@@tristanchik4432 it does not however diminish his accomplishment. as many DMs I have known never touch Ravenloft series at all because of the oppressiveness of the module and harshness of the setting. And some that do leave it a quart or half into it because it is not what they hoped it would be. Reddit helped this time for someone who was devoted enough to run the campaign to the end and that alone is worth a Nod to the DM for.
@@ronnibech3376 I wasn't criticising the DM. I'm just giving the tip to that person so he can get those supplementary notes as well. Would be ridiculous to judge another person when I'm also using those guides to enhance my campaign as well.
@@tristanchik4432 Arh see that is the problem with replies it is hard to judge who is earnest in their reply and who is trying to jump down someones throat. :) I do apologies for thinking it was the case here and for jumping in like this. As for myself I only have my old ADnD experiences as a DM with Ravenloft to go with, so I have no idea how difficult the newer adaptations are.
Goes to the Hags who offer you a biscuit. "So you are making and selling biscuits from your residence?" PC picks up the biscuit and examines it before putting it back in the basket. "And how long have you been running this business from your own home?"
"Do you have food safety certification? "That'll be a 30,000 gold fee, and we'll send an assessor around to ensure you're in compliance with the required legislation. "No, we can't say when that'll happen. You'll just have to wait."
The fun is the story. If you are prepared for this module, know what it is, you know you will lose. A lot. Its about doing the best you can, doing the right thing because its the right thing. Its the horrible nature of things when you find out it was the wrong thing. "Oops, she works for Strahd," "oops he's evil," etc. Its how the genre works.
Two minutes in. Laughing already. "I'm not professional like Ben is." Just gonna throw this out there, this longform format (hour-ish episodes for 5-10+ episodes) is great because it gives me something to listen to at work. If you find yourself in a position like this with a campaign you'd like to make videos on I vote in favor of another series like this Curse of Strahd series.
Could you drive the immortal vampire trapped in his own hell, after he killed his own brother and drank his blood, "insane"? I don't think that word has as much meaning in Barovia as it does in our world.
Also, I read it as Strahd can choose whether he scrys on someone saying his name, not he must scry, because it is a spell, not a free ability. In game, I think any sentence a person says with the word "Strahd" in it, can be heard by Strahd as a soft whisper in his head. If the voice says, "We need to pay our taxes to Strahd," he wouldn't bother with listening to anything else. If the voice says, "This sword will finally kill the devil Strahd!!!", then he probably will want to investigate.
Just say "Haha! So that's how we can kill the Devil Strahd!" Or some variation, or spread rumours about his strange sexual proclivities. He won't know for certain when someone is being legitimate unless he scries on all of them, and he has to listen to everyone insulting him constantly unless he kills them all or destroys the stone (neither of which are great options).
Hey I'm the guy who just asked you on the subreddit today about the dark powers and you gave me Gouda's breakdown. Thanks for that. I was able to finish up my last 3 dark powers with such ideas and knowing what my players want. Cheers.
With the Lord Soth scenario (I think that's their name), part of the thing with The Demiplanes of Dread is that they're self-inflicted hells, if you will. One of the requirements for being a dark lord is that you have to have done something terrible, but be incapable of admitting you did anything wrong. So with Soth, my understanding is he escaped because he admitted that he actually did deserve to be punished this way, and his goals were stupid. So, they let him go.
Soth just sat on his throne and did nothing, lost in his own thoughts. The Dark Powers eventually let him go because they couldn't feed, they were not entertained. He then returned to Krynn and I guess sacrificed himself heroically.
Classified is correct. Fun fact - TSR did not have permission from Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman to use Soth in Ravenloft. After much debating and arguing, TSR relented to the authors of Dragonlance (Soth is from Krynn) and came up with the version that Classified explained. Politics, politics everywhere :(
FYI, the Dark Gifts made it seem like the Players couldn't die. In another game, that might be an interesting mechanic. But here, it felt even more oppressive. "Nope, death will not be a release. Instead, you will suffer even more humiliations (with a thin veneer of additional power)." When Garo died and Ben was making a new character, only to have Garo get brought back... it just seemed sad and depressing.
Joseph Mantler while I was going through the series it just sounded like the GM was being spineless and couldn’t go through with actually killing off a PC, not knowing that 1) the Dark Powers were written into the module, and 2) it was done specifically to offset the brutal difficulty of the module, especially at lower levels. It ended up being an interesting twist so it was a net positive, but it annoyed the hell out of me at the time. Glad they gave the proper context for it now. Also your point is an interesting one which I had not even considered, adding another layer to the genius of how the campaign was run
@@SerDerpish It never sounded like "spineless DM" to me. It did sound like "if I die, I come back with extra power? Sign me up!" It also sounded like more misery. Especially Gouda and her Magic Dad. I's say he was abusive, but, really, he was just outright evil and she snuggled up to him anyway because he paid her the least attention, like a D&D Harleen Quinzel. I liked Gouda and those moments made me damn sad.
@@SerDerpish Actually, aside from passive vestiges in the Amber Temple, the Dark Powers AREN'T in the module. All the stuff with the Dark Powers competing to create champions in each others' Domains is all from the Curse of Strahd reddit.
My character has a (dead) twin sister that follows as some ghost-like familiar (also gets used when I summon a weapon, to handle said weapon - otherwise she's rather useless), and she'll give stupid/vague prophecies and go "I waaaarned youuuu..." as a subtle nod to this channel and the joke we all love.
One thing I really loved was that the DM does was the expansion of the brides because after I watched the series and went and read the book and there was no info on them
I've ran the Module and when I heard what he did with the brides I loved it cause, I knew how important they were, just a few vampires spawns in his castle. I also liked what he did with his man servant, took a much bigger part here then I think he has in the book too.
To answer that question about "Would him being with his love end the curse?" think the logical idea was said by the fortune teller "The Dark Powers won't let that happen"
Yeah, ultimately there is never really the threat of him winning because the very powers that strengthen him would intervene to make sure he fails to keep stringing him along.
@@EurojuegosBsAs Yeah, in the book it says he ends up locking her in the catacombs and it not filling the hole inside of him. I imagine he would need to win her genuine love to be fulfilled and he just isn't that man.
