Curse of Strahd 2024e RAW - FoundryVTT Immersive Adventure

Creating your character

Character creation is done any time before session 1, which can include session 0. All D&D 5.5e sources are allowed, with the exception of Eberron: Forge of the Arificer (which means the Artificer class is not used!). Partnered and/or homebrew content is allowed, but must be vetted first. Ability Scores are determined by Point Buy, and players take starting gold from their class. During the process of character creation, players are provided with an interactive shop to pick their starting equipment. The adventure starts at level 1, but the players can collectively decide to start at level 3 and skip the introductory quest if they are comfortable with D&D 5.5e.

Preparing for the session

FoundryVTT and its effects/sound take a toll on computers, so a moderately good desktop/laptop is recommended. Voice chat is through a Discord server, so a Discord account is also required. To access FoundryVTT players will also need to use Sqyre, where the server is hosted. This is done during session 0 alongside me, and takes only a few clicks.

What John brings to the table

A fear of the unknown, and the need to work together to survive will drive most of the adventure. Art, music and sounds are used to provide immersion in the setting. Combat is difficult, but not unfairly so; the party must carefully decide which fights they can take, and which fights they can't. This is not a meat grinder, but death may still find you through wrong decisions, both in and out of combat. The campaign will mostly run with rules as written plus some house rules, and I will tend to stick to them for the most part to provide equal treatment and opportunity to all players regardless of skill. However, there will be some times when rule of cool may come into play in a particular scene, and creative solutions are often rewarded.

Homebrew rules

Inspiration: At the start of any session, all players start with Heroic Inspiration, which they can use to reroll any d20 roll. Players gain Heroic Inspiration whenever they roll a natural 1 in a d20 roll, if they didn't already have Inspiration. Healing Potions: Healing potions are bonus actions to consume or to use on another creature in D&D 5.5e rules. At our table, you can use this bonus action normally as per RAW rules, or you can use a Utilize action to automatically grant the maximum amount of hit points. Death Saving Throws: Death Saving Throws are done in secret, and not even the rolling player knows the result! If someone is unconscious, you have no idea how long you have to save them! Spell Scrolls: Anyone can use a Spell Scroll to cast a spell, even if that spell is not on their Class Spell List. If a character is normally not capable of spellcasting, the DC used for saving throws is 10, and no attack modifier is added to a spell attack roll.

How John creates a safe table

We will go over the many, many potentially triggering topics that Curse of Strahd brings in its story, and players are encouraged to ask as many questions as they need or want about them. We are here to make a fool of ourselves roleplaying characters in a fantasy land, and being comfortable is necessary for that to happen! Additionally, players have access to an X-Card during session, as well as a Raise Hand feature, to stop or slow down a scene should they need to. Curse of Strahd's story is melancholic, and a general feeling of hopelessness is pervasive throughout. As such, we also taking frequent small breaks as needed, and a longer break after hour 2.