Run Strahd like THE DEVIL | Running Curse of Strahd 5e
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2024
- Give your players the fight of their lives with these combat tips for the final battle in Curse of Strahd! Within Dungeons & Dragons, Strahd is one of the most dangerous villains to face in his own lair. Make sure you play him to his fullest capabilities, and give your players a satisfying conclusion to their adventure!
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What changes will YOU be making to Strahd for your final battle?
I would suggest to make sure he attempts to Charm a particularly dangerous player character (or one especially weak to it). He is not so foolish as to just face you directly if he can avoid it so he would be perfectly willing to let you kill each-other early on
Just an Idea lol
With 5e harkening back to the days of AD&D, I gave mine some of his old magical equipment: an amulet of proof against detection and location, a cloak of protection, and a ring of fire resistance. I know the latter doesn't stack with Beucephalus, but that's minor.
Then I swap out some spells. With all the many different versions of Strahd over the years, there's no shortage of ideas. Nondetection, for example, is redundant with the amulet. And he has enough spies (and an old crystal ball) that scrying doesn't need to be brought to a fight. I suppose the school of necromancy features could also be tacked on, but I never saw much use for them.
House of Strahd is a godsend for this kind of stuff. It also has a map for the burgomaster's mansion, a different version of the church in Barovia (the current map came from Expedition to Castle Ravenloft), and a 3-day weather cycle.
I seem to remember there was also a magic sword in one version of him, and his minis and art often include one, that had bonus damage against spellcasters and summoned creatures. Think of a special kind of "slayer" longsword that doesn't need attunement.
Links:
www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17503/RM4-House-of-Strahd-2e?it=1
www.dmsguild.com/product/54340/Expedition-to-Castle-Ravenloft-3e
I love that you've focused on cleverly using Strahd's many existing strengths to outwit and outmanoeuvre the party rather than just buffing up his numbers. Strahd is an incredibly powerful foe but only when played like the INT 20 evil genius that he is. It's a fun and creative challenge for DMs to try and defeat the party using Strahd ~as written with clever tactics.
That said the 2 changes I made to his raw statblock were to up his caster level by one and change up his spell list to suit the confrontation (as he's a wizard who probably has many many spells in his spellbook):
Wall of Stone to trap a Sunsword/Holy Symbol wielder or caster in a coffin of stone with 180 hp per panel, before ethereal plane shifting/wall phasing in and isolating them 1 vs 1. Permission granted to use the line "I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me".
Telekinesis to pull the Sunsword/Symbol out of the hands of the wielder and bring it to himself to switch it off, or fling it from the parapets of Ravenloft.
Shield, dispel magic, counterspell, magic missile to break casters' concentration.
Greater invisibility coupled with (now un-counterspellable) fireballs to torment the party.
Gust of Wind to blast characters off the bridge/spires.
By now Strahd will know almost everything about the party, their allies, and their abilities and will craft a viciously effective plan to tear them apart. For a sadistic and creative DM the possibilities are endless!
I gave Strahd some attuned magic items that he would have collected over his years of toying with adventurers.
I tried to keep it within his wheelhouse of being a military genius that has become a vampire. Before he got more and more cocky, I guessed he would most likely have items that would help protect him as he was learning his powers. I figured as the party advanced and became a potential threat, he would most recall he had them and likely have them on his person for any final battle.
They are as follows:
Ring of Resistance (topaz) - against radiant damage
Spellguard Shield - making those pesky casters a little more manageable
What a timing for my final fight tomorrow !!!!!!!!!!
When I run Strahd, on account of the fact that he has lived for 400 years and collected many wizards spellbooks in that time, he has all of the 5th level and lower spells
When it’s the final battle against Strahd, I always give him the spell “Steel Wind Strike” in place of Scrying. It just seems to fit him.
I have never even read this spell until you're comment and oh dear lord is this an amazing idea.
GOOOOODBYEEEEE JOJOOO
Hell yeah
I’m using this
DUDE. Thank you so much for that idea, that is amazing.
“Never fight Angry.”
Barbarian: “BUT THAT’S MY ENTIRE THING!!!!!”
In our maybe fourth or fifth session Strahd privately sent each PC's a letter asking them to join him. Everyone but one PC said "yes" to helping him. So by him doing that, they were psychically linked and Strahd knew their every move. I reveal this over a year later at our like 40th session - the players couldn't believe it. Such an amazing moment when I turned the letters around showing that one of them betrayed the team. The was at about our second to last session or so.
