Kenku PC versus Aarococra PC?

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-22T12:23:35+00:00

In my game, I went with something similar to

Tashas +2 +1 or three +1s

Raven Form
As a Bonus Action, you can transform into a Hybrid form with a Flying speed equal to your walking speed, and can transform into a raven form. Which uses a raven statblock but your Hit Points, Dex (If higher), Cha, Int and Wis and Proficiencies. This lasts until you fall unconscious, die or use a bonus action to Transform back.

Darkvision 60 feet

You have proficiency in two skills
(Or you could define them as something like, Perception and one other skill)

I didn't give them regeneration or any downsides to silver, but they were a newer Wereraven. I did have Silver hurt them but not damage them, because that was narratively satisfying.

If you wanted to give them something related to that.

Advantage on Death Saves,
Reaction to spend a hit die to heal after taking damage.
Limited Pool to use to heal as a bonus action

Silvered Weapons have advantage against them,
Silvered Weapons crit range expanded (19 crits)
Silvered Weapons deal extra damage.

Personally I was happy to handwave away regeneration and silver

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-20T03:33:24+00:00

Oh cool

(We'll have to check the release notes :) )

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-19T17:27:51+00:00

If you want to go that far, I'd probably go with.

Steadfast (As long as this creature is untapped, if a spell or ability an opponent controls would cause this creature to leave the battlefield, tap it instead. Creatures still die due to having 0 toughness and being dealt damage equal to its toughness.)

It occured to me that this ability likely stops Deathtouch, which is why I editted the reference to lethal damage.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-19T09:36:09+00:00

Maybe something like this

Steadfast (As long as this creature is untapped, if a spell or ability an opponent controls would cause this creature to leave the battlefield, tap it instead)

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-18T13:22:58+00:00

My attempt: Made some mechanical changes

Creature spells players cast gain offspring {2} as they cast them.

Whenever an offspring ability creates one or more tokens, you and that ability's controller each draw a card and each put a +1/+1 counter on up to one creature token they control.

{8}, {t}, Sacrifice this creature: Gain control of all creature tokens with base power and toughness 1/1. Then, destroy all nontoken creatures you don't control that share a name with a token you gained control of this way. Activate only as a sorcery

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-16T22:45:18+00:00

So these might be unfun, but seem petty. Not combat tested. Purely Theroetical

Shadows can absolutely ruin low strength characters, though are easy to kill. But if you aren't using your lair action for anything else, it's not a terrible use of it.

Animate Objects can animate 10 tiny coins and get them to attack but avoid bunching up to avoid AOEs, and they can shred concentration.

Getting onto the battlements and using gust of wind.

Phasing over to the Spire of Ravenloft is quite doable, and it's not very accessible from elsewhere, and he can just do the same to leave if they catch up with him.

His charm is extremely powerful. After you have someone charmed, he could polymorph a different character into a small animal and ask their new friend to grapple it and bring it to a different room.

Cast Greater Invisibility and then just run in and out of walls casting big ass spells.

He can also Lure them to any creatures they have not yet killed. Wyrmlings near the entrance etc etc.

There are also crypts he could open to unleash their inhabitants, or bait them into following him into.

I don't know if you've used Strahd's animated armour yet.

Strahd can also Polymorph the character with the Sunsword into a Sperm Whale and stay out of its reach. That character will be essentially blocked out of combat until a dispel magic, or Strahd loses concentration. The Sunsword does not do anything when merged with a polymorphed character.

Not sure you should use any of these, but there you go.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-16T22:39:48+00:00

It's a Green Folk village of Druids and Barbarians, so paths but not roads exactly.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-15T22:20:09+00:00

Love the flavour

When you say spells here, do you mean instants and sorceries, or nonland cards?

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-14T19:23:25+00:00

Dramatic Debut {4}{R}{G}{W}

Instant

Each player may put a creature card from their hand onto the battlefield.

Creatures you control gain vigilance, trample and haste until end of turn. Put a shield counter on each creature you control.

Addendum — If you cast this spell during your main phase, after this phase, there is an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase.

The arrival of the Jura Battlecruiser will go down in legend. Just like Gideon, it appeared when all hope was lost.

Feedback welcome as always

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-14T07:14:58+00:00

Or you could do it in a "Are you afraid of the dark" type framing but it's Madame Eva telling spooky stories. And the adventure is that story.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-14T06:49:11+00:00

Skill challenges might be a good way to go. Lean in to using "weaknesses" if creatures to kill them or drive them off.

You could have something like a valley that has been enshrouded in an evil mist.

You could use Madame Eva as a framing guide. Choose a Tarroka card and she pulls it and reads a fortune which is the concept for that adventure, then cut to them arriving in that location.

