There is no escape, not without first defeating the seemingly unstoppable vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. joining the sa forums will remove this big ad, the annoying underlined ads, and stupid interstitial ads!! The link to MandyMods guide is above or right here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8sfpkn/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_part_2_entering/. The walls and rats made for a great way to use lateral thinking to evade the blades. Thats the foundation of storytelling for thousands of years! Yeah, adding the Dursts is a good idea. Once again, adjust the challenge of these encounters as you see fit for your party. There's a disappointing truth to Death Housethe prologue to Curse of Strahdand it's that it's alternative ending "The Cult is Denied" is just a dull series of rolls.Each character rolls against poisonous smoke. Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. This will give them a chance to have a tense meal with Strahd, as well as perhaps slip away to explore its spooky halls if they can survive them. Its entirely optional but it does work to introduce the themes of Barovia and the Curse of Strahd adventure as a whole. Copyright The PCs could hear her making gentle cooing sounds, and see her rocking the crib gently. Childrens Room .- The remains of Rose and Thorn are here. Tsolenka Pass is relatively isolated from the rest of Barovia, making it quite an unsettling, lonely path for the party to travel down. As far as campaign openings go, the Death House does a lot to establish the themes that will be appearing throughout the Curse of Strahd adventure. For inspiration, consider Gustav Dursts reasoning for the affair in a letter from Strahd that can be found in the Secret Room. Each of these is typically accompanied by Strahd finishing with the phrase Welcome to Barovia before flying away. Both DeiGratia and Abuget can be downloaded over at www.dafont.com. The way this adventure works. Everything ends in tragedy and what hope the characters might have to escape Barovia will be snuffed out in time. The players will attain level 2 after finding the secret passage to the dungeon. Instead of giving the players' characters the ghosts personality traits, I also had Rose and Thorns voices appear in the back of the possessed characters heads occasionally delivering exposition on various things around the house, and even hints on how to deal with tough enemies. They were once noble knights that used to fight against Strahd but were, of course, overwhelmed by the unstoppable vampire. You can really play on this unease to build up tension within the party, building it up until they are constantly on edge. This prompted him to investigate the mirror, revealing the passage up. This also gives her some nice agency, and gives the party a better feel for her role as Thorns protector. The true horror of this location comes from a specific event that can take place if the players are not careful. ! The party will attack them. The land is grim and desolate. Death House Encounters The Themes of the Death House in Curse of Strahd Everything Will Be Corrupted The Innocent Also Suffer Abandon All Hope Making the Death House Better Plot Hook Encounter Difficulty Levels Connections to Curse of Strahd Lore Add Extra Creepiness A Personal Favorite Touch Conclusion What is the Death House? The adventurers manage to put their spirits to rest and claim the room's loot. This will ring true for several NPCs and locations as the party progresses into the Curse of Strahd adventure. Kitchen and Pantry.- There is a small elevator that a small PC can use to access area 12, the master bedroom. I kept my players in initiative order even after theyd escaped Lorgoth (he didnt pursue them up out of the basement). https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/7hmosm/lessons_from_running_curse_of_strahd_the_feast_of/, Place a tattered piece of sheet music on the harpsichord in the conservatory, another DMs idea to let them see a woman shrouded in black standing beside the crib, her back to the door, only attack those that approached the crib or threatened her baby, the image of the (human) nursemaid appeared in the glass, describe it as feeling like a childs hands, searching desperately for a warm embrace.. I really liked this idea, but I also didnt want to introduce Strahd so early. See here for more details. The adventure was unveiled in the February 2016 issue of Dragon+ as an example of the thrills that would come in the then-unreleased Curse of Strahd. You will be sure to terrify your party with this location, especially when they hear that horrible shriek of that feathered fiend and have nowhere to run. When the party goes to escape, the house itself will be attacking them. Mimic the personalities of the illusions, but emphasize that these are the real kids who met a tragic end due to the foul