@Moustache Ride And so the shiver of the night arrives, the rite that will save their lives, this family damned to fight the demons gift of eternal night and now the quest consumes his heart, a marked man, slowly torn apart, in the 8 accursed year, he's been drowing in his tears, his bloody tears These bloody tears fall, blinded for ten thousand years, this nightmare just keeps getting worse ;3
Through the crystal ball you see a figure at the organ. His fingers flutter over the keys with adept precision. As his face fades into view you recognize The Demon Strahd, however this is not the calm visage of the monster you have encountered before. He stares intently into nothingness as memories flash through his mind. His cheeks peel back into a grimace as a tear rolls down his face. His clenched fangs betray the beast he has become. The organs play more forcefully, an attempt to hide his howls of anguish. Louder and louder the organs screams as Strahd tears at the keys, body convulsing as he plays. The music crescendos as a name is screamed out in sorrow and hatred "Tatiana". Strahd's eyes glare at the heavens as rage-filled tears stream down his face. He hammers the keys with a ferocious intensity as he spits curses at every God you know, and more. Abruptly, he stands, hateful eyes fixated on you. He knows you're there. The organ continues it's cries spurring on its masters madness. "This world will burn. All will know my anguish. My hate will be an unknowable ocean and you shall all drown in my flame!" Strahd bellows in an animalistic fury. (make a Wisdom save or lose a sanity point) Slowly Strahd begins to reassemble himself. His shoulders cease shuttering. His eyes once again become like steel. His postures resumes a portrayal of his measured arrogance. The click of his heels echo as he strides out of the hall. The Demon of Barovia awaits you at his castle. Enter if you dare.
Fantastic writing! That visual gave me chills. I have been running CoS every other week for almost a year and a half and my party just entered Castle Ravenloft. I needed that to help push me through this last sprint. Thank you.
A small bit of character that goes un-noticed is that Strahd actually took down every mirror in castle Ravenloft, 17 in all, and stored them behind that very organ. "Unfortunate, the curse of a Vampire. My only comfort is in incabability to see what I have become..."
@@Sophie-mu2bz It's not that he doesn't want to see himself, it's that he can't. You were partially correct in saying that not having the mirrors aids in deception, but it's also unfortunate that he can't see himself. So no matter what, wheter the took them down or not, he couldn't see the monster he had become. "Unfortunate, the curse of a Vampire. My only comfort is an incabability to see what I have become..."
@@Sophie-mu2bz I would just like to add on that the "not appearing in a mirror" thing is only true of mirrors made with silver, which was considered a "pure" metal and so wouldn't be able show something as evil as a vampire (Which is also why Silver is the weakness of Werewolves). That's not really relevant to your point, but it's and interesting tidbit for people who didn't know
Actually, there are many parallels to Stradh and Castlevania. One of the more obvious ones is that the cover of Simon’s Quest is actually a 1-1 replica of the original Ravenloft adventure cover, just from a different angle to include Simon.
Were you within 6 feet of a cell phone? Google is always listening so they can show you recommended ads. Only figures they extend it to their video platform algorithm.
When I first listened to this song I was like "dude, I really wanna dm this so fucking hard". I really wanted to give Strahd a voice and show him to someone. A couple of months later and finally convinced my friends to give it a try. I'm trying so hard to make this the most epic campaign ever, despite being a noob-ish dm. Maybe I'll come back and tell how this went, wish me luck, guys!
@@_leper.4155 We played like 3/4 sessions but it's going really well! My players are having fun messing with the npcs but then being really scared about the enemies or even other npcs like Rahadin. Thanks for asking!
@@tuviejauwu_ The half-orc in my group was forcefully questioning a certain pastry peddler in the village. Once she had enough and began to push her cart away he grabbed and tried to hold it but failed a STR test against her :-)
“You see Strahd in front of a massive organ, surrounded by statues with hands clawing out at him, frozen in fear. He plays the organ adeptly, a haunting, mournful tune fills the halls of his great castle, echoing through the corridors and wailing out into the night. He pulls his hands from the keys and turns, beginning to sip from a glass of what you hope is red wine. But the keys don’t stop. Without him they continue screaming out the notes of the beautiful, yet terrifying melody, shaking your bones as he finally faces you, nought an emotion on his face he takes a final sip. “Welcome to my castle.” His stony visage finally breaks as he cracks a horrible, wrong smile, his fangs glinting in the moonlight streaming through the windows. “I hope you enjoy your stay.” As he says this, the organ stops playing, and all the light in the room is snuffed out with a low chuckle rattling through you all. “Please, do come join me for dinner.” The light returns, and Strahd is gone, leaving the doors to the dining hall open. The Demon of Barovia awaits you.”
The Sunsword… well played, Rudolph. But I am no ordinary vampire to be killed by your human magics. I am Count Strahd Von Zarovich, and I have had ENOUGH!
I just used this song for over 2 years over the course of my curse of Strahd campaign. I like to think it was quite the element of dread. Thank you for providing this beautiful piece.
I imagine strahd thinks back to the simplistic times, back when he just took his fathers mantle. He takes out all of his fathers enemies, only for his own mother to treat him like a monster. He creates a castle in her name despite not being loved by her, dies before even seeing the castle. The only person she loved was his little brother Sergei, strahd blames him for why his mother doesn’t love him. Strahd then falls in love, and projects his mental issues of not being loved by his mother to Ireena. Of course, she falls for Sergei, and strahd, being basically lonely and hated by not only subjects, but his own family, finally snaps. Strahd was never right mentally, and I don’t sympathize for him, but I do feel that if his mother was more loving and tried to help, strahd wouldn’t be the devil he is today.
I just played this for my party when the main doors of Ravenloft flung open to invite the players in, and the song ended just as it says Strahd stops playing and turns to greet them, which freaked my players out. You beautiful bastard, you've created the perfect song for this campaign.
I stole your idea for my party. It worked great. Song ended about 5 seconds earlier than perfect, but still achieved the desired effect. Now three level 5 adventurers are wondering why they got in that damned carriage.
