Curse of Strahd Solo Run (OOC)

[RandomWombat]

A thread for keeping track of OOC information for our Curse of Strahd solo game. As important things are learned IC, or (if) house rule adjustments come up, they will be recorded here for reference.

I will be using roll20 for maps, since it's a little more accurate than MS Paint. As a plus, the module actually has maps to use.

The IC Thread is here.


Mother Night's Tarokka Deck

Spoiler: Cantrip Homebrew Changes

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True Strike: This cantrip is now a bonus action, instead of a standard action. This is because the action economy just didn't match up, except in very rare cases.

Blade Ward: This cantrip's effect is pretty good on its own, but the caster only being able to use it on themselves doesn't do a whole lot. The caster shouldn't be 'tanking', so it was only good as a last ditch 'pray someone comes to rescue me' defense move. I've allowed it a range of Touch, instead of Self/Personal.

Party Characters

Name and Description	Race and Class	Portrait
Kellon Spoiler: Description Show This is the Player Character, a Tempest Cleric of Poseidon.	Tortle Tempest Cleric 5
Gweyir Spoiler: Description Show An elven woman from the same shipwreck as Kallon, the Spurned Falcon. She has rust-colored hair, hanging down around her shoulders. Tattoos resembling leaves adorn the sides of her neck and face. Gweyir is a Dreamer Druid from Tethyr, along the coast of the Sea of Swords. Her parents were a high elf and a wood elf, and her younger brother was kidnapped by the pirates the Falcon was hunting, spurring her to join the hunt. Madame Eva's fortune predicted that Gweyir's brother would be found in a den of wolves, where he fights for his life. Whether in victory or in death, there will be loss.	Elf Dream Druid 5
Spider Spoiler: Description Show A giant intelligent friendly talking spider that the party met in the Death House. Madame Eva's fortune told Spider where to find its next meal.	GIFTS Scout Rogue 5
Sokol Sokolov II Spoiler: Description Show A Barovian zombie, and apparently one of the Dursts' victims, as he was chained up in their temple to Strahd. He refers to himself as 'Sokol Twiceborn'. The party discovered his wife Mary, consumed by grief. She long - and correctly - believed him dead and feared the world outside. Though she tried her best to keep their daughter safe and away from trouble, the girl has either run away or been taken.	Zombie Champion Fighter 5
Ismark Kolyanovich Spoiler: Description Show A finely dressed man from Barovia village, he is the son of the village's burgomaster and an influential and trusted member of the community. Ismark seeks to escort his sister elsewhere, to find somewhere she can be kept safe from the vampire Strahd. When Kellon's party returned from their heist at the hags' mill, they found the Kolyana mansion under attack. With their help, Ismark and Ireena were able to fell the tide of undead and wolves at their gates.	Human Battle Master Fighter 5
Ireena Kolyana Spoiler: Description Show The sister that Ismark seeks to protect is not the usual damsel in distress. Clad in arms and armor, she is clearly no stranger to defending herself. She acquitted herself well in the battle at Kolyana mansion. Yet even still, her power alone is no match for a vampire lord, and that old home is no longer safe. Ireena knows not why Strahd obsesses over her, but he has bitten her twice now, and yet restrained himself from turning her. He refers to her as Tatyana, and behaves as if he already knows her.	Human Valor Bard 5
Father Donavich Spoiler: Description Show The priest of Barovia village, he presides over the old run down chapel there. Much of it was torn apart in his struggle to restrain his son, who returned as a vampire after joining a wizard's army to march against Strahd. Father Donavich is a grim and quiet man, though how much of that is a result of circumstance has yet to be seen. Donavich is a cleric of the Morninglord, the patron deity of the Barovians.	Human Light Cleric 5
Parriwimple Spoiler: Descrption Show Parriwimple is a massive young man, with limbs like tree trunks and a build like a bear. He is the strongest man in Barovia village, and potentially one of its greatest warriors. However, his lisp and friendly demeanor keep him from being as imposing as he could be. Parri's mind is not nearly as adept as his physical frame, and his uncle keeps him from being recruited into anything dangerous despite his willingness to help. Ismark attempted to recruit Parriwimple onto an otryad to hunt the hags, but was refused by Bildrath.	Human Brute Fighter 5
Arabelle Spoiler: Description Show A Vistani girl no older than fourteen, Arabelle was captured by Bluto, a drunken fisherman in Vallaki. He intended to sacrifice the girl in Lake Zarovich at the behest of the Lake Beast, whom Gweyir deduced to be a wily Siren. Thanks to a tip from Dartanya, Kellon's party were able to reach her and save her from a watery grave. Arabelle was returned by Gweyir to the Vistani camp outside of Vallaki after her rescue, where she reunited with her father.	Vistana Twilight Cleric 5
Baronet Victor Vallakovich Spoiler: Description Show Son of the late Baron of Vallaki, Victor had a troubled relationship with his father, spending much of his time shut away in the attic studying forbidden magic and teaching himself spellcraft. After his father's death, Victor resolved to leave Vallaki behind, knowing that he would no longer be safe there with the cult that wanted his father dead still at large and his secrets sure to come out - not to mention the ire his family had earned from the populace.	Human Untrained Wizard 5
Dr. Rudolph "Rictavio" van Richten Spoiler: Description Show An old, experienced vampire slayer and monster hunter who has treveled the Mists of these strange realms for much of his life, fighting the forces of darkness. He has been hiding under the guise of the half-elf Bard, Rictavio, to avoid drawing the attention of Strahd and the vampire's servants. His trained saber-toothed tiger, meant to hunt monsters, was freed during the Festival of the Blazing Sun and mauled Patron Feddick of the orphanage. Feeling responsible, he offered up a scroll of Raise Dead to restore the man to life. The vampire hunter awaits his apprentice in Vallaki, hoping that she will find her way to him in the main inn of the largest, safest settlement in Barovia. But he has offered up his expertise if Kellon is ever in need of advice.	Human Monster Slayer Ranger 14

