Mischief wrote:I have heard of the death house only version of this, but this is amazing.
Thank you!
Before I answer the questions, just some other points to make aware. This was the conversation I had with my player when I picked up CoS;
"Hey dude, I recently picked up CoS and I'm gonna be running it in a few months. Are you interested in playing?"
"Nah no thanks."
"I thought you might say that so I'm making a promise that I will never get drunk while I'm DMing this campaign."
"Nah, no thanks."
"I thought you might say that too. So I'm proposing that you play as Strahd in disguise within the group. You will be the BBEG and be able to manipulate the party from within the party as a member."
"......Go on."
Originally I had planned for him to role-play as Vasilli Von Holtz. But eventually we ended up deciding he would have an actual player character that traveled through the mist along with the rest of the party and he would instead be possessed by Strahd. We didn't look into the mechanics, just more rule of cool. For example, a paladin using his divine sense wouldn't sense undead because the character is not dead. He could enter homes invited because he's not a vampire.
Mischief wrote:What are some of the highlights?
My two favourite highlights are quotes from the party paladin talking to the player being possessed by Strahd.
"You need to stop calling yourself Strahd or it's going to come back to bite you in the arse!"
During an argument with him, "You know what! I'm going to go tell the REAL Strahd what you've been doing myself!"
Mischief wrote:Hints dropped?
I personally didn't drop any hints. It was all the player's hints he dropped during conversation. It started subtle, telling the paladin to refer to Strahd as Lord Strahd because titles should be important to a paladin. Other subtleties like whenever anyone would call him Devil or call him a monster he would ask why, and what has he done to them personally, etc, just continuously defending him as in, "We haven't met the guy and the stories are mixed. I'm not calling him a monster until I know him."
Then we really started letting go because the players just weren't cluing in at all. At the Wizard of Wines, as they approached the player yelled out in Druidic, which no one else had, which prompted a conversation with the druid inside. The players couldn't understand, but they definitely heard Strahd's name mentioned several times. The players asked what he was saying and he flat out said, "Oh I told them that I was Strahd and they should leave - and they are.". Funnily enough that's actually exactly what he said to the druid. NO ONE QUESTIONED IT AT ALL! It was mind-blowing! So the druids left and even gave back the gem lol.
Next, they went to Yester Hill because the sun sword is underneath the Gulthias Tree. At the base of the hill the player said, "Look these guys think I'm Strahd, right? We need to sell that unless you want a big fight on your hands. You guys have to refer to me as Lord Strahd." AND STILL NO QUESTIONS ASKED! After Yester Hill he told everyone he liked being call Strahd and wouldn't talk to anyone unless they called him Strahd lol. Still no questions though.
Mischief wrote:What was Strahd's disguise class/race?
Answered that above in the notes.
Mischief wrote:How did you handle the Madame Eva reading?
I did it as normal. Madame Eva knew he was a puppet. But Madame Eva fore sore that she needed to do the reading. She didn't let it on though. I controlled who got what reading with some prepared cards and slight sleight of hand. I purposely gave my reading for the location of the Tome of Strahd, my altered edition of it, to him. Strahd told the players he couldn't get a reading - too cloudy (each player got a personal reading alone). This was all purpose designed again so when Strahd was no longer possessing the player, he knows where the Tome is and it might be a way for the party to trust him.
Mischief wrote:How did you handle St. Andral's Feast and the hallowed bones?
Oh this was an amazing situation! So the coffin maker had already got the bones under the orders of the vampire spawn living in his attic. He was then instructed to dump the bones in Lake Zarovich. The bones were collected and replaced with the bones of Leo Dilisnya which he imbued with radiant magic so they would appear to be the bones of St. Andral. This was done before the players entered Valliki.
On their first night, Strahd ordered the spawn to kill the priest, but make it crude ie; they cut off his head with a shovel, to make it not obvious a vampire did it. He also had them dig up 6 bodies from the cemetary and replace the people in the stockades in the town centre. Those in the stockades were then kept tied and bound in the coffin maker's attic and the spawn moved into the church basement.
Eventually the party discovered the coffin maker had the bones and went to talk to him. He tells them he was forced to do by the vampires in his attic. The party things he's raving mad lol. He says he'll tell the location of the bones if they remove the vampires for him. You can see where this is going lol. Long story short, the coffin maker was beaten and they got the information of the bones then he was handed over to the Burgomaster.
