Souvenirs of I6/HouseofStrahd/EtCR?

[Joël of the FoS]

Just 10 days before the release of Curse of Strahd, a 5th edition reboot of the iconic Castle Ravenloft adventure!

Whether you played the original first edition I-6 Castle Ravenloft (released 1983), second edition House of Strahd (1993) or third edition Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (2006), it was surely a fun (and deadly) ride!

So while we wait for Curse of Strahd, what are your souvenirs of playing / dming these?

[Joël of the FoS]

I start. I played I-6 soon after it came out, in 1983 or 1984.

This adventure was so much different than anything else we had played before!

First the BBEG was toying with us! Before that, it was fairly linear and the BBEG was waiting for you in the last room of the dungeon. Then you killed him or he killed you. End of story. But Strahd appeared a couple of times during the adventure, teasing us. That was exciting.

Second the 3D maps and the gothic atmosphere. Both blew us away!

Third, a vampire necromancer! A monster could have PC classes, wow! Now it's the norm, but it was unseen before that.

Last, it was deadly, as all adventures in the I serie were expected to be. My cavalier was polymorphed into a bird by Strahd, and I ended the adventure saying "chirp chirp" ...

But the most deadly was ...

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... when the paladin was teleported into the wight coffin, and a wight was teleported into the paladin's armour! For us, it looked like the paladin suddenly turned to a wight, which we killed. But meanwhile, the naked paladin was alone, in a coffin, surrounded by hungry wights who felt his presence... He didn't last long!

But even if it was nearly a TPK, it was great! We loved it!

[Joël of the FoS]

Can't believe I'm the only who played this?

[Zilfer]

I didn't even see this before. I will try and get a post up when I can about my experience with I-6 and how dming it got me interested in Ravenloft.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I will admit that for my love for the Ravenloft setting, I've never actually ran the original module in any form. I've read it, I've admired it, but I never had the right group or the right timing to do it. Maybe someday.

[Lost Heretic]

But even if it was nearly a TPK, it was great! We loved it!

Oh my gosh, that was a horrific encounter for my group. The party had split to cover more ground in the catacombs and both the fighters stepped into traps on opposite sides of Strahd's tomb.

The remainder of the party got to face wights in +1 and +2 plate armor while the fighters fumbled in their coffins. 6 level drains later that party stumbled into Strahd's tomb and finished off the dark lord.

[Zilfer]

But even if it was nearly a TPK, it was great! We loved it!

Oh my gosh, that was a horrific encounter for my group. The party had split to cover more ground in the catacombs and both the fighters stepped into traps on opposite sides of Strahd's tomb.

The remainder of the party got to face wights in +1 and +2 plate armor while the fighters fumbled in their coffins. 6 level drains later that party stumbled into Strahd's tomb and finished off the dark lord.

Cleric blew up the wight replacement and then stepped in after the person who disappeared and most fought naked keeping the wights at bay while the cleric finished them off. xD Believe we were playing 3.0 at the time with me converting on the fly.