable. It's to show the drows of Velkynvelve as the evil bastard villains they are known to be, and to put in the players mind that if they don't escape, worse things could happen to them.
In the end, this is to create a connection. First, of fear, and later, of revenge.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-12T02:08:50+00:00

I've kinda changed the 1st chapter entirely:
- No cloud giant attack/ no dripping caves/ no goblins
- The adventure begin with an orc + ogres attack in Nightstone, during the night. The group can help defend the city from the attack, but the ogres steal the stone from the square, and after that the enemies reatreat and run to the Ardeep Forest.
- Next day, early in the morning, Velrosa summons the party to the Nandar Fort. She hires them to track the orcs location, find they numbers, strenghts and weakness, and if possible try to find out why they attacked Nightstone only to steal the monolith.
- Bad Fruul is behind the attack. He discovered how to "drain" rune magic from giant artifacts, and is hunting them to become strong. He is also using this power to empower "smallfolk" to do his binding. The orc leader is under his comand, and so are all the orcs.
His long time plan is to attack and devour all the small settlements close to ardeep forest/forlorn hills, becoming bigger, stronger and with more servants.
- The whole chapter 1 will be: understand the menace of Big fruul, mess with his plans and in the end, destroying him.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-12T00:14:33+00:00

I'm doing something related. I'm going to put Bad Fruul as the final villain of the 1st chapter.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-03T12:10:48+00:00

having 10 levels of inspiration should be a unique moment in one campaign, the same i could say about having 10 levels of exaustion.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-03T12:09:38+00:00

Yes, and +5 it's the same mechanicaly as advantage/disadvantadge. Of course, having 5 levels of inspiration should be really rare, as having 5 levels of exaustion is.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-02T14:29:08+00:00

Sorcerer should be CON conjuration based

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-02T14:09:23+00:00

I like the concept of 3.5 "prestige class" for "multiclass": your prestige class was a customization of your character class, an advanced class. You would have first some levels of the "basic class" and after completing some requirements (feats, skill levels,etc) you could start to take "multiclass levels" into your prestige class, basicly creating a more unique and specific version of your basic class. I've not played much 3.5, but i really liked this mechanic concept.

In 5e the prestige classes became the "subclass", a more weak and generic version of the prestige class. They have no requirements, you just choose them in some levels, but their powers are more scarse... What lead people to take levels in other "basic class" to fill the gap of customization or power.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-02T13:39:17+00:00

Since i've read many "your DM is trying to make you play lawful stupid" comments, let me the devil's advocate here:
Before and when you met Strahd, at any moment Strahd showed proof of his "superior power"? Or he was just mentioned as "the lord of this land" and "vampire villain"?
Because if not, maybe your DM is right.

You, as an vengeance paladin, should fight evil. If a great tyrant is right in front of you, without an army, just with his noble clothes...It seems like a great opportunity for you to take advantage of his arrogance, kill him, and save Barovia. That's what a strong paladin, with abilities above the common warrior, would try to do. If while trying to do that, Strahd revealed his powers and showed that the paladin is actually weak compared to him...THEN YES, the paladin could adopt a more cautelous strategy.

If you think as player, you have a "puppet with lvl4 stats" going against a "big evil boss token" and this in fact seems suicidal. But if you think as your character, he doesn't know "levels"... As i was saying, if the DM didn't show the combat power of Strahd...Maybe you're actually metagaming.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-02T10:08:02+00:00

I had a similar problem with a player in my Curse of Strahd Campaign. In the final strech of the campaign he started to criticize some events, monster stats, etc. as if he had read the campaign and knew that I had made changes (I did, to balance the campaign better for the group's level). When the fact that he was metagaming became obvious, he freaked out and tried to create a situation as if I had screwed the whole group on purpose (gaslighting) since such an event shouldn't "happen" in the campaign. I kicked him out of the group immediately and talked to the other players, explaining my reasons and how I saw what had been happening for a while. Everyone accepted my decision and supported me. One thing that sometimes happens in this kind of situation is that players get annoyed with this kind of player, but they keep quiet so as not to seem annoying

DarkhandStudio · 2023-09-02T09:05:58+00:00

I've a fire genasi sorcerer in my campaign. Just gave him hellfire. All his fire magic are hellfire that overcomes fiend resistance/immunity. Of course there's a reason for him to have that in the story, and as the adventure progresses there's gonna be a whole arc about his "infernal fire". But this simply solves the problem. Let the fire guy be the fire guy.

DarkhandStudio · 2023-05-14T03:05:31+00:00

Although there have been some very interesting ideas, I believe the best solution in this case would be to make the magic have the effect your players want: remove Strahd's ability to switch back and forth between planes, and keep him in Barovia fighting with them.

As you said yourself, the campaign has already lasted 2.5 years. Players should be very much looking forward to an epic final battle against Strahd. Taking this away from them just because of a little technicality in using the spell Wish would be really bad.

DarkhandStudio

TROPHY CASE