A good day when the algorithm smiles on talent. Used this video at the conclusion of my Strahd campaign months ago, glad to see it getting the attention it deserves.
Played this for my initial introduction introduction of Strahd and got feedback of literal goossbumps. Well done, sir. Well fucking done. Bloody Tears is now Strahd's theme and I have to compile a bunch of different moods for it.
this is such a unique arrangement of the song, i can't even express the emotions it makes me feel (although the "slow mournful" description does it justice). i'm totally using this in my campaign, it has nothing to do with strahd or even vampires but the feeling of "i must make the necessary decision, whether or not it is the right one. i am mourning for the past and what we could have had, but it is too late to turn back" during a fight between an ancient evil and destiny itself is just too good to pass up!! it's been a long time since i found an arrangement of ANYTHING that i like this much, thank you so much for your incredible work and i hope you have a happy 2021!
Exactly. You can do what you can to put them in the mood, I preferred to add little extra details that when asked have a very apparent mundane that still ratchets up the paranoia factor, but if they don't want to get in that mood... well...
@@mauroquinteros8783 The last time I played this module, the DM had made it even more brutal with a lot of almost permanent mental afflictions for encountering new undead creatures, much more cynical NPCs (we were not good enough at RP according to him so there had to be consequences), a special version of Strahd that can turn onto a Balor too and has over 20 charisma...
It’s honestly really quite open and I find it leaves motivation to progress so heavily on the DM to find a way to invite them to explore or find the next thing.
Soemone finally did it. Bloody Tears is like, the go to song for the organ scene, but when I ran it I could only find Piano. So glad this exists, but I wish I had it when I first ran it lol
imagine doing a run of Curse of Strahd, but customized to have actual goddamn Lords of Shadow Dracula coming in to try for a hostile takeover while also hunting for the dark patrons to kill them and usurp their powers...of course, you'd have to come up with a reason for how he found out about them, and why he'd go there in the first place, and you'd prolly have to come up with some homebrew rules to account for the Castlevania mix in...
I don't play D&D, but I imagined this: He didn't know what compelled him to begin playing. His enemies were at the doors of his keep, his armies in disarray, trying to counter them, his generals looking at him as if he'd descended into madness... Hmm. Perhaps he HAD descended into madness. He wasn't sure, though. And so he played. He played a song of power, a song of weakness. He played a song of fury, a song of love. He played a song of aching memories, a song of beautiful dreams. He played a song of HER... His feet struck the pedals hard enough to shake the floor. The giant organ's pipes roared loud enough to be heard six miles away. The magic that powered the monstrous instrument sent maelstroms of Saint Elmo's Fire a hundred feet into the sky as the gods themselves watched in awe and horror... His armies rose and roared. His generals raised their blades and called forth their magic. His enemies's forces dropped their weapons in shock, and, disoriented, they were utterly obliterated, cast aside in massive swathes like an ocean of wheat. ... And, across the Planes, a soul heard his call, and returned it. He drove his creation to a mighty crescendo as he heard her. He slowly straightened himself as he finished. He turned, and found his generals and aides kneeling before him. With their rune-covered armor and black, hooded robes, he had to admit they looked like servants of some fallen, blackened god. Excellent. He met his servants' eyes. His own, glowing silver with power beyond mortal comprehension, reflected back at him, and he allowed himself a moment of pride. After all, who better to face a deity, than the King of all those the gods shunned? He looked skyward. "Soon, Beloved. We'll reach you soon." He turned his mighty gaze to a kobold wearing the robes of a runecarver. "Prepare the circle! I know where she is!"
Did you write this yourself or is this from something? If it is yours would you mind if I used it (slightly modified) for a homebrew I am working on? My BBEG is an aristocratic woman of science and magic whose child was murdered by the church and so she turned herself into an immortal demon and seeks to sacrifice an entire country for a ritual to bring back her child. I think with a few changes such as changing "he" to "she" and "beloved" to "my child" this would be perfect for setting the mood of the character.
raziel710 - yes, I came up with it. Sleep Deprived Me (tm) is rather dramatic. I'm honored you like it, and if you're still interested, then of course you can use it. Just don't brag about writing it! SyrupSimon - I've never watched CASTLEVANIA THE SHOW, but obviously it has superb writing.
@@henryrodgers7386 I highly recommend it. Wonderful methodical pacing, high-intensity action sequences, very enjoyable humor, and a story for the ages. One of betrayal, of loss, of love, of family and friends and discovering who you are and what your purpose is. Fourth season just dropped last week and man was it good.
A good fic, but completely inappropriate for Strahd. He killed his brother because he fancied the mans fiance and then tried to mind-rape her into loving him. She killed herself instead. She perpetually reincarnates only to die before he can get it “right” this time. It’s love only in the most toxic obsessive sense.
I listen to this song at least once before I DM Curse of Strahd each week to get myself in the mood. It's so perfectly done and it kills me that more people don't know about this video. Please please please keep up the wonderful work!
The stuff I have online is basically content I made for my own CoS game, then put up because some other people asked for it. I don't really have any other projects like this going on. Is there anything you'd want to see in particular?
@@Dolirn Both this and Paint It Black are beautiful and I think you should definitely post more! But otherwise I can't think of anything in particular (really helpful I know xD)
I finally found it! All this years since I played Castelvania 2 on NES I was saying everybody that Bloody tears is an organ composition. But nobody in the entire internet covered it like this. With time I almost lost hope to hear it the right way. This is truly majestic. Thank you, kind sir.
Two years prior Lord Strahd von Zarovich fell to a group of mysterious figures that disappeared into the shadows as quickly as they arrived, only known to the new order within Barovia, who have been making it a much better place where the common no longer are slaves to fear. Word traveled quickly through the mists and changed every group and individual in power it caressed, meaning ambition and danger have become intertwined to those holding and seeking power alike, as the dark lord did not vanish without taking some with him, remembered as heroes and miscreants. Deep in Darkon, the zealot sect of the Church of Ezra has announced a campaign to eliminate non-humans and their tyrants, while a small group will be gathered to decide the fate of nations against the oncoming flood. Strahd being swallowed into the shadows vanquished by the morning sun will give rise to a far more treacherous dusk
Paladin: "I terrify them, Wizard disorients them, and Rogue goes over the top, and we support them." Wizard: "Yes." Rogue: *unsheathes dagger* "Begin."
