Questions tagged [curse-of-strahd]
For questions about "Curse of Strahd" (2016), a D&D 5e adventure published by Wizards of the Coast. The adventure is set in Ravenloft, and ultimately pits the party against the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich. It was written in consultation with Tracy and Laura Hickman, creators of the original "Ravenloft" adventure. Please keep your question's title spoiler-free and use spoiler blocks in the body.
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Is what my DM did impacting player agency in a negative way? [closed]
Our party infiltrated Ravenloft in a Curse of Strahd campaign. One of the party managed to steal a beholder eye from Strahd that he was using to control a group of beholders and use them as his ...
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Hallow spell with regard to spells cast outside of it
We’re playing Curse of Strahd and we’re at the very end.
My party has Ireena locked up with tons of guards in St. Andrals Church, and what I’m planning to do is have Strahd fire bomb it from above ...
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I want to pivot our campaign to Curse of Strahd, but the party is level 13. What should I do? [closed]
I'm a newbie DM running a remix of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Our version of this adventure is less about speedy chases and clock ticking, but more about politics, alliances, mystery and deception. We'...
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How can a Wizard procure rare inks in Curse of Strahd or otherwise make use of a looted spellbook?
For information specific to the Curse of Strahd campaign, please use spoiler tags because I am a player and not the GM.
Two notes first:
We are playing the Curse of Strahd, but I don't know what ...
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How to keep new players following the questline? [duplicate]
Recently I've started DMing a premade campaign (Curse of Strahd) for 4 players and I'm having issues keeping them along the pre-made questline.
I've been playing an official campaign to practice being ...
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Does the Marut have a reason to hunt and kill Strahd?
So the Marut is an Inevitable from Mechanus who enforces the natural law of death. And Strahd has lived an unnaturally long life. Does this mean that Marut will try to hunt and kill Strahd?
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Is the Arcane Archer's feature "Banishing Arrow" redundant for a Curse of Strahd character?
My understanding is that, per the "Alterations the Magic" section in Curse of Strahd: -
spells cast for the purpose of leaving Barovia simply fail, as do effects that banish a creature to ...
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Can two effects of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind be active at once?
I’m playing in a D&D 5e Curse of Strahd campaign and we're strategizing about ways to deal with Strahd. Of the three important items we have to find, we have one so far: the Holy Symbol of ...
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How can my group move on from believing there is a traitor in their midst when there isn't?
My group is playing Curse of Strahd and believe there is a traitor among them when there isn't. What RaW mechanics are there for them to find out who (if anyone) is leaking secrets to the Dark Lord or ...
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In Curse of Strahd, if Strahd is able to allow the Vistani to come and go as they please, can he also grant this ability to PCs?
None of the RAW I've seen has really explained how Strahd grants the Vistani the ability to pass through the deadly mists...
But if he can allow them to come and go, what is stopping Strahd from ...
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In Curse of Strahd, why were the Belviews transformed into mongrelfolk?
In the Curse of Strahd adventure book for D&D 5e, in chapter 8, section S.14 (page 151), there's a section that reads as follows:
So my question is: why would
transform the Belviews into ...
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What is the likelihood that my players can succeed in this escape the city scene?
First-time DM running Curse of Strahd for 6 first-time players. In our upcoming session, I'm going to have Strahd appear in the sky and demand that the citizens of a town bring him an NPC he has been ...
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Did I just rush my PCs in Curse of Strahd? How can I do better?
So running my first campaign (technically second, but the first never finished as the group dispersed). I'm running four PCs through Curse of Strahd, currently at Death House.
Things were going pretty ...
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How can a PC use the Tarokka Deck in Curse of Strahd?
I'm playing this module, so please, please keep answers spoiler free!
I just obtained an official Curse of Strahd Tarokka Deck. My character just obtained one tarokka deck as well. My character has ...
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Would a vampire behind a Wall of Force be damaged by magically produced Sunlight?
I'm researching ahead of the (potentially) final battle in Curse of Strahd (as the DM)
One of the tactics the party is discussing is trapping Strahd in a wall of force, and then exposing him to the ...
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What happens to this Curse of Strahd character when using their Shapechanger ability?
