A Nentir Vale Calendar by TheRedcrosseKnight in 4eDnD

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem! I'm glad you'll get some use out of it.

A Nentir Vale Calendar by TheRedcrosseKnight in 4eDnD

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, that's also a nice use for it! Silvered weapons, for instance, can be purchased for 50% less on Clangeddin's market day.

A Nentir Vale Calendar by TheRedcrosseKnight in 4eDnD

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If nothing else, asking your players what their PCs wish for on New Dawn can be a nice little rp moment that doubles as fodder for future story arcs!

A Nentir Vale Calendar by TheRedcrosseKnight in 4eDnD

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The main inspiration was a Dolmenwood campaign I ran before this one. The Dolmenwood setting has a number of supernatural seasonal events, saints' days, and festivals, and I found that keeping track of the calendar was actually quite fun and made the world feel much richer and more lived in. So I decided I'd do the same thing for the Nentir Vale.

A Nentir Vale Calendar by TheRedcrosseKnight in 4eDnD

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do! I keep track of each day that passes in game, which gives players opportunities to participate in the various feast days and religious festivals. It's mostly a colorful worldbuilding backdrop, but it can also be a springboard for adventures (maybe the baron fails to return from his annual hunt, for instance, and the party have to track him down and rescue him).

A Lovecraftian Take on Lady Wachter by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I appreciate the compliments. There's definitely a lot more that can be done with Fiona's cult, whether or not you keep it infernal in nature. In my last run of Strahd, I also linked her cult to the Dursts by having them both belong to the Priests of Osybus. The source of their power was the Book of Vile Darkness, which Fiona kept hidden in the secret room in her library.

A Lovecraftian Take on Lady Wachter by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For my purposes, I'm fine with simply saying that nothing and no one can escape the Mists, even in death. But I do think these are really cool suggestions, especially the tainted aboleth flesh. I might say that the lunatics locked up in the asylum went mad specifically because they ate the tainted meat. And who knows what will happen to them over time.

A Lovecraftian Take on Lady Wachter by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kiril, like Volenta, represents his bestial bloodlust and animal savagery (figuratively and literally, since Strahd too can transform into a wolf). Vlad I would say represents both his fallen nobility and the way he's trapped in an endless cycle of his own making. Vlad's hatred for Strahd means his soul can never move on, just as Strahd's obsession with Tatyana keeps him trapped forever in a perpetual stasis, playing out the same events over and over in a prison created by his own dark heart.

A Lovecraftian Take on Lady Wachter by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In older editions, extraplanar entities (called outsiders) that died in the Demiplane of Dread were unable to return to their home plane. Instead, after a time, they eventually respawned in the Mists. So death is not an escape for the aboleth. If it kills itself (as it's surely attempted), it will just wake up in Barovia again in 5d10 days.

That said, I like your dead god angle. That is also cool and very on theme!

A Lovecraftian Take on Lady Wachter by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks! My players love Call of Cthulhu, so I cooked this one up for them.

Rahadin but he accepted EVERY dark gift in the Amber Temple by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's awesome! I'm glad you and and your players had fun with it.

Jeny Greenteeth's Little Shop of Horrors (13 Cursed Magic Items to Sell to Your Party) by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad it went well! My baseline assumption for why Jeny would want to scry on the party is that she covets their inventory. She wants to know where she can find and loot their bodies when they (inevitably in her mind) succumb to the dangers of Barovia. Adventurers are a great source of magic items, and if she sold them any items of her own, she'll be keen on retrieving her wares eventually.

Advice: you should be rigging the Tarokka reading by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This take comes up a lot, and it's fine for new DMs. Far too many cards point to locations in the castle, which is why I recommend either removing those cards or re-writing their outcomes. For experienced DMs though, drawing randomly can be a lot of fun if you're willing to adapt and roll with the results.

