Curse of Strahd

Welcome

6 min read

Welcome to Curse of Strahd!

I am very excited to play with you. This document contains information about what you should have in mind when creating your characters, as well as rules, guidelines and a general introduction to the world of Barovia.

How I Plan To Run Strahd

I will not run Curse of Strahd only using material from the source book sold by Wizards of The Coast. It is widely agreed that it has notable gaps. Therefore I will draw inspiration from many different sources, however chiefly from Curse of Strahd Companion by Wyatt Trull. I strongly urge you not to search any information on this companion, as well as on the campaign in general. I tell you this so you understand my reasoning and to ensure transparency.

What I Expect From You As Players

Curse of Strahd is a gothic horror campaign. It is more serious in tone than previous campaigns and one shots I have played. I expect of you to take this into account. I do not wish to remove humour or fun at all, it is inevitable and a joy in TTRPGs. But it is important to have this in mind, as to experience the horror of the adventure of Strahd von Zarovich as intended.

The non-player characters are very fleshed out, and as a result of this, I expect you to actively engage with, and make an effort to build meaningful relationships with these, becoming emotionally invested in their lives and goals.

What I Expect From Your Characters

As player characters, you will interact with a living, breathing world that has been pondered and thought about for decades.1 As a result, I intend to do my utmost in bringing this vision to life. That includes running encounters which may seem impossible for you. Because of this, and multiple other reasons, I expect for you to have a backup character ready in case your character dies. Character death is not easy. I know that. And it doesn’t have to be easy. In case a character dies, they will be mourned and forever remembered in our hearts. But so will your backup character, as they steal the spotlight and become your new main character.

I expect a background story that gives an idea of who your character is. The story does not have to be elaborate, but I expect something which I can use for material, and which will lay the foundation for a living and breathing character in the world of Barovia. You will have to experience the story yourself, and thus I will not reveal anything about the nature of how you encounter the lands of Barovia.

Your characters start just outside of Neverwinter, a city in the world of Faerûn. You are on your way out to your first adventure, having just found a note on the local inn’s bulletin board. A farmer asking for help, someone keeps stealing her crops, and she suspects it may be monsters. How you met is unimportant. You know the basics about each other: Name, appearance and the surface of your personalities.

If you are interested in the lore of Neverwinter and the Forgotten Realms in general, there is heaps of material for you to explore. See for example a short primer on the Forgotten Realms, the Neverwinter page on the Forgotten Realms Wiki, play one of the Baldurs Gate games (I can recommend the third, but I am not far, so do not spoil!), or one2 of3 the4 many5 novels6 taking7 place8 in9 the Forgotten Realms10.

Although I wish for a well-thought background, you should not automatically assume that you will immediately see how it is incorporated in the campaign. It may be grand, subtle or not at all noticeable. Nevertheless, I expect of you to make an effort.

I expect for each character to stand alone. That is, for the time being no two characters should have a relationship to each other. This may change as the campaign runs, as this rule is primarily to ensure equality in roleplay and exchanges between players. Having two characters who already know each other can encourage interactions primarily between those two, which I fear may undermine general party interactions.

Your characters should be sociable, cooperative and actively growing towards heroism within the first few sessions.

Restrictions on Character Creation

Anything that is found in the 2024 edition of Players Handbook or Dungeon Master’s Guide is automatically approved. Anything found outside of this material must first be approved by me.

Triggers & Accommodations

The following triggers may appear in Curse of Strahd. If any of these are an issue for you, do not hesitate to write me. We will find a compromise, such that all can enjoy the campaign equally. The severity is generally low, but the chosen words are intentionally not reflective of this to ensure transparency, while also being void of spoilers.

  • Child abuse and death
  • Torture and mutilation
  • Mind control
  • (Implied) incest
  • Stalking and (symbolic) sexual assault
  • Suicide
  • Drug addiction
  • Body horror
  • Racism

Session 0

I will host a Session 0. In this session, we will talk with each other about expectations, character ideas if you wish, and generally talk about the campaign. Furthermore, I will show you how to create a character in Foundry VTT and leverage its tools. If you do not wish to do this, I will create your character myself, such that I can use it for calculating encounter difficulty, inventory management, etc. The date is not yet set.

Footnotes

  1. A variation of what would later become Curse of Strahd was published back in 1983 under the name “Ravenloft”. Strahd von Zarovich as an idea was born back in 1978! (No, that is not a factorial.) ↩

  2. The Crystal Shard by R. A. Salvatore ↩

  3. Homeland by R.A. Salvatore, the beginning of the Dark Elf Trilogy ↩

  4. Elminster: The Making of a Mage by Ed Greenwood ↩

  5. Azure Bonds by Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb ↩

  6. Shadowdale by Scott Ciencin ↩

  7. The Trial of Cyric the Mad by Troy Denning ↩

  8. Prince of Lies by James Lowder ↩

  9. Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham ↩

  10. And many, many more… ↩

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