Curse of Strahd Post-Mortem
“Under raging storm clouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. The vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves about him, billowing his cape in the darkness. . .He has a look of power—and of madness. His once handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself. . . He knew they were coming, and he knows why they have come—all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them. Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle’s towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind—or perhaps a lone wolf—fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.”
Words cannot describe how much I love this introduction! I recently finished up running Curse of Strahd and I wanted to give my overall thoughts on the module. Players bewarned! Here there be spoilers!
During the founding of Open Heart Games, in order to gain familiarity with Roll20 and playing online, I asked a group of friends to join me in playing this module. Why did I choose Curse of Strahd? I had run through the module a few times when I worked at the Malted Meeple and decided it was best to run something I was familiar with to avoid being overwhelmed trying to running a new module while teaching myself a new program too. Curse of Strahd has a special place in my heart as I met several of my good friends playing in those campaigns. Many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. My emotional attachments aside, Curse of Strahd is a fantastic module and one that you should consider running if you have not already done so. That being said there are a few things that I think could be improved upon which I will touch on later.
What I Heart about Curse of Strahd
Lets start off at the top with what I think is the best part of Curse of Strahd: the villain Strahd Von Zarovich. Strahd is a fantastic villain as he combines sophisticated intelligence with brutal savagery. Strahd is also complex and even sympathetic as he pines over his lost love Tatyana. But Strahd is ultimately irredeemable as he murdered his own brother in cold blood to achieve his goals; thereby damning himself and his land to an eternity of misery and torment. Strahd longs for nuance and a challenge, which he hopes to find in the player characters. But like an apex predator, Strahd stalks his prey and even toys with the players. He is the Lord and Master of the Land of Barovia and as such he bends all manner of man and beast to his will. Few corners of Barovia are free of his influence. Strahd exemplifies all of the hallmarks of a good villain: terrifying, irredeemable, yet comprehensible and thought-provoking.
Dark Gothic Horror is the overarching theme of Curse of Strahd and it is incredibly well executed. The land of Barovia exists in a near perpetual gloom. The sun rarely shines upon this cursed land and it is overrun with all sorts of monsters from which there is no escape. A creature may not even find its final rest in the sleep of death as undead blight the land and the very souls of Barovia’s inhabitants (and guests) are trapped within the accursed fog. The Horror theme pervades every aspect of Barovia and leaves its citizens feeling trapped and without hope. They exist for the entertainment of the Lord of Barovia and he amuses himself by keeping his denizens wracked with terror. Travel in Barovia is dangerous and there are many locations that the players can visit that can be quite deadly. The Gothic Horror background is a perfect backdrop for stalwart heroes who want to save a doomed land.
Curse of Strahd is a well written sandbox that encourages the players to explore and assist the denizens of Barovia. The quests from one area tie into and lead into the quests from another and the story progresses as the players explore. One cool thing is that there are some built in timers that begin when the players arrive but may not be readily apparent. I really like how each play through of Curse of Strahd can be different depending upon the actions of the party and who they are able to help.
What I think could be improved:
As much as I love Curse of Strahd, I am not blind to its faults and it has a few notable ones. I want to state that none of these flaws make the game “unfun” or the module “unplayable” and all can be fixed with a little work on the Game Master’s part.
First up are random encounters. The random encounters do not seem to scale well in the module. Early on, traveling in Barovia is very dangerous but later on, when the party is wanting to get from point A to point B, they feel like much more of a nuisance than a hindrance or even a challenge. Consider having Strahd show up with the group of enemies to add to the threat or use some higher level monsters to challenge your players.
Secondly, Strahd is not as strong as I would like for him to be at the end of the campaign. Granted, the players will likely be weakened after facing the dangers of castle Ravenloft; however, even with his allies and all of his tricks, Strahd can be easily taken down with with the right spells. (Especially if the players have obtained the various powerful magical items in the land of Barovia.) If your group is filled with powerful characters or just want a good challenge, consider running this variant Strahd.
Finally, the beginning of Curse of Strahd is much more deadly than the end. Granted, lower levels are usually much more deadly—one unlucky crit can spell disaster for a new character—but the module’s opening encounter (aka Death House) is just plain mean. The name Death House is no joke and I would know as I have run it multiple times and upwards of thirty characters have met their end within its walls on my watch. The players begin at level 1 and quickly find themselves exploring a creepy manor only to find themselves trapped within its evil walls. They must explore the house to its completion if they are to escape. Only when they find themselves in the secret area of Death House do they reach level 2. The party must fight their way through the hordes of monsters (some of which they have no business fighting at level 2) and the party is then faced with a choice. One choice makes their exit nearly impossible and the other can be painstakingly difficult for the party.
Here are some suggestions for making Death House less deadly.
1. Encourage and allow players to take more frequent long rests.
2. Have the players start at level 2 and half-way through reach level 3.
3. Give the players an amount of temporary hit points and/or healing potions.
4. Combine any or all of the above suggestions.
Tips for Running Curse of Strahd
Make Death House less deadly
Having your newly-minted character die in the first area of Barovia can be frustrating to say the least and can leave your players discouraged. Consider implementing the suggestions above to help alleviate the deadliness of Death House.
Let the players lead the story
Curse of Strahd is a sandbox adventure that allows the players to follow several clues and plot hooks across Barovia. The players should feel that they must move quickly to accomplish their goals and should not feel that any of the areas are inaccessible to them.
Be sure the characters meet and interact with Strahd several times
Strahd is a scary villain and can be made even more scary if he meets the players and combats them several times throughout the campaign. He can even try to corrupt them by offering them promises that he never intends to keep. In short, before the players fight Strahd in his castle, they should have encountered him several times before the battle and know the foe they face.
Remind the players that they can always run if the going gets too tough.
When running this adventure as a sandbox, the players are likely going to get themselves into situations that they are not prepared for (which is sometimes fun and sometimes deadly). Sometimes they may need to be reminded that running is an option.
Reward good roleplaying and make sure the players can have some wins.
While Horror and combat are prevalent throughout Curse of Strahd, there are plenty of opportunities for good roleplay, exploration, and investigation. The prevailing Horror theme can wear on players over the course of a long campaign. Be sure to give the players some wins from time to time!
I hope you have enjoyed this Post Mortem on Curse of Strahd. For more inspiration follow the links below:
Additional Resources
Take Heart!
Karington Hess
Game Master and Founder of Open Heart Games