machinations of their parents. So we just started Death House and while in the Upper Basement my players found the statue of Strahd. If you have fewer players, its easy enough to remove some of the enemies or lower how much HP each enemy has. You cant just go ahead and say Its a Shambling Mound. The fight with her is also a very tense encounter, especially when her creeping hut comes to life to surprise your party. All this can be achieved in 6-10 hours of playing. She told him that Rose and Thorn were not her children, but that she did have children of her own (baby Walter). For starters, that kind of monster is completely out of place here. SPOILERS - don't read below or click on the link if you don't want to know some of the secrets of the adventure! Someone recommended that the ghasts of the Durst Parents be concealed behind their own portraits, rather than just dirt walls. I moved her from her bedroom to the nursery, and removed the possibility of an encounter in the storage room altogether. Set in the realm of Barovia, a Domain Of Dread within Ravenloft, your players find themselves transported here and trapped. Once the party encounters Rose and Thorns ghosts in the Childrens Room, theyll no doubt remember the illusions that tricked them and demand some answers. There are 38 locations in the Death House. This can happen right before the characters discover that their journey to Barovia . If the party is reluctant, shine a little bit of gold their way. Recommended: I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird!). Running the Death House The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10. by Mike on 14 November 2016. . This is not a fight encounter. It helped pull the player into the story a lot more. Luke is a list writer for TheGamer, based in the UK. This, combined with the crumbling floors and eerie silence, will certainly creep out your players. This signals quite clearly: This is not a fight you can win. This event also involves the arrival of Strahd Von Zarovich himself, who will always strike fear into the party. Far from the villages and towns of the valley, there is not much safety around this location. Each seemed to depict an adventurer of some type. And they wont find something quite like that anytime soon. As they reach the bottom landing they discern a dozen or so voices saying, over and over, "He is the Ancient. If you like what I do, consider getting involved and backing me. She and her daughters are, in fact, a coven of Night Hags. Now that everyone is level 2, they can proceed downwards into the Durst Mansions dungeon level. Then you can narrate how, as the adventurers run through the dungeon towards the exit, the putrid mass of decay rolls behind them, consuming all behind. How to D&D 29.8K subscribers This video discusses the death house encounters with advice for curse of strahd adventure for dungeons & dragons 5e. Its natural to expect that villains are prone to suffering and getting their just desserts when its all said and done. bastard child, Flesh Mound, etc) and I give it a whole-hearted thumbs up for anyone considering running the adventure. Third. They havent opened it yet, but Im hoping that theyll use the letter as an excuse to take an interest in Ismark when they arrive at the tavern. I advice to treat these children like a simulacrum-like spell. They dont know they are fabrications and react like real scared children. By the end of the Death House, there are three themes that should be firmly established in the players minds. Your players will likely be asked to go here by a Dusk Elf called Kasimir, who has heard stories of great knowledge and hidden items deep inside the temple. Not every spooky thing needs to have an explanation. (If youre feeling generous, or really want your players to see the entirety of the house in a quick Halloween night of gaming, you could even run it at 3rd level.). The best was when the team with Scooby, Velma, Shaggy and Fred ended up down stairs and came across a table covered in a Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey was a mimic. Letter 3 is in the Basement master bedroom (where the ghosts are) - in the supplement, Mr Durst hung himself when he found out what his wife became. Or jump from a balcony. 3. Death House is a meat grinder meant to kill low-level players. By the end of the dungeon, the characters will be level 3. You can let them know something is coming with smell and sounds. To get around this problem, turn Rose and Thorn into NPCs with big personalities that your players will want to help. Ritual Chambers.