I went completely nuts apparently and took the DMs Guild campaign Blood Queen of Wreythau and set it on Etharis for the Crimson Court aspect, I synergized the Inquisition of the Pure Flame and the Arcanist Inquisition, and made Altenheim the city that tried to magically leave the Dread Domains only to be corrupted with Eldritch planar energies (instead of a comet) and become Drakkenheim....help
The Sanguine Court is a great idea. I especially like the notion that the Court is structured in such a way that no member would ever risk moving openly against another lest that bring the wrath of the rest of the Court down upon them... but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be quite happy to employ suitably deniable catspaws as assassins to eliminate a rival within the Court in a manner that seemingly leaves them blameless, which of course could lead to a Court member covertly soliciting the Party to act as their hidden knives in return for financial reward, magical artefacts, power, information, influence or even the promise of transformation into an immortal. Of course, your supposed patron might also decide that actually paying up is a less appealing option than disposing of the Party as a loose end after the deed is done, on the basis that dead adventurers (who have been taken out in such a comprehensive way that they can't be resurrected) tell no tales... Another option for a morally grey campaign would be your Party acting as sheriffs on behalf of the Court, who - while often pretty evil - are at least lawfully evil for the most part. You might be sent out to deal with lesser vampire nobles who are indiscriminately killing and feeding on citizens instead of feeding only in accordance with the blood tax as the laws laid down by the Court demand. You might also be sent to cull monsters in the wilder parts of the realm who have grown numerous enough to start disrupting the functioning of the realm's economy and the security of its communities, or you might need to deal with agents of foreign powers who are seeking to infiltrate the Court's domains to lay the groundwork for invasion. Your Party could also be acting as bodyguards for diplomats who have been sent to attempt to negotiate with the Crimson Court on matters of disputed borders, trade or even military alliance against a common foe, from which point the Party becomes ever more deeply enmeshed in the intrigues of the Court and its factions.
One of my players is a dhampir who was based off of Astarion. He was a vampire spawn who made a pact with a fiend for his freedom. I was struggling to think of a way to have a vampire villain that isnt just Cazador 2 or Strahd but not Barovia time. This came at the perfect time, and I think I have a great later level group of villains to work with now. Thank you! These videos are so incredibly helpful and insightful.
Okay, I have some ideas to add on to everything you said… Give Drago a few Paladin spells like Destructive wave and Supernal Smite. Why? Because we’re giving him a BFS (big f**king sword) that lets him cast Bloodletter. Iulia is an admiral so it would be badass if she was given a blackpoweder pistol and a magical sabre… also water walking and takes either half damage or no damage from running water. Also, some loyal sailors to fight by her side… perhaps a few Laneshi vampires if the party tries to fight her near the ocean. Viscount Grigore is definitely an artificer- probably an Alchemist or Battle Smith and I refuse to spoil his character to explain why. Katalina probably wouldn’t lift a finger in combat unless she absolutely must, so I propose confronting her involves dealing with a mob of loyal sycophants! Maybe give her some spells from the school of Enchantment. I know this is a chaotic comment, but I have so many ideas when it comes to the Crimson Court!
Have been running my castlevania-inspired D&d campaign for 2.5 years so far. Have also built a vampire court (the Imparati) who are returning to the land in which the campaign is set, and seeking to dominate a splintered country. They rely on one another but won't hesitate to fill the void and react immediately if one of their compatriates is slain. There are eight higher vampires in the Imparati (for now) ...but I'm sure my PCs will dwindle their numbers soon. It's so exciting to see others developing these ideas too! Gothic horror and Castlevania fans unite!
