Into Barovia: A Curse of Strahd Campaign

About the adventure

A thick mist obscures your dim lantern light as your horses plod through the heavy mud of a recent storm. The chill on your breath betrays that the cold is deeper than the season; something is shaking you to your very core. And out of that uneasy veil of fog comes the vision of a dark forest, a lonely road, and the harrowing night. How you've arrived here, you cannot tell. Unbeknownst to you the land of Barovia has swalloed you whole, and now you must languish in its hellish nightmare. This is a Dungeons and Dragons fifth-edition Curse of Strahd campaign focused on starting with first level characters, and progressing through the module's story as the adventurers make their way through Barovia and work to defeat the powerful vampire lord himself! You'll find all things that bump in the night, from vampires to werewolves to ghosts and ghouls, from hazy bogs to dead forests, and from farmsteads to crazed villages. If you're looking to get your fix on one of the greatest modules ever written for the game, or just looking to start playing Dungeons and Dragons, you're in the right place.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Players will need a copy of the handbook, Discord, and a microphone, at minimum. Physical dice are optional but recommended. I will be on webcam, but it is not mandatory for anyone else to be, unless they would like to. We will sometimes be playing via Roll20, so make sure to make an account for that site as well!

What I provide

Everything else is on me. The adventure, encounters, handouts, I will take care of everything other than your characters.

Gameplay details

Curse of Strahd is gothic horror inspired, and contains themes of mental distress, gore, and sorrow. If there are any themes you would like to avoid in the campaign, please let me know ahead of time. Strahd is meant to spook you, not make you uncomfortable, and I will be intentionally avoiding inappropriate themes. Additionally, we will be using the Full Deck safety tool method over Discord, which I will explain.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Lines and Veils
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

Characters will be created in our first session, which will be akin to a 'session 0'. If we have new players in the group, this may take some time; otherwise, we can go directly from character creation to a short session, and resume regularly-sized sessions in the following weeks. If you would like to create your character ahead of time, that is also acceptable. Feel free to generate your characters however you please, from point-buying to rolling stats. If you are new to the game and are ambitious enough to start your character on your own, I would recommend rolling for your stats. The Creeping Fog pulls characters in, sweeping them from wherever they happened to be onto the same dirt road in Barovia. Whether or not they have previously met is to be determined.

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.