My confusion comes from the use of the word polymorph, and no mention of what happens to her other stats while polymorphed into the swarm. Every other shapechanger has a clause about what doesn't ...
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What happens in Curse of Strahd if the players destroy Strahd's coffin or prevent him from returning to it?
SPOILERS BELOW
The first time I had a group of players face Strahd, it was c. 1988 and we were playing 1e with the original I6 Ravenloft. The PC's quickly found their way to the lowest level of the ...
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What happens if you put a Bag of Holding inside another Bag of Holding in Barovia?
The description of the bag of holding (DMG, p. 152-153) says:
Placing a bag of holding inside an extradimensional space created by a handy haversack, portable hole, or similar item instantly destroys ...
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Do PCs receive XP for Strahd when encountering (but not killing) him?
I've been running Curse of Strahd for about 25 sessions now. The party just encountered Strahd in combat for the first time on top of Yester Hill. It was an intense fight where only two out of six PCs ...
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Does the Gulthias Staff have inherent powers that function regardless of attunement?
In Curse of Strahd, there is a magic item known as the Gulthias Staff, found on page 221. It says it requires attunement; however, two features of the staff seem more inherent.
Both are in the main ...
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Does the Blood Spear require attunement to gain the +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls?
In the Curse of Strahd, there is a magic item known as the Blood Spear. On page 221, it says it requires attunement and when you hit with a melee attack and reduce the HP of the creature to 0, the ...
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How to upscale the death house and still keep it fun? [closed]
Due to Reasons™, my intro level to my current run of Curse of Strahd for a new group didn't involve the Death House, I wrote my own intro-level this time.
I always had a lot of fun running it for ...
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Does this magic item require that you already have the ability to use the feature that it modifies?
Last night the party was adventuring in Curse of Strahd.
In the previous session they had acquired the module-specific magic item
This item can be attuned to by a good creature. In last night's ...
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Giving NPC Priests Turn Undead
Last night the party was adventuring in Curse of Strahd.
In the previous session they had acquired the module-specific magic item
and given it to an NPC accompanying them,
In last night's session ...
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Does Barovia measure time in weeks or tendays?
Barovia has its own calendar and measures its year in 12 "Moons" lasting a full lunar cycle.
The adventure text in Curse of Strahd mentions weeks. Does this mean the Moons are broken into 4 ...
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What are Barovian inhabitants' attitudes towards Mongrelfolk?
Barovia has a number of different settlements and populations:
Barovia, Vallaki, Krezk, Ravenloft, the Vistani, Mongrelfolk
Are there details of what each of the populations know about Mongrelfolk ...
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How would the inhabitants of Barovia respond to a satyr?
A player has an established character who is a satyr.
These are unheard of in Barovia, so would likely be mistaken for Mongrelfolk.
How would the various inhabitants across Barovia respond to ...
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How can I make people fear a player with a monstrous character?
I am running Curse of Strahd at the moment and one of my players is using a Bugbear, which is causing me some challenge.
The module specifically states:
Barovians thus react to nonhuman characters ...
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How long does a Suggestion last, after the spell is over, in the NPCs head? [duplicate]
I'm aware that the Suggestion spell could last up to 8 hours or until the task is performed. However, take this scenario as an example.
I'm running Curse of Strahd for my group. They just made it to ...
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How do I rule on spells without casters and their interaction with things like Counterspell?
The players in my Curse of Strahd game have reached the Amber Temple. While there, they recently breached a certain door, for which the module indicates
One of the PC's is a wizard, and he had a ...
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Why would this NPC in Curse of Strahd ever attack Strahd?
In Curse of Strahd, there is an NPC the PC's may encounter whose weapon explicitly does more damage when he uses it to attack Strahd.
However, said NPC states explicitly that he will not attack ...
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Does Strahd von Zarovich's Move legendary action trigger damage if he moves through an area of sunlight?
I read this Q&A about legendary actions not triggering effects from spells that happen at the beginning of the monster's turn. Since I'm playing in Curse of Strahd, I wondered:
Can Strahd von ...
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What happens if a kalashtar eats a dream pastry?
According to Eberron: Rising from the Last War:
Kalashtar sleep, but they don't connect to the plane of dreams as other creatures do. Instead, their minds draw from the memories of their otherworldly ...
