User:Cedric/Ravenloft

The night is eerily quiet, you walk past toppled gravestones on the dirt path going to some, yet unknown, destination. The sound of a howling wolf pierces your concentration on the path. You look up and see a tall castle on the hilltop, silhouetted by a full moon. Across the moon is flock (a murder?) of crows or blackbirds who come home to perch atop the roof.

This article is a STUB.

You feel them watching you....

Curse of Strahd …Dare ye?

by Tracy and Laura Hickman, Weis

Alignment Vector: (-0.09, -0.6 0.8, -0.4)
Setting: Ravenloft, perpetual darkness outdoors, gloomy sky, separate timeline from the FR, probably a future in about 1920s but no cars, electricity or motors.
Climax: STUB Figuring out how to resolve the dillema with a large (LVL50) boss who rules the realm.
Entanglements: The gods of the realms are very curious how the humans will deal with Strahd. The presence of Strahd affects magic negatively (as you see from the alignment vector). If they resolve the ravenloft realm positively, the g dimension of the vector increased +0.4 to 0 -- neutral as Ravenloft is a separate plane to the FR where the gods dominate. Each time a party "kills" Strahd the alignment goes downward -1/10XP of the vampire.
Stage Direction: Mists, darkened pertpetual twilight
Music/Sound Effects: Howling wolves, distant crows/ravens, quiet insect sounds, occasional random clap of something unknown. When the gods are with the players, there's a wind in the trees.

A voice from the Vistani calls to you: "When the real world moon is full during your adventure, expect bad luck…."

“The mists separate intermittently, everything is still, as if every living thing is wondernig if it is safe to return to normal. Or maybe Time itself has stopped. The answer, I suspect they’ll ultimately find and from the smell of graveyard dirt, friends, is, “no”. You’ve entered the realm of Ravenloft, the Count of the Undead presiding. Your scrolls of teleport won’t work here, except to teleport you to Smelly’s sinkhole. There is no exit, yet everything continues onward as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Up ahead, it seems the tavern is open and is serving pints of ale. Welcome to Eternity…”

SPOIOLERS: NOT written properly to protect the innocent (your players). If you are a DM, the best way to set up this campaign is to simply inform your players about it, and see if they show interest. Give no hints that they may be missing out or not, and quietly tuck your campaign book away. (The cover reveals too much about the realm. It should just have a raven in the foreground and the castle under a full moon silouetted in the darkness….”

Note: This campaign is counterpoised to any containing Arabs, such that if one is encountered, the other is not in the larger [metagame]. Also there could be a “witch house” of hags that have parked themselves in the realm at the opposite end (West) of Ravenloft. These witches may be critical for the final end-game.

Strahd and Ravenloft, the Dark Side of King Arthur and Camelot, shrouded in the mists of Avalon. King Arthur lost his kingdom to the old hag, jealous of his love for Guinevere in the First Age. Quoth the Raven: "Nevermore". Now he haunts the fallen kingdom in gross despair. ...where the Ravens come home to rest. Combine Edgar Allen Poe, Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, Werewolves, a pinch of the post=-apocalypse from Savage Worlds, and perhaps even... the Batman (Get it? Muhahaha.) and you've pretty much have the landscape of this campaign. Our Strahd is a vicious character when moved to rage, but a contemplative one who observes everything when not. Barovia, a once-utopian idyll, now transformed into a dark wasteland of confusion, horror, and disease. You should probably play with silver dice when you're in this campaign. The silver shows your commitment to Strhad's aims (not in an evil way), which you have not yet divined. And you should definitely play with them if you go into the Underdark -- which you might need to if you want to finish this campaign in its ultimate finish. What do you find in the darkness of this campaign? Only what you take with you.

And perhaps a shard of the sunsword…. There’s always a little light in the darkness. (Like Darth Vader…)

The Sword of Excalibur can be found rusting among the ruins of this campaign (educated guess from this bard: hidden compartment gathering spiderwebs and dust in his castle), which provides a hint to it`s (the campaign`s) nature. Perhaps it is stored amongst his abandoned treasures at the castle or cast away like a piece of sadness: a dream that never became a reality. In order to find this one-of-a-kind item, you must have a lawful good cleric with you (and somehow the party must be affiliated with the Knights Templar or Christian Church). Otherwise, you can see the Sunsword as a re-glorification of Excalibur. Meditate on this to understand this module. Depending on the state of other campaigns and players in relation to this campaign, the sword may disappear from Strahd’s inventory to be reborn as the sunsword found by the Tarokka deck. This happens, thoough, only when players are much stronger than Strahd, spiritually speaking, for the sword looks for the proper home in which to reside as a semi- or fully sentient object. If GMs use the “shards of the sunsword” game idea (whereby there is no whole sunsword (which could be too powerful), but about 20 shards scattered throughout the realms), then part of Excalibur deteriorates to become that shard. In other words, Excalibur and the sunsword are mutually exclusive in a superposition of states (akin to Quantum Mechanics): once one is claimed, the other disappears from the universe.

Somewhere in the Barovia, btw, is a dairy farm. It is a special type of source for Strahd for the feminine energy. The commoners just deliver it, though it is rather pecular for an adult to be suckling from the breasts of a beast.

