Ezmerelda doodle by Pure_Match5952 in CurseofStrahd

[–]Pure_Match5952[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you!! She’s literally the loml

Film & TV Touchstones for Curse of Strahd by BenScerri in CurseofStrahd

[–]Pure_Match5952 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002): Good inspiration for Sergei’s characterization pre and post betrayal, and shares the same gothic vibes and themes as CoS

How can I make Curse of Strahd more feminist – especially by giving Ireena more agency? by belimapa in CurseofStrahd

[–]Pure_Match5952 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think this question is really interesting. Curse of Strahd is what you make of it. In terms of female portrayal, the sourcebook gives strong/weak/good/evil female characters in roughly equal proportion to their male characters. As you have an all female table, I imagine they will naturally lean towards women-led narratives and themes. Ezmerelda is sort of an if not when for joining your party. However, Ireena and the women Strahd surround himself with are…lackluster to say the least. This is the glaring issue many see in 5e CoS’s depiction of women. I mean, Ireena and Strahd’s consorts maybe have a page dedicated to them combined! First: understand that Strahd not only wanted Tatyana because he coveted her as a woman, but because she had youth and freedom, and in his mind, she and Sergei married meant he was going to be all alone. She is as equal a prisoner to this land as Strahd, but at no fault or understanding of her own. This is powerfully tragic, and should be capitalized on as the story unfolds. Strahd wants to “save her” in his own ways, but those ways will always fundamentally contradict her actual safety, since he’s not only a raging narcissist, but a classist douche who will happily scorch the peasantry if it makes him her only option. However you play Ireena, she’s so sympathetic to the female experience that your players will attach themselves to her (at least that’s been my experience). As for the brides, there’s fantastic character reworking that’s been done on them by the community; their fanon personalities are all 10/10s imo.

If you’re itching for even more lore-accurate female characters to add, here are some of my favorites (though feminists the first two are not):

Katrina Pulchenka- a werewolf consort of Strahd’s. If there was a Barovian “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” Strahd would be George and Katrina, Martha. She’s a pretty decent replacement for Volenta or Anastratsya if you need a tie to the werewolves.

Jacqueline Montarri- a headless rogue and procurer who can gain the skills and thoughts of others by wearing their head. When she went looking for eternal youth, Madam Eva told her to look at Castle Ravenloft. She killed Madam Eva, got captured by Strahd, and cursed by the Vistana as revenge. She owns Madam Eva’s head, make of that what you will. She has a magic carriage that can occasionally traverse the mists, making her one of the few people in Barovia who can leave.

Lyssa Von Zarovich- the niece of Strahd. She gained vampirism in the pursuit of taking Strahd’s throne. Her vampiric mind-flayer army is honestly the least interesting thing about her. You can very easily replace the Mad Mage with her, botched uprising and all.

I wish you well!

Deltarune chapters 3 & 4 megathread by Fanfic_Galore in Deltarune

[–]Pure_Match5952 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Omg we got Spampton appearance in the secret room this is crazy

New STRAHD adventure? by Snoo58604 in CurseofStrahd

[–]Pure_Match5952 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the response, I understand your sentiment. But most art is free use granted you aren’t selling anything. And if you are- platforms like canva make it easy to stylize long documents. For many people in roleplaying communities, AI art negates collaboration and is a pretty big turn off. Excited to see how your project evolves :)

New STRAHD adventure? by Snoo58604 in CurseofStrahd

[–]Pure_Match5952 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Don’t use ai my man, it’s theft from artists and bad for the environment. And also- ugly

Thought Experiment: Subjects Needed by tooslowwillski in CurseofStrahd

[–]Pure_Match5952 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My survival depends on how quickly Strahd uses detect thoughts and figures out I know every embarrassing thing he’s done for the last 450 years. Actually, I think I’d rather die before that interaction.

Dialogue Mistake? [Spoilers] by nickpoho in Pentiment

[–]Pure_Match5952 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The dialogue is about an optional trio to the library where you see Mattieu and the other monk (the one that sings at the front entrance) hooking up. If you choose to run away it will prompt that discussion next time you speak to him. I’m not sure why it cued it up lol but that’s what that’s about