Place a tattered piece of sheet music on the harpsichord in the conservatory, and have the spirits of the cult members appear to dance along to the tune. 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. After meeting the illusions of two children, and learning there is a monster in the house, the characters are forced in by the choking mists. PCs will recognize the children. 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. THANK YOU SO MUCH. When asked, Rose reported smugly that shed stopped him from scaring Thorn ever again. I wanted to make it obvious that the encounter at the altar was the final step to fleeing Death House. The most important is the silvered shortsword in 25E (page 218). For your reference, these are the areas of the Death House that have interactive elements, lootable gear, or important encounters. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_19',125,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3-0');At least in the top 3! Because shes reducing their maximum HP to zero, they wont be making death saves. Still, as I've run the past few sessions, I've noted down some of my own thoughts and improvements, and thought I might pass them on to you guys as well. I advice to treat these children like a simulacrum-like spell. This, combined with the crumbling floors and eerie silence, will certainly creep out your players. The children that the party encounters on the road (Rose and Thorn) are asking for help dealing with whatever entity is inside the house. Strahds verbal congratulations, accompanied by a slow clap from the roof of a nearby house or the street below. They also tried to find other houses in the fog, but quickly realized that they were being railroaded inside once the constitution/exhaustion checks started. 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. 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. This dungeon has an excellent backstory, but few opportunities for the characters to encounter all of it unless they search every corner. A sizable treasure for a level 1 party. Yes they are still illusions but appear too be real children and wont vanish. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'tabletopjoab_com-box-4','ezslot_8',128,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-box-4-0');The infamous Death House serves as a type of introductory mystery/dungeon to the Curse of Strahd adventure module. Both DeiGratia and Abuget can be downloaded over at www.dafont.com. The most vital regions are bolded. Give little clues or observations that are simply meant to unnerve the players. 31. Consider also reducing the number of ghouls and/or shadows in the Dungeon Level. Death House will likely be the first location your players will visit. Set in the realm of Barovia, a Domain Of Dread within Ravenloft, your players find themselves transported here and trapped. 3. Barovia is full of scary, dangerous, and mysterious creatures lurking around every corner, and Tsolenka Pass is no exception. 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. See here for more details. 32. Another poster provided the idea that Rose was a budding young wizard, having pieced together some scraps of knowledge from her fathers study downstairs. When the party goes to escape, the house itself will be attacking them. Free D&D Adventure: Fight as Dragons and Explore a Crystal Dragon's Lair! Im a big fan of running it in my Curse of Strahd games. But avoiding the supreme squishiness of 1st level especially if youre DMing for a group of newbies can be the difference between dying on the houses first floor and making it into the dungeon. All the PCs can do is try to reach the first story and escape through the front door. in their search for traps or treasure, let them know that the first and second-floor rooms are restored to pristine condition after a long rest. 6.Upper Hall.- Theres a portrait of the Durst family. 4. She can potentially one-shot any member of the party each turn with her Life Drain ability. Depending on your group, and how roleplay heavy they are. Finally, the specter of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor. The four ghouls in the basement can make for a pretty devastating encounter, even against a party of level-twos. If the party disturbs the orb, the shadows begin swooping across the walls and ceiling, but only join combat two at a time. There might be some who have managed to mostly keep out of trouble, but they are very few in these lands. This video discusses the death house dungeon encounter disasters that you want to avoid in the curse of strahd adventure for dungeons & dragons 5e. What font did you use for Strahd when you were making these? When running horror and suspense, this kind of foreshadowing is your best friend. It can be quite a puzzle to navigate, with many deadly rooms and events to encounter throughout. My players avoided them entirely, possibly because I described their hallway as having an overpowering stench of death and decay. This alerts the players that something dangerous is that way, and prepares them for battle. (If youre feeling generous, or really want your players to see the entirety of the house in a quick Halloween night of gaming, you could even run it at 3rd level.). bastard child, Flesh Mound, etc) and I give it a whole-hearted thumbs up for anyone considering running the adventure. Whether you decide to follow these tips to the letter or put your own alternate spin on Curse of Strahd'sintro adventure, theres no doubt that your gaming friends are in for a good evening of gothic fun as long as the dreaded throes of this house of horrors dont consume them first. Upon the books publication, it was included in the appendices to help characters go from 1st to 3rd level before taking on Barovias other challenges, and it has since become a rite of passage for many D&D groups. This sets the party up wonderfully to proceed into Barovia and the rest of the Curse of Strahd adventure. Chef Feat in D&D 5e Explained | Useful or Pie in the Sky? You can see the tendrils grip on the walls tighten with crushing force. Oh, Death House. As they reach the bottom landing they discern a dozen or so voices saying, over and over, "He is the Ancient. 