Curse of Strahd: The Masterful Horror Experience You Deserve!
Dungeons & Dragons 5e | Campaign
About the adventure
🛠️ Chart a course through a world filled with high Role-Play and complex characters brought to life by a passionate voice actor! 🧠 Negotiate through complex political and personal social encounters in the original D&D Gothic Horror campaign! ⚔️ Vanquish evil in creative and challenging combat scenarios in a world where the things that go bump in the night know what they are doing! ============== 👁️ Are you looking for a story of heroes with flaws and frailties who yet still persist the in the fight against seemingly insurmountable evil? 🖤 Are you the kind of person that loves to live and breathe the characters they build and truly try and dwell in the imaginary reality we, as a group, will be creating? 🎭 Are you passionate about the kind of immersive, character driven experience seen on beloved web series like Critical Role and other amazing games filled with deep storytelling and lots of role play? 🧛♂️ Are you a fan of Gothic Horror shows like Penny Dreadful, filled with moral grays and flawed heroes fighting seemingly insurmountable odds? ⌛ Are you dying to find a long-term campaign that will last for years, where your character choices make a difference and the other people at the table are there for the same reasons you are? If any of that rings true then this is the game for you! So come, forge ahead in to the mists... Who knows what hides in it's darkest depths…
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
“Rule of Cool” emphasizes creative story beats over sticking to a system’s rules as written. Players have the ability to push the limits of the rules or even break core rule mechanics at times if the Game Master thinks it is interesting, fun, or cool enough.
Roleplay Heavy
“Roleplay Heavy” games place the focus on the story, the characters, and the world they live within, and tend to lean hard into the various roleplaying elements of the game. These games will frequently find the party talking with NPCs, exploring the personal elements of their backstories, or even having emotional moments around the camp fire.
This will be a live-play game meeting **every other week.** We will have some weeks off around holidays/vacation time but you can reliably expect between 20-24 games per year until the campaign is finished!
5.0
(49)
4 years on StartPlaying
395 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Sets the Mood, Creativity
Average response time: 3 hours
Response rate: 86%
Game Master Reviews (49)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Sets the Mood
Creativity
Thomas Miller
New review
Played 20 sessions
He is great at creating challenging and intriguing combat as well as doing awesome storytelling descriptions. In addition, he helps foster a supportive environment in his groups. I would highly recommend this GM
Sam
Played 9 sessions
Joel is an outstanding DM—friendly, patient, and incredibly engaging. He consistently encourages players to tap into their creativity, creating a welcoming and collaborative environment that makes every session enjoyable. His mastery of Foundry is top-notch; he uses it to enhance the game without ever letting the tech get in the way of the story, and he's always happy to walk players through mechanics when needed. Sessions always start on time, and Joel does a great job of building rapport with the group, making sure everyone gets the most out of the experience. His storytelling is captivating—full of twists, vivid world-building, and memorable NPCs that truly bring the game to life. You can tell he genuinely cares about the player experience and the narrative as a whole. Highly recommended!
Cait
Played 15 sessions
Joel is a phenomenal story teller. He puts so much work into each session, from background ambience to maps to voices and motivations for NPCs. He also is great at explaining the game to new players, and very kind and mindful of keeping the game safe and fun for all.
Shannon
Played 14 sessions
We are only allowed three tags when we do a review, but Joel hits them all, so let me start by putting them here: Allows for player creativity, Inclusive/Safe, Knows the Rules, Rule of Cool, Sets the mood (Soundscapes & Music), Terrific Storyteller, Good for beginners, Incredible Visual Aids, Amazing & fun voices, World Builder. Joel is all of these things - and he accomplishes this while putting on an amazing and highly-modified Curse of Strahd campaign, which is a feat in and of itself! He has incorporated a ton of fresh takes on the module, making it replayable even if you have played it before. I can't say enough about how thoughtful and creative Joel is, and how safe a space this is to play. I've laughed and cried at his table. He rewards players for creativity and even encourages players to give other players inspiration for great storytelling. When there are issues with a player, he addresses them thoroughly and thoughtfully. Every session leaves room for feedback, what you liked, what you didn't like, and MVP of the game gets inspiration. This is not to say that we are swimming in inspiration - let's just say the game world might be hard on our characters and we need it! I haven't played in his non-Strahd games but I am at two of his Strahd tables as I write this and experience the same quality at both games. I can't wait to dive into all the ways each game is a unique experience!
Twice
Played 14 sessions
I've had a wonderful experience playing with Joel as our DM! He's a fantastic storyteller and scene-setter—attentive, imaginative, and great at matching the energy of the group. Joel clearly put a lot of thought into curating this party of brilliant players, and it's one of the most well-rounded, interesting, and respectful groups I've had the pleasure of playing with. He regularly asks for proactive feedback and genuinely implements it, which makes the game feel collaborative and dynamic. Joel also introduced clever mechanics to keep things fresh and engaging, adding his own unique twist to Curse of Strahd. It's also worth noting: this is a definitely LGBTQ+ friendly space, which adds to the comfort and inclusivity of the game. All in all, an excellent campaign experience!