I have been running COS since April, about nine weeks now, my players have never set foot in the village* of Barovia. I am not kidding. The cards didn’t place anything there so they have actively avoided it. I tried planting rumors, and full on telling them the answer is with this npc in Barovia, they don’t care.
Glen Greenia no the village of Barovia that sits below castle Ravenloft. They act like it’s a radioactive waste site. They have been inside the castle twice now, been to Vallaki, in fact they have hit up every location now including the amber temple, but won’t go near the village. Many of my players have been through death house before, a lot of people start COS and you know groups break up. So I started them being pulled into the mist from all over the FR, forcing them into a group. After a few monster encounters along the road they came to madam Eva on the western side of the map. So they pretty much start solving the wine issue for Krezk. By hitting the winery early they get allies from the Markova family who share secrets with them (adventure hooks) when they are a little stumped on what to do next. Looking back on it now I wish I had placed the tome of Strahd in Barovia so they couldn’t avoid it.
Fun fact: in the original Ravenloft Module, Ireena was a fourth level human fighter. You were sure as hell NOT babysitting her in anyway in that module.
@@wyattlohr8199 Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the folks at Wizards were working on a later edition made by Post-Gygax TSR, which means it's Lorraine Williams' fault for whatever stupid-ass reason.
Yeah, I’m going to DM Curse of Strahd this summer, and I made Ireena a fighter. I’m going to have her level with the party, so she won’t be a burden, but she won’t be overpowered either.
@@tsifirakiehl4250 I would place her one or 2 levels below the PCs so she still is useful but wont overshadow the players. There is a balance between being a helpless damsel in distress and just being one of the guys/gals. In my case at least, I want the players to be the heroes in the group and there are already pretty powerful allies that will join up with the players. But that is me and I might change that depending on my group. As a DM it is my job to make sure everyone who plays is having fun. Some groups just want to adventure with equal allies while others want to be the true heroes that stands out in their fellowship. So I might buff or nerf allies depending on who I play with. Having the allies slightly less powerful kinda works for most players but it might not be the best option. I do hate the troupe when Elminster comes and saves the players if they screw up which wasn't uncommon in old Forgotten realms modules. I honestly rather have my players fail then, I personally don't like when the players can't loose, it makes the achievements of the players worthless if they can't fail. I am less hard on new players since they might need a win to really get into the game but I want experienced players to know that their actions matter. I might fudge a roll now and then if the players loose to bad luck but never to bad decisions. If the players have a really smart plan it is a shame if the DMs dice punish them. Of course, botching when doing something incredible dangerous could still kill someone but that is hardly my fault and I can't fudge the players rolls.
@@tsifirakiehl4250My Curse of Strahd DM introduced my character's sister early in the campaign. She was statted as a fighter, but three levels below the party, so she isn't one of star players, but isn't useless in combat. Although, with my dice luck, she has become one of the MVP characters.
My characters decided to insult and attack madam eva. They desided then after madam eva teleported them away to go and hunt madam eva down. Oh and they killed irina...
@@tomkerruish2982 only if one of the portal doors leads to dungeonland, and all attempts to leave lead to ToA (with 1E save or die traps). Also, No 10ft poles.
Hearing the segment about the burnout really put things into perspective for me, especially as I'm DMing CoS at the moment and realize that less is definetly more for DM prep
I’m also a first time DM running COS and a bunch of the ideas from your videos ended up in my game. I had to do the reading a couple times because most of the items ended up in the castle and my players are trying to speed run it. So I stacked the deck so they can explore the place more.
1:14:00 This is funny to me. I... Going along with the eyebeam spell, I as a DM once had a player character who did several illegal experiments on a Beholder, so as a 5th-level spell the Wild Mage could cast Beholder Blast, rolling a d10, and, provided he had all the Verbal, Somatic, and Material Components (I think he had to like, prick his finger to provide his own blood), depending on the d10, he could shoot one of the Beholder's eyebeams. I was just listening and thought, "Huh. What a coincidence."
I want to thank you for posting about your adventure. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of my old days (I'm in my 50's and was a 2nd D&D player back in the day) and through your story I remembered stuff I forgot over the years when I played Ravenloft back in the day. Thank you again Puffin Forest for being many smiles to this old lady :) with your story telling.
clearly not by definition, he has wives and concubines. The problem is that, like Gaston, he wants one specific woman he can't have what you CAN say about him is he's perverse
He certainly felt entitled. He spent his youth and life nonstop battling for the safety of his family and people. His brother was sheltered and spent his time taking care of local monsters and the like. In the end he returned an old scarred man, his people see him as a cold monster because he's hardened by war. He finds a woman who reminds him of youth, the sun, and speaks to whatever is gentle and good that is left in his soul. Then she falls for his brother, who hasn't 'earned' it like Strahd feels like he has.
@@Eidenhoek When I was a lad I bit four dozen necks, every morning to make me live long. And now that I'm grown I bite five dozen necks so my magic is ridiculously strong.
As someone who has played the 3.5e version I am so happy you used the stones as they were used in that. If I ever DM the 5e version I am totally going to have to do that.
My first campaign I ran was Rime of the Frostmaiden. Now I’m running Curse of Strahd as my second ever. We’re on session 4 and it’s been a surprisingly slow start, but it’s finally picking up strongly!
I can't say I'm thrilled with the ending but glad you guys like it. It was certainly epic as hell. Freeing Ireena from Strahd's influence and having her put him in his place is very satisfying. Bringing Sergei back to life can also be interesting.
This campaign has given me an interesting idea for a character. He would be stuck in a time loop where he forced to repeat his journey over and over but struggles to use his information becuase each loop involves new party members and new variables.
One of the memorable things I took away from CoS (as a player) was, when Strahd turned up at the end of a random fight to be Strahd in our face we quickly hid Irina: Our mage told us that will hid her and himself with invisibilty by a rock formation. We have a little tassle with Strahd and he plants a fireball in our midst as a parting gift and most of us are close to dying. But the rock formation is also in the blast range of the fireball and as our mage loses consciousness the invisibility drops revealing his and Irinas burnt bodies. Strahd realises in this moment, that he just killed Irina. His regret was tangible in the room and he takes what is left of her body away. The tragedy of the situation made him "human".