Strahd von Zarovich, a tortured soul, after having been cursed by tragic events which ended in the loss of his beloved, now stays vigilant for vengeance. The Countess (FIXME Ilsa?) was his yin to his yang. Imagine a woman equal in power and prestige to Strahd (before his loss), and you'll start to understand the significance. This is how to understand it`s diseased state. For it was the love of those two that kept the power of the realm in balance, allowing the creation of advanced items unseen in any other realm (note to DMs: items up to our ~1850s, mechanical calculators, pocket watches, iron age beauties). If you happen to bring in the purple crystals from the Dark Geode and show them to Strahd, he will be very intrigued as he's never seen them before. By doing so, you can win Strahd's favor and gain interesting passage through the realm from Strahd himself. The were-animals shouldn't bother you, unless you do something stupid (in Strahd's eyes). He may, unbeknownst to you, share some piece of seemingly-uninteresting arcana, that actually may prove valuable.

Now the realm is in complete disarray and confusion. If you're a DM, this campaign is good to throw onto your players when they get too wily and annoying ("All of a sudden a mist envelops you and the party!"). You can channel all of your passive-aggressive anger you've kept in reserve into Strahd. Omit the encounter with the gypsy caravan and save it for after the encounter with the women's chanting circle. The gypsy caravan should reveal to them that they are in Avalon, not Bovaria and that they don't know about a character named "Strahd", but they do know there's a tortured soul in the castle who once tried to unite a kingdom, but lost it.

The realm of Strhad knows of no elves. If Strahd sees one in your party, he may find it quite intriguing and ask about his background. Other commoners in Ravenloft, though also foreign to them, have gotten used to strange characters roaming around. If you did meet gypsy caravan in the campaign, you might find out that the kingdom got lost because someone took his wife, someone named .... Lance.

The campaign book lists Strahd at level 18 or something, but no NPC that is capable of holding a whole realm like Ravenloft could be merely LVL18. No, to hold a realm puts the power at level 50, at least. But, it is probably a combination of levels: 25 for Strahd and 25 for Ilsa. Since his wife is dead, that power is now held in/by the moon, and she gets more power when it waxes to full and the moon conjures problem across Barovia. When it wanes, the foggy mist creeps in and holds the land in its stasis, and he gets the power concentrated in his person. In fact, you should use the state of the moon in RL for choosing how to start the campaign. A player with PER >= 15 might notice it.

XXXFinish the ending for when the head turns to the player….!!!

Strahd mostly ignores the characters, automatically noticing and anticipating any physical or magical attack by his finely-tuned perception of other’s somatic motions. In other words, he’s highly attuned to movements that push flesh against bone — that pretty much means everything, doesn’t it?

Spiral downward For more on the main character, see Strahd. Since Strahd rules over the realm, like any demi-god, he confers AC and DAM benefits to NPCs of his alignment, an amount dependent on the moon phase.

His manor is dark because it is devoid of life. His area is lit. It has a permanent "lair" curse spell for anyone that enters. It causes those who enter (when not detected first) to fumble all of their objects. It's just an easy way not to listen all of the time for intruders. It also prevents incanting any spells. If anyone tries a psionic act, he immediately looks over to pinpoint the source of the intrusion.

Imagined scenario: The door open automatically when you arrive. It opens into the darkness, but there's no one there. He's known you were coming for some time. You follow a faint light where you catch a glimpse of Strahd sitting at a table, eyes cast downward at something upon it. He showed no sign of seeing you, but (if you were trying to be quiet in any way, otherwise he gazes right into you) he speaks with complete calm without moving his gaze from the table: "...And why didn't you accept my invitation?"

Any hesitation in your answer and he immediately throws a critical roll -- because he caught you off-guard. What that is (a weapon, a spell) -- he gets because you're in his territory and he set up the context for engagement.

An unspoken gesture calls his team of helpers (2 giants per party member), who immediately grab you and overpower you to such a degree that you can't even draw your weapon or get an attack. If you wish to, you can scream. If you are holding some magic protection, he utters a few words which you don't quite hear and the spell is dispelled. If your weapon is already drawn he parries all strikes like he was a master of the elemental planes. If you attempt to strike the helpers with some especially hyper specific attack that affects the NPC too directly, Strahd sneaks in and calmly dissipates the attack "Now, now, we don't need that." You are forced down some steps and thrown in to a dungeon.

You aren't told anything: what you did, how long you will be kept there, whether he's going to eat you for dinner, or anything. Players have to figure out something to do. Watch carefully what ideas they come up with. Do they see if they can break the lock or do something magical to get free? Do they use the time to get a long rest and charge up? The dungeon is in his territory and automatically protected by the force of his presence -- you probably won't find an easy way out. He is playing a cat and mouse game. Build up the characters fight if you wish, but the sure way to failure is to fight him.

If your players start banging on stuff, Strahd gets interested in the commotion and goes downstairs to talk to you. He eyes you from the other side of the bars and asks calmly: "Are you attempting to wear the bars down with your chicken pecking? Of course you want out, but what is there out there? Hobgoblins to make you feel like a real warrior? Hmmm? Why don't you just sleep for awhile until we figure out what to do with you."

Characters are thrown some foodstuffs from the pantry of their host once a day. Hogfat, carrots and vittles, creamed corn and stuff like that. They probably aren't poisoned (lol). Waste elimination happens down a grating if the players choose, but if they start losing hope or drive, they may start eliminating in the corners of their cell. After a second day or more and if the players calm down and accept their fate, a rat comes outside the cell and just rests, peering at you. It ignores any offers of food. IF you shew it away, it walks away calmly, as if you aren't the first to be held up in the cell and won't be causing fear anytime soon. If you peer back and the player has a INT score that's not a total DOLT, you wonder: "Does Strahd see me with this creature?", otherwise you probably wonder "Should I eat it?"

