Curse of Strahd

[Trask]

I just finished reading Dracula (I loved it) and I've been gripped with inspiration for a Transylvanian style, Gothic horror setting/adventure with a vampire and all the associated trappings. I couldn't help but notice the adventure "Curse of Strahd" and I have to ask, is it any good? Has anyone here played it and can vouch for its quality?

I'm a fan of sandbox DMing and I've read that this is sort of a sandbox.

[DivisibleByZero]

It's a 5e (extended and more intricate) remake of one of the greatest D&D modules ever written.
'Nuff said.

[King539]

I own it. Seems pretty good. Some of the encounters are very difficult, though.

[Specter]

I can definitely vouch for its quality. But it's not for everyone.

From my DMing experience players who are used to more heroic/fantasy settings tend to feel constrained by it, as if the game was stacked up against them.

[Trask]

I can definitely vouch for its quality. But it's not for everyone.

From my DMing experience players who are used to more heroic/fantasy settings tend to feel constrained by it, as if the game was stacked up against them.

I don't think that would be a problem, my players rarely the archetypal hero. I enjoy a more loose sandbox kind of game but I'm just intrigued by Curse of Strahd not only as a campaign but a setting that I can mine, build off of, and continue when Strahd is dead.

I've actually been a bit bored with the sort of classic D&D setting start, fighting goblins, orcs ect. Its all fine but just what I read from the adventure Death House excited me a lot, it looked very cool.

[NecroDancer]

The hag fight is bullsh*t. My party barely managed to survive the fight (we had to separate the hags before we attacked them) and one of us still died.

[ad_hoc]

The hag fight is bullsh*t. My party barely managed to survive the fight (we had to separate the hags before we attacked them) and one of us still died.

Only because it's not actually supposed to be a fight.

If the party attacks them they should get TPK'd.

This is not the sort of adventure where the PCs can kill anything that moves. Really, that would be pretty boring.

CoS is a great adventure that stays true to its roots and its Gothic Horror inspiration.

[Dalebert]

Considering it's sandboxy nature, does the book have guidance on level ranges for particular chapters or are you just supposed to eyeball it and figure that out?

[DivisibleByZero]

Considering it's sandboxy nature, does the book have guidance on level ranges for particular chapters or are you just supposed to eyeball it and figure that out?

There is guidance, in the form of a table which explains approximate character level for appropriate encounter levels broken down by area/chapter. Nothing prevents the players from doing things in the "wrong" order and getting their butts kicked (in fact, it's expected to a certain degree in Ravenloft), but the "right" order is laid out for you.

[NecroDancer]

The hag fight is bullsh*t. My party barely managed to survive the fight (we had to separate the hags before we attacked them) and one of us still died.

Yeah we learned that the hard way. Every fight we need to either run or try diplomacy. For the few times we actually try to kill an enemy we have to plan and use strategy. However each victory we get feel so good.

We managed to beat Kiril in 2 rounds with pure planning. We had to befriend Zolika (the cleric got 75% of the kills) rescue Emil (that was tough solo mission for me) and our fight with Kiril basically could be sunmerized as "Hold Person, charge in at 100 ft per turn, and have the paladin smite with his best slots and than use all our charisma to convince the rest of the pack to follow Emil (and we didn't even rescue the kids in time). Now we are planning a blitzkrieg attack against Yester Hill and preparing to sneak though Strahd's castle to find the dragon's skull.

And all that doesn't compare to the fact we needed to capture an evil revenant and get him soul-cursed by all the vistani in order to (hopefully) stop him.

And I had to go on a redemption quest after being a "chaotic stupid d*ck" and got cursed 3 times from multiclassing sources (got them removed after like 50+ sessions).

And now we need to kill a devil priest that the paladin promised not to kill.

Your team needs to be smart more than anything they need to be able to figure out creative ways to beat the enemy. You need a strategy that is more than "hit it until it's dead". Do all that and it will be the best campaign you will ever play.

[Specter]

The hag fight is bullsh*t. My party barely managed to survive the fight (we had to separate the hags before we attacked them) and one of us still died.

This is a good example of what I mean. In the classic D&D playstyle, players are usually ready to chew through challenges in a row and for those challenges to be fair. In a horror setting, that's not the case AT ALL - if you're in trouble, you better run. That's why there's a raven warning folks outside of the mill.

So anyone who intends to DM that must either tone down the deadly fights or let the players know beforehand that it is what it is.