Being able to move through the walls and floors really can make him unbeatable. I think DMs shy away from using it because it's not really the most "fair" move
All is fair for a final boss in a horror campaign. Muhahaha
Should be ok enough if the players have knowledge of it before the final fight (i.e. have him walk out of the dinner through a wall)
I agree with this statement.
However, I found the 'saving grace' for this potential unbeatable status was the fact he can only use his Lair Action on a 20 initiative count.
Due to the virus stuff, we've been playing on line with Roll20. I added a reminder token on the GM layer called "lair action" in the turn order to help me track when he can use that move through walls/floor feature.
I try to stay honest (adhering to the rules) as a DM and found this helps keep that ability/lair action in check. Otherwise, even a party of level 20's could find themselves under his fangs once he methodically and "strahdtegicially" burns their resources.
@@richardscotthanzel2627 i think you're misunderstanding this particular lair action. It states *until* initiative count 20 of of the next round. So after initiative 20 of a round he decides to use this action, he can move through walls/ doors every time he moves until initiative 20 of next turn
@@xenonuke1194 Good point!
My intention of the comment was to keep Strahd's actions 'honest' as it were as a DM.
I feel what you said emphasizes this even though what I said may not have been clear.
Thanks! I love getting clarifications!
I'm gearing up to run CoS as a new DM. It's funny, one of the first errors I saw while researching was that "Strahd is too easy," because DMs were running him without any sense of tactics, just as a brutish fighter, not taking advantage of his lair actions. All things considered, he sounds impossible to beat. I'm glad to hear though that the way to beat him is psychological. I've got some clever characters, I think they can pick up on that. I think the Tome is supposed to tip players off to that
You've got one heck of a ride ahead of you. Good luck!
Strahd is a grappler. Bonus action misty step,que then unarmed grapple + bite, then move half speed (i like using the fly spell here or just giving wings of flying) dragging the enemy into the air. Strahd can then use his legendary actions tô move up, bite more and spread terror on any party.
@@mke3053 I like that idea. Even so, it requires adjusting his prepared spells, which is no trouble. I was already going to give him counterspell, because it's absurd that the BBEG wizard doesn't have it. I think I'm gonna need to buff him a bit more regardless, because I have 6 PCs.
@@Mantorok12 Thats the idea. For me, Strahd always have the needed spell prepared. I recomend Google for the grapplers manual/guide and giving him some magic items. He is, after all, imortal and wise and clever and rich and...
@@mke3053 I did see someone suggest giving his animated armor away to the party as a gift, enchanted with nystul's magic aura to appear nonmagical. If I can get away with that, I really, really want to.
I liked what XP to Level 3 did, where the party grabbed up as many allies in Barovia that they could gather and stormed the castle as a mob.
I legitimately want to watch you run a game of this campaign... please... make a series where you run this campaign and film it... This is excellent!
Give him a death cleric who can heal him with necromantic energy. Oh and give him counterspell to counter the parties healing hahaha
Have his brides, if they're alive, know counterspel to ocunterspel the party's counterspell
@@IdiotinGlans how delightfully evil
Use his default polymorph spell on the players with items that cast sunlight... No items, no spells, no sunlight, and all their attacks will be nonmagical and thus resisted.
Starting next Thursday. One character is a death cleric hexblood(from the new UA). Might be a cool surprise of he gets turned at some point during the campaign.
I always cherish your advise. People say Strahd is exceptionally weak by virtue of his sub-par stat block, but when played right, he can be deadly, and this is a perfect demonstration of how tactics beat brawn.
Oh absolutely. RAW Strahd can wipe the floor with nearly any party, but not in a toe-to-toe brawl. He can't be run like an ogre or a death knight.
I didn't think Strahd could leave the demi-plane he's in.
This stems from the "search for a successor" goal on page 10. The module doesn't state why he wants a successor, only that he will inevitably decide that none can replace him as master of Barovia. Some DMs have decided that Strahd believes once he achieves his goals of turning Tatyana and finding a successor, he will at last be free of Barovia, or at least that he will then attempt to leave.
My party is only level 4, and they're confident as hell. I'm looking forward to structurally depleating that confidence. Especially the druid in my group has a big mouth towards our favorite vampire. Curious to see how they'll deal with Strahd when he really pulls out the stops
The best part is that Strahd RAW isn't against slapping the party around at low level. Something to keep in mind.