This was awesome! Thank you Ben and QKIA! I'm wrapping my campaign of CoS up now and I can definitely relate to DMing this for the first time and doing everything you can to make this the best experience for your players as you can. Great job and a big inspiration!
Your DM sounds like a pretty down to earth guy its been a nice breath of fresh air from some other DMs I have ran into as of late, he gave some very logical reasoning for things that he added/cut which I appreciate also had the decency to shout out the subreddit instead of claiming all the ideas where his..... man have I had a string of real bad DMs since our usual one just got deployed.
Thank you so much for this wrap up, Puffin! It was so enjoyable and as I am running CoS myself right now, I found some really useful stuff here! Wonderful! ^_^
Ben, just watched through the replay, great series. IF I were to DM this and Strahd would've been able to go through the wedding, I would have probably had Strahd lift the veil at the alter before the vows and the "Dark Powers" would have substituted Irena with Sergi who would've said something like "Brother, she is still mine." and then turn into mist. Because why he is Lord of Barovia; the Dark Powers are still over Strahd. This works because Strahd made the deal and is damned forever in his Barovia prison and it shows that the Dark Powers are actually in charge.
I set mood music for the Vistani camp and when the players entered Madame Eva's tent, I switched it to something much more somber. I also killed the lights and went to candlelight. I had the players shuffle the Tarokka deck, but had withheld the cards I planned for the reading behind the DM screen. They returned the cards which I briefly dipped behind the screen to stack the deck. I completely agree that a stacked deck that lets the party explore Barovia is much better. It's a great campaign. Strongly recommend.
My DM did something like this when he did the Tarokka reading. I think he let the cards land where they did for the objects, but he also did individual readings with a stacked deck to talk about what our personal missions would be.
In my game, I decided their Ally should be Zuleika, and slid that card into the reading, but the treasures are still random, because that sounds better in my head, more like old school D&D. Also, I added the Bloodspear as another treasure, because that weapon pre-dates Strahd, and I stole the "Steal Strahd's Soul And Trap Him In The Object" idea that Puffin's DM talked about, and gave that to the Bloodspear.
It would be the ultimate bad twist of fate if Ireena escaped into the Forgotten Relms and settled in the shining city of Elturel...right as the prelude to Descent into Avernus happened.
1:20:05 yeah, that's the reason I haven't watched a lot of the series is because it was to dark for me. You did a great job with it and I'd love more stuff like this c:
I have loved all of the campaign videos and I'm so glad you did a warp-up interview. The DM was amazing! There's so much I assumed was just in the module that he made or changed and it fit so perfectly. Honestly all of this almost makes me want to run a Curse of Strahd campaign myself. I won't... but I want to.
I played the Sergei/Tatyana/Ireena relationship by having Ireena carry Tayana's spirit and there is a sort of conflict between them. At the end Tatyana's spirit reunites with Sergei, so they get their happy ending and Tatyana is free to live her own life so she gets her happy ending.
As an old DM, that's how I would of done it mostly. Or even use the event at the pool to pull Tatyana out to go be with Sergei and only have Strahd realize it when he tries to marry Ireena. That would really tick him off!
Yeah, the Tatyana/Ireena relationship always confused me and didn't sit well. Ireena needs to be her own person, rather than just a copy-paste of this Tatyana character.
The pool of Kresk seems like a way to free Tatiana's soul from the loop but leaves Irena (not sure on the spelling) and Strahd could then try to restore her to what he wanted...that or give her a power boost so she is more effective in combat as she has new knowledge of Strahd and what he can do.
I will say I love what y'all did with Gertruda. I have a hexblood player at my table that I'm about to start dm'ing this for, and I was kinda in a bind for what I could really do with them. The Gertruda rework practically writes itself for a really good connection to them, so thank you for this series! Made for a very good primer on the module as a whole!
My instinct as a DM, with regards to the pool, would be to have Sergei take away Tatyana, leaving Irena as her own character who is no longer the reincarnation. Maybe Tatyana reincarnates as someone else, maybe the cycle breaks in some way. Philosophically complicated, sure, so maybe you include changes to her physical appearance and/or personality to make it clear that this is now Irena, her own character with her own memories.
That is imo the best way to play it if you don't cut it completely. You see Irina get possessed by Tatiana for a moment, walk into the pool and then you see Tatiana and Sergei leaving as an image in the water, leaving Irena behind, now standing waste deep in a pool of normal water. The implications for the story and the never ending cycle, that is now broken would be really interesting. Would Strahd care that it is now Irena and not Tatiana? Would he even notice? Would the wedding go through now that the curse no longer applies and what would that mean? All interesting story hooks.
Thanks for all the great ideas, I’m currently running COS and have been thinking about changing some things up. I love the idea of running a wedding and I’m adding the mythic additional traits that Theros just put forward, to further his combat viability.
Dude I need another one of these, best d&d content on you tube and I've watched most of it. Problem with most of it is we don't need the mechanics for most of the story as good as a DM someone like matt mercer is you are a much better story teller.
Listening to this empowered me to make more edits to the modules of my own and explore the possibilities. I'm modifying stuff for Tomb of Annihilation as well.
When I first started watching these videos I was absolutly convinced that Boshak would end up being irrideemably corrupted by the Dark Powers... shows what I know! Well played, all of you.This has been an absolute blast from start to finish! Thank you so much.
I think the Tatanya Sergi pool thing is for player who read I Strahd book and want to right that Ship. Having her disappear from the plot would be fine for older players who've tangled with Strahd before and are itching to pay him back for the many, many times he's handed us our asses.