- Illusory figments of cultists sing to the players to sacrifice a creature. This also triggered the wonderful One Must Die encounter. Created by the house to lure in victims, the illusions drop vague hints about a monster in the basement and the sins of their parents. Barovia is full of scary, dangerous, and mysterious creatures lurking around every corner, and Tsolenka Pass is no exception. Awesome article! Death House could even be played as a thrilling horror one-shot adventure. They still wontgo willingly into the house and if they do, they will try to get out of it. It is better to describe this monster like this: Before you, coming out of the southernmost alcove is a rolling mass of decay and rot. Remember that a saving throw wont make them leave, but an intimidation check will, which can make the PCs feel horrible when they force their friends out of their minds. Since I've warned you already about spoilers, I'll state it up front: to avoid the house turning against the PCs, a creature has to die at the sanctum in the basement. I provided their flaws through PM, and both had a blast roleplaying it. Immediately afterward, a grinding noise (the sound of the secret passage) can be heard from the attic. The go-to source for comic and superhero movie fans. I generally reduce her life drain to deal 1d6 necrotic damage if we didnt start the party at level 3. She was then stabbed by the cultists for unexplained reasons and cast aside. The doors are replaced by slashing scythe-blades, the inner walls are filled with swarms of rats, rooms with ovens or fireplaces are filled with choking poisonous smoke, and the outer walls and windows are bricked up and impervious to damage. Players destroyed the statue of Strahd at Death House. Kind of disappointing that this is the kind of thing appearing now. From the moment the party steps into the town, they'll get a great sense that nothing is right here. "Death House" will run your player characters through levels 1-3 if they survive. She deserves more development, especially in a stripped-down Death House emphasizing the evil nature of the Dursts. Not only that, but the key ingredient in Morgantha's addictive pies is children! Death House says the children know theyre dead, so run with that concept. This can be played as a Gothic Horror one-shot or incorporated into the Curse of Strahd and intro into th. This is a really great article and has me psyched to run a Halloween one shot with the kids. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: Ideas For Running A One-Shot. Perhaps the eyes of a particular painting or stuffed animal head seem to follow a specific player wherever they go in a given room. Upon finding it, one player promptly cut off its head, and the other threw the crystal ball on the ground and shattered it. (Quick side note: stop them from immediately going to the Bonegrinder. Shadowrun: Astral Ways (Sixth World Setting Book), Star Trek Adventures MISSION PDF 022 Eight Layers Deep, BattleTech: Recognition Guide: ilClan Vol. These two made invaluable contributions to the session. You can find the Death House adventure here for free from Wizards of the Coast. I'm hosting my second ever session tonight and my party will be heading into the dungeonhave I missed something? They cannot be used commercially. introduction to the bleak and despair-filled land of Barovia. Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. If they kill any creature on the altar, the cult is appeased and the characters can leave the house freely. 15-18. Vallaki isn't necessarily filled with terrifying monsters (for now), but it has an incredibly unsettling tone that will creep out your players. Death House comes with a beautiful map, but for a quick Halloween game, its faster to avoid all of the deliberations that occur whenever players see a selection of rooms for them to explore. Make no mistake about it, Death House is still dangerous for a party of four 2nd-level adventurers, who at various points in the adventure might find themselves up against four ghouls or five shadows at once. He's a postgraduate from Bournemouth University, having studied Scriptwriting. Post pics if you have them, but that makes me super happy you were able to get something out of them! What you get is impressive hi-def versions of my maps to be used in your RPG games (these have lower resolution), and the satisfaction of helping the rpg community grow bigger and stronger. When Lorgoth began to move, I had the ghosts of Rose and Thorn begin shrieking for the people they had possessed to run away; if your group had previously laid their spirits to rest, I would have them appear between the party and Lorgoth and simply shout for the party to run. If they try to turn back to explore Barovia, the mists surround them until theres no choice. Part-time Druid, Full-time Hobo. Oh, Death House. Tabletop Joab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. . Youll find little elements that serve to foreshadow events to come. And finally, credit must be given to me (Derek Ruiz) as the author, and a link to this web page must be included if it is shared or redistributed. The mists will dictate the places the party can visit. 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