Other Characters

Name and Description	Race and Class	Portrait
Madame Eva Spoiler: Description Show A Vistani seer and elder, who lives among her people at the Tser Pool encampment. Madame Eva possesses the power to read the flow of fate through Tarokka cards. She offered to read Kellon's fate, but was turned down.	Vistana ???
Dartanya Spoiler: Description Show A young wereraven who was sent by her father to watch newcomers to Barovia, and determine if they are good people. She decided to trust Kellon's group after they worked to rescue the children captured by the Bonegrinder Coven, and told them to give her name at a place called the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki.	Wereraven
Mary Sokolova Spoiler: Description Show The wife of Sokol Sokolov, she became known as 'Mad' Mary for her paranoia and agoraphobia after the disappearance of her husband. She raised their only daughter, Gertruda, within the confines of their home. When Gertruda also went missing, and Mary was unable to find her, the woman became unable to function due to her grief.	Human Commoner
Gertruda Spoiler: Description Show Sokol's missing daughter, who ran away from home and was 'taken in' by Strahd, with whom she has become enamored. Now she is a willing hostage to the vampire, to attempt to coerce Kellon's party into cooperating with his demands.	Human Commoner
Bildrath Spoiler: Description Show A grey-haired man who runs the aptly named Bildrath's Mercantile in Barovia village. He is stern and refuses to bargain. When the party came with Ismark, and the latter asked for his nephew's help fighting the hags, he flew into a rage and the two engaged in a heated argument. In the end he told their group to take a scroll and to never come back.	Human ???
Father Lucian Petrovich Spoiler: Description Show The priest who presides over Vallaki's chapel of the Morninglord, Lucian Petrovich is an old friend and mentor of Father Donavich. He is granted the ability to cleanse curses, but his power has proved insufficient to cleanse Kellon's lycanthropy completely. He asked the party for help when they arrived at the chapel, trusting in friends of Father Donavich. The bones of Saint Andral that have kept the town of Vallaki safe for many years have gone missing, on the cusp of the monthly ritual to renew their warded walls. In the events of the Festival of the Blazing Sun, Father Lucian was able to help Kellon resurrect the fallen Patron Feddick of the orphanage, who died protecting his young charges from the chaos of the festival.	Human Priest
Milivoj Spoiler: Descriptio Show A young, hotheaded man who performs gravedigging and groundkeeping work for Saint Andral's Church in Vallaki. He was raised at Saint Andral's Orphanage, but is preparing to leave and find his own place now that he is old enough.	Human Fighter 1
Patron Feddick Spoiler: Description Show The patron of the St. Andral Orphanage in Vallaki. He takes in orphaned and homeless children, caring for them alongside his staff. The man was mauled by a saber-toothed tiger during the Festival of the Blazing Sun, but was resurrected by Kellon and Father Lucian using van Richten's emergency spell scroll.	Human Expert
Willemina Spoiler: Description Show An older woman who was found sobbing in Saint Andral's Church. According to Father Lucian, her son was arrested for speaking out against the burgomaster. During the Festival of the Blazing Sun, she attempted and failed to assassinate the Baron and was nearly killed in the chaos, if not for Gweyir and Ireena intervening to save her.	Human Commoner
Udo Lukovich Spoiler: Description Show The son of Willemina, Udo was arrested for speaking out against the Baron and imprisoned in the Baron's secret torture chamber. He is a cobbler by trade.	Human Commoner
