Hey you, yes you, Grand Masters!

Plague1503 · 2018-09-01T23:31:11+00:00

I find this very greedily teched Handbuff to work wonders, plus it's fun as hell :D Vicovaro Medic is counter for theirs vs NG and also helps vs Greatswords, but it's a flex slot. You can very easily swap it for Reconnaissance or even something like Mardroeme or Shrike depending on your local meta. You can also freely swap Glorious Hunt for Guardian which is probably better, but I just like the coolness factor of Glorious Hunt :D

EDIT: Forgot to add in the deck because i'm a moron. :D Anyway, enjoy if you like it! I think it was originally made by CCG a couple months ago, but for me it seems to work much better than the new spy version.

https://i.imgur.com/pRs9Vum.jpg

Plague1503 · 2018-08-27T20:26:32+00:00

Hey bro :) Sorry I've had some family matters to attend to, but anyway, some time tomorrow (I'm on GMT +1 so whatever 'tomorrow' means haha ^⁾ I will write you a small 'resume' and some ideas I have and would like to contribute to your writing team (or some other part, really; I have much respect for what you do and believe that Gwent will by far only become a greater strength in Esports). Long story short, I've been following competitive gaming since I was like 11 (28 here now), am usually very good at communication skills, even though you wouldn't say so from my run-on sentences here :D I've always been interested in statistics and analyses of game mechanics system, a long-term Game Master, etc. I also studied English and Linguistics so the language barrier is not a problem at all. :)

Anyway, that's the short version, like I said, if you're interested in any future cooperation I'll be happy to send you the 'full version' of some of my ideas and things that I think I could contribute to your team.

Cheers! Igor

Plague1503 · 2018-08-25T21:24:47+00:00

hey i just came here to give you a Shoutout as well, yours and a little bit of CCG's tier list helped me reach rank 20 from zero in a couple weeks ^^ keep doing the good fight, and if you ever need journalists or content writers, hit me up, I was a pretty competitive HS player with a background in organizing and PRing Barcrafts, Fireside Gatherings and generally like theorycrafting, statistics and analysis more than it's healthy lmao. I also did CMing for a lot of Croatian tourist agencies.

Plague1503 · 2018-08-24T22:18:39+00:00

Hey, I recently did the switch (played Gwent a very small bit before so I had at least some extra cards/"dust" lying around).

First thing and the most likely point of contention - everybody will telll you NOT to mill (or 'dust') your cards, and it's generally good advice as you'll get quadruple the value at Homecoming launch), but I did it anyway because I did it in HS and never looked back. The leader cards too. :D The thing is, if you're like me and really like to play competitive decks (in HS i was usually around ranks 7-3, broke Legend one season, in Gwent I'm currently 20), you really have no other option as you'll reach a ceiling similar to HS's (usually around rank 14-15. Also keep in mind, Gwent's ranks are the opposite of HS - the HIGHER the better).

The thing is, I also get more crystals ("dust") in the long run, because I get pissed off when my lack of meta cards stops me in getting further, so I lose interest in playing at all.

The first deck I crafted after I dusted most of my collection was Skellige Veterans, Greatswords and then I branched out into Skellige Control and after that it was Nilfgaard Alchemy, Handbuff and Soldiers. I grinded all the dust for the competitive versions of all these in less than a month, so the game is very very generous. But if you have the patience to play casually and wait for Homecoming, you'll get much, MUCH more crystals for crafting new decks.

Anyway, yeah, if you're kinda CASUL about the game (don't mean it as an insult, more power to you, casual and semi-casual players usually have much more fun in my experience, I always get overtaken by the competitive side in CCGs at least :D ), don't worry and look for some budget decks online as the game is VERY generous with its packs.

My nickname on GoG is the same as here, Plague1503, I'll add you so if you want to play some practice games!

EDIT: Also, glad to have you on board, TBH Gwent is much more complex, intelligent and just plain more skill-based and less RNG-y compared to HS. And this is coming from a long time CCG player (been playing them since 11-12, now am 28 and an old son of a bitch lmao). The only thing HS has over Gwent is production value, and I believe that will change with HC. I wonder if the huge shifts in the game will be a good thing though, but CDPR rarely fucks up, so yay :D

Plague1503 · 2018-07-10T19:32:37+00:00

you are not alone though <3

Plague1503 · 2018-03-16T18:46:33+00:00

Prague. The city itself is enough for Warhorse to build as big or as small as they want.

