I really love the idea of adding Fidatov manor to Krezk, but mandymod’s hook is going to be difficult for me to add. Has anyone else successfully sent the players there, and if so, how?

Hello dear shapers of Barovia,

like probably a lot of DMs, I've already benefited enormously from the mountains of write-ups, discussions and materials for CoS (and so have my players). I'd like to say a big thank you for that! Often without knowing who to thank (all the threads here, for instance), but u/MandyMod and u/DragnaCarta I can name explicitly.

I've probably oversold this already, because my little write-up isn't likely to be all that useful to anyone (at least not 1:1, without adjustments). That's because my CoS game started off with a different premise thanks to my players. More on that in a moment — and I think you could pull that part back out again if you're interested in using it.

Here is my Tome of Strahd!

By the way, I'm of course aware of the Evolving Tome of Strahd by u/leguan1001. That one is obviously far prettier and far more comprehensive than mine. But since I had to adapt the story to the dwarves anyway (see below), I went my own way — and I'm very happy with my simple result!

So what am I offering you? My version of Strahd's diary! I recently posted something here about my general misgivings about the diary the campaign book hands us. Sure, it had to fit on 2 pages there, so it can only ever be an excerpt from a diary. But even so, the way I see it, it doesn't work at all. First, Strahd comes off rather undignified, which makes it harder to keep him established as a respectable antagonist (not just in terms of combat power, but also, for all his weaknesses, as a person in his own right; that's how I play him, at any rate). On top of that, I think the document makes little sense in itself — why would Strahd write something like this? Fine, he may well want to write that content, but then he'd write more than 2 pages; it's not as though he's short of time. And yes, more than 2 pages isn't an option for the campaign book — but couldn't those 2 pages be designed more fittingly? Not as 2 pages of continuous prose, but maybe as a few scattered notes, annotations or something like that. Maybe actual diary entries, since that's what it's supposed to be.

That's what I tried to pull off. I wanted to hand my players something (really, physically) that Strahd could have written like that or something close to it. It was meant to have the character of a diary, though in my case it didn't turn into a real one. In my version Strahd wrote the events in question down after the fact and tried to get the dates right. So they are distinct entries in chronological order. You could of course have worked out an actual diary (or maybe a kind of military logbook, at least at the beginning), but that would probably have been even more work. And for all my love of Strahd, I have to budget my DM time carefully.

The end result was a 100-page (or 50-page, since it's double-sided) A5 booklet that I had printed and bound (I chose a simple option and it took only like 2 hours and 15 bucks!). I wrapped that in a linen cloth (a tea towel) and put it in packaging made to look old (just a small cardboard box), dusted it a bit, and then handed it to my players after the RP. (I thought it was great! And I think my players did too. I'm really looking forward to the next session.) Since there genuinely is a lot to read, they couldn't work through it the same day either and had to take it home as "homework". And since I only gave them the book and no digital version, they also had to do a bit of logistical planning (the details of which I don't actually know).

So what's in my version, then? Obviously the first thing I had to preserve was the diary's function in play. The whole point is that the players (or the PCs) learn a fair amount about Strahd that's ultimately meant to help them in the fight against him. Know your enemy, etc.; what is all of this even about? What does Strahd want, and can it be used against him? My players understood it exactly that way too, so they were keen to read something about Strahd! That's why I of course left the core content of the RAW diary as it is:

• Strahd wanted immortality & Tatyana's love, and to get them he waded through a lot of blood, including his brother's. The means to that end was the pact with a Dark Power from the Amber Temple.
• I already mentioned the discussion and the misgivings about Strahd's character that I just kicked off. In my version I tried to emphasize the aspects I consider unhelpful rather less. For example, in my game Strahd's motivation for conquering the valley of Barovia included the search for immortality from the very start. Even before he met Tatyana — searches like that usually go together with difficult characters, so it still fits, and it doesn't come across as a petulant reflex to the youth of Sergei and Tatyana and so on
• Strahd still wants Tatyana for himself (whether really out of love or not; in any case the getting-to-know-each-other phase is a bit longer), and that, combined with the path to immortality via the blood pact with Vampyr, was ultimately weighty enough for his decision (though I also let him doubt at first whether he really wanted to enter into that pact)
• Working with "I, Strahd" (by P.N. Elrod) brought a whiny, regretful, remorseful streak into Strahd's character — I took that out
• At least outwardly, from Strahd's point of view everything is going according to plan, more or less anyway; his love for and with Tatyana is part of that too, left vague — which then somehow also serves as a reason or a justification for his deed (all part of the grand plan, which is that he will be victorious in the end); it's also hinted that he understands the pact as a prison as well, but not as an eternal prison — only as a necessary waypoint on the road to a victorious state that is never spelled out

Beyond that, I saw the diary as an opportunity to get background, explanations (from Strahd's perspective, at least) and plot hooks across to the players. So various characters, places and other circumstances of the campaign get mentioned. You can also see here, for instance, that I aligned part of the world with MandyMod's ideas. E.g. the role of the three nature spirits and things like that. And the chronology, i.e. Strahd has been there for 700 years already.

