Playing through Curse of Strahd

[the_brazenburn]

So, I have two players. One of them is a veteran who has played many campaigns with me, the other is a newbie who just joined. I recently bought CoS, and I wanted to try it out on them as a Halloween special. The veteran player is playing an Open Hand monk (level 4), and the newbie had a barbarian (level 1). The barbarian got killed by a pack of werewolves and was replaced by a level 1 druid, and they have recently finished the village of Barovia and are escorting Ireena Kolyanavich to Vallaki. Their ally is the revenant Vladimir Horngaard, and most of the artifacts are in Strahd's castle. So, just wondering if anybody has tips on running CoS in a suitably horror fashion. Thanks!

[Sariel Vailo]

Whenever possible have strahd come up and either try to take ireena or just come to chat up the party.maybe try to turn the party against each other

[Spookykid]

Have people die. Friendly npc they've been talking with, find dead or come back as a vampire spawn to attack them. The sister sacrifices herself to save the brother/party and goes with strahd willingly.

[the_brazenburn]

I might try that. It's too bad they're such low level and there are only two of them. So far, they fell hook, line, and sinker for the false letter delivered by the Vistani, found a false trail with a pit, have been unable to locate any of Strahd's spies, got mauled by a pack of werewolves (that's how the barb died) and somehow forgot to rescue the kidnapped child from the dream pastry hag. I'm planning to have them attend the Festival of the Sun in Vallaki, but be accused by the baron of "conspiring to ruin the happiness" and rescued by the Keepers of the Feather, on the condition that they rescue the vineyard. I might have Strahd show up, but I'm worried they'll just attack him and get themselves killed.

[PaxZRake]

I might have Strahd show up, but I'm worried they'll just attack him and get themselves killed.

Don't worry about Strahd killing low level characters. Just have him mess with them. If they choose to fight him, have him toy with them. Grapple instead of punch, charm one of them to defend him against the other, have him spend his turns taunting them while his minions attack.

At that level Strahd is more interested in amusing himself with his new toys than taking them out for good.

[DarkKnightJin]

At that level Strahd is more interested in amusing himself with his new toys than taking them out for good.

Strahd is a bad James Bond villain, and needs to read his Evil Overlord List again?

"If I learn a callous youth has started a quest to slay me, I will kill him while he is still a callous youth. Instead of waiting for him to grow up and become an actual threat."

[the_brazenburn]

Thanks for all the help, guys. I'm also wondering how I can turn them from murderhobos into actual "for the good of all" heroes (without offering bribes). I normally wouldn't try to do this, but the characters are LN (the monk) and NG (the druid). Assuming the barbarian gets resurrected somehow, he'll be CG. The players are having difficulty RP'ing correctly, and are having a very hard time avoiding CE, or at least CN, roleplaying.

[tieren]

I think the key is to get the party to do bad things, preferably increasingly bad things.

I had them face a vampire spawn that was fluffed to be an 8 year old child. they beat it, but I played up at the end the small child pleading for its life as they killed it (humanizing the monsters they are killing can mess with their heads).

In an early Strahd encounter I had him force them to kneel to him. it was a "your pride or your lives" situation, some resisted and allowed for the appropriate show of his force, which got the others to kneel voluntarily, worked out really well.

They encountered one of the night hags on the road as an old woman. the fighter jumped the gun a bit and attacked the apparently defenseless old woman, she fled ethereally and is now haunting his dreams sapping away his max hp every night.

Had another spawn they were only able to handle by having the martials grapple him while the cleric whittled down his hp with sacred flame every round. described it as them basically slowly torturing him to death with the minor cantrip damage over and over and over.

In the fight with the spawn in the church basement in the village of Barovia, they knocked down some of the support poles, which I then described as causing a collapse to let in some sunlight, which helped a lot during the encounter at their level, but now they are the ones who destroyed the church.

So now they are the ones who knelt to strahd, killed children, struck down old ladies and tortured their victims after destroying a church. We're really only just getting started but already they are falling into the corruption of the place, I love it.

[Sariel Vailo]

I had old friends lovers old adventuring party members appear in the ghostly march. Had them fight in their head vampire spawn versions of themselves and my favorite a bet between strahd and the bard.you will be my newest spawn in but one fortnight

[furby076]

Why the difference in character levels? Is it so the new player is not overwhelmed with options or something else? If not to overwhelm them, give the player lvl 4 stats, and ramp up abilities every session. It will help things like barbarian death, from happening

[the_brazenburn]

It's mostly so that the new player can learn the game slowly. She's never played RPGs before.

[Madfellow]

It's mostly so that the new player can learn the game slowly. She's never played RPGs before.

I also ran CoS with a new player, but had the whole party start at level 3. She played a bard and did just fine, just occasionally forgetting to keep track of her spell slots. I really wouldn't worry about a new player being overwhelmed, especially at low levels. I would be more worried about the level disparity discouraging her from continuing, especially if she's already lost a character.

[Plantae]

Advice with focus on the "running" part: make sure you play up the atmosphere of horror. Use appropriate lighting, props, etc. especially if your players would enjoy it. Beyond the standard encounters and events in the adventure, have them just happen across various terrible things. Play up various gothic phenomena: strange mists, flickering lights, chill breezes, distant screams - that sort of thing. Keep your players and their PCs on edge, always worried for their safety, even if nothing is actually going to happen in that particular moment. Maybe alleviate that tension on occasion, just to hit them with something particularly nasty.

[gold dragon]

Lots of good advice in here.




John

[Sariel Vailo]

Have strahd zombies appear and do the thriller with him at the lead. " Hello future victims i am Strahd von Zarovich and ive come vit my minions to show you trye terror" run dance sequence "than have the. Various monsters atack the players whenever they dance to close. "You to shall join my spooky scary dance"