The Curse of Strahd: Chapter 3 - Trapped in the Mists!

About the adventure

Come, strangers, in to a tale of woe... You are but a small, frail handful of flickering lights set against great darkness. Many such embers have been consumed over the centuries but perhaps your tale will differ. Perhaps you have a unique destiny in store. It takes but a single strong spark to set the world on fire. Are you that flickering mote of hope? Perhaps... Then again, perhaps not... Time will tell. Enter the land of Barovia. A land of greys and shadows where light struggles against eternal darkness. This will be a game built on the terrors of things that go bump in the night and the human spirit that fights or fails to fight against the inevitable. The overwhelming presence of a bespoke hell, created for one soul but trapping thousands. Gothic horror at its best! Curse of Strahd is the most popular official 5th Edition adventure for Dungeons and Dragons. And Ravenloft, in general, has been one of the all-time most popular settings throughout D&D history for good reason! The story and realm lends itself exceptionally well to a role-play heavy, character-driven campaign and that is what I intend to bring to the table. While combat will play a significant part in this campaign, there may be many occasions where physical conflict is the least likely option to guarantee you meet the goals set before you. This world is not the domain of adventurers, it is the domain of those that prey upon the stout of heart and many of the creatures roaming it's misty darkness will take great delight in destroying any that seek them, or simply find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. This will be the beginning of the Curse of Strahd campaign, taking characters from level 1 to level 4. We will be playing with a number of modifications to the basic rules to help ratchet up the sense of risk and dread that truly makes Ravenloft sing, and character death is a VERY real possibility...Though...there could be ways to circumvent such a permanent end, if the price is not too rich... The story will continue in future chapters which will always be open to returning players as well as new players who fit the group dynamic well. As a story of dread and gothic horror, many such themes and tropes may come up, though I always complete a thorough session zero to ensure that we do dig too deeply in to any subjects that clear no-go zones for any of my players. Benefits of playing in a Leonidas Games Campaign: *Most importantly, you will always be guaranteed a safe place to be who you are. Everyone of every stripe is welcome at my table and I will not put up with any personal attacks or derogatory language toward any real-world person. It's a horror game, and bad things happen *in-game* but it will never be allowed to flow out of the game. * Professional quality soundscapes and music through Syrinscape.com * GORGEOUS Hand drawn isometric map and token assets, many created/kit-bashed together specifically for this campaign * Experience. I've run this campaign already. I have researched it exhaustively, and I know what it needs for an epic story to be told * Voice acting and descriptive story-telling. As a theater geek and improv enthusiast, I will bring many voices to our table and do my utmost to tell this story as immersively as possible. * A Discord Server for voice chat, campaign tracking, and chat during the game and between session * Creative and challenging combat scenarios. In this world, the things that go bump in the night know what they are doing. * Significant homebrew improvements and changes to the story. Even if you've played this adventure before, I will likely bring quite a bit of new material to the story for you. * An open line of communication with me as the DM. Feel free to reach out to me any time via Discord direct message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I am always happy to talk shop, character ideas, answer questions, and discuss any concerns that come up during the game. An ideal player for this game, first and foremost, is someone looking for an experience that is very different from the heroic fantasy seen at most D&D tables. For you will be heroes, but Ravenloft is decidedly not a heroic story. It is a story of survival. It is a story of human frailty and the agony of choosing the least-bad choice rather than the best choice, for often there are no truly good choices to be had. Additionally, if you are the kind of person that loves to live and breathe the characters they build and truly try and dwell in the imaginary reality we, as a group, will be creating, this is a story for you... Theater geeks, fantasy fanatics, and lovers of web series like Critical Role, who are looking for that kind of immersive, character driven experience, will fall in love with the story we are telling. So come, forge ahead in to the mists... Who knows what hides in it's darkest depths...

Additional Details

How to prepare

We will be using Discord for voice and video chat. A good mic is a necessity and I always recommend a camera as well but it is not a requirement. You will need a free account on D&D Beyond, Roll20, and Syrinscape as well. There is a very small app download for Syrinscape's online player. I am always available to help with any setup concerns that may come up. If the entire group would prefer to play on Foundry we can discuss that option.

What I provide

Premium accounts on Syrinscape, Roll20, Foundry VTT, and D&D Beyond give you access to a world-class set of tools to enjoy the game with. I also invest significant time, money, and effort in creating and curating art and props for my games as well.

Gameplay details

This game contains the following themes and safety tools will be in place to handle any no-go areas from the first session onward: This game is 18+ and contains child abuse and neglect, emotional and physical abuse towards vulnerable adults, murder and attempted murder, including that of children, kidnapping, stalking, gaslighting, abuse of power, racism, sexism, cruelty, torture, references to colonialism and genocide, mutilation, mind control, the desecration of the dead and of places of worship, cannibalism, including involuntary cannibalism, mercy killing, situations paralleling sexual assault, parental death, child death, reference to stillbirth/miscarriage, partner death, mental illness and the mistreatment of the mentally ill, possible exploitation of physical disability, mal-adaptive grieving behaviors, starvation and food horror, cruelty to animals, prolonged and painful deaths, body horror, transformation against ones will, insects and infestation horror, abandonment, including child abandonment, decay, betrayal, including partner and parental betrayal, consumption of alcohol including portrayals of alcoholism, portrayal of hoarding behavior, potential incest, involuntary homicide, graphic depictions of death and violence, implied necrophilia, self harm and suicide, forgot victim blaming. Tools in place for player comfort: *Thorough Session Zero to discuss expectations for players and DM alike. Clear establishment of soft-stop (veils) and hard-stop (lines) subjects. * During active game play we will be using the X-card method to establish if the story is moving in an uncomfortable direction (a veil or line is on the horizon) when ever a player would like to take a moment to discuss, gather themselves, or request a specific change.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

Character creation will use DNDBEYOND.com. I have the entire D&D suite of products and can create homebrew content for use with D&D Beyond if applicable.

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.