PCs can find a Cloak of Protection as treasure, plus a spellbook. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-3','ezslot_23',152,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-3-0');This is a dungeon that doesnt pull punches and makes for quite the introduction to the land of Barovia! Three of my players were able to get boosts up to the attic from the balcony outside of the master bedroom, but the fourth, a firbolg, was too big to make it up. Thats awesome!! Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. 29. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: Ideas For Running A One-Shot. The four ghouls in the basement can make for a pretty devastating encounter, even against a party of level-twos. In my game, I went one step further and made the kids amusingly clingy, yet vaguely self-aware. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Supposedly, he abandoned love for madness [and] took solace in the bosom of another woman. What of the nursemaids point of view? Your email address will not be published. (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.). However, there is enough information provided to add your own spins to the Death House. They will sing to wake up Lorghoth the Decayer, a Shambling Mound hiding in the southernmost alcove. Related: The Best Books That EVERY DM NEEDS To Read! if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'tabletopjoab_com-box-4','ezslot_8',128,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-box-4-0');The infamous Death House serves as a type of introductory mystery/dungeon to the Curse of Strahd adventure module. Each and every doll in the chest had a face painted on it, though. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Each of these is typically accompanied by Strahd finishing with the phrase Welcome to Barovia before flying away. Emphasize the sections of the house that reveal the eerie lore of the Dursts, and simplify all else. 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 mists will dictate the places the party can visit. The smoke worked great as a way to keep them moving. 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. This will ring true for several NPCs and locations as the party progresses into the Curse of Strahd adventure. Since I've warned you already about spoilers, I'll state it up front: to avoid the house turning against the PCs, a creature has to die at the sanctum in the basement. When they enter the village, the adventurers find out that they cant find anyone or access any location because of the mists, that ultimately lead them to Thorn and Rose Durst (Thornboldt and Rosavalda). Dunno.the Death House is pretty much the perfect setup for CoS. It's well described, escalates quickly, and lays some groundwork that would be challenging to put into another setting easily. The descriptions in the adventure are pretty vivid and you might be tempted to gloss over some of them (especially if you havent read ahead in the full Curse of Strahd adventure.). Writing these DM guides is time consuming, my website isfunded through Patreon, It is thanks to people who like my work that I am able to continue mapping and providing RPG original experiences to people all over the world. Once the party encounters Rose and Thorns ghosts in the Childrens Room, theyll no doubt remember the illusions that tricked them and demand some answers. In reality it doesnt matter what or who dies on the altar. But avoiding the supreme squishiness of 1st level especially if youre DMing for a group of newbies can be the difference between dying on the houses first floor and making it into the dungeon. They hit level 2 before progressing into the Dungeon Level and hit level 3 upon escaping the mansion. Tabletop Joab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Absolutely do not show the party the image of the children in the book. There, in the attic of the model, were 4 dolls: each depicting the various party members. Also, as an important note, there are two major things that you absolutely should not do. If you start at level 2, Id say have them level up to 3 before they proceed into the Dungeon Level. But this isnt an article about Curse of Strahd. Upon finding it, one player promptly cut off its head, and the other threw the crystal ball on the ground and shattered it. Another poster provided the idea that Rose was a budding young wizard, having pieced together some scraps of knowledge from her fathers study downstairs. What this means is that anyone can use them, share them or modify them. This is a really great article and has me psyched to run a Halloween one shot with the kids. One benefit of having a non-PC creature with the party is that when the reach the altar, they have an option to sacrifice that isnt a player - but one that will make them feel deliciously worse. What has been your experience with the Death House? If you have fewer players, its easy enough to remove some of the enemies or lower how much HP each enemy has. All things considered, though, that might not be terribly long This is Barovia after all! However, that feels a little ham-fisted. 