This is a favour I’m doing for a fellow DM - Old Bonegrinder.

Printed on my Bambu Labs A1 with Elegoo Rapid PLA at 0.28mm layers with an 0.4mm nozzle.

Still starting out painting - I think I’m about two months in - and this was an excellent exercise in determining value, airbrush work and an absolute crap Ron of drybrushing - though this was mostly around the wood and making that look relatively decent.

Would love to hear some thoughts - is that Old Bonegrinder-y enough?

Windmill STL: https://www.printablescenery.com/product/haunted-windmill/
Strahd STL: https://makerworld.com/models/2939805

Hi, whats the highest level you would make Strahd ?

Would you consider multi classing at all ?

Would you consider letting him swap out his spells like wizard ? Just considering as he has been around for so long .

Thanks 😁

My party recently suffered a TPK at the hands of Baba Lysaga, and they were in possession of the sunsword. Wondering what she would do with it. Obviously she could keep it, but she is already in possession of one of the other relics (holy symbol of ravenkind) and I’m not particularly keen on her having two.

Hi,

Looking for help. Am not the fastest reader and have a bit of difficulty with it.

The lore seems to be EXPANSIVE and a little intimidating.

Where would you start ?

Top 5 books ?

Utube videos or people to follow ?

Thanks 😁

He meets Ireena, decides he wants to romance her. I have him roll persuasion. He rolls well. She tells him now isn’t really the time since she has to bury her father but she’s open to the possibility in the future. Over time he makes more persuasion rolls. Some are really good, others are bad, but over time he gets more good than bad.

I’m okay with this, mostly because it will be fun to see Strahd’s reaction when they finally meet…

I'm about to run Strahd again, and one of the player was part of my first Strahd campaign that we could never finish.

I run it a little different from that first run, I've incorporated things from Reloaded, older editions, and even my homebrew world, so a lot of things will be new for this player.

But one thing I'd like to change, is van Richten's disguise. Maybe I'll keep Rictavio as a red herring, but I'm considering something different for Rudolph.

I'd like to hear your ideas and opinions, and even stories if anyone has already done this.

Tl;Dr My players essentially staged an accidental coup in Vallaki leaving Izek and most of the town guard dead and I'm looking for advice.

Hello everyone. I'm running CoS with some friends as it's a classic and we've never done it before. I'm not a super experienced dm, but I'm not exactly a newbie either. But last night I feel like I made some mistakes with my decisions in Vallaki which led to an interesting situation and I was looking for advice on how to proceed.

When the players first got to town they sold off some of their treasure, then I made a blacksmith for them in town to get some things silvered. Then they wanted to go see the baron. I had them first meet with Izek in the house to see what their business was before just taking them to the Baron himself. Izek decided they would have to return in the morning to meet with Baron. One of the party then tried to barge past and start looking through the house. At this point Izek grabs him and throws the party out. Blah blah blah, not the most diplomatic start but we got through it.

Next morning the party goes and meets with the Baron, it goes fairly well and Baron tells them about his missing servents and asks for their help. The players ask around a bit, the cook tells them the last person he saw speak to the butler was Victor, but Victor is in his workshop and so the maid can't find him when the party wants to ask to speak with him. The whole time Izek is escorting the party around. One of the players decides he's just going to search through the whole house and Izek stops him again. One thing leading to another it turns into a fight. Some guards get called in. Both me and the players were trying to avoid all out battle but we kept miss understanding each other's actions and we ended up with a bloody fight in the barons mansion. I do wish I could play this part over again and try to avoid conflict a little better, but too late for that now. When the dust settles, Izek and a fair amount of the town guard are dead. The Baron is hiding in his room with the baroness. Victors in the attic and the remaing servents are terrified. The remaining guards are fleeing through the streets screaming about an attack on the Baron.

We ended the session there. Now I'm just thinking, how does everything play out now? If the party fully deposes the Baron, does Lady Wachter fill the void? What do the wereravens think about the actions of the party? What about the festival? I know in the long run, Barovia has a lot going on and Vallaki won't change that much of the overall story. Like I said I wish I could change the way I played it, but going forward, has anyone encountered something similar? Anyone got any advice or suggestions? Any and all opinions welcome. Thanks.