ABSOLUTELY gonna steal this concept for a future campaign! My idea is that the campaign takes place in a kingdom that has been ruled by the council for about a century. Before that, however, the lands were cosntantly ravaged, as larger neighbors often fought over the region. Eventually, however, a group of freedom fighters rose up, cheif among them the man who would become the Black Prince. The Prince was charismatic, determined, a tactical genius. But also prideful, stubborn. It only grew worse when an oracle gave a prophecy "You will forge a great kingdom, yes. Eternal and unending as the night. But as the moon and sun rise and set together, so shall you. When your end comes, your kingdom shall fall with you." Fearing that his home would be conquered should he die, the Black Prince resorted to necromancy, and, alongside his most trusted advisors and generals, became the Red Council: each became vampires, their own vices twisting and changing them. Together, the Council pushed the invaders out, with armies of undead and other unspeakable monster, and forged their kingdom. Despite the repression in the land, most people are fine with it. There are no bandits, as vampire soldiers patrol the roads. All religions are welcomed, drawing many from oppressed religious sects. And most notably, there is no levying system. Most of the country's armies are common undead, and the rest are highly trained, trusted vampire spawn. My idea is that each of the Council represent a different D&D class. The Black Prince, for example, is an Oathbreaker Paladin. There's a sanguimancer who is a Sorcerer, a spymaster who's a Rogue, etc. The party essentially fights against a former adventuring party that have become vampires.
In my open world grim hollow game I had my players start at level 1. I had them all meet eachother at a "welcome party" thrown by Volpesque. Essentially a party she threw just to show off her status. Arriving there many of the nobles made fun of them, doing things like feeding on a servant to death right in front of them. They were horrified, knowing they were all level 1, but also knew that if they just left they might leave a bad impression on the court and thus, paint a target on their back.
I love these videos. They make my week and inspire my writing for my players and my own sanity. But I realize now that I'm missing just two things. The setting doesn't express the timeline that well (or as I wished it did) as my friends sometimes ask in comparison to the rise of the Crimson Court, how far was it from the rising of the Great Beast? Lastly, a video of how to run specific nations. Or a day in the Ostoyan Empire, Charneult Kingdom, etc.
We talked about that a bit on this week's Eldritch Lorecast. The intention was to leave Etharis a little open so GM's felt room to invent, but it's certainly reasonable to want more guidance, too! To your specific question, how long the Crimson Court have been in power can massively change your adventure. If you'd like them to be almost mid-invasion, maybe the darkfall less than a generation ago. The elderly and veterans still remember the sun. Or if the Court to have deep roots in society stretching for generations, they may have began ruling a century ago. The Great Beast is definitely a more recent development.
@GhostfireGaming I definitely recall reading over the campaign setting and saw that segment that said that a lot of info is left unanswered to leave creative room. Which is awesome and helps allow me to bring more than just what is written. But the answer you gave definitely helps spur the thought, and I figured that the Great Beast would be recent. So thank you! Keep up the great work, and I can't wait for what's next!
Really great vid Ben!! Having been running CoS games for years, I'm very excited to expand this them in Ostoya. I have all of the Grim Hollow books and just got my hardback Citadel of the Unseen Sun. One thing that would be on my wish list would be a more deep dive setting book / adventure for each region (like the Valikan Clains books which I have on order!). Going deep into lore, customs and culture, flushing out each city, NPCs, and an adventure. Would love to see that for all the regions in Etharis, especially Ostoya and Morencia (my two favs). Keep up the great work GFG team. I'm a huge fan!
My players are about to encounter their first real Ostoyan vampire on the Empire's borders. This might inspire a lot of what's to come for them :) Thank you.
I had a similar Crimson Court, though that was run by a family of Vampires that came from the Astral Plane and are able to drain the mental strengths of their prey, thus they were the worst enemies for spell casters and psionic users. Players/party seem to have had fallen for the Matriarch of the court to some degree and were willing to work with her. Party allied with them, but due to the party's shenanigans.... City blew up in an all out war and the city no longer exists.
I run a pretty bright campaign in the material plain where my players are the darkest thing in the world, but I've wanted to incorporate this darker side of DND in the shadowfell and really make my players fear the world. I hope they will add the monster grimoire to DND beyond the hard copy of the book I got when I backed the kick-started is amazing but I'd like to have it in DND beyonds encounter builder
I'm running a year long Ostoya-Based campaign at the moment. My group helped a Hag Dethrone the Crimson Court, and helped instill a new king (Who later became the new BBEG, don't deal with hags....)
This stuff is sooooo cool, dude. I've tried running a campaign in Grim Hollow before with my friends, but they got bored for some reason. I just wish they would see these types of games in the way I do.
