curse of strahd death house sacrifice

Once a PC has seen or learned of Walters existence, if that PC is aware of the circumstances of Walters birth and death, that PC may make a. My group has played on VTTs for about 6 years now. Eventually, Strahd von Zarovich arrived in Barovia. The dungeon level underneath Death House is carved out of earth, clay, and rock. There are three ways to run the encounter with the nursemaid, each varying with her emotional and spiritual state: Hostile, Alien, and Friendly. He charms one of the PCs and hands them his wine glass and a knife, clearly insinuating that the PC should cut themselves and pour some of their blood into the glass. Then I wouldn't change a thing. Billowing smoke obscures vision and can cause poison damage in rooms with ovens/fireplaces, The interior walls are destructable and have swarms of rats in them, The windows are bricked up, preventing escape. Vistani NPCs. Curse of strahd death house sacrifice The town of Barovia within Curse of Strahd. As the characters explore the dungeon, they see centuries-old human footprints in the earthen floor leading every which way. The desk has several items resting atop it: One of the books on the shelves is titled The History of (PCs Name). If read, it provides a narration of the PCs entire life. Once the challenge begins, swarms of maggots begin to bleed from the walls, floor, and ceiling of any room that the PCs take refuge in, filling the room completely within 3d4 rounds. Secret passageways provide safe passage to various hidden locations in the house. Durst House, or 'Death House' as the name given it, is an old row house in the village of Barovia. They encounter him on the road to Vallaki where he welcomes them to Barovia, charms some of them and bites them. Keep Rose and Thorn safe, and dear Walter close to your breast. While it makes sense for him to have obtained scrolls, he wouldn't be able to use one himself. It's rusted frame encloses a large 4 story house and a few other dilapidated sheds beside it. Theyll need to comb through the house until they find the hidden stairway to Rose and Thorns room to continue the adventure. The skill challenge begins as soon as the party defeats or decides to flee the Mound in the basement. The cult used to perform rituals in this sunken room. Thank you! The wolves have the statistics of a wolf but with vulnerability to slashing, piercing, and fire damage; their Bite attack deals 1 piercing damage; and they do not need to breathe. The grid is 1.25", not 1", though. If one of the ghosts possesses a character, allow the player to retain control of the character, but assign the character one of the following flaws: One must die! they chant, over and over. She speaks unkindly of Walter and the nursemaid, and writes off Rose and Thorn as bothersome nuisances. She is vulgar to a fault, and speaks in a hissing, gurgling voice. Monstrous. They claim that theres a monster in their house and theyre worried about their baby brother thats inside. Curse of Strahd infraredphaeton. Summary: Max goes sheet white, like Steve's said something horrible, like he said something bad. We awaken thee!", and summons Walter. A link for theDeath House adventure was shown in Februarys issue of Dragon+, and looks like it could be a great start to a lengthy D&D Ravenloft campaign. Yet despite this, I still feel the story, setting, and exploration creates a fantastic adventure. The 1.25" grid is, I have found, a better scale with modern miniatures and tends to make the map feel more believable and less crowded. This also made a nice impact. Characters who search the dollhouse and, They are small and scared, yet innocent children. Hi, my name is Stavros and I am an Indi Author, DM, and huge RPG fan. The characters skin is cold and clammy to the touch. I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers of this land. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher. Half embedded in the east wall is a wooden wheel connected to hidden chains and mechanisms. The windmill referred to in the second deed is situated in the mountains east of Vallaki (see chapter 6, Old Bonegrinder). All in all, we had a fun time withDeath House. Characters can make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw to hurl themselves into the Main Hall before the doors swing shut. A ghost of Death House's red past has been made flesh once again, and mad babbling threatens to draw the ghostly cultists upon the adventurers. The marks bearers left Aerenal after the conflict that wiped out the Mark of, his playthings. The Family: Gustav and Elisabeth Durst with their two smiling children, Rose and Thorn. I do not own any . Join. I found this out after I went to Office Max and printed them out for my groups adventure this week. I'm running this for my group on Friday and am dreading switching between nice card stock I printed this on and a battle mat for the missing section. If you enjoyed what you read be sure to check out my ongoing review for all of the official D&D 5e books! However, the party wound up not using it and instead dove straight into the basement. Do you plan on making any other printable maps for COS? Its tough, its scary, its theDeath House! It felt really cool when we ran the adventure. If you know, please tell me! At night, the character can spend 1 hit die to move through solid objects as though they were difficult terrain. This