Baroness Lydia Petrovna Spoiler: Description Show Wife of Baron Vargas, Lydia stayed with him because she remembered the good man he once was, worn down by the hopelessness of Barovia into the mad creature that he became. She attempted to talk him off of the edge during the Festival of the Blazing Sun, but was blown away by the flames of his lunacy.	Human Aristocrat
Ernst Larnak Spoiler: Description Show A prim and well-dressed man, who works for Lady Wachter. He passed along a note to the party offering them some form of paying mercenary work, before leaving.	Human ???
Lady Fiona Wachter Spoiler: Description Show A noblewoman in Vallaki, Fiona Wachter is the cousin of the Durst children. According to Gustav Durst, her family owed the Dursts an unpaid debt, and he informed Kellon that it was his to claim as a reward for saving the Durst children from damnation within the Death House. Lady Wachter has sent out her servant, Ernst Larnak, to seek able individuals for some kind of mercenary work, which she claims is important to the future of Vallaki. This turned out to be an effort to have Kellon help her to overthrow the mad Baron. And though they did not work together, she joined in the fight against the Baron during the Festival of the Blazing Sun, proving herself a capable spellcaster.	Human ???
Karl Wachter Spoiler: Description Show One of Lady Wachter's two sons.	Human ???
Nikolai Wachter the Younger Spoiler: Description Show One of Lady Wachter's two sons.	Human ???
Gadof Blinsky Spoiler: Description Show Barovia's premier toymaker, and proprieter of Blinsky's Toys in Vallaki. A jolly, rotund man, he defended Victor against the Vallaki cult despite a lack of any apparent skill at arms. He is often accompanied by a pet monkey, Piccolo.	Human ???
Danika Dorakova Spoiler: Description Show An organization of wereravens operates using the Blue Water Inn as a base of operations, acting in opposition to Strahd. Danika, the barkeep, is one of those wereravens. She and her family maintain the tavern, and are well known pillars of the community in Vallaki, even as they keep their rebellious cause secret.	Wereraven
Margarita Spoiler: Description Show The trained monster-hunting tiger of Rudolph van Richten. She somehow got loose during the Festival of the Blazing Sun and, as tigers do, began mauling people. She was apprehended non-lethally and returned to her cage.	Saber-toothed Tiger
Cerya Spoiler: Description Show It appears that not only mortals become ensnared in Strahd's mists. A Siren by the name of Cerya was discovered to be the current 'Beast of the Lake', and responsible for ensorcelling fishermen to bring her Vistani sacrifices. She intended to eat their flesh, that she may gain their power to leave Barovia. Cerya was convinced by Kellon to cease predating upon the mortals, in respect to his authority as cleric of Poseidon. So long as she is kept informed of Kellon's survival every seven nights, she will stop her plan.	Siren
Anton Burrel Spoiler: Description Show A bespectacled man, who claims to be a novelist and amateur occultist. Like Kellon and Gweyir, he has found himself lost in the strange land of Barovia. He was met at the Death House, fleeing the Mist outside. He claims to have been invited to Barovia by a lord named Strahd von Zarovich. He was transported here by carriage, by a man named Arrigal. Anton's homeland is a place called England, where magic is controlled and suppressed by the government, and Man is in a theological war to drown out the power of the gods. Anton Burrel met his end battling the Death House, slain by the Flesheating Cloak. After he was dead and buried, Strahd dug him up, had him resurrected, and transformed him into a vampire spawn. Anton professes ambitions of taking Strahd's place as Darklord of Barovia, but does not appear openly antagonistic... so far.	Human Vampire Spawn Onomancy Wizard ?

