Venturing into Strahd's lair

[Lord_Kimboat]

I'm going to start playing Curse of Strahd in a week or so and I have to admit I'm a little less than sanguine (see what I did there?)

On a more serious note, I'm not a horror fan, don't like horror films as they tend to be (in game terms) just like action films except the NPC (bad guys) are usually about 6 levels higher than the PCs with very poorly understood abilities. Watching the PCs struggle in this uneven struggle is allegedly entertaining. I can imagine that playing one of these unfortunate PCs is even less pleasant.

Secondly, I haven't had great experiences with 5e. I was talked into running a game in the first couple of weeks after it came out and had about two weeks to look at the rules and adventure. I was somewhat distressed that the adventure wasn't fully fleshed out and that this was to be seen as a feature and not a bug as it gives me the freedom to 'make it up'. It turned somewhat into a farce as the PCs seemed really unbalanced in power but still had a hard time surviving. My next experience was somewhat better but was very much 'theatre of the mind' where a lot of the things I wanted to do weren't allowed because "the DM doesn't run it that way."

So, I'm a little concerned about how things will go. I am trying to keep an open mind though and hope it will at least be good for some stories. I'll try to keep people posted on how things go.

[Specter]

So, you want some tips or what?

[ruy343]

My advice, as a player who DM'd for relatively new players in Curse of Strahd:

Start it off with fresh characters, and if they're not experienced with the game, or if you're not experienced therewith, don't let your players create whatever classes they want: you create them, and have them pick from among them. Let them tweak their backgrounds and such, but it'll place you in a more comfortable positions with knowing what the players are capable of.

Run the Death House adventure in the back of the Curse of Strahd book, and use the mists to force them into it. Yes, it's a railroad, but it helps the players get a feel for how the adventure is supposed to go, and you can open the world up to them later, once they're comfortable with how things work and feel like their choices can matter, now that they get what's going on.

Regarding the running of Death House: when I ran it, I let the players find the Time of Strahd as a reward for appeasing the cult (they killed a centipede on the altar, the little spoilsports...). Also, I recommend having a spirit following the players around one room over, making footstep sounds and such, to keep them on their toes. Maybe have it bang on their closed door, cryign and whimpering, and asking mommy if she's still mad at him/her... you know the type.

Finally, it's not supposed to be "jump out at you" horror, but a "oh wow, this guy is twisted" horror :)

[Temperjoke]

My next experience was somewhat better but was very much 'theatre of the mind' where a lot of the things I wanted to do weren't allowed because "the DM doesn't run it that way."


I'm not certain I understand this, were you a guest DM for it? Because if you're the DM, you run the game how you want.

Anyways, Curse of Strahd is more classic, gothic Horror. It doesn't have to be about random murdering and high body counts (nothing against it, it doesn't have to be that way). It is about the PCs feeling helpless in the face of a dark and terrible foe. That doesn't mean they actually are powerless, more that one of the enemy's goal is to test the worth of the PCs and amuse himself with their despair. If you need ideas/inspiration and have the time for it, Chris Perkins ran Curse of Strahd for a group on Twitch that finished it (admittedly, I don't know how it finished cause I didn't see the last couple of episodes) and you can watch it on the D&D youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/DNDWizards/videos

[Aurthur]

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for...help? Commiseration? Absolution?

If it's help, specifically with running CoS (which, imo, is the best of the published adventures for 5E thus far), this site (http://thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com/2016/05/dungeons-dragons-how-to-run-curse-of.html) is extremely helpful for giving you tips on how to run it efficiently and where to trim:

Enjoy.

[scrap02479]

I understand that you're not in to horror, and that's quite alright. If you go in to the game thinking it to be more like a mystery and a series of puzzles, that may help you enjoy the game a bit more.
I'm currently running this moduel for some diehard 5e players. What I've done is incorporate quite a lot of 2nd edition in to my game. The players at my table have no clue what's coming next since a combination of 2 and 5 lends to a more fluid game. I find 5e kinda dumbed down and stale (might appeal more to the video game generation)... but I still enjoy it enough to play. I'm using the module as a skeleton for the story, not the entire story.
Talk to your DM about offering a more "Sherlock Holmes" feel to the game. Any GM worth their salt will accept the challenge instead of just read from the book.
Also, do yourself a favor... Don't read ahead or look up spoilers. That crap is a game killer and your DM will know if you "meta" a situation and may penalize you for it (I do).
That said, have fun...but carry a wooden steak!

[scrap02479]

...auto corrected "stake" to "steak".
But yea, might want to carry one of those too, ha.