d d 5e what to do after curse of strahd

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Expletive of Strahd is an astonishing fantasy-horror D&D 5e campaign set in the demiplane of Barovia which is ruled past the legendary vampire Strahd von Zarovich. Information technology's a great adventure – but information technology can too exist a bit overwhelming and hard to run, especially if it'south your first fourth dimension as a DM.

Then here'south our top iv tips for DM's running Curse of Strahd!

i. Horror in Curse of Strahd

Creating a feeling or mood that volition make the players at the table feel shivers upwards and down their spine equally they realize the true horror of Barovia and the situation its people are in is a lot harder than information technology sounds – and the all-time tip I tin give is the reminder that this is not a problem. D&D is most having fun, and if your players are having a blast, you're doing it right!

Setting the scene

When setting the scene, I think information technology's of import to focus on what matters; don't spend minutes meticulously describing an old building and all it'south gothic features unless the players enquire for details, only rather highlight what really sets the mood. Virtually often that is the people of Barovia.

An example is when the characters outset arrive in The Village of Barovia and hear the mournful sobbing from Mary, whose daughter Gertruda ran away from home a week ago (and has since been caught and charmed past Strahd).

As written, Mary is then lost in her sorrow that she barely notices the presence of anyone in the room, only as adventurers are a rare brood in Barovia and they may exist her only promise of getting her girl back, I would have her fall to her knees and ask for the characters assistance. This gives the characters a sense of the horrors of the country they've arrived in likewise equally the need for heroes like themselves!

Another case is when the characters go far in the Blood of the Vine Tavern in Barovia Village and run into Ismark, three vistani spies, and Arik the Barkeep. Ix out of ten Barovians don't accept a soul and are described as "maudlin folk who experience fear but neither laugh nor cry". While non explicitly stated that the barkeeper doesn't take a soul, he fits the description, and I would therefore emphasize how he wears drab clothing and keeps on doing the same mundane task while he just stares blankly out into the horizon, making the characters feel that something may be wrong with him on a deep level (the Vistani know that most Barovians don't have souls).

Quick note hither – I mostly dislike that most Vistani are described as evil. I would rather have the iii Vistani at the Blood of the Vine be neutral good also equally all or virtually of the Vistani at Madam Eva's military camp where they advise they go. This is also something the recently published Revamped Expletive of Strahd addresses, as it emphasizes that the Vistani are a diverse people with free will – even though some of them have been thoroughly corrupted past Strahd'southward evil.

two. Getting the players to care

One of the biggest challenges I have had running Curse of Strahd is how to make the players experience they have a real stake in (and thus actually care about) saving Ireena Kolyana and the people of Barovia.

While Strahd chasing afterwards Ireena (who has the soul of his long lost true beloved, Tatyana) is an important office of the plot, the adventure doesn't really provide whatever advantage for the characters putting their lives at risk to escort Ireena.

Offering the characters the human action for a building as a reward have worked wonders for the motivation of the characters in one of my campaigns, but a bag of gold or an old magical heirloom can do the pull a fast one on as well. You could even talk to your players before offset the campaign and ask if ane of them wants to play Ireena!

Likewise, having the players or at least some of them tie their background to Barovia is too a great mode to make sure they're motivated by more than merely their own survival, which, of class, tin can also be more than enough.

3. Dealing the Cards

The Tarokka card reading is likely to play a huge office in the campaign construction, and while yous could only finish worrying and larn to love the random, I don't think giving one of the players a +ii legendary Sunsword a few sessions in is ideal. A way around this is to simply decide what the unlike cards hateful and place the three artifacts that tin be used in the battle against Strahd at the locations in the adventure yous remember would be nearly fun. Hither are some suggestions:

• Tome of Strahd. I would either place this within Castle Ravenloft (giving the players an incentive to poke around there early on before running for their lives) or at the Sorcerer of Wines, Berez or Yester Hill.
• Amulet of Ravenkind. I would go for Argynvostholdt which the characters don't have a lot of reasons to visit if nothing is placed there.
• Sunsword. Amber Temple. The reason for this simply being that the sword is very strong, and that Amber Temple is likely to be about the finish of the campaign.

The chosen NPC ally can, in my opinion, be anyone. I have played with Ezmeralda and Mordenkainen. Van Richten would besides be fun! For the card that decides where the final battle with Strahd will take place, I would choice somewhere in the crypt of Castle Ravenloft.

For those of you lot who like the idea of tarokka cards and would similar more than content on how to apply them in your Curse of Strahd campaign, check out this Tarokka-based Random Meet Effects past Sly Flourish .

iv. Playing Strahd von Zarovich

– I am The Ancient, I am The Land.

Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the darklord of the valley of Barovia, one of the Domains of Dread in Shadowfell. The Ancient. The Land. Playing Strahd is not piece of cake, and I call back many DM'south struggle with the fear of but sounding cheesy rather than showing the cunning, wisdom, and evil built upwards in the vampire through centuries.

You could write a whole essay on how to roleplay Strahd (and some people accept, just Google it!), how to deceive and trick the characters (for example past following them along as a helpful NPC in the guise of his change ego Vasili), Strahd'southward deeper motivations and even suggestions for quippy one-liners.

What's of import to know though is that there is no one right mode to play Strahd . Evil comes in many forms, and if you play him as you imagine him, I'g sure you lot will go the best result. Just remember:

• Have Strahd show upwardly often, but not also often. People don't fear what they don't know they should fright, and you want the characters to realize who they are dealing with. Withal, if you lot have him evidence upwardly too ofttimes, it can make Strahd feel less scary. I would aim for ii-five encounters with Strahd during the campaign before their concluding battle.
• Have Strahd know almost every bit much as you do equally the DM. Strahd has scrying , and then if yous tin can pluck a hair off a character or 2 early on in the game, Strahd should be able to know most of what's going on! And, of course, make sure that he lets the characters know that he knows!

For the final battle with Strahd von Zarovich remember to read our guide on how to run dominate encounters in D&D 5e . Specifically, when fighting Strahd, consider giving him more striking points if you plan on having him become head-to-head with the characters. Alternatively, you can likewise have him flee through the walls, regain HP and come back – just although this is a clever tactic, it tin also end upward beingness pretty boring (I did this in one game, and the battle dragged on for 6-8 hours!)

Conclusion

Alright, that wraps up my top 4 tips for DM'southward who want to run Curse of Strahd. Of course, a handful of communication doesn't cover all the things you may want to consider before running the campaign, just based on my own feel these full general tips will get you a long way!

What's your own acme tip for running Curse of Strahd? Is there whatsoever points you want us to explicate farther? Practise you desire more content on the adventure? Allow u.s. know in the comments below!

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Source: https://eventyrgames.com/2021/04/08/tips-on-running-curse-of-strahd/