Antagonists

Name and Description	Race and Class	Portrait
Strahd von Zarovich Spoiler: Description Show Strahd's fearsome reputation precedes him. The Barovians fear the Vistani as his spies, the Dursts and their cult worshiped him as a deity, and he is the undisputed ruler of Barovia. It is said that a powerful wizard once raised a rebel army to face him, but the mere sight of him caused most of the peasants to scatter, and he dueled the wizard to the death above the mountains. When Kellon and his crew found Anton's grave dug up, they found a note from Strahd claiming responsibility for the deed and inviting them to his castle. At first they ignored his invitation, but after hearing that Strahd may have kidnapped Sokol's daughter, Kellon rushed to the castle with Sokol and Father Donavich, leaving Gweyir and Spider behind with Arabelle. Strahd claims that he wishes to abdicate his throne to be with his fated love, Tatyana - the name by which he insistently calls Ireena Kolyana. He is in search of an heir, and is putting forth a trial: a candidate must gather trophies from three great evils within Barovia, and deliver them to Strahd to use in the ceremony to transfer the Darklord's title. Anton Burrel has been selected to compete and offered a second chance; Kellon as well, it seems, is one of the Darklord's chosen candidates.	Legendary Vampire
Rahadin Spoiler: Description Show A faithful servant of Strahd, the stately and stoic Rahadin acts as his chamberlain.	Dusk Elf ???
'Granny' Morgantha Spoiler: Description Show A hag, and the patroness of the Bonegrinder Coven. The coven consists of herself and her two daughters, Bella and Offalia. They sell 'Dream Pastries' to Barovians desperate for an escape from their dreary lives, and those who cannot pay turn over their children instead. Those children are then used as ingredients for new Dream Pastries. Kellon's party stole three children away from the Bonegrinder Coven, earning their ire. When the hags arrived to take their vengeance, Kellon and Ismark's otryad was ready, and struck her down along with her elder daughter Offalia. The youngest hag, Bella, was able to escape.	Night Hag
Bella Sunbane Spoiler: Description Show Daughter of Morgantha, Bella is a younger night hag. When the tides turned in her coven's battle with the Barovia village otryad hunting them, she used her Heartstone to flee into the Ethereal plane. Bella (and her late coven) have been named as quarries in Strahd's hunt for 'great evils' throughout Barovia. He has declared that all three Heartstones must be gathered together to qualify as a single trophy.	Night Hag
The Alpha Spoiler: Description Show During an encounter with a group of werewolves by the Tser Pool, Kellon's party learned of their Alpha. The Alpha's pack seem to have a connection to the pirates that the Spurned Falcon was chasing, and are seeking children to induct into the pack for unknown reasons.	Werewolf
The Wolf God Spoiler: Description Show A pale apparition that appears to Kellon in his dreams, ever since falling victim to the lycanthrope curse. His attempts to tempt Kellon into yielding to the curse have failed thus far, and the transformation subdued for a time.	Deity
The Tooth Fairy Spoiler: Description Show A wicked and subtle archfey whose followers offer up the teeth of children in sacrifice. This creature appeared to be the patron of the Bonegrinder Coven, and its worship has desecrated the sacredhenge upon Bonegrinder hill.	Archfey
Henrik van der Hoort Spoiler: Description Show A bitter and self-serving old coffinmaker from Vallaki. He was responsible for smuggling vampiric servants of Strahd into the town using his coffins, and for stealing the sacred bones which powered Vallaki's protective wards.	Human Commoner
Baron Vargas Vallakovich Spoiler: Description Show The ruler of Vallaki, a weathered man known for his paranoia and obsession. He holds constant festivals in an attempt to disperse the despair hanging over the town, succeeding only in exhausting his citizens of revelry and becoming (silently) reviled by many. Those who question him are marked as dissenters or worse and charged with cruel punishments. In the culmination of his madness, during the Festival of the Blazing Sun, Vargas nearly ascended to become a Darklord with Vallaki as his dread domain. But Kellon and his companions put an end to the mad baron before his power could fully awaken. During the battle, his own wife was slain by his paranoid violence lashing out.	Human Conjuration Wizard 6 /Champion Fighter 3
Izek Strazni Spoiler: Description Show A massive bear of a man with cold, lifeless eyes. He was the guard captain of Vallaki, and the right hand of Baron Vargas' despotic rule. One of Izek's own hands reflects his twisted nature, spiked and red like a fiend's and able to shoot flame. Yet the man often prefers to fight up close, with his mighty axe. Following the events of the Festival of the Blazing Sun, in which he attempted to abduct Ireena, Izek fled and vanished into the rain.	Dread-touched Human

