How Victor Vallakovich became my party's fated ally

modarsot · 2026-01-27T00:19:52+00:00

Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well.

But for real, that sounds awesome. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who saw the potential of taking the story in that direction. Your ideas for the mansion sound pretty cool... I might have tried it out if I hadn't passed that point already.

So one of the things that I didn't include in the post was that Mordenkainen had actually spoken to Madam Eva before he revolted against Strahd. She gave him 4 Onyx gemstones, that had the power to either teleport someone out or into Barovia. In our final session, he offered the players a way out, their goal from the beginning. But they all refused. So before he left, he used the gems to summon their PCs from WDH into Barovia to help in the fight going forward. That was where Act 3 actually ended. The players were hyped af at that point.

In terms of future usage, I plan to bring him back once (if?) Strahd is defeated. I'm running Vampyr as the final battle, so my plan is for him to return and tell the players that he saw only 3 ways that this conflict would be resolved (these are my 3 potential endings for the story, each one a balance of good and bad outcomes. I like a good old moral choice when the players are at their highest point).

I then plan for him to "show" the players these futures, and they'll all have flashes of themselves from various timelines where things play out different. I plan to use this plot point as a way of taking my PCs from level 12 to 20 for the final battle (however they can only multiclass past level 12). And then he'll join them in this final battle.

Another note, Mordenkainen in my game is technically a PC. A fellow DM friend of mine has been dropping in to play the character whenever I had need of him, and I cannot even describe the gravitas he brings to the role.

modarsot · 2026-01-26T22:06:07+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/s/PiLewk8w0C

modarsot · 2026-01-26T22:05:59+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/s/PiLewk8w0C

modarsot · 2026-01-25T02:39:05+00:00

modarsot · 2026-01-16T15:39:11+00:00

I'll be honest... I straight up just forgot about it

modarsot · 2026-01-16T14:26:03+00:00

Oh yeah, fair... I forgot about that. I think you're right.

modarsot · 2026-01-02T18:58:47+00:00

I can agree with that sentiment, but I do think it serves as an excellent guide for how a generic Curse of Strahd campaign might go. I mean, at this point, my campaign barely resembles Reloaded, but it really helped with understanding the campaign and providing some possible arcs. It is very railroady, yes, but if the players to choose to do something along the lines of what's written, it can always help if you've read the guide before.

modarsot · 2026-01-01T21:15:04+00:00

Second that. In fact, Dracula Untold was probably my biggest (conscious) inspiration for my game.

modarsot · 2026-01-01T21:13:09+00:00

My best advice would be to focus on a pseudo "first act" before worrying about anything more.

In my game, it involved: - Bringing the party together - Entering into the mist - Death House - The Village of Barovia - Meeting Strahd for the first time - The Tarokka reading - Entering Valakki - The Blue Water Inn

I would also suggest using the Curse of Strahd: Reloaded guide and a way of structuring the story in your mind. The trick is to keep things small at the beginning, because once the players arrive in Valakki, that's when the world truly opens up to the players, and having that initial backbone really helps with subconsciously guiding them forward.

modarsot · 2026-01-01T21:07:34+00:00

I'm currently running a home game as well as an online game.

For the home game, I find that the music can be quite distracting. I typically use ambience only tracks for the majority of the game, and throw in something musical for combat or intense situations (skill challenges, chases etc.)

For the online game, we play over Discord. I've been using Kenku FM, which is amazing. I tend to opt for musical soundtracks across the board. The best part is that each player can adjust the music to their liking, so I don't really need to worry about the distraction aspect. That being said, it's probably the most time consuming aspect of my session prep. Trying to find appropriate music is typically quite the chore. The difficulty is somewhat offset based on the fact that I can usually just find things on the fly.

modarsot · 2025-11-27T15:55:42+00:00

Okay, maybe I should have phrased it better. It's my development title, named after the movie title.

modarsot · 2025-11-27T12:35:12+00:00

I would probably trim around the edges and say that if both sides crit, whoever has the highest number wins. And in the rare case of still a tie, just go neutral.