Monica
Played 21 sessions
I love playing at Joel’s tables. He really knows how to set a tone and atmosphere. He also is really patient with us and helps us walk through the mechanics of VTT gaming. And the story is role play driven through the campaign story arc.
Additional details
How to prepare
We will be using Zoom for voice and video chat. A good mic is a necessity and I always recommend a camera as well but it is not a requirement. A chrome based browser is best for VTT use. You will need a free account on D&D Beyond to access all of the character creation resources I make available via the campaign link. Games are run on either Roll20 or Foundry. Roll20 requires a free account. Foundry will require a free account at Forge-VTT.com.
What I provide
💖 Most importantly, you will always be guaranteed a safe place to be who you are. Everyone of every stripe is welcome at my table and I will not put up with any personal attacks or derogatory language toward any real-world person. It's a horror game, and bad things happen *in-game* but it will never be allowed to flow out of the game. 🧠 Experience. I've run this campaign many times already. I have researched it exhaustively, and I know what it needs for an epic story to be told. ⚰️ Significant homebrew improvements and changes to the story. Even if you've played this adventure before, I will likely bring quite a bit of new material to the story for you. 🎼 Professional quality soundscapes and music through VTT. 🎨 GORGEOUS map and token assets, many created/kit-bashed together specifically for this campaign 🎭 Passionate and Descriptive story-telling. As a theater geek and writer, I will bring my A-game to our table and do my utmost to tell this story as immersively as possible. 👨👨👦👦 A Discord Community for campaign tracking, In character and out of character chat, and making new RPG friends 📚 Full access to every official WOTC D&D book catalog published for 5th edition character creation 💎 Premium accounts on both the VTT and DNDBeyond ⚔️ Creative and challenging combat scenarios. In this world, the things that go bump in the night know what they are doing. 👂 An open line of communication with me as the DM. Feel free to reach out to me any time via Discord direct message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I am always happy to talk shop, character ideas, answer questions, and discuss any concerns that come up during the game.
Gameplay details
This will be the beginning of the Curse of Strahd campaign, taking characters through the first major story beats of this epic campaign. The story will continue in future chapters which will always be open to returning players as well as new players who fit the group dynamic well. Session Zero will be handled asynchronously via Discord Chat, though I am available for a voice session if that will help you with any decision making challenges that arise. Character creation and updates will be handled via D&DBeyond, using my Master Account, which includes access to 17 official Character Creation books. We will be playing with a number of modifications to the basic rules to help ratchet up the sense of risk and dread that truly makes Ravenloft sing! Character death is a VERY real possibility...though...there could be ways to circumvent such a permanent end, if the price is not too rich... Tools in place for player comfort: *Thorough Session Zero to discuss expectations for players and DM alike. Clear establishment of soft-stop (veils) and hard-stop (lines) subjects. * During active game play we will be using the X-card method to establish if the story is moving in an uncomfortable direction (a veil or line is on the horizon) when ever a player would like to take a moment to discuss, gather themselves, or request a specific change.
Content warnings
• Abuse
• Alcoholism
• Alcohol Use
• Animal abuse
• Animal Cruelty
• Animal Death
• Blood
• Body Horror
• Character Death
• Child Abandonment
• Child Abuse
• Child Death
• Classism
• Confronting Abuser
• Controlling Parents
• Curing of Disabilities
• Death
• Deep or Large Bodies of Water
• Domestic Abuse
• Drowning
• Drugs (addiction, use, withdrawal)
• Emotional Abuse
• Execution
• Extreme Violence
• Fire
• Forced Blood Draining
• Genocide
• Gore
• Hangings
• Hostages
• Human Trafficking (adult only)
• Illness
• Insects
• Kidnapping
• Language/Cursing
• Lifechanging Injury
• Mass Death
• Medical Issues
• Memory Erasing
• Mental Illness
• Microaggressions
• Mind alteration
• Mind Control
• Murder
• Mutilation
• Mutilation of Corpses
• Nightmares about Traumatic Events
• Panic Attacks
• Paralyzation
• Pet Death
• Police Brutality
• Prejudice
• PTSD
• Scars
• Seizures
• Self-Harm
• Slavery
• Snakes
• Spiders
• Suffocation
• Suicide
• Suicide Ideation
• Terrorism
• Torture
• Trauma
• Violence
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Lines and Veils
• Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist
• Open Door
• Session 0
• Stars and Wishes
How will character creation work
Characters will start at Level 1 for this campaign and level up to level 12 to 15 depending on the paths you take. Stats can either be 5e standard point buy or you can roll for them in the game's discord dice channel (Dice rolls are 4d6-drop lowest 7 times). Characters will be created in D&D Beyond with approved content sources only to ensure your characters will fit well in a gothic horror story. Please avoid reading any of the Curse of Strahd content available in official or unofficial sources. Let this story be revealed naturally so you get to enjoy the surprises!
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Medium
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Low
Experience level
Open to all
Platforms used
• Roll20
• D&D Beyond
• Foundry VTT
• Discord
• Zoom
$40.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Bi-weekly / Tuesday - 11:00 PM UTC
Jun 24 / Session 2
3-4 Hour Duration
4 / 6 Seats Filled
Schedule
Requirements
Experience required: Open to all
Age: 18+