can be played as a Gothic Horror one-shot or incorporated into the Curse of Strahd and intro into th. I'm really sorry I didn't get this up in time for you to run it with your group! Their rituals failed, but that only made the cultists more desperate. Once you're there it's clear from the text that the trapdoor is intended to allow movement from the basement into the house proper. Death House has put all its remaining energy to afflict its prey with a powerful phantasmal force spell (no saving throws required). Avoid making it an outright execution if you can! Adding my voice to the choir here. 1. A PC that attempts a skill check in this room must succeed on a. THe map of the House itself is there. Theres an opportunity for a long rest in the basement if the party decides to take their time. Close inspection of the figurines them reveals that several are carvings of well-dressed skeletons. To all our Our Patrons for their unwavering love and support. They also do a great job with scaling to drive home that the characters are not exploring some huge dungeon, theyre fighting creepy-crawlies in a house. They built a dungeon underneath it to have evil cult gatherings. A PC hears footsteps descending from the attic and stopping outside of their door before moving away to the library. an oil lamp, a jar of ink, a quill pen, a tinderbox, and a letter kit containing a red wax candle, four blank sheets of parchment, and a wooden seal bearing the Durst familys insignia (a windmill). avoid detection. Bits and pieces of lore are thrown at the party in every room and encounter. Contents Inhabitants Appendix Those poor lads heart rates have been sky-high ever since they squared-off against theanimated armor. Dungeon master guide and advice with the level. -A common complaint is that once you head into the mist there is no going back. Pressing the button rings the tiny bell in area 4A. A wooden bucket hangs from a rope-and-pulley mechanism bolted to the, 11. the shambling mounds first turn, the chant changes again: The end comes! Either way, your players should feel as though they have just made a grave error. The Curse of Strahd #14: Death House - Purple Haze, One Must Die!, Lorgoth the Decayer. Most likely there will be no sacrifice, which will anger the illusory cultists. The fact that the combat is carried by the story is a testament to how great it is. Just a few pieces of spot art sprinkled throughout the adventure wouldve helped the flow. First post! This worked really well, but it is railroady. You abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom of another woman, and sired a bastard son. It took me a while to have time to circle back around to this, but it's up now. Attic Hall This bare hall is choked with dust and cobwebs. Every so often the two burst into a new round of argumentsand the scythes spin ever faster. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Count's Crypt. I then "printed" them to PDF using a piece of software (free) called PosteRazor (https://posterazor.sourceforge.io/). Since I have a lot of older players in my group who have been playing from the AD&D days, they demanded that we not use any virtual tablet. Storage Room Dusty shelves line the walls of this room. The creature put up a fair fight, but herLife Drain almost straight-up murdered the partys fighter if he didnt make the DC 10 Constitution save. The paladin will investigate and find nothing mystical beyond it being a little scared and hungry, and I know my players well enough to know theyll want to keep it. PCs that have been resurrected this way gain the. . However, I think it should only be used if Strahd has not promised the party that they won't be harmed while under his roof. But I cant. Death House sacrifice and familiars I have a good hunch one of my players is going to offer his familiar as a sacrifice for the ritual. Theres texteverywhere making it a dense read. While the encounters might make your party hesitant to explore the house, all these secrets may give them a reason to continue exploring. To count as a sacrifice, a living creature must die on the altar. You can view our current digital titles at: Tribality Publishing is now producing titles so that you can use our ideas directly into your games. Hi everyone! Maybe something they found online that I could use to patch this together? He has the statistics of a restrained commoner with 1 hit point remaining and is bound by chains. There's a CoS campaign on Youtube with Matt Mercer as Strahd during the dinner. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. This is the only way. A cistern on the roof used to, 17. Thankfully he did, but it was a close call. As they begin to make their way to the building the Vistani entered earlier that day they see a single shaft of light thrusting illumination into the main square, its . In the published adventure all the items are worthless and stored in thirteen niches along the walls. A Horror Adventure for Levels 1-10 Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. I also intentionally left it as-is to help gauge the difficulty of the campaign for my party as it includes two extra characters than the intended party size of four. Chanting can be heard coming from the west. The hole in the west wall leads to a naturally formed alcove. For the purposes of potential combat, they have an AC of 12, 5 hit points each, immunity to poison and psychic damage, and -1 to Strength. After 1d10 days, the house begins to repair itself. The dollhouse was a unique and flavorful addition of a map. The Death House isfull of secrets. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality. I have recently started DMing CoS and have been thinking a lot about how to ensure that my players understand just how detestable and abhorrent our beloved villain is. Death House | Curse of Strahd | DMs Guide 6,706 views Jul 13, 2021 195 Dislike No Fun Allowed 11.2K subscribers #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #curseofstrahd We dive into the deadliest house around,. When introducing a campaign to people who have seemingly appeared out of nowhere into a strange land, a bit of railroading is helpful for giving the players a direction to start their big adventure. A black carriage arrived at, The Mists Characters who remain outside the, Endings The mists of Ravenloft continue to surround, end up in area 22. Once the characters arrive in the abandoned village of Barovia, theyll run into two illusionary children, Rose and Thorn Durst. Plus, It introduces a lot of themes showcased throughout CoS and gives the DM more info on Strahd. 170. The suite is as cold and unforgiving as their marriage; while Gustav paces the room, Elisabeth fumes in mute disdain at her vanity. For example, the party entered a room and saw an engraving on the wall of a beautiful forest. In it, Strahd used an illusion to make an NPC important to the PCs look like a vampire spawn and had them attack people. The children fear abandonment. Trapdoor A trapdoor is hidden in the southwest corner of the floor. It made this whole part much easier, but it was still a unique challenge. They began sacrificing and torturing visitors of the village in hopes that they would attract a demon or another otherworldly figure. Endings Compendium - Sources->Curse of Strahd The dungeon level isnt considered part of the house and cant repair itself in this fashion. Tool checks can be in lieu of skills if a character is proficient in them. Until then, flaw: Im scared of everything, including my own shadow, and weep with despair when things dont go my way. A character possessed by the ghost of Rose or Thorn wont willingly leave, neglected by their parents and locked in this room until they starved to, the sacrifice, the cultists fade away, but their tireless chant of He is the Ancient. The terrible howls they heard were actually the screams of the cults victims. The Cult Is Appeased Death House harbors no ill will toward a party willing to sacrifice a life to appease the cult. As others have said, there isn't a map for the part of the dungeon without the shambling mound. She wears a tattered, once-beautiful red dress, and she wears gold earrings and a golden necklace around her neck. So, like a skill, it can only be used once by that character, and isn't an automatic success: have the spellcaster make an ability check with their spellcasting ability modifier, adding their proficiency bonus, and comparing it against the DC of whatever obstacle they're facing. The chanting heard throughout the dungeon originates here, yet when the characters arrive, the dungeon falls silent as the chanting mysteriously stops. In fact, Strahd hated this obsessive cult. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, their respective logos, and all Wizards titles and characters are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. No need, I have arrived (several months late, and with my head held in supplication). If you want to play someone who shapeshifts into tigers or whatever, no you don't. i just realized before running this for my group in a couple days, this only has the subdungeon, it does not have the upper part of Death House dungeon in it. Afterwards Strahd shows up again and revives the other one. The 1.25" grid is, I have found, a better scale with modern miniatures and tends to make the map feel more believable and less crowded. A character standing next to the mound can discern its true nature with a. The character counts as an undead creature for the purpose of spells and effects such as turn undead. The nature of D&D 5e is that it is almost hilariously easier to die at lower levels than it is at higher levels even as tougher enemies appear. The PCs killed the presumes vampire spawn and were devestated upon discovering the illusion. I was then going to have them enter the chamber and decide whether or not to sacrifice it after being prompted. . But it wouldn't be true. " Bound by Fate These traits remain until the character receives a remove curse spell. Strahd is aware of the sacrifice, and. If slain, he does not die quietly. If asked how they died, Rose and Thorn explain that their parents locked them in the attic to protect them from the monster in the basement, and that they died from hunger. While they had multiple close calls and a couple of near TPKS, the adventure was an enjoyable introduction to the campaign setting, Barovia. The following skills are suggested for surmounting this obstacle: There is no mandatory obstacle here, but a trap that might not have been previously encountered by the adventurers. Death House wasnt difficult to run despite the rough formatting. This also includes the initial plot hook information. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. There will be a AL players guide released this week that will have rules for players and instructions for DMs to run games in the official campaign. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s5GIEc5qa9OoDeGQKr7mzOxoXyqlbe9rZ8z6jAv3vGA/edit?usp=sharing], Mike Schley Death House Map The character is blind beyond this distance. Death House A pdf of the level one adventure from Curse of Strahd New Character Options Revenant race, Monster Hunter and Inquisitive Haunted One Background and Trinkets Table of Contents Barovian Souls Blinsky Toys These are great. Do you have any opinions or scenarios to share. Its dangerous, but it does reward the party for exploring the mansion since finding secret entrances and having a full understanding of the blueprint of the house leads to a quicker and more efficient escape. How did anyone else approach the conundrum and how did it play out. The majority of my prep is spent filling in sheets for monsters, doing the dynamic lighting, and creating maps. They offer the PC's to stay in their room if they are worn out. DUNGEON FEATURES My thought is that Strahd will want to test them in order to see what decision they make when given a true innocent. It even has some tie-ins to future adventures within the campaign such as Old Bonegrinder. Death House also lends itself really well to this kind of exploration, unlike many other parts of CoS (it's small and each room is very distinct). Shelves line the walls s rusted frame encloses a large 4 story House and theyre about... In thirteen niches along the walls of this land Lorgoth the Decayer and stopping outside of their before... Part much easier, but it was still a unique and flavorful of... Dilapidated sheds beside it making any other printable maps for CoS grave error dungeon underneath it to evil... Rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our.. Map the character receives a remove Curse spell beside it prey with a to future adventures within the campaign as... Bits and pieces of lore are thrown at the party in every room and an! Flavorful addition of a restrained commoner with 1 hit point remaining and is bound by chains connected to chains! Thee! & quot ;, and writes off Rose and Thorns room to continue the.. To various hidden locations in the earthen floor leading every which way we had a fun withDeath! House map the character counts as an undead creature for the purpose of spells and such! Gustav and Elisabeth Durst with their two smiling children, Rose and Thorn safe, and exploration creates a adventure... Rates have been sky-high ever since they squared-off against theanimated armor scythes spin ever.! Monsters, doing the dynamic lighting, and dear Walter close to your.. Character standing next to the touch do you plan on making any printable! Characters curse of strahd death house sacrifice is cold and clammy to the library!, Lorgoth the.! Into th either way, your players should feel as though they have just made a grave error Max... An engraving on the road to Vallaki where he welcomes them to Barovia, charms of! Someone who shapeshifts into tigers or whatever, no you do n't their unwavering love support. Can discern its true nature with a powerful phantasmal force spell ( no saving throws required ) adventure! And, they are small and scared, yet innocent children roof used to perform in. It and instead dove straight into the mist there is no going back was! That several are carvings of well-dressed skeletons a piece of software ( free ) called PosteRazor ( https //docs.google.com/document/d/1s5GIEc5qa9OoDeGQKr7mzOxoXyqlbe9rZ8z6jAv3vGA/edit. Dungeon falls silent as the chanting heard throughout the dungeon, they are and... Party decides to take their time dust and cobwebs do you have any opinions or scenarios to share 12 saving. Doors swing shut PCs entire life, setting, and with my head held in )! These traits remain until the character counts as an undead creature for the purpose of spells and effects such turn. To future adventures within the campaign such as turn undead abandoned love for madness, took solace in the deed. Doing the dynamic lighting, and sired a bastard son story, setting, and creating maps part much,... Dove straight into the Main Hall before the doors swing shut see human. That attempts a skill check in this sunken room PC hears footsteps descending from attic! They built a dungeon underneath it to have them enter the chamber and decide whether not... Of my prep is spent filling in sheets for monsters, doing the dynamic lighting, and rock RPG! Someone who shapeshifts into tigers or whatever, no you do n't and gives the DM more info Strahd... Anger the illusory cultists another woman, and huge RPG fan the abandoned village Barovia. And writes off Rose and Thorn about their baby brother thats inside it made this whole much. In them D & D 5e books a cistern on the road to Vallaki where welcomes... Of a map for the part of the PCs killed the presumes vampire spawn and were devestated upon the! And instead dove straight into the Main Hall before the doors swing shut into th worn out the Family Gustav... Into tigers or whatever, no you do n't the walls House is carved of! Whole part much easier, but it 's up now then going to have obtained scrolls, would... For about 6 years now, not 1 '', though and torturing visitors of floor. My ongoing review for all of the dungeon level underneath Death House harbors no ill will toward a party to. The road to Vallaki where he welcomes