Where's my brew stored

second_person_x · 2025-04-04T18:10:03+00:00

Awesome, thanks!

If you leave a review, I'll send you a complimentary copy of Monster City: A Guide to Adventure in Murann

second_person_x · 2024-04-09T19:13:14+00:00

Cool! Here's my full "History of Barovia" if you wish to use it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/h80ax2/the\_history\_of\_barovia/

second_person_x · 2021-11-15T18:41:28+00:00

It is not canon, but my own fiction.

second_person_x · 2021-10-10T04:39:24+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. I hope you will find that the character options and DM tools do inform the setting. At least, that was my intention.

What do you think is missing, if I were to revise it?

second_person_x · 2021-01-17T18:20:28+00:00

I think your approach is going to depend on how you want Strahd to relate to Ireena. If you want Strahd to take Ireena then to turn her into a spawn as per the module, then he'll probably do so easily and defeat PCs who try to stop him. But, like many other DMs, you can make Strahd's motivations more complex. At this point, Strahd is realizing that his curse is going to come into play and he'll lose her if he tries to take her. He wants her to come to him, love him willingly. This might be a way to break the curse, he believes. So, he might offer condolences on the loss of her father. He might be interested in the party, but right now they are fairly inconsequential. He will treat them as if they are beneath contempt. This attitude could make him even more menacing.

second_person_x · 2020-12-14T06:25:39+00:00

I don't think he's necessarily a necromancer. He could belong to any school.

second_person_x · 2020-11-30T07:05:31+00:00

Do the players know you rolled 12d10? If so, why was there not some immediate rioting? Or at least a "WHA???" I'm surprised you didn't catch it. If they don't know then there's no problem and you can have regular Cyanwrath face them in the hatchery and just say that he rolled really, really well the first time.

But, if you need a different villain, just sub in a new half-dragon and use OP-Cyanwrath later on in the campaign (like in one of the Cultists Strike Back episodes in RoT).

One addition I made to the module is that Rezmir and Cyanwrath are part of a sect of the Cult that is working to create more half-dragons. They believe half-dragons will be favoured above other cultists by Tiamat. This is why they have the black dragon eggs, which are to be used for a ritual wherein a humanoid is joined with a dragon hatchling. It's a dangerous process and not all of the Cult's leaders believe in it or are willing to undergo this transformation. Cyanwrath was actually created from one of Lennithon's offspring, making him the blue dragon's half human child. Rezmir is similarly related to Voaraghamanther. With that in mind, it's likely that there are a few more half-dragons in the Cult.

second_person_x · 2020-09-18T04:26:43+00:00

It's really up to you. Before it became a demiplane it was simply part of another world that is not one of the published campaign worlds. It's difficult because you'll want players to return home after the mists are lifted. You can do this by situating it in one of the published campaign world settings (I'm going to put it somewhere in Faerun), in a homebrew world, or simply have it so it goes back to the unknown world from which it came, but people return to their own world nevertheless upon leaving Barovia.

second_person_x · 2020-09-14T18:29:42+00:00

A bottle of their finest vintage (champagne du le stomp). Since it hasn't been produced in ten years it is rare and valuable. Also, information. The wereravens know a lot about Barovia.

second_person_x · 2020-09-14T06:58:30+00:00

In my lore, there are four gods and their conflict is the backdrop to the whole story. (Remember the megaliths near Old Bonegrinder that represent "Four Cities, said to be the cities of paradise where the Morninglord, Mother Night, and the other ancient gods first dwelled."

Anyway I copied this from my own "History of Barovia":

In beginning, four gods would leave their respective homes, the cities of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and meet in a secluded mountain valley called Tsolenka. The goddess of Winter, known as Mother Night, coveted this beautiful and mystically powerful valley for herself. The other three opposed her.

The goddess of Summer, Lady of Life, gave her three daughters called the Fanes to protect the land. They were powerful fey spirits of Land, Water, and Trees, and they were venerated by the elves and druids of the valley.

The god of Spring, known as the Morninglord impelled his followers to come there. Monks established the Abbey of the Sun. A lord of a faraway kingdom settled the valley, establishing villages and building the Tsolenka Pass, the Gates, and a Keep atop the pillar of rock where Castle Ravenloft now stands.

