Curse of Strahd: A Dungeons & Dragons Sourcebook

I bought this book to run for my group once we finish our current campaign, Princes of the Apocalypse. Wanting something of a change from the big, glorious dungeons of Princes, we talked back and forth and decided to go for Curse of Strahd thinking the atmosphere and horror elements would be refreshing. After receiving the book and reading through, I honestly can not wait to run this adventure. Firstly, the quality of the book itself is excellent. The accompanying artwork, layout, color scheme and maps are all beautifully thought out, well ordered and presented on very good quality paper. DnD books obviously cost a good amount of cash and, thankfully, this book feels like you are really getting your money's worth. The campaign is very well written with solid characters, lore and locations. Strahd himself is described well, he is a fun villain and there are plenty of tips on how to make him a diabolical, scheming foe for your players. There's also an interesting semi-random element to the campaign structure, which I won't go into detail about for spoiler reasons, but it's a novel idea that I think will be a lot of fun, especially if you end up running this adventure again. This is a pretty open ended game which means you, as a DM, will need to put the work in beforehand to get it all ready, but every step of the story is well explained and laid out so once the work is done I think even new DMs will be able to run this easily. Again, the book guides you with helpful tips and details on how to create the atmosphere of horror, run the monsters and role play all of the non-player characters. The only minor gripe I have is Castle Ravenloft. Though the included map is beautiful, expansive and will make for an incredibly memorable location, the map is isometric and highly stylized. This means it is quite impractical as a battle map if you want to use it like that, either online or with miniatures. With all of the maps in the book being really wonderful Mike Schley top-down examples, the jarring difference for Castle Ravenloft, the finale and main focus of the entire game, is a big shame. Saying that, the map is still usable, even if just for reference and flavor but personally I am going to re-draw it in a more practical format for when my players decide to visit.

This is an excellent adventure, well written, and extremely fun - as long as you as the DM and your party as players are clear right at the outset that this adventure is _gothic horror_. When run "straight", and with a role-play centric game style, it is likely to destroy your party from the inside as much as from attacks by monsters. Winning is... unlikely, if you play by the rules and define winning as "beating the boss". But, that's by design. If everyone is on board with the fact that this game is meant to be like that, then you're going to set off on some of the best drama I've seen in any adventure for 5th edition. It has kept our party of five players busy for 18 months, played once a week for 3-4hrs each week. We've had multiple character deaths, and characters turned so paranoid and hopeless that... well... Many unforgettable table moments have been had running this game. We have had characters and players break down crying over events in this game. That's part of the fun, that's how invested you can get. It can be intense. I will say that there is a lot of information you as a DM will need to read well - and have notes on - before running the campaign; there are many NPCs, locations, and relations you'll need to be on top of. So, it's a bit daunting to run. You can, of course, tweak it to a different style of play - dole out additional magic items, mix it up, de-power a few monsters, and run a more standard fantasy "the hero's are going to go hero!"... but I think you can get that in most other adventures. Treat this one like the dark brooding horror it is and see how that changes your game. Just don't forget to offset it with humour from time to time.

Great book, no damage to the book

When I started to run D&D 5e for a group of friends, my aim was to start with the Rise of Tiamat Adventurers League adventures, set in Phlan. As that reached it's climax, I threw them a curve ball and dropped them into Barovia. The book itself is a sandbox, with the chapters set out to describe and details areas places and people that all tie together for the confrontation with Strahd. It is not set out in a linear fashion, which may confuse some first time GMs and it takes you on a journey into the gothic horror that is Barovia. There are many enhancements to be found online at the DMs Guild web store which really can help to add flavour and horror to the setting. My players are on their 3rd session and have barely scratched the surface. I'd recommend getting the Tarrokka cards if you feel they will be helpful. We play online so they weren't really going to be helpful to me. The book has good guidelines on how to effectively use them for the storyline plot hook, and to give the players their own nightmarish future readings. Considering this is an updated version of the original Ravenloft box set, I have already thrown them through the opening village of Barovia, encounters in the mists and "Old Bonegrinder". They began with the classic "Death House" which was made even better using Roll20 and the vast library of sound effects - believe me, creepy music box playing with ghostly whispers and child like giggling really set the tone and freaked the players out. This is widely regarded as the current number 1 D&D campaign setting for 5th Edition by many GMs and players alike. Reviews on youtube really do not hype it, Curse of Strahd is a MUST for any GM who wants to throw their players into a challenging, unique setting against a villain who doesn't just wait til the end to appear. Oh no, you are encouraged to allow the Vampire Lord of Barovia to travel his lands as he sees fit and to appear at the most unfortunate times - for the players - and to instill fear in them that he really is unbeatable. 10/10 Fantastic retelling of a classic tale.

The classic D&D adventure setting Ravenloft gets the 5th Edition treatment, updating it to the current rules system and expanding on the themes of the original adventure module as well as adding further encounter sites. A great campaign for those who who like gothic horror fantasy, with the opportunity to build a chilling atmosphere and offer challenging situations. Well-printed and bound with clear layout, maps and illustrations.

I have now started reffing this for two groups and it doesn't fail to disappoint. It certainly brings back memories of playing the original module so many years ago(thank Lathander that vampires no longer do double level drain) but this is so much more. It is engrossing, atmospheric and free form to the right degree, players can essentially do what they want within reason though don't send them straight to the Amber Temple). Production values are good, though it would have been nice for player handouts to be included as it feels wrong to cut/pull out the ones in the book. Not so sure about the cover of Strahd, pose, slightly greenish skin as I don't think he appears menacing enough as he can be truly one of the most memorable foes that a party could meet but this is made up for with the pictures within and his motivations. Lots of roleplaying involved rather than endless battles and plenty room for exapnasion. I really recommend starting with the Death House intro scenario(included) as it really sets the scene

this book arrived in good condition and when I ran it with my group they loved it

Had tremendous fun DMing this on FantasyGrounds and would recommend it without hesitation. There's enough material here to play through the campaign twice without repetition - excluding the castle, that is, but who doesn't want to return to Ravenloft some day? I very much believe story comes first with D&D and the criticisms which follow are more to do with 'game' issues than anything in Chris Perkins's storytelling or plotting - on that front, it really is fantastic. - Game balance. The key artifacts are VERY powerful, and with good reason, but apart from them, it's slim pickings in terms of magic items. Don't be surprised if some players are a bit disappointed. - Encounter difficulty. Strahd is hard (again, with good reason) but some of the other encounters in the book are even harder. No spoilers, but do have a good read through, especially at low levels. (At high levels, you may find encounters too easy. With six PCs, I was maximizing enemy hit points in order to keep fights going.) - Entrapment. It makes sense, from a storytelling perspective, that the characters are unable to leave Barovia. Some players may find this frustrating, though. The whole setting requires a fair degree of 'buy-in', and if you play D&D casually or you care more about the rules than the story, Ravenloft might not be the right setting for you. None of the other 5e adventures that I have seen are as good as this. My advice: run a Curse of Strahd campaign!