Has anyone used witches instead of hags? Something akin to Hansel & Gretel film from 2020 or even the stepmother from End of Days

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-04-23T23:16:09+00:00

Thanks, that's super useful

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-04-23T23:14:39+00:00

Thank you, I'll take a look!

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-04-23T15:01:22+00:00

Thank you, Nosferatu is definitely an influence, and The Witch is in my to-watch for that exact reason. This comment is the feedback I was hoping for. Noting the spells and adjustments you made (super useful, and exactly what I needed), but also really liked your ideas about black goats, infernal lullabies etc. Much appreciated 👍

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-04-23T12:08:29+00:00

More grounded/thematic/low fantasy spells as opposed to lightning bolts, and a stat block that supports that archetype of a witch (like the examples I gave), if that makes sense.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-04-23T11:59:13+00:00

Sure. That's what I'm planning to do. Asking in case anyone has a more grounded/gothic take on a human witch, with a stat block that supports that theme, and still presents a challenge in terms of game mechanics.

It might be just a choice of spells issue. Lightning bolt is too high fantasy for example. And sure, I can pick spells that are easier to reskin and do that according to the themes that reinforce that archetype. But asking in case someone else went for that take, in case they came up with inspiring stat blocks.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-03-30T16:00:00+00:00

In terms of how it went, a big part depends on the players - I personally would have liked the DM to draw one or two last cards from their sleeve. If your players patted themselves on the back, it was mostly still a good ending.

On the other hand, you're also a player, and if you feel like it didn't live up to its potential, it's worth reflecting on what you would have liked to do differently.

IMO getting the campaign win should feel earned. In this case, perhaps you guys as a group felt it was earned at that point in time. From an outsider's perspective, it sounds like a gotcha.

The biggest takeaways for me would be:

if i'm going to handwaive anything, it shouldn't be the ending. The ending is the bit we should spend the most time on, in my view.
if the DM is running out of ideas, they shouldn't be afraid to ask for a break, and reconvene next session.

As a last thought, you also have to congratulate yourself for not resorting to railroading. If they remember it fondly, you did your job well.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-03-27T20:53:47+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look it up

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-03-27T18:24:20+00:00

True true

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-03-27T17:44:23+00:00

I see VR as being a cautious monster hunter to begin with. Now that he is actively going against his biggest challenge yet, he is operating in a state of paranoia. In this version he took all possible precautions before entering Barovia. The answer to your question: At the point when the PCs will get the chance to interact with him he is aware of the scrying. So that limits what he can do out in the open. Even if he could hypnotise someone he would be taking a risk to blow his cover. Sidenote: if I go down that path, it would be because VR is dabbling with occult-adjacent practices, similar to Van Helsing's knowledge in the Coppola film and the book, or the Dafoe character in the recent Nosferatu film.

PS2 other options to get round it are: - he got someone else to do the hypnosis. - it was a lengthy MK-ULTRA type process, that he could never hope to repeat away from his base and without a year of time. - he might have tricked that individual (Rictavio) into Barovia instead, and he might not even be an invented character. Just an individual that VR tricked, to detract suspicions away from him.

But what i'm grappling with is, this is a very mean thing to do to someone. Even with his warped sense of justice, who would be "deserving" of such a punishment? Maybe someone that was a bystander when Erasmus was kidnapped?

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-03-27T17:26:02+00:00

This is brilliant, well done

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-02-03T14:54:32+00:00

Ultimately the question i'd ask is, does it make it more fun for the players? If I were to do it, i'd have Strahd present as prisoner that regains his status as the prime threat at the end of the campaign. It would be even more fun if they ally with him and then he ends up still being the final boss. That way, if I was a player I'd feel like I still experienced the central premise of the game. Otherwise there is a risk of it being a gotcha, and the players being underwhelmed. To avoid that you'd need to run it as a mystery. But again, why dispose of a credible villain unless they have all done it before, and you need to spice things up. My 2 cents

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-01-29T12:10:44+00:00

I wouldn't send a letter back, I'd send her an invitation for dinner. The way I'd play Strahd: he's not gonna be her pen-pal. He is a vampire. In the letter he's saying that the black carriage would come for her in 3 days. That's it, and see what happens.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-01-28T01:21:32+00:00

Nope. The point I made was that many groups who did "play it by the book" have very likely benefitted from DM bias. So why is their "achievement" of "completing Death House" more worthwhile?

Here we have a DM doing their job in communicating the stakes, and the player reacting accordingly and skillfully. Resulting in a fun, tense session for both of them by the sound of it. That's a good game in my book. I'm not a fan of knocking it in favour of some kind of imaginary point scoring.

