Missed opportunities in CoS.

[snowman87]

I'm very close to finishing DMing my first campaign, Curse of Strahd, and it has been so enjoyable. I put a lot of planning into it and tailored it more to my players' styles for a better experience for everyone. It truly is a great adventure.

Having said that, I feel like there was more I could have done but didn't and things I could've done better. I hope to run it a second time in the future and make use of lessons learned this time around.

Some things I wanted to try but couldn't this time like having the PCs invited to a gala at Ravenloft, similar in nature to the one in the Van Helsing film, where Strahd would demonstrate his dominance, have Strahd disguised as a friendly NPC who appears to the party frequently before revealing his identity, and adding more tension (which seemed lacking this time but mainly due to my players' personalities).

Does anyone have suggestions for things to add or alter that they feel would enhance a playthrough? I know I could take it up a level the next time around now that I'm more familiar with the setting.

[Jacque]

I am currently running Curse of Strahd for my group of players. They are level 4 and have just dealt with the winery before continuing to the village of Krezk.

I initially struggled with finding the role for Strahd that would enrich the adventure the most. Having read the novel I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire and having started on the second novel, I have decided to play Strahd as the tragic villain who just wants to be with his beloved Tatyana.

With the tragic villain role, I found most of the advice on playing Strahd on the internet to be unfitting. I too have read about other groups experience with portraying Strahd as a friendly NPC (or even as a PC who later reveals himself as Strahd), or Strahd throwing encounters and morally hard choices as the PCs. He is often portrayed as either a master of puppets or sadistically evil - both of which I find to be an uninteresting way to portray him although I understand why gamemasters do so when reading what CoS has to say about Strahd.

This is my story about Strahd. Most of it, if not all of it, is taken from the novel:
Strahd made his pact with Death where it granted him eternal life and his heart's desire (Tatyana). He killed his brother at his brother and Tatyana's wedding and drank his blood. He had Tatyana for a few moments before she, grief-strucken, threw herself off the high walls of Castle Ravenloft and into the rising mists. Her body was never found even though Strahd searched for many months.

Strahd is the land. His subconscious created the mists as a barrier to prevent souls from leaving Barovia. By trapping the souls they become reborn and once every one or two century, Tatyana is reborn. Always an orphan, always under a different name, different personalities, but always with the physical traits of Tatyana and always with a desire to know of the past. The barrier is a defense mechanism for Strahd even though he doesn't realise it himself.

Strahd recieved his eternal life but his spirit becomes wary and worn by the many years. He therefore hibernates for years at a time, and the citizens of Barovia have peaceful years. They have learned the hard way, though, that Strahd expects his taxes to be payed and his land to be orderly while he is absent. His hibernations lasts for 10, 15, 20 years at a time before he wakes up and usually has to bring some degree of order back to his realm before searching for Tatyana.

Whenever he finds his beloved Tatyana, he seduces her, tells her of the life she once had, how happy they were together. He uses his supernatural charm to win her over. Naturally, he never tells about Sergei. However, Strahd rarely has more than a few days, perhaps a week or two, with his newfound love before something happens to her and she dies. The ruins of Berez is an example of this where the burgomaster once killed Tatyana when he found out that she was being seduced by the Devil. Another time she died from fever - or so they said. Each time the mist claims he remains and Strahd is left with his heart broken. As he says it himself: "I do not live. I exist, but I do not live".

When the PCs enter Barovia, Strahd has just recently woken from one of his hibernations and has just now found out that Tatyana has been reborn in Ireela. Additionally, while Strahd was still hibernating, van Richten had explored some of his castle and among other found his memoirs (this happens in the novel). Perhaps van Richten even woke Strahd by accident. I haven't decided yet.

Strahd wants to turn Tatyana into a vampire. But the transformation is very taxing for the human body and it has to be done gradually in order to ensure that Tatyana will survive the transformation. During this time, Strahd also wants to gradually seduce Tatyana while still leaving her in comfortable environments (ie. not abducting her to the castle). However, Strahd fears that the turning of Ireena will make brave people of Barovia kill her. Cue the PCs who now becomes helpful puppets for Strahd.

Strahd hopes that Ireena will be safe with the PCs while they travel the realm. He keeps an eye on them and awaits opportunities for getting close to Ireena to bite her and seduce her. Meanwhile he counts on the PCs abilities and naive but good hearts to keep her safe while he is getting closer and closer to his goal.

I did follow one advice from the internet where I belive Mike Mearls introduced Strahd at the funeral ceremony for Ireena and Ismark's father. He shows his respect and condolences to Ireena before leaving again. I think it is a good introduction to Strahd without portraying him as a direct antagonist.

They will meet him again in Vallaki during St. Andral's feast where he kills the priest in the church.

They will meet him once more where they interrupt his session with Ireena. Perhaps when they drop her off at a safe house. Just to make them rethink whether being with them really isn't the safest place for her to be.

They will accidently meet him at Yester Hill where he will be looking out through the mist where it is thin and reminiscence over his past life. They will see the city, hear the bells in the distance, and realise that Strahd still has some of his humanity. They will experience the longing and sadness in his eternal life in an eternal prison. He will tell them that he knows that this accidental meeting should result in a show-down between them and him. He will tell them that many adventurers have tried the same, and he is sure that this time won't be much different. But he will request that it is not done here, appeal to their respect for an enemy and leave this location as it is a place that is very dear to his heart. They will have their chance, he promises them, but anywhere else than here.

The other place that the Winery leads the PCs is to Baba Lysaga's swamp - a location way above their level. On their way to the swamp they will encounter the reamining two hags from Old Bonegrinder (I only let them fight one of the hags at that location) and at some point, one of the hags will cast an aoe spell that severely wounds Ireela. Strahd will then intervene, killing off the hags and softly lift Ireena and apologise for not foreseeing that the path of the PCs would bring much more danger to her than leaving her in the village of Barovia. He will scold the PCs for journeying into lands where they are outmatched by their enemies (thus warning the players that Baba Lysaga is best left alone for now) and take Ireena with him to the castle.

Later on, the PCs will recieve an invitation to the Castle where Strahd tells them his tragic story, how he intents to marry Tatyana and how he would like to recruit the PCs. When they return, Van Richten will subsequently tell them how he has explored the castle and found the memoirs (and perhaps awoken the devil by accident) and tell them of his theory of how Strahd's subconsciousness is what's keeping them all trapped. How it goes from here is up to the players.

I have found theme music for many of the locations and NPCs in the adventure. For Strahd I have chosen Light of the Seven from Game of Thrones.

TL;DR: Read the novels for great inspiration and ideas :)

[Armored Walrus]

I have nothing to add. Just that I was amused that the tl;dr of the poster above me is to read a couple novels. :P