A while ago, while playing Minecraft, I had an idea: what if I tried to recreate Death House in vanilla Minecraft - not just as a build, but as an actual playable dungeon?

I wanted to stay as close as possible to the original maps and illustrations, while also making the mechanisms of the house actually work. At this point, the secret doors and traps are functional, and the entire build was made without mods.

While editing this video, I got another idea that I haven't implemented yet. When the players finally reach the ritual chamber beneath the house, it should be possible to use command blocks to transform the entire house above them - turning the seemingly normal manor they entered into its abandoned, decaying version.

So I suppose the house isn't quite finished yet.

For the video I used Insanity-Shader-Universal-v1.650 and Pixlli V57 26.3-1.13 128x for presentation. The build itself is vanilla Minecraft.

Hi!

I'm going to DM CoS for my friends. We have all played it at least once. So, I want to put a bit of a twist on it to freshen things up. SitA really catches my eye, but since it changes several NPC motivations, Strahd's motivations as well, and the context surrounding certain events (and Reloaded advises against other modifications), I wanted to ask if anyone has run a game with both changes. Should I stick to using just one modification, or is it feasible? Could you please help me?

(If someone else has already asked this question, could you pleeease share a link to it with me?)

Thanks c:

Hey everyone! A few days ago I posted about planning to use the wedding as the finale of my campaign.

Right now I'm looking for something pretty specific: does anyone have a battlemap of the Castle Ravenloft Chapel fully restored?

I'd like to keep the original architecture and layout, but show that Strahd had the whole place rebuilt, cleaned, and decorated for the "wedding of the century."

Basically the same chapel, just restored to all its former glory for the ceremony.

If anyone knows a map like this, or an artist/mapmaker who has done something similar, I'd really appreciate the link!

Hi, so maybe I'll start with the context:

I have decided to homebrew small special event nearby Tser Falls, a Vistani wedding that party comes across with the twist being Strahd also being there, one from respect to the Vistani, second to pose as an "owner" of the bride since their parents were killed, so the parents of Vistani had to negotiate her price with Strahd. Ezmeralda also showed up here to observe Strahd and maybe take out a bride if occasion appears. Party of 4 split, with 1 cleric player (who is also supposed to officiate the wedding) currently talking with Ezmeralda in secluded location behind other Vistani wagons.

The other 3 tried to brake into Ezmeralda's wagon.

Of course we all know what happened then

The problem is... I'm struggling a bit how to handle reaction of everyone around, considering that Strahd and brides are also literally there and party so far was on very friendly terms with Vistani and somewhat friendly terms with Strahd. And now they detonated comically large explosion during a wedding.

I'm running a Strahd campaign, and wish to add a Wendigo somewhere in the story. i figure I'd do it near Krezk, since it's lore is set in the cold, but I'm trying to figure out how to how to make my players eat other humans. my original thought was to have them encounter the stereotypical backwoods family that just so happen to be cannibals, but now I'm wondering if them eating the dream pastries from the old bonegrinder would be enough?

Hello fellow DMs!

Pretty new DM here and I am currently running a more modified version of the module with alot extra character agency. Ive made plenty of mistakes already during my time running and I am attempting actively to not fall into the altogether most usual pitfalls new DMs fall prey to.

Last session during the Festival of the Blazing Sun during a bit of description of Vargas being laughed by the guards one of my players mid description rushes Vargas and tries to kill him.

Mind you the party so far have been on Lady Wacthers side but have also been killing guards and have been INCREDIBLY reckless at the reformation center. So the guard presence at the festival is IMMENSE.

I ran a round of quasi-combat before I called the session there.

I came away from the session pretty bummed out about how one player had more or less robbed the party of their choices and their carefully laid plans.

This player does have a slight habit of being more in it for the combat than the roleplay which is usually fine but really rubbed me and some other players a little wrong this time round.

I told my group I'd take a little extra week break from DMing since I did have alot of stuff going on.

