Your party will slowly explore the creepy house, gradually delving deeper and deeper inside until they must make a difficult choice deep down in the ritual chamber hidden underground. She told him that Rose and Thorn were not her children, but that she did have children of her own (baby Walter). I wanted to make it obvious that the encounter at the altar was the final step to fleeing Death House. You are correct about how death works in Curse of Strahd. Id greatly recommend also checking out my article on running horror in your own D&D 5e games! It is also included in the Curse of Strahd adventure module on page 211 under Appendix B. Don't just drop the players in front of the children, make them go trough the initial adventure hook and trough the Gates Of Barovia. So what purpose is there behind being a good person then? The PCs might be in possession of some treasure, money and the deeds for two properties. Death House is that deadly. Dungeon m. AboutPressCopyrightContact. Its possible to have been a good person who now lives a life of fear and misery as a result of another persons evil actions. 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. 12. Tsolenka Pass consists of a bridge looming over the Luna River and a guard tower. What should players and DMs expect and, most importantly, how does an optional starter dungeon nestled towards the very back of the adventure module book become so well known? And then level 3 after escaping the house. Even just traveling around Barovia can be a spooky experience. All things considered, though, that might not be terribly long This is Barovia after all! 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. Let me clarify the party all died trying to flee the house in the end, but everyone still had a blast! 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? As they reach the bottom landing they discern a dozen or so voices saying, over and over, "He is the Ancient. Running the Death House The main Curse of Strahd module encompasses levels 3-10. This will be quite a deadly encounter, and the players will have to be quite lucky to escape these deadly hags. They cannot be used commercially. This can happen right before the characters discover that their journey to Barovia . 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. New Movie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews. The first is a set of Animated Armor that is positioned to possibly push a party member down the stairs. Hey dude, where are letter 2 and 3 in death house? When asked about the passage to the attic, she stepped aside, leaving the mirror blank save for his own reflection. Theres a third baby in the picture in the fathers arms, Mrs. Durst looks at the baby with scorn. Emphasize the sections of the house that reveal the eerie lore of the Dursts, and simplify all else. We skipped it. It was amazing. How to D&D 29.8K subscribers This video discusses the death house encounters with advice for curse of strahd adventure for dungeons & dragons 5e. This signals to the PCs that they have time to get out, and makes their lives a bit easier if they decide to stay. It is designed to introduce Curse Of Strahd, exploring its themes on a miniature scale, and is intended for level one players. Luke also has a board game obsession, plays a bunch of D&D, and makes silly videos on YouTube. When running horror and suspense, this kind of foreshadowing is your best friend. 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! Barovia becomes a tomb for all who end up there. These two made invaluable contributions to the session. For inspiration, consider Gustav Dursts reasoning for the affair in a letter from Strahd that can be found in the Secret Room. Immediately afterward, a grinding noise (the sound of the secret passage) can be heard from the attic. Obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons and a close personal friend of Pocket (an interdimensional teleporting ferret). By the end of the dungeon, the characters will be level 3. Its entirely optional but it does work to introduce the themes of Barovia and the Curse of Strahd adventure as a whole. Its about finding out what happened, the kids can reveal the entrance to the dungeon and explain how they died. If they kill any creature on the altar, the cult is appeased and the characters can leave the house freely. If they arent seizing the chance to be heroes, appeal to their love of coin and youll have all the hook you need. Its almost as difficult and disturbing as the Old Bonegrinder in the same adventure! Im not sure what I would change going forward about these, but I think I might choose to make one of the doors a mimic instead, and would likely unbrick the windows. Give them your quest hook and get them into Barovia. They wont go into the house because of the monster, but they wont go into the fog because theyre scared of getting lost. 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. Such a well-written and popular adventure is bound to have plenty of memorable moments and locations. 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 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. Not only that, but the key ingredient in Morgantha's addictive pies is children! The Death House has become something of a modern classic for 5e players. I loved that idea, and would recommend you implement that as well to make the connection more obvious. When they'll get a good idea of how Barovia works. Very useful against some Barovian creatures. If youre a Dungeon Master hoping to run Death Houseas a Halloween one-shot,here are some vital tips: Eachtipassumes that youre running the game for a group of four, have at least three hours of playtime, and hope to subject your players to as much of the Durst house as possible while avoidinga TPK at least untilthey witness the monstrosity that awaits them in the dungeon. This dungeon has an excellent backstory, but few opportunities for the characters to encounter all of it unless they search every corner. 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! She and her daughters are, in fact, a coven of Night Hags. Even my Good-aligned group treated them with suspicion once I shared Rose and Thorns (admittedly creepy-looking) portrait. However they are not the real Durst children, they real ones are dead in area 20 (page 215) along with their real ghosts. Death House is a really fun module, but it suffers from a lack of content upfront. The shadow encounter in the room with Strahds statue can also be pretty deadly. This subreddit serves as a helpful place for anyone running the Curse of Strahd module for D&D 5e. Your group might choose to fight it and risk death. Not every spooky thing needs to have an explanation. They were wearing the exact same gear but seemed to not have their faces painted on. There is lots of foreshadowing for the story to come. The nature of D&D 5e is that it is almost hilariously easier to die at lower levels than it is at higher levels even as tougher enemies appear. Be careful when you use these, though. Be brave, dear reader, as you enter the haunted Durst Mansion. Tabletop Joab 2023 | All Rights Reserved. Dungeon master guide and advice with the. 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. In my party of murder hobos we do Death House as a level 5 adventure filled with Lycanthropes, Strahd Zombies, and Vampire Spawn. Both DeiGratia and Abuget can be downloaded over at www.dafont.com. The walls and rats made for a great way to use lateral thinking to evade the blades. All this can be achieved in 6-10 hours of playing. Master Suite.- Theres a jewelry box with jewels worth 900 gp. In any discussion about this dungeon, most people tend to fall pretty firmly into one of two camps. Recommended: I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird!). There might be some who have managed to mostly keep out of trouble, but they are very few in these lands. But this isnt an article about Curse of Strahd. It is designed like this. It's all important, because it also teaches the players to pay attention to the environment. 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. Childrens Room .- The remains of Rose and Thorn are here. Almost parallels Death house. Balcony.- The animated armor can be challenging if PCs dont react properly. A sizable treasure for a level 1 party. However, that feels a little ham-fisted. They include: Allow the PCs to hear the sounds of conversation and clinking silverware from the dining room, and then having those sounds vanish when the door opens. It helped pull the player into the story a lot more. Pretty spoopy. She was then stabbed by the cultists for unexplained reasons and cast aside. A level 2party which has had no long rests and several tough fights will not win this fight without losing some PCs. 38. 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