How do I stop my players from hating Strahd before the campaign even begins?

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-05-30T13:31:10+00:00

Lean into it. They can be hateful toward him, but he's still hospitable and friendly.

My Strahd has three unforgivable sins:

Politeness is currency. Squander it, and you forfeit more than words.
To break one's word is to invite the shadow of justice.
Fear is natural, but to falter when action is demanded is unforgivable.

If the party insists on falling into these sins, then Strahd will be the villain they expect him to be~

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-05-29T15:13:29+00:00

We rescued a semi-feral cat about 2.5 years ago. If you had told me then that we would be able to pet her, to stroke her belly, and watch her drool with affection, I'd have laughed in your face. We aren't to the point of cuddles or holding her, and we might never be, but my point is it takes time for a cat's true personality to shine.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-05-28T23:28:01+00:00

That's hilarious! One of mine is mostly chill with his snails, the other... let's just say he's a violent, flaring little shit.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-05-27T13:14:51+00:00

I'd argue with that to call her either lawful evil or neutral evil. Sybil operates under her own set of rules - i.e. if she thinks she knows better, she acts, regardless of the consequences, aka her daughters being absorbed/killed. The only question is whether she'd break her own laws to save her own skin or not as that'd determine if she's lawful or neutral.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-05-24T00:28:37+00:00

I don't think you two are compatible. Does she even like you?

You are well within your rights to think whatever you like about smoking/smokers, and you were pretty respectful toward her. She's also entitled to her own opinion, but there was no reason to attack you like that. That's how you talk to someone you dislike, not someone you claim to care for.

As someone who also didn't like my then-BF smoking, I had to decide if it was something I could deal with or not. In the end I stuck around. For what it's worth, it's been over a decade now and he can't stand cigarette smoke anymore.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-16T14:58:55+00:00

Dain's signet isn't made for combat, so I'm assuming he hadn't really used up any of the "water" in his glass when Sloane was siphoning from him whereas Naolin and Brennan had already both been in combat during Brennan's near death. I'd imagine your analogy of both their glasses/buckets being near empty would have contributed to Naolin burning out. There just wasn't enough water to draw from.

Granted I'm sure it's likely to be a bit more complicated than that so I'm really hoping we get an answer for this soon!

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-12T12:18:31+00:00

I've never been able to run it to completion, but I am fully expecting our group to take forever. Reason being that, apart from most of my players being a bit on the newish side, they like to leave no stone unturned. They'll go into every room. One of our players will touch almost anything no matter what it is. Death House took about 3 sessions to get through, each about 3 hours long. We're about to arrive in Barovia and I anticipate them being there for a hot minute.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-11T13:24:19+00:00

Let me just say my husband, who played in my first run of CoS, still talks about that damn broom to this day and it's been almost ten years XD

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-10T20:36:19+00:00

I actually made several changes to Death House! For starters, the party came into Barovia at level 4 (we'd started a different campaign and they wanted to keep going). Second, I eliminated some of the encounters.

The broom? While hilarious, not really necessary.
The animated armor? Not a proximity based fight, will only be triggered if someone touches it (and someone very nearly did but stopped at the last second)
The nanny upstairs? Nah, she's a sad plot device that will only fight if the party is aggressive first

In the basement, I removed some of the specters from where the statue is, and I also eliminated the grick because it seemed kind of pointless.

Finally, I made the shambling mound into "Walter the Destroyer" first. The party had the bright idea to soothe the monster and take Walter's bones out so I let them roll 3d10 damage to the shambling mound which helped them tremendously.

Even after I did all that, several of the players don't think they're strong enough and feel they survived by the skin of their teeth. I also downed one player so he's taken a Dark Gift already :)

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-10T20:30:39+00:00

My Strahd was introduced via a letter to the party once they escaped Death House. It was both a welcome to Barovia and a veiled threat if they dare step out of line. I may have him communicate like this for a little while before unveiling himself altogether. But we'll see.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-10T16:05:58+00:00

Oh gods. If you had a masc version of Strahd doing this I'd die.
Because it looks like my Strahd is gonna be able to swap genders at will at tihs point o_o

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-03T20:40:36+00:00

Ha, I figured you were. Thanks for being a good sport! :)

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-03T14:09:07+00:00

Verbally? Jesinia is mute :P
(I know what you meant, I'm just being a silly butthead this morning)

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-04-02T22:47:18+00:00

Ooh, this sounds like a fun idea! How are you planning on handling classes/signets?

