Strahd is the Land | Curse of Strahd Hardcore | Advanced players
It's quite stupid/heroic to walk into a demigod's personal plane and try to overthrow him wouldn't you say? Tell me, how stupid/heroic can you get?
$17.00
/ Session
Details
2 players following this game
Weekly / Tuesday - 5:30 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
2 / 5 Seats Filled
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One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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About the adventure
It's quite stupid/heroic to walk into a demigod's personal plane and try to overthrow him wouldn't you say? Tell me, how stupid/heroic can you get? What if the world of Strahd was even more horrifying and deadly, and what if you ventured into it voluntarily? You start in the city of Baldur's Gate, where an old Vampire Wizard called Efezendim has summoned you for a quest with a great reward. Having built himself quite a silk trading empire for centuries, he commands immense power and riches. Furthermore, he seems to hold an ancient grudge against the First Vampire, Strahd von Zarovich. The mission is simple. A ring is given to you, a ring that can take you past the fogs of Ravenloft, through the Phlogiston, to Barovia. And then from there, from the Ley Lines hidden under castle Ravenloft, back to Faerun. There's a catch though, you are not to return without Strahd, captured alive. Good luck, champions. This game is meant for players who have played Strahd before and want a steeper challenge and a slightly different story, and those players who have never tried Strahd but want to start with what it would truly feel like to be haunted by the First Vampire. Strahd will not reason with you, he will not toy with you, and if he knows where you are, he will hunt you down personally or with his endless legions of nightmares, unless you manage to stay hidden until you have the means to defeat him. Be vigilant, be careful, and pray you are lucky, for you will almost surely die in this quest. Succeed, and wealth and power beyond measure will be yours. Or, perhaps, there is another outcome to this adventure... ------------------------------------------------------------------ Unlike my usual games, this one will be unreasonably brutal and Rules as Written, although I probably can't help myself and involve some amount of Rule of Cool when things just make too much sense. Have plenty of prior experience, munchkin to your heart's desire, and make sure the party has good synergy, gameplay and rp-wise, or you're in big trouble.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Rules as Written (RaW)
Tactical / Crunchy
Sandbox / Open World
Meet the Game Master
1 year on StartPlaying
74 games hosted
Highly rated for: Rule of Cool, Creativity, Storytelling
Average response time: 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
Greetings Unfortunate Adventurers! My name is Ash and I am known as Ash the Mad/Insane/Unpredictable. You are most welcome at my table, and I will promise you fun and surprises, if nothing else! I started writing my own books and creating my own worlds since I learned how to write. I love fantasy and Sci-Fi settings and the moment I understood the possibility of being a Game Master -Creating a world then allowing my friends to play around in it-, was a new awakening for me. I have been running since 2016, usually with my own homebrew systems for my own novels. My tables are: - Welcoming and chill: No tryharding, armchair gaming or rules lawyering allowed. We're here to play a game and have fun. - Friendly: Players will solve conflicts cheerfully and in a friendly manner, and if there ever is PVP, it should be for the purpose of a great story. - Considerate: Everyone gets their own time in the spotlight, I actually keep track of how much each player is a time grubber and which player has been just watching. Don't be surprised if something comes up that only your out of spotlight character can react to/solve. - Creative: Everyone gets to unleash their creativity and fantasy, I will make room in the system mechanics if I have to to fit your ideas in. Enough about me though, let's talk about you. So you wanna be in a story huh? Strap in bucko, we're going on a wild ride. You're starting the campaign with the funny idea of consistency and going through a neat plot? That's really cute. Unfortunately, Man plans and God laughs. But fortunate for me, as it offers me endless entertainment. The quest is to kill the dragon and you decide to join it as thralls and turn around and flip the script on the king? That's amazing, didn't see that coming! I'll allow it. Escaping the Orc Chief's gladiator pens by seducing one of his wives instead of going through the 10 boss gauntlet I've prepared for you? Duck it, it's funny, go for it. Starting a Kingmaker campaign only to end up in the deserts of Qadira chasing a flying, talking spellbook of particularly bad manners? Baby I had laid an offramp rail aside the main rail all along and it excites me! I put in a ton of effort to engineer a possible scenario? I will allow you to ignore or circumvent it completely if you wish so and use a creative way to go around it. One shot the boss? You will have no salt from me. I will pat you on the head and give you a special loot, because it's endlessly funny to me. Afraid you won't be able to pick a different weapon at character creation? Not here. I would homebrew an entire class for you on the spot and compliment your creativity and rebellious nature. Rolled a 69 on a d100? There's now a cave on this hex that leads into an underground bioluminescent continent filled to the brim with a whole other campaign's worth of content that I had in a corner of my mind made in 30 seconds. I will reward you thinking outside the box, I will reward initiative and audacity with my invisible hand tipping the scales in your favor. I want an organic story that happens despite what's allegedly supposed to happen. I want to see your characters thrive and grow no matter what direction they decide to go in, and I will never Artificially force you into a choice. Do what you want, go where you wish, talk to whom you talk. I will prepare a whole world for you to explore and adventure in, not just the campaign you signed up for. I will give you dozens of campaigns in a single game because wherever you go, free spirit that you are, there is always a great adventure to be had. If I don't have it ready by the time breaktime is over, I will have it by the time of next week. If you welcome this flexibility, my games are for you. You shall be entertained to no end, in my process to entertain myself with a great story you're making, and I will always help you achieve such great things. Trust in yourself and me, and we will have immeasurable amounts of fun together. You will never go back to the way you played games before after this. I will see you soon my friends! AUDENTES FORTUNA IUVAT!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
I expect the players in this particular campaign to have their characters ready before session 0. While for my other games I would help each player in character creation, in this one I expect prepared characters and good party synergy. All official books and supplements allowed.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You need discord and a browser, I use Foundry to run the game.
What Ash the Mad brings to the table
In this game, contrary to my other games, I will try to go as RAW as possible while keeping some ROC elements when it makes sense. It will be hard and crunchy, tactical as all hell, and bad RP and decisions might have fatal consequences. If you want a more chill experience, join one of my other games. I will of course use music, voice acting and art to set the tone and the ambience like I always do.
Homebrew rules
Things will mostly be rules as written (RAW), if anything comes up it will be minor. Expect tons of homebrew CONTENT though. New spells and enemies that use them, new monsters, new locations and npcs, etc.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Ash the Mad creates a safe table
I will ask the players about their lines and veils on session 0, and any other things they want mentioned. I will stay vigilant throughout the game for any issues and fix them as they pop up. I will ask for feedback and all other safety related measures will be taken.
Content warnings
Safety tools used