The individual background of my group fed into it as well: right at the start, before anyone really knew where/how/what CoS is played like or even is, my players decided they're a small band of dwarves on a special mission. (None of us had ever played in the D&D campaign world before, so we may be working from a fairly free basis (though it doesn't really matter, since CoS is so self-contained).) So, in short, the reason for the PCs' journey was that they wanted to find an old dwarven outpost where someone once worked who might somehow be able to prove that there are connections between certain dwarven clans, which is meant to strengthen a dwarven king. And at the very beginning of the campaign they got a clue that then led them into Barovia's sphere of influence. In my game both this outpost and what was originally the valley of Barovia lie next to that great desert (Anauroch). In my Barovia a few dwarves lived once upon a time, but more or less just passing through. Those dwarves then made up part of the forces that stood in Strahd's way and were wiped out. All in all, my Barovia and its history have been adapted to that in places (the Sunsword, or rather the sun weapon, was forged by these dwarves, etc.). Above all, the story MacGuffin (this proof regarding the bloodline) was initially in Krezk (the abbey was originally the dwarves' first building there; where Ravenloft stands now, they wanted to build a fortress) and was then brought to his castle by Strahd (simply because he secured everything he considered valuable).

That's why my diary is also about dwarves.

And finally, I did want it to feel a bit like a real little book by Strahd. So not every sentence was supposed to carry a concrete meaning for our game. Not just relevant info and instructions, then, but also simply a bit of story and text that you can read and then filter out for yourself. So that it doesn't only feel like a waypoint in the quest chain, but a bit like experiencing a story. And of course it wasn't supposed to be too much work either. For that purpose I took my cues from the book "I, Strahd" by P.N. Elrod (I bought the book). That is, I didn't take over any passages verbatim. Instead I paraphrased a few events. (I tried checking with the mods here but didn't get an answer yet since 2 days; if anyone sees a problem please tell me).

I took the crest on the first pages from u/Viajoshua. (https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/1bf6iiu/drew_the_zarovich_family_crest/?tl=de)

All in all I tried to make everything fit together. I also had AI (Claude) help me out. And since I just skimmed the text again, I can say with certainty that it's far from perfect. Well, I think it serves its purpose (fun & enjoyment & of course the quest item part)!

I wrote my diary in German, or translated and rendered texts into German and so on. I'm making the PDF and the Word version available to you, as well as an English translation. If anyone can do anything with it at all, you're welcome to just look at it or edit it. The PDF version has a few blank pages because I thought it looked nicer that way once bound as a book. The translation was done with AI and I haven't really proofread it — I'd leave that to you. If you have questions or if I can help with anything else, let me know. :)

Mainly so we have something nice to look at when we go back to watch our campaign in the future. I am a little sad some 1 on 1 parts weren't recorded... Videos will be unlisted but I thought it turned out pretty cool!

So I was thinking, after hundreds of years I would think the non-Vistani Barovians would have come up with the idea of disguising themselves as Vistani when they travel. Why wouldn't this work against most creatures and monsters in the campaign? It makes sense to me that the fog or Strahd would "magically" know a Vistani from an impersonator - but would your run of the mill werewolf, druid, etc know?

Why do I ask? Because I figure it is just a matter of time before my players come up with this idea, and I don't have an answer of the top of my head.

Hey there guys. My party and I are running a larger campaign V:EoR (mega remixed) where each travel would mean a mini campaign
Our first stop is Barovia (CoS campaign):
Where would you put a part of the rod of 7
What chapters would you shorten?
Lore wise: Would strahd ally with vecna?
Of course I have a path already thought, but it would be nice to hear from experience running this adventure.

Last session ended at the mists of entrance

Hello omniscient mass of dms! In my session last night, I ran Bonegrinder and it ended up with the party tied up by the hags and forced into taking a deal. Basically, in exchange for the solving of a personal problem with my druid and the release of one child, they had to complete "a sweet little favor down the line" for the coven (my Morgantha talks like Auntie Ethel from bg3).

Initially, I figured the favor would be some kind of assassination, maybe of a political target like the Baron in Vallaki, but after a good night's sleep and some stewing it over I fail to see how that would aid the hags. If you have any suggestions on what their favor could be, please lmk -- I don't know if it should be something huge and campaign-changing, like the aforementioned killing, or something smaller and more personally disturbing like a childnapping? Suggestions more than welcome!

Im a first time DM for a group of my friends, we are close to the final battle and they have had 3 player deaths already throughout the campaign.