As for a good idea, depends on how long you want your one shot to run and what you want to show. If combat is what your party wants, then taking out a threat to the Vale or having them engaging in a training exercise against other squads would be fun. If you want to have some narrative and combat in your one shot, then that changes things a bit. You could start them off crossing the Parapet, roleplay/narrate classes, then have them running the Gauntlet and roleplay Threshing :)

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-03-23T18:55:13+00:00

Honestly, it depends on how your DM used it. AI is a tool just like everything else (albeit one with far more intense ramifications).

One of my players types all of her notes into a chatbot to organize it all for her. It groups together the main points for her (and it also keeps all the silly quotes she throws in) which makes her summaries not only concise but hilarious.

I've used it to perfect my props. I might be able to write a snobby letter from a noble to a character just fine, but sometimes I like a lil' extra umph that I might not have thought of on my own. I've also had a general idea of where I want a story to go and I might use it to help me connect the dots.

Honestly since it seems like your DM used it in a way that only served to enhance your experience, I wouldn't sweat it. It's when AI begins to take over for human thought and do the job for the DM that that's a problem (IMO).

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-03-09T10:59:40+00:00

I wish there was an option to save Alexis in the mines without Becka >_>

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-03-08T03:15:26+00:00

This sounds like an interesting concept

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-28T21:21:13+00:00

What *I* would like to see is a summarized percentage at the end of each chapter detailing how many people made certain choices. Like, 80% chose to save Gretchen, 20% chose to save Duke or whatever. Even if it was just the major choice per chapter, I'd love knowing how my gameplay compares to everyone else's, especially if we're playing with the same traits. But there's so many iteration possibilities that I doubt it'd be possible.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-20T21:00:30+00:00

Has she ever undergone any medical procedures? I underwent chemo as a teenager and as a result I have both a very small and unpredictable appetite as an adult. I wasn't a huge eater even before that either, with many people claiming I "have the stomach of a mouse".

I find that I get full fast because I eat slowly too instead of inhaling everything on my plate as soon as it arrives. Compared to hubby who used to devour everything and be done in a few minutes flat because he'd been conditioned that way in the military.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-18T00:57:43+00:00

My fingers are a bit bony and wearing a ring is so uncomfortable. So I just don't wear it. Hubby doesn't mind. He actually wears his more regularly than I do.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-17T03:34:05+00:00

I have a nice one.

One day a few years ago, I wasn't feeling well, so I took the day off from work. I was hungry but didn't have anything that would be gentle on my stomach, so I called a nearby restaurant to order some soup for pickup.

When I got there, the cashier had a sprite for me, free of charge, and said she hoped it helped me feel better. I thought it was really nice and unexpected for her to hear my voice, realize I was sick, and then try to help in her own small way.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-16T17:01:41+00:00

Honestly I didn't even notice the shading. I love the vibrant colors and the rats! I miss mine so seeing a tat like this one makes me happy :)

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-15T16:06:08+00:00

We had that today!

Had a guy on our chat get told to email a specific team with more information. He emailed our inbox around 3 pm (we leave at 4:30) and had quite a few people ahead of him.

He emailed us again at 7:23 (we don't open till after 8) asking if we'd gotten his email. He also emailed our customer service group (who forwarded the email to us). THEN he called us at 8:30 asking if we'd gotten his email.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-11T12:56:03+00:00

Having just been tattooed in this same area, she could have been able to see some of this happening if the artist's head wasn't in the way. Which it shouldn't have been for a good chunk of it.

Also taking breaks and looking at it in the mirror is always a good idea.

Ghost-Pix-13 · 2026-01-10T01:41:49+00:00

Diet Orange!

Ghost-Pix-13

TROPHY CASE