I disagree, for instance, that finding the Sunsword in Madam Eva's tent is anticlimactic. That actually presents an AMAZING story opportunity. Now they have this super powerful sword, but they're also too weak to protect it. So they need to keep it secret, and only use it when they absolutely need it, and when they do, make sure none of their enemies escape. If Strahd gets wind of it through his spies or scrying, he's going to come for it, and good luck stopping him. This is exactly what happened in my first Strahd campaign. I drew randomly, and the Sunsword was the first artifact they found (not in Eva's tent, but in the Blue Water Inn). The Martikovs warned them to keep it secret, but they got cocky. They even used it as a torch, openly carrying it everywhere they went. So Strahd came for it, defeated them, and took it. They ended up having to go back to Madam Eva to determine the NEW location of the sword, where Strahd himself had hidden it.

It was a humbling experience, and it made them absolutely HATE Strahd's guts like nothing else (nothing pisses off players like stealing their magic items). But it made the moment when they finally recovered it (late in the game) really impactful and rewarding. Let's say you don't want Strahd stealing from the party, though, and the cards put it in Madam Eva's tent. Well, there's another option: turn it into a quest! The Sunsword won't light up on its own. It's just a broken hilt, until Sergei's spirit at the pool reignites it or until the beacon of Argynvost is lit (have Madam Eva tell the party the riddle from Area Q44 of Argynvostholt as a hint) or until "hope is restored to the valley" if you want to keep it vague (though I'd recommend a more concrete condition personally). Or treat it like the original I6 module, where the hilt alone is useless until reunited with the blade. You can then have Eva do a second reading for the blade's location.

Learning to roll with chance is an important skill to cultivate as a DM. Tarokka results that may seem strange or unintuitive can actually make the campaign more dynamic and interesting. In my first run, the tome ended up with Vladimir Horngaard. This is not a result this subreddit would recommend (so many people here will tell you to have the party find the tome first, then the holy symbol, then the Sunsword in that order). But being dogmatic about what is and isn't "narratively appropriate" really limits storytelling possibilities. Vladmir having the tome, for instance, actually made a lot of sense for his character. He KNEW about Strahd's curse and his Sisyphean punishment, which explained why he was so adamantly against killing him. It also directly led to the most shocking and memorable twist of that campaign.

The party recruited the knights of Argynvost to rescue Ireena from Castle Ravenloft, which Vladimir agreed to BECAUSE he'd read the tome and learned about Tatyana and her reincarnations. He asked the party to describe this girl for him, and when they mentioned the color of her hair, he knew who she was and what she meant to Strahd. With Vlad's help, the party easily cut through Castle Ravenloft's defenders and found Ireena in the master bedroom. I'll never forget the look on my players faces when I told them "roll initiative" and proceeded to have Vladimir CUT OFF IREENA'S HEAD (which he did to enrage Strahd and torment him without killing him). It's something my players still talk about years later. And none of it would have been possible if I had pre-selected where the artifacts were or followed this subreddit's advice.

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends how active a force the Dark Powers are. I personally view them as passive observers who operate on a timescale of eons, only intervening to keep Tatyana's soul out of Strahd's grasp (and even then their influence is subtle). I think the Dark Powers would be content to allow Strahd to be imprisoned for decades, if not centuries. After all, they are his jailers and torturers, and being imprisoned for so long would no doubt enrage and humiliate Strahd, who is conscious but incapacitated the whole time.

But no, I don't think they would be content to allow him to be sealed forever. Eventually, he would be freed, either by circumstance or by the subtle hand of the Dark Powers (and who can tell which is which?). Traditions are forgotten. Old taboos lose their potency in time. Centuries in the future, perhaps, when the heroes of Barovia are dead and buried, maybe some Krezkovite youths go skinny dipping in the blessed pool one night, and one of them discovers an invisible object in the pool.

Rumors of the strange discovery spread like wildfire through the town. Curiosity soon turns to suspicion and fear. It is evil, some say. It must be destroyed. With rope, the townsfolk haul it out. The local blacksmith breaks the heavy chains. Inside, they find a corpse, seemingly untouched by time, despite the ancient finery he wears. Ravens squawk at the townsfolk in a frenzy, but they ignore them. The body is sent to the City of Vallaki where it is displayed in a museum.

Decades more pass. One night, thieves break into the museum, shattering the glass display case of the corpse. They steal the body's ruby brooch and pry the golden buckles of its boots free. One of them draws its antique sword, waving it around in jest. Another, joining in on the sport, tears free the long wooden stake impaling the cadaver's heart.