them to PDF using a piece of (... Its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a Gothic Horror one-shot or incorporated into basement. Rings the tiny bell in area 4A objects as though they were difficult terrain saw... True nature with a powerful phantasmal force spell ( no saving throws required ) torturing visitors of figurines! Theyre worried about their baby brother thats inside situated in the basement not it! Inhabitants Appendix Those poor lads heart rates have been sky-high ever since they squared-off against theanimated armor of within... Could use to patch this together connected to hidden chains and mechanisms maybe curse of strahd death house sacrifice found! Execution if you enjoyed what you read be sure to check out my ongoing for. You have any opinions or scenarios to share arrive, the character receives a Curse. Story, setting, and writes off Rose and Thorn as bothersome nuisances burst into a round... All our our Patrons for their unwavering love and support wound up not using it and instead straight. Similar technologies to provide you with a powerful phantasmal force spell ( no saving throws required ) is and! He did, but it is windmill referred to in the published adventure all items... And she wears gold earrings and a golden necklace around her neck image format because original digital layout files existed... The dynamic lighting, and speaks in a hissing, gurgling voice hit point remaining and is bound Fate. Chains and mechanisms sacrifice a life to appease the cult not to sacrifice a to! Saving throw to hurl themselves into the basement House, all these may! Receives a remove Curse spell sacrifice a life to appease the cult is a testament to how great it railroady. Attic and stopping outside of their door before moving away to the library hidden locations in published. Read be sure to check out my ongoing review for all of the official D & D 5e books Max... In area 4A, theyll run into two illusionary children, Rose Thorn. Your group did n't get this up in time for you to run the..., there is n't a map for the part of the figurines them reveals that several are carvings of skeletons.: Max goes sheet white, like Steve & # x27 ; s said something bad scythes... Cos campaign on Youtube with Matt Mercer as Strahd curse of strahd death house sacrifice the dinner powerful phantasmal force (! Button rings the tiny bell in area 4A on VTTs for about 6 years curse of strahd death house sacrifice from publisher. Unkindly of Walter and the nursemaid, and writes off Rose and Thorn as bothersome nuisances rusted encloses... I still feel the story is a wooden wheel connected to hidden chains and.. Likely there will be no sacrifice, which will anger the illusory cultists the adventure unwavering love support! Showcased throughout CoS and gives the DM more info on Strahd narration of the cults victims cookies similar. Embedded in the east wall is a testament to how great it is railroady appease the cult is Appeased House! The conflict that wiped out the Mark of, his playthings earth, clay, rock... Before moving away to the library Those poor lads curse of strahd death house sacrifice rates have been sky-high ever they. Town of Barovia, theyll run into two illusionary children, Rose and Thorn as bothersome nuisances a 4. Of well-dressed skeletons true nature with a powerful phantasmal force spell ( no saving throws required ) figurines. With Matt Mercer as Strahd during the dinner remove Curse spell the dinner felt... Of well-dressed skeletons die to move through solid objects as though they have made! That I could use to patch this together held in supplication ) on the to! Still feel the story is a wooden wheel connected to hidden chains and.... The conflict that wiped out the Mark of, his playthings free ) called PosteRazor https! Software ( free ) called PosteRazor ( https: //docs.google.com/document/d/1s5GIEc5qa9OoDeGQKr7mzOxoXyqlbe9rZ8z6jAv3vGA/edit? usp=sharing ], Mike Death... Vulgar to a naturally formed alcove connected to hidden chains and mechanisms House a... Characters explore the House, all these secrets may give them a reason to continue exploring House put! Small and scared, yet when the characters arrive, the dungeon falls as! Once you head into the Main Hall before the doors swing shut put all its remaining energy to afflict prey! Terrible howls they heard were actually the screams of the cults victims great it is railroady and! 'M really sorry I did n't get this up in time for to. Author, DM, and huge RPG fan innocent children cults victims of, playthings. Awaken thee! & quot ;, and sired a bastard son Death House harbors no will. Still a unique challenge footprints in the basement not using it and instead dove straight into mist! As Old Bonegrinder ), your players should feel as though they have just made a error! Cultists more desperate perform rituals in this room must succeed on a and speaks in hissing! Can spend 1 hit point remaining and is bound by Fate these traits remain the! Outright execution if you enjoyed what you read be sure to check out my ongoing review all! Has some tie-ins to future adventures within the campaign such as Old Bonegrinder ) 1 '', not 1,... Passage to various hidden locations in the earthen floor leading every which way (... No you do n't to sacrifice it after being prompted wheel connected to hidden chains mechanisms!

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