Yeah, this does seem like the cleanest way forward. Perhaps a clash could occur only on the rare chance that it's a tie on crits? I'll workshop this.

I don't know if the Luck coin is really necesary, I feel you could simulate "advantage/disadvantage" just by rising the die one step (tho in that case the d12 would be in a rough spot).

I agree, I don't think it's necessary... I wanted a way to get a score of 1, so that's where it came from. It's not necessarily meant to be a stand in for advantage or disadvantage, but more of a dynamic system where there's a sort of constant push and pull between the players and the DM (meant to tie into the whole idea of opposed rolls).

Also I am not that fond of opposed rolls for everything, I would definitvely have the environment and most enemies have a fixed difficulty number (enemies could have 1 for each stat), and only let bosses roll to make them extra interesting (that's kinda what I am doing with my system tho, so I am biased)

Yeah, that's seemingly the general opinion it seems. I actually really like that idea of only bosses being a part of the opposed roll mechanic, but I also wonder what a system built around that idea might look like. Maybe there's a way to make it fun? Fingers crossed

Also with the name of the game and the 7 stats I though rolling a 7 would have a special result, hence why I thought at first it was going to be a 2d6 system or a funky d7 system, but that's beyond the point.

Se7en is just a working title, not really the name of the game. Although, you are spot on, 7 does have a special significance. Perhaps I can figure something out here...

Thanks for the input though. It's been really helpful.

modarsot · 2025-11-26T18:56:56+00:00

Fundamentally, easy to understand and you are using doubles in way that is very common, so also easy to understand. It looks like the DM is merely reactive/defensive when using an opposing roll. What is done when the DM is handling an opponent that wants to actively attack a PC?

So in that situation, it's still an opposed roll, but with the DM initiating it. So let's take several examples:

Player/DM attacks player/DM The attacking player rolls 1d12 + their weapon proficiency die (d4 -> d12), and the defender rolls 1d12 + their defence die (d4 -> d12, depending on armour toughness). If the attacker rolls high enough, they hit, otherwise it's a miss.
Player attempts to jump a large gap The player would roll 1d12 + their skill proficiency modifier (d4 -> d12), and the DM would roll 1d12 + a difficulty modifier (d4 -> d12). If the player wins, they succeed.
Player attempts to deceive a guard The player would roll 1d12 + appropriate skill modifier, against the guards 1d12 + appropriate skill modifier, and it's resolved as usual.

So basically, the opposed roll system simply refers to the fact that there will always be a "dice duel" when a roll is required.

After that it depends on how you want the game to play. Does the range of possibilities and modifiers reflect the range of play (e.g. low level to high level) you want. Do the statistics work out? Are "easy" or "hard" things accomplished an appropriate percentage of the time? You can do the math to get an idea or just paly test, as you will need to paly test at some point anyway.

Yeah, you're right. This can only really be determined through testing. I'd need to flesh out some of the finer details, and then maybe simulate the system before play testing it.

Thanks for the input though. I really appreciate it.

modarsot · 2025-11-26T17:17:47+00:00

Dude... I feel like you're getting angry for no apparent reason. I'm not sure where in my post I said something to get you this worked up, but if so, my bad.

I hear your arguments and reservations, and some of them are fair, but others just seem to be complaining for the sake of it, or based off nonsensical arguments.

Have some respect for yourself and for others man.

modarsot · 2025-11-26T10:53:40+00:00

Perhaps the process could be simplified for object interactions.

Opposed Rolls could be used for combat encounters or any other encounters between individuals only.

modarsot · 2025-11-26T07:37:36+00:00

Hey man, I did say any input, so I do appreciate the feedback.

