D&D 5E Slightly confused about Curse of Strahd

[Morrus]

It's probably my failure to read, but I'm having a little trouble.

We've gotten to the castle part of the adventure. The PCs are all 10th level now.

The tarrokka reading at the beginning one the game places Strahd in the chapel, which is a couple of doors down from the main entrance to the castle. The PCs (especially since they tend to do ne floor at a time in a location-based adventure)will meet him very quickly. That wouldn't be as issue if it wasn't for that tarrokka reading; if I just have them meet him there and he disappear after a round or two, the players will feel a bit cheated by the reading.

The Heart's 50hp seems a little pointless, also. Several PCs can do that much damage in just one round with ease. The monk and the ranger with the sunsword will go through that like a hot knife on butter. Yeah, it's trivial enough to beef it (and Strahd himself) up, but still.

How have the people handled it? How have your castle sections gone? Did the PCs explore the entire castle? How many encounters with Strahd did you insert?

 

[Mageman]

Have they fought him before? I make them encounter him a couple of times in the adventure before they castle. He always gets away when losing. Make him run away spider crawling, turning into mist or a bat. Have him go to his wives so the party will have more of a challenge.

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[Mercule]

I haven't run CoS, yet, but I ran I6 many times. I generally had Strahd as being very cat-and-mouse with the party. He would often harass them to the point where he could have greeted them at the door to the castle, saying "Let's do this, bitches" and it would have been closure. On the other hand, I've also had him read as being in the crypts and the PCs decide to go upstairs, first. The castle is fun, too, though. The one time I had Strahd read as being in the chapel, the PCs totally botched the encounter and ended up fleeing, so Strahd got reset. So, it may not be a particular issue.

I don't remember exactly how vampires in 5E/CoS may work, but I do remember the royal pain to kill aspect was a factor in the original. Strahd could be "killed" and sent back to his crypt to nurse his regroup. This might be the right way to handle the ordained meeting in the chapel. It either turns into a race to find his hidden coffin or the party may just need to find the sunsword or other means of permanently destroying Strahd (assuming they're victorious, in the first place). FWIW, the PCs have only beaten Strahd twice in all the times I've run I6. Once saw him staked and fried in his coffin after having his butt kicked, elsewhere. The other involved someone with a girdle of giant strength getting him out by the river and holding him under water (I don't remember how they avoided the energy drain). Hmm... come to think of it, that may be the same death, just steps A and B.

Another tactic to use might be to play up the ambiance of the castle. If the PCs, say, see a shape running down into the crypts, they may be inclined to give chase. Likewise, hearing a cry for help from upstairs might cause them to re-evaluate which floor they search, first. Once drawn to a different floor, there's a momentum in play. How ironic would it be if they end up exploring the whole castle, just to find Strahd in the last place they look, but literally the first place they passed by?

As far as the Heart goes; Yeah, it doesn't seem like a great asset, to me. My intent is that, when I run the adventure, the Heart will regenerate every night. If they deal with it more than a couple of times, I'll come up with a way to permanently destroy it. Otherwise, I don't like the idea that they could weaken Strahd essentially by accident.

 

[DEFCON 1]

For my two groups, one has refused to go to the Castle at all yet, doing everything in their power to avoid it (even jumping through a weird portal in Madam Eva's tent in order to avoid getting into Strahd's carriage to get taken up to the Castle for dinner.) The other group has been there twice already... first because they were invited to dinner (and where Strahd grabbed Ireena), and second when they came back to try and rescue Ireena before she turned into a vampire.

So for this second group (who were level 2 and then level 4 each time they arrived), they purposefully avoided going to where Strahd could be found (Sergei's tomb), and explored a bit instead. I will say that speaking personally... I interpret the tarroka reading as that it is the place where they always WILL find him if they are looking for him... but that he in no way needs to stay there throughout an entire battle (because that's just stupid.) But each time were they to leave the Castle and then come back later, they could find him there to start with each time (not that it mattered in my case, because I sent them up there at such a low level they knew enough not to want to confront him at that point.)