I would love to run The Curse of Strahd as a player. I ran it countless times starting at 2nd edition, something with a second DM for Strahd, but I never managed to run it as a player 😢 I was surprised 'Dungeon and Dragons Online' transformed the champain pretty well into a mmo style. The Castle is on point accurate (and f2p through August 2020). As a DM it was challenging to me not to kill the party on multiple occasions. Even though they entered Barovia four levels higher than the modul intended the characters were mostly so weak I felt almost bad. The builds were effective, but the lack of knowledge is deadly in Barovia. One day I'll build the castle as a model for the next round 😀
As a player I never wanted to play this campaign because of the dark themes and the constant losing at the beginning. I was forced into playing it twice and had to quit since I just couldn't stand it. I just find gothic horror way too creepy. I was always interested in the story though so this series of retelling the campaign has been amazing. I now understand why my friends wanted to play it through so much. Kudos to Puffin's DM for pulling of such a great campaign!
The pond thing can work if you move it to the castle, right where the weding takes place. With Strahd there in a "Wut!!! no, you are not leaving!!!" mood. And if the party manages to delay him long enough Ghost Tatiana leaves but Aerena stays alive and well with an existencial crisis.
Thank you so much for this interview. I found the whole campaign summary super entertaining, but this really added to the whole learning experience of listening to other players!
Hey PF, epic set of videos. Please do more! Isles of Dread, Expedition to Barrier Peak, Kurishan's Garden, just some suggestion. Thanks Puffin Forest & have a great day.
Could someone "cursed to be a hag" maintain being good? Sounds like a great player character motivation. Maybe a warlock, cursed to be a hag desperately trying to remain human...
it depends on whether hags are magically evil; depending on setting some creatures are evil or good as a matter of their very being instead of the choices they make in life and in some other settings they aren't and their described alignment is just a drift tendency. For example, chromatic dragons are magically evil in most settings, but in Mystara and Pathfinder they aren't restricted to it and can be redeemed. In Pathfinder, even demons and devils can be redeemed
I am new to DM'ing and have'nt done it yet, but Curse of Strahd is already on my list for plans in the future, that was a really nice campaign and I think i picked up a few nice things i might be able to use. Thank you guys, always good to have a different perspective on stuff. :)
I listened to all of the story videos for this campaign and this wrap up interview was the perfect topping to it all. Great work on the DM for his time.
DM: I'm not a professional like Ben is.
Ben: *Snicker*
Ben's thoughts: Ah yes. Professional. That is what I am. Indeed.
Ben's other thought: Why did he not call me Puffin?
Your DM was amazing! Several things he adjusted I thought were natural parts of the game, and worked beautifully!
He took a lot inspiration from Reddit. You can find a lot of similar guide for dm at the curseofstrahd subreddit
@@tristanchik4432 it does not however diminish his accomplishment. as many DMs I have known never touch Ravenloft series at all because of the oppressiveness of the module and harshness of the setting.
And some that do leave it a quart or half into it because it is not what they hoped it would be.
Reddit helped this time for someone who was devoted enough to run the campaign to the end and that alone is worth a Nod to the DM for.
@@ronnibech3376 I wasn't criticising the DM. I'm just giving the tip to that person so he can get those supplementary notes as well. Would be ridiculous to judge another person when I'm also using those guides to enhance my campaign as well.
@@tristanchik4432 Arh see that is the problem with replies it is hard to judge who is earnest in their reply and who is trying to jump down someones throat. :)
I do apologies for thinking it was the case here and for jumping in like this.
As for myself I only have my old ADnD experiences as a DM with Ravenloft to go with, so I have no idea how difficult the newer adaptations are.
@@ronnibech3376 all good man. 🤣 age old problem with text messages
Wait I just realized, Bens regular laugh is also his laugh for characters when there lying or uncomfortable.
7:43
"We'd play until 10 but keep talking until midnight"
Literally my group except we stop at midnight and keep talking until 2-4 am.
"Just riddled one of the unicorns with arrows....it was very cathartic"
-Every DM ever when going up against a summoned creature from a player
First campaign? Wow, what a legend!
Goes to the Hags who offer you a biscuit.
"So you are making and selling biscuits from your residence?" PC picks up the biscuit and examines it before putting it back in the basket. "And how long have you been running this business from your own home?"
These hags are filthy tax dodgers!!!
"Do you have food safety certification?
"That'll be a 30,000 gold fee, and we'll send an assessor around to ensure you're in compliance with the required legislation.
"No, we can't say when that'll happen. You'll just have to wait."
But each biscuit only cost three fifty hehehe
qberry gamz tree fiddy! Like that famn loch ness monster in Tristans land wanted!
Jason Clark A lawful evil bureaucrats fun time.
"you're always losing, how is this fun" ... Well if Dwarf Fortress has ever taught me anything, it's that losing is FUN
learning to survive
The fun is in losing just a little less hard every time. Who knows, you might even end up getting a draw someday.
More like !!FUN!!
Literally playing DF while listening to this ROFL
The fun is the story. If you are prepared for this module, know what it is, you know you will lose. A lot. Its about doing the best you can, doing the right thing because its the right thing. Its the horrible nature of things when you find out it was the wrong thing. "Oops, she works for Strahd," "oops he's evil," etc. Its how the genre works.
Two minutes in. Laughing already. "I'm not professional like Ben is."
Just gonna throw this out there, this longform format (hour-ish episodes for 5-10+ episodes) is great because it gives me something to listen to at work. If you find yourself in a position like this with a campaign you'd like to make videos on I vote in favor of another series like this Curse of Strahd series.
ditto
Trio
McSame m'dude
Could you drive Strahd insane, by having everyone in the Berrovia say his name constantly for hours
Could you drive the immortal vampire trapped in his own hell, after he killed his own brother and drank his blood, "insane"? I don't think that word has as much meaning in Barovia as it does in our world.
Also, I read it as Strahd can choose whether he scrys on someone saying his name, not he must scry, because it is a spell, not a free ability. In game, I think any sentence a person says with the word "Strahd" in it, can be heard by Strahd as a soft whisper in his head. If the voice says, "We need to pay our taxes to Strahd," he wouldn't bother with listening to anything else. If the voice says, "This sword will finally kill the devil Strahd!!!", then he probably will want to investigate.
yes
Just say "Haha! So that's how we can kill the Devil Strahd!" Or some variation, or spread rumours about his strange sexual proclivities.
He won't know for certain when someone is being legitimate unless he scries on all of them, and he has to listen to everyone insulting him constantly unless he kills them all or destroys the stone (neither of which are great options).