You might find a note: "If you're a fellow adventurer from D&D, Strahd has figured you out how to see into your plane. We've lost 3 adventurers already from madness. They apparently found a connection to the Underdark (follow the catecombs downward). It's generally a one-way entrance. I'm writing this and do not know how I'll survive. Strahd is upstairs roaming about again. Best of luck." (At this point the candles at your gaming table might blow out. HAHA!)

PCs are kept decently comfortable, in other words, but if some PC starts whining about something inane akin to some "medical condition" they must attend to or other such weak and cowardly drivel, he moves them into another cell more appropriate for the wererats to have a chance at winning the game. If they're muttering spells, he puts an iron mask on them. If they're trying to bust the castle down, he shackles all four limbs. The other players are in hearing distance.

Strahd subconsiously hears all their thinking-out-loud through psionic perception. And DM need to think along with him as they mutually must decide how to resolve the situation. He doesn't want to kill them except for the most inane behaviors. But yet will they rise to the challenge and make themselves into something more than monkeys with swords? Even the great wizard Gandalf would have a hard time figuring out what to do and be left with trying magic for what? To return to the dreary Barovia? So rest as long as you want.... "We only have eternity...", Strahd thinks.

XXX The DM has to wait, try a few diversions to get players out of any ruts, until the team comes together with something TRULY UNIQUE. You know it when they have it. At that point, YOU must be the master of Strahd and how he counters it. You may even have to quit for the night so you can meditate on just what and how Strahd would react. XXX This is now revised with a new endgame scenario involving going into the Underdark, see below.

XXXHere's a possible quick win: Players accept invite, get thrown in dungeon. Some time later, when the players are at their wits end, some stranger comes up from below with a latern. Said stranger doesn't know where he is. Says he came out of a portal from below where there's caverns. PLayers talk to him about finding keys. This allows them to go deep into the Dark Geode level, and then further into the special entrance into the Underdark to seek out his wife.

If the players think they can kill Strahd, remind them he knows all of their plans already. He'll be prepared -- even if they try writing them silently. Nope, they'll need to try something else. What you'll find, is that there is no solution to strategizing an offensive move if your enemy can hear (or see) your plans.

If your gaming party is playing on a full moon (or you want one in-game), the party hears the faint play of midieval organ music coming from upstairs. Not the frail, bleating of some pedal organ, but the full-blown epicness of a giant cathedral pipe organ, powered by some machine you know not (a river-powered, dual-bellows, pump). Gothic, of course, and four-limbed. Sounds vaguely like the organ tune in "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. During this time, at least one member of the party falls into a slumber which can only be woken on a DC 17 (CON?) check. Is it benign, only Strahd knows. Even, you, the DM may not be able to divine what is taking place during sleep. In whatever case, you can be sure the master plan of some obscure plan is being dreamed.

Note the characters level of paranoia vs calm: do they magically test every item as if Strahd is attacking them or do they simply accept their fate and rest? A whole gaming session should probably go by to break them down a little. That's right, nothing for the night but sitting in the dungeon hatching up worthless plans.

If the characters stay there for a week, Strahd invites them up again for dinner -- after they are hosed off with a leather hose, presumably fed by a cistern or river water, probably on a new moon (in or out of game). The cold water feels brisk but refreshing -- a unlikely find in a world gone mad: fresh water.

If the PCs have spoiled their clothing, the characters are given a fresh set of linens to wear so they can attend dinner without appearing like wet dogs.

Now that you've had time to rest, have you thought about what you might be doing here besides going on some heroic, masterbatory adventure of self-glorification? Are some kind of nerd in real life? Check the gaming table: what are the reactions of your players to this comment? IF they react with a tinge of fear, continue "If you are some kind of masterbators trying to cast and slash in my realm, you can forget ever leaving here alive." The hint is that they could possibly leave here alive...

Strahd has inherent divination from his vampiric condition. If your players are tuned and the moon is right, he may hover over the gaming table as a blanket feeling of something like a seance might give. Finally, he mutters out of nowhere: "...Are you in some kind of 'Adventurer's League'?" The intonation is vague enough that the players shouldn't be able to tell whether he (you) are referring to something out-of-game or merely playing his cards very smartly. But the players should get some chill down their spine. Strahd is indeed watching and using the arena of the gaming table to solve his problem. Perhaps there is a woman there who could be a candidate. "How do you feel you're doing in solving my little puzzle?" "Puzzle?", they may ask. "Of what you may be doing in my land!"

When the players have reached the expected lull in their (in)ability to hold a conversation with the Baron, Strahd asks them: What do you know about my land? And how is it that you came to think you could sneak/barge into my house without any manners? Have I shown you the slightest unfriendliness or impoliteness?

You think you came into my land by accident? You think all of this is just for show, for your adventuring pleasure? No, "wanderer”., You, now are entangled with my fate. Perhaps you wound up here because you TOOK something from me, from my land, from my creatures that hadn't hurt you, from my dreams. You may not know it, but I will. Perhaps you wanted to be a great warrior, eh? or a great mage, eh? You (points to one of the party), you wanted to be a thief?? You may not remember the days of old, and the prophesy of gods dead long ago, but I remember them. Days of gems the size of your fist, forged by warriors four times as great as you. Those gods of old were slain by the heathen likes of your kind. Those gods weren't gods of power you have now, those gods were gods of silent wisdom, of futures were everything could be perfect. The kinds of futures YOU don't believe in, little warriors. But then, no one does. That is why we are here, now, aren’t we?