@@chazzle3459 Of course. I had them encounter him in Vallaki two sessions ago. A party member got sucked dry like a capri sun as a warning. Another got turned into a snail. I think they'll slowly rethink their strategies. They even considered going straight to Ravenloft. I gently advised against it. Let's hope they listen haha
I feel your group is the polar opposite of mine: they're level 6, there's five of them, and they're scared to risk even entering Castle Ravenloft even with a "friendly" invite from Strahd. Hell, he tried to confront them just to talk and they avoided him out of fear!
My party of level 4s straight up magic missiled him to the face during their first meeting with him. He was unphased. Then while they were running away the wizard tried to steal the carriage and firebolted one of the horses to try and get it to move. Strahd then took his one and only action (besides charming the fighter) to grab the wizard by the throat and bite him. 2 hp left and down nearly half his max hp he apologized and ran for his life
@@xenonuke1194 I haven't gotten mine to apologize yet hahaha. That sounds amazing!
I really want to tread the fine line between letting Strahd stomp my players vs watching them take him out by the 3rd turn.
Oof the "Lair" action and having a way to escape into the ethereal is pretty unbeatable. If that was trotted out at table I was playing at I would be absolutely livid.
I'm running a campaign with 8 players, so I'm definitely going to be using some of these tricks to make sure the final battle is still a challenge. We're in the Amber Temple now, so I expect that we'll be facing Strahd soon. Thanks for the advice!
Good luck!
I've got a party of 5 that are likely going there next, I'm seriously looking forward to the Amber Temple and Argynvostholt (probably butchered that spelling).
With that many players, consider upping his level. Bring him to a mid-teens spellcaster, 15 or 16, with the requisite hit dice and spell slots. And maybe some magic items of his own.
This is my first big campaign I'm going to DM and I'm SO excited! One of my players saw this video, didn't watch it, and sent it to me hoping it could help. He's gonna regret that. Thank you for the tips!
You’re quite welcome!
I am currently dming curse of strahd.
The party has met esher (I've changed his character slightly). Esher has said that Strahd is playing with them. They have also met Vasili, who they trust. If only they knew~
I thank you for this video and will be using some of these ideas.
Glad we could help!
Great timing with the "Strahd Must Die Tonight!" community event! Was just thinking about how I was gonna run it for my group :)
Best of luck to you and your group!
I really like the idea of Strahd becoming arrogant and playing with his prey in the last stages of battle.
He still would benefit from getting some beef on himself just for the sake of not getting insta-zeroed by characters focus-fire.
Having Strahd play with his prey like Roy Batty plays with Deckard in Blade Runner sounds like a lot of fun, especially for the DM.
I had Strahd manipulate one of my players into betraying the party
I'm in the process of convincing my players that one of their party members is a servant of Strahd
The two dislikes are Strahd and Rahadin
And The Abbot now playing 3rd impostor.
why would strahd dislike? he talks about the possibility to let strahd play unfair and annihilate the party. i bet if he watched this, his ego would like it and like the video. the dislikes are from his slain adventurer victims
Van Richten dropped by to thumbs down and unsub.
"Strahd knows about it." As someone who was playing CoS and is switching to the DM chair, I just have to say I hate this logic. Strahd knows about the things that the players have not hidden well. In my party, my character has been hyper-paranoid since coming to Ravenloft. He uses detect magic before any important conversations to make sure no scrying is happening, he found the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind on his own and then stealthily gave it to the Paladin outside of town. The Symbol has only been used one time and that was in an indoor location against a group of vampires who all died and the rest of the time it has been hidden. Etc.
Strahd knows what it is reasonable for him to know, but if the party is playing smart then they should be able to hide things from him even if only temporarily.
I suppose it depends on how and what Strahd is using to scry on the party, is it something a party member takes everywhere? He’ll know a lot, is it something they keep in the bag and rarely take out, he won’t know as much. But he also has spies, so if the party watches out for them he won’t know as much, but if they don’t realize they’re being watched, he’ll know more
My party decided to turn a social encounter with Strahd at level 3, into a combat encounter. Strahd let them live but I made note that each of them was missing a lock of hair afterwards. They have paid the price for that combat ever since. Also the paladin is wearing a certain set of plate armor that he found...
Yeah Strahd pretty knows everything at this point.