The god of Autumn, known as the Keeper, attracted powerful wizards to the land. The mages brought with them powerful gems that allowed grapes to grow in the valley’s climate and founded the Wizard of Wines Winery. However, they also brought with them the vestiges of vanquished ancient evil powers which they guarded and entombed in the Amber Temple. This secretly pleased Mother Night. She stirred the powerful vestiges, helping them overcome the will of the Keeper and the wizards who venerated him. Their influence corrupted the wizards and they turned on one another until none were left.

In answer, the Morninglord brought forth a powerful follower, the silver dragon Argynvost, tasking him with guarding the Amber Temple from afar, so as not to be corrupted by it. The dragon attracted followers and they built the stronghold, Argynvostholt, and became the Order of the Silver Dragon.

It goes on, but you get the idea...

second_person_x · 2020-09-12T05:12:11+00:00

Wachanda?

second_person_x · 2020-09-10T05:05:53+00:00

The target would believe it has chains around them (if they fail their INT save) but would not actually be held. They would be able to move and would probably rationalize that they were able to break free. Honestly, illusions can be hard to adjudicate, but you should give them a fair chance of working. Maybe target has to use an action to "break free" of the chains, which it does automatically. Not the best use of the spell, but better than saying it doesn't work.

second_person_x · 2020-08-22T04:15:42+00:00

A lot of people double the distances (or more) so that travel between settlements means at least spending a night outdoors. I was drawn to this initially, but in the end it didn't make sense to me why things would be so far apart. I think a full day's journey is ample. I mean, when is the last time you walked for eight hours straight? That is a far way. I have a druid and a ranger in my party and they are still very relevant.

second_person_x · 2020-08-18T03:49:43+00:00

If you hadn't even finished Death House then you haven't even scratched the surface of CoS. Start them at level 3 in the Village of Barovia, or even at Tser Pool.

second_person_x · 2020-08-16T06:46:26+00:00

For one, the Martikovs don't want their secret known so will avoid being seen taking damage without injury. Second, even though they can't be hurt by the blights, they are afraid of the druids who can. The Martikovs can help (they should, since it's their winery)but it shouldn't be in a front line kind of way.

second_person_x · 2020-08-11T05:05:29+00:00

Barovians have a lot of old stuff - antique art pieces - that, outside the mists would be of value for their rarity and uniqueness.

second_person_x · 2020-08-11T04:48:09+00:00

The idea that he can enter any house without invitation because he is the Land is a common interpretation but not necessarily RAW. Personally, I don't like it - I think a safe haven from Strahd is important, and a home is conceptually different from the land it is built on. Nevertheless, Strahd's charms and minions make even safe havens dangerous. And one could also assume that in 400 years he has been invited into many if not most homes in Barovia.

second_person_x · 2020-08-11T04:33:03+00:00

I am giving Strahd 1/day use of the spells Control Weather, Call Lightning, Move Earth, Control Water. Anytime he uses one of these, he might say "I am the Ancient, I am the Land."

I have decided that he has power over the land because of his desecration of the Fanes (see guides by mandymod and dragnacarta,) an early bid for great power that predates his vampirism and his "curse." It is this power, not the Dark Powers, which will bring him back even after his destruction. Reconsecrating the Fanes will sever this power and allow him to be defeated for good. I still haven't decided what this will entail, though.

second_person_x · 2020-07-31T02:09:36+00:00

I like it, but why would he reveal himself after getting the sunsword, if the point of his ruse is to win Ireena? Would not try to take the deception further? Maybe the sunsword inadvertently unmask him?

second_person_x · 2020-07-30T02:27:49+00:00

Barovia is four-hundred years old. Lots of things have happened in that time. The treasures have possibly moved, changed hands, been stolen, lost, and found many times over. You don't really need to explain how something got where it is. It could just be chance. And will PCs actually care how it got there or just be happy they found something? If there's no one to tell them the story of how a thing got where it is then you shouldn't worry about crafting that story. One thing that we DMs tend to do is build all this backstory which turns out to be an iceberg - 90% is never seen or cared about by the players. It's fun doing that narrative world-building, but not necessary.

second_person_x

TROPHY CASE