When I do strahd I have him be seemingly invulnerable at first but it turns out the players have to weaken him like tiamat in tyranny of dragons. I also give him epic level magic to make him ever more terrifying
I make my players roll Dream Rolls (just a1d20) and if it’s a nat1, Strahd visits them in a terrifying nightmare and they wake up with 2 levels of exhaustion. Also I will occasionally have vampire spawn or other hungry undead wandering into their camps if nobody mentions they’re going to keep watch. My players are very RP-centric so it’s been a lot of fun leaning into the lore and details of the land (such as grey tasteless food or the fear of The Devil Strahd NPCs may have) for the past few years I’ve been running it!
I've been DMing for years (actually before 5e). But I've never done any module, only my own stuff. However I was always curious about what it would be like and I love the original Dracula so choose Strahd. I appreciate these tips =) I'm feeling a bit more prepared now.
Amazing! Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it. I hope they help! I think my experience is quite niche having new players thrust into it. Whatever the case I’m confident your players will enjoy it immensely 😊
Just discovered your channel today thanks to the algorithm. Very clear, well articulated and professional feeling video, thanks! I've subscribed and will be checking out your backlog.
This is an excellent set of tips. I'll second everything you said... Only caveat is that I found that if you know the module well enough, almost any backstory can be incorporated. There's so many NPCs locations and events, that my party of 8 players all with unique backstories were all able to find something in Barovia that would speak to their character without too much difficulty.
@@nathrandirsguide you're great, I'm not trying to take away from your advice. Sometimes "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast". We build our skills slowly, but surely.
I played CoS a couple times starting with the 2nd edition one, which was very much smaller than the 5e version of today. The 5e campaign I'm running now has much more potential to tell the story and time for the characters to develop, level up and prepare for what might come. Since the original book is not fleshed out very well, I like the inspiration of some third party sources like Lunch break heroes and friends. Knowing the castle is tough, but it pays out. Like almost any other important place in this land. The three brights have a very special and unique place in the campaign and they are far above those vampire thralls the party might encounter here and there. Like you said, having fun with this special horror story is most important. Strahd could easily wipe a lvl 13 party, but that's no fun.
Just a suggestion for anyone wanting to DM strahd. I bought the legendary campaign module from beatle and grimms. Damn! did it come with so many awesome tools for me as a dm. All the monster cards with visionals for my players.
Also if you type in "player handouts for curse of strahd" there's plenty of awesome other dms that have made free printable letters to hand put to your players. To help hook the players into the world more. Giving them specific information gathering.
Personally, I'm going to have Baba Lasagah actually be behind the werewolves curse. She made them into these bestial monsters after they came to her, seeking power.
When I do strahd I have him be seemingly invulnerable at first but it turns out the players have to weaken him like tiamat in tyranny of dragons. I also give him epic level magic to make him ever more terrifying
I make my players roll Dream Rolls (just a1d20) and if it’s a nat1, Strahd visits them in a terrifying nightmare and they wake up with 2 levels of exhaustion. Also I will occasionally have vampire spawn or other hungry undead wandering into their camps if nobody mentions they’re going to keep watch. My players are very RP-centric so it’s been a lot of fun leaning into the lore and details of the land (such as grey tasteless food or the fear of The Devil Strahd NPCs may have) for the past few years I’ve been running it!
I've been DMing for years (actually before 5e). But I've never done any module, only my own stuff. However I was always curious about what it would be like and I love the original Dracula so choose Strahd. I appreciate these tips =) I'm feeling a bit more prepared now.
Amazing! Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it.
I hope they help! I think my experience is quite niche having new players thrust into it. Whatever the case I’m confident your players will enjoy it immensely 😊
I love the idea of Strahd basically following the group about and mocking them. Standing in their camp preventing them from sleeping is hilarous
Just don't overdo it! He should be a real menace, using him every session will lessen the impact.
What are your top tips for DM's and players alike for the CoS? Sound off below!
Just discovered your channel today thanks to the algorithm. Very clear, well articulated and professional feeling video, thanks! I've subscribed and will be checking out your backlog.
Hey there! Thank you so much for the support - I hope you enjoy the rest :)
This is an excellent set of tips. I'll second everything you said... Only caveat is that I found that if you know the module well enough, almost any backstory can be incorporated. There's so many NPCs locations and events, that my party of 8 players all with unique backstories were all able to find something in Barovia that would speak to their character without too much difficulty.
Absolutely. I think with it only being my second ever written module - I'm still learning how best to do so. Kudos to you for managing it.
@@nathrandirsguide you're great, I'm not trying to take away from your advice. Sometimes "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".
We build our skills slowly, but surely.
I played CoS a couple times starting with the 2nd edition one, which was very much smaller than the 5e version of today. The 5e campaign I'm running now has much more potential to tell the story and time for the characters to develop, level up and prepare for what might come. Since the original book is not fleshed out very well, I like the inspiration of some third party sources like Lunch break heroes and friends.
Knowing the castle is tough, but it pays out. Like almost any other important place in this land.
The three brights have a very special and unique place in the campaign and they are far above those vampire thralls the party might encounter here and there.
Like you said, having fun with this special horror story is most important. Strahd could easily wipe a lvl 13 party, but that's no fun.
Great insight! Thanks for the comment Edward ☺️
Just a suggestion for anyone wanting to DM strahd. I bought the legendary campaign module from beatle and grimms. Damn! did it come with so many awesome tools for me as a dm. All the monster cards with visionals for my players.
Also if you type in "player handouts for curse of strahd" there's plenty of awesome other dms that have made free printable letters to hand put to your players. To help hook the players into the world more. Giving them specific information gathering.
There stuff is great if you play in person definitely!
Really good tips!
Personally, I'm going to have Baba Lasagah actually be behind the werewolves curse. She made them into these bestial monsters after they came to her, seeking power.
Great video
Thanks so much 😊
Flock of Bats? Block of Flats?
I feel an opportunity was missed.
thanks for the input, my group is about to run CoS (I'm a player)
Pass along the tips if your dm is new :)
w😄🦍