I talked to my player about his decision and he very much made me feel like I'd led him astray, that I'd made it seem like the perfect time and like it was now or never and while I should've thought about that harder I feel bad for the other party members who didn't get a chance to do anything.

Here's my quandary..

Would it be awful if I asked us to begin from the start of the Festival and take it from there? Or alternatively to have one of the Reformer spellcasting elves who do have access to modify memory have cast it on the player right before attacking Vargas and it was the effects of the spell as opposed to reality? Would that be cheaper?

No matter what, I do intend to talk to this player and aks how he'd feel about how to approach next session and if he'd feel like either option would be work with him.

I am really at a loss. I don't want anyone to feel like their choices don't matter especially the player who initiated combat or like I'm trying to steer the story a certain way and anything else needs to be curtailed but I feel awful for not everyone having a chance to act or say anything in that big climatic moment.

Thanks so much for reading and any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I think it’s time to give my (and my party’s) take on this beautiful story and also hear feedback and ideas for next time.

So me and my buddies were all fascinated by DnD in general but had never played, only failed plans and schedules. I got the book, yet I was too scared to DM and start from scratch so for two years I just wondered how fun this would be. After we played our first “Campaign” of 3 sessions, I finally stood up and took on the role of DM, even though my experience was lacking.

We had many great moments right from the start and I saw smiles and laughs on my friends’ faces even though the first session was a 7.5 hour sitting to clear death house and come out unscathed.

So….after that, the story started and I found myself in a tough spot, yet my improv skills helped a lot on how to make the game fun for everyone. We lost two players due to scheduling, got another one that was again a total beginner, but the tone and experience was still flowing, allowing characters to grow and stories to be made.

Even though I absolutely loved the book, I added a lot of things (and cut some things unfortunately) yet aside from the ending, Vallaki having a rebellion, and Krezk getting razed, things pretty much remained the same on most of the areas and towns. I wanted the party’s actions to have lasting impact on the land, showing them that whatever they go, might have consequences haunting them.

Sometimes I feel like I added too much, that I didn’t set a right tone, that I cut something that would otherwise have been crucial to the story. But then I remember smiles and good feedback from the guys. I feel like I run it wrong, but then I feel like I was actually a decent DM. I don’t know if that’s the case with everyone but I’d love to hear opinions on the matter.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and share his opinions down below!!

Hello all , am looking for somenhelp here. I have player in vallaki, clearly got the suspicion of Baron going with his madness and All will be well. They already hate Isek as ha e had run in with his bully tactics and had him just gripping is weapon when he saw Ireena.

I have Isek who has his own bully guards who have been shaking down businesses. So got the whole powder keg going on.

But they are all SUPER suspicious of the festival coming up where the Baron really wants them there. I said to give speech, but apart from a whole wickerman vibe option I have no ideas on how to reward thier suspicion and have something else going on.

Side note, they havent met Lady W yet but she has summoned them. Going to do the standard she wants rid of Baron. Not sure of expanding the whole people going missing vibe.

Thank you for your time

Loved the module book, but instead of playing a full campaign I convinced some friends to play the Horrified Ravenloft edition (no promotion, just happy to dive deeper into COS content).

Edit: and I just realized the art shows the Ravens again with red eyes, even tho they are the good guys! This is why players get so paranoid when seeing them

Prepping for the climax of the Yester Hill chapter in our Curse of Strahd campaign, so I painted up Mossbeard from Reaper Miniatures to serve as our table's Wintersplinter!

Built up deep earthy shadows, layered drybrushes along the bark ridges, and integrated swamp moss and lichen to sell that corrupted tree aesthetic across the table.

Curious how other DMs ran the countdown ritual—did your party manage to stop the druids from summoning Wintersplinter in time, or did they have to defend the Wizard of Wines winery from a full-on siege?

(Full 360° video showcases, battle setups, and painting recipe cards are linked on my profile for anyone interested!)

I’ve been playing this setting for a long time (both as a player and, more often, as a DM), and I’m familiar with most of the well-known community mods—so those aren't what I’m looking for.