Another fantastic CoS video! I also like the idea that Strahd has access to most wizard spells of level 5 or lower and puts in lots of failsafes in the event that something unexpected happens, like his defeat. DMs can get really creative with Strahd's tactics and strategies on top of the great idea you've mentioned here.
My personal favourite was when I had him use Geas and Modify Memory on Ireena over the several days he held her captive in Castle Ravenloft and after the party staked him in his coffin, her 'orders' kicked in and she pulled the stake out. An exhausted party suddenly has to fight for their lives one last time on the cusp of victory. It was epic.
I am running a 2 player CoS game and use all the tag alongs to fill out the party. My group has taken to collecting NPCs to help with the final fight. I gave each a bonus they give when entering Ravenloft or in the final fight. The group doesn't know this yet, but I feel it will add a lot to the decisions they make along the way and how it effects the final outcome. Some can negate the minions Strahd summons by taking care of them, thus removing both from the final fight. Other can help them navigate the castle so as to use less of their resources before their final confrontation.
Your vids really help me to find better ways to engage the group better. Thanks and keep them coming.
That's a great way to supplement a small party like that!
@@LunchBreakHeroes I let them each control their favorite NPC during combat, but can veto things I think they wouldn't do, which has never come up.
I have a party of 3 and they're also trying to collect the NPCs but I'm a first-time DM and I'm stuck between "If they get too many allies, they may beat Strahd in two rounds" and "But if I play Strahd cleverly, they'll never be able to beat him at all". They have Ezmerelda and Ismark - Ireena got nixed by the pool in Krezk and Van Richten is currently a vampire spawn. They're also still going to pick up Vasilka, their fated ally, who I've turned into a Reborn Sidekick mage with an owl familiar (A woman who is more than the sum of her parts - you can say that again). So in the end, each member of the party will be controlling two characters. Meanwhile I'm planning to keep the Mad Mage on retainer to save the day if the party starts dying in that final fight because of unlucky dice (it's okay to lose the fight against Strahd but you just don't want it to be because you haven't rolled above a five for the last hour).
I've been told by a forever DM who's a player in this case, that if they prepare really well and get lots of allies and THEN beat Strahd easily, then the easy win will be a reward for their preparation and it won't be boring because they've worked hard for it and earned it. And I can see that, but it would still be an anticlimax if the fight is over quickly.
Like, that fight is probably still months away, but I'm kinda terrified of it.
The changes I made for him was to make him a level nine spellcaster. This level of difficulty allowed me to move up another level with my players so they had access to some nicer skills and abilities. It worked out really well and I do that for all my Strahd games now
Absolutely perfect timing on this one! My party has been in Castle Ravenloft for two sessions now. They almost made it to Strahd the last session but they chose to mess with the teleportation brazier and now they’re back at the Abbey, LOL. So now I have some more time to prep Strahd for them. Thanks for all your hard work on these vids, they’ve been amazing!!
Glad we could help!
My party went stealthly in Ravenloft and managed to catch Rahadin by himself in his studies by surprise AND Rahadin rolled extremely low on his initiative. He died before the end of the first round while my party of 7 ganged up on him. Last session ended on Strahd finding that out and is the start of him no longer holding back
I'm so glad to procrastinate as much as I do cause instead of running my CoS game a year ago I get to run it now and have all your videos to help me :3
I honestly think that making strahd get cocky at the end but then not doing the vampyr fight really is a depressing but fitting end to the story, I especially love the "Wedding at Castle Ravenloft" addition's final speech to wrap it all up
I'm only just beginning my campaign but this is incredibly helpful to get a more rounded idea of strahd's character, thematically and mechanically. Cheers!!
Fantastic stuff as always.
My position? I've warned my party through insight checks that Strahd is playing a game, it is up to them to have the wits to survive.
I swear, I feel like your videos are some of my favorite D&D content on You Tube, and I absolutely love your improvements to CoS. I'm running it for the first time and my players have just found the bones and vampire spawn in Vallaki THE DAY OF the Sun Festival! I cannot wait for them to turn the bones in mere hours before Strahd makes an appearance, finds out his spawn are dead, and he cannot breach the church. Every time I've placed Strahd near my characters they haven't approached him (they're playing it VERY safe), and I cannot wait to use an infuriated Strahd to force an audience!
Anyways, keep these videos coming, they are amazing!