Spoiler: Maps

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Spoiler: Barovia Village

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Spoiler: Vallaki

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[Prehysterical]

I think I have a rough idea of what kind of character I want to try, but I forgot to ask: how are we handling starting wealth? Background and class equipment or money?

[RandomWombat]

Starting wealth will be background and class equipment, yes. If there's any equipment you don't want, you can trade it in for gold equal to its value, and/or use that gold to get something else.

[Prehysterical]

Thought of a backstory, but getting tired. At the very least, most of the crunch is ready. Decided to go nuts with this one.

[RandomWombat]

You know, I think this is actually the first time I've seen someone play a tortle.

[Prehysterical]

I saw the supplement for it and though, "I have to play that at some point." A solo game seems like the perfect opportunity.

Can I just do my own thing for parts like Bonds, Flaws, etc? I find the base ones pretty limiting.

[RandomWombat]

Yeah, I think those are there for the kind of situation where players are rolling up a character on the spot. Easier to pick or roll from a list of options.

[Prehysterical]

Okay, got his personality stuff figured out. His backstory is pretty simple. Since tortles become orphans around their first birthday, Kellon spent most of his childhood alone on an island. As a child, he was terrified by the powerful storms that wracked the island, but he grew to revere their power and recognize his own strength in surviving such hardship. When he finally came into contact with other beings, Kellon was quick to advocate for the storms and the sea. He warned sailors to respect the elements or suffer a test of their survival. Some dismissed him as a doomsayer or fearmonger while others came to respect his ability to anticipate the weather and survive in harsh environments. Of course, when your ship is wrecked during a storm, even a tortle can only hold their breath for so long....

According to the Hermit background, he needs some kind of big Discovery that influences the campaign. What would work for this module?

[RandomWombat]

With the Tempest domain's connection to storms and weather, his Discovery might have been a prophetic dream about the Mists of Barovia, and their effects, possibly giving him an awareness of their movements.

If there's a shipwreck, he could experience the dream before waking up washed ashore beside one of the rivers in Barovia, the Mists having taken him while drifting unconscious.

[Prehysterical]

I mean, that works, but what knowledge does that impart mechanically?

So, I am a little confused. It is a pocket dimension meant to serve as a prison for Big Baddies, but there are rivers and such?

[RandomWombat]

Correct. When Strahd was drawn there, the land of Barovia - which he and his family had conquered and come to rule - was drawn in with him. It's a country that has effectively become its own pocket dimension, as part of Strahd's titular curse.

Mechanically, he is aware that the Mists cause extreme exhaustion to those who breathe them in, and those who try to traverse them are invariably turned around to find themselves back where they began. He will also be aware of when the Mists are moving around the map, which would allow him to avoid being boxed in by them, or possibly use them to evade pursuers.

[Prehysterical]

Huh. Neat.

That... is a perfect blend of his previous life skills with the weird stuff going on in this new land. I imagine some of the residents will be put off by his ability to anticipate the Mists, but it will prove especially useful to his companions. The more I think about it, the more excited I get.

