Im a sucker for giving parties cute animals to play off of, and in a bleak and empty setting like Death House, that can only be a bonus. Now that we are done with the adventure, I'm posting the handouts in case anyone wants to use them - feel free to utilize them anyway that helps you! She mimicked the PCs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained terrified. Both DeiGratia and Abuget can be downloaded over at www.dafont.com. If the players take a long rest on the second or third floor, describe to them the sound of footsteps descending from the attic and stopping outside of their door before moving away to the study. If the party is reluctant, shine a little bit of gold their way. Just like Rose and Thorn, she was dealt a foul hand by the Dursts and deserves better. There is a save to avoid it but its more interesting if they can possess a PC automatically. You might also use less-intimidating artwork for the twins. Now, railroading isnt a bad thing, especially for a newer group. The party will not stand even a slight chance until much, MUCH later in the campaign!). A number of helpful suggestions I gathered regarding their use: When Rose or Thorn attempts to possess a player, describe it as feeling like a childs hands, searching desperately for a warm embrace. Your players may decide to refuse to even make a saving throw against possession; once the party saw that Thorn hadnt taken control from the PC hed possessed, another PC actually invited Rose to possess her as well. Each seemed to depict an adventurer of some type. Also PCs will find the houses deed and a deed to the mill near Vallaki. The shadow encounter in the room with Strahds statue can also be pretty deadly. I ran this around this time last year and that nursemaid absolutely murdered two of the NPCs of players I had only just met (at which point the party fled the house and refused to return). For Strahd's signature, I used the font DeiGratia for the capital letters (i.e. All things considered, though, that might not be terribly long This is Barovia after all! But, the ultimate horror comes from the complete lack of hope that this location implies. If you already have level 3 players you can jump right into the action of Barovias encounters. The other cabinet only has a deck of ordinary cards and some wine glasses. Even (especially) the most ambitious of travelers have been crushed into dust by the horrors of this land. Two ghosts can easily kill a level 1 party, however they are not aggressive and even if a fight starts, the two children are more likely to flee than to attack. He's a postgraduate from Bournemouth University, having studied Scriptwriting. Monster design is good, but we have to re-skin the description a bit. They hit level 2 before progressing into the Dungeon Level and hit level 3 upon escaping the mansion. Since then, he's never looked back and loves roleplaying games for the chance to tell the tales that have been swirling in his head since childhood. Thunk me later! Make sure you follow the rest of this Curse of Strahd DM Guide. One of my PCs assumed that shed accidentally killed him with Shocking Grasp, but thankfully didnt bring it up. Or jump from a balcony. It is a very fun encounter against an enemy who cannot be beaten. The Amber Temple is one of the most dangerous locations in Barovia. 2023 Wizards. They were wearing the exact same gear but seemed to not have their faces painted on. Ideally, everyone is happy to assist the children and play the game. PCs can find a Cloak of Protection as treasure, plus a spellbook. Locals give the building a wide berth for fear of antagonizing the evil spirits believed to haunt it. Yes they are still illusions but appear too be real children and wont vanish. If/when the PCs try to leave, the children will try to possess them, not out of aggression but out of fear of abandonment. Its almost as difficult and disturbing as the Old Bonegrinder in the same adventure! Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. It's all important, because it also teaches the players to pay attention to the environment. Always remember: horror is a very personal thing. . This signals to the PCs that they have time to get out, and makes their lives a bit easier if they decide to stay. Your email address will not be published. This video discusses the death house dungeon encounter disasters that you want to avoid in the curse of strahd adventure for dungeons & dragons 5e. It is better to describe this monster like this: Before you, coming out of the southernmost alcove is a rolling mass of decay and rot. She and her daughters are, in fact, a coven of Night Hags. From gaming trends to the latest blockbuster anime, DualShockers keeps you ahead of the curve. Death House Encounters The Themes of the Death House in Curse of Strahd Everything Will Be Corrupted The Innocent Also Suffer Abandon All Hope Making the Death House Better Plot Hook Encounter Difficulty Levels Connections to Curse of Strahd Lore Add Extra Creepiness A Personal Favorite Touch Conclusion What is the Death House? Ghoulish Encounter.- Depending on the partys reaction to this, it can be a very lethal encounter. 3. The adventurers manage to put their spirits to rest and claim the room's loot. 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. For inspiration, consider Gustav Dursts reasoning for the affair in a letter from Strahd that can be found in the Secret Room. Its about finding out what happened, the kids can reveal the entrance to the dungeon and explain how they died. 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. 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. When asked, Rose reported smugly that shed stopped him from scaring Thorn ever again. ! Each character rolls to pass through the scythes. Honestly, even if the party is level 3, this can be a very tough fight! Did you like this guide? 12. You made Rose and Thorn like Bianca and Nico DiAngelo! Free D&D Adventure: Fight as Dragons and Explore a Crystal Dragon's Lair! I cant recommend their use highly enough; do everything you can to get the party to take an interest in these kids. Well look over those now. Posted by Joab | Sep 11, 2021 | For Dungeon Masters | 9. 