Or why he would let them live, when he can easily throw three fireballs in a row and be done with it. OBJECTIVE OF BLUKE: Be the player with the most points ... POPULAR CARD GAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PT. Another of the players is a homebrew alchemist/pokemon trainer and Strahd had offered to "help" her catch a zubat (which she totally did, there's a whole backstory to all that though). Cus Strahd has no qualms about making his presence known. I wanted it to be very subtle, while also unnerve them. The heroes then gave chase, needing to deal with some Strahd zombies put in their way. Reveal Strahd’s tragic backstory through the locations visited within Castle Ravenloft. Imagine. He has, however, been present several times...though the party only noticed once. I feel this sets a dire mood and hints that Strahd is watching them. I also highly recommend before each session the DM rereads any material from the book that will most likely come up with the next session just to refresh themselves. Needless to say, he was dead, and Ireena was pale and weak and needed care. I definitely stole someone else's idea for my own first Strahd meeting - while my party was escorting the Burgomaster's body to the graveyard they were attacked by wolves.
So almost the worst possible playing of a bag pipe??? If the players demand he let her go, use a DC10 persuasion. Player down, Strahd takes an artefact and leaves. "), and the players, to my surprise, promptly followed him. My Player's First Encounter with Strahd. There would be no power in a land with no subjects to rule. Strahd, a powerful Vampire, is the main villain of the adventure, and, as the book describes, he is not a villain that will only show up for the final encounter. Ambushing them anyway is fair game. If he has a whole bunch of bats swarm around himself just before he does so, it could trick the party into thinking he turns into a swarm of bats, or at least prevent them from being able to pick out which bat was Strahd. This subreddit serves as a helpful place for anyone running the Curse of Strahd module for D&D 5e. I introduced Strahd at the burgomeisters estate in the village of Barovia. With a hand on Ireena's shoulder, Strahd turned and properly introduced himself to the players, addressing each of them. He gave it--the mercy of a quick death. Strahd showed up, knocked on the door and Ireena let him in. (They're first time players, I'm a first-time DM and didn't realize just how lethal that fight would be so I gave them one DM Ex Machina). He salutes them, and says he will not disturb for long. Strahd turns to her, and says "My dearest Ireena, look what I have the power to do to those who wrong me. After a few more … Strahd was displeased by that, but since the party had been shown him no belligerence, he left without her.
Counterpoint: Strahd is way too prideful to lose in a personal challenge. I do open rolls, so the party saw it was +9 to hit and 4d6 damage. Von Holtz ran when the wolves showed up to ruin things, then Strahd appeared and made a half hearted grab at Ireena. Use the Hags to spy on them more actively, invading their dreams and preventing restful sleep. Thanks! The players will fight through Castle Ravenloft to find him and have their final battle. The results of this battle will determine the fate of all who reside in Barovia. The new player shot an arrow from the inn and it went through Strahds neck. Ireena got really low on health and stepped outside for a breather mid-fight. Not that hey don't fear him. I enjoyed this first encounter. By the time they reached the coffin maker shop, and faced the vampire spawn, there was a teleportation circle in the middle of the room. Invites the party to dinner, opens a silver tray to reveal a charmed little girl is laying there with an apple in her mouth. They attack, Strahd smacks one for half health, charms the rogue and makes him attack the fighter, then Strahd scoots away as more guards show up. I had him visit Ismark at night before the funeral. He whispered sweet nothings to Ireena as they embraced and then let her go. Realizing that he was not going to get Ireena out of the church and unwilling to kill his "guests" just yet, he calls and end to the fight and departs, ensuring them all that Ireena will soon be his.
They didn't find out until later, when he stormed Kolyan's funeral, that that was the Devil Strahd himself. She hadn't given me her full back story yet, so I had to get creative. If Strahd can convince them to take out his two biggest enemies, that will certainly aid him and set up the party for a big fall. A growing archive of hundreds of years of D&D experience. Dire wolves and bats attack the villagers so party invites everyone inside while they go outside to fight. At this point, Ireena should be watching, horrified. All in one place. So he'd make comments to each person referencing their biggest trauma in such a way that THAT character knew what he meant, and the other characters had no idea what it meant. After the sessions have gone on and players have completed objectives and shown their heroics, they will start to level up. I see you fear I will exercise it. Let me know how it works out for you! My crew a Had a dinner with strahd and he sent them on a task and to meet his agent vasil von Holtz aka srahd. He dismounted with Ireena, put her down, and let Morgantha know what she'd almost done. Welcome Wanderer! I held off for a bit, had him be a looming menace in the background. I would add on here to say there is another trick you could use if you want to keep the bats. So, even if I'm running official adventures, I also create alternative random encounters table. I really want it to be a scary and memorable encounter, and am therefore looking for some inspiration :) So anyone who has DMed this encounter, how did you do it? a new player was joining the group. Just finished session one, and my players just finished meeting with Madame Eva at the Tser Pool. Steal Argynvost's skull and animate its body as a Dracolich/Dragon Skeleton before their eyes, leave them to fight it while he makes off with one of their artifacts or allies, knowing they can't do anything about it.