No, the most the likes of you hope for, is some king's ransom and a castle upon the hill. But... as you see, I've already accomplished that. I have all the riches, but what use are they, when no one is worthy to spend them on? What use is a castle, when there is no love? In your world, you have those "choose your own adventure" books, yes? Well, now is the time for you to choose. So tell me, heathen, what land did you arrive from before you tripped up into mine? No, there is no “forgotten realms”, I mean, WHERE ARE YOU FROM??? (The DM, upon registering the surprise on their faces, tells them about the distant cackle they hear as if from a long, far away tunnel.)

The DM can consider madness affects for this camper

The realm you call "forgotten realms" was a realm of much promise -- people were as children, but they had every bit of potential to become gods. Bah! My pain is too deep for you to understand.

Those days you call forgotten, but I tell you... You took those days down, and you owe. In that age was prophesy of greatness, that a great dragon-princess(?) would come and unite the land and make it free. You can hardly imagine it. [Possible tie-in to Game of Thrones world, and prophesy of a future where dragons and men share the world together. Avatar film, too.]

that didn't belong to you, you got here because you owe me? For what? How many jewels did you take from lawful good creatures?. You don't like my wererats and wolves? They bit you? Please. (what is that like a 1d10 or something?) Has it ever occurred to you that these animals were perfect before the likes of your land came barging in and pillaging for treasures and now they wander in darkness for the love and paradise that they've lost?? Has it?? What, has your DM father told that they're some kind of evil creature or something? No, they aren't. They are chaotic, lawful creatures of my land."

Encourage the players to explore this. Players might ask "what do you mean?". Strahd would say: "Consider this: how would you know whether a creature is merely chaotic or truly evil?" Player says: "if they try to kill me!" (or something to this extent) "But you kill, do you not? And have you not killed lawful, good creatures? Are you evil?" "But they follow no higher purpose." you (they) might say. He immediately retorts: "But are you pious enough to know the purposes of the GOD who made this creature? Do you think you know whether the wererat strikes you out of evil or whether he or she follows some higher law that merely seems chaotic to you and that you cannot divine through your crude, rudimentary mind?" Players may contemplate this. See if they do. It's called philosophy.

If the players instead get hostile, Strahd asks them: "Tell me, how do you suppose your adventuring through the land would go if you lost your ability to see?" At that, Strahd chooses the most hostile combatant and strikes him/her with blindness. This is a permanent blindness that only a mage of higher level than Strahd can dispel. It completely removes their ability to see. They will have to be led around, until Strahd himself lifts it. Yet if someone else does dispel this, they will be stricken with the "curse of Strahd" -- bad luck and the possibility that they may get stuck in his land as well.

When the players have reached a new understanding, Strahd peers at them, giving them one short chance at a response (already determined: unlikely) and utters: "Dismissed." If they speak further, he raises his hand and ignores you. The helpers put you back into the cell. They are dismissed back into the dungeon to think about it. They find their quarters washed and cleaned of any debris they may have left. Dry mats are placed on the stone floors for their sleeping.

Somewhere, when the players are getting exhausted, one finds a note, perhaps behind a brick that seems looser after someone slept on it. On the note it shows a map of dungeons, perhaps a layer down. It also says that Strahd could never "see" you down here, that the only question is does IT have a way out?

Playing Strahd demands a very sophisticated level of game play. Letting Strahd get defeated is not be the wisest strategy. Strahd is a mastermind. Players can learn from him, about his meticulous composure, to his precision of language and timing, such as this. If you play your cards (ahem) right, you could restore sanity to the land and get access to unique and valuable steam-punkish/industrial game items. OR perhaps you'll be given a permanent residence, and gifted with elite EQ items that couldn't simply be reproduced or stolen, like the sun-sword -- for its power comes from the gods. Remember this is a level 50 character. Various puzzles may allow you to spin it back into the light. Can you see if the players are starting to appreciate Strahd's level of understanding of the players? His fine manners and politeness. Being thrown into a cell isn't impolite if you barged into his home hoping to slash him open.

XXX Q:

“Why did you bring us here?” A: The forces that brought you here are, perhaps surprisingly, bigger than me. I, like you, am a bit trapped. I can only surmise that perhaps you might help me (or Barovia?) in some way…” Bring the sister of _
“What do you wnat from us?” A: It’s what you can do to create a new channel of Time, a new trajectory of the future. You see, time goes in a circle here, had you noticed? Perhaps you will be the line of consciousness which will brings in new life. I think the sister is one way, but perhaps you will dream up another. OR…. maybe you’ll try to kill me…. HAHAH”

Strahd knows when you're being honest and quietly favors those few who show purity rather than bravado. The DM must listen for it acutely in the players and how they play their PC. But, may it be known, that the true secret to winning this campaign can only be found by searching in the underdark, the realm of death itself... Can you figure it out: why this might be the key to winning this campaign?