@@theapexsurvivor9538 I'm Strahd von Zarovich, of Barovia! Don't believe the burgomaster's lies!
Hey I'm the guy who just asked you on the subreddit today about the dark powers and you gave me Gouda's breakdown. Thanks for that. I was able to finish up my last 3 dark powers with such ideas and knowing what my players want. Cheers.
With the Lord Soth scenario (I think that's their name), part of the thing with The Demiplanes of Dread is that they're self-inflicted hells, if you will. One of the requirements for being a dark lord is that you have to have done something terrible, but be incapable of admitting you did anything wrong. So with Soth, my understanding is he escaped because he admitted that he actually did deserve to be punished this way, and his goals were stupid. So, they let him go.
I know it wouldnt work but Ive always wanted to play a Death Knight as a PC. Also I Strahd is a great book IMO.
Lord Soth was not allowed to leave. Lord Soth was trapped in his own personal domain after leaving Barovia
As I understood it, Soth didn't interact with the people of his demiplane so the dark powers just kind of got bored...
Soth just sat on his throne and did nothing, lost in his own thoughts. The Dark Powers eventually let him go because they couldn't feed, they were not entertained. He then returned to Krynn and I guess sacrificed himself heroically.
Classified is correct. Fun fact - TSR did not have permission from Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman to use Soth in Ravenloft. After much debating and arguing, TSR relented to the authors of Dragonlance (Soth is from Krynn) and came up with the version that Classified explained. Politics, politics everywhere :(
He had to DM the DM so that he could talk to the DM about DM’ing
*Xzibit has entered chat*
And that's one of the reasons why Game Master (GM) is better.
Lol
I honestly thought it was a psi-op to get us to click "like" a few hundred times...
DaMn
FYI, the Dark Gifts made it seem like the Players couldn't die. In another game, that might be an interesting mechanic. But here, it felt even more oppressive. "Nope, death will not be a release. Instead, you will suffer even more humiliations (with a thin veneer of additional power)." When Garo died and Ben was making a new character, only to have Garo get brought back... it just seemed sad and depressing.
Joseph Mantler while I was going through the series it just sounded like the GM was being spineless and couldn’t go through with actually killing off a PC, not knowing that 1) the Dark Powers were written into the module, and 2) it was done specifically to offset the brutal difficulty of the module, especially at lower levels. It ended up being an interesting twist so it was a net positive, but it annoyed the hell out of me at the time. Glad they gave the proper context for it now. Also your point is an interesting one which I had not even considered, adding another layer to the genius of how the campaign was run
@@SerDerpish It never sounded like "spineless DM" to me. It did sound like "if I die, I come back with extra power? Sign me up!"
It also sounded like more misery. Especially Gouda and her Magic Dad. I's say he was abusive, but, really, he was just outright evil and she snuggled up to him anyway because he paid her the least attention, like a D&D Harleen Quinzel. I liked Gouda and those moments made me damn sad.
@@SerDerpish Actually, aside from passive vestiges in the Amber Temple, the Dark Powers AREN'T in the module. All the stuff with the Dark Powers competing to create champions in each others' Domains is all from the Curse of Strahd reddit.
Death not being a release is the case in the course of Strahd anyway.
If you die in Borivia you have to wander the mists forever
@@Joemantler I imagined Gouda as a secretly sick and deranged person with a veneer of cheerfulness.
i want more "i waarrrnnned youuu..." enchanted items... lol
OMG, I've been saying that to my kids... it's now the best running-gag/dad-joke in my considerable arsenal.
Who does not want a + 1 Sword of Warning and its inherent dangers?
My character has a (dead) twin sister that follows as some ghost-like familiar (also gets used when I summon a weapon, to handle said weapon - otherwise she's rather useless), and she'll give stupid/vague prophecies and go "I waaaarned youuuu..." as a subtle nod to this channel and the joke we all love.
SomeTHING baaad might happen todaaay
Joshua Hamilton well what is it?
One thing I really loved was that the DM does was the expansion of the brides because after I watched the series and went and read the book and there was no info on them
Same. The book doesn't even give them personalities
I've ran the Module and when I heard what he did with the brides I loved it cause, I knew how important they were, just a few vampires spawns in his castle. I also liked what he did with his man servant, took a much bigger part here then I think he has in the book too.
I will definitely be using these concepts when I DM CoS starting tomorrow
@@StephenJ15 i have already started implementing some while adding my own twist too :)
Xyvaz Krown m
To answer that question about "Would him being with his love end the curse?" think the logical idea was said by the fortune teller "The Dark Powers won't let that happen"
Yeah, ultimately there is never really the threat of him winning because the very powers that strengthen him would intervene to make sure he fails to keep stringing him along.
Yep. Basically, should he beat the party, Irena will either commit suicide or a Belmont will show up and kill her within a week.
He marries her and then he realizes she is not Tatiana. Mad rage ensues. Welcome to Barovia.
@@EurojuegosBsAs Yeah, in the book it says he ends up locking her in the catacombs and it not filling the hole inside of him. I imagine he would need to win her genuine love to be fulfilled and he just isn't that man.
Your DM seems pretty amazing, I appreciate the insights he gave, and the changes he made to the module were pretty neat.
Is it ever asked what would happen if Gouda had become the darklord?
I Think Gouda Should've Been The Darklord
I wanted to know why she was writing down the name of every person she met.
We all know that they would have had a Gouda Tyme.
@@Dunhilina so that she could remember to cross them all off when she finally becomes Darklord.
A darkness would have fallen upon the land
The pool could be some sort of monster trying to drown people who pass it by showing them their greatest inner desires. That could be cool!
I was lol when you told us...."I shoulda used Insight on her." No spoilers, of course.
I have been running COS since April, about nine weeks now, my players have never set foot in the village* of Barovia. I am not kidding. The cards didn’t place anything there so they have actively avoided it. I tried planting rumors, and full on telling them the answer is with this npc in Barovia, they don’t care.
City of Barovia? Do you mean Vallaki?
