Wizards of the Coast has given us the free adventure Death House to play at home last week as a preview of the Curse of Strahd book coming out this month. It is a decrepit old Grain Mill that is the home of Morgantha and her two daughters. Death House will likely be the first location your players will visit. Her remains are in area 18, she was brutally killed, possibly a move by Elisabeth Durst. Tsolenka Pass consists of a bridge looming over the Luna River and a guard tower. 9 Personal Touches For GMs To Bring Your Game To Life, Deflect Missiles in D&D 5e | All You Need To Know, Arcane Archer Fighter in D&D 5e | Full Subclass Guide, Incubus and Succubus in D&D 5e | Friends Without the R, Storm Sorcerer in D&D 5e | Full Subclass Guide. And finally, credit must be given to me (Derek Ruiz) as the author, and a link to this web page must be included if it is shared or redistributed. The adventure was unveiled in the February 2016 issue of Dragon+ as an example of the thrills that would come in the then-unreleased Curse of Strahd. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'tabletopjoab_com-banner-1','ezslot_7',126,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-banner-1-0');The Death House is meant for a group of four level 1 characters. ), The Themes of the Death House in Curse of Strahd. Secret Room.- Theres a letter by Strahd here. Den of Wolves.- There are two cabinets that can be lock picked, one of them contains a heavy crossbow, a light crossbow and 20 bolts. However, this is more a set of skill challenges than combat. Created by the house to lure in victims, the illusions drop vague hints about a monster in the basement and the sins of their parents. S and Z), while the rest of the lower case letters were the same font as the body of the letter: Abuget. My players avoided them entirely, possibly because I described their hallway as having an overpowering stench of death and decay. This alerts the players that something dangerous is that way, and prepares them for battle. PCs can find a Cloak of Protection as treasure, plus a spellbook. Death House is a house situated in the Village Of Barovia, so before everything else you need to figure out if you want to run it or not. The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10. But be warned: few who enter are fated to leave. If they try to turn back to explore Barovia, the mists surround them until theres no choice. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Careful investigation around the house reveals that Gustav Durst had an affair with the family nursemaid, who bore him a stillborn son named Walter. Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. The Curse of Strahd Companion is your comprehensive guide to running 5th Edition's greatest and grimmest campaign. It can be quite a puzzle to navigate, with many deadly rooms and events to encounter throughout. Alternative to Death House Pt 2. At its core,Death House is about the awful deeds of Gustav and Elisabeth Durst and the damage they inflicted on the people around them in their worship of Strahd von Zarovich. Each character rolls to pass through the scythes. . When the party tries to leave the house, Rose and Thorn do not let them. I've spent the last three hours looking for ways to edit the pdf of another handout that says stillborn son but here this was! ), its a good stopping point for your first session. Its important to note that after exiting this place, its unlikely that the adventurers will visit it ever again. The Count's Crypt. A big boss fight is coming up and you want the party to expend some resources, but still have some fight in them for the boss encounter! The party did some little experiments to see if the dolls moved if they left the room, but nothing happened. For starters, that kind of monster is completely out of place here. However, there are a few things that I have incorporated that have made my parties experience that much more terrifying and fun! You can let them know something is coming with smell and sounds. Yes they are still illusions but appear too be real children and wont vanish. Kitchen and Pantry.- There is a small elevator that a small PC can use to access area 12, the master bedroom. Death House is a meat grinder meant to kill low-level players. They were once noble knights that used to fight against Strahd but were, of course, overwhelmed by the unstoppable vampire. What you get is impressive hi-def versions of my maps to be used in your RPG games (these have lower resolution), and the satisfaction of helping the rpg community grow bigger and stronger. While the rest of the valley is primarily forests and mountains, Berez has become a swamp after Strahd flooded the village in a fit of rage. Perhaps the eyes of a particular painting or stuffed animal head seem to follow a specific player wherever they go in a given room. Regarding backstory and history of the house, the best revision I've seen thus far is u/MandyMod's revision of the Durst family's downfall. "Death House" will run your player characters through levels 1-3 if they survive. I find this last bit of information a potential let down for the settings tone. I almost just left it in but felt like it would have just confused my players. Running the Death House The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10. In reality it doesnt matter what or who dies on the altar. Free D&D Adventure: Fight as Dragons and Explore a Crystal Dragon's Lair! You can also have Rose and Thorn possess random party members. In my game, I went one step further and made the kids amusingly clingy, yet vaguely self-aware. How to Play Ravenloft in a Single Night. 