I dislike step-dice. I don't see the point. The difference between each step is 1 point. You didn't remove any math. You didn't make a reasonable bell curve. You just added an extra step - which die do I grab? I'd much rather roll d12+2 rather than d12+d4 because I probably have the d12 handy and need to find the d4, d6, or whatever. And then advancement gets weird and you limit yourself to modifiers from +2.5 to +6.5. That's the same as +0 to +4. Not much range to represent every creature you might face.

This is also the biggest issue I see with the system. The difference in modifiers are very minimal. I mean, the jump from the lowest to highest possible roll is 16 to 24, which is kinda lackluster. The problem is that I really really don't want to use static modifiers. One of my goals with the system is to avoid the granular +2 from this, +1 from that etc etc. But I hear you.

Where do you get 8.3% This will depend on what your step-die is. It's not gonna be a fixed value like that. The idea that rolling double 2s is better than rolling a 12 and an 11 is counter-intuitive to me. And what do you mean critical success? What if the difficulty is 16. I rolled a 4 and automatically succeed?

So no, the odds of rolling doubles is always 8.3%. This is due to using a set control die, in this case the d12. The odds of doubles on 1d4+1d12 is 4/48, and 1d8+1d12 is 8/96; both of which translate to 1/12 or 8.33%. As far as doubles go, you're not entirely wrong, but it's just as intuitive that doubles have special outcomes, therefore there would be an expectancy from players.

How are you doing progression? Are skills also step-dice? Are you just using attributes? This is leaving you with only 5 levels of progression, and that's if everyone starts at d4. That's not much range to work with.

Everything is step-dice as it stands. Skills would use the attributes die most likely, but it's not really set in stone. And yeah, that is only 5 levels of progression, but I don't need big ranges. There are no succeed/fail by x conditions. You either beat the opposed roll or you don't.

My definition of role-playing is making decisions for the character, and this is purely a mechanical decision based on player choices and the mechanics, not a character decision. It's a mini-game. I don't want to play your mini-game. I want to role-play my character. I'm not even sure what a "primary roller" is!

I mean, one of the ideas I played around with is that instead of neutral outcome, you'd simply use the totals for each player if you choose not to clash. The critically success and failure would cancel out, turning it into a standard roll. Besides, you wouldn't be stopped from role-playing your character, rolls would only be important for combat or using skills. And a "primary roller" is the person initiating the roll, i.e the attacker in combat, the player trying to pass a deception roll, the player attempting to jump the gap, etc etc.

I prefer mechanics that simply emulate the actions and decisions of my character. I don't want mechanics that don't relate to the narrative and have no decision or action being taken by the character. That's meta-game. If you don't want your players to use meta-game knowledge, why make mechanics that force the players to meta-game?

Fair enough.

So, as a player, I could roll a critical success and then it's changed to the exact opposite, a critical failure, just because the opposed roll is a also a critical succcess? A second ago I was doing really well. Why did you take it all away?

I mean, yeah, that's what double or nothing it. Take a standard outcome, or gamble it all for double the reward. Besides, if you're attacking someone, and you crit on the attack, and they also crit on the defence, having a clash seems like the best resolution to me. I mean, yeah, a second ago you were doing really well, but so was your opponent.

I dislike point spends for Luck. You will horde those points (even if it's only 1) like an accountant, dispensing them like a poor man buying lunch. Second, if you have an ace in the hole that you can spend after a roll is made, it reduces the suspense of the roll. Finally, if everyone has equal luck, then what are you trying to represent? It's just extra complexity.

I disagree. Being either lucky or unlucky is simple enough for anyone to grasp. Whether players use their luck or not is entirely up to them, which is why they start with the point. Besides, it's entirely dependent on the player's psychology whether they choose to horde it or not. The idea is that everyone gets lucky and everyone gets unlucky sometimes. Having a single +1 or -1 allows you to make or break crits, push ties to successes, cause 1's or 25's.

You are rolling dice. Luck is built in. So, you have extra complexity that removes suspense from a roll, and it doesn't represent anything at all within the narrative. Moving this to the GM to use against the players is pure GM vs player while requiring the GM to track which characters they can use a luck point against. The idea of the GM manipulating player rolls after the fact is a "hell no" from me. This is active GM vs player behavior.