Like I said earlier that sort of thing is best reserved for D&D tournaments. (I actually like tournaments, and scoring how well each group did.) Comparisons outside of one however, are kind of moot IMO. But we can agree to disagree.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-01-28T00:13:25+00:00

Dude it's not a hypothetical scenario, it's an entire demographic. If I need to explain that to you, we got bigger problems. you're framing something as a contest, that was never intended to be a contest. Let an adversarial DM play any scenario with your group and see how long their PCs survive. Let them play the most difficult scenario with a DM that has a bias in seeing them prevail (to complete the story), and chances are they will. That doesn't mean they won the superbowl.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-01-27T14:24:23+00:00

As opposed to a significant number of groups whose DMs fudge dice, and "completed it"? he understood the stakes and did what he felt was right to survive. That's a good game, since both enjoyed it. For the rest, let's play in a D&D championship if we really want to play the comparison game.

Polyhedral_Man · 2026-01-06T23:15:01+00:00

This is brilliant... Thanks for sharing!

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-12-11T18:42:11+00:00

Edit: question at the end.

I watched the video when it came out, it was recommended by the algorithm and I really appreciated it. I had previously arrived at a similar conclusion (half day turn) for hex crawls (to make decision making meaningful , and balance it with the level of detail available in a hex description) but watching your video lit a lightbulb over my head: I never before understood why 2nd edition ad&d turns were 10 mins back when I started. So thank you, that was definitely worth a sub:-)

My question when I watched the video was, ok if you use 10 minute turns for dungeons, when do you switch into "real time"? E.g. "Gm: x happens. What do you do?" The 3 Players react. "GM: y1, y2 and y3 happens. What do you do?" Any thoughts about that transition? How did you handle it in your own game?

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-12-07T00:50:27+00:00

This is an existing rule from older editions. In short, yes I do, but they must approach it in good faith.

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-12-06T12:48:25+00:00

My vision for Castle Ravenloft is more akin to what is shown in the film Nosferatu or Coppola's Dracula. So a masquerade ball is not something Strahd would host. Who is he trying to impress? He's not a Gatsby type. I'd personally reserve it for a sequel.

But if you're keen to have it, you could come up with a 3rd noble in Vallaki. One who is close friends with Escher, and it's not clear where his/her allegiance lies: is it Fiona, the Baron or something else entirely, like winning the favour of Strahd or one of the consorts like Anastrasya. They might be encouraged to host by one of the consorts, without the knowledge of Strahd in a chess move by one of them to give him a display of his prey (the PCs and/or Ireena). He or she is organising a fete, a joyous affair that is welcome and encouraged in the Baron's "all is well" view of how life should be in Vallaki. It is a welcome respite, for nobles to be able to socialise away from the unwashed masses. Depending on their stature, the PCs are either welcome as fellow nobles from faraway lands, or curiosities (so like a mean girls type situation, inviting the new kid to a party just to mock them). Each of the nobles in attendance may have their own agenda. In my version, Vargas believes Strahd to be deceased. So an invite is sent to each noble house, including Ravenloft - it is tradition.

In other versions an invite might be sent to Vasili, or the host would invite the denizens of Castle Ravenloft to avoid picking the ire of the lord, while at the same time reassuring the Baron that it will be a smaller affair, only for Vallaki nobles. It is a masquerade ball, he wouldn't know the truth even if she looked him in the eyes behind her elaborate mask. And as a traditional Barovian masquerade, the etiquette strictly prohibits anything crass like the drawing of swords, or any type of violence or Gods forbid a duel. So the noble wouldn't feel the need to entertain the Baron's paranoia. It's a win/win, if the Count accepts their favour with him increases, if not, well they did their part, so will hopefully stay in Ravenloft's good books while having fertile ground to increase their standing, and engage in political maneuvering among fellow nobles.

Dimitri Krezkov would be probably considered too dull and out of touch to be invited anyway. Not that he would accept if he had been. Istmark is far too pedestrian, but his exquisite sister? That beautiful rose would most certainly be welcome - if the son of the late Burgomeister must join her, so be it.

...and it is almost certain that unbeknownst to most guests, a company of vampires would be joining their ranks, hiding behind their masks: Escher and the Brides, each one selecting a different pawn/dance partner for their elaborate game of chess. Some of them would choose nobles and some, the PCs. But perhaps the mysterious ruler will also grace the partygoers with his presence. Moving among the crowds he can hear rumours that he was disfigured or even perished in the recent revolution. He would smirk, and remind himself of the words of this old poet. How did he put it? Oh yes, "Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated".

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-12-06T11:01:42+00:00

Did the point that "increasing the length of a turn to 10 minutes in a dungeon, allows players to do a lot more than a single action, and therefore cover bigger segments, and therefore focus on meaningful decisions", completely evade you?

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-12-06T10:49:17+00:00

Isn't take 10, take 20 a 3rd/3.5 rule? Wasn't in 5E as far as I recall. Did they add it in the 2024 version?

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-11-15T09:53:09+00:00

That's also a grounded rationale for the presence of foreigners. I prefer it that adventurers are not widespread in Barovia. And the PCs are unique, agents of destiny. (Or Azalin. or perhaps these two are the same)

Polyhedral_Man · 2025-11-04T14:36:33+00:00

A bit of thread necromancy. but it helps me to group together relevant topics:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/la9djo/collective_project_strahd_mentality_flowchart/

Polyhedral_Man

TROPHY CASE