"Ahh...the Sunsword...well played, paladin. But I am no oridnary vampire, to be harmed by your human magics....I am Strahd von Zarovich, AND I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!"
This was the opening song in my Curse of Strahd campaign’s final battle. It went into more epic/battle type music, but this set the tone perfectly. The fun part? The final villain wasn’t Strahd, but a PC who became a vampire after murdering and drinking Van Richten’s blood.
I never comment on videos, but this was too perfect to pass up. I have been searching tirelessly for a mourning rendition of Bloody Tears that can contrast with the regular version for his final fight. This is absolutely perfect, thank you.
Played this this at the dinner, when the doors to the dining hall opened one of the players said. "Is that Strahd playing? Massive flex." Thanks for the upload, great song.
I was playing in a campaign where my character was a vampire hunter. To go with the motif, I chose Bloody Tears as my character’s theme. Over the course of the campaign’s main story, we discovered that the main villain was essentially using magic to break time and enemies and allies from alternate timelines were being pulled into our timeline. We end up storming this castle being controlled by one of the main villain’s generals... who ended up being an alternate-timeline version of my character where he had been turned into a vampire. As we entered the main room, the DM played this diegetic, as my vampire self was playing this on his organ when we got there. It was a super memorable and awesome moment and an incredible boss fight
I JUST started running Curse of Strahd and when they go to Ravenloft for dinner (assuming we get that far) this is the Organ Music I'm going to have Strahd playing. You beautiful person. Thank you.
Also gonna use this, and then transition into an organ version of traumeri. A song that was used in conjunction with an important, and beloved npc that was killed just prior to curse of strahd. Just to really fuck with them.
I like to imagine a Skrillex half elf bard using minor illusion, ghost sound, dancing lights, shatter, sonic blast, and sound burst for a floating mixing screen and bass drops
I can just imagine Strahd allowing a rare smile of genuine joy flicker across his face, as he realizes what the bard is doing. A man who is willing to ignore the dread vampire's nature as a monster, an ever-present curse upon his lands, and simply share in the melancholic revelry in the name of art.
Amazing! This music really fits Stradh's feelings and sorrows in so many ways. With your permission I will use it in my Course of Stradh game. It's a massive piece of work. It's really Ravenloft mood and sound. I love it!
How I got here: So, I'm watching "The Magicians" on Netflix and someone uses "cursed pipe organ" in a sentence. I was like "haha, what?" and wondered what UA-cam had to say about "cursed pipe organ" ... this is what came up. So I added it to my "Samhain" playlist. XD
I'm going to use this in my upcoming Curse of Strahd game. I'm going to play it just before and during each Strahd encounter. I think the music kicking in out of nowhere will really chill them.
The party opens a massive, gilded door into a cathedral-like, vaulted room. Six, now four approach a man playing a forlorn lament upon a great pipe organ. In the wings, the knights, the barons, the nightmares, the fiends, the ghouls, the sundry creatures of the night that serve the one, ever lamenting, ever broken. Silently, the four stop, center of the room, and wait for the song to end. The leader, father of a buried son, steps forward. Silently, he waits. He has fought for this moment. The priest looks upon the father with compassion, find yourself dear friend, forgive yourself, you could have not changed the outcome, he thinks. The thief watches the things, expecting them to act at any moment, daggers ready! The mage makes a gesture, but the father shakes his head. No. This, by his own hand. The father of a buried son puts his hand upon the sheathed hilt of his blade. The sword is an old one. It has been drawn many times, the swordsoul strengthened by the blood of every smote beast on the dark path, leading here. Perhaps it was made for this day? But was it made merely for this task, yet not this damned soul, one damned soul to damn another? The father of a buried son does not care, he buried his son, and his life is no great price to pay if no father need ever bury a son, struck down by this thing, and these things that serve it. The song ends, the father draws, a flash, and darkness falls upon the hall of the one called....Strahd.
This song has me even more hyped for my d&d campaign. It's set in a continent overtaken by a powerful vampire who killed everyone on the continent and turned them into the undead that plauge the land. The party's goal is to help cleanse and retake it. And in the end confront and kill the only true vampire. As all others are mere pretenders.
" At the center of the far west wall,between the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, stands a massive organ. Its pipes blare out a thunderous melody that speaks in its tone of greatness and despair. Seated in the organ,facing away from you,a single caped figure pounds the keys in raptured ecstasy. The figure suddenly stops and as a deep silence falls over the dinning hall,it slowly turns towards you. its Strahd who welcomes you with a dark grim in his face though he doesn't seem like the previous times you encountered him. His movements are mechanical and his speech seems distant and odd. He is but a mere illuson. Afte a while he dissapears and a fierce,bone-chillingwind rises up puting out all the flames. Only deep silence remains...and then...the organ starts playing again...You know that your doom awaits..."
This and many other things have reallyyyy made me wanna play a curse of strahd campaign. I hope to be able to play one someday because the idea and everything about it seems so dope.
Gave my Strahd expertise in performance just so he can flex on the party when they first enter Ravenloft by playing this. Also pretty good boss music for Strahd, ngl.
It’s a grim day outside... The wereravens are cawing... The sun is perpetually clouded over... On days like these... kids like you... should be rolling for initiative
I knew there was a reason my big Ravenloft campaign kept getting delayed! Granted, this won't be the song Strahd plays when they meet him for the final encounter (narrative reasons). But there's no reason he can't be playing this when they first come to the castle as guests of the count, still new to Barovia. Thank you!
Been slowly chipping away at this sheet music. It's tough for my limited piano experience, but my god is it satisfying to play this alone in my house feeling like a vampire darklord.