Glen Greenia no the village of Barovia that sits below castle Ravenloft. They act like it’s a radioactive waste site. They have been inside the castle twice now, been to Vallaki, in fact they have hit up every location now including the amber temple, but won’t go near the village. Many of my players have been through death house before, a lot of people start COS and you know groups break up. So I started them being pulled into the mist from all over the FR, forcing them into a group. After a few monster encounters along the road they came to madam Eva on the western side of the map. So they pretty much start solving the wine issue for Krezk. By hitting the winery early they get allies from the Markova family who share secrets with them (adventure hooks) when they are a little stumped on what to do next. Looking back on it now I wish I had placed the tome of Strahd in Barovia so they couldn’t avoid it.
Gouda really would've been the best choice to be dark lord logically, at least, with hindsight. She'd always be the hero, after all.
Fun fact: in the original Ravenloft Module, Ireena was a fourth level human fighter. You were sure as hell NOT babysitting her in anyway in that module.
Why did they nerf her then?
@@wyattlohr8199 Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the folks at Wizards were working on a later edition made by Post-Gygax TSR, which means it's Lorraine Williams' fault for whatever stupid-ass reason.
Yeah, I’m going to DM Curse of Strahd this summer, and I made Ireena a fighter. I’m going to have her level with the party, so she won’t be a burden, but she won’t be overpowered either.
@@tsifirakiehl4250 I would place her one or 2 levels below the PCs so she still is useful but wont overshadow the players. There is a balance between being a helpless damsel in distress and just being one of the guys/gals. In my case at least, I want the players to be the heroes in the group and there are already pretty powerful allies that will join up with the players.
But that is me and I might change that depending on my group. As a DM it is my job to make sure everyone who plays is having fun. Some groups just want to adventure with equal allies while others want to be the true heroes that stands out in their fellowship. So I might buff or nerf allies depending on who I play with. Having the allies slightly less powerful kinda works for most players but it might not be the best option.
I do hate the troupe when Elminster comes and saves the players if they screw up which wasn't uncommon in old Forgotten realms modules. I honestly rather have my players fail then, I personally don't like when the players can't loose, it makes the achievements of the players worthless if they can't fail. I am less hard on new players since they might need a win to really get into the game but I want experienced players to know that their actions matter.
I might fudge a roll now and then if the players loose to bad luck but never to bad decisions. If the players have a really smart plan it is a shame if the DMs dice punish them. Of course, botching when doing something incredible dangerous could still kill someone but that is hardly my fault and I can't fudge the players rolls.
@@tsifirakiehl4250My Curse of Strahd DM introduced my character's sister early in the campaign. She was statted as a fighter, but three levels below the party, so she isn't one of star players, but isn't useless in combat. Although, with my dice luck, she has become one of the MVP characters.
Always interesting to hear how a DM improves on what another made.
My characters decided to insult and attack madam eva. They desided then after madam eva teleported them away to go and hunt madam eva down.
Oh and they killed irina...
What? Why? Did you have a party of murder hobos?
@@ArawnNox I think that's a given. Perhaps this party needs to Learn What Chaotic Neutral Means.
Those players deserve Tomb of Horrors. No mercy.
Tom Kerruish The Tomb of Horrors is its own Demiplane of Dread
@@tomkerruish2982 only if one of the portal doors leads to dungeonland, and all attempts to leave lead to ToA (with 1E save or die traps).
Also, No 10ft poles.
I loved listening to your stories i made sure to go back and liked them all please keep it coming!
Hearing the segment about the burnout really put things into perspective for me,
especially as I'm DMing CoS at the moment and realize that less is definetly more for DM prep
The “Fiend Orc” is a Tannaruk
The Yuan-tu multi headed thing is an Anahema
(Not sure about spelling)
King Yejob Anathema...pretty much had it right...
I learned that 1st one from the unexpectables
Awesome! I was looking forward to this.
For ages
I’m also a first time DM running COS and a bunch of the ideas from your videos ended up in my game.
I had to do the reading a couple times because most of the items ended up in the castle and my players are trying to speed run it. So I stacked the deck so they can explore the place more.
Garo's ending was the epitome of Ravenloft. I loved it.
1:14:00 This is funny to me. I... Going along with the eyebeam spell, I as a DM once had a player character who did several illegal experiments on a Beholder, so as a 5th-level spell the Wild Mage could cast Beholder Blast, rolling a d10, and, provided he had all the Verbal, Somatic, and Material Components (I think he had to like, prick his finger to provide his own blood), depending on the d10, he could shoot one of the Beholder's eyebeams. I was just listening and thought, "Huh. What a coincidence."
Man I want you to run another one! Those videos were AMAZING by far the best stuff you have done, no offense.
I like this kind of thing
I want to thank you for posting about your adventure. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of my old days (I'm in my 50's and was a 2nd D&D player back in the day) and through your story I remembered stuff I forgot over the years when I played Ravenloft back in the day. Thank you again Puffin Forest for being many smiles to this old lady :) with your story telling.
"Strahd is an incel" is not the hot take I expected to ever hear
clearly not by definition, he has wives and concubines. The problem is that, like Gaston, he wants one specific woman he can't have
what you CAN say about him is he's perverse
@@ChibiKami The Gaston comparison is pretty apt. He only has wives and concubines as distractions.
He certainly felt entitled. He spent his youth and life nonstop battling for the safety of his family and people. His brother was sheltered and spent his time taking care of local monsters and the like. In the end he returned an old scarred man, his people see him as a cold monster because he's hardened by war. He finds a woman who reminds him of youth, the sun, and speaks to whatever is gentle and good that is left in his soul. Then she falls for his brother, who hasn't 'earned' it like Strahd feels like he has.
@@ArawnNox Noooooo oooooone kills like Lord Strahd gives you chills like Lord Strahd no one peeks on you when you say "Strahd" like Lord Strahd.
@@Eidenhoek When I was a lad I bit four dozen necks, every morning to make me live long.
And now that I'm grown I bite five dozen necks so my magic is ridiculously strong.
that was an intense storytelling. your pre-work and changes was spot on. Great DM!
As someone who has played the 3.5e version I am so happy you used the stones as they were used in that. If I ever DM the 5e version I am totally going to have to do that.
My first campaign I ran was Rime of the Frostmaiden.
Now I’m running Curse of Strahd as my second ever.