11. I was specifically using u/MandyMod 's guide to Streamlining Death House to set the adventure up (i.e. This is all really helpful and wish I'd seen this before I'd run DH. They will sing to wake up Lorghoth the Decayer, a Shambling Mound hiding in the southernmost alcove. Everything ends in tragedy and what hope the characters might have to escape Barovia will be snuffed out in time. Several excellent posters have also suggested additional ways to spice things up. Nowhere seems safe in this Domain Of Dread, especially the various locations your players can stumble upon during their adventure. Give little clues or observations that are simply meant to unnerve the players. Dungeon m. AboutPressCopyrightContact. Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. 15-18. The players will attain level 2 after finding the secret passage to the dungeon. I generally start my games at level 3. Players destroyed the statue of Strahd at Death House. When the PCs escape Death House, many DMs agree that a congratulations from Strahd is in order. Den of Wolves (contains a cabinet full of various crossbows, plus bolts), Kitchen and Pantry (contains a dumbwaiter that a Small character can squeeze into and use to move to different areas of the house), Servants Room (connects to the dumbwaiter), Library (contains books on the houses history), Master Suite (connects to the dumbwaiter and contains a treasure chest), Storage Room (features another potential encounter with the Durst nursemaid), Well and Cultist Quarters (has some lootable cultist belongings worth a few gold pieces), Hidden Spiked Pit (a trap that will potentially kill the PCs), Ghoulish Encounter (a fight with four former cultists-turned-, Darklords Shrine (a shrine to Strahd and a potential battle with five, Hidden Trapdoor (leads up to the Den of Wolves on the first floor), Cult Leaders Den (contains a battle with a. The only thing I personally disliked about that section is the 'after finale' where you're escaping. It helped pull the player into the story a lot more. It is a very fun encounter against an enemy who cannot be beaten. After meeting the illusions of two children, and learning there is a monster in the house, the characters are forced in by the choking mists. Monster design is good, but we have to re-skin the description a bit. After using one of the adventure hooks (page 18), you have successfully steered the party to Barovia. Well look over those now. (If youre feeling generous, or really want your players to see the entirety of the house in a quick Halloween night of gaming, you could even run it at 3rd level.). She mimicked the PCs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained terrified. 2023 Elven Tower Cartography. The illusions of Rose and Thorn in the street are decent hooks for a party of Good-aligned PCs, but wont do much for neutral or evil parties. 4. The location is full of deadly, scary creatures, such as demon statues and specters, but the true horror of this location comes from the Roc, a giant bird that can very easily scoop up a character in its claws and drop them from great heights. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Each seemed to depict an adventurer of some type. Give the party a chance to rest and level up (if they started at level 1) before they work their way to the Dungeon Level.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-1','ezslot_12',135,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-1-0'); In the Dungeon Level, the party will encounter a Grick and several undead. Cult Leaders Quarters.- Gustav and Elisabeth Durst are here, they are ghasts. But the most terrifying part of this theme is that it also applies to the party themselves. Whatever you do, keep a feeling of tension and unease at the table as you describe what the party finds as they explore the mansion. There is a save to avoid it but its more interesting if they can possess a PC automatically. Each and every doll in the chest had a face painted on it, though. Now, railroading isnt a bad thing, especially for a newer group. The mists will dictate the places the party can visit. They may come to Barovia expecting to be heroes, but the things that they will do and sacrifice for the sake of their own survival throughout the adventure will haunt them for the rest of their lives. When the party goes to escape, the house itself will be attacking them. When Lorgoth began to move, I had the ghosts of Rose and Thorn begin shrieking for the people they had possessed to run away; if your group had previously laid their spirits to rest, I would have them appear between the party and Lorgoth and simply shout for the party to run. When the party opened the door to the nursery, I stole another DMs idea to let them see a woman shrouded in black standing beside the crib, her back to the door. 20. Full Guide to Warlock Pact Boons in D&D 5e, The Legend of the Peasant Railgun in D&D 5e, Attack of Opportunity in D&D 5e Explained, Best Druid Spells By Level: A Top 10 List, I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird! register a sa forums account here! All really helpful and wish I 'd seen this before I 'd seen before! The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10 guard tower something dangerous is that it also applies the... After exiting this place, its a good stopping point for your session. Most terrifying part of this theme is that it also applies to dungeon. Through levels 1-3 if they try to turn back to explore Barovia, the master bedroom no.. Consists of a bridge looming over the Luna River and a guard tower it in but felt like would. 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