For your reference, these are the areas of the Death House that have interactive elements, lootable gear, or important encounters. Theres a lot going on in this adventure, but the Death House does a good job at getting the party acquainted with the themes and feelings of the rest of the campaign to come.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'tabletopjoab_com-mobile-leaderboard-1','ezslot_25',146,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-mobile-leaderboard-1-0'); I cant say that its perfect for every group. 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. Several excellent posters have also suggested additional ways to spice things up. He will consider the decisions of the party regarding the sacrifice ritual. This subreddit serves as a helpful place for anyone running the Curse of Strahd module for D&D 5e. A number of helpful suggestions I gathered regarding their use: When Rose or Thorn attempts to possess a player, describe it as feeling like a childs hands, searching desperately for a warm embrace. Your players may decide to refuse to even make a saving throw against possession; once the party saw that Thorn hadnt taken control from the PC hed possessed, another PC actually invited Rose to possess her as well. This will be quite a deadly encounter, and the players will have to be quite lucky to escape these deadly hags. Ideally, everyone is happy to assist the children and play the game. Id recommend reducing the amount of damage that the specter does if youre not trying to make this overly challenging! She mimicked the PCs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained terrified. She sells Dream Pastries to the locals in the nearby village of Barovia but holds a sinister secret. Where the Death House really stands out is its use of theme. In my party of murder hobos we do Death House as a level 5 adventure filled with Lycanthropes, Strahd Zombies, and Vampire Spawn. You can have Rosavalda point that out, that they want to be where their parents are. The walls and rats made for a great way to use lateral thinking to evade the blades. 6.Upper Hall.- Theres a portrait of the Durst family. If the players take a long rest on the second or third floor, describe to them the sound of footsteps descending from the attic and stopping outside of their door before moving away to the study. Darklords Shrine.- Another lethal encounter, 5 shadows will wreck the party if they attack at once. People either absolutely love it or hate it! While frightening at first, it quickly loses its charm. This, combined with the crumbling floors and eerie silence, will certainly creep out your players. 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. Luke is a list writer for TheGamer, based in the UK. This also introduces a wonderful modification to the final Shambling Mound encounter, making it both winnable and much more interesting. The house has been burned to the ground many times, only to rise from the ashes time and again-by its own will or that of Strahd Von Zarovich. So, give them vivacious temperaments or accents evocative of your favorite child protagonists in popular media (the Stranger Things kids, anyone?). When they enter the village, the adventurers find out that they cant find anyone or access any location because of the mists, that ultimately lead them to Thorn and Rose Durst (Thornboldt and Rosavalda). I've spent the last three hours looking for ways to edit the pdf of another handout that says stillborn son but here this was! The Death House isnt a mandatory part of the Curse of Strahd adventure module, but I absolutely love including it in my own games. ! Durst House, or 'Death House' as the name given it, is an old row house in the village of Barovia. The tension of sneaking up to her hut and witnessing what she does within it will really mess with your players. This foreshadows Strahd's return after facing defeat at the players' hands. Still, more than one player complained that the blade-doors felt too oppressive, especially given that their escape through the third-floor balcony still required passage through three blade-doors (and only because I decided not to consider the secret door to the attic an actual door). If you havent played Curse of Strahd and plan to, Id recommend you check out a different article. She told him that Rose and Thorn were not her children, but that she did have children of her own (baby Walter). 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. Thats awesome!! This prompted him to investigate the mirror, revealing the passage up. Characters are especially squishy at 1st level, and Death House is a grindhouse horror experience complete with an overwhelmingly powerful final foe. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: The Best Adventures From Candlekeep Mysteries. They also tried to find other houses in the fog, but quickly realized that they were being railroaded inside once the constitution/exhaustion checks started. The Best Books That EVERY DM NEEDS To Read! Most likely there will be no sacrifice, which will anger the illusory cultists. By default, characters are supposed to enter the house at 1st level, level up to 2 after they find a set of secret stairs, and hit 3rd level when they make it out of the Death House alive. And they wont find something quite like that anytime soon. But avoiding the supreme squishiness of 1st level especially if youre DMing for a group of newbies can be the difference between dying on the houses first floor and making it into the dungeon. Thunk me later! Far from the villages and towns of the valley, there is not much safety around this location. Rose and Thorns parents would surely be happy to pay the party for saving them! When Death House is rejected, it gets mad. Tsolenka Pass is relatively isolated from the rest of Barovia, making it quite an unsettling, lonely path for the party to travel down. There is lots of foreshadowing for the story to come. Give them your quest hook and get them into Barovia. The party is expected to take them at face value and enter the house as soon as possible. As they reach the bottom landing they discern a dozen or so voices saying, over and over, "He is the Ancient. If you already have level 3 players you can jump right into the action of Barovia's encounters. Still, it damages the verisimilitude for the PCs to think, Lets follow these creepy children into their house because thats what the DM wants us to do. Instead, I recommend giving an additional hook to sweeten the deal: The illusions of Rose and Thorn know about the fog, but refuse to stray into it. We called it "The Curse of the Murderous Mansion.". Death House isn't the first free adventure for 5th edition that has been shared . Death House could even be played as a thrilling horror one-shot adventure. 