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G59 | Level 15 | Curse of Strahd | Gothic Horror

G59 | Level 15 | Curse of Strahd | Gothic Horror

Dungeons & Dragons 5e | Campaign

About the adventure

Curse of Strahd as presented by Animancy Press w/ elements from Strixhaven, Eberron, & the Forgotten Realms. Content Warnings subject to adjustment based based on player preference. High Magic | High Fantasy | BERaW | Best Efforts Rules as Written Content | Content available on Roll20 & D&DBeyond Beyond20 | Use w/ DNDBeyond Allowed Content | WotC & Animancy Press 2024 Content | 2024 characters must use 2024 rules (feats, spells, etc) to the extent which they are available. Homebrew | With approval, up to 3 pages * Players accepted into established groups will have a probationary period of 1-5 sessions to ensure player cohesion.

Recruiting notes

Join a year long+ group of adventurers and friends who after just finishing the Forgotten on the Isle of Mnemos Campaign, will be embarking to Barovia with a new cast of level 1 characters: Party Name: The OP Rangers, Tower Rangers, or Power Riders. TBD. Character Manifest: Asrhile. Custom Lineage (small human), Ranger, City Watch/Investigator Background. "Asrhile, Lancer extraordinaire. Flying over adoring fans on my Pteranodon, 'Maverick,' and impaling foes on dual wielded lances." Moraen. Moraen. Githyanki Wizard (necromancer). Acolyte. "Don't worry fledgling, your true beginning starts after you die." Droros Fenwyse. Earth Genasi, Efreeti Warlock, Rewarded. Twyla. Rock Gnome, Ranger, Feylost. Tomi Silverfeet. Lightfoot Halfling. Ranger. Entertainer. * Group & Military Discounts (contact me) Curse of Strahd, run by best-selling author Animancy Press, is an expanded level 1-20 adaptation of the classic Gothic horror adventure set in the dread domain of Ravenloft. Designed for both the 2014 and 2024 editions of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, this version transports characters into a fragmented realm sequestered in a sinister part of either Hell or the Shadowfell—a nightmarish parallel world detached from the reality they know. Some may view the characters’ arrival as heroic, while others recall the countless souls who have failed before them. No matter their perceptions, the land’s enigmatic ruler has dark plans for them all. At the heart of the tale is the cunning Vampire Lord, Count Strahd von Zarovich. Through his dark magic and loyal minions, Strahd draws individuals from other worlds to sustain his decaying kingdom, ravaged by his unquenchable thirst for blood. In Barovia, the cycle of reincarnation has gone horribly awry: those drained of blood return as soulless husks, cursed to wander the land in short, often malevolent lives. Venture through the Durst Manor, where the sinister legacy of a cursed family haunts the village of Barovia... Escort Ireena Kolyana, the unwittingly reincarnated object of Strahd’s obsessive, unrequited love, as she desperately seeks to flee his malevolent influence and the allure of his fangs... Face the malicious hags, who demand human lives as payment for their dark magics... Enter the cursed land of Barovia in this expanded level 1-20 campaign, enriched with supplements from acclaimed best-selling authors. Take on the ultimate challenge of defeating Count Strahd von Zarovich and the dread powers that sustain him, all under the expert guidance of best-selling author Animancy Press as your Dungeon Master.

DMs Guild Writer
Artist

1 year on StartPlaying

573 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Knows the Rules, Teacher

Average response time: Under 1 hour

Response rate: 100%

Game Master Reviews (49)

Proficiencies

Players say this GM is great at:

Creativity

Knows the Rules

Teacher

Corey Reynolds avatar

Corey Reynolds

New review

Played 11 sessions

This guy is the bomb!!! Extremely helpful to new players, and makes the entire thing an experience!!!! 10/10 recommend!!!

Samuel avatar

Samuel

New review

Played 23 sessions

Been playing with AP for a few months now, have NOT been disappointed. Keeps the game moving well and leaves room for the roleplay, both with npcs and between pcs. Highly recommend him!

Jonathan avatar

Jonathan

Played 12 sessions

AP games are action packed and detailed. He is very efficient in gaming tools that makes complex maps, combats and actions move seamlessly. The music with each map/room sets the tone and player can construct their character emotions and actions with ease. Highly recommended great DM for all rpg experience levels.

Fara avatar

Fara

Played 12 sessions

Great DM! I really enjoy the voices and interactions he creates for his players. Would play with him again!

BlueMage CXIV avatar

BlueMage CXIV

Played 10 sessions

This guy is an awesome GM who excels at crafting stories tailored to your specific character! They are incredibly accommodating, whether you're playing in a built-to-suit campaign or exploring published modules. I'm excited to continue delving into my character's story in our game and strongly recommend them to anyone looking for a dedicated and skilled 5e GM.