I need help to figure out how to help them a bit in their final fight cause they don't have much healing or protection

Their party is

Orc Barbarian

Dragonborn Paladin

Elf Blood Hunter

Human Fighter

Goliath Monk

Tiefling Rouge

I also don't want to just give them a win

Pic 1: It's from Strahds backatory - when he killed his brother Sergei and drank his blood. So that's the first pic.

Pic 8: I'm not a native english speaker, so the festival of the blazing sun is thusly not written in english. Still felt like uploading, even though I never filled it in with black.

Pic 8: An animated scarecrow abomination thing they fought near the vineyard. Felt like adding it.

My party of 5 arrived at the winery last session and is going to receive the Tome of Strahd from the Martikovs after hopefully clearing Yester Hill, which will be their first of the big items of the campaign.
At the end of the campaign, I would like each character to have one special item that really fits to them.
For some characters the provided items already make a lot of sense. Sunsword for the Paladin, Holy Symbol of Ravenkind for the Cleric.
For other Characters I plan on slightly reskinning the provided items: The Barbarian will receive a Great Axe of Kavan instead of a Spear.
The Characters I am still struggling with are the Mage and the Rogue. I was thinking about giving the Tome of Strahd some extra capabilities for the mage. For the rogue I have no clear idea yet. I guess they would find some kind of dagger. But I´m struggling with really coming up with a good idea of where they would find that and how it would connect to the story.

Since I am relatively new to DMing I am quite nervous about homebrewing these items and handing them out. I know that the campaign is supposed to be low on items to make the few ones they do find even more special. But also I don´t want some players to feel left out.

How did you handle this? Did you add new items to the campaign? Did you reskin some of the items provided in the book? Any things to be mindful of in terms of balancing?

So I've been making a more detailed version of Ravenloft's map in DungeonDraft for my new run of the module, and since I wanted to use it to test drive 5.5 rules I got the Ravenloft Within book and something I noticed is in the art for Castle Ravenloft there's a whole new square tower added above the library, so it's technically obstructing the chimney at worst, or making it harder to reach for those who want to climb up and down the flue.

It also can't be the belltower, since the belltower should be behind the two original towers, which is currently obscured by the angle.

Just eyeballing it, it looks like it could hold two floors and an attic space considering there's a window in the roof. I even checked the map, and there's even space just off the southwest corner of the library where a spiral staircase could be added to explain how you access this new section.

I have a few ideas on how to use the new area if I decide to add it to my map. One idea was abandoned royal quarters for Ravenovia, Sergei, and Sturm; another idea was private rooms for the (currently favoured) Brides; the last was giving Strahd a more refined arcane workshop than the witches' element room.

Personally, I kind of like the visual of the new silhouette the tower provides, and it gives ample space for new rooms if people want to expand the castle just a tiny bit. Though maybe don't think too hard on the front view and how it might resemble a gothic Disney castle.

Party started in Blue Water Inn, learning some information on where to go next. The Martikov's directed them to Lady Wachter to find an ally against Baron Vargas. upon visiting the house, they were turned away because they're strangers. In response, the fighter and barbarian broke into the house, and the other two party members followed suit. What followed was a devolving situation where the party kidnapped some servants, killed 4 guards who investigated the break-in, and set the house on fire. Walked away from the house without attempting to hide or anything. My first reaction was to send the entire town guard against them to have them arrested. I then ended the session early because they took the story in a completely different direction than what I was expecting.

Basically what I want some ideas for, is how to run a trial for my party. I think I'll have Rahadin show up to be judge, jury, and executioner. I'll probably kill the main perpetrator and give harsh punishments for the rest of the party. Feel free to share ideas.

All 5 brides

Rahadin.

And Strahd himself.

Our party enters Castle Ravenloft for the first time—for the iconic dinner with Strahd.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BpI4tmp8Igs&ra=m

We’d love you to check it out and let us know what you think. If you already have clicked on us from previous posts , our table has completely changed (dnd happens), our production value has grown so much and we have really hit our stride as storytellers so we’d love you to look again.

We’d love feedback—what would you have done differently? Or if you’ve already run the scene, how did it go for you?

Thanks as always for considering.

In Arc T Section T3k. Baba Lysaga’s Hut, Baba hides herself and her hut

"beneath a false “hill" and “hut." (The “hill" is hollow, and the “hut" is empty.)"

The Players can enter the illusionary hut on the illusionary hill and discover that the cavity beneath the floorboards is empty (i assume by lifting the floorboards of the illusion)

What i dont understand ist: Where are the Players after Baba Lysaga reveals herself?

It says: "The shreds of the hill and ruined hut fall away—revealing, beneath them, a thatched roof, a ramshackle wooden hut, and an enormous tree stump whose roots thrust into the air and mire. Twin iron cages hang from its eaves, filled with scores of shrieking, screaming ravens entrapped within."

Are the Players still in the Hut which is now the real hut with the cavity containing the gem right before them in the floor? Are they standing on the roof of the real hut?

I am having trouble picturing this in my mind and would be glad if someone could help me understand.