If you're running this plotline and your players are confused as to why these guys haven't killed each other off to gain ultimate power over the land, here's some tips: 1) Wars, even civil ones, need armies to fight with, and soldiers are not an infinite resource, neither are they available on the fly. The purpose of the Court is to oversee rulership under their shared territory, so any armies they do have are probably used for expeditions or campaigns against outsiders trying to break in. 2) Assassins don't work on the Court members. No one outside the Court is a match for them, and any poor creature that would try will meet a swift end if they're lucky. 3) There is a huge power gap between the Court and the second strongest creatures in Ostoya. No other creature becomes close to their power level without being silenced for good. 4) Have them learn that the Court's great powers come from artifacts they possess, either as actual artifacts or something bound in their bodies. These artifacts also certify their right to rule. Should one of the Court die, their artifact will seek a new host that is not occupied by another artifact. Forcing yourself to get a second artifact will cause you to explode and die, and the artifacts find new hosts. *Now, whether this is a truth or lie is up to you,* but it is nice to make a plot point a tangible in-world item for your players, and give them a clear way to take power for themselves if they desire.
I always love the fact that he's actually based (intentionally or not) on traditional vampire lore that says if you scatter grains in front of a vampire they have to stop and count them all.
Does the Crimson Court take part in any of the Grim Hollow campaigns or is it part of the campaign setting's lore? Edit: Ok I think that'd be Citadel of the Unseen Sun, I'll look into it for sure for a sort of continuation after Curse of Strahd
Yup, that’s the one! The Court aren’t the main villains of the campaign but their influence is felt sharply throughout, particularly in books 4 & 5 (of the slipcase), and they make a direct appearance in the 5th book.
@@GhostfireGaming That's awesome! Thanks so much for the response on that and congrats on the Transformed Kickstarter, seems to be going super well, I'll be joining soon before it ends, first Kickstarter campaign I'd be supporting, trying to figure out how it works, new experience here haha
Ben, sometimes I come to your videos because I love your podcast, and then I can't finish the video because it's too dark for me. It just happened again. Peace out. 😆
I know this channel isn't about real world politics. But I can't help seeing the connecting threads. Vampires as allegory to 60+ politicians clinging blindly to power.
When I think of any vampire court, my mind always defaults to Soul Reaver 1 with Melchaih, Zephon, Rahab, Dumah, Turel, and Raziel, with Kain as the head =)
So this is an unashamedly stolen idea from Pointy Hat, but you mentioned 7 court members. Base them off the 7 deadly sins. Vampires can quite easily fit several of them (greed, pride, even wrath potentially), others might require a bit more work but could be interesting.
Hahahaha shogun, that's not intrigue it's just a bunch of weaklings Ned Starks, tied and blinded by honor lords in a Game(the game of thrones) where honor has nothing todo and it's a weak XD with women more capable or betray and intrigue
I went completely nuts apparently and took the DMs Guild campaign Blood Queen of Wreythau and set it on Etharis for the Crimson Court aspect, I synergized the Inquisition of the Pure Flame and the Arcanist Inquisition, and made Altenheim the city that tried to magically leave the Dread Domains only to be corrupted with Eldritch planar energies (instead of a comet) and become Drakkenheim....help
You, sir, are a hero. 👍
Well, as we said on Twitter, why run a module when you can just steal the best bits? 😁
The Sanguine Court is a great idea. I especially like the notion that the Court is structured in such a way that no member would ever risk moving openly against another lest that bring the wrath of the rest of the Court down upon them... but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be quite happy to employ suitably deniable catspaws as assassins to eliminate a rival within the Court in a manner that seemingly leaves them blameless, which of course could lead to a Court member covertly soliciting the Party to act as their hidden knives in return for financial reward, magical artefacts, power, information, influence or even the promise of transformation into an immortal. Of course, your supposed patron might also decide that actually paying up is a less appealing option than disposing of the Party as a loose end after the deed is done, on the basis that dead adventurers (who have been taken out in such a comprehensive way that they can't be resurrected) tell no tales...