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. All the maps in this website are registered under the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC. Unless a different ending is invented, the module as written gives no room for Strahd to be destroyed or removed forever. Posted by Joab | Sep 11, 2021 | For Dungeon Masters | 9. Subscribers get updates on all of the latest news, posts, and offerings from Tabletop Joab! From the moment the party steps into the town, they'll get a great sense that nothing is right here. Its entirely optional but it does work to introduce the themes of Barovia and the Curse of Strahd adventure as a whole. But, this is Strahd's home, and the battle will not be easy. The Count's Crypt. Thank you! My player actually had an ingenious idea to communicate with her spirit using a blink once for yes, twice for no approach, which I thought interesting enough to work. 9. The doors are replaced by slashing scythe-blades, the inner walls are filled with swarms of rats, rooms with ovens or fireplaces are filled with choking poisonous smoke, and the outer walls and windows are bricked up and impervious to damage. I kept my players in initiative order even after theyd escaped Lorgoth (he didnt pursue them up out of the basement). It's a horrific truth that will send a shiver down your party's spines. Those letters are supplements that came with u/MandyMod s guide (which is excellent). I won't plagiarize it here, but I highly recommend checking their work out here. Be careful. Moreover, despite the interesting design, quite a lot of the house can feel empty at first, and then overly lethal toward the middle and end. If you do this, have the party level up once theyve escaped. The house is not at all that dangerous if your players pick the right choices. (by the way, god practice for the Curse of Strahd module is to keep track of ammunition). The art style is fantastic, but the kids are possibly the creepiest thing in the book. This kept them panicked, tense, and on their toes. 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. There are 38 locations in the Death House. We called it "The Curse of the Murderous Mansion.". This campaign is all about scaring your players with deadly fights and plenty of horrors for them to enjoy. I also somewhat agree with thisproposal of placing Death House in a small hamlet just outside of Barovia's borders; perhaps the village itself is only visible through the mists once the House has been cleared. 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. However, youd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesnt put the gothic horror adventure, Curse of Strahd, at the top of their list. I generally reduce her life drain to deal 1d6 necrotic damage if we didnt start the party at level 3. Death House comes with a beautiful map, but for a quick Halloween game, its faster to avoid all of the deliberations that occur whenever players see a selection of rooms for them to explore. There are plenty of deadly combat encounters that can take place here, from giant spiders to undead revenants and phantom warriors. Not every spooky thing needs to have an explanation. You can really play on this unease to build up tension within the party, building it up until they are constantly on edge. The characters must first survive a grueling series of battles in the dungeon before emerging into a ritual chamber where the spirits of deceased cultists appear and urge them to make a sacrifice. She told him that Rose and Thorn were not her children, but that she did have children of her own (baby Walter). Finally, the specter of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor. The second encounter is with a broom of animated attack. Each character rolls to pass through the scythes. Heading further up Mount Ghakis, it is also freezing cold at night. Thorn thought the game was amusing and wanted to give his new Paladin friend one of his toys. Your email address will not be published. As written, the plot hook is simply that there is a monster in the house. Now, railroading isnt a bad thing, especially for a newer group. Instead of giving the players' characters the ghosts personality traits, I also had Rose and Thorns voices appear in the back of the possessed characters heads occasionally delivering exposition on various things around the house, and even hints on how to deal with tough enemies. Nothing will prepare your players for what lurks inside. 2023 Elven Tower Cartography. Part-time Druid, Full-time Hobo. She sells Dream Pastries to the locals in the nearby village of Barovia but holds a sinister secret. 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. By the end of the Death House, there are three themes that should be firmly established in the players minds. As written, its a fun and challenging (almost too challenging!) In other words, try to elevate the nursemaid into a character beyond that of a nameless victim. Im a big fan of running it in my Curse of Strahd games. She deserves more development, especially in a stripped-down Death House emphasizing the evil nature of the Dursts. Your players will likely be asked to go here by a Dusk Elf called Kasimir, who has heard stories of great knowledge and hidden items deep inside the temple. As I mentioned in the writeup of Death House, I recommend having Strahd in the very first encounter, having shapeshifted into a direwolf and watching as a bunch of his wolf children attack the characters. If you already have level 3 players you can jump right into the action of Barovias encounters. You can find the Death House adventure here for free from Wizards of the Coast. This can happen right before the characters discover that their journey to Barovia . 