So, the moon belongs to his world, not ours. When it wanes, the her forces are less and the anger of Strahd increases and he gets a positive +HIT bonus. When it waxes, players get more latitude. In fact, you could choose which campaign start scenario by the phase of the moon. I think the mist start is for the new/missing moon. You can play that and see if the characters notice. Perhaps an NPC will. In a way Strahd is trapped like the characters. He's only undead rather than dead because the hands of Fate have dealt him this. already and the only way for him to get back the kingdom is to remake the love. He knows that only through

Coptic Cross of Strahd... Here's some background arcana. The story of dracula and vampires is all related to the pain body of the Christ. When society doesn't respect the pain of the Cross, the vampire stories swell. It is essentially, Christ getting back his own blood waiting for the Creator of the land to get Justice. STUB... to be integrated... Using the map of the Dark Geode from User:Cedric/Princes of the Apocalypse, the DM can help lead the party to XXXfix this so no revealsXXX. This is called "the catacombs" in Strahd`s world. He may or may not know the Approached this way, it drops directly into the nets, goonies-style, of the beginning of Underdark campaign. There is no way out except the witches circle. Otherwise, if you do re-engage the portal at G17, just roll a d8. On even rolls it leads to the elemental planes, on odd rolls, it transforms back into the staircase. Depending on the odd number, the time that you re-enter Strahd's campaign may have changed. (In order for this to happen, you had to have fallen through the portal to the Underdark, the realm of Death where Time stops, though?) On a 1, you enter as if you never met Strahd and he acts like he never saw you before. ON a 7, you come back as you were, in the same time period and moon phase. On a 5, you encounter Strahd in a rage, on a 3, you encounter him at his table or organ, and you slip away as you wish. He may or may not reveal that he knows you. The Underdark can be entered in a semi-controlled fashion via a very narrow, steeply-slanted chasm-tunnel that is only as comfortably wide as a single human character of sleight build. AT about four feet is the first, narrow (2 1/2") step that descends downward for about 20 more, each step about a foot and a half apart from each other. Without knowing beforehand or putting a torch down the hole, they may not know that there is a steep stairway cut into the hole. Each step requires a DC6 (PTY?) difficulty check. At a fail, most will simply slip and fall, as the wet/smooth surfaces don't lend themselves for catching any missteps (as if the corridor were made for use by a single person alone, who knows each nook). A DC12 dexterity check will allow themselves to catch themselves if they start falling. Once they fail there, they fall the 100 or more feet into the spiders webs at the start of Underdark/Velkenvelve. If they succeed to the final step, there is a hole in the wall. Therein, lies a rope ladder than rolls out to swing themselves to the ledge of the Lolth's den. Depending on the (real-life) phase of the moon, the players should be presented to the Underdark in different ways. If it is a fullmoon they go straight to the published beginning, where they find Lolth (aka Ilvara?) herself immediately. If it is a new moon, they find Drizz't Durden who finds them trapped in the Velkenvelve and tempts them to find a way out of the Underdark before any encounter with Lolth. In between are days of confusion and other exploration possibly. This is a little character test to try on your players: will they take the possibility of leaving the whole campaign with Drizz't or will they stay on task and try to set the process rolling to recover Strahd's wife from the Underdark, thereby possibly rescuing the whole realm??

If the players make it to the Underdark (which they can find by way of the Black Geode map in the Princes of the Apocalypse campaign), they will need to get out. By no means should they be allowed to do this by "normal" means (if there were a "normal" way out then those who've died would find a way, too — DeRP!) and leave the karmic bonds that brought them there. The DM must look for the players to lose stimulation from the Underdark (that means they're probably asleep and a moment of quiet has come), after they've set processes in motion for Ilvara to transform Lolth back into a beautiful power woman. Once they're asleep, a moon circle (consisting of 8-12 women) will call them back into the land of Strahd. It should be a full moon. The characters will simply wake up, feeling much better for their time in the Underdark only to find themselves mysteriously laying on the grass surrounded by the women chanting with their eyes closed. Players may simply leave quietly, grateful to be out of the Underdark, or may risk interrupting the women's chant. If they ate any mushroom's and interrupt the chant, they will stay "sickened" throughout their stay or 1 month, whichever is less. This is Abyssal sickness which happens when above surface dwellers who are not sea creature races of any kind go under to the realm of death. The chanting was to simply ensure that none of it followed you out. Lesson learned?

Whatever the case, after they've started the process rolling, they should find a way to revisit Strahd and approach him from the point of view of knight for his kingdom. If he asks how the prisoners got out, simply say "We were called by your late wife. We have visited her in the Underdark and you should await her possible resurrection." Nothing more need to be done: you have delivered the message. Past that you can pass the time looking for the secret runes that belong to the wizard Merlin that is associated with the Count -- or at least the land.

The sunsword is a very powerful weapon, but it takes exceedingly good alignment to wield it otherwise it will burn you from it's righteousness (if you've killed a good-aligned character for example, or without giving piety to their gods, in the case of animals). To wield it in it`s original form would take angelic alignment of a level 100 character. So, instead it is suggested that any such sword is a part of the original sword of which now exists in approximately 20 different pieces (different swords which are in other games). These could be kept by a Magic, the Gathering type card collectible with a serial number to know how many have been released.

A much saner weapon is Dawnbringer. Such a sword could be gifted by Strahd himself upon reaching some mutual agreement, occuring after a major milestone.

If such a sword were ever brought back together in its totality, it would be a formidible weapon capable of defeating any negative character with a single blow. In other words, this sabre of light is probably the most prized weapon of the whole game, of any realm. The length of any given diminished sunsword is equal to the number of such swords combined into one. So it's becomes a piercing, short-ranged weapon until all the pieces are brought together.

Unless you checked for any spies before gathering the sun sword, one of his familiars most certianly saw that you have it, so of course Strahd knows you have it. That will steal your thunder when you whip it out to try to slaughter him and cost you any surprise attack you hoped you had packed along with you. Further, it will strangely malfunction in his presence without light.

So if you accepted the invitation, you may be greeted with a variety of dinner courses which may not suit you and are a test of sorts of your will, all reflective of the pain endured and the . During dinner Strahd is going to test you because he is looking for partners that are capable of partnering his world -- not in the dark ways it is now of Ravenloft, but transformed into the light to be a beacon rivaling Waterdeep and surrounding territory.

