If you like what I do, consider getting involved and backing me. They still wontgo willingly into the house and if they do, they will try to get out of it. Upon escaping to the outside, the house appears as if nothing ever happened. As the enormous thing crawls towards you, you see bodily remains of humans buried in its putrid body.. Some wore armor and carried swords, others wore robes and carried staves, while others were large muscled figures carrying large axes and hammers. They will sing to wake up Lorghoth the Decayer, a Shambling Mound hiding in the southernmost alcove. 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. Monster design is good, but we have to re-skin the description a bit. Be careful. 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. Would love your thoughts, please comment. By the end of the dungeon, the characters will be level 3. 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. 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. This is better because you never say the monster name, avoiding metagame knowledge. In my game, I gave Rose the personality of a sassy older sister who was fiercely protective of her younger brother. It's all important, because it also teaches the players to pay attention to the environment. Well look over those now. Moreover, there are a lot of things that the party can miss (e.g., the secret door in the library), so Ive tossed in some ways to drop hints to the party. Even just traveling around Barovia can be a spooky experience. If they refuse, the apparitions unleash a shambling mound named Lorghoth the Decayer on them. Dungeon master guide and advice with the. There, in the attic of the model, were 4 dolls: each depicting the various party members. It's a horrific truth that will send a shiver down your party's spines. The second encounter is with a broom of animated attack. In area 15 it can be described as looking into the crib, longing for her long dead child. "Death House" will run your player characters through levels 1-3 if they survive. Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. 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! register a sa forums account here! If an entire army of Knights could not defeat Strahd, what hope does your party have? Dont call it the Death House. Curse Of Strahd is one of the best campaigns for Dungeons & Dragons. I added a scrawny mutt hiding under a chair in the conservatory; when approached, the party could hear its whimpering. 11. Back in the Olden days we would play Judges Guild's 'Tegel Manor' for Halloween DnD'ing. Give little clues or observations that are simply meant to unnerve the players. Make sure you follow the rest of this Curse of Strahd DM Guide. You can let them know something is coming with smell and sounds. 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? They hit level 2 before progressing into the Dungeon Level and hit level 3 upon escaping the mansion. Thunk me later! Keeping level 1 characters alive is no small task, and "Death House" monsters have high armor classes and hit hard. 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. Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. The house itself will turn against the party, making for a terrifying escape attempt. Thank you! The dolls in the model house remained untouched, but the players all gave each other the same look: they had to get out of here and fast. So we just started Death House and while in the Upper Basement my players found the statue of Strahd. You can find the Death House adventure here for free from Wizards of the Coast. While frightening at first, it quickly loses its charm. From creepy castles to sinister swamps, here are eight scary areas that show why Ravenloft is one of the best settings in D&D. There is no escape, not without first defeating the seemingly unstoppable vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. 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. 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. PCs can find a Cloak of Protection as treasure, plus a spellbook. There are 38 locations in the Death House. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. There are plenty of unsettling characters to socialize with here, including cultists and other mysterious inhabitants, to add to this pressure as well. At the very least, lower their hit points a bit. 5 Tips for Running the Death House One-Shot From Curse of Strahd, make thecombat encounter more interesting, Strahd Must Die Tonight! if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-4','ezslot_24',145,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-4-0');Opening the large toy chest, the Paladin saw seemingly hundreds of small wooden figures just like the ones currently in the model home. 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. But, the locals of Barovia know little about the temple itself and its dark, twisted past. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: Ideas For Running A One-Shot. Your players will not leave this location quite the same as when they arrived. The smoke worked great as a way to keep them moving. I wanted to make it obvious that the encounter at the altar was the final step to fleeing Death House. What makes this location all the scarier is that the party is most likely to reach this location at level three or four. Its entirely optional but it does work to introduce the themes of Barovia and the Curse of Strahd adventure as a whole. The dcor, letters that can be found, and mentions of specific places give you ways to tie the Death House in with Barovia as a whole. 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. Honestly, even if the party is level 3, this can be a very tough fight! You get the feeling that youre being watched., In the corner of your eye, you see a ghoulish figure that disappears as you turn to face it.. Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. 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, youd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesnt put the gothic horror adventure, Curse of Strahd, at the top of their list. Also theres a will bequeathing these properties to the Durst children. Recommended: I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird!). For background the home is infused with the evil spirits of the cultists that once resided there. I never thought of that. Considering how well this sets up for the rest of the adventure, I greatly recommend getting the module! Part-time Druid, Full-time Hobo. Related: The Best Books That EVERY DM NEEDS To Read! She is obsessed with Strahd and will do whatever it takes to keep him safe from the party. This signals quite clearly: This is not a fight you can win. Darklords Shrine.- Another lethal encounter, 5 shadows will wreck the party if they attack at once. Have them tell the party that the fog goes away when the monster stops roaring. For instance, the shrine devoted to Strahd oozes atmosphere, and if you have gnomes or other Small characters in your party, utilizing the dumbwaiter is a fun way of having them scout ahead. 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. I was specifically using u/MandyMod 's guide to Streamlining Death House to set the adventure up (i.e. 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. One of my PCs assumed that shed accidentally killed him with Shocking Grasp, but thankfully didnt bring it up. 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. Unless a different ending is invented, the module as written gives no room for Strahd to be destroyed or removed forever. Your group might choose to fight it and risk death. By the end of the Death House, there are three themes that should be firmly established in the players minds. I won't plagiarize it here, but I highly recommend checking their work out here. Finally, the specter of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor. Durst House, or 'Death House' as the name given it, is an old row house in the village of Barovia. Super late comment is late, but I wanted to let you know that I printed these, placed them in aged envelopes with a wax seal and handed one to each one of my players and it went off BEAUTIFULLY! 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! The Paladin had done well at keeping Thorn from crying and the boy was excited to show the Paladin his toys. 34. Very useful against some Barovian creatures. The Curse of Strahd Companion is your comprehensive guide to running 5th Edition's greatest and grimmest campaign. People either absolutely love it or hate it! Help me get funding and enjoy hi resolution version of all my work. I will definitely incorporate these ideas next time! 20. It was great. My players tend to really get into the roleplaying and exploration aspects, so we usually finish in two game sessions. 6.Upper Hall.- Theres a portrait of the Durst family. The deal is simple, a living being must be slain on the altar to appease the house and the cultists. As I was prepping DH, I decided to make player handouts for the three letters that the party would eventually find within the haunted house: 1) Strahd's letter to Mr. Durst, 2) Elisabeth Durst's letter about the 'ceremony', and then 3) Gustav's suicide letter. Instead of Lorgoth, you can also take u/MandyMod's idea of turning the Decayer into the bloated, cursed embodiment of the infant Walter's rage, confusion, and inborn monstrosity. This is a list of important bits of information, important locations and specific advice to run the different locations in the Death House. Emphasize the sections of the house that reveal the eerie lore of the Dursts, and simplify all else. 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. But, the ultimate horror comes from the complete lack of hope that this location implies. I really liked this idea, but I also didnt want to introduce Strahd so early. 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! Make no mistake about it, Death House is still dangerous for a party of four 2nd-level adventurers, who at various points in the adventure might find themselves up against four ghouls or five shadows at once. 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