The Curse: Desperation in Ravenloft

About the adventure

Barovia, an ancient mountain valley locked away in the swirling Mists for countless generations, it's name and beauty long forgotten in the realms of Man. The residents of this weary place eke out a tenuous existence beneath the perpetually gray skies, no one in living memory has seen an unobscured sun. Even in death escape is forbidden, souls locked away, forced to return again and again to life in a new age, a new body. Yet more children are born than the souls that are trapped for all eternity, and so many are born the Soulless, moving through their tedious half-life never knowing joy or laughter, tears or pain. Barovians carry their fear with them in every moment, wearing it like a heavy, burdensome cloak. But when the nebulous sun goes down and the valley grows truly dark, even those with the lightest cloaks huddle around their fires, sheltered and pretending their walls protect them. Over them all looms the spectre of Ravenloft, the forbidding fortress that myth, legend, and rumor claim is the home of their cursed Lord, Strahd von Zarovich. The stories say that in every sixth generation the soul of the Lord's ancient love is reborn and he will once again stalk the land and it's people. But none has even a story of their grandmother's grandmother viewing Count Strahd in the flesh, and the gates of Ravenloft have remained closed and barred. Many believe him dead, rotted away in his crumbling keep, but still his name is only uttered in trembling whispers, lest his presence be roused upon the speaker. What does it mean to live in this sunless land, can it even be called a life? Every day much the same as the one before, until it is not... ***IMPORTANT - MUST READ*** Curse of Strahd is a dark, brutal adventure that will test your prowess, fortitude, and ingenuity in very extreme ways. I intend to run this game with a level of gritty realism that will likely wear down your character's will to live. What is right will not always be obvious, and all morality will be heavily obscured in the mists that permeate Ravenloft. This is NOT a game for the faint of heart. Do you have what it takes to survive the horrors of Ravenloft and Count Strahd von Zarovich? “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” - Friedrick Neitzsche

Additional Details

How to prepare

Each player will need to have Discord with working audio input and output. A webcam is nice too, but not required. DroidCam is a great app that turns your phone into a webcam. Each player will also need to download and install Fantasy Grounds Unity, which you can obtain at www.fantasygrounds.com. The Demo (free) version is fine, as I have an Ultimate license.

What I provide

All of the core rulebooks and many optional ones will be available through D&D Beyond and Fantasy Grounds. I will provide an immersive experience utilizing everything a powerful VTT has to offer.

Gameplay details

Exciting and dramatic homebrew rules to give you more roleplay ideas and structure, and make combat gritty and brutal. Lots of role-playing and social interaction. Learn how to use Fantasy Grounds, play D&D, and pick up techniques to fully immerse yourself in an amazing story. Combat is tactical and fast paced. The heroes are heroes!

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Aftercare
Breaks
Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist
Open Door
Session 0
Stars and Wishes
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

Ideally all characters will be native born Barovians, or will have lived the majority of their life in Barovia. Though each will have the standard race and class and stats that make a D&D character sheet, these are simply the tools we utilize to interact with the world. The characters are NOT adventurers, willingly setting out into the world to make their name and find fortune and glory. Instead they are the oppressed, the downtrodden, those who live under the gloom and despair that is the spectre of Strahd and Ravenloft. Will they become heroes, bringing light into the dark, or will they succumb to the weight of grief and fear and pain, and die forgotten and alone? Characters are first level, and stats use the Standard Array +4. Pre-generated characters are also available. We will be using a mix of methods to flesh out your character, including the Sword Coast Heroic Chronicle as well as techniques learned and adapted from my years of performing at Renaissance festivals. There are a lot of house rules that will be provided to you. Character concepts will be discussed, primarily via Discord, both before, during, and after Session 0, with all character generation finalized prior to the first game session.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.