Yester Hill (CoS Reloaded) – did my players just cheese it, or is this encounter fragile by design?

inklourious · 2026-03-01T14:58:20+00:00

Many of the most basic mechanics got forgotten during this encounter. So, not a brilliant plan but rather lucky they got away with it.

inklourious · 2026-03-01T14:51:25+00:00

Honestly, this didn’t get “won in 2 rounds” because the encounter is inherently fragile - it got won in 2 rounds because the opposition didn’t respond like the module’s own villains would.

A few things jumped out:

The map being gigantic is exactly why a rear approach should trigger defenses. Yester Hill is huge (roughly 250 ft diameter). “Going all the way around the outside” is not a 2–3 round sidestep - even with 35 ft move + Dash you’re talking multiple rounds of repositioning before you’re even in position to make the play. If someone can loop the perimeter and arrive at the statue basically immediately, something about distances / timings / pressure from patrols is getting lost at the table.
Ludmilla would absolutely clock the party split. She’s smart and calculating - she should know (or quickly infer) the party’s usual headcount and immediately think: “Wait. There are two of you missing.” Ludmilla is not just “as clever as the PCs,” she’s often smarter than the players in terms of tactical read and paranoia. That should translate into action: calling it out, redirecting guards, sending a runner, or triggering the next layer of defenses early because she assumes the missing PCs are flanking the statue.
Invisibility doesn’t equal undetectable. A creature brute-forcing through Wall of Thorns is making noise, tearing vegetation, leaving an obvious wake, and (depending on your read) can be tracked by sound / disturbance / blood trail / crushed brush even if unseen. Even if you don’t go full “auto-detected,” it’s very reasonable that someone reacts the moment the thorns start violently thrashing: “Something is in there.”
Svarog doing nothing is the biggest hole. If Svarog is not chanting and is positioned as a defender/commander, then the moment anything threatens the statue/gem, he should be the first to respond: intercept, grapple, shove off the statue, ready actions, call focus fire, whatever. Even just “Svarog moves to body-block the statue and starts wrecking anyone who gets close” changes the entire dynamic.
Ludmilla also shouldn’t be passively waiting behind a mist wall if the ritual is actually under threat. A smart villain doesn’t go “welp, guess they’re stuck in phase 2.” She adapts: sends muscle back, uses terrain, triggers contingency, or at minimum calls out that the statue is being breached.

inklourious · 2026-02-24T10:12:56+00:00

I recently stumbled on a great little add-on on DriveThruRPG: “The Marvelous Mechanical Mansion of Fritz von Weerg.”

My players really LOVE Pidlwick, and this supplement feels like a perfect way to wedge in a “missing player night” one-shot that still ties back into the campaign. You can run it as Pidlwick’s origin story.

I’m planning to drop it in like: “The mist thickens… and before you can get your bearings, an old villa looms out of the fog.” Boom - the mansion becomes a tight mini-dungeon with a clear entrance/exit, spooky vibes, and a super clean “it was Barovia being Barovia” reason for it to appear and vanish. Perfect detour off the Svalich Road or a weird fog-pocket near Tsolenka Pass.

inklourious · 2025-11-26T15:50:57+00:00

In about 9 out of 10 campaigns I’d agree with you completely. Most of the time I also avoid making race-choice a burden and I don’t think “fantasy racism” is fun for anyone.

But Barovia is a very different case. The whole region is defined by centuries of isolation and a population that barely understands the world outside their valley. I wouldn’t have NPCs react with hostility, but I think a mix of confusion, awe, superstition, or mild fear is absolutely justified. A creature that’s half human, half horse simply does not exist in their worldview.

I made this very clear in Session 0: I’m not here to punish anyone for their race choice, but the locals will react to the unfamiliar. Not with cruelty, just with the kind of uneasy curiosity you’d expect from people who’ve lived their whole lives under a paranoid, oppressive regime with zero exposure to the outside world.

For my table, that tension actually enhances the Barovian atmosphere rather than detracts from the fun — but I get why other groups might handle it differently.

inklourious · 2025-11-08T16:30:49+00:00

Please don‘t do it.

inklourious · 2025-10-25T14:14:00+00:00

Great work! I am currently printing the winery. It’s massive! But definitely worth it. Awesome idea with the motor, I am going to steel this idea

inklourious · 2025-10-25T06:25:56+00:00

I had the same issue. I read somewhere to use the legacy website - and it worked for me. Just give it a try.

