The Introduction
I'd been hoping for something wholly new, but this at least sounds like it'll deliver a good chunk of new stuff.Curse of Strahd is a retelling of the original Ravenloft
adventure, which was published in 1983 by TSR, Inc.
...
The Curse of Strahd book includes the original
adventure, as well as expanded material developed in
consultation with Tracy and Laura Hickman. It expands
what we know about the lands around Castle Ravenloft
and sheds new light on the dark past of the castle’s lord.
Wait, "one of the Domains of Dread". They said one of. I'm happy. I'm very happy. This is really all I needed to hear. I believe this is confirmation (tentative, of course) that the demiplane as we knew it from the full campaign setting probably exists, though in what form exactly, we do not yet know. The mention of the Shadowfell, as a holdover from 4E irritates me, but it's not really a huge deal.The lands of Barovia are from a forgotten world in the
D&D multiverse, and this adventure gives glimpses into
that world. In time, cursed Barovia was torn from its
home world by the Dark Powers and bound
in mist as one of the Domains of Dread in
the Shadowfell.
The Adventure
Death House is about a haunted, sentient house that lures visitors to it in order to continue the work of a former cult that resided there. The cult started by trying to summon extraplanar creatuers, but with no success. Eventually they just started sacrificing people to satisfy their own dark desires. They accidentally got on Strahd's bad side when they killed a band of adventurers he was using.
I may be misinterpreting what this is saying, but it seems to me that the cult existed in the demiplane before Strahd and Barovia were brought in. This would seem to conflict with the idea that Strahd's betrayal and the removal of Barovia were the inception of the demiplane. More over, the cult seems to have knowledge of the Dark Powers if they thought Strahd was sent by them. Maybe "Dark Powers" is just shorthand for "whatever dark gods the cult worshipped". I am uncertain.The ranks of the cult thinned as members began
to lose interest in the debacle.
Then Strahd von Zarovich arrived.
The cultists regarded Strahd as a messiah sent to
them by the Dark Powers. Drawn to Strahd like moths
to a flame, they pledged their devotion for a promise of
immortality, but Strahd turned them away, deeming the
cult and its leaders unworthy of his attention.
The first thing adventurers come across are a pair of children standing in the road in the village of Barovia. They turn out to be illusions created by the house to draw the adventurers in. A complete detailing of the rooms of the house then follows. It is an interesting and exceptionally designed house... that most certainly does not belong in Barovia. I have a bit of a issue here. I love the house. But it seems to me that they really should have read up on eastern european architecture of the appropriate era. What they describe is a house that would more properly belong in Mordent, or maybe even Paridon. It's a small thing, but one that irks me nonetheless. Truthfully, the entire adventure really feels more like something that should be placed in Mordent or would be an oubliette, rather than a house in Barovia, but I digress.
New cult. Not sure who Osybus is.This secret room contains bookshelves packed with
tomes describing fiend-summoning rituals and the necromantic
rituals of a cult called the Priests of Osybus.
This is a letter found in the hand of a skeleton, from Strahd to a cultist. It makes perfectly clear that Strahd knows of the Dark Powers (no longer referring to them simply as "Death"). I'm also highly confused about whether Strahd was brought to Barovia or he was in Barovia and the whole of it was brought to a land that formerly existed. This letter gives more of an indication that the demiplane was around before Strahd.My most pathetic servant,
I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers
of this land. I have not come to lead you on a path to
immortality. However many souls you have bled on your
hidden altar, however many visitors you have tortured
in your dungeon, know that you are not the ones who
brought me to this beautiful land. You are but worms
writhing in my earth.
You say that you are cursed, your fortunes spent. You
abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom
of another woman, and sired a stillborn son. Cursed by
darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your
wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.
Your dread lord and master,
Strahd von Zarovich
The party continues through the house, meeting the actual ghosts of the children met outside. Eventually, they make their way to the cult's dungeon below the house and find their way to the sacrificial altar. A ghostly chanting instructs them to sacrifice someone on the altar. The players can do so or choose to reject the voices. If they sacrifice someone, the chanting stops and the house is appeased. If they refuse, a shambling mound is summoned (it lives down there, so not magically summoned). If the party kills it, the cult dies away, vanishing forever. Denying the cult, however, forces them to contend with the house itself. If they escape, the house harms them no further.
This would suggest that Strahd controls the Mists of Ravenloft that have been guiding the players this whole time. That's... interesting. I've always felt the Choking Fog was a bit unnecessary. I'd have much preferred him to have control over the Mists within Barovia.The mists of Ravenloft continue to surround Death
House until the characters stand atop the dais and
either appease or defy the cultists. Strahd is satisfied
either way, prompting the mists to recede.
Conclusions
It's a really good introductory adventure. It's simply one that I probably wouldn't place in Barovia as such. There's some aspects mentioned within that strike true to the campaign setting we know, but others that deviate from it. I'm very interested in seeing how the rest of Curse of Strahd goes.