Another option for a morally grey campaign would be your Party acting as sheriffs on behalf of the Court, who - while often pretty evil - are at least lawfully evil for the most part. You might be sent out to deal with lesser vampire nobles who are indiscriminately killing and feeding on citizens instead of feeding only in accordance with the blood tax as the laws laid down by the Court demand. You might also be sent to cull monsters in the wilder parts of the realm who have grown numerous enough to start disrupting the functioning of the realm's economy and the security of its communities, or you might need to deal with agents of foreign powers who are seeking to infiltrate the Court's domains to lay the groundwork for invasion.
Your Party could also be acting as bodyguards for diplomats who have been sent to attempt to negotiate with the Crimson Court on matters of disputed borders, trade or even military alliance against a common foe, from which point the Party becomes ever more deeply enmeshed in the intrigues of the Court and its factions.
Love this idea!
One of my players is a dhampir who was based off of Astarion. He was a vampire spawn who made a pact with a fiend for his freedom. I was struggling to think of a way to have a vampire villain that isnt just Cazador 2 or Strahd but not Barovia time. This came at the perfect time, and I think I have a great later level group of villains to work with now. Thank you! These videos are so incredibly helpful and insightful.
Okay, I have some ideas to add on to everything you said…
Give Drago a few Paladin spells like Destructive wave and Supernal Smite. Why? Because we’re giving him a BFS (big f**king sword) that lets him cast Bloodletter.
Iulia is an admiral so it would be badass if she was given a blackpoweder pistol and a magical sabre… also water walking and takes either half damage or no damage from running water. Also, some loyal sailors to fight by her side… perhaps a few Laneshi vampires if the party tries to fight her near the ocean.
Viscount Grigore is definitely an artificer- probably an Alchemist or Battle Smith and I refuse to spoil his character to explain why.
Katalina probably wouldn’t lift a finger in combat unless she absolutely must, so I propose confronting her involves dealing with a mob of loyal sycophants! Maybe give her some spells from the school of Enchantment.
I know this is a chaotic comment, but I have so many ideas when it comes to the Crimson Court!
Have been running my castlevania-inspired D&d campaign for 2.5 years so far. Have also built a vampire court (the Imparati) who are returning to the land in which the campaign is set, and seeking to dominate a splintered country. They rely on one another but won't hesitate to fill the void and react immediately if one of their compatriates is slain. There are eight higher vampires in the Imparati (for now) ...but I'm sure my PCs will dwindle their numbers soon. It's so exciting to see others developing these ideas too! Gothic horror and Castlevania fans unite!
ABSOLUTELY gonna steal this concept for a future campaign!
My idea is that the campaign takes place in a kingdom that has been ruled by the council for about a century. Before that, however, the lands were cosntantly ravaged, as larger neighbors often fought over the region. Eventually, however, a group of freedom fighters rose up, cheif among them the man who would become the Black Prince. The Prince was charismatic, determined, a tactical genius. But also prideful, stubborn. It only grew worse when an oracle gave a prophecy
"You will forge a great kingdom, yes. Eternal and unending as the night. But as the moon and sun rise and set together, so shall you. When your end comes, your kingdom shall fall with you."
Fearing that his home would be conquered should he die, the Black Prince resorted to necromancy, and, alongside his most trusted advisors and generals, became the Red Council: each became vampires, their own vices twisting and changing them.
Together, the Council pushed the invaders out, with armies of undead and other unspeakable monster, and forged their kingdom.
Despite the repression in the land, most people are fine with it. There are no bandits, as vampire soldiers patrol the roads. All religions are welcomed, drawing many from oppressed religious sects. And most notably, there is no levying system. Most of the country's armies are common undead, and the rest are highly trained, trusted vampire spawn.
My idea is that each of the Council represent a different D&D class. The Black Prince, for example, is an Oathbreaker Paladin. There's a sanguimancer who is a Sorcerer, a spymaster who's a Rogue, etc. The party essentially fights against a former adventuring party that have become vampires.
Yea I might be using it 😅
In my open world grim hollow game I had my players start at level 1. I had them all meet eachother at a "welcome party" thrown by Volpesque. Essentially a party she threw just to show off her status. Arriving there many of the nobles made fun of them, doing things like feeding on a servant to death right in front of them. They were horrified, knowing they were all level 1, but also knew that if they just left they might leave a bad impression on the court and thus, paint a target on their back.