I was just searching for a Castlevania organ cover for Strahd to play and was thinking about using either Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer and this one is really nice, precisely because it doesn't sound as much as a video game soundtrack as the other ones.
Being an irl musician playing a Bard, I just started feeling up a few notes on a Church organ preset on my digital piano whilst the party was dining with Strahd. Everyone got confused as to where it came from until one in my party screamed my irl name. - " Yeah, [my character] is standing by Strahd's pipe-organ now." Then I started playing Bloody tears. My character ended up sitting besides Strahd and watching him play something pre-recorded the DM streamed. D&D is freakin' amazing.
My persenal tip is that if you play irl when your party first arive and see strahd turn this song on, and sit backwards, like strahd om the image, and dont say a word until the music ends
I am writing a dnd adventure and I just listening to this song makes me want to add another layer to an antagonist. I have been searching for mournful songs like this to mystify and add more emotion to when the party fights him.
I used this in CoS when my players went to have dinner with Strahd and my players loved it! Thank you very much! (props to GodlikePoet for inspiring me to use it!)
What is a party? A miserable pile of adventurers! But enough rolling for initiative, have at thee!
*Wizard gets Nat 20* Allow me to introduce my friends DAYLIGHT!
I thought you mean celebration but if I think about it, both parties are full of miserable adventurers that I would have awkward moments with.
With my legendary action I attack first!
Suck it rogue!
Great now I want a Barovian Metroidvania
@@Arturius *legendary action* BEHOLD *moves behind a pillar*
Van Richten: Starts ineffectually punching Strahd
Strahd: "You must be Van Richten."
WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT TO HAVE A CURSE.
But is there truly ever a GOOD night to have a curse?
lol actually the Morning Sun has vanquished the horible night played that game nonstop in 91. Its played when it goes from night back to day
@Moustache Ride
And so the shiver of the night arrives, the rite that will save their lives, this family damned to fight the demons gift of eternal night and now the quest consumes his heart, a marked man, slowly torn apart, in the 8 accursed year, he's been drowing in his tears, his bloody tears
These bloody tears fall, blinded for ten thousand years, this nightmare just keeps getting worse ;3
@@Bantoo_Prime I mean for the furies a full moon night........ if you are a werewolf ....... is a good night to have a curse XD
WELL DAMN SAID!
My DM actually linked this song when Strahd was playing his organ and this accidentally got me obsessed with Castlevania.
you should play the first 3 games.
cool story bro
One does not 'accidentally obsessed with Castlevania.'
That is one hell of a way to go
Nice
i had him doing an organ cover of the Interstellar soundtrack
Through the crystal ball you see a figure at the organ. His fingers flutter over the keys with adept precision. As his face fades into view you recognize The Demon Strahd, however this is not the calm visage of the monster you have encountered before. He stares intently into nothingness as memories flash through his mind. His cheeks peel back into a grimace as a tear rolls down his face. His clenched fangs betray the beast he has become. The organs play more forcefully, an attempt to hide his howls of anguish. Louder and louder the organs screams as Strahd tears at the keys, body convulsing as he plays. The music crescendos as a name is screamed out in sorrow and hatred "Tatiana". Strahd's eyes glare at the heavens as rage-filled tears stream down his face. He hammers the keys with a ferocious intensity as he spits curses at every God you know, and more. Abruptly, he stands, hateful eyes fixated on you. He knows you're there. The organ continues it's cries spurring on its masters madness.
"This world will burn. All will know my anguish. My hate will be an unknowable ocean and you shall all drown in my flame!" Strahd bellows in an animalistic fury. (make a Wisdom save or lose a sanity point)
Slowly Strahd begins to reassemble himself. His shoulders cease shuttering. His eyes once again become like steel. His postures resumes a portrayal of his measured arrogance. The click of his heels echo as he strides out of the hall. The Demon of Barovia awaits you at his castle. Enter if you dare.
One question, are the tears bloody?
@@joshuahancock2079 Oh, but of course they are!
Fantastic writing! That visual gave me chills. I have been running CoS every other week for almost a year and a half and my party just entered Castle Ravenloft. I needed that to help push me through this last sprint. Thank you.
@@hyrummiller2909 I appreciate the kind words! The castle itself can be a beast to run. Best wishes on your campaign!
Damn i like that is that yours ? 👏🏼
A small bit of character that goes un-noticed is that Strahd actually took down every mirror in castle Ravenloft, 17 in all, and stored them behind that very organ.
"Unfortunate, the curse of a Vampire. My only comfort is in incabability to see what I have become..."
@@Sophie-mu2bz How does that make this comment wrong?
@@Sophie-mu2bz I don't think you're getting the point here lol
@@Sophie-mu2bz It's not that he doesn't want to see himself, it's that he can't. You were partially correct in saying that not having the mirrors aids in deception, but it's also unfortunate that he can't see himself. So no matter what, wheter the took them down or not, he couldn't see the monster he had become.
"Unfortunate, the curse of a Vampire. My only comfort is an incabability to see what I have become..."
@@Sophie-mu2bz You are extremely stupid.
@@Sophie-mu2bz I would just like to add on that the "not appearing in a mirror" thing is only true of mirrors made with silver, which was considered a "pure" metal and so wouldn't be able show something as evil as a vampire (Which is also why Silver is the weakness of Werewolves).
That's not really relevant to your point, but it's and interesting tidbit for people who didn't know
"Oh, a hunter, are ya? And an outsider? What a mess you've been caught up in. And tonight, of all nights."
A hunter must hunt.
Well hello Eileen. Didn't expect to see you here
@@austinparker5053 Still lingering about? What's wrong? A hunter, unnerved by a few beasts? Heh heh... No matter."
@@austinparker5053 "A hunter should hunt beasts....leave the hunting of hunters to me."
@@MisterSmith00 "Without fear in our hearts, we're no different from the beasts ourselves."
It's good to see Strahd Von Zarovich get homage of this sort. He's an icon of the D&D universe and a vampire of import.
of all the D&D icons, I think of Murlynd first before anyone...