But if you are small potatoes, he may decide to put you on an errand. Declining that, he is likely to kill you. That means, most likely, TPK. Here, the Tarroka deck may be employed by the DM to bring elements that the DM knows about the players in the outer world into the game-world, "breaking the fourth-wall" barrier in a n acceptible way between the two worlds. As a small example, the DM may know that you took something from another player in the real world, and bring it half-up (half-up because he couldn’t divine all the details of your world (having never seen it), but where a player has been concealing something, THAT is what triggers a recognition—for Strahd has long since catalogued all the nuances of petty human foibles) during dinner or other encounter that would provoke an association with taking something. Honesty may be important here to keep your life. "And what makes you think you deserve X?" Or as a more diabolical example, he may bring elements that players have kept secret in real life and bring them out in the open. This requires a high degree of mastery of the DM to not reveal his or her hand as a person in the players world, but as the game master creating the world within. Yes, Strahd is a powerful enough neuromancer that he may know your thoughts even now...

Here's something a sadistic DM might do: be the familiar to Strahd himself. It's the ultimate horror: The trust the player's put in the DM takes on a new form. As for breaking the 4th wall: Strahd may even start pining for one of the female players, not female PC, mind you, but the player herself.

But Strahd is also a victim of his own success. He would take delight in clever and cunning uses of theatre. If a DM can get a player to leave the gaming table in fear, for example, that would be a true sign of success and the DM should surely be awarded some fine prize.

The mist separate and are gone, just like they came…”

Somewhere in the mid

I've concocted some end-games for CoS that I'll offer here, unasked. There's actually four very cool endings, but I need to look in my campaign manual to see if I'm stepping too much on existing game designers. DMs only.

near -TPK because players are just too confused or disorganized. Strahd has no patience for imbeciles in his realm. He ambushes them when they least expect it and drain the life out of them (takes their XP up to 100*HP available). All but one die, perhaps as an intervention by the gods to keep wisdom growing throughout the realms. Roll a d2. On a 2, the survivor awakens, uncursed, as if from a dream in a village stable, sleeping on the hay. Ale bottles may be scattered nearby. On a 1, they wake up in an isolated area and are cursed.
The players take out Strahd and his head (--body if they didn’t do a decap) rolls to reveal who will be cursed. The reveal becomes horrific, as it is not Strahd nor the player-character's face that is shown, but the player him/herself sitting at the game table (see me for the possibility that the face could be the DM)! Then, the mists descend, delivering both Strahd and the players back to their realm, going their separate ways. If the party is disunified (because of personality conflicts or direction), they may also be placed in different places in the Forgotten Realms and scattered.
The “All Hallows Eve” ending, whereby the realm turns to the light and returns to our world. This ending is too epic to reveal here at the moment, but involves the Princes of the Apocalypse and the Underdark campaigns. Contact me if you're interested in this one.

DM notes:

Time runs in a circle, instead of a line here, relative to the Forgotten Realms. Much like groundhog day. The period of this cycle is 28 days — the length of the moon. When the players return, the time will have not have advanced in FR.
Strahd has a Death Touch where he can suck the XP out of the player, even making them lose a level. It comes from his the aberration of his existence of being on the dead side of life (yet still animated with a type of anti-matter energy?).
Player’s and/or DM should use silver, metal dice for this campaign, to avoid him hexing you from his world. (<g>) Silver is immune to his influence because it represents the purity of what was lost of his world. It may not matter, but… if you don’t have them, the AL may and they can override any roll if they have purer, nobler dice. If you notice bad luck with resin dice during certain times of the moon cycle, you can be sure that you’re being hexed.
The days are always cloudy, rainy, gloomy, dark. If a beam of light ever does shine, it is at sunset or dawn for highly-aligned beings to keep their spirits raised (and only they notice this private view) or because the gods are pointing something out to such. The only time otherwise that the clouds may part and reveal the sky are during the moon’s appearance.
Strahd always gets a critical roll (double the face value), UNLESS the players execute their moves perfectly (without hesitation or wishy-washy play) or it’s a new moon if YOUR world ( 7day period). You don’t need to tell them this. A LVL40 wizard might be intelligent enough to ask the question or LVL40 Explorer aware enough to notice from months of stay that the power changes with the moon.
If there are any women in the party, Strahd may size them up: “tasty bite”, or comment on how they’d no doubt betray him, too.
This campaign is best use as a “choke” to throttle players back a bit, so that other dynamics in the (actually, a multiple, tournament-style play) realm can be put in place. Strahd can bargain with the strong players to see if they’ll turn if a party is too strong. Since he has learned something about their realm, he starts using their language: “I’ll give you +15 more levels than what you are now along with the eXPerience, if you give your allegiance to me.” If they take the deal, they’re separated from the party.
Perhaps you thought that the players could just kill the boss and that’s it. But then, how do they get out? No, they will be trapped forever. Like Hotel California, you can check in, but you can never leave. Nope, the only way to finish this campaign if you find yourself drawn into it, is to set everything right. But don’t interfere by informing them of this. Let them play it as they wish. True horror is always set up by the people themselves — they realize that THEY are the perpetrators, not some other villain.
Because of the chaos in this realm, it can be treated a bit like a “fun house”, with a bit of randomness and unpredictability just as the campaign manual speaks on p7 (Humor). If you do this, you might want to try doing it in the spirit of horror though: a biting cynicism of someone who’s truly lost, and no longer cares. Do this only after you’ve prepared them with other shocks, so it doesn’t come off as crude and DM-centric.
Let the players act out as they are wont to do, don’t guide them too much. The key is must to provide information and let them choose who they become under the realm. Players decide to get the sun sword and chop Strahd to piece. Fine, but here is where you must be a master of theatre: “The body of Strahd collapses to the floor, but the head {You (the DM) stand up, dramatis, in shock}, it’s rolled around to reveal your own face!” NOT the PC, but their real-life face. XXXSlashing your style of play? You will find it. Characters think that they have killed Strahd? No, they are only deluded in their own dreamworld, for he is already dead. They must have dreamed their victory. His head rolls around on the floor, only to reveal (like Yoda's Darth Vader in Luke's underworld) the horror: it's you. DM's should use the player`s real-world face. If it’s a female, the tables turn and still reveals a perfect replica of her own body in Strahd’s clothing. Once the character has absorbed this little horror and its message, the body dissipates into a mist and a breeze carries away. The characters must roll a d12, anything less than an even number and they contract the plague, transmitting it to others bringing the land into another spiral of darkness to try try again. They remain trapped.XXX
Under the dungeons are the catacombs and crypts. The actual result is a wave function. That is what is under them depend on what choice you make, like a choose-your-own-adventure. If the players come upon the Strahd family’s coffins, on one of them (his mother), there is a secret lever (a handle on the coffin itself) that, when pulled, opens a trap door leading to "the Black Geode") in PotA. A rogue or DEX class in the group may notice how smooth it’’ functioning is, as if machined from the smoothest glass (it is made of metal: just high-precision and craftsmanship). Alternatively, there can be a Book of Invocation, that reveals the trap door when read in the presence of the Strahd family crypts. A secret entrance there into the Underdark can ONLY be explained by someone putting it there. And who would else but Strahd, an undead? (For that bit of arcana, you’ll have to be AL or above….)
If the players haven’t disturbed any of the crypts, a trapdoor could reveal itself through some subtle noise or gust of wind.
The darkness of Strahd is what creates the PotA campaign. Integrate as you wish.
Near the swamp or abbey? there is a garden of sorts, consisting of pumpkins (and various other squash0, bell peppers, tomatos, and eggplants. The dish of the realms of the locals? G(h)oulash of these ingredients.
If player’s have found Ilya’s grave and distrubed it in anyway, the positive endgame solutions are locked away and lost to them.
There could be a larger meta-game integration that includes the Amber Temple. If the players find the library, they unlock other interactions that change the integration and interactions with the dragons (Orange dragon becomes more active and violent) and the giants (they’ll probably appear to sniff your shin out — if the players got the sunsword the giants must take it away from them somehow… make sure of it).
If the players have managed to get the engine of Strahd's wife started by recovering her spirit in the Underworld, and gotten transported into the moon circle to be free of the Underworld, told Strahd that "it is done" (to something to that effect), then you enter one of the end games. Find MARCOS.
If they go to the asylum, they can earn extra bonus XP. It goes like this: players are tested for their compassion. They mustn’t approach an opposite sex patient in the hopes of any romantic interest (meaning the player, not the PC, must not display any preference based on gender), but if they give an earnest effort to help a patient, they get 10,000XP per each patient.
If characters bring a particularly nice bounty of purple crystals to Strahd, he will let them leave his kingdom. There must be at least several 10caret samples, or 1 50 caret sample with flawless character and color. This doesn't complete the game proper, but it does gain them freedom and the experience they gained there.
The connection of Ravenloft to Forgotten Realms is what has made Tiamat stir in this particular time period. What this exactly means needs to be "teased" out, but it is certain and connects also the Princes of the Apocalypse, which links to Strahd's world through that Black Geode campaign map (and the portal).
If the players visit the insane asylum, they can get a lot of information from the patients there about what the realm of Strahd was like before his wife died, about his castle, and perhaps some other things.
The DM should record Strahd’s “suspicion” level, whereby any suspicious behavior on the part of the player-characters (like not acting in character or matching the portrait he sees in game with the behavior of the player’s actions) makes Strahd start getting suspicious. Each event increases the probability by 1 point (or 10%). The suspicion can be measured on the scale of 1-10, with 1 being no suspicion and he sees you much like any other NPC in the game. But upon getting to 5, he starts wondering what you represent being in his uiniverse. After about 7, the Tarokka deck starts divining the player’s lives themselves and where THEY can be found (heheh, one of many possibilities if the DM knows personal details about the players). Strahd knows of other planes, so this isn’t so disturbing or unusual to him. He might see the whole party at the gaming table, for example, in a vague or cloudy sort of way — depending on the phase of the moon. The things players might be hiding about their personal lives are EXACTLY the kind of things Strahd might see inter-planarly. Try to use this to create the horror effect (whereby a player might “bolt” from the gaming table), rather than harrass other players though. (N.B.: Not responding to his invitation, however, automatically increases his suspicion level by 1).
He knows for example, that the is a realm outside his own, from other players who have strayed in (from past games?). “Where are you from?” he might be curious about divining the origin of these new people in his realm. The text here suggests that he might even be smart enough to see that you’re playing a game, trivializing his world, toying with it. “And would you cut me down for your ambitions, adventurer?” Whether Strahd gets to this level of insight depends on how much time the players have spent lollying around in his world. The more imperfect their gameplay, the more he can divine about their true essence.
Player’s trying to dig their way out back to ground level? If the metal isn’t noble enough, it blunts and becomes useless if continued after 1d20 rounds. If it was noble, however, it is now tarnished and loses half of it`s value.
If players inspect Strahd’s pantry, they may find an unusal amounts of goat and cow milk/cream.
Equipment: Bell of Opening, Candelabraum (gives sanctuary when lit against fiends and other undead), Book of the Dead (for finding the entrance into the Black Geode and beyond)..
If the players attempt to leave the area by way of going downstream of River Ivlis, they end up in the modern, ugly culvert in LA or Nebraska or some such ending. Whether the player or their character is now lost in our plane, is up to you. For how will the player get his PC back into the Forgotten Realms? and the planes of RPG?
If players start up the Mount Ghakis and you don’t feel they should enter the Amber Temple, but are heading up the fork in the (Tsolenka Pass) road, an alternative is that they encounter a secret entrance into a mountain in our world. You get to imagine what they would find there (it’s mostly under construction, but it contains a very large cavern with a crystal pedestal in the rough center. Certain times of day the light enters, hits the crystal and scatters light around the cavern.. If they go back the way they came, they’re never aware that they left the demi-plane of Barovia. A LVL 50 player might notice a shift in wind, however, at the boundary between worlds.
In the realm are electrum pieces (and perhaps others) with the visage of Strqhd. This should garner some respect (as well as questions) if the players ever make it back into the realms. Tradeable like regular ep, but a collector's item.
In the case of a faery race with teh group, Strahd willl take notice unless players have attempted to hide the creature, and fin dit very curious. When Strahd take sthe players to prison, knowing that the creature can fit through the bars, he asks it directly “Fey creature, do you wish to stay with them or go with me?” putting the faery in a dilemma? Is it better or not? At this point the DM will have to imagine any ensuing diolog for no one has imagined such an exchange. in a way the creature belongs to his land, the imagined utopia that never came into its existence. Subconsciously, he we be drawn to this.
In ye Castle Rafenloft there is a library. In this library are tomes on lycanthropy, swamp creatures, HP Lovecraft, ?!?, faery lore is of particular intrigue to the Count.
If the party goes sneaking around Castle, exploring upwards will generally require DC checks on stealth each round due to creaky floorboards (unless the Count is playing on his organ). Exploring downards, less so.
A player with darkvision will see a deep purple halo of sorts around Strahd and emanating around the wings of bats in ravenloft

