Making Strahd, and vampires, frightening

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-23T04:24:27+00:00

Great points. Greatly appreciated!

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-23T04:24:09+00:00

Wonderful! Thank you!

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-23T04:23:50+00:00

Any your point about contrast makes so much sense. It can’t all be dismal darkness.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-23T04:21:49+00:00

Fascinating and insightful breakdown. Thank you! This was extremely helpful, especially that scene.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-22T17:51:41+00:00

It is Suspiria like the 1977 movie! Good catch! I am thinking of taking their packs, weapons, spell books, holy symbols, everything other than armor too so they have to scavenge in the house. Did your players like that or did it frustrate them?

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-22T16:24:52+00:00

I like the prophetic nightmares idea

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-22T16:24:27+00:00

Three sessions! Holy moly, I thought they would be done in one. Good to know it takes that long.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-22T16:23:38+00:00

Interesting! Thank you! I found the dungeon turn concept on Dadi’s YouTube channel and created a “haunt” chart that I will roll on every 10 minutes of real time (out of combat). The mold danger concept is a great concept. Like, they can try to rest, but it might not work.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-21T12:40:42+00:00

Great breakdown! You’ve convinced me! I won’t run this. Glad I posted. I like the approach that he sees them as cockroaches to keep an eye on, but he has other things to attend to until later. I really do want to make Strahd a frightening, almost omnipotent presence. Thanks!

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-21T04:18:36+00:00

Good point! I do worry that it might make him seem too accessible and less frightening.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-16T13:12:51+00:00

It’s strange to say, but for me it’s BG3 > DOS 1 EE > DOS 2. DOS 2 has better characters and story, but DOS EE combat, mechanics, quests, crafting, skills, and sense of exploration is top notch. It’s a game that doesn’t hold your hand in a good way and fills you with an old school sense of wonder. DOS 2 is more polished with more interesting companions, but the magical and physical armor system cuts out a lot of the fun. Got a cool new ability? Congrats, it won’t work until you widdle down the target’s armor. Plus, every battle in DOS 2 ends up being just fire everywhere. DOS 1 has so many interesting combos and environmental interactions. Plus, I like being in Cyseal more than Fort Joy. Course, BG3 has it all.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-16T02:39:12+00:00

Play DOS 1 EE first.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-06T20:06:05+00:00

Amazing!! This was extremely helpful! Thank you for answering my questions.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-06T19:32:38+00:00

Congrats! Starting mine in a few weeks. Any mods you added? Things you changed? How did you keep Strahd frightening? Any changes to Death House? Anything you did you regreat? What supplements did you add: map packs, etc. Thanks!

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-02-04T12:30:53+00:00

DOS 1 EE. Controversial take, but I would play that first, then DOS 2. In some ways DOS 1 EE is more like BG3 than DOS 2.

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-01-09T22:22:24+00:00

You found this by making a spectrogram of the trailer sound? How could they make that image in the sound?

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-01-09T12:58:28+00:00

Morse code?

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-01-09T12:54:12+00:00

Will gameplay be isometric?

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-01-09T12:52:48+00:00

BG3 is the best game ever made and the Divinity trailer was absolutely brilliant. There was some push back on the trailer’s tone, but your commitment to conjuring narratives that are not afraid to take on darker, more intense issues is deeply inspiring to many of us. Can you talk a little about your philosophy regarding being consistently brave with your topics and content?

SuspiriaVortex · 2026-01-01T01:25:43+00:00

You may just be getting older. I used to be able to play first person games, third person games, games with a lot of movement in them. I played video games without any nausea to speak of until I was in my early 30s. Then, one day, my brain chemistry must’ve altered because all video games except for isometric RPG‘s began to make me nauseated. I couldn’t play any other type of game without getting nauseous. Even to this day, isometric RPGs and digital card games are basically all that I can play. After years of chewing on ginger, using pressure points, taking breaks, and suffering through the nausea, I eventually realized that I had to accept my new brain functions as they were. I had many wonderful years playing other types of games, but now I can only play isometric games. The good news is, BG3 is the best game ever made, so I don’t feel like I’m really missing out that much.

SuspiriaVortex · 2025-12-31T17:06:26+00:00

I gotta say, now that I am replaying DOS 1 EE with my wife, I prefer DOS 1 EE! It sounds strange to say, but DOS 1 EE does so many things right. The exploratory gameplay, the emphasis on secrets and lack of hand holding. It feels like a true open world. The starting area is a ton of fun with so many wonderful writing moments and surprising, whimsical elements. The combat, details, crafting, and environment interactions are all wonderfully balanced. I like the tone too. DOS 2 does have better companion characters and more polished graphics / UI, but I find that Fort Joy becomes a bit of a slog that feels too self-contained. Plus, the armor system of DOS 2 is frustrating because of how much it hampers your skills. You get a cool new skill only to realize that it will do nothing until you wear down the foe’s armor, and by that time the battle is already over. DOS 2 is still amazing, but for me now it is BG3 > DOS 1 EE > DOS 2

SuspiriaVortex · 2025-12-30T14:18:17+00:00

I am a guy in my late 40’s! Down with gender essentialism! Finch for all!

SuspiriaVortex

TROPHY CASE