Justin avatar

Justin

Played 2 sessions

It's very obvious that he either has too many campaigns, is aggressively multitasking during campaigns, has lost the love for DMing, or all of the above. During the first session, it was abundantly clear that this DM had no direction and had no intention of doing anything to guide the party or tell a story. We all began with the standard "you meet in a tavern". However, there was no extension of that. Literally just: "You are all new to the town and are in the tavern." After a long pause, he mentions an NPC talking about dragons in the area. Picking up on the hook, I have my character interact with the man, but the conversation is very one-sided with only basic responses that show no character and don't appear to build up towards anything. When the conversation peters out (since I have nothing to draw on), silence fills the virtual room again. The DM does nothing to prompt our characters to so much as meet and form the party that will be the basis of the campaign. And no: There was no campaign hook to bring us together. One of us decides to address the entire tavern, saying they want to do some work for the city and are happy to work with others. Clearly, they are put on the spot, but we all want a reason to work together, so the party agrees to work together for no real reason aside from the above table desire to play the campaign. Although we had pre-decided which of the postings we were going to pursue at the conclusion of our previous session, the DM still has us walk to the board and asks us which of the listings we would like to do. We remind him of our decision, and then there is a significant pause which I can only attribute to him hastily prepping the story for that quest. His descriptions of the location are painfully barebones and detrimental to the experience, as we are investigating a murder/kidnapping. Finding clues and uncovering the truth is very difficult when all of the details you get are "the place is abandoned, and seems to be picked clean." We specifically asked to investigate if there are any hidden rooms or trap doors. After we roll our investigation, he tells us nothing of what we were specifically looking for, but instead draws our attention to what I assume to be a planned clue which was in a separate room and, again, completely unrelated to what the roll actually was for. Later in the session, we are in combat and he noticed that not the entire party was in initiative. He then asks the other person to roll. The other person had not joined the session that night. Animancy admitted that he didn't even realize we were missing someone. Shortly afterwards, we decide to go to a specific location and call it out by name. The DM then takes us to a completely different location, which I assume to be the next big place in this mystery we're solving. Myself and another player have to stop him and tell him that we just said we were going somewhere else. After a moment of confusion, he takes us to where we originally wanted to go and then gives us a barebones, apathetic encounter with a priestess who we were hoping to get information from. It was at this point that I felt pretty confident that the DM was not listening to us, had done zero preparation, didn't care, or was simply going through the motions on autopilot. I didn't want to spend my night on that, so I left prior to the scheduled session end.

Additional details

How to prepare

Computer w/ Chrome or Firefox and Beyond20 Browser Plugin(free - instant install) if using DNDBeyond Microphone and Headphones A Roll20 Account (free) or a Forge-VTT accound (Free) A Discord Account (free) A DNDBeyond Account (free & optional) While some smartphones and alternative browsers may work, they are not expressly supported by Roll20 at this time and are disallowed as some features may be missing or nonfunctional and this may result in issues for other players.

What I provide

I have a variety of most of the popular WotC content on Roll20 and and on DNDBeyond as well as a variety of 3rd Party Publisher Content that can be copied/pasted into a Roll20 Character Sheet. I also have Premium Map Packs from a variety of vendors including Tessa Presents, among others.

Gameplay details

Every session can be a session 0. I use a session opener that encourages players to use/update their safety tool preferences on an ongoing basis. Also included is the ability of players to create private and/or public threads where they need only state their safety tool concerns and I will avoid it and do my best to steer the players away from said concern and handle any desired discussion of the topic to the best of my ability and seek feedback from the concerned where and when necessary before doing so.

Content warnings

• Blood

• Character Death

• Cannibalism

• Confronting Abuser

• Death

• Devils / Demons / Fiends

• Execution

• Forced Blood Draining

• Human Trafficking (adult only)

• Murder

• Torture

• Violence

• Mind Control

• Mind alteration

• Memory Erasing

• Lifechanging Injury

• Classism

• Animal Death

• Body Horror

• Child Abandonment

• Child Abuse

• Child Death

• Alcoholism

• Abuse

• Controlling Parents

• Deep or Large Bodies of Water

• Emotional Abuse

• Fire

• Hostages

• Hangings

• Illness

• Kidnapping

• Mental Illness

• Microaggressions

• Mutilation

• Mutilation of Corpses

• Nightmares about Traumatic Events

• Paralyzation

• Police Brutality

• PTSD

• Prejudice

• Racism

• Trauma

• Trivializing Mental Illness

• Uncanny Valley

Safety tools used

Aftercare

Breaks

Debriefing

Lines and Veils

Luxton Technique

Luxton Technique Discussion

Open Door

Session 0

Stars and Wishes

How will character creation work

Tutorials | Character creation tutorials are optional for new players by appointment. Character Creation | Automatically approved if using WotC or Animancy Press content. Ability Scores | Point Buy 2024 Content | 2024 characters must use 2024 rules (feats, spells, etc) to the extent which they are available. Starting Level | 1 or the party's current level (milestone) Bastions | Yes

Players can expect

Combat / Tactics

High

Roleplay

High

Puzzles

High

Experience level

Open to all

Platforms used

D&D Beyond

Discord

Foundry VTT

Roll20

FULL
$20.00

/ Session

Each player will be charged when a session starts.

Details

Weekly / Saturday - 7:00 PM UTC

May 10 / Session 34

2-3 Hour Duration

6 / 6 Seats Filled

Schedule

Sat, May 10 | 7:00 PM - Session 34

Sat, May 17 | 7:00 PM - Session 35

Sat, May 24 | 7:00 PM - Session 36

Sat, May 31 | 7:00 PM - Session 37

Sat, Jun 07 | 7:00 PM - Session 38

Sat, Jun 14 | 7:00 PM - Session 39

Sat, Jun 21 | 7:00 PM - Session 40

Sat, Jun 28 | 7:00 PM - Session 41

Sat, Jul 05 | 7:00 PM - Session 42

Sat, Jul 12 | 7:00 PM - Session 43

Sat, Jul 19 | 7:00 PM - Session 44

Sat, Jul 26 | 7:00 PM - Session 45

Requirements

Experience required: Open to all

Age: 18+