@@snurgumwurgum8238 That's you. Strahd is one of D&D flagship characters.
@@wilykat ^^
Actually, there are many parallels to Stradh and Castlevania. One of the more obvious ones is that the cover of Simon’s Quest is actually a 1-1 replica of the original Ravenloft adventure cover, just from a different angle to include Simon.
@@ProtoPacket you mean castle ravenloft?
Me, reading through Curse of strahd preparing to dm it:
UA-cam: yeah, you're gonna wanna look at this
Me: i-I do, thank you
Good luck! It's a great campaign, I hope you and your players enjoy playing it as much as me and mine.
I am playing in curse of strahd and this scene happened in my last session literally yesterday. How the hell did UA-cam know to recommend this to me?
Same here! The Algorithm is always listening, clearly.
@@RuRiccio, we must be ever vigilant against the power of the dark lord UA-cam.
Were you within 6 feet of a cell phone? Google is always listening so they can show you recommended ads. Only figures they extend it to their video platform algorithm.
@@sintanan469, couldn't Google be sued for that?
8 gargoyles atack our group at the entrance, we are almost dead at turn 5.... what the fuck Strahd man
When I first listened to this song I was like "dude, I really wanna dm this so fucking hard". I really wanted to give Strahd a voice and show him to someone.
A couple of months later and finally convinced my friends to give it a try. I'm trying so hard to make this the most epic campaign ever, despite being a noob-ish dm.
Maybe I'll come back and tell how this went, wish me luck, guys!
Best of luck!
How it was?
@@_leper.4155 We played like 3/4 sessions but it's going really well!
My players are having fun messing with the npcs but then being really scared about the enemies or even other npcs like Rahadin.
Thanks for asking!
:^
@@tuviejauwu_ The half-orc in my group was forcefully questioning a certain pastry peddler in the village. Once she had enough and began to push her cart away he grabbed and tried to hold it but failed a STR test against her :-)
“You see Strahd in front of a massive organ, surrounded by statues with hands clawing out at him, frozen in fear. He plays the organ adeptly, a haunting, mournful tune fills the halls of his great castle, echoing through the corridors and wailing out into the night. He pulls his hands from the keys and turns, beginning to sip from a glass of what you hope is red wine.
But the keys don’t stop. Without him they continue screaming out the notes of the beautiful, yet terrifying melody, shaking your bones as he finally faces you, nought an emotion on his face he takes a final sip.
“Welcome to my castle.” His stony visage finally breaks as he cracks a horrible, wrong smile, his fangs glinting in the moonlight streaming through the windows.
“I hope you enjoy your stay.” As he says this, the organ stops playing, and all the light in the room is snuffed out with a low chuckle rattling through you all.
“Please, do come join me for dinner.” The light returns, and Strahd is gone, leaving the doors to the dining hall open.
The Demon of Barovia awaits you.”
The Sunsword… well played, Rudolph. But I am no ordinary vampire to be killed by your human magics. I am Count Strahd Von Zarovich, and I have had ENOUGH!
proceed to cast 5th level fireball
Why do I see this quote everywhere
I just used this song for over 2 years over the course of my curse of Strahd campaign. I like to think it was quite the element of dread. Thank you for providing this beautiful piece.
You are so welcome!
I imagine strahd thinks back to the simplistic times, back when he just took his fathers mantle. He takes out all of his fathers enemies, only for his own mother to treat him like a monster. He creates a castle in her name despite not being loved by her, dies before even seeing the castle. The only person she loved was his little brother Sergei, strahd blames him for why his mother doesn’t love him. Strahd then falls in love, and projects his mental issues of not being loved by his mother to Ireena. Of course, she falls for Sergei, and strahd, being basically lonely and hated by not only subjects, but his own family, finally snaps. Strahd was never right mentally, and I don’t sympathize for him, but I do feel that if his mother was more loving and tried to help, strahd wouldn’t be the devil he is today.
This is, of course, how I view it personally. And sorry for bad grammar
@@carrotcake1418 now he's just a rabid beast that needs to be put down.
Are Your Mother jokes effective against him?
And as a wise person once said,
"Empathize but do not justify."
All Dark Lords in their domains are like that. Tragic.
I just played this for my party when the main doors of Ravenloft flung open to invite the players in, and the song ended just as it says Strahd stops playing and turns to greet them, which freaked my players out.
You beautiful bastard, you've created the perfect song for this campaign.
I stole your idea for my party. It worked great. Song ended about 5 seconds earlier than perfect, but still achieved the desired effect. Now three level 5 adventurers are wondering why they got in that damned carriage.
This is a marvelous composition is sad that it doesn't have more views. Keep the good work.
I believe your wish may have been granted. The UA-cam algorithm strikes again.
A good day when the algorithm smiles on talent. Used this video at the conclusion of my Strahd campaign months ago, glad to see it getting the attention it deserves.
9 Van Richten alts gave this thumbs down.
Amazing piece, can’t wait to use it in game. Really haunting sound you’ve captured
Played this for my initial introduction introduction of Strahd and got feedback of literal goossbumps. Well done, sir. Well fucking done. Bloody Tears is now Strahd's theme and I have to compile a bunch of different moods for it.
care to share to another DM who has a similar situation?
Seconded here
Thirded. I'd love access to that playlist
I admit I am totally using this song now when they approach the dinner hall
this is such a unique arrangement of the song, i can't even express the emotions it makes me feel (although the "slow mournful" description does it justice). i'm totally using this in my campaign, it has nothing to do with strahd or even vampires but the feeling of "i must make the necessary decision, whether or not it is the right one. i am mourning for the past and what we could have had, but it is too late to turn back" during a fight between an ancient evil and destiny itself is just too good to pass up!! it's been a long time since i found an arrangement of ANYTHING that i like this much, thank you so much for your incredible work and i hope you have a happy 2021!
Really glad you liked it so much!
Too bad this module can go really wrong without everyone at the table having the right mindset for it.