38. Give the party a chance to rest and level up (if they started at level 1) before they work their way to the Dungeon Level.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-1','ezslot_12',135,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-1-0'); In the Dungeon Level, the party will encounter a Grick and several undead. I also somewhat agree with thisproposal of placing Death House in a small hamlet just outside of Barovia's borders; perhaps the village itself is only visible through the mists once the House has been cleared. 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. They become caught in the mists and can't travel to the afterlife. Even just traveling around Barovia can be a spooky experience. If you started at level 1, this is a good point to have everyone level up. What has been your experience with the Death House? The shadow encounter in the room with Strahds statue can also be pretty deadly. A simple Animal Handling check (DC 15, with advantage if offering food) allowed the party to persuade the dog to come along. Childrens Room .- The remains of Rose and Thorn are here. Nursemaids Suite and Storage Room.- The nursemaids specter can be found in either of these locations. Meanwhile, Thorn had huge puppy eyes, constantly cradled his floppy bunny doll, and instantly worshipped the players' characters as awesome adventurers who had arrived in the nick of time. 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. You want this to be fun, scary, and challenging. You can start with Mad Marys encounter (page 44). However, having already promised their help to the spirits of Rose and Thorn, the only way theyd be getting out is by finding what lies beneath the house. So what purpose is there behind being a good person then? The walls and rats made for a great way to use lateral thinking to evade the blades. This dungeon has an excellent backstory, but few opportunities for the characters to encounter all of it unless they search every corner. Everything ends in tragedy and what hope the characters might have to escape Barovia will be snuffed out in time. This is all really helpful and wish I'd seen this before I'd run DH. Add some emotion to the childrens request. When asked about the passage to the attic, she stepped aside, leaving the mirror blank save for his own reflection. Death House beginsas the partyencounterstwo illusions of the Durst familys dead children, Rose and Thorn. Use. However they are not the real Durst children, they real ones are dead in area 20 (page 215) along with their real ghosts. Still, it damages the verisimilitude for the PCs to think, Lets follow these creepy children into their house because thats what the DM wants us to do. Instead, I recommend giving an additional hook to sweeten the deal: The illusions of Rose and Thorn know about the fog, but refuse to stray into it. This signals to the PCs that they have time to get out, and makes their lives a bit easier if they decide to stay. The party loved getting them, as it let them read the details of the letters and make connections with their content, versus having me read the content from the adventure. Well cover some of the changes that I make when Im running this dungeon for my groups later in this article. Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. Monster design is good, but we have to re-skin the description a bit. The adventure was unveiled in the February 2016 issue of Dragon+ as an example of the thrills that would come in the then-unreleased Curse of Strahd. Ghoulish Encounter.- Depending on the partys reaction to this, it can be a very lethal encounter. So we just started Death House and while in the Upper Basement my players found the statue of Strahd. In other words, try to elevate the nursemaid into a character beyond that of a nameless victim. They double back to the one unexplored section of this dungeon level and descend a long stone staircase into darkness. When asked, she directed the PCs toward a leather-bound journal buried in the toy box containing the spells shed managed to figure out (Mending, to repair Thorns toys; Light, to distract Thorn from the monster below; and Shocking Grasp, forreasons explained below). introduction to the bleak and despair-filled land of Barovia. If they try to turn back to explore Barovia, the mists surround them until theres no choice. Give them your quest hook and get them into Barovia. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'tabletopjoab_com-banner-1','ezslot_7',126,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-banner-1-0');The Death House is meant for a group of four level 1 characters. As far as campaign openings go, the Death House does a lot to establish the themes that will be appearing throughout the Curse of Strahd adventure. 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! Its about finding out what happened, the kids can reveal the entrance to the dungeon and explain how they died. A big boss fight is coming up and you want the party to expend some resources, but still have some fight in them for the boss encounter! 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. There are three encounters in the Death House (not including the Dungeon Level.) 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. You can have Rosavalda point that out, that they want to be where their parents are. 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