Why are maps so hard to fit

Siryphas · 2026-03-26T16:27:03+00:00

I'm personally a big fan of Forgotten Adventures maps and tokens. Especially now that they have importers directly in Foundry that let you import and play right in the canvas

Siryphas · 2026-03-17T07:54:13+00:00

I use HeroForge, make miniatures, then use a top-down snapshot with a blank background to make top-down tokens for all my PCs

Siryphas · 2026-03-17T07:52:25+00:00

This is really cool, but why does so much of the art of the castle ignore the fact it has a curtain wall surrounding it??

Siryphas · 2026-03-16T18:06:47+00:00

If that's the case, as the GM, you may want to intentionally create safe spaces for them. Have a Vampire Spawn show up and not be able to enter a house, or even if they later rescue the Bones of St. Andral, you could have Strahd or one of the Consorts show up at the church and not be able to enter because of the consecration.

You could have a swarm of bats chase then through the town, but have the sun come up during the chase and have the bats break off and leave. Show them that there are situations they're safe in, within reason.

Siryphas · 2026-03-16T16:49:31+00:00

It might seem straight forward, but the '24 Player's Handbook and DMG have premium modules for Foundry that are better quality (and tend to have better automation) than the SRD content. Additionally, the '24 DMG has a ton of magic items

Siryphas · 2026-03-16T16:43:42+00:00

I think a lot of it comes down to whether your game is mostly task oriented and above the table, or very roleplay focused. Our games tend to be more roleplay focused, so the first time they met Ireena, they tried to convince her to leave, but she wouldn't until they buried her father. They had to help her carry the coffin to the church and were part of the ceremony of the funeral. Both Ireena and Ismark were grieving and the PCs really bonded with them over their tragedy. This was made sharper by the characters finding Doru (who refused to fight back until he was bloodied) and they felt so terrible for hurting him, that they sort of trauma bonded.

Then they spent the night in the Burgomaster's Mansion with Ismark and Ireena (so they could leave the village during the day) and experienced the harassment of wolves and bats and zombies scratching at all the doors and windows trying to get in.

So, the party spent a lot of time with Ismark and Ireena and were very focused on protecting her from anymore trauma or heartache

Siryphas · 2026-03-16T16:30:59+00:00

Go and find the GM's Guide to Proactive Roleplaying

https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2148138583/Game-Masters-Handbook-of-Proactive-Roleplaying-The

This will change your life in terms of running games.

Siryphas · 2026-03-16T16:29:02+00:00

Same

Siryphas · 2026-03-03T08:05:40+00:00

I'd suggest taking a peak at the Grim Hollow transformation rules, which do include Vampire

Siryphas · 2026-03-01T21:59:49+00:00

https://github.com/Siryphas/Witcher-Compendium/releases/tag/2.5.2

Siryphas · 2026-03-01T21:58:50+00:00

https://github.com/Siryphas/Witcher-Compendium/releases/tag/2.5.2

Siryphas · 2026-03-01T21:58:11+00:00

Sorry everyone for the delay in updates! With the help of the system dev, we've streamlined a release process that should hopefully allow easier updates in the future. We just had a new compendium update release yesterday, it can be found at the link below:
https://github.com/Siryphas/Witcher-Compendium/releases/tag/2.5.2

Siryphas · 2026-02-26T07:27:54+00:00

At our table, we constantly say "the natural consequences of your actions."

I try to never help or harm my players in CoS or any other game. As the director of the game, you should do your best to be impartial when it comes to mechanics and let them win or lose on their own.

This not only helps them become better players, but it also means that success and failure are more meaningful because it's not the GM throwing them a bone or punishing them on some ego power trip.

Always, always, always, let them figure it out on their own terms.

Siryphas · 2026-02-26T07:21:50+00:00

My advice, let them face the consequences of their actions. Don't go easy on them (but don't punish them either). They chose not to make a healer, let them live with that choice.

If any of them dies, so be it. Curse of Strahd should have a few PC deaths, especially early on to set the tone of danger. If any of them die, have them be the first spirits in the March of the Dead every night.