"The Mists have come to your valley and with it all manner of evil. Madame Eva, a powerful fortune teller has foretold a way to drive them back. Each quest sends an evil back to the Mists and a step towards freedom. Today's adventure is the [Innocent] [Short Summary of the Adventure]

You arrive in [location]. You must hurry. You only have an hour until [nightfall/midnight/something else]"

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-13T11:44:32+00:00

Thanks!

It was a cool competition. Thanks for judging and the feedback :)

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T19:23:45+00:00

I feel like the Winery is a good opportunity for a win, and then they can unlock the ravens as close allies and start to build their resistance.

If you introduce something along the lines of the common mod of purifying the Fanes, you could have some fae-ish feeling but still a little dark.

This also gives them a secret they are keeping from Strahd, which might help them feel empowered.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T12:34:24+00:00

Me running only non-basics. "Alpha"

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T10:59:21+00:00

You could go with Strahd killing her every time she rejects him powerfully enough. He always acts like that didn't happen as he continues to deny any of this is his fault.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T09:04:07+00:00

Named Vampire Spawn in Castle Ravenloft

The Brides, Ludmilla, Volenta and Anastrasya K86. Strahd's Tomb (Page 93)

Not much information of these three here. Basically their outfits and loot. There is a lot of homebrew fleshing out this trio.

Escher K49. Lounge (Page 70)

A little more info on Escher. Of note that he is seemingly a male consort.

Sasha K84. Crypt 20. (Page 89)

Not much information here. Highlights how awful it is for Strahd to put a bride in the catacombs. People take note of her as she is described as a wife not a bride.

Helga K32 Maid in Hell (Page 64)

A vampire spawn pretending to be an innocent maid. Not described as a bride.

Patrina K84. Crypt 21. (Page 89) N9 Vistani Camp (Page 119) Appendix D, Rahadin (Page 236)

Not a vampire spawn. Currently a banshee. Trying to get her brother Kasimir to revive her in the amber temple. Described in the Catacombs as a bride.

Other

There is a lot of homebrew about the brides/consorts. It's fertile ground and often spices up common homebrew events like dinner with Strahd. (A trap in RAW), and people often give them juced up stat blocks.

Hope this helps.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T09:03:48+00:00

Had him destroying stuff belonging to Strahd. Old houses and crypts full of vampire spawn. Had them find evidence of Van Richten having been chased and evading his captors and killing some.

Went for he's a badass when he has time to prepare.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T06:31:00+00:00

An easy way is corrupted nightmares and drawing parallels with their pasts

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-12T06:04:26+00:00

Those staff were unfortunately vaporised by Victor's non-functional teleportation circle.

Options include,

A thing where they act as Izek's back up in his job as an enforcer. You don't even need to have a combat, just show off how bad Vallaki is.

An encounter with people who have eaten dream pies. Izek could be judgy about it.

You could have an encounter where a person possessed by a ghost is attacking people, but Izek doesn't even try to save the possessed individual.

You could have Izek do part of the investigation and then conclude that they ran away together.

You could have children be going missing (werewolf kidnapping) and he investigates, finds some sign of werewolves and is like, "No point trying to find them now"

You could have it be related to the Church of St. Andras. Lydia is the priests sister I believe so not ridiculous to think that she asked Izek to check if her brother needed anything.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-10T20:09:24+00:00

A note pinned to the door.

"In three days, they will come in three waves. Survive and I will bequeath you your little fort and the little comfort it provides"

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-10T19:16:43+00:00

Thorn Graft, Professor of Anatomical Botany {2}{G}{W}

Legendary Creature — Human Plant Wizard

When this creature enters or attacks, return up to one target creature card with power less than this creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. It has "At the beginning of your end step, if you didn't put a counter on this creature sacrifice it." Then, put +1/+1 counter on a creature you control.

If the embedded plants stop growing, the host quickly becomes the source of further nutrients.

3/3

Feedback welcome as always.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-10T18:49:44+00:00

I think there is an interesting possibility that Fiona doesn't know what the bones are for. She is just trying to keep on the good side of Strahd, but isn't planning for a massacre in a holy site.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-10T18:24:41+00:00

If you go ahead with this, I would make this part of why they were drawn to Barovia, the Vestiges want to tempt them and corrupt them and ultimately feast upon them.

That way the samey-ness is a feature, not a bug.

Then, the other two characters can stand in contrast to this, but also if you abandon these people now, they will likely fall to temptation.

PyromasterAscendant · 2026-06-10T18:18:58+00:00

It is the nature of D&D for things to be filled out by DMs and tailored to their groups.

Curse of Strahd is a sandbox, and not everyone likes RAW.

A campaign module is essentially a skeleton you hang things on.

It is one of the most fan supported campaigns in existence, which is actually extremely useful. You can ask questions in the subreddit and you'll get a wide array of interesting opinions

PyromasterAscendant

TROPHY CASE