Curse of Strahd: The Horrors Within
--Session Zero June 18th-- Barovia: The mists conceal secrets, wonders, and terror beyond the ken of man, will you survive, or become the next horror?
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Tuesday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 40–65 Sessions
0 / 6 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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About the adventure
The mists have closed behind you. Welcome to Barovia, a land cut off from the rest of the world, trapped beneath endless storm clouds and ruled by an ancient tyrant who knows your name before you speak it. Villages decay beneath the shadow of Castle Ravenloft. Wolves stalk the forests. Church bells ring for the dead almost every night. Somewhere in the dark, Count Strahd von Zarovich is watching. This will be a dark, gruesome, roleplay heavy sandbox campaign using the 5.5 edition ruleset and Curse of Strahd. Barovia is open for exploration, and the players will be free to pursue their own goals, investigate mysteries, make alliances, uncover secrets, and decide for themselves what matters. The world will continue moving around you. Villains pursue their plans. People remember what you do. Places change over time. Some opportunities disappear if ignored for too long. This is gothic horror first and foremost. Violence is dangerous. Fear matters. Choices matter. The setting is oppressive, emotional, and deeply character focused. I’m looking for players who enjoy immersive roleplay, strong characterization, difficult decisions, tense social encounters, and developing relationships with both the party and the world around them. This game is especially aimed at players who enjoy dramatic scenes, in character conversation, emotional investment, and collaborative storytelling. If you like flawed characters, complicated motivations, slow burn development, moral dilemmas, interpersonal tension, or moments where the table goes completely silent because somebody just said something devastating in character, you’ll probably fit in well here. Expect: • Heavy RP and character focus • Dark fantasy and gothic horror themes • Player driven exploration • NPCs with evolving goals and personalities • Consequences for action and inaction • Dangerous combat • Long term character arcs • A serious but still social table atmosphere Probably not the best fit for: • Constant joke characters • Murderhobo playstyles • Players only interested in combat optimization • Passive players waiting to be directed from scene to scene
Game style
Rules as Written (RaW)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(26)
3 years on StartPlaying
392 games hosted
Highly rated for: Voices, Storytelling, Creativity
Average response time: 24+ hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
As a lifelong tabletop RPG player and veteran Game Master, I have spent years refining not just my storytelling, but the entire atmosphere surrounding it. My Foundry VTT table is the result of thousands of hours of development, iteration, and obsessive attention to detail, built to deliver a deeply immersive online roleplaying experience that rivals and often surpasses what is possible at a physical table. Every environment is carefully constructed using high resolution animated maps, dynamic lighting, layered ambient soundscapes, curated musical scoring, environmental effects, and a wide suite of custom systems and automations designed to make the world feel alive. The goal is never simply to run combat encounters or move tokens across a screen. The goal is immersion. I want players to feel like they are stepping into a living world that reacts to them, remembers them, and pulls them deeper into the story every session. Over the years, I have developed an extensively customized Foundry setup featuring streamlined automation and quality of life systems that allow the game to flow naturally without sacrificing depth or complexity. Functional looting, harvesting, crafting, merchant systems, interactive journals, cinematic scene transitions, advanced quest tracking, visual effects, dynamic weather, and fully integrated character features all work together to create a polished and highly responsive tabletop experience. More importantly, all of that technology exists in service of the roleplay. My games are character driven, atmospheric, emotionally grounded, and heavily focused on player agency. I believe the best tabletop experiences happen when strong storytelling, meaningful choices, and immersive presentation all reinforce one another. This is not a barebones online game held together by dice rollers and Discord webcams. This is a fully realized virtual tabletop experience built by someone who genuinely loves the craft.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will go over character creation on signup in the discord. Links for dndbeyond etc will be provided on signup.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will have a guided preparation experience from the DM upon signup. You will need a standalone discord client and a Chrome browser in order to participate in any games that I run.
What Squizard The GM brings to the table
I will be providing the virtual table top, maps, sound tracks, character creation materials including books and supplementary materials through dndbeyond and others. There will be intense tactical combat and heavy roleplay, funny moments and serious times. Rule of cool can prevail in the right circumstances, but RAW is king aside from specifically established table rules which I am happy to vote on as the table sees fit.
Homebrew rules
Homebrew rules are brought to the table and voted on by players. I am happy to hear if the group wants to try something different.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Squizard The GM creates a safe table
open doors, session zero, X cards, stars and wishes, Lines and veils are established in session zero with off limits topics and fade to black topics. There is no explicit sexual activityof any kind at any of my tables (Fade to black ok).
Content warnings
Safety tools used