[RandomWombat]

Ob a side note, I did mention buffs to a few cantrips. I don't think either of them are on your spell list, but some allies or enemies might use them and they work a little differently. The spells True Strike and Blade Ward are notoriously useless in most situations, so I've given them some buffs.

True Strike is normally an action, to get advantage on your next attack. You spend a turn that could be used to attack, to roll your next attack as if you attacked twice. But you could have just attacked twice, for the same chance of hitting once, and a chance of hitting twice.
Instead, I have True Strike as a bonus action. You can cast it, then attack with it in the same turn, giving it a role that can actually help a spellcaster who prefers to use weapons over cantrips for basic attacks.

Blade Ward is normally an action, to get resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing attacks for one round. The effect is actually really good; usually only Barbarians can resist physical damage that way. The problem is that it's a most often squishy caster using it, and it's self-target only. So for most it's a last ditch (heh) turtling option to not die while praying for someone to make the problem go away.
Instead, I give it a range of Touch. A caster can still use it as a last ditch attempt to survive, but they can also use it to put up protections on a fighter or barbarian (if they're out of rages) - or someone squishier like a rogue - before they go running into danger. Keep them from getting blown down if surrounded.

I think we're about ready to start, then. I'll start working on an IC Thread introduction.

[RandomWombat]

The IC thread is now up.

[Prehysterical]

About to go to bed, but quick question:

Kellon has the Thaumaturgy cantrip. Could he use the spell to scare the wolves away using tremors or the sound of lightning striking?

[RandomWombat]

I would allow that to give you an Advantage on the Animal Handling check, used to warn them away, if you want.

Normally any amount of Advantages and Disadvantages cancel out, but I prefer to have them stack with each other. So under normal rules it would have no effect, since Elf is already providing Advantage. But as I play it, the two Advantages will overpower the Disadvantage, and you will have proper Advantage.

[Prehysterical]

Religion check for information regarding the Morninglord (guessing that I am at a Disadvantage)
(1d20+1)[10]
(1d20+1)[14]

[RandomWombat]

No disadvantage, though the first roll was worse anyways.

Kellon would recall a sun deity named Lathandar, who is sometimes called by the title Morninglord.

[Prehysterical]

Insight check to make sure that these kids are A) telling the truth and B) that they are actually little kids.
(1d20+5)[18]

[RandomWombat]

I also realize that I corrected you wrongly before, with the Religion check. It would have been Disadvantage due to the Fatigue.

'Elf' can give you Help on this one though with her helping question them, so no Disadvantage here.

The children don't seem to be lying. Whether there really is a monster, or they just don't know what's going on, is too early to say. Children can get strange ideas sometimes. To Kellon's eyes, they don't look unusual, aside from the eerie tricks played by the Barovian lighting. They're better dressed than the rest of the locals, so their family might be wealthier.

He can roll Perception to read the name on the plaque as well, if he would like. Disadv on that one, since Elf can't give him her eyes.

[Prehysterical]

Sure, I'll roll for the Perception:
(1d20+3)[18]
(1d20+3)[13]

[RandomWombat]

The plaque reads:

Durst Residence

[RandomWombat]

We are now officially in the titular Death House, and from here the brief railroading with the Mist stops, and exploration of the house begins.

[Prehysterical]

...I don't like the sound of that. Shouldn't have left the STARS uniform at home.

[RandomWombat]

I also fixed your token, so you should be able to move it around the map yourself now. For some reason the one on this map didn't register the change.

[Prehysterical]

Extra damage die for the critical hit: (1d8)[6]

[RandomWombat]

Kellon has scored a critical hit! How this works, is that he rolls the attack's damage dice again (without bonuses) and adds that to the damage total.

Edit: Nevermind, you were a step ahead on that one.

[Prehysterical]

I think it's time for a little Wrath of the Storm. Kellon uses a reaction to activate it (use whichever damage type is more effective, if the question of resistance comes up.)

[RandomWombat]

Alright, edited the reaction into the last post. It passed its save, but the ability rolled nearly max damage, so it still chunked it good anyways.

[RandomWombat]

Turns out my game today has been cancelled, so I'll be around this evening.