The players then went to the lake, rescued Arrabelle, and found the bones. The player as Strahd suggested he take the girl back to Vistani camp, while the rest of the other players go and attend the priest's funeral, which was made mandatory by the Burgomaster, and he'll meet them at the funeral (Again, no questioning).
At the funeral, the Burgomaster told the town the priest had been brutally murdered but thanks to the party the killer has been brought to justice, "I'm sure you all noticed him swinging in the town square.". One of my players was like, "Damn, he wasn't good but I wasn't expecting him to get hanged to quickly.".
The vampires then made they're appearance and killed Millivoj, who they had rescued from a demon that very morning, then started killing the townsfolk. A few rounds into it another one of my players said, "Hold up one second. So these are vampires right?"
"It appears that way, yes."
"And how many are there?"
"Six."
"And how many vampires did the coffin maker say were in his attic?"
"Six."
"Wait, so did we essentially get an innocent man killed?"
"It appears that way, yes."
"Wow. You bastard!"
"*Evil DM laugh*"
Couple more rounds go by and the real Strahd arrives riding Beucephalus. He kills one of the spawn, condemns the attack and tells the rest of the spawn to leave. He then asks why his name is banned from town. He hasn't personally done anything to anyone here. He says he might admittedly have been a neglectful ruler, but hasn't done anything to anyone to deserve this treatment. He then suggests this town would be better suited to a regime change. Strahd then turns his attention to the group and Ireena. Invites them to dinner, welcomes them to Barovia and leaves.
That was a great session.
Mischief wrote:Did you run the wall of fog vision at Yester Hill?
Nope. Refer to above again.
Mischief wrote:Were the allies (Martikovs, Van Richten, Ezmerelda d'Avenir) fooled or did they hang back?
Van Richten had a feeling something wasn't right with him but didn't know what. Davian definitely knew something was up when the druids left the farm. After the players left the winery, he sent a Raven to Van Richten telling him they need to meet and discuss. They met and shared theories. It was after the parties third visit that Davian and Van Richten were convinced the player was Strahd. They chose not to tell the group at this point however, because they didn't want to jeopardise the party safety. As for what happens now, this is actually where I'm up to in the story with my group.
Mischief wrote:How did you run Strahd's allies, Beucephalus, the Vistani, Rahadin, Lady Watcher, vampire spawn, etc?
I never liked how all the Vistani were Strahd's allies. That was never canon. They shared mutual respect. Yeah he had some allies, but not the whole clan. So in my game the only Vistani ally he has is Arrigal.
Rahadin has only made a brief appearance once. Strahd decided to reward the group with some magic items, but also test the paladin that he's been trying to corrupt. There was an unmarked grave that stood out and the players decided to dig it up to investigate. Half way through Rahadin, hidden in the shadows, shouted, "Ha! A paladin desecrating a grave!? There's something waiting for you at the bottom.". At the bottom they found a coffin and inside was a lot of magical items, and a book called, "Ode to the Oathbreaker". The paladin started freaking out the started burying the coffin. This didn't sit well with the rest of the group and they ended up killing him while he tried to bury the coffin. He was later however resurrected by his god because of his tremendous devotion to his beliefs. Rahadin appeared, clapping, and told them they passed the test and it went better than expected, then he disappeared again.
Lady Wachter was appointed Burgomaster after the town lynched Vallokavich during the festival. Of course she was loyal to Strahd and he helped all of these motions take place.
Mischief wrote:Did Ireena make it out through the pool or is she in Strahd's clutches?
I told the players when they arrived in Krezk that it was custom for outsiders to drink from the pool, as it removes diseases and makes the town safe from any kind of outbreak.
Once at the pool, Strahd and Ireena were compelled to drink. Sergei appeared and Ireena got Tatyana's memories back. Sergei turned to the player and said, "My dear brother. I forgive you.", and he and Tatyana disappeared. A bolt of lightning was cast out of the players head and he regained control. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed across the land. All the players then received Sergei's blessing: They could no longer be possessed or charmed by Strahd outside of Castle Ravenloft nor could he locate them through spells or being the land.