So in your case... the way I'd run it is that if the group was going to the Castle to confront him, they could march straight to the Chapel to go after him-- they'd find him there somewhere... either sitting in the throne up on the balcony, or perhaps standing in the main room staring at the altar (avoiding the zone of goodness). Or heck... if this was the very time the group was confronting him, maybe I'd go so far as to have him in the Chapel along with a couple packs of zombies and/or wolves-- maybe for story reasons, he's sending them up to the altar in hopes of them destroying the altar and that zone of goodness once and for all because it's been bothering him, but instead the zombie and wolves are getting burned or irradiated by the aura of goodness. But at least he is there with a whole horde of his minions for when the party enters.

That would be a good way to have more defenses for him in the room once they arrived, and the group would have to fight their way through his minions first before getting to him. But once they did begin to attack him and he realized what was going on (and he saw they had the Sunsword), he'd get the hell out of dodge ASAP-- probably fly up to the balcony and off down the hall, or head for the southern staircase in order to turn to mist and sneak through the crack in the wall blocking the stairs heading to the tombs.

The party would then need to find a way through the Castle to try and get at him... and at that point since they made their intentions known... I'd just start throwing everything and the kitchen sink at them as they tried to find their way through. Vampire Spawn, Creeping Claws, animated swords/brooms whatnot, Ghouls, Shadows etc. etc. They would never get a rest or a free moment to breathe, as they are violent intruders here to do Strahd harm. So wave after wave after wave after wave of enemy will find and attack them.

For my way of thinking... if the party goes after Strahd without having explored the Castle first (and learning how to get from place to place within the Castle really quickly before pissing Strahd off)... they deserve to get attacked repeatedly as they get lost trying to find their way through the maze of corridors. You don't invade someone's home and attack the host and expect to then just walk casually around after the fact.

And if the group complains that Strahd was found in his area per the reading but then left and took off? Ask them what they'd expect the greatest Vampire Lord of all time to do in his own home... just stand there with his thumb up his ass while the party just wailed on him for five rounds? Please! He's not an idiot and shame on them for expecting a simple card reading would be able to somehow freeze him in place in his own Castle. It told them exactly what happened... they found Strahd in his Chapel. What happened after that? Logic and reason took over and the Vampire Lord beat feet to let his minions take on the party.

 

[dave2008]

It's probably my failure to read, but I'm having a little trouble.

We've gotten to the castle part of the adventure. The PCs are all 10th level now.

The tarrokka reading at the beginning one the game places Strahd in the chapel, which is a couple of doors down from the main entrance to the castle. The PCs (especially since they tend to do ne floor at a time in a location-based adventure)will meet him very quickly. That wouldn't be as issue if it wasn't for that tarrokka reading; if I just have them meet him there and he disappear after a round or two, the players will feel a bit cheated by the reading.

The Heart's 50hp seems a little pointless, also. Several PCs can do that much damage in just one round with ease. The monk and the ranger with the sunsword will go through that like a hot knife on butter. Yeah, it's trivial enough to beef it (and Strahd himself) up, but still.

How have the people handled it? How have your castle sections gone? Did the PCs explore the entire castle? How many encounters with Strahd did you insert?

Don't forget his lair actions. I don't have CoS in front of me, but he has some particularly good lair actions. He can simply pass through the walls (Lair action), lock all the doors (lair action), and then flood the room with his minions.

I personally don't think you should worry about your players feeling cheated if he escapes their grasp on the first attempt. The rest of the castle / battle with Strahd should make up for the feeling of disappointment and it will barely be a footnote after it is all said and done.

EDIT: You can always use my beefed up Strahd too! I've updated it a little bit too.

 

[Morrus]

If I ignore the tarrokka reading, the problem goes away. But I don't want to do that. I guess weakening the reading that way and having them meet him in the chapel then have him run off works, but it feels a little like just nerfing the reading.

They've been invited. I also really want a social encounter with him to kick things off. Maybe in the dining hall. Have him invite them to enjoy their meal and stay the night (not that they have a choice about the latter). But that's a meeting prior to the reading, which again kinda nerves the tarokka deck.