Totally, no everyone is ready for a terror game
Exactly. You can do what you can to put them in the mood, I preferred to add little extra details that when asked have a very apparent mundane that still ratchets up the paranoia factor, but if they don't want to get in that mood... well...
@@mauroquinteros8783 The last time I played this module, the DM had made it even more brutal with a lot of almost permanent mental afflictions for encountering new undead creatures, much more cynical NPCs (we were not good enough at RP according to him so there had to be consequences), a special version of Strahd that can turn onto a Balor too and has over 20 charisma...
@@octapusxft well that's DM fault, if he/she didn't test te party or prepare it for the campaign well... That happens
It’s honestly really quite open and I find it leaves motivation to progress so heavily on the DM to find a way to invite them to explore or find the next thing.
I love how everyone is agreeing on using this while dining with the devil or finally fighting him. May the Morninglord bless thee on your battles.
Soemone finally did it. Bloody Tears is like, the go to song for the organ scene, but when I ran it I could only find Piano. So glad this exists, but I wish I had it when I first ran it lol
imagine doing a run of Curse of Strahd, but customized to have actual goddamn Lords of Shadow Dracula coming in to try for a hostile takeover while also hunting for the dark patrons to kill them and usurp their powers...of course, you'd have to come up with a reason for how he found out about them, and why he'd go there in the first place, and you'd prolly have to come up with some homebrew rules to account for the Castlevania mix in...
I don't play D&D, but I imagined this:
He didn't know what compelled him to begin playing. His enemies were at the doors of his keep, his armies in disarray, trying to counter them, his generals looking at him as if he'd descended into madness... Hmm. Perhaps he HAD descended into madness. He wasn't sure, though.
And so he played.
He played a song of power, a song of weakness.
He played a song of fury, a song of love.
He played a song of aching memories, a song of beautiful dreams.
He played a song of HER...
His feet struck the pedals hard enough to shake the floor. The giant organ's pipes roared loud enough to be heard six miles away. The magic that powered the monstrous instrument sent maelstroms of Saint Elmo's Fire a hundred feet into the sky as the gods themselves watched in awe and horror...
His armies rose and roared. His generals raised their blades and called forth their magic. His enemies's forces dropped their weapons in shock, and, disoriented, they were utterly obliterated, cast aside in massive swathes like an ocean of wheat.
... And, across the Planes, a soul heard his call, and returned it.
He drove his creation to a mighty crescendo as he heard her.
He slowly straightened himself as he finished. He turned, and found his generals and aides kneeling before him. With their rune-covered armor and black, hooded robes, he had to admit they looked like servants of some fallen, blackened god.
Excellent.
He met his servants' eyes. His own, glowing silver with power beyond mortal comprehension, reflected back at him, and he allowed himself a moment of pride.
After all, who better to face a deity, than the King of all those the gods shunned?
He looked skyward.
"Soon, Beloved. We'll reach you soon."
He turned his mighty gaze to a kobold wearing the robes of a runecarver.
"Prepare the circle! I know where she is!"
Did you write this yourself or is this from something? If it is yours would you mind if I used it (slightly modified) for a homebrew I am working on? My BBEG is an aristocratic woman of science and magic whose child was murdered by the church and so she turned herself into an immortal demon and seeks to sacrifice an entire country for a ritual to bring back her child. I think with a few changes such as changing "he" to "she" and "beloved" to "my child" this would be perfect for setting the mood of the character.
@@raziel710 BOTH OF YOU ARE JUST REWRITING CASTLEVANIA THE SHOW (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
raziel710 - yes, I came up with it. Sleep Deprived Me (tm) is rather dramatic.
I'm honored you like it, and if you're still interested, then of course you can use it. Just don't brag about writing it!
SyrupSimon - I've never watched CASTLEVANIA THE SHOW, but obviously it has superb writing.
@@henryrodgers7386 I highly recommend it. Wonderful methodical pacing, high-intensity action sequences, very enjoyable humor, and a story for the ages. One of betrayal, of loss, of love, of family and friends and discovering who you are and what your purpose is. Fourth season just dropped last week and man was it good.
A good fic, but completely inappropriate for Strahd. He killed his brother because he fancied the mans fiance and then tried to mind-rape her into loving him. She killed herself instead. She perpetually reincarnates only to die before he can get it “right” this time. It’s love only in the most toxic obsessive sense.
I listen to this song at least once before I DM Curse of Strahd each week to get myself in the mood. It's so perfectly done and it kills me that more people don't know about this video. Please please please keep up the wonderful work!
The stuff I have online is basically content I made for my own CoS game, then put up because some other people asked for it. I don't really have any other projects like this going on. Is there anything you'd want to see in particular?
@@Dolirn Both this and Paint It Black are beautiful and I think you should definitely post more! But otherwise I can't think of anything in particular (really helpful I know xD)
Skeleton: Sir Sir, The Belmont is coming here
Dracula: Oh thanks, so I Will Start to Playing his theme song in the organ while I wait
Beautiful in it's blend of emotions. I can hear his narcissism but also the grind of endless lives lived and the sacrifices it requires. Brilliant!
"Vanity, thy name is vampire"
I finally found it! All this years since I played Castelvania 2 on NES I was saying everybody that Bloody tears is an organ composition. But nobody in the entire internet covered it like this.
With time I almost lost hope to hear it the right way.
This is truly majestic. Thank you, kind sir.
The Morning Sun has vanquished the Horrible Night
Two years prior Lord Strahd von Zarovich fell to a group of mysterious figures that disappeared into the shadows as quickly as they arrived, only known to the new order within Barovia, who have been making it a much better place where the common no longer are slaves to fear. Word traveled quickly through the mists and changed every group and individual in power it caressed, meaning ambition and danger have become intertwined to those holding and seeking power alike, as the dark lord did not vanish without taking some with him, remembered as heroes and miscreants. Deep in Darkon, the zealot sect of the Church of Ezra has announced a campaign to eliminate non-humans and their tyrants, while a small group will be gathered to decide the fate of nations against the oncoming flood. Strahd being swallowed into the shadows vanquished by the morning sun will give rise to a far more treacherous dusk
Strahd: I'm gonna do what's called a "pro-gamer move"
Flexing on the noobs
Paladin: "I terrify them, Wizard disorients them, and Rogue goes over the top, and we support them."