Next week is the final battle. i have 6 veteran players at lvl 13th, they managed to do all the side quests and recrute a chuck load of npcs. modekaisen, petrina, esmeralda, kassimir and rictavio. im using CR 27 strahd. and i have a very good felling that will be a epic fight
Thanks for the advice, it was really inspiring. I also liked that you went into potential flaws/weaknesses that might be his downfall
I’ve been waiting for this!!!
*grabs popcorn*
thanks very much. really need this - as I slowly prepare for my party.
Great video Lunch Break Hero! I would love to see this type of series for the Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus campaign. You know you want to! 😁
ok, I know i just posted, but, I am literally going to watch all of these, and plan to run this campaign again... It was the first campaign I ever ran as a DM, and these videos are genius... It's about to be on...
I'm glad you enjoy them!
Nice description. I am trying to run a standard vampire as an enemy with a few nasty surprises. This helped me get that next level to make it more than just a basket of hit points.
I always love your videos, and this is another great one. Thanks, man!
My pleasure, Joshua!
YAHOO! Yes a Strategy Video, love these about D&D combat. Good Video as always, like this and well first comment on it
no this is UA-cam
AWESOME VIDEO! Congrats, I loved it!!
Glad you liked it!
Love your stuff man, has absolutely helped me run CoS
Glad we could help!
Excellent advice, as always!
Glad you think so!
Ooow boy!
Is @Lunchbreakheroes adding some juicy Vampyr stuff into this? I sure hope he does. I once made my party fight an avatar of Vampyr after Strahd's demise. Made the token ridiculously large, standing up to it's waist in a bloodpool. At my players recommendation i also added some zombie penguins that pooped acid cubes. Cause: why not?
I stole the thing General RAAM does in Gears of War. RAAM summons a wave of ravenous murder birds called Kryll. In the videogames and guest apperance in Killer Instinct 2013, RAAM uses the Kryll as a shield.
At the start of the fight, Strahd summons a Swarm of bats whom act as his temporary HP. It is a recharge ability of 5 turns as numerous bats are being recalled to Castle Ravenloft.
At the start of Strahd's turn. Any player within take d4 piercing damage.
I love when the final encounter is in the crypts. I start the encounter with strahd being invisible. I make use of barovian witches to appear like strahd with alter self spell. I use the bats to cover strahd, make it difficult for players to get around etc. any time i need to add minions to the encounter just pop open a crypt
@7:22 if you want to be down, dirty and ruthless with your party...
You're speaking my language.
I'd recommend that any DM running Strahd actually changed his spellcaster feature/stats and spelllist for that of an Archmage, but do not use spells higher than 6th or 7th lvl.
The Spell selection is much more menacing and varied.
Also Add an extra 50hp to either Strahd OR the Heart of Darkness and while he's linked to the Heart, he's immune to Sunlight and resistant to Radiant.
My Party encountered him in the Chapel while he was a bout to marry a Charmed Ireena, so he had a whole attendance of his Minions (Vampire SPawns) 6 of them, + Rahadin, wich was enough to put pressure on the Party, while Strahd used guerrilla tactics by flying and/or Phasing through the walls, casting a spell, then Phase back as a legendary action.
Fight was memorable and hard fought.
This is the content I subscribed for! Well, this and the campaign reveiws
Sweet cinnamon rolls! This is so well done. It's a crime that you don't have 500k+ subscribers.
Liked and subscribed!
Thank you!
Awesome trick with the horse, will use that one! Amazing video. Also like the vid on vampire in amber temple for the 10 rounds
Glad you liked it!
I'm planning to run CoS for the first time in a week. These are great videos. I plan to Meta Game with Strahd. I will indrectly reference all other games ever played through the various modules as canon and he has seen thousands of adventures try to defeat him. Indirectly question the players choices when creating their PCs. I think I will even DM as Strahd without expressly stating so.
Perfect timing for running Strahd. My campaign entered the final story arc a few sessions ago by finally going to Castle Ravenloft. The last session ended with the party objecting to the marriage of Strahd and Ireena/Tatyana during the wedding and now the final battle has begun with Strahd. I figure the campaign will be wrapped up in two more sessions.
How do you always post these right when I need them in my campaign!
Just talented, I guess!
Love this video
Use great strategy instead of just buffing Strahd
Still wouldn't hurt to give him a bit more hp to evade insta-kill from a 10+ lvl party
My group has probably 2 more months before they fight Strahd, but one had a mini encounter outside of Argynvostholt. The action of "automatically passing a failed save" seriously f**ked his mind. Like....his reaction to it was just....👌🏼
I'm sorry the "real fun begins with Vampyr" WHAT? What my friend?