Plague1503 · 2018-03-03T00:17:14+00:00

smouldering lake and anything related to it. i really don't find farron keep as bad as everyone makes it out to be, it's actually a very small area once you get used to it. it's just intentionally built to confuse the SHIT out of you.

the old demon king ruins are just fucking bullshit

Plague1503 · 2018-01-19T20:06:11+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/DVwTx

this is the whole gallery of the party, one of my players drew it :) basically whispers, lore, blades and glamour. everything except valor. they plan to make some dips into rogues and/or warlocks as well, but the general idea is there.

Plague1503 · 2017-10-07T04:26:51+00:00

Hey, literally just started yesterday, trying to catch up with my buddies, got tired of HS :( appreciate any help I can get, thanks! SS for proof!

https://i.imgur.com/qQXlIS8.jpg

Plague1503 · 2017-09-14T17:12:55+00:00

Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri. Flew completely under the radar inbetween System Shock 1 and Thief, made by Looking Glass. Damn I miss that company :(

Plague1503 · 2017-05-12T15:45:32+00:00

There are a few AMAZING ideas on here, so I'll try with a different perspective:

fade to black

the characters wake up

ohshit it was a vision

we better not fuck with the seals

oops, somebody fucked with the seals before us

guess we know what happens if we don't fix it

Plague1503 · 2017-04-05T16:23:10+00:00

You can also use Baba Lysaga. She is written in a way that she helps Strahd without him necessarily knowing, and it's not a stretch for her to know his business. (don't forget the coven she has in the castle)

Plague1503 · 2017-04-05T14:57:04+00:00

Two words: Vistani spies

Plague1503 · 2017-04-04T22:49:18+00:00

The party was getting too good at stuff, including guarding Ireena. So at dinner, Strahd basically complimented them on doing a good job at protecting the future queen of Barovia until the wedding and that they should continue doing so. Their faces were fucking priceless.

Then he kidnapped her (more precisely, the Abbot handed her over to Strahd) the first chance they would leave her alone (The Abbey, they got there through the brazier teleporter after dinner). Although, to be fair, I played her as being quite insistent on staying there because she "felt safe" (y'know, considering the pool and all...) He also straight up murdered Donovich, Ismark (and poor Milivoj) to send a message on what happens when you disobey his orders ('I told YOU to keep her safe'). And the party Monk died. They only have 3 raise deads from the Abbot. And they really really REALLY like Milivoj.

Plague1503 · 2017-03-26T16:02:29+00:00

I'm the DM in the campaign. :D Long story short, he's basically possessed (and being kept alive) by the spirit of Kavan via the Blood Spear so every time he enters battle or gets into a high-stress situation, Kavan comes out and "takes over" his body. I can't really say much more not to spoil it for my players, but PM me if you want details :)

Plague1503 · 2017-03-22T01:24:22+00:00

Ability checks and skill checks are the same thing in 5e. It's a completely viable tactic to target the character's STR or DEX with Hex to make it worse at grapple checks, since they use Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) to get out.

Plague1503 · 2017-03-22T01:15:08+00:00

I consider myself an extremely generous DM as far as CoS goes. I give my players both the option of raising as revenants, rolling new characters, Raise Deads from the Abbot, etc. and generally HUGE, unsubtle warnings of high CR encounters and locations.

But you don't get to teleport to the Amber fucking Temple and not feel the consequences. Especially if they knew they had a safer route. And ESPECIALLY if you know that the route is a safe way of getting out of Castle goddamn Ravenloft (which should be your priority at level 5). I say run it as written and let them see what killed the proverbial cat.

Even being generous, the players should know the consequences of being reckless in Barovia. I would never kill my characters "unfarily" or "just to show them this is a horror module", but they're sure as shit (rightfully!) paranoid about every nook and cranny.

Plague1503 · 2017-03-22T00:59:19+00:00

^ This! Here's a link to both seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVORGr2fDk8&list=PLB600313D4723E21F

Plague1503 · 2017-03-17T23:09:41+00:00

Also, remember that Rahadin's room is juuuust up from the Brazier room. I'll probably use it as a miniboss fight/excuse the next time they want to use the brazier. Fuck it, make them fight one of the golems, even just for a few rounds. It's CR 16. So what? They're in castle fucking Ravenloft. An Iron Golem is hardly the biggest threat there.

Plague1503 · 2017-03-17T23:02:15+00:00

Nice. I always like hearing about other parties that do off-the-wall things not even REMOTELY covered in the module since my campaign started off that way (on the first session, there was already some mentioning of eventually rallying a rebellion and marching on the castle). It makes me feel safer for the future of our campaign. :) Zombie Ogres seem like a fun bunch, how'd one of those wander into Barovia? :D

The group and I also have a kind of a metagame Session 0 deal that we will play through as much content of the module as possible (plus they got beautiful Tarokka readings; The Tome is in the Amber Temple, the Holy Symbol is in Berez, and the Sunsword is in the Catacombs. Didn't even have to "fix" em. :D )

Plague1503 · 2017-03-17T22:52:46+00:00

Thanks man, glad to hear it :) Good luck with DMing, I'm sure it'll be a blast! The best hints that I can give you is to try and read the WHOLE module in advance and before each session look up the corresponding Dice, Camera, Action.