Wizard: "Yes."
Rogue: *unsheathes dagger* "Begin."
I'm playing a Wizard right now and all I can say is: [Prestidigitation]
I think Trevor is more ranger, but still fun all the same!
@@ranger5839 And Alucard is more of a Fighter. His racial abilities shouldn't classify him as a rogue, actual skills should.
Alucard is definitely a fighter with vampire abilities.
Trevor: Battlemaster fighter + Oath of Conquest paladin
Sypha: Evocation wizard + Way of the Four Elements monk
Alucard: Eldritch Knight fighter
"Ahh...the Sunsword...well played, paladin. But I am no oridnary vampire, to be harmed by your human magics....I am Strahd von Zarovich, AND I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!"
This was the opening song in my Curse of Strahd campaign’s final battle.
It went into more epic/battle type music, but this set the tone perfectly.
The fun part?
The final villain wasn’t Strahd, but a PC who became a vampire after murdering and drinking Van Richten’s blood.
I never comment on videos, but this was too perfect to pass up. I have been searching tirelessly for a mourning rendition of Bloody Tears that can contrast with the regular version for his final fight. This is absolutely perfect, thank you.
This has changed my life forever and I can never go back to the woman I was before
Never go back. Run away with Strahd!
Played this this at the dinner, when the doors to the dining hall opened one of the players said. "Is that Strahd playing? Massive flex."
Thanks for the upload, great song.
Vanity, thy name is Vampire.
I was playing in a campaign where my character was a vampire hunter. To go with the motif, I chose Bloody Tears as my character’s theme. Over the course of the campaign’s main story, we discovered that the main villain was essentially using magic to break time and enemies and allies from alternate timelines were being pulled into our timeline. We end up storming this castle being controlled by one of the main villain’s generals... who ended up being an alternate-timeline version of my character where he had been turned into a vampire. As we entered the main room, the DM played this diegetic, as my vampire self was playing this on his organ when we got there. It was a super memorable and awesome moment and an incredible boss fight
"Bloody Tears On Strahd's Organ": an ear pleasing song, but a soul scarring porno.
Jesus Christ.
Oh Neptune...
I JUST started running Curse of Strahd and when they go to Ravenloft for dinner (assuming we get that far) this is the Organ Music I'm going to have Strahd playing.
You beautiful person. Thank you.
You are very welcome!
Same came looking for exactly this song played in this fashion!
Also gonna use this, and then transition into an organ version of traumeri. A song that was used in conjunction with an important, and beloved npc that was killed just prior to curse of strahd. Just to really fuck with them.
While this is great, I will still let him play Tocata by Bach.
I did just that. The players really like it. But only one got the reference at the time xD
“I am Vlad Dracula Tepes, AND THIS IS MY HOME!!”
Now imagine the party bard joining and this turning into an epic fight all it’s own as Strahd and the bard battle for dominance in the song.
I’m the party bard and I played on Strahd’s organ after the dinner party was over 😅
@@joosoo should have challenged him to a musical duel... :)
I like to imagine a Skrillex half elf bard using minor illusion, ghost sound, dancing lights, shatter, sonic blast, and sound burst for a floating mixing screen and bass drops
I can just imagine Strahd allowing a rare smile of genuine joy flicker across his face, as he realizes what the bard is doing. A man who is willing to ignore the dread vampire's nature as a monster, an ever-present curse upon his lands, and simply share in the melancholic revelry in the name of art.
Amazing! This music really fits Stradh's feelings and sorrows in so many ways.
With your permission I will use it in my Course of Stradh game.
It's a massive piece of work. It's really Ravenloft mood and sound. I love it!
Autotutoriales You have my permission, and I'm really glad you like it enough to want to use it!
why the ferfunkeling fiuk do you need permission???
"Bloody Tears on Strahd's Organ"?
WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT TO HAVE THE CLAP.
How I got here:
So, I'm watching "The Magicians" on Netflix and someone uses "cursed pipe organ" in a sentence. I was like "haha, what?" and wondered what UA-cam had to say about "cursed pipe organ" ... this is what came up.
So I added it to my "Samhain" playlist. XD
Incredible.
This became more relevant now that we're getting an official Ravenloft sourcebook.
Strahd will be playing this at our dinner party next session. Such depth! Fantastic arrangement.
Thank you, glad you like it!
All the dislikes are probably the citizens of Barovia trying to get some sleep while the Devil Strahd plays on into the night.
Just stumbled across this today, and it's rare to see organ covers done, and even rarer to see one done this well. Fantastic work.
Great organ song
I'm going to use this in my upcoming Curse of Strahd game. I'm going to play it just before and during each Strahd encounter. I think the music kicking in out of nowhere will really chill them.
The party opens a massive, gilded door into a cathedral-like, vaulted room. Six, now four approach a man playing a forlorn lament upon a great pipe organ. In the wings, the knights, the barons, the nightmares, the fiends, the ghouls, the sundry creatures of the night that serve the one, ever lamenting, ever broken. Silently, the four stop, center of the room, and wait for the song to end. The leader, father of a buried son, steps forward. Silently, he waits. He has fought for this moment. The priest looks upon the father with compassion, find yourself dear friend, forgive yourself, you could have not changed the outcome, he thinks. The thief watches the things, expecting them to act at any moment, daggers ready! The mage makes a gesture, but the father shakes his head. No. This, by his own hand. The father of a buried son puts his hand upon the sheathed hilt of his blade. The sword is an old one. It has been drawn many times, the swordsoul strengthened by the blood of every smote beast on the dark path, leading here. Perhaps it was made for this day? But was it made merely for this task, yet not this damned soul, one damned soul to damn another? The father of a buried son does not care, he buried his son, and his life is no great price to pay if no father need ever bury a son, struck down by this thing, and these things that serve it. The song ends, the father draws, a flash, and darkness falls upon the hall of the one called....Strahd.