Stay tuned!
@@LunchBreakHeroes still tuned in!!
i waited for that video!
"Strategic withdraw." Taking the cowards way out.
I'm running this campaign now...I have never gotten to the castle because I have either died as a player or strahd has killed the party before they make it. At the moment, I have fiona as a strong ally because my warlock decided to bring them into the fold of their deity, mephistopheles. So now it is a full war with straud, fiona, and all the power she can muster.
Maybe not an upper hand , maybe an escape. If the party escapes , their story furthers the legend of Strahd. Of course when they come back for round 2 Strahd should have recruited new allies to support his fight.
My players did get utterly trounced by Strahd when they ended up fighting him in the wilderness and now they are seriously planning to beef up before confronting him again. Little do they know I have planned from the beginning for Strahd to have any important NPC the players haven't killed on his side in the final fight. His Animated Amor, Rahadin, Strahd's Nightmare mount, the Brides and spawns, and a few more. So far they only took out one of the 3 Brides. But now they are searching the Castle for the Sun sword so maybe they can cross off a few more.
would love to see you do waterdeep dragon heist
I'm literally planning a Strahd campaign right now. Your video is super helpful
oh this is good!
Straight up gangsta methods here. I love how you straight up fuck the party without saying fuck the party. Be efficient. Be Strahd.
I'd like to add That I had a College of glamour bard Which made the yester hill fight More challenging For me as a DM Also my lack of Knowledge on mounted combat played a part in that fight as well.
I like using the crystal heart as a turning point situation. in my version. it makes the castle able to do what it does. without it, Strahd's advantages drop like an anvil from a plane. so, he has to engage. he doesn't have a large choice on this. but in turn. it's also the most well guarded point, you have to clear it's protection, hold off strahd himself while you attack it, and every minion left in his fortress. if you didn't clear it out, you will become overwhelmed very quickly as every skipped encounter rears it's heads at you now.
If i could i'd like twice =) From 10:00 on this guide reached gold status! =)
6:25 wow that is dirty and brilliant lol
While Strahd has experience killing off adventuring parties, he's also probably gotten cocky and complacent so a mistake by him wouldn't be out of the question.
I laugh at those "experienced" DMs on the 5e pages who say Strahd is a joke.
My players haven't had a combat encounter with Strahd yet, but I'm planning on polymorphing one of the characters as a display of power
About the map... there's a CGI video someone made that goes through the whole castle. It's As Written, so your modifications might need some notes added. But just watching the scope of Ravenloft is really cool. I think it's also about 15 to 20 minutes long, as the camera just glides along the hallways, traps, and stairs. Might be worth a look.
Beneos Battlemaps?
@@LunchBreakHeroes Don't remember the name, it was many months ago. It might be on my UA-cam History, but I bet it's easy to call up.
@@LunchBreakHeroes "Taking a tour of Strahd's castle Ravenloft in Minecraft", from 8 months ago.
It's almost an hour long!
I ran curse of strahd And In the final battle I added the shield guardian and the death salad Plus the characters revived The arch mage in the book And of course she turn to the side of evil Even though it was a tough fight The number of counter spells tossed In that combat was ridiculous And it got to the point where strahd started to run away in his castle My players said they feel that they won and they didn't feel like chasing him So I stood fought and end the battle. It was my 1st campaign as A D.M They enjoyed the story and the campaign but they said they feel like I dragged the final fight out too long I feel final battles are the hardest thing to deliver in a DND Campaign let alone won that the villain repeatedly shows up in. I wish I had tips or advice on how to run a final encounter more than anything.
never fight angry: tell that to any barbarian ever
We have played 20 sessions of Curse of Strahd.. 3-5 hours every time.
They have explored every location, made a rebellion in Vallaki, tried to become ally with every faction, trying to rally them against Strahd!
We have worked so hard to play constantly..
Them failing against Strahd... Phu! That would be disappointing, damn... I want the final fight to be huge, difficulty high. Mmm.. I dread to run the end!