"Swear allegiance to any of the Seven? Nah, let's take them all on, one-by-one, Boss Rush style!" - Many players, probably
I love these videos. They make my week and inspire my writing for my players and my own sanity. But I realize now that I'm missing just two things.
The setting doesn't express the timeline that well (or as I wished it did) as my friends sometimes ask in comparison to the rise of the Crimson Court, how far was it from the rising of the Great Beast?
Lastly, a video of how to run specific nations. Or a day in the Ostoyan Empire, Charneult Kingdom, etc.
We talked about that a bit on this week's Eldritch Lorecast. The intention was to leave Etharis a little open so GM's felt room to invent, but it's certainly reasonable to want more guidance, too!
To your specific question, how long the Crimson Court have been in power can massively change your adventure. If you'd like them to be almost mid-invasion, maybe the darkfall less than a generation ago. The elderly and veterans still remember the sun. Or if the Court to have deep roots in society stretching for generations, they may have began ruling a century ago.
The Great Beast is definitely a more recent development.
@GhostfireGaming I definitely recall reading over the campaign setting and saw that segment that said that a lot of info is left unanswered to leave creative room. Which is awesome and helps allow me to bring more than just what is written.
But the answer you gave definitely helps spur the thought, and I figured that the Great Beast would be recent. So thank you!
Keep up the great work, and I can't wait for what's next!
Really great vid Ben!! Having been running CoS games for years, I'm very excited to expand this them in Ostoya.
I have all of the Grim Hollow books and just got my hardback Citadel of the Unseen Sun. One thing that would be on my wish list would be a more deep dive setting book / adventure for each region (like the Valikan Clains books which I have on order!). Going deep into lore, customs and culture, flushing out each city, NPCs, and an adventure. Would love to see that for all the regions in Etharis, especially Ostoya and Morencia (my two favs).
Keep up the great work GFG team. I'm a huge fan!
Seven? Rookie numbers! I had 30 Strahds in my campaign!
(Yeah, Strahd used seeming on a bunch of his thugs. Really scared the players though)
My players are about to encounter their first real Ostoyan vampire on the Empire's borders. This might inspire a lot of what's to come for them :) Thank you.
For the glory of the Court! 🍷
I had a similar Crimson Court, though that was run by a family of Vampires that came from the Astral Plane and are able to drain the mental strengths of their prey, thus they were the worst enemies for spell casters and psionic users. Players/party seem to have had fallen for the Matriarch of the court to some degree and were willing to work with her.
Party allied with them, but due to the party's shenanigans.... City blew up in an all out war and the city no longer exists.
Mixing this with Pointy Hat's 7 Deadly Sins vampires would be brilliant
That. Sounds. PERFECT!
I run a pretty bright campaign in the material plain where my players are the darkest thing in the world, but I've wanted to incorporate this darker side of DND in the shadowfell and really make my players fear the world. I hope they will add the monster grimoire to DND beyond the hard copy of the book I got when I backed the kick-started is amazing but I'd like to have it in DND beyonds encounter builder
I'm running a year long Ostoya-Based campaign at the moment. My group helped a Hag Dethrone the Crimson Court, and helped instill a new king (Who later became the new BBEG, don't deal with hags....)
This gives me so much inspiration I can't wait to start adding the crimson court to my campaigns
Love the Count. Hear he's good with numbers ah ah ah
This stuff is sooooo cool, dude. I've tried running a campaign in Grim Hollow before with my friends, but they got bored for some reason. I just wish they would see these types of games in the way I do.
If you're running this plotline and your players are confused as to why these guys haven't killed each other off to gain ultimate power over the land, here's some tips:
1) Wars, even civil ones, need armies to fight with, and soldiers are not an infinite resource, neither are they available on the fly. The purpose of the Court is to oversee rulership under their shared territory, so any armies they do have are probably used for expeditions or campaigns against outsiders trying to break in.
2) Assassins don't work on the Court members. No one outside the Court is a match for them, and any poor creature that would try will meet a swift end if they're lucky.
3) There is a huge power gap between the Court and the second strongest creatures in Ostoya. No other creature becomes close to their power level without being silenced for good.