Thank you for sharing this amazing piece with the community! You are an inspiration and a gentleman!
He is the Ancient. He is the Land.
good music when your home gets lights out
Love castlevania and the music...this is by far the best bloody tears i have heard..
I literally bought curse of strahd because of this
Update! They just met Strahd!
This song has me even more hyped for my d&d campaign. It's set in a continent overtaken by a powerful vampire who killed everyone on the continent and turned them into the undead that plauge the land. The party's goal is to help cleanse and retake it. And in the end confront and kill the only true vampire. As all others are mere pretenders.
What a fantastic composition, wonderful work.
Thank you, oh mighty UA-cam algorithm, for bringing us all here to witness this masterpiece🖤
I finally made it to the algorithm!
God damn this is beautiful.
Beautifull song and picture
4:00 (leaving this for myself)
Criminally underviewed.
I fucking love this arrangement. I get chills EVERY time.
" At the center of the far west wall,between the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, stands a massive organ. Its pipes blare out a thunderous melody that speaks in its tone of greatness and despair. Seated in the organ,facing away from you,a single caped figure pounds the keys in raptured ecstasy. The figure suddenly stops and as a deep silence falls over the dinning hall,it slowly turns towards you. its Strahd who welcomes you with a dark grim in his face though he doesn't seem like the previous times you encountered him. His movements are mechanical and his speech seems distant and odd. He is but a mere illuson. Afte a while he dissapears and a fierce,bone-chillingwind rises up puting out all the flames. Only deep silence remains...and then...the organ starts playing again...You know that your doom awaits..."
This is amazing. Can't stop listening
You made this!? This is badass! Hopefully I'll get to use it in my own Ravenloft campaign one day. For now, I can just show it to my DM.
I did make this! Glad you like it!
What is a DM
@@user-ve3ho6pk7y Dungeon Master, the person who runs a Dungeons and Dragons game
"We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Fear the Old Blood...by the Gods... Fear it, Lawrence."
Will use as the opening theme for my curse of strahd's sessions! Thank you! It's perfect!
This and many other things have reallyyyy made me wanna play a curse of strahd campaign. I hope to be able to play one someday because the idea and everything about it seems so dope.
This is precisely what I was looking for getting ready for my first time running CoS! thanks so much!
"I terrify them, Sypha disorients them and Alucard goes over the top and we support him"
*Sees Strahd *
"You know what, never mind..."
Gave my Strahd expertise in performance just so he can flex on the party when they first enter Ravenloft by playing this.
Also pretty good boss music for Strahd, ngl.
But for real, Strahd totally has bard levels.
@@Dolirn Oh yeah, for sure. Vicious mockery is such a Strahd spell to have XD
It’s a grim day outside...
The wereravens are cawing...
The sun is perpetually clouded over...
On days like these... kids like you...
should be rolling for initiative
Wrong game, but I appreciate the sentiment.
Hell yeah.
What a wonderful night to be blessed to here this
Thank you UA-cam recommendations. I'm a sucker for somber sounding music. Great arrangement!
What an incredible piece of music. Thank you for this. =D
I have to admit that I clicked this link just because I recognized your name from the CoS Discord server. And I am so glad that I did. Carry on.
I knew there was a reason my big Ravenloft campaign kept getting delayed! Granted, this won't be the song Strahd plays when they meet him for the final encounter (narrative reasons). But there's no reason he can't be playing this when they first come to the castle as guests of the count, still new to Barovia. Thank you!
Fucking amazing. Thank you Dolirn for this masterpiece!
Been slowly chipping away at this sheet music. It's tough for my limited piano experience, but my god is it satisfying to play this alone in my house feeling like a vampire darklord.
Oh my god, I did not know I needed this in my life, until just now.
I just find this I'm adding this to the list of "shit I will need to use in my campaign at some point"
Today gonna DM curse of Strahd's campaign and I'm so happy that this music poped up
I absolutely adore this. I can't wait to play this for my players when they have dinner with the devil.
4:52 WELCOME... TO CASTLE RAVENLOFT.
I'm having this played at my funeral.
WHAT A WONDERFUL NIGHT TO PLAY MY CHURCH ORGAN.
My favourite Castlevania pun/joke (?) was
Roses are red,
violets are blue,
but enough talk!
Have at you!
Just what I was looking for! This is amazing thank you
I was just searching for a Castlevania organ cover for Strahd to play and was thinking about using either Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer and this one is really nice, precisely because it doesn't sound as much as a video game soundtrack as the other ones.
this is amazing, I was trying to find a reading of strahd but found something much better
Being an irl musician playing a Bard, I just started feeling up a few notes on a Church organ preset on my digital piano whilst the party was dining with Strahd. Everyone got confused as to where it came from until one in my party screamed my irl name.
- " Yeah, [my character] is standing by Strahd's pipe-organ now."
Then I started playing Bloody tears.
My character ended up sitting besides Strahd and watching him play something pre-recorded the DM streamed.
D&D is freakin' amazing.
That sounds bloody incredible
My persenal tip is that if you play irl when your party first arive and see strahd turn this song on, and sit backwards, like strahd om the image, and dont say a word until the music ends
Brilliant music! It fits Strahd really well. We already had the dinner, but I plan on using this every time the party meets Strahd from now on.
I am writing a dnd adventure and I just listening to this song makes me want to add another layer to an antagonist. I have been searching for mournful songs like this to mystify and add more emotion to when the party fights him.
Right im writing stuff out and ive been listening to emotional organ pieces while putting things together
This is awesome. I am totally going to use this in my CoS game. Thank you.
This made me FEEL things. What a rendition.
I used this in CoS when my players went to have dinner with Strahd and my players loved it! Thank you very much! (props to GodlikePoet for inspiring me to use it!)
You are very welcome!
I’m about to start a Curse of Strahd game and this just made me even more excited to run it! Will definitely use his in game!