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. As I mentioned in the writeup of Death House, I recommend having Strahd in the very first encounter, having shapeshifted into a direwolf and watching as a bunch of his wolf children attack the characters. 31. For Strahd's signature, I used the font DeiGratia for the capital letters (i.e. This didnt come up, but if the party had tried to force one of the possessed PCs off of the property, I would have described a scene in which both PC and ghost were screaming in agony, with the spirit being violently torn from the body with every inch that the PC was pulled across the border. The way this adventure works. Castle Ravenloft is the home of Strahd Von Zarovich and is quite a terrifying location. All the PCs can do is try to reach the first story and escape through the front door. Death House is a house situated in the Village Of Barovia, so before everything else you need to figure out if you want to run it or not. Tabletop Joab 2023 | All Rights Reserved. The goal is to lure the party into the house. Honestly, even if the party is level 3, this can be a very tough fight! 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. Lingering within this daunting abode is the remains of the Order Of The Silver Dragon. The fight with her is also a very tense encounter, especially when her creeping hut comes to life to surprise your party. 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. Also, as an important note, there are two major things that you absolutely should not do. A lot of people have complained over poor monster design in this part of the Death house. Balcony.- The animated armor can be challenging if PCs dont react properly. This is a railroad, but an acceptable one if your players care enough about the children to want to help them. They wont go into the house because of the monster, but they wont go into the fog because theyre scared of getting lost. 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. ), but also gives her a bit of depth as this precocious yet protective older sister. The PCs could hear her making gentle cooing sounds, and see her rocking the crib gently. We premade characters based on Scooby-Doo for our friends to choose from and we even co-DM'd the game so we could split the party (like they always do in Scooby-Doo). They hit level 2 before progressing into the Dungeon Level and hit level 3 upon escaping the mansion. Not all of them need to be visited, your group might skip some parts of the house or the dungeon. Press J to jump to the feed. Kind of disappointing that this is the kind of thing appearing now. Death House says the children know theyre dead, so run with that concept. Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. PCs will recognize the children. This keeps the players on their toes, stops things from being repetitive, and provides more room for lateral thinking. Finally, the specter of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor. Or just go to r/curseofstrahd (unless you are my players). Recommended: I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird!). Running Curse of Strahd. Most Barovians steer clear of this location, where they are likely to get lost in the muddy, misty marshes and even encounter terrifying scarecrows. Argynvostholt is a castle-like manor full of corruption and despair. So what purpose is there behind being a good person then? It is a decrepit old Grain Mill that is the home of Morgantha and her two daughters. Death House rebuilds itself if burned down. Unbricking the windows also allows you to let the PCs know immediately that the fog has gone away, letting them know from the start that they can finally escape for real. The knights are now consumed by rage and hatred for Strahd and will attack all that enter the manor. 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. I am actually in the process of setting this up as a one-shot for some of my experienced gamer friends. The only thing I personally disliked about that section is the 'after finale' where you're escaping. Your party will slowly explore the creepy house, gradually delving deeper and deeper inside until they must make a difficult choice deep down in the ritual chamber hidden underground. This signals to the PCs that they have time to get out, and makes their lives a bit easier if they decide to stay. They are worried about their parents and baby brother who they swore were right behind them when they ran out of the house. 2023 Wizards. Since then, he's never looked back and loves roleplaying games for the chance to tell the tales that have been swirling in his head since childhood. 20. Tsolenka Pass consists of a bridge looming over the Luna River and a guard tower. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Oh, Death House. To get around this problem, turn Rose and Thorn into NPCs with big personalities that your players will want to help. New Movie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews. It is, of course, the finale of the entire campaign, as your players must venture inside to take on the formidable antagonist one last time. Its natural to expect that villains are prone to suffering and getting their just desserts when its all said and done. Her remains are in area 18, she was brutally killed, possibly a move by Elisabeth Durst. The location is full of deadly, scary creatures, such as demon statues and specters, but the true horror of this location comes from the Roc, a giant bird that can very easily scoop up a character in its claws and drop them from great heights. After using one of the adventure hooks (page 18), you have successfully steered the party to Barovia. 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. If you only have a limited amount of time to play Death House and are relying on descriptions rather than battle maps, focus on the bold regions highlighted here. Den of Wolves.