Image by Roque Romero
A Dark Fragment Returns To Barovia, Curse Of Strahd
You carry a fragment of darkness with you, pushed by its influence beyond the fog into Strahd's domain. Can you find a way to destroy this evil?
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 10:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 20–40 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
While in possession of a strange artifact, you find yourself in the cursed lands of Barovia, where hope has been so thoroughly obfuscated by the very mists of the land, that most consider it to have been snuffed out entirely. A land under the rule of a twisted and powerful man who oppresses its inhabitants for his own sick amusement. -Explore the cursed lands of Barovia and find allies -Engage in grisly and dangerous combat -Difficult choices await you, compromises will likely have to be made. -Be ready with backup characters within the first leg of the campaign.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(16)
2 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, World Builder
About me
Hello, I've been a GM since 2010 starting out using World Of Darkness, which became Chronicles of Darkness for a good 8 years, and eventually settled into running Dungeons And Dragons 5e for the remaining time. I've branched out a little bit, toying with more obscure systems like Blades In The Dark, and Paranoia as a player, and have run a few one-shots with Panic At The Dojo. I've run several adventure modules as well as homebrew campaigns I fell in love with TTRPG's and the sheer amount of expression you can put into them, and I've always wanted to share my ideas and creations with people which led me to becoming a GM rather than just a player. I've even managed to create a homebrew-esque system from Chronicles Of Darkness to play battle royale styled games via play-boy-post that became so popular that even after I've stopped running them myself, an old player continues to run the homebrew themselves and has kept a niche community around it. I've been a huge fan of video games and anime my entire life, and much of my homebrew is based on the many games I've enjoyed and shows that I've watched. I'm a huge fan of subverting tropes and expectations, and love juxtaposing themes such as cute anime girls being embroiled in dark, heavy, and edgy themes. I'm also a furry who owns two fursuits with two sonas, with the main one being "Daiquiri" Doug who is my profile icon. Despite his nickname, he doesn't actually drink, and is usually the one serving drinks.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Players will begin at first level, and can take standard array or point buy for ability scores. All characters get a free feat at level 1. I use the Complete Waifu Handbook by Stuart Jones as an expanded resource for character creation, granting many new races, feats, backgrounds, spells, camping, and cooking activities. I also grant all classes a number of martial maneuvers equal to their proficiency bonus, that can be performed a number of times per day equal to their proficiency bonus. These maneuvers are similar to battlemaster maneuvers, but do not have surperiority dice, and do not add extra dice of damage along with their affects (If you wish to play a battlemaster fighter, you get these maneuvers independently from your battlemaster maneuvers which will still function as normal). Please try to make characters that would make sense to exist within a dark fantasy setting and can get along with the other members of the table. The main bulk of character creation should be done on session 0, but I will make all homebrew resources available to players so that they know all of their options beforehand. If a player wants to reach out to me with questions or help before session 0, I am always open.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Have a Discord and Roll20 account prepared as those are what I use for communication and the VTT to run games.
What James brings to the table
I run fairly tactical combat with custom enemy statblocks that give them access to unique skills, abilities, and passives to keep players on their toes and interact with their environments. I try to stick to a traditional RAI, or Rules As Intended, but will allow for Rule Of Cool when it makes sense to do so. I will allow extensive exploration of the world of Barovia, and will incentivise roleplay throughout the game. I can do a variety of voices (quality of voices may vary wildly), and can get into character very easily. I can switch between characters and NPC's on the fly, though rarely I can get tripped up just a tad when my brain farts and I forget words for a moment, so please be patient when that happens.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How James creates a safe table
I use both lines and veils as well as the X card in my games. I don't have a specific document, but I will always ask my players to private message me of any lines or veils they may have will be before session 0 of the campaign so that I can tailor the experience to their needs. During session 0 I will go over what I expect to have in the campaign, minus anything that was mentioned as a hard line before hand. During session 0 I will also tell players that they can employ an X card at any point if the content of the game takes a turn towards something that makes them uncomfortable, either by DMing me in private if they wish to remain anonymous, or by drawing a big X on the map of the game to get my attention. After sessions I will always try to employ aftercare and allow players a safe space to speak to me in public or private about how the game is making them feel, whether good or bad. I will also always be open to help those who need to talk about events outside of the game if they need someone to listen.
Content warnings
Safety tools used