D&D 5E Ravenloft I6- 5th edition recap

[Nebulous]

I'd posted these last summer but given the new interest in the setting i thought i'd just compile them all here again. It was FUN. I see why Ravenloft is so famous. It was my first and only foray into the realm. If anomalies occur just download the pdf, should clear them up

Part 1
https://app.box.com/s/pm4cbvviyjff33iwzi6ppl77tyyfxmx8


Part 2
https://app.box.com/s/58se2a5mszy57d4pytzjx24wxgji0cjx

Part 3
https://app.box.com/s/of6uqiskyivmmyzgji5hzooxe33i2j2m

Part 4

https://app.box.com/s/eui5s37uro4k0qfvjb9yv22qrkan2xsz

 

[darjr]

I've been meaning to at least read through my copy. I've never read it nor played it nor run it. But now that I think about it I might have time.

This is inspiring, thanks!

 

[Nebulous]

I've been meaning to at least read through my copy. I've never read it nor played it nor run it. But now that I think about it I might have time.

This is inspiring, thanks!

It is so good. And the 1e to 5e conversion isn't too bad.

 

[Celtavian]

How did the 5E vampire do? Did you modify Strahd?

 

[Charles Rampant]

I actually just finished running this for my group. It took us five sessions, far longer than I expected, but then my party managed to do almost every room before finally finding Strahd.

Strahd himself was mostly a walkover for my group of 5 level 6s, but then they had the Sunsword and the Icon of Ravenloft, so I'm not sure what chance he ever really had. This was after I significantly beefed him up, in line with the advice in this column. It is worth noting that I ruled that there are no Long Rests in Ravenloft, so though I didn't have Strahd appear very often, the players did find that they were running an attritional battle against the great numbers of weak undead found in his castle.

The module was really fun, although VERY 80s. The boxed text descriptions featured a lot of repetition of words. In general, my players enjoyed the adventure, but got themselves completely and utterly lost almost instantly, and then spent the rest of the adventure desperately hoping to run into Strahd so that they could escape.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

On the converse, for my group Strahd was really tough, and killed two of the PCs. But they did not find the sunsword and the thief had the icon, not the cleric, for some reason.

Strahd himself was mostly a walkover for my group of 5 level 6s, but then they had the Sunsword and the Icon of Ravenloft, so I'm not sure what chance he ever really had.

 

[Ranthalan]

Strahd challenged my group as well (6 5th-level PCs), but the cleric rolled terrible for the Holy Symbol. They also faced Strahd twice so the symbol was of no use the second time. Strahd also made good use of his charm to weaken the party. With Strahd's HP regeneration and certain tactical errors (the fighter preferring to attack at range for quite a while, rather than use a magical mace) I think they dished out over 300 points of damage before subduing Strahd. Two characters were unconscious at the end. Another was unconscious at one point, but had been healed.

What I love about the module is how paranoid the players get. After adventuring in the castle for a while, if you mention the words "statue" or "alcove", they get really nervous. Two characters aged a year in one encounter, and one of them lost permanent HP in another.

 

[Nebulous]

How did the 5E vampire do? Did you modify Strahd?

He was terrifying, and i gave him the Hand of Vecna as well, just for ha ha's.

 

[Nebulous]

The module was really fun, although VERY 80s. The boxed text descriptions featured a lot of repetition of words. In general, my players enjoyed the adventure, but got themselves completely and utterly lost almost instantly, and then spent the rest of the adventure desperately hoping to run into Strahd so that they could escape.

Not only did my group not explore all of the main level, they never even saw the bottom level. I still think it took us around 12 hours.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

You didn't! That's just plain fiendish.

What really put Strahd into the danger zone for my group was his spellcasting ability, specifically fireball.

He was terrifying, and i gave him the Hand of Vecna as well, just for ha ha's.