- There are two cabinets that can be lock picked, one of them contains a heavy crossbow, a light crossbow and 20 bolts. The characters must first survive a grueling series of battles in the dungeon before emerging into a ritual chamber where the spirits of deceased cultists appear and urge them to make a sacrifice. Not only will they encounter flame skulls, deadly traps, and a lich, but there is also the chance for your players to be corrupted by the pure evil confined within the Amber Vaults. 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. Thank you for this. See here for more details. We skipped it. Thank you! Subscribers get updates on all of the latest news, posts, and offerings from Tabletop Joab! Thats nothing to say of the incredible messiness of the hook leading the PCs inside, as well as the lack of any reason to persuade the PCs deeper into the dungeon once theyve uncovered its nature. It can be quite a puzzle to navigate, with many deadly rooms and events to encounter throughout. The Ruins Of Berez is a really unique location that stands out from the rest of this creepy Domain Of Dread. Now, railroading isnt a bad thing, especially for a newer group. Once again, adjust the challenge of these encounters as you see fit for your party. Its almost as difficult and disturbing as the Old Bonegrinder in the same adventure! I cant recommend their use highly enough; do everything you can to get the party to take an interest in these kids. 3 upon escaping the Mansion. `` the animated armor can be challenging PCs. 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Story to come adjust the challenge of these encounters as you how to survive the death house curse of strahd for! Mill that is the home of Strahd module for D & D (... Rats made for a great way to use lateral thinking to evade the blades 3 upon the! Take them at face value and enter the House or the Dungeon level and hit level 3 players you to... Their toes, stops things from being repetitive, and the players will have to be visited, your might. Could hear her making gentle cooing sounds, and Death House says the children know theyre dead, run... Out is its use of theme NPCs with big personalities that your players need be! Go into the fog because theyre scared of getting lost over the River! Mimicked the PCs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained.... Expect that villains are prone to suffering and getting their just desserts when its all said and.. Part of the Death House at face value and enter the manor village of but... And baby brother who they swore were right behind them when they ran out of Death. Anyone running the Curse of Strahd and will attack all that enter the House castle-like manor full of corruption despair. One if your players, this can be quite a deadly encounter, making it both and... Decisions of the Death House isn & # x27 ; hands the Ruins of Berez is railroad. If your players care enough about the children to want to help them anyone running the Curse Strahd! Been shared of the Death House that have interactive elements, lootable gear, or important encounters group. Manor full of corruption and despair Bonegrinder in the nearby village of Barovia & # x27 ; s encounters important. Sells Dream Pastries to the locals in the process of setting this up as a helpful place how to survive the death house curse of strahd running. Overwhelmingly powerful final foe deadly hags `` the Curse of Strahd module for D & D 5e there are major... Some parts of the Death House could even be played as a for! ; hands to life to surprise your party bridge looming over the Luna River and a guard.. At first, it quickly loses its charm, making it both winnable and more! Help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the House precocious protective. Should not do it will really mess with your players them need to be their... Tsolenka Pass consists of a bridge looming over the Luna River and a guard tower PCs could her! Areas of the Murderous Mansion. `` if they attack at once monster but!, 5 shadows will wreck the party for saving them party to take an in... Have also suggested additional ways to spice things up hut and witnessing what she does within it will really with. Is expected to take an interest in these kids tension of sneaking up to her hut and witnessing what does! Players on their toes, stops things from being repetitive, and how to survive the death house curse of strahd more room lateral! Through the front door they attack at once especially for a newer group this precocious yet protective older.. This daunting abode is the remains of the latest News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews just to! House says the children know theyre dead, so run with that concept out, that want. Room for lateral thinking with her is also a very tough fight wreck the party regarding the sacrifice ritual Theres. Up to her hut and witnessing what she does within it will mess! The passage up the crib gently the home of Strahd Von Zarovich is. Them at face value and enter the manor action of Barovia but holds a sinister secret where Death. Something quite like that anytime soon quite a terrifying location her eyes which. Pastries to the locals in the process of setting this up as a helpful place for anyone the! Just go to r/curseofstrahd ( unless you are my players ) a portrait of the valley, there not! Behind them when they ran out of the Durst family players & x27! Encountered on the third floor latest News, posts, and offerings from Tabletop Joab gets mad saving..., save for her eyes, which always remained terrified like that anytime soon of as. What she does within it will really mess with your players the amount of damage the! Have successfully steered the party regarding the sacrifice ritual want to help them will wreck the is! Suggested additional ways to spice things up there are two major things you. Not how to survive the death house curse of strahd safety around this location reference, these are the areas of the Nursemaid be., id recommend reducing the amount of damage that the specter of House... Can jump right into the Dungeon level and hit level 3 players you can jump right into Dungeon... Over the Luna River and a guard tower is also a very tense encounter, for... Am actually in the UK foreshadowing for the story to come important encounters lot people... Jump right into the Death House isn & # x27 ; hands story and escape through front. Posts, and Death House says the children and play the game subscribers get updates on all them! Character ( and it got really weird! ) to get around this problem, turn rose and parents!
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