Death House is a classic haunted house tale, starting with two ghostly children pleading for help outside. As the enormous thing crawls towards you, you see bodily remains of humans buried in its putrid body.. Dungeon master guide and advice with the. As written, she only appears as an uncommunicative specter who attacks the party in either the Nursemaids Suite where a crib containing an empty baby-sized bundle can be found or the Storage Room, where her skeletal remains are stuffed in a trunk. Its natural to expect that villains are prone to suffering and getting their just desserts when its all said and done. Three of my players were able to get boosts up to the attic from the balcony outside of the master bedroom, but the fourth, a firbolg, was too big to make it up. Third. Did you do anything differently? Your email address will not be published. Its the Durst Mansion or, if the kids are talking, our home. Nobodys going to eagerly go rushing into something called the Death House. Tabletop Joab 2023 | All Rights Reserved. 2023 Elven Tower Cartography. According to the book that works, but you might rule otherwise. Lingering within this daunting abode is the remains of the Order Of The Silver Dragon. Another poster provided the idea that Rose was a budding young wizard, having pieced together some scraps of knowledge from her fathers study downstairs. bastard child, Flesh Mound, etc) and I give it a whole-hearted thumbs up for anyone considering running the adventure. This prompted him to investigate the mirror, revealing the passage up. The Paladin had done well at keeping Thorn from crying and the boy was excited to show the Paladin his toys. If the PCs comply and a living being is killed off on the altar, the house is appeased and they will be able to leave peacefully and level up. If you already have level 3 players you can jump right into the action of Barovia's encounters. Because shes reducing their maximum HP to zero, they wont be making death saves. So what purpose is there behind being a good person then? She sells Dream Pastries to the locals in the nearby village of Barovia but holds a sinister secret. 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. To make her feel more real, I had her only attack those that approached the crib or threatened her baby; if disturbed, she slowly turned toward those that entered the nursery, revealing the face of a terrified, skeletal young woman whose flesh slowly fell off in chunks to reveal the specter beneath. Like I mentioned, reducing the damage of the specters life drain is a good decision at this level. They will close up on them leading them to the Village of Barovia. Death House comes with a beautiful map, but for a quick Halloween game, its faster to avoid all of the deliberations that occur whenever players see a selection of rooms for them to explore. Emphasize the sections of the house that reveal the eerie lore of the Dursts, and simplify all else. The Death House isnt a mandatory part of the Curse of Strahd adventure module, but I absolutely love including it in my own games. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. 15-18. 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. You can really play on this unease to build up tension within the party, building it up until they are constantly on edge. In particular, it makes the windmill known as the Old Bonegrinder a major point of interest for the party. I read a post offering the idea that Rose learned Shocking Grasp to deal with an uncle who snuck into her room. I chose to avoid that particular minefield, but instead described an Uncle Walder who liked teasing Thorn and breaking his toys. ! If the players take a long rest on the second or third floor, describe to them the sound of footsteps descending from the attic and stopping outside of their door before moving away to the study. You are also setting the scene for a probably unwinnable fight. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Quality content, cartography, and adventures for fantasy games. Not every spooky thing needs to have an explanation. We skipped it. Wizards of the Coast has given us the free adventure Death House to play at home last week as a preview of the Curse of Strahd book coming out this month. Death House is a house situated in the Village Of Barovia, so before everything else you need to figure out if you want to run it or not. Dungeons & Dragons: The 8 Scariest Locations In Curse Of Strahd, Dungeons & Dragons: The Best Adventures From Candlekeep Mysteries, why Ravenloft is one of the best settings in D&D, just how unsettling the domains of dread can be, Story Hooks In D&D You Always See And Why They Work, Dungeons & Dragons: Ideas For Running A One-Shot, Dungeons & Dragons: The Best Online Tools For DMs. Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. Nowadays, it is the home of Baba Lysaga, an incredibly powerful witch linked to Strahd's past. 9 Personal Touches For GMs To Bring Your Game To Life, Deflect Missiles in D&D 5e | All You Need To Know, Arcane Archer Fighter in D&D 5e | Full Subclass Guide, Incubus and Succubus in D&D 5e | Friends Without the R, Storm Sorcerer in D&D 5e | Full Subclass Guide. 5 Tips for Running the Death House One-Shot From Curse of Strahd, make thecombat encounter more interesting, Strahd Must Die Tonight! Maybe as a specter, she now desires vengeance more than anything else and mourns for her son. Since I've warned you already about spoilers, I'll state it up front: to avoid the house turning against the PCs, a creature has to die at the sanctum in the basement. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: The Best Adventures From Candlekeep Mysteries. But something must be killed, smart players might try to find a rat and kill it. New Movie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews. It was great. Even at a high level, this location and the final fight will be scary, but to really terrify your players, invite them over for dinner at the castle earlier on into the campaign. 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. Be careful when you use these, though. Did you like this guide? Set in the realm of Barovia, a Domain Of Dread within Ravenloft, your players find themselves transported here and trapped. Almost parallels Death house. The most important is the silvered shortsword in 25E (page 218). I'm always a little disappointed that one of the family members isn't named Frederick. Your players will likely be asked to go here by a Dusk Elf called Kasimir, who has heard stories of great knowledge and hidden items deep inside the temple. I advice to treat these children like a simulacrum-like spell. Keeping level 1 characters alive is no small task, and "Death House" monsters have high armor classes and hit hard. When a player crossed the path of the mirror in the nursemaids suite after the specter had been defeated/fled from, the image of the (human) nursemaid appeared in the glass. Im a big fan of running it in my Curse of Strahd games. The party will not stand even a slight chance until much, MUCH later in the campaign!). Each character rolls to pass through the scythes. Honestly, even if the party is level 3, this can be a very tough fight! PCs can find a Cloak of Protection as treasure, plus a spellbook. The Amber Temple is one of the most dangerous locations in Barovia. The party will attack them. She mimicked the PCs movements perfectly, save for her eyes, which always remained terrified. Instead, try running the adventureas theater of the mind and streamline the houses many locations, several of which are empty. After using one of the adventure hooks (page 18), you have successfully steered the party to Barovia. Vallaki isn't necessarily filled with terrifying monsters (for now), but it has an incredibly unsettling tone that will creep out your players. How to REALLY run Death House | Running Curse of Strahd 5e Lunch Break Heroes 25.4K subscribers 65K views 2 years ago #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #rpg Give your players a PROPER introduction to. That said, Death House can be a brutal experience. 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! Someone recommended that the ghasts of the Durst Parents be concealed behind their own portraits, rather than just dirt walls. If they arent seizing the chance to be heroes, appeal to their love of coin and youll have all the hook you need. Finally, the specter of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor. Regarding backstory and history of the house, the best revision I've seen thus far is u/MandyMod's revision of the Durst family's downfall. I added a scrawny mutt hiding under a chair in the conservatory; when approached, the party could hear its whimpering. Consider adding a diary or a letter within the house explaining her side of the story, or change her behavior so that she doesnt outright attack the characters but instead protects the crib, forcing the party to observe her actions from afar and figure out her tragic origins. Tabletop Joab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 32. 2023 Elven Tower Cartography. The art style is fantastic, but the kids are possibly the creepiest thing in the book. A lot of people have complained over poor monster design in this part of the Death house. Instead, when the party exited, they found a small gift basket in the street in front of Death House. If they kill any creature on the altar, the cult is appeased and the characters can leave the house freely. Not only does the party piece together clues of the Durst familys descent into madness, but they get a sample of the themes present within the story to come in the Curse of Strahd adventure! Den of Wolves.- There are two cabinets that can be lock picked, one of them contains a heavy crossbow, a light crossbow and 20 bolts. The descriptions in the adventure are pretty vivid and you might be tempted to gloss over some of them (especially if you havent read ahead in the full Curse of Strahd adventure.). You are correct about how death works in Curse of Strahd. In my game, I went one step further and made the kids amusingly clingy, yet vaguely self-aware. Considering how well this sets up for the rest of the adventure, I greatly recommend getting the module! We called it "The Curse of the Murderous Mansion.". , starting with two ghostly children pleading for help outside Movie News Movie. Be encountered on the altar, the party, building it up until they are constantly edge. Recommend getting the module i went one step further and made the kids amusingly clingy yet... Uncle who snuck into her room are constantly on edge considering running the adventure, i greatly recommend the! Even if the party, building it up until they are constantly how to survive the death house curse of strahd edge fan running! 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