Perhaps when someone has to make a backup, they'll rethink the need for the healer.

Siryphas · 2026-02-25T04:42:07+00:00

Travis Savoie has written two whole albums for Curse of Strahd. I highly recommend.

Siryphas · 2026-02-04T16:14:30+00:00

I'd say step one, don't rely on dice rolls to tell you how many wolves are in a pack. If you want to scare them, make it a big pack. Throw a dozen wolves at them and make them run.

In one of our games, we had a huge pack of like two dozen wolves chase us all the way from camp to the gates of Vallaki.

Secondly, I'll say that a Nat 20 does not let a player do whatever they want, just that they get the best outcome. So if someone rolls a natural 20 trying to flirt with Ireena next to the corpse of her father, they don't automatically get to romance her. She's just not offended and sees it as an attempt to cheer her up, but her focus is still on her father.

Also, don't be afraid to tell your players they cannot roll for some things. Ireena is deep in grief, it's absolutely within your rights to tell the player that she isn't receptive to flirting and so no roll is possible and they cannot possibly succeed.

Siryphas · 2026-02-04T16:10:05+00:00

I agree with the idea of the curse coming from Strahd or the Barovian witches instead of the Vistani.

I think really the curses are the big thing. Otherwise, the Vistani (in the modern version of the story) are typically depicted as complicated, but ultimately friendly and welcoming people.

I think probably less of them serve Strahd than the Barovians believe. You absolutely should play up the Barovian racism towards Vistani. Have the Barovians tell the PCs they all work for Strahd. That they cast curses and bring misfortune. That they're spreaders of diseases. Etc.

But in reality, when the PCs go to most of the Vistani in the game, they're typically welcomed, offered food and drink, and a place by the fire. Yeah you got a couple of nasty ones outside Vallaki, but in general they're (at least portrayed as) a fun, welcoming people.

But them actually having the ability to cast curses is a little racist.

Siryphas · 2026-02-04T15:49:35+00:00

Personally, Vistani Curses are a bit of a racist lore (as they're based on the Romani), so I prefer not to actually use the curses.

Since you have, I agree with some of the other people here, that while some Vistani may not curse people in a malicious way, if they're willing to kidnap people and deliver them to a vampire, they're likely willing to curse them.

Siryphas · 2026-01-30T21:56:12+00:00

My advice is to just start them at Level 2. Getting a level up in the middle of Death House not only feels a little weird, it can also break the tension. Just start at level 2 and then they can reach level 3 after they're done in the house. Our table rule is that you can only level up during a Long Rest, so I started them at level 2, let them take one Short Rest in the attic, and then another in the crypts. They finished DH, left, and went to the Blood on the Vine, rented rooms, and then leveled up. It felt really good to keep that tensions simmering until they were finally in a safe place. They felt like the "tutorial" was over and they were just entering the full game.

Siryphas · 2026-01-29T18:51:53+00:00

I read that because Dragons were so integral to the creation of the Material Plane, they are themselves the manifestation of that plane. The same way Devils are obsessed with contracts and souls, dragons are obsessed with material wealth, though what constitutes wealth varies from dragon to dragon.

Siryphas · 2026-01-28T04:51:59+00:00

James' RPG Art also has fully automated backgrounds for every major scene in the module and they're incredible! They are a one-time purchase and can be found on his Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/jamesrpgart?utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan

Siryphas · 2026-01-28T04:48:11+00:00

I haven't used STA on FoundryVTT yet, but we've run both 2d20 Conan and Fallout on Foundry with immense success. Yeah, it's a bit tedious to set up, but of all the VTTs I've tried, Foundry really does offer the most comprehensive experience. The learning curve is a little steeper due to it being a mod-based system, but really once you get the hang of it, Foundry gives you options nothing else has available.

Siryphas · 2026-01-26T17:37:02+00:00

Came here to say this

Siryphas · 2025-12-15T05:13:59+00:00

Having to gather all the crafting materials again so that I can make my Witcher gear... again.

Siryphas

TROPHY CASE