pwykersotz
2016-06-25, 04:14 PM
So disclaimer, if you're one of my gamers, keep out! :smallsmile:
I finally have my group together to run Curse of Strahd, and I'm really looking forward to it. However, one of my biggest issues was how to deal with Old Bonegrinder. No matter what, it seemed that it was begging for a TPK. I thought about it over and over. The party will in theory be level 4 or at most 5 when they run into it (I'm confident they will choose to investigate), and I wondered if I should turn them to Green Hags, or maybe just have Morgantha by herself.
But then I thought that this was a perfect opportunity to add a bit of complexity. So here's how I plan to run it.
When the party first enter the windmill, Morgantha is friendly and businesslike (as written). If they buy Dream Pastries or leave, it's all good, no encounter. However, if they overstay their welcome, the hags will weaken them with their circle magic (important!) and use their sleep spells on them. If the party somehow manages to kill them (smite crits, good tactics, or something else), all good. Otherwise, three of the party suffers terrible nightmares (the hags Nighmare Haunting) wakes to find themselves without their gear and shackled. One of the hags will be watching them, and nearby will be two children.
Now, hags typically want to steal souls and carry them to Hades, as the Monster Manual tells us. And they also want to see good people fall. And since this is Strahd's domain and nothing leaves, I figure lets take some narrative control here. Instead of taking the souls to Hades, these hags have a ritual where any soul they capture can be pushed into an empty vessel. Naturally, this is a big win for the Hags, since they can take a soul-less child from Barovia and have more ingredients.
So they offer the PC's a deal. Whoever kills one of the children will be set free (the shackles will have enough give to allow this action). Naturally, the hags will then (attempt to) haunt their dreams until they die and the soul is theirs.
But the hags are busy. Morgantha has to peddle the pastries. The millstone must be turned. Foul reagents need to be collected. Eventually, they will need to leave the party alone, however briefly. It will be on the party and their ingenuity to escape somehow. Perhaps a loose nail to pick the lock on the manacles or a furious effort to break a weak link. Either way, now the fight is fair. The hags are potentially distracted and unable to use circle magic. If the PC's were canny, they'll have listened to the comings and goings by way of the sounds of footsteps. If they were not, they have to take a chance. Maybe they'll find their gear first (probably stuffed in a crate out back).
The hags will not be gentle this time. But a party of level 4's vs a CR 5 will be fairly trivial. Less so, but still winnable if two sisters are home. And if all three are there, they just weren't paying attention. They can choose whether to surprise/lay an ambush for the hags, or get out while the coast is clear.
Bam, the challenge is workable.
tl;dr: Make the hags fight non-lethally for story reasons the first time while displaying their powers so the PC's know what they're up against. Then let the difficulty rest on how well the PC's prepare.
Thoughts?
I finally have my group together to run Curse of Strahd, and I'm really looking forward to it. However, one of my biggest issues was how to deal with Old Bonegrinder. No matter what, it seemed that it was begging for a TPK. I thought about it over and over. The party will in theory be level 4 or at most 5 when they run into it (I'm confident they will choose to investigate), and I wondered if I should turn them to Green Hags, or maybe just have Morgantha by herself.
But then I thought that this was a perfect opportunity to add a bit of complexity. So here's how I plan to run it.
When the party first enter the windmill, Morgantha is friendly and businesslike (as written). If they buy Dream Pastries or leave, it's all good, no encounter. However, if they overstay their welcome, the hags will weaken them with their circle magic (important!) and use their sleep spells on them. If the party somehow manages to kill them (smite crits, good tactics, or something else), all good. Otherwise, three of the party suffers terrible nightmares (the hags Nighmare Haunting) wakes to find themselves without their gear and shackled. One of the hags will be watching them, and nearby will be two children.
Now, hags typically want to steal souls and carry them to Hades, as the Monster Manual tells us. And they also want to see good people fall. And since this is Strahd's domain and nothing leaves, I figure lets take some narrative control here. Instead of taking the souls to Hades, these hags have a ritual where any soul they capture can be pushed into an empty vessel. Naturally, this is a big win for the Hags, since they can take a soul-less child from Barovia and have more ingredients.
So they offer the PC's a deal. Whoever kills one of the children will be set free (the shackles will have enough give to allow this action). Naturally, the hags will then (attempt to) haunt their dreams until they die and the soul is theirs.
But the hags are busy. Morgantha has to peddle the pastries. The millstone must be turned. Foul reagents need to be collected. Eventually, they will need to leave the party alone, however briefly. It will be on the party and their ingenuity to escape somehow. Perhaps a loose nail to pick the lock on the manacles or a furious effort to break a weak link. Either way, now the fight is fair. The hags are potentially distracted and unable to use circle magic. If the PC's were canny, they'll have listened to the comings and goings by way of the sounds of footsteps. If they were not, they have to take a chance. Maybe they'll find their gear first (probably stuffed in a crate out back).
The hags will not be gentle this time. But a party of level 4's vs a CR 5 will be fairly trivial. Less so, but still winnable if two sisters are home. And if all three are there, they just weren't paying attention. They can choose whether to surprise/lay an ambush for the hags, or get out while the coast is clear.
Bam, the challenge is workable.
tl;dr: Make the hags fight non-lethally for story reasons the first time while displaying their powers so the PC's know what they're up against. Then let the difficulty rest on how well the PC's prepare.
Thoughts?