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. The second encounter is with a broom of animated attack. Oh, Death House. Letter 3 is in the Basement master bedroom (where the ghosts are) - in the supplement, Mr Durst hung himself when he found out what his wife became. What has been your experience with the Death House? Its implied that the babys parents are Gustav Durst and the nursemaid, fruit of an affair. If the PCs damage anything (the chairs, the wallpaper, etc.) Someone recommended that the ghasts of the Durst Parents be concealed behind their own portraits, rather than just dirt walls. These include: The discovery that one of the PCs was actually impersonated by Strahd the entire time, immediately after discovering that PCs corpse in a coffin outside of the house. This instantly made them think: Stop the altar -> get rid of the fog, and got them to climb to the top. Consider liking our Facebook page. So today, were going to be taking a look at the Death House. The Dungeon Levels final encounter is with a Shambling Mound. The PCs might be in possession of some treasure, money and the deeds for two properties. Nothing will prepare your players for what lurks inside. Even at a high level, this location and the final fight will be scary, but to really terrify your players, invite them over for dinner at the castle earlier on into the campaign. You can start with Mad Marys encounter (page 44). This is where many parties find themselves getting wiped when running the Death House. There are plenty of deadly combat encounters that can take place here, from giant spiders to undead revenants and phantom warriors. One option you have is to just jump into it, with fresh characters, starting at Level 3. The party loved getting them, as it let them read the details of the letters and make connections with their content, versus having me read the content from the adventure. 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. Dungeon m. AboutPressCopyrightContact. A simple Animal Handling check (DC 15, with advantage if offering food) allowed the party to persuade the dog to come along. Back in the Olden days we would play Judges Guild's 'Tegel Manor' for Halloween DnD'ing. Ending the Cycle. If you already have level 3 players you can jump right into the action of Barovia's encounters. All the maps in this website are registered under the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC. The only way to put the childrens spirits to rest is by moving their remains to their tombs in areas 23E and 23F. However, that feels a little ham-fisted. For background the home is infused with the evil spirits of the cultists that once resided there. 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. It was great. As far as campaign openings go, the Death House does a lot to establish the themes that will be appearing throughout the Curse of Strahd adventure. Rose and Thorns parents would surely be happy to pay the party for saving them! 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. I'm hosting my second ever session tonight and my party will be heading into the dungeonhave I missed something? Stress the wrongdoings of Gustav and Elisabeth Durst, and plant the seed of putting the souls of these poor children to rest by placing their remains in the family crypts. Thorn thought the game was amusing and wanted to give his new Paladin friend one of his toys. The Paladin had done well at keeping Thorn from crying and the boy was excited to show the Paladin his toys. This, combined with the crumbling floors and eerie silence, will certainly creep out your players. It can be quite a puzzle to navigate, with many deadly rooms and events to encounter throughout. The book says that players retain control but have to take a temporal flaw and role play accordingly (page 217). 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. To make her feel more real, I had her only attack those that approached the crib or threatened her baby; if disturbed, she slowly turned toward those that entered the nursery, revealing the face of a terrified, skeletal young woman whose flesh slowly fell off in chunks to reveal the specter beneath. Ritual Chambers.- Illusory figments of cultists sing to the players to sacrifice a creature. The go-to source for comic and superhero movie fans. You can find the Death House adventure here for free from Wizards of the Coast. Required fields are marked *. Depending on your group, and how roleplay heavy they are. 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.). A sizable treasure for a level 1 party. Your players will not leave this location quite the same as when they arrived. PCs will recognize the children. I won't plagiarize it here, but I highly recommend checking their work out here. Oooh this is actually really neat, love the little modifiers you added. Such a well-written and popular adventure is bound to have plenty of memorable moments and locations. What is it? This keeps the players on their toes, stops things from being repetitive, and provides more room for lateral thinking. It is also included in the Curse of Strahd adventure module on page 211 under Appendix B. Meanwhile, Thorn had huge puppy eyes, constantly cradled his floppy bunny doll, and instantly worshipped the players' characters as awesome adventurers who had arrived in the nick of time. However, youd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesnt put the gothic horror adventure, Curse of Strahd, at the top of their list. 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. They become caught in the mists and can't travel to the afterlife. 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. You will be sure to terrify your party with this location, especially when they hear that horrible shriek of that feathered fiend and have nowhere to run. Emphasize the sections of the house that reveal the eerie lore of the Dursts, and simplify all else. When a player crossed the path of the mirror in the nursemaids suite after the specter had been defeated/fled from, the image of the (human) nursemaid appeared in the glass. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_19',125,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3-0');At least in the top 3! When the party tries to leave the house, Rose and Thorn do not let them. We called it "The Curse of the Murderous Mansion.". 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. Ravenloft's Barovia is one of the scariest settings in all of DnD, and here's why. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. Copyright He is the Land." The PCs could hear her making gentle cooing sounds, and see her rocking the crib gently. 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Retain control but have to take an interest in these kids smugly that shed killed. Shadow encounter in the Curse of the most dangerous locations in Barovia many deadly rooms and events encounter. Blockbuster anime, DualShockers keeps you ahead of the Durst parents be concealed behind their own portraits rather. We would play Judges Guild 's 'Tegel Manor ' for Halloween DnD'ing horror classic Gustav reasoning... For two properties an affair that players retain control but have to take interest... Near Vallaki from Wizards of the scariest settings in all of DnD, and here why! If you already have level 3 players you can jump right into the action of encounters! Fun encounter against an enemy who can not be beaten excited to show Paladin...
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