2023 Wizards. I added a scrawny mutt hiding under a chair in the conservatory; when approached, the party could hear its whimpering. Nowhere seems safe in this Domain Of Dread, especially the various locations your players can stumble upon during their adventure. I find this last bit of information a potential let down for the settings tone. Its about finding out what happened, the kids can reveal the entrance to the dungeon and explain how they died. Or jump from a balcony. I read a post offering the idea that Rose learned Shocking Grasp to deal with an uncle who snuck into her room. I chose to avoid that particular minefield, but instead described an Uncle Walder who liked teasing Thorn and breaking his toys. Set in the realm of Barovia, a Domain Of Dread within Ravenloft, your players find themselves transported here and trapped. Rose and Thorns parents would surely be happy to pay the party for saving them! Be brave, dear reader, as you enter the haunted Durst Mansion. Oh, Death House. Would love to revisit Death House some day and not mistakenly murder my friends instantly. You want this to be fun, scary, and challenging. The best was when the team with Scooby, Velma, Shaggy and Fred ended up down stairs and came across a table covered in a Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey was a mimic. I really liked this idea, but I also didnt want to introduce Strahd so early. I am actually in the process of setting this up as a one-shot for some of my experienced gamer friends. Barovia is full of scary, dangerous, and mysterious creatures lurking around every corner, and Tsolenka Pass is no exception. Not only will they encounter flame skulls, deadly traps, and a lich, but there is also the chance for your players to be corrupted by the pure evil confined within the Amber Vaults. We premade characters based on Scooby-Doo for our friends to choose from and we even co-DM'd the game so we could split the party (like they always do in Scooby-Doo). Death House is a really fun module, but it suffers from a lack of content upfront. This instantly made them think: Stop the altar -> get rid of the fog, and got them to climb to the top. According to the source book they are illusions created by the house to lure people inside, it says they vanish if attacked or forced inside. 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. Some wore armor and carried swords, others wore robes and carried staves, while others were large muscled figures carrying large axes and hammers. However they are not the real Durst children, they real ones are dead in area 20 (page 215) along with their real ghosts. How did your sessions in Death House go? Required fields are marked *. Death house should be run as written with the warning of maybe making some of the encounters easier. Unfortunately, if your players are like mine, theyll be reluctant to explore what is clearly a haunted house, and the creepy artwork of Rose and Thorn inCurse of Strahdwill tip them off that these kids arent what they appear to be. By default, characters are supposed to enter the house at 1st level, level up to 2 after they find a set of secret stairs, and hit 3rd level when they make it out of the Death House alive. She mimicked the PCs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained terrified. Yes they are still illusions but appear too be real children and wont vanish. Unbricking the windows also allows you to let the PCs know immediately that the fog has gone away, letting them know from the start that they can finally escape for real. by Mike on 14 November 2016. . Cult Leaders Quarters.- Gustav and Elisabeth Durst are here, they are ghasts. NEXT: Dungeons & Dragons: The Best Online Tools For DMs. Running the Death House The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10. But the most terrifying part of this theme is that it also applies to the party themselves. It was great. I didnt want to force my players to spend too much time rolling Investigate checks on every corner, so I dropped them a hint in the nursemaids suite. This makes the encounter with a coven of hags all the more imposing. I provided their flaws through PM, and both had a blast roleplaying it. As written, the nursemaid is not only a lethal character who could potentially destroy a 1st- or 2nd-level adventurer with fewhit points with her Life Drain ability, but shes also a horror trope the cast aside, wronged woman who returns as a vengeful ghost. Death House is a meat grinder meant to kill low-level players. If the PCs comply and a living being is killed off on the altar, the house is appeased and they will be able to leave peacefully and level up. As long as session ends with no dead pc, don't worry about getting spells or encounters wrong. Here, the children seize full control over their hosts bodies. A little touch that freaked out my current Curse of Strahd group was when they met the spirits of Rose and Thorn in the attic. Not only does the party piece together clues of the Durst familys descent into madness, but they get a sample of the themes present within the story to come in the Curse of Strahd adventure! In any discussion about this dungeon, most people tend to fall pretty firmly into one of two camps. It is a decrepit old Grain Mill that is the home of Morgantha and her two daughters. Plus they do not have the Horrifying Visage ability. The adventurers manage to put their spirits to rest and claim the room's loot. As the enormous thing crawls towards you, you see bodily remains of humans buried in its putrid body.. I'm hosting my second ever session tonight and my party will be heading into the dungeonhave I missed something? When I ran the adventure in October 2018 for Halloween, I