We’re on session 4 and it’s been a surprisingly slow start, but it’s finally picking up strongly!
I can't say I'm thrilled with the ending but glad you guys like it. It was certainly epic as hell. Freeing Ireena from Strahd's influence and having her put him in his place is very satisfying. Bringing Sergei back to life can also be interesting.
This campaign has given me an interesting idea for a character. He would be stuck in a time loop where he forced to repeat his journey over and over but struggles to use his information becuase each loop involves new party members and new variables.
One of the memorable things I took away from CoS (as a player) was, when Strahd turned up at the end of a random fight to be Strahd in our face we quickly hid Irina: Our mage told us that will hid her and himself with invisibilty by a rock formation. We have a little tassle with Strahd and he plants a fireball in our midst as a parting gift and most of us are close to dying. But the rock formation is also in the blast range of the fireball and as our mage loses consciousness the invisibility drops revealing his and Irinas burnt bodies. Strahd realises in this moment, that he just killed Irina. His regret was tangible in the room and he takes what is left of her body away. The tragedy of the situation made him "human".
Holy Hell D: extra tragic
The only problem is that Strahd has true sight.
@@gandalfgamergeek21 hmmm.. in our game he didn't and it made for a compelling story beat
@@shelleyrix7246 Fair enough. To each their own!
@@gandalfgamergeek21 I think I've learned and everyone nerfs the count. Everyone.
Everyone
I'm running CoS and your videos were really inspiring, thank you a lot!
I think the series went really really well and the DM was great high fives all around 👏👏👏
This was awesome! Thank you Ben and QKIA! I'm wrapping my campaign of CoS up now and I can definitely relate to DMing this for the first time and doing everything you can to make this the best experience for your players as you can. Great job and a big inspiration!
Great campaign Ben, I really enjoyed it and it has been great entertainment for me at work.
Thank you for doing this. I've been watching the videos and am a new DM running the campaign. This has been a great resource!
Your DM sounds like a pretty down to earth guy its been a nice breath of fresh air from some other DMs I have ran into as of late, he gave some very logical reasoning for things that he added/cut which I appreciate also had the decency to shout out the subreddit instead of claiming all the ideas where his..... man have I had a string of real bad DMs since our usual one just got deployed.
Thank you so much for this wrap up, Puffin! It was so enjoyable and as I am running CoS myself right now, I found some really useful stuff here! Wonderful! ^_^
I'm going to be running Curse of Strahd as my first experience DMing, and this is really helpful for me. Thank you!
This was very informative and a great addition to a great series. I do hope you do another longform d&d campaign and immortalize it on the channel
I love how your dm changed several things and I would Definately reuse a few of his changes
Really enjoyed this series, thank you for sharing!
Ben, just watched through the replay, great series. IF I were to DM this and Strahd would've been able to go through the wedding, I would have probably had Strahd lift the veil at the alter before the vows and the "Dark Powers" would have substituted Irena with Sergi who would've said something like "Brother, she is still mine." and then turn into mist. Because why he is Lord of Barovia; the Dark Powers are still over Strahd. This works because Strahd made the deal and is damned forever in his Barovia prison and it shows that the Dark Powers are actually in charge.
I just made some food and got a drink so this is perfect!!!
I set mood music for the Vistani camp and when the players entered Madame Eva's tent, I switched it to something much more somber. I also killed the lights and went to candlelight. I had the players shuffle the Tarokka deck, but had withheld the cards I planned for the reading behind the DM screen. They returned the cards which I briefly dipped behind the screen to stack the deck. I completely agree that a stacked deck that lets the party explore Barovia is much better.
It's a great campaign. Strongly recommend.
My DM did something like this when he did the Tarokka reading. I think he let the cards land where they did for the objects, but he also did individual readings with a stacked deck to talk about what our personal missions would be.
In my game, I decided their Ally should be Zuleika, and slid that card into the reading, but the treasures are still random, because that sounds better in my head, more like old school D&D. Also, I added the Bloodspear as another treasure, because that weapon pre-dates Strahd, and I stole the "Steal Strahd's Soul And Trap Him In The Object" idea that Puffin's DM talked about, and gave that to the Bloodspear.
You going through this story has been one of my highlights for the past couple of months, thank you!!
It would be the ultimate bad twist of fate if Ireena escaped into the Forgotten Relms and settled in the shining city of Elturel...right as the prelude to Descent into Avernus happened.
1:20:05 yeah, that's the reason I haven't watched a lot of the series is because it was to dark for me. You did a great job with it and I'd love more stuff like this c:
I have loved all of the campaign videos and I'm so glad you did a warp-up interview. The DM was amazing! There's so much I assumed was just in the module that he made or changed and it fit so perfectly. Honestly all of this almost makes me want to run a Curse of Strahd campaign myself. I won't... but I want to.
I played the Sergei/Tatyana/Ireena relationship by having Ireena carry Tayana's spirit and there is a sort of conflict between them. At the end Tatyana's spirit reunites with Sergei, so they get their happy ending and Tatyana is free to live her own life so she gets her happy ending.
Honestly, this is how I would play it if I were DMing it, as it just feels right to me.
As an old DM, that's how I would of done it mostly. Or even use the event at the pool to pull Tatyana out to go be with Sergei and only have Strahd realize it when he tries to marry Ireena. That would really tick him off!
Yeah, the Tatyana/Ireena relationship always confused me and didn't sit well. Ireena needs to be her own person, rather than just a copy-paste of this Tatyana character.
The pool of Kresk seems like a way to free Tatiana's soul from the loop but leaves Irena (not sure on the spelling) and Strahd could then try to restore her to what he wanted...that or give her a power boost so she is more effective in combat as she has new knowledge of Strahd and what he can do.
I will say I love what y'all did with Gertruda. I have a hexblood player at my table that I'm about to start dm'ing this for, and I was kinda in a bind for what I could really do with them. The Gertruda rework practically writes itself for a really good connection to them, so thank you for this series! Made for a very good primer on the module as a whole!
