12. If the PCs decide to take a long rest in the house, allow them to roll an Intelligence check to recall the relative safety of the Servants Quarters. Depending on your group, and how roleplay heavy they are. Running the Death House The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10. You can see the tendrils grip on the walls tighten with crushing force. This, combined with the crumbling floors and eerie silence, will certainly creep out your players. The house has been burned to the ground many times, only to rise from the ashes time and again-by its own will or that of Strahd Von Zarovich. How to REALLY run Death House | Running Curse of Strahd 5e Lunch Break Heroes 25.4K subscribers 65K views 2 years ago #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #rpg Give your players a PROPER introduction to. The usual response to this encounter is retreat. 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? 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. If you started at level 1, this is a good point to have everyone level up. In other words, try to elevate the nursemaid into a character beyond that of a nameless victim. It is also included in the Curse of Strahd adventure module on page 211 under Appendix B. If they arent seizing the chance to be heroes, appeal to their love of coin and youll have all the hook you need. Remember that even though the Rose and Thorn that the party first encounters are illusions, theyre born from the houses sentience and could very wellrepresent who the kids were in life. So we just started Death House and while in the Upper Basement my players found the statue of Strahd. 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. Where the Death House really stands out is its use of theme. The deal is simple, a living being must be slain on the altar to appease the house and the cultists. And they wont find something quite like that anytime soon. Well and Cultist Quarters.- In these rooms theres some treasure to be found. The Death House has become something of a modern classic for 5e players. 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. 2023 Elven Tower Cartography. Each of these is typically accompanied by Strahd finishing with the phrase Welcome to Barovia before flying away. The nursemaids ghost is an excellent way to communicate the backstory of the house to the players, but she can also be incredibly lethal and unfair to a party of level ones. These two made invaluable contributions to the session. 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). However, there is enough information provided to add your own spins to the Death House. You can really play on this unease to build up tension within the party, building it up until they are constantly on edge. Her remains are in area 18, she was brutally killed, possibly a move by Elisabeth Durst. Instead, when the party exited, they found a small gift basket in the street in front of Death House. 6.Upper Hall.- Theres a portrait of the Durst family. Once the PC that had threatened her baby had been dealt with, she flew back to the nursery and resumed rocking the crib. Press J to jump to the feed. What is it? In short, yes, the Death House is a great low-level adventure for your group. Awesome article! The true horror of this location comes from a specific event that can take place if the players are not careful. Either way Count Strahd is satisfied, since playing with good or evil aligned subjects is entertaining for him all the same. This fight should prove to be much easier than the Animated Armor. Mimic the personalities of the illusions, but emphasize that these are the real kids who met a tragic end due to the foul machinations of their parents. This is not a fight encounter. Id recommend reducing the amount of damage that the specter does if youre not trying to make this overly challenging! 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. Darklords Shrine.- Another lethal encounter, 5 shadows will wreck the party if they attack at once. It was amazing. 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. Youll find little elements that serve to foreshadow events to come. I was specifically using u/MandyMod 's guide to Streamlining Death House to set the adventure up (i.e. 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. The Count's Crypt. If you like what I do, consider getting involved and backing me. By the end of the Death House, there are three themes that should be firmly established in the players minds. However, what about those who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'tabletopjoab_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_20',139,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); Unfortunately, the actions of the truly wicked mean that the innocents around them are also left to suffer. Death House says the children know theyre dead, so run with that concept. As written, its a fun and challenging (almost too challenging!) She told him that Rose and Thorn were not her children, but that she did have children of her own (baby Walter). Perhaps she legitimately loved Gustav and hoped to free him from the cults influence. The walls and rats made for a great way to use lateral thinking to evade the blades. Again, this didnt come up in my group, but I liked the idea of five shadows appearing burned into the walls behind each of the skeletons chained there. I added some handwriting font, put them on a parchment background, and they all came up well. 11. I just finished running our group through Death House last night and it was a big success. Or an evil PC could finish off a severely hurt ally. While frightening at first, it quickly loses its charm. Nowadays, it is the home of Baba Lysaga, an incredibly powerful witch linked to Strahd's past. 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! 29. Beware, for massive spoilers await! 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. 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. 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. 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. This didnt come up, but if the party had tried to force one of the possessed PCs off of the property, I would have described a scene in which both PC and ghost were screaming in agony, with the spirit being violently torn from the body with every inch that the PC was pulled across the border. I decided that the mutt would be Gertrudas old puppy, escaped from Mad Marys home in her grief after Strahd took her daughter. The Death House is actually a very challenging dungeon. The Old Bonegrinder is a terrifying location that captures just how unsettling the domains of dread can be. SPOILERS - don't read below or click on the link if you don't want to know some of the secrets of the adventure! The Curse of Strahd Companion is your comprehensive guide to running 5th Edition's greatest and grimmest campaign. Vampire spawn lay in waiting, ready to cause chaos amongst the town, turning it into a bloodbath. Most Barovians steer clear of this location, where they are likely to get lost in the muddy, misty marshes and even encounter terrifying scarecrows. Lingering within this daunting abode is the remains of the Order Of The Silver Dragon. 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. Tsolenka Pass is relatively isolated from the rest of Barovia, making it quite an unsettling, lonely path for the party to travel down. They will close up on them leading them to the Village of Barovia. If/when the PCs try to leave, the children will try to possess them, not out of aggression but out of fear of abandonment. Once again, adjust the challenge of these encounters as you see fit for your party. 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. Chef Feat in D&D 5e Explained | Useful or Pie in the Sky? This site works best with JavaScript enabled. Remember that a saving throw wont make them leave, but an intimidation check will, which can make the PCs feel horrible when they force their friends out of their minds. Also theres a will bequeathing these properties to the Durst children. 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