So...my Strahd wears the animated armor that patrols the battlements and also wields the sword of Kas (not sure where I read it, but apparently he obtained it at some point in the lore). Combine that with insane stealth and hit an run tactics to constantly regen health....I don't think my party will ever be high enough level to take him on
Haha so my players entered barovia and then spent half an hour trying to scale the walls of the gate to get out, dig underneath, have their bear climb a tree and toss rope from it’s mouth over. (there’s a beast master, I buffed the rules because I always loved the idea)
Finally they gave up, but it was hillarious
Your timing couldnt be better.... My 13th level party is going to face him tomorrow for the final battle.
Good luck to you and your party!
Hey I'm wondering when if you plan on making a video on decent into Avernus? I plan on throwing it at my party and I'd like a few pointers.
'Bout to DM this for the first time. I think my characters to have an edge in that... there's seven players. Seven. Plus both of my brothers who are playing are good at making strong characters and taking advantage of their strengths, so this should be interesting. Hopefully things will go well. Tonight is session 0. Wish me luck, since I haven't DMd a serious module like this before.
My GM sent 3 6th level characters against Strahd as a part of a christmas-themed game of "Strahd must die tonight", with the Warlock as the Marked (Strahd was supposed to replace them and infiltrate the group), the Bard as Tatyana (Strahd will not harm them), and the Wizard as Sergei (Strahd will murder them and only Sergei can attune the Sun Sword)
So, I repeat: the Wizard was forced into the frontliner position. And we still almost won. We got him to 3 hp before he finally managed to charm the bard and then used a legendary action to swiftly down the rest of us. Three HP. THREE. HP. At 6th level.
Honestly, I'm more worried that my party of (mainly) newbies is going to TPK. I'll try to train them in effective combat until the fight
I’m not that smart yet in combat because I’ve barely played but I can’t wait to give Strahd a few extra spells
Paladin/Hexblade(Me) and Ghostslayer Blood Hunter deleted him.
Fought him on his father's crypt. Came in bursting through the window.
250+ damage in just our 2 rounds.
Frankly, I think any DM that runs Strahd as he is written to be is unbeatable. You can run this vampire as a tactical genius that can cripple the heroes early on before they even get to his castle.
He could scry on them, stalk them for a bit, steal all their gathered items, then pick them apart in his castle with devastating hit-and-run tactics. To all those DM's out there, let arrogance be his downfall. Pride goeth before the fall. That is the only case I can see level 10 or lower characters coming out on top in a straight up fight with Strahd in his castle.
I suppose another sound tactic is to defeat him outside the castle, then haul ass to the dungeons to get him while he is still reforming in his coffin. The logistics of such a feat are pretty insane though.
Oh man I can't wait to DM this campaign. Not gonna play it cause I don't want my character to die! lol
"I have traveled to many lands and have been witness to a veritable plethora of wonderous creatures. Behold!"
*polymorphs a nearby vampiric mist into an extremely hungry tyrannosaurus rex*
This is what I put my players through.
2:25 sadly you may have to deal with that one cleric who has 30+ passive perception because they hate getting suck up on and skill expert and observant are not that hard to fit into a cleric build. Add advantage through a magic item and some other minor stuff and I saw a cleric with 36 passive perception. On top of that his speed and healing ability always seem to be greatly reduced by sentinel martials
You would be a tough DM to face off against your monsters! What level should the party be by now?
Do you have a list of what's on your patreon? I tried to look at it on the patreon website but difficult to look through it all on there.
Hi there Ryan! This guide assumes a RAW level of 10 when they face off against Strahd. The written version has some provisions for larger and higher-level parties.
Our Patreon contains written versions of our guides that you can download and keep forever. They're all very nicely typeset and look very similar to official content!
You mention a +14 Stealth check - but I don't see where Strahd's stat block is that you use. There are so many varieties when I search the nets.
Strahd got T-rexed in the game I was a player in.
Can Bucephalos (or anyone) planeshift in Ravenloft?
do Tiamat combat tips plz
i think if he(strahd/dm) rolls a 1 , the + modifier does not apply... he would need a 2 at least for the +14 to kick in.
Natural 1s are only a fail on attack rolls. They don’t apply to skill checks or saving throws. You still get to apply your bonuses in those cases.
I may have missed it, but do you include the Mad Mage of Mount Baratok when you run the adventure?
You haven't missed anything, actually. I don't personally include Mordenkainen when I run the adventure, but we may add something about him to the guide once everything else is finished.
With Strahd being this powerful, and with this big of a home field advantage: wouldn't he be confident he could defeat the party by himself?