To be honest, I think I'd rather that deck of cards wasn't in the adventure. I'd rather just choose these things rather than randomly determine them. I guess I could have done that 4 months ago when we started the adventure, but I didn't think of it then.

 

[Morrus]

EDIT: You can always use my beefed up Strahd too! I've updated it a little bit too.

Yeah, I have your version. I may need to beef him up a little more though - 7 PCs, some of which are *very* well optimized when it comes to laying the smackdown on the undead!

 

[Delazar]

Maybe make it impossible to enter the chapel unles X happens. Wall of Force, crazy difficult multi-lock, or just the mists making it impossible to enter.

They'll probably explore a little more, and then go back there when they have exhausted other options.

Or don't have Strahd be in the chapel when they enter the first time, and describe it as "a perfect place to rest". When the Heroes are deplted, and go back to the chapel, Strahd is there with an empty glass.

"do you have some... wine for me?"

 

[DEFCON 1]

If I ignore the tarrokka reading, the problem goes away. But I don't want to do that. I guess weakening the reading that way and having them meet him in the chapel then have him run off works, but it feels a little like just nerfing the reading.

The reading already gave the group the Sunsword and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind... and yet they expect this reading to also mean Strahd is frozen in a single room unable to leave until they knock him down to 0 HP? Just how powerful is Madam Eva supposed to be?

If Strahd is meant to remain in the Chapel for the entirety of the fight because you think it nerfs the reading to let him beat feet once he's gone down to like half HP, then you should really come up with a really good story reason for why he can't leave. Because otherwise it just makes Strahd look like a chump-- he's going to stand there and take a beating for no reason whatsoever.

I would say this... if you want to avoid Strahd's leaving the Chapel to feel cheesy... then perhaps don't have him retreat in a direction the group can't follow (so don't go through the crack in the stairwell in mist form for example.) Instead... give him a strong reason to leave the Chapel, but in a direction such that the party can still remain perhaps in line of sight or within earshot of him so that they can follow him through the castle for a couple rounds trying to chase him down. Like for instance... once Strahd takes those first 50 HP of damage which get transferred to the Heart of Sorrow, and the Heart then explodes from overload... Strahd shows a momentary panic in his eyes when he hears it shatter. He then immediately flies up to the Chapel balcony, rushes down corridor K27, through the double doors at K26, opens up the secret door on the north wall to the corridor outside K32, opens up the secret door to the guard hallway at K33, and then rushes into the tower that had housed the Heart of Sorrow moments before so that he could see with his own eyes what had happened.

The party can chase him down if they want to... and then they can perhaps re-engage with him in K20, the Heart tower. And the fight can continue there for a little bit, perhaps Strahd flies up the tower so that if the group chases him up the stairs they'll eventually have to face the animated halberds... and then after several rounds of this, perhaps he either rages or becomes overcome with agony about the loss of the Heart that he flies off somewhere else in the Castle. But at least this way the party gets a clear indication that they did something very important, and affected Strahd in a very tangible way... and hopefully give confidence to the group that they wouldn't get mad that Strahd didn't just stand in the Chapel for six round getting beat on because some playing cards somehow forced him to do so (with absolutely no magical evidence to support it would have the ability to do that.)

If you have a really good story as to why he would remain in the Chapel until he went down to 0 HP, or had a really good story to explain why he would leave... that will forgive anything that your party might feel about the situation.

 

[ccs]

Sure, Strahd is going to be encountered here (the chapel in this case) the 1st time the characters enter it.
So make it an epic fight. Max out his HP.
It also doesn't say that he's alone, not using equipment, & otherwise not prepared for the PCs....;
Just don't be afraid to have Strahd flee if he's getting his undead rear kicked.... (the module tells you this is how he responds) At about 60 HP, have him flee UP to K28 & disappear (did he go down the k29 stairs? Through the doors? Cast a spell or pull some other trick?).
Now the PCS have to hunt him down throughout the castle.