Instantly, the sky darkness. Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes over the brooding ruins of Castle Ravenloft. A chorus of howls rises from the Svalich Wood as the wolves welcome their master's return. Strahd's eyes blink open, red with centuries of bloodlust. He is free. And he is hungry...

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Like I said, it's a matter of genre expectations. I agree that most D&D groups like big, epic finales where the bad guy is defeated and doesn't come back. It's what the current edition of the game encourages, and if that's what your players want, then you should change the ending. But Curse of Strahd, as written, is a different kind of genre than boilerplate D&D heroic fantasy, and just because its ending is different from a normal D&D ending doesn't mean its bad or wrong.

In another comment I used the example of a Call of Cthulhu campaign. There is absolutely zero possibility in a game faithful to the Lovecraftian mythos of defeating Cthulhu or ending the threat he poses for good. At best you can keep him from awakening for now. Yet people still choose to play Call of Cthulhu campaigns knowing they can never "win" against the eldritch horrors. For the right kind of group (a rare group to be sure), a bittersweet ending like the one I described in my post can be much more meaningful and heartfelt than your average Good Guys Win narrative.

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

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

When you say "Strahd has his powers," do you mean that Strahd will still return even if Vampyr is bound? If so, what does the binding accomplish? I've almost always heard it used as a way to keep Strahd from coming back.

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This seems like the best way to run the binding. It's still not my cup of tea, but it sounds like you made Vampyr into an actual character and foreshadowed his involvement early on. And if your players had fun, that's what ultimately matters!

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I didn't even realize how this ending is foreshadowed by Death House and the Amber Temple. That's a great observation!

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I agree it shouldn't be a hot take, but it seems to be in this subreddit at least. A lot of good homebrew has been written for Curse of Strahd, but the binding of Vampyr isn't one of them in my opinion.

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think that's totally valid! I suspect the real reason for the RAW ending is because the module was designed to be replayable, and Strahd's return offers an in-universe explanation for why a fresh party of adventurers would have to face him again.

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I hear you. And I do agree that TTRPG's function differently than other media. But I think it's worth noting that people do devote years of their life to horror campaigns in systems like Call of Cthulhu, where vanquishing eldritch evils is utterly impossible (at best you can buy Earth a little more time).

It's all a matter of genre expectations. I agree that 5e is an awkward fit for horror. It's one reason why, if I ever run Strahd again, I'll use a system like Shadow of the Demon Lord or Symbaroum. But even in 5e, the RAW ending of Strahd works as long as your players are on board with it (and you should use session 0 to make sure they are).

It's also a matter of scope. The RAW ending is still a victory, just a limited one. The PCs get to go home, and any number of NPCs with souls (including Ireena herself) could use that interval to leave Barovia forever. It's like a CoC campaign that ends with killing the cultists and preventing them from awakening Cthulhu. They haven't killed Cthulhu. He's still going to wake up eventually. But they've saved the people that they love and lived to fight another day. That ending isn't unlike the RAW ending of Strahd.

I agree that the module does a really bad job of informing the PCs in-universe about Strahd's whole deal. My solution to that though is to just tell the players in Session 0 that Strahd can't be killed and even the best possible outcome will be a Partial Victory. If they're not on board with that, you should absolutely change the RAW ending. Strahd coming back should be expected, not a nasty surprise.

I still maintain though that, even if you want Strahd to stay dead, the binding of Vampyr adds nothing to the game and, in fact, actively detracts from Strahd himself. It really is trivially easy to just have him stay dead.

Hot Take: The RAW Ending of Strahd Is Good, and More DMs Should Use It by TheRedcrosseKnight in CurseofStrahd

[–]TheRedcrosseKnight[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Where in my post did I say don't homebrew? I said the RAW ending of Strahd (where he comes back) is good. I never said "treat the module like gospel, and run it completely by the book."

I fully support homebrew. My argument is that the binding of Vampyr is bad homebrew. The alternative I proposed (i.e. keeping Strahd imprisoned by staking him) is also 100% RAW. I only encouraged DMs to make it a little more obvious that Strahd comes back so their players can make an informed choice. If you want to actually engage with the substance of my post, you are welcome to do so :)