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A PC in Curse of Strahd is cursed by Mother Night and eats a dream pastry. What happens?
A PC in Curse of Strahd has the opportunity to be cursed by Mother Night, at which point they are (emphasis mine):
On the other hand, a PC who eats a dream pastry (emphasis mine):
As luck would have ...
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Can a wereraven Way of Shadow monk cast Darkness while in raven form?
In my ongoing Curse of Strahd game,
The question has arisen about what spells a wood elf Way of the Shadow Monk would have access to in the various wereraven forms.
In the humanoid (wood elf) form, ...
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What happens if Majesto (an imp in Curse of Strahd) dies?
Normally, an imp familiar would follow the standard rules for devils
If it dies outside the Nine Hells, a devil disappears in a cloud of sulfurous smoke or dissolves into a pool of ichor, instantly ...
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What is the spell save DC for the spells gains via the dark gifts in Curse of Strahd?
In Curse of Strahd, in Amber Temple,
The descriptions of these dark gifts do not make any mention of a spell save DC, should the dark gift allow the casting of a spell. For a player who has a ...
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Are there any other ways for lycanthropes to hurt other lycanthropes?
As written, lycanthropes cannot damage one another as they have immunity to non-silvered, non-magic attacks and their stack block attacks are exclusively of these types (and see: Can a Werewolf ...
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Curse of Strahd - Does NPC ability trump Inspiration rule?
In Curse of Strahd, the players can encounter an NPC with a special ability.
Since this ability is an action, it can potentially be used every combat round.
Is the NPC's use of this ability supposed ...
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What is Strahd von Zarovich's weight in bat form?
This question concerns D&D 5e. The relevant ability, with my emphasis, is as follows:
While in bat or wolf form, Strahd can't speak. In bat form, his
walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a flying ...
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I have a player who will not stop cheating [closed]
As the title says, I have one particular player that has a digital file version of Curse of Strahd and is hellbent on cheating. They have done just about everything from faking dice rolls, using ...
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Does Strahd's unarmed strike deal full damage if used to grapple?
In the text of Strahd's Unarmed Strike, it says (emphasis mine):
If the target is a creature, Strahd can grapple it [...] instead of dealing bludgeoning damage.
This seems to be copy/pasted from the ...
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Is this homebrew variant of Leomund's Tiny Hut a problem?
I am playing a wizard with the spell tiny hut.
The DM came up with the idea of having Strahd change the spells in my spell book, just slightly. This makes a little sense because my current character ...
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Are these proposed effects of consecrated ground suitable for Curse of Strahd?
I believe that existing rules imply the existence of consecrated ground not created by the hallow spell (see Are there published effects of Consecrated (not Hallowed) Ground?)
I am currently running ...
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In Curse of Strahd, how does Dispel Evil and Good's "Dismissal" option affect undead not native to Barovia?
Background
In Curse of Strahd, the NPC
has the spell Dispel Evil and Good. It has the following function, similar to the spell Banishment:
Dismissal. As your action, make a melee spell attack ...
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In this part of Curse of Strahd, does the secondary effect of the Hallow spell apply, and what is the most effective option for it?
In Curse of Strahd,
Note that the hallow spell has two principal effects.
The first is that it bars the entrance of undead, as well as prohibiting them from charming those on the hallowed ground and ...
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Could this magic item help Ezmerelda in Curse of Strahd?
In the Curse of Strand adventure, the following information is provided about the NPC Ezmerelda in Appendix D (p. 231):
There's also this magic item that can be found in the village of Krezk (p. 148):...
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How do I present an unbeatable encounter without frustrating my players?
So, I have run Curse of Strahd sometimes, but every time I run it I find a new problem in my DM'ing haha.
I will try to make it answerable without specifically CoS experience and keep it spoiler free.
...
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How is the Old Bonegrinder supposed to be appropriate for 4th level?
Spoiler Warning
This question is about Curse of Strahd. It is essentially a completely-spoiler question, so, if you plan to run it (as a player) and you do not want to get spoilers, avoid reading this ...
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Will my necrotic-damage-heavy PC be too weak in Curse of Strahd?
I'm preparing a character for Curse of Strahd, which I have never played before. This character uses a lot of necrotic damage. I don't mind if this character is not the absolute best choice for this ...
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