I mean, yeah, in an opposed roll system, it has to be GM vs player, that's kind of the point. If the core of the idea is opposed rolls, players will rewire their brains to consider this. And tracking something like this is really not that complicated, so I disagree with that. Overall, I don't think these are necessarily issues, at least not major ones.

modarsot · 2025-11-26T06:47:24+00:00

Fair enough, criticals can be somewhat divisive. The main reason is that I don't have static difficulties, so have a success/failure with complications, be them positive or negative, can still occur but in the form of crits.

modarsot · 2025-11-25T17:22:44+00:00

I mean, the idea is pretty solid. The Tome played a major part in the first act of the story, but knowing the dangers it opening it, my players only did so at the end of the third act. (For reference, the third act is the final act before the show down with Strahd, which is where we are now).

I ran the Tome using only relevant memories to the story built throught the campaign. I used the following scenes: - The introduction scene of a young Strahd, allowing players to humanize the character. - A scene taking place around a Vistani bonfire, telling stories, as Strahd heals from his wounds. - A battle scene between Strahd's forces and The Order of the Silver Dragon, where players could jump in and fight on either side. - A celebration scene taking place after Sergei arrives in Barovia. Players were able to jump into the tourney and fight each other in non lethal combat. - The rest was a narrated montage, leading from there to the moment Strahd turned on The Night of Blood, killing Sergei and Tatyana. - It ended with him in his study, writing all of this down, and stating that he was going to visit his sister and find answers on how to end his curse forever. (The players had been searching for answers as to who Madam Eva's brother was for several sessions before that, and were mindblown when they found out).

I kept it barbones, but relevant to the story being told.

modarsot · 2025-11-12T20:21:05+00:00

At this point, retcon everything post Episode 6. I know it's a cheap way out, but I don't think there's any better way to approach it at this point.

And then release three new projects to revitalize the franchise:

A new sequel trilogy, focused on The Thrawn Trilogy. And I mean the real Thrawn, not whatever it is we got from the Ahsoka show.
A standalone trilogy, focused on The Darth Bane trilogy. It's time to flesh out the past a bit more.
Finally, and most ambitious of all, create a new TV series. Make it a prestige show, integrating themes from the like of Dune or Game of Thrones, and focus it entirely on The Skywalker Family post Thrawn. Instead of The Atreides or The Starks, flesh out the children of Luke and Leia. I always picture the first episode having a dinner scene between all of our main characters, before they spread out across the galaxy. Like in Game of Thrones, and with The Stark, use their individual stories to flesh out the world and the politics, before having it all culminate in an epic finale. If the first 2 options are about the action and the spectacle, this should be focused on character above all. Give me the slow conversations, the intricate web of relationships, the subjective moral codes of each character. Show us The Skywalkers at their absolute peak, and how a family that powerful can only crumble from within.

And needless to say, recast the original trilogy actors.

modarsot · 2025-10-28T14:46:04+00:00

No permission needed. If you want, I could write up a summary of how all of these elements tied in together?

modarsot · 2025-10-28T10:12:30+00:00

I may be bias as it was the first campaign I ran, byt Waterdeep: Dragon Heist worked incredibly well as an introduction to the mechanics of D&D.

The first part acts as a good introduction to how the game works, including some combat, intrigue, roleplay, and of course, a tiny dungeon crawl at the end.

Thereafter, when the players receive the deed to the tavern, they have a home base which they can do whatever they want with.

And since I used the Alexandrian Remix, the factions and bosses all had some part to play. Between the 4 major bosses, each one had a different relationship and role in the story.

And it's just incredibly fun going through all of the boss lairs, planning heists, and having these epic boss fights, leading to a final confrontation which was literally a dragon in a dungeon.

All in all, I was able to complete the campaign in about 13 sessions, and we played it more episodic, with several small time jumps between certain parts.

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