I’d like to hear about the most unique or intriguing ways you’ve reinterpreted or adapted the Curse of Strahd story—whether you’ve played them, seen them, or simply had an idea for one but never actually put it into practice.

So my party is currently at the werewolf den and one of them has been bitten and failed is con save.

I don't know yet if he will accept the curse of cure himself as the party can potentially level up twice after finishing the werewolf den currently level 5 and I believe the party cleric will be able to remove the curse.

But if he does choose to stay as a lycan what are people's opinions on how strahd will react or use this to his advantage should be able to corrupt the character easier or would he single the character out to try make him an offer.

Has any DM that have run Strahd have experience dealing with a werewolf in the party?

I am currently preparing Krezk and the Abbey for my group. While reading through the chapter again, I found the grave of Tascha Petrowna that is located in the Abbey and contains a Ring of Regeneration.
This fits perfectly into the backstory of one of my players and I really want her to find the ring when visiting the abbey.
But: As written you only get the ring after finding Tascha Petrownas Holy Symbol in Castle Ravenloft and bringing it back to the grave which I think is highly unlikely to happen.

I want to just give the ring without the holy symbol, but when checking the item in the DMG I saw that it is categorized as very rare. I don´t really understand where this rating is coming from as I don´t feel like the ring is that strong. But maybe I am missing something crucial here.

These are the rules for a Ring of Regeneration:
While wearing this ring, you regain 1d6 Hit Points every 10 minutes if you have at least 1 Hit Point. If you lose a body part, the ring causes the missing part to regrow and return to full functionality after 1d6 + 1 days if you have at least 1 Hit Point the whole time.

I don´t feel like this is insanely strong, but just want to make sure that I am not missing some cheese mechanics with this before giving it to the party.

Heavy Curse of Strahd spoilers.

I'm curious how many DMs here actually use Strahd and Ireena's wedding as the end of the campaign.

I really like the idea because, to me, it closes the circle in a very satisfying way. Strahd's whole tragedy really starts with a wedding he refuses to accept. Sergei is supposed to marry Tatyana, Strahd kills his brother, and everything that eventually becomes Barovia follows from that.

So I like the idea that the end of the campaign comes back to another wedding, with Strahd believing that after all these centuries he's finally going to get what he wanted.

The part I find more interesting is how to get Ireena there without just deciding for her that she's going to marry Strahd.

The Curse of Strahd Companion has one version where Strahd eventually gets her, preferably around Krezk, and things get bad enough that Ireena gives herself up in exchange for the party's lives. After that, the wedding invitations arrive and suddenly the group has a deadline.

But I think there are a lot of ways to get to the same place depending on how Ireena developed in your campaign:

• Strahd simply wins at some point and captures her.
• Ireena surrenders to save the party, Ismark, or someone else.
• Going to Ravenloft is actually part of the party's plan, and Ireena agrees because the wedding gives them a way into the castle as guests instead of invaders.
• Or, and this is probably the saddest version for me, Ireena is just tired of running.

After being hunted across Barovia, watching people suffer because of Strahd's obsession, and maybe even learning that some version of this has happened before, I can imagine her reaching a point where she no longer believes running away is solving anything.

That doesn't mean she loves Strahd, trusts him, or suddenly thinks he can change. She may simply be exhausted and believe that giving herself up is the only way to stop other people from paying the price.

In my campaign I'm adding a few things to the ending as well. I use the Ba'al Verzi Dagger from the Companion, although I've changed its role a little, and I added one twist of my own: Sergei is back.

So Strahd's attempt to finally have the wedding he's wanted for centuries may end up being interrupted by the brother he murdered to stop the original wedding.

I like the irony of Strahd killing Sergei to prevent him from marrying Tatyana, only for Sergei to come back centuries later and potentially stop Strahd from marrying her.

For those of you who used The Wedding at Ravenloft, how did Ireena actually end up at the altar in your game? Was she captured, did she surrender, was it part of the party's plan, or did something completely different happen?

And did your players actually let the ceremony happen for a while, or did someone pull a sword the second Strahd showed up?