4) Have them learn that the Court's great powers come from artifacts they possess, either as actual artifacts or something bound in their bodies. These artifacts also certify their right to rule. Should one of the Court die, their artifact will seek a new host that is not occupied by another artifact. Forcing yourself to get a second artifact will cause you to explode and die, and the artifacts find new hosts. *Now, whether this is a truth or lie is up to you,* but it is nice to make a plot point a tangible in-world item for your players, and give them a clear way to take power for themselves if they desire.
Mad respect for including the Count Who Counts from Sesame Street as a member of the Crimson Court
I always love the fact that he's actually based (intentionally or not) on traditional vampire lore that says if you scatter grains in front of a vampire they have to stop and count them all.
I really like that there is a benefit to having these vampiric leaders, and also their design!
Really don't understand why you don't have over 100k subs.
Does the Crimson Court take part in any of the Grim Hollow campaigns or is it part of the campaign setting's lore?
Edit: Ok I think that'd be Citadel of the Unseen Sun, I'll look into it for sure for a sort of continuation after Curse of Strahd
Yup, that’s the one! The Court aren’t the main villains of the campaign but their influence is felt sharply throughout, particularly in books 4 & 5 (of the slipcase), and they make a direct appearance in the 5th book.
@@GhostfireGaming That's awesome! Thanks so much for the response on that and congrats on the Transformed Kickstarter, seems to be going super well, I'll be joining soon before it ends, first Kickstarter campaign I'd be supporting, trying to figure out how it works, new experience here haha
Ben, sometimes I come to your videos because I love your podcast, and then I can't finish the video because it's too dark for me. It just happened again. Peace out. 😆
I don't know whether to apologize or feel proud. 😂 This is why the Lorecast doesn't tend to do Liveplays.
@@GhostfireGamingA Grim Hollow liveplay from you all is all I've ever wanted 🥺
I know this channel isn't about real world politics. But I can't help seeing the connecting threads. Vampires as allegory to 60+ politicians clinging blindly to power.
Art doth imitate life? 👀
Unlife? @@GhostfireGaming
Your videos are always a treasure chest filled with inspiration. Thank you
You are so welcome!
I heartily agree!
I can not be the only one getting Underworld and Vampire the Masquerade from this.
Don't get me wrong, I'm here for it, I love this stuff.❤🎉
I think that's the most hypermultisyllabic words you've ever had to say in one video. I can't imagine the number of takes it took. ;-)
You know, it wasn't too bad on number of takes. Just a few practices before the camera was rolling. 😅
@@GhostfireGaming still doing your drama warmup exercizes eh? "Eat each green pea. Aim straight at the game."
I love your exposition videos!
When I think of any vampire court, my mind always defaults to Soul Reaver 1 with Melchaih, Zephon, Rahab, Dumah, Turel, and Raziel, with Kain as the head =)
Aaaaaand now I have the Soul Reaver theme music stuck in my head.
Kain is deified, the Clans tell tales of him...
1:02 Or Vampire the masquerade?
What's that show at 5:30?
It’s Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, a film from 2001
We could have one Strahd be like Dracula Flow
So this is an unashamedly stolen idea from Pointy Hat, but you mentioned 7 court members. Base them off the 7 deadly sins. Vampires can quite easily fit several of them (greed, pride, even wrath potentially), others might require a bit more work but could be interesting.
That's such a complimentary idea! I need to watch that video.
More Game of Thrones in my CoS game? TPK the party? Have encounters full of explicit sex?
It kinda sounds like ten towns and the sacrifices but instead of 1 deity it’s a council of vamps.
How do someone become a Fzeg lore wise? And if one of the players wanted to become a fzeg should i just mix the werewolf and vampire transformations?
Great as usuall :)
Thank you! 😄
Truly love this idea this does sound like a very experienced DMS idea
Bro your content is so good I love it
Appreciate it! Glad you dig it.
👍
Hahahaha shogun, that's not intrigue it's just a bunch of weaklings Ned Starks, tied and blinded by honor lords in a Game(the game of thrones) where honor has nothing todo and it's a weak XD with women more capable or betray and intrigue
Dude, did you just adapt Warhammer Fantasy: Age of Sigmar to D&D 5e?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Good bait bro :v