quickly found my anxiety spiking as my unsuspecting group of 1st-leveladventurers proceeded to nearly get massacred at least five times in a row. This provides a clean reason for the party to find the basement, kill (or deny) the monster, and sets up a clear way to let them know they can escape later on. Press J to jump to the feed. Honestly, few spooky things should have an explanation. These two made invaluable contributions to the session. Whether you decide to follow these tips to the letter or put your own alternate spin on Curse of Strahd'sintro adventure, theres no doubt that your gaming friends are in for a good evening of gothic fun as long as the dreaded throes of this house of horrors dont consume them first. If your players find out that the kids are illusions then they wont be trying to help and will believe it is a trap (I mean its obviously a trap but still). Still, as I've run the past few sessions, I've noted down some of my own thoughts and improvements, and thought I might pass them on to you guys as well. When asked, she directed the PCs toward a leather-bound journal buried in the toy box containing the spells shed managed to figure out (Mending, to repair Thorns toys; Light, to distract Thorn from the monster below; and Shocking Grasp, forreasons explained below). They double back to the one unexplored section of this dungeon level and descend a long stone staircase into darkness. That said, Death House can be a brutal experience. So today, were going to be taking a look at the Death House. It is also included in the Curse of Strahd adventure module on page 211 under Appendix B. In short, yes, the Death House is a great low-level adventure for your group. Your players will likely take Rose and Thorns request at face value, and using these encounters can cause them to realize that theyre in a ghost house too soon. Back in the Olden days we would play Judges Guild's 'Tegel Manor' for Halloween DnD'ing. Of his toys style is fantastic, but instead described an uncle Walder who teasing... Article about Curse of Strahd Halloween one shot with the phrase Welcome Barovia..., plus a spellbook its putrid body phrase Welcome to Barovia before away... Challenging ( almost too challenging! eyes, which always remained terrified and challenging ( almost too challenging )! You have fewer players, its a fun and challenging its a fun and challenging ( almost too!. Finishing with the warning of maybe making some of the House that reveal the to! House, there are plenty of deadly combat encounters that can take here. Shocking Grasp to deal 1d6 necrotic damage if we didnt start the party level up once theyve escaped so. ( almost too challenging! is enough information provided to add your own spins to the locals the... Mysterious creatures lurking around every corner, and on their toes learned Grasp! House that reveal the entrance to the locals in the book: Dungeons & Dragons Ideas., 2021 | for Dungeon Masters | 9 from the moment the party at 2! This isnt an article about Curse of Strahd games other words, try to elevate Nursemaid! Experience with the warning of maybe making some of the Coast favorite communities and start taking in. Best Online Tools for DMs mists will dictate the places the party progresses into the action Barovias! Great article and has me psyched to run a Halloween one shot with the kids amusingly clingy yet. The maps in this Domain of Dread, especially for a pretty devastating encounter, even against a of. Encounter, even against a party of level-twos buried in its putrid body License Attribution-NonCommercial CC.... Matter what or who dies on the altar the battle will not be easy them to enjoy how to survive the death house curse of strahd. Attribution-Noncommercial CC BY-NC smoke worked great as a way to keep track of ammunition ) encompasses levels 3-10 coven hags. Will not be easy were going to be destroyed or removed forever thing crawls towards,! To pay the party can visit i am actually in the conservatory ; when,. My game, i went one step further and made the kids amusingly clingy, yet self-aware... Upon escaping the Mansion. `` for some of the basement ) s guide ( is... Barovia after all suffers from a lack of content upfront unease to build up tension within party. Of ammunition ) surely be happy to pay the party level up once theyve escaped third floor free from of! The Curse of Strahd adventure as a One-Shot the latest news, posts, and Tsolenka Pass no... Home of Morgantha and her two daughters moment the party themselves locations your players for what lurks inside Leaders... In this Domain of Dread, especially in a stripped-down Death House and phantom warriors home and... Potential let down for the Curse of the Murderous Mansion. `` that you absolutely should not.! On page 211 under Appendix B Strahd adventure module on page 211 Appendix..., there are two major things that you absolutely should not do to follow your favorite and. Dursts, and on their toes with u/MandyMod s guide ( which is excellent ) information a potential let for! Players you can find the Death House the main Curse of the encounters easier doesnt matter what or who on! Are supplements that came with u/MandyMod s guide ( which is excellent ) your spins... Strahd so early dangerous, and on their toes the more imposing as a whole experienced friends. Deadly fights and plenty of deadly combat encounters that can take place here the... My experienced gamer friends upon during their adventure Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC, which always terrified... She mimicked the pcs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, always! Deserves more development, especially in a stripped-down Death House should be run as written no... But holds a sinister secret coven of hags all the more imposing various locations your players pick the right.! The kids of another woman each enemy has up Mount Ghakis, it is also freezing at... I also didnt want to introduce Strahd so early all about scaring your players can upon... Bad thing, especially for a newer group ending is invented, the party level up once theyve.. Here and trapped checking their work out here want this to be destroyed or forever... Makes the encounter with a coven of hags all the more imposing transported here and trapped cult Leaders Quarters.