My instinct as a DM, with regards to the pool, would be to have Sergei take away Tatyana, leaving Irena as her own character who is no longer the reincarnation. Maybe Tatyana reincarnates as someone else, maybe the cycle breaks in some way. Philosophically complicated, sure, so maybe you include changes to her physical appearance and/or personality to make it clear that this is now Irena, her own character with her own memories.
That is imo the best way to play it if you don't cut it completely. You see Irina get possessed by Tatiana for a moment, walk into the pool and then you see Tatiana and Sergei leaving as an image in the water, leaving Irena behind, now standing waste deep in a pool of normal water.
The implications for the story and the never ending cycle, that is now broken would be really interesting.
Would Strahd care that it is now Irena and not Tatiana? Would he even notice? Would the wedding go through now that the curse no longer applies and what would that mean? All interesting story hooks.
You ran a hell of a game, sir, I salute you.
Thanks for all the great ideas, I’m currently running COS and have been thinking about changing some things up. I love the idea of running a wedding and I’m adding the mythic additional traits that Theros just put forward, to further his combat viability.
My playthrough of this campaign was awesome and I loved seeing how you guys made your way through!
Dude I need another one of these, best d&d content on you tube and I've watched most of it. Problem with most of it is we don't need the mechanics for most of the story as good as a DM someone like matt mercer is you are a much better story teller.
Listening to this empowered me to make more edits to the modules of my own and explore the possibilities. I'm modifying stuff for Tomb of Annihilation as well.
When I first started watching these videos I was absolutly convinced that Boshak would end up being irrideemably corrupted by the Dark Powers... shows what I know! Well played, all of you.This has been an absolute blast from start to finish! Thank you so much.
I think the Tatanya Sergi pool thing is for player who read I Strahd book and want to right that Ship. Having her disappear from the plot would be fine for older players who've tangled with Strahd before and are itching to pay him back for the many, many times he's handed us our asses.
I would love to run The Curse of Strahd as a player.
I ran it countless times starting at 2nd edition, something with a second DM for Strahd, but I never managed to run it as a player 😢
I was surprised 'Dungeon and Dragons Online' transformed the champain pretty well into a mmo style. The Castle is on point accurate (and f2p through August 2020).
As a DM it was challenging to me not to kill the party on multiple occasions. Even though they entered Barovia four levels higher than the modul intended the characters were mostly so weak I felt almost bad. The builds were effective, but the lack of knowledge is deadly in Barovia.
One day I'll build the castle as a model for the next round 😀
Alternatively, you could build Curse of Strayd: an idea as to how curse of Strahd works rather than the actual adventure.
This was a great series. Looking forward to another if you do one. I really appreciate this episode in particular.
Your DM did an amazing job, just based on your story telling. Kudos to all
There's a spec in Puffin's eye and I could not stop staring at it for the last hour and a half...
This was so great! I feel bad for watching it two years late, I absolutely love the DM for this campaign, he's done a fantastic job!
As a player I never wanted to play this campaign because of the dark themes and the constant losing at the beginning. I was forced into playing it twice and had to quit since I just couldn't stand it. I just find gothic horror way too creepy. I was always interested in the story though so this series of retelling the campaign has been amazing. I now understand why my friends wanted to play it through so much. Kudos to Puffin's DM for pulling of such a great campaign!
YAAAAS! Been waiting for this!
My first question would be "do you think the recap was accurate, or did PF's memory... alter things a bit?"
That is, in fact, the very first question
@@cryssnail Yay! Ben and I thought alike! My Brush With Greatness(TM Late Night With David Letterman)!
This was a great series and I hope to see more of them.
The pond thing can work if you move it to the castle, right where the weding takes place. With Strahd there in a "Wut!!! no, you are not leaving!!!" mood. And if the party manages to delay him long enough Ghost Tatiana leaves but Aerena stays alive and well with an existencial crisis.
I bought Curse of Strahd and ran it recently because of these videos.
33:35
everyone was talking about Mordenkainen because he's Gary Gygax's main character. No matter what, he's surviving this thing
Ive run thru this in the DDO adventure pack so I have a really vivid picture of what they are talking about.
Keep these up, really loved these
Two things. One, we totally need more long stories. I was super excited waiting for the next one. Two, puffin totally needs a podcast.
When I heard "Take his silver tongue" I thought the Hags would literally take his tongue so he couldn't speak
...but where is Abserd?
Aand I read the sentence in his voice. Damnit.
@@ZephyreSyx Damit
@Amaroo Jamal Ingwe
*sigh* me too
Abserd is coming, do not worry. Abserd will free Barovia, he is a Great Hero.
Thank you so much for making this followup video. You all killed the entire campaign! Loved it! Please make more content like this! 🤘
Thank you so much for this interview. I found the whole campaign summary super entertaining, but this really added to the whole learning experience of listening to other players!
This was a lot of fun. I really want to see a lot more of this for further seen things I can do and learn from you all. Love you well done.
Hey PF, epic set of videos. Please do more! Isles of Dread, Expedition to Barrier Peak, Kurishan's Garden, just some suggestion.
Thanks Puffin Forest & have a great day.
Could someone "cursed to be a hag" maintain being good? Sounds like a great player character motivation. Maybe a warlock, cursed to be a hag desperately trying to remain human...
it depends on whether hags are magically evil; depending on setting some creatures are evil or good as a matter of their very being instead of the choices they make in life and in some other settings they aren't and their described alignment is just a drift tendency. For example, chromatic dragons are magically evil in most settings, but in Mystara and Pathfinder they aren't restricted to it and can be redeemed. In Pathfinder, even demons and devils can be redeemed
I am new to DM'ing and have'nt done it yet, but Curse of Strahd is already on my list for plans in the future, that was a really nice campaign and I think i picked up a few nice things i might be able to use. Thank you guys, always good to have a different perspective on stuff. :)
Please do more of these campaign videos. I’ve already listened to all 13 stories twice! I love it!
Thank you, for this whole series. Easily the best telling I have come across.
if only this could have been fully animated....maybe some day
I listened to all of the story videos for this campaign and this wrap up interview was the perfect topping to it all. Great work on the DM for his time.
The dark gifts he ran were amazing!
I really hope in the player run through, we hear the DM and the other players original voices (as much as I like Bens voices)