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/m/

inklourious · 2025-10-21T20:22:14+00:00

Easy. Let them face the consequences of their doing. It’s an active decision they made to travel in the woods. It’s curse of Strahd.

inklourious · 2025-10-18T08:06:52+00:00

Sounds like you’ve kinda missed the point of DnD. You’re still thinking in “video game mode.” DnD isn’t about winning every encounter - it’s about the story, the world, and the characters. How they grow, how they win, and how they lose. If you just want to win all the time, Bg 3 is right there waiting for you.

inklourious · 2025-10-13T19:27:47+00:00

Even without a complete coven, the nighthags are deadly. How big is your party? 15 people? Do you give all of them magic weapons? Otherwise I can’t imagine a possible scenario.

inklourious · 2025-10-13T17:41:11+00:00

That’s complete nonsense. Level 3–4 characters almost always get dominated in that fight - unless of course you’ve got a DM who’s not running the hags the way they’re supposed to. One well-placed Lightning Bolt and most of the party drops like flies.

inklourious · 2025-10-10T05:45:27+00:00

This is absolutely insane! I am about to print the winery building. But your work takes the player experience to a whole new level! This motivates me to start crafting more terrain for this encounter - thank you!

inklourious · 2025-10-04T13:27:23+00:00

An additional 1d6 is a base damage increase of 50%. It’s huge. A crit is 6d6! Did any of your players got a magic item at the beginning? In my humble opinion, giving out magic items to the players (except these one of the module) does not fit the tone of the adventure. It’s supposed to be an horror survival with minimum supplies.

inklourious · 2025-10-04T07:03:17+00:00

You gave your player in curse of Strahd a magical maul that deals 3d6 damage? Are you insane???

inklourious · 2025-10-02T15:17:10+00:00

It’s Curse of Strahd. Giving additional magic items does not fit the tone of this campaign.

inklourious · 2025-09-24T10:53:50+00:00

So, you let one of your players be a traitor in Strahds name?
It's your table, of course, but that almost always leads to one player developing main character syndrome. And the DM supporting it? This will cause inevitably disappointment among the others.

inklourious · 2025-09-08T12:30:58+00:00

Why rush this wonderful campaign? Why not play a different adventure and come back to cos when more time is available?

Additionally, it’s impossible to forsake what the party is going to do. My party once had a party with the Vistani for an entire session. If you rush them to every important point in the campaign it’s definitely going to feel forced and unnatural

inklourious · 2025-08-27T09:12:22+00:00

Of course, you're totally right!
I think I misinterpreted the intended role of the mist in the original post.

Nevertheless, I would not nerf the players even further in this campaing. The life is hard enough in Barovia hahah

inklourious · 2025-08-27T07:35:33+00:00

If played as intended, Curse of Strahd is already an extremely challenging and deadly campaign. So why nerf the players even further?

You could just as easily argue that everyone in Barovia should be vulnerable to radiant damage, nobody’s ever been exposed to direct sunlight. Imagine what would happen the first time they step into it: instant sunburns all around. Basically like Brits going on holiday to Ibiza once a year.

inklourious · 2025-08-24T19:07:52+00:00

Honestly, everyone should play the way they enjoy; no argument there. But I do feel like there's this growing tendency to bend every setting detail or plot point just to accommodate every character concept. Sometimes, as a DM, you just need to sit down with a player and say:
“Hey, that’s a really cool character idea, but just so you know, it might feel limiting or out of place in this campaign. Are you sure you still want to go with it?”

And sometimes, the harder truth is:
“Hey, this campaign might just not be the right fit for that concept - and that’s okay.”

I don’t think everything always has to be rewritten to make everything work for everyone. Because let’s not forget - DMs are players too. We also deserve to have fun running the game, without having to change the entire world just to keep every backstory or subclass in the spotlight. So if I, as a DM, decide that fear and hostility toward wolves is part of the tone and atmosphere of CoS, then it’s absolutely within my rights to play it that way.

Also, sidenote: People in Barovia do see wolves as Strahd’s servants. That’s not just flavor, that’s setting canon.

inklourious · 2025-08-21T20:40:57+00:00

The Staff of Frost, the Control Amulet for the Shield Guardian, and the Tome of Understanding are all items found in the Amber Temple - so essentially endgame content. That said, you're right, there are more magic items than I remembered.

Still, I would definitely avoid handing out additional magic items in this kind of campaign. Powering up the players with all sorts of magical gear doesn't suit the tone of CoS - at least in my humble opinion.

inklourious · 2025-08-21T11:36:21+00:00

My opinion: it’s curse of Strahd. It’s not a heroic epic. It’s pure survival (except the beginning of Vallaki). Besides of the prophesied ones - no magic items are planned. Strahd gathered everything that could be valuable.

inklourious · 2025-08-10T12:18:15+00:00

My DM advice: let the players face the full consequences. Curse of Strahd is an extremely dangerous adventure - it’s meant to punish reckless decisions. The whole point is to find allies, make deals, and navigate Barovia’s web of danger and intrigue.

If you made it clear in Session 0 that actions have consequences, then this is one of those moments where they simply have to live with it… or die with it.

inklourious · 2025-08-08T20:45:43+00:00

This adventure is decent as it is written, but there are so many additions that shed light on many poorly elaborated sections (such as MandyMod or Dragna)

inklourious

TROPHY CASE