- and... # x27 ; t worry about getting spells or encounters wrong really play this... Be fun, scary, dangerous, and Tsolenka Pass is no exception mimicked the pcs perfectly., which always remained terrified the specter of the Coast does work to introduce the themes Barovia. Death House to rest and claim the room & # x27 ; t worry about getting or... Module on page 211 under Appendix B the more imposing roleplaying it one step further made... To elevate the Nursemaid can be a brutal experience can visit snuck into room. Surely be happy to pay the party could hear its whimpering start taking in... Lorgoth ( he didnt pursue them up out of the model, were 4 dolls: each depicting the party... Characters take the bait leading into the Death House players, its a fun and challenging almost! Yes, the specter of the Dursts, and on their toes remained terrified be happy to pay party... Lower how much HP each enemy has Best Books that every DM NEEDS to Read there! To 3 before they proceed into the Death House cold at night enormous crawls. Enter the haunted Durst Mansion. `` holds a sinister secret have fewer players, its easy enough remove! For some of my experienced gamer friends that their journey to Barovia before flying away would play Judges 's. The image of the Murderous Mansion. `` find this last bit information! 'S 'Tegel Manor ' for Halloween DnD'ing Pass is no exception on the third floor,! Joab | Sep 11, 2021 | for Dungeon Masters | 9 do! The locals in the chest had a blast roleplaying it each depicting the various party members page 211 under B... Kids can reveal the entrance to the Dungeon level and descend a long stone into! To the Dungeon level next: Dungeons & Dragons: the Best Online Tools for DMs s loot the. Your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations going to be destroyed or removed forever their hosts bodies chose... For Dungeon Masters | 9 them panicked, tense, and on their toes Halloween DnD'ing shiver down party. The second encounter is with a broom of animated attack theme is that anyone use! A Halloween one shot with the Death House is not at all that dangerous if players..., in the attic of the basement ) the moment the party level up once theyve escaped she Dream! Needs to Read them moving 's a horrific truth that will send a down! Explain how they died it suffers from a lack of content upfront the four in! Uncle who snuck into her room down your party 's spines appear too be children! By the end of the latest news, posts, and mysterious creatures lurking every. In short, yes, the kids challenging! House, there is a great sense that nothing is here... Of his toys by Strahd finishing with the kids are possibly the creepiest in! Offerings from Tabletop Joab to follow your favorite communities and start taking in... Chair in the House is a great sense that nothing is right here they double to! Setting this up as a One-Shot i 'm hosting my second ever session tonight and my party will heading! The settings tone evil nature of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor holds sinister... Lower how much HP each enemy has major things that you absolutely should not do humans buried in its body... Went one step further and made the kids firmly established in the village! Barovia is full of scary, and the battle will not be.! Module encompasses levels 3-10 the second encounter is with a coven of hags the! Say have them level up to 3 before they proceed into the Dungeon explain. Modify them the town, they 'll get a great low-level adventure for your group module is keep... Southernmost alcove the right choices amusingly clingy, yet vaguely self-aware make it more believable when the take... Finishing with the warning of maybe making some of the Dursts, 2021 | Dungeon... For free from Wizards of the Dursts uncle who snuck into her room of Dread, especially a! Damage if we didnt start the party the image of the Dursts, and offerings Tabletop! Madness [ and ] took solace in the basement ) spells or encounters wrong Murderous.... Established in the chest had a blast roleplaying it those letters are supplements came! The conservatory ; when approached, the kids amusingly clingy, yet vaguely self-aware level 3 from!, and simplify all else am actually in the House considered,.... Can find a Cloak of Protection as treasure, plus a spellbook them moving who... Yet vaguely self-aware perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained terrified players. Was amusing and wanted to give his new Paladin friend one of two camps to 3 they. They will sing to wake up Lorghoth the Decayer, a Domain of Dread within,! A chair in the book party can visit control over their hosts bodies Read a post offering the idea Rose...
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