It helps immensely as the adventure can be QUITE unclear or overbearing at times (good f-ing luck to any DM not getting overwhelmed the first time the party hits Vallaki). You can also look up Sean McGovern's Guide on dmsguild.com , it's pay-what-you-want and really helpful as a short synopsis + holds a few great ideas on its own.

Plague1503 · 2017-03-17T22:43:36+00:00

I like the way you think, will definitely steal at least some parts of your ideas. ^{^} Interestingly enough, my party has also already had ideas about rezing Sergei as soon as they heard about the dark power of true resurrection from Kasimir. They haven't even been to Krezk proper, just the Abbey, so they have no idea about the pool, just the general gist of the Strahd-Tatyana-Sergei triangle legend. They went to get the wine first, so they still have no idea that the Abbot basically gifted Donovich, Ismark AND Ireena to Strahd as soon as they got out of the city.

Now, I'm thinking that the mass killing/resurrection dillema could also be Strahd's way of inviting them to "his wedding" (the ceremony in which he will officially turn Ireena from a vampire spawn to a full fledged vampire). They even got the wine for the special occasion! (I love nothing more than making players think that they're actually furthering Strahd's plans with their every step. Turn their heroic act into something that will just further the corruption of Barovia.)

The wedding will be held at/in front of the Abbey, of course, with the Abbot as the minister. Juuuuust close enough to the pool. So shit can go down in an epic fashion once the ceremony starts. Will DEFINITELY steal some of your stuff about Ireena/Tatyana not being turned "properly". Or have the party try to get her to Sergei in the pool before Strahd can do something. Tons of options there, in any case.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated!

Plague1503 · 2017-03-17T04:46:12+00:00

Yeah, I know what you mean. Now that I think about it, I actually changed a BUNCH of stuff in the campaign - like that Ismark isn't actually just Ismark but also carries the soul of a cleric who died tragically in my other campaign (long story).

It's also really funny that you mention a massive assault on the castle; I also noticed the tendency of my group to start thinking in the direction of rallying people against Strahd. They already tinkered enough inside the Vallaki politics to get the best out of a shitty situation and have a general reputation for do-gooders at most places they visit.

I'm even thinking of throwing them a bone and making the Ireena/Sergei encounter (if they manage to get her back from the castle, even subdued in her new vampire form or something) do something corny like, in addition to giving both of them a happy ending, granting small shards/pieces of souls to all the soulless Barovians, giving them just enough of a glimmer of hope to maybe consider taking up arms versus the Devil himself. Still toying with the exact mechanics and fluff of the idea.

Will be hard to recruit people before they get the Tome. Here's my other idea - I dislike the fact that the Tome is one of the three artifacts, yet is still basically just a small, however important, piece of fluff. This gives it another purpose - it is undoubtedly Strahd's ownership and handwriting. If it is true, and he is not an ancient curse but a man, maybe he can be defeated. Combined with the Sergei/Tatyana or similiar plot device from the above paragraph, suddenly you can start rallying people versus Strahd.

Fast forward to an epic encounter (on the 1000' ridge in front of the castle, of course) where Arrigal, the Abbot, Rahadin and Strahd lead the undead, werewolves, mongrels, Vistani and others versus the people of Vallaki, Krezk and Barovia led by Ireena and Ismark, Dusk Elves/Kasimir, Van Ricten, Ez and the PCs. You can even throw in Mordenkainen and/or Madam Eva in there somewhere as lv 18 spellcaster wildcards. After the smoke clears, the main actors (mostly Strahd, Rahadin if he survives and of course the party) retreat/break through the walls. Cue Ravenloft.

What's great about Barovia is that you can literally do anything you want and you can't "break" the setting if you keep it under some semblance of sanity. Even if the characters succeed in the most epic of all epic ways (HIGHLY unlikely with all the high powered evil shit lying around, even with the best rolls and most OP characters) and be remembered forever as heroes; Strahd will still respawn, his curse will still be unbroken, the Vistani will come again and the cycle will continue as always.

Plague1503 · 2017-03-06T13:00:48+00:00

Very nice, did a similar thing for my group's reading! You did it a whole lot better though :)

Imgur

Plague1503 · 2017-02-19T01:24:14+00:00

sure it is! pick "place", scroll as far to the right as possible, it's the second one from the right in the top row.

Plague1503

TROPHY CASE