D&D 5E How long did the Strahd castle section take you?
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
Charles Rampant
Adventurer
I've had parties take absolutely forever in it. However, that was in the I6 module, when they needed to scour the place for Strahd and the items. The main factor is how adept they are at working out where they need to go, and navigating directly to it; the card readings seem obvious to me as DM, but I've consistently seem them be ignored or misunderstood by Players, suggesting that they are at best vague.
Where did your card readings place Strahd? If he is going to be hanging out in the study, for example, or in one of the towers, he'll be found by the players way faster than if he's lurking in the vaults...
By the way, the Amber Temple was a solid 3 weeks for us, but could be a lot faster if the players meet the Lich early on and are high enough level to restore his mind. They didn't do every room, but almost all of them; they also spent a lot of time arguing over Dark Gifts.
Where did your card readings place Strahd? If he is going to be hanging out in the study, for example, or in one of the towers, he'll be found by the players way faster than if he's lurking in the vaults...
By the way, the Amber Temple was a solid 3 weeks for us, but could be a lot faster if the players meet the Lich early on and are high enough level to restore his mind. They didn't do every room, but almost all of them; they also spent a lot of time arguing over Dark Gifts.
Awesome Adam
First Post
It took my group 3 sessions to get through the Castle.
The first session they expended a lot of magic to secure the treasure in the treasure room.
The second session they barely survived battling the Golems.
The third session they played whack a mole in the crypts and put down Strahd.
The first session they expended a lot of magic to secure the treasure in the treasure room.
The second session they barely survived battling the Golems.
The third session they played whack a mole in the crypts and put down Strahd.
marcelvdpol
Explorer
It depends a great deal on what the party will do. If they are going to explore the castle first, it could take quite a while. Castle Ravenloft is a maze; it has plenty of combats, traps, secrets to uncover and the floor plan is horrible.
If they are going straight for killing Strahd, it would take maybe 4 sessions (4 hours each) to 6 sessions, depending on where Strahd can be confronted. Some locations are pretty obvious and easy to find even without knowing the details of the layout; other locations will be much tougher to find and/or makes the combat with Strahd difficult.
Note that taking Strahd down at a location other than the location indicated by Madame Eva is pretty tough; Strahd has plenty of ways to escape from combat quite easily, especially in his castle. Trying to beat Strahd that way isn't likely to work.
If they are going straight for killing Strahd, it would take maybe 4 sessions (4 hours each) to 6 sessions, depending on where Strahd can be confronted. Some locations are pretty obvious and easy to find even without knowing the details of the layout; other locations will be much tougher to find and/or makes the combat with Strahd difficult.
Note that taking Strahd down at a location other than the location indicated by Madame Eva is pretty tough; Strahd has plenty of ways to escape from combat quite easily, especially in his castle. Trying to beat Strahd that way isn't likely to work.
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