—— AL notes:

The squash found in the realms is a hint of one of the possible endgame scenarios.
The clouds part at night for the moon (when the moon phase is c0rrect, of course). This shows Strahd’s dedication to his beloved. You probably shouldn’t reveal this, but when Strahd is in harmony with the female, the sky will have clarity. Rarely, Strahd may be resentful of women, and the sky will stay cloudy despite the moon. So depending on the moon in OUR world, affects the weather in Strahds. Full moon means clear but cloudy skies and new moons mean gloomy darkness. At boundaries between quarters, expect showers and thunderstorms. There are no werewolves if Strahd is active, otherwise full moons expect them to come out.
In the crypts, under the Queen’s coffin (if Strahd is not favored) or King’s coffin (when Strahd is favored), there is a stairway leading down. Whether this stairway is revealed depends on how well Strahd has treated the players. If he has treated them harshly, then the coffin stirs and lowers the DC down by 1 to see or suspect someth8ing underneath. The stairway leads to Black Geode, area G17.
This realm can be consdiered the dark side of King Arthur and Camelot after it went wrong. It seems the issue of women broke up that kingdom. So somewher ein the castle you will find the Sword of Excalibur rusting in the closet and a round table now used as a dinner table. Also the “All Hallows Eve”, the wife is found to actually be Guinivere (whoever it was in King Arthur) in the Underdark, confused and disfigured.
Any hags in this campaign are figments of the darkness of Barovia. If the players make it back from the Underdark, they’ll be transformed into lovely maidens: their dream of themselves before the darkness set in.
If players are in Ravenloft playing with the moon in waxing phase in their world, Strahd’s plays are more aggressive, rather than passive. If in the waning phase, he is more relaxed and waits for them like a spider.
If players have the orb of radiance (sp?), they only get to keep it if they keep Strahd happy and make it out of Ravenloft (like the “Just One Bite” scenario). Otherwise, AL might wish to reclaim and redistribute it from lower DMs.
If Strahd dialogs with the feary, know that s/he belongs to his world and can seek to ask how s/he might be of aid in remedying his cursed land.

—— WotC:

Those attempting the perfect endgame (the Hallow’s Eve), find the Black Geode and the interdimensional portal in the upper-right area. Normally there is no exit, except the Abyss or back to Strahd. However, if two parties happen to be in the same place (The Black Geode) at the same time from two different portal end-points (Strahd’s and the Forgotten Realms), they may switch, such that the one party goes into the other’s realm. After they witness the transformation into their own world, a mist comes over them “making everything disappear. After a short bewilderment, the mist separates, and they find themselves back where they started, as if it was all a dream….”
If players are in Ravelloft playing during a full moon in their world, all their rolls get disadvantage.
The goulash is actually a strange illiteration(sp?) of the “lash of the ghouls”: where the soul punishes thee for forgetting thy origin. The nightshades are made by sadness (tomatos) and hate (bell peppers) within the soul. The hot peppers are a signal from hell itself.
Every-time players (at any table presumably) "kill" Strahd, 1/4 of his weight gets turned into saltpeter. Half of this appears in the Amber Temple and another half below the crypts of Castle Ravenloft.

—— Gamemaster Xenocanth:

The all-hallow’s-eve ending entually can turn the Castle Ravenloft into Hogwarts in a future Age.

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