Now, railroading isn’t a bad thing, especially for a newer group. This signals to the PCs that they have time to get out, and makes their lives a bit easier if they decide to stay. Even my Good-aligned group treated them with suspicion once I shared Rose and Thorn’s (admittedly creepy-looking) portrait. Press J to jump to the feed. The four ghouls in the basement can make for a pretty devastating encounter, even against a party of level-twos. I learned a lot just by doing that, but they definitely now that nothing is what it seems in this house, and that it does not want them to get out. Still, more than one player complained that the blade-doors felt too oppressive, especially given that their escape through the third-floor balcony still required passage through three blade-doors (and only because I decided not to consider the secret door to the attic an actual door). Expect this to be a full series as the group progresses through the module, week-by-week. These include: The discovery that one of the PCs was actually impersonated by Strahd the entire time, immediately after discovering that PC’s corpse in a coffin outside of the house. Death House isn’t the first free adventure for 5th edition that has been shared by WotC, but it is much longer than the other ones. https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/7hmosm/lessons_from_running_curse_of_strahd_the_feast_of/, Place a tattered piece of sheet music on the harpsichord in the conservatory, another DM’s idea to let them see a woman shrouded in black standing beside the crib, her back to the door, only attack those that approached the crib or threatened her “baby”, the image of the (human) nursemaid appeared in the glass, describe it as feeling like “a child’s hands, searching desperately for a warm embrace.”. Tenet ending explained, and all your questions answered. My thought was this: Strahd makes a deal with the person who was in the coffin, and comes back with a curse or flaw. That one didn't sacrifice anyone. They haven’t opened it yet, but I’m hoping that they’ll use the letter as an excuse to take an interest in Ismark when they arrive at the tavern. I picked the person I thought was least interested in continuing to play d&d (I was DM'ing for a friends birthday.) Oh, neat. My most recent run the group sacrificed their drow sorcerer and left. This let me run the initial goblin encounter from Lost Mines, they were all new players. Second group I ran it for tpked because of the shadows by Strahd's statue, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the DnDBehindTheScreen community, Continue browsing in r/DnDBehindTheScreen. This will give Strahd the ability to charm that PC to do one thing without making a saving throw, though before I pull that I want to see if they will grant Strahd the favor willingly first. Link to the Mega-Megathread. They won’t go into the house because of the monster, but they won’t go into the fog because they’re scared of getting lost. Moreover, there are a lot of things that the party can miss (e.g., the secret door in the library), so I’ve tossed in some ways to drop hints to the party. written. But, they refused to go inside. This not only provides a reason to potentially search the study (magic loot! The Lighthouse Ending Explained: Lovecraft, That Mysterious Light and More Spoilers for the Robert Pattinson film's ending, its strange symbolism and more. Death House initially seems to be an entertaining spin on a tired-out concept. It was my first time as a DM and I had four players. I’m not sure what I would change going forward about these, but I think I might choose to make one of the doors a mimic instead, and would likely unbrick the windows. See here for more details. When Death House is rejected, it gets mad. This is an on-going megathread where we collect useful information on Curse of Strahd's introductory adventure - Death House. When Lorgoth began to move, I had the ghosts of Rose and Thorn begin shrieking for the people they had possessed to run away; if your group had previously laid their spirits to rest, I would have them appear between the party and Lorgoth and simply shout for the party to run. It is a skeleton and a set of clues/backstories and a few set pieces; it's up to the DM to hang the meat on those bones. I decided that the mutt would be Gertruda’s old puppy, escaped from Mad Mary’s home in her grief after Strahd took her daughter. :D. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this well-researched and thought out post! Here are some key details you might have missed about the A24 horror movie. Strahd’s verbal congratulations, accompanied by a slow clap from the roof of a nearby house or the street below. Unbricking the windows also allows you to let the PCs know immediately that the fog has gone away, letting them know from the start that they can finally escape for real. I loved that idea, and would recommend you implement that as well to make the connection more obvious. It did not set up a great tone for the rest of the module, and we ended up disbanding a few sessions in because, with everything being so brutal as written, it was basically a PC mill. Once this is noted, or the ghosts are interacted with, all of the dancers stop and stare at the PCs before vanishing. Awesome! Especially with the DM refusing to stray from what’s written at all. 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. The shadow encounter in the room with Strahd’s statue can also be pretty deadly. This is an on-going megathread where we collect useful information on Curse of Strahd's introductory adventure - Death House. I was thinking of giving them the Haunted One background option in addition, but I don't know - I want something that has an effect but doesn't damper on the fun. MEGATHREAD. A growing archive of hundreds of years of D&D experience. The Call tells the story of two women, Seo-yeon (Park Shin-Hye) and Young-sook (Jong-Seo Jun), who live in the same house but during different times, … Welcome Wanderer! From The Witchdirector Robert Eggers, this surreal black-and-white 35-millimeter horror movie stars Robert Pattinson and William Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers. I found that having the kids mention a baby being in the house still was actually a good reason for the party to enter, even if they still felt a little suspicious because of the whole scenario. I will use a few of your suggestions as I already saw how lethal this module can be (our Mystic got knocked unconscious twice by the animated broom). Death House: El Castillo del Muerte is a castle loaded with bad puppets. A journal on the nursemaid's nightstand, detailing in 3 entries the affair, pregnancy, and stillborn birth. The PCs could hear her making gentle cooing sounds, and see her rocking the crib gently. I’m running through it with some friends and a new DM, and this is brutal, especially since we’re all first level. EDIT: Yeah, that broom can be annoying. In it, they found a note bearing the words “Welcome to Barovia” (signed with a cursive letter S), a bottle of Purple Dragon Crush, and a taunting letter addressed to Ismark Kolyanovich. Opening the door reveals two skeletons on the bed. Death House is a 2017 American horror film written by Gunnar Hansen, who has a cameo in the film, and directed by Harrison Smith. But what would the curse be? By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. ), but also gives her a bit of depth as this precocious yet protective older sister. The 8th House and the sign of Capricorn. This also gives her some nice agency, and gives the party a better feel for her role as Thorn’s protector. Did the transition work well for you? Free Funny Games from AddictingGames The events that take place defy the confines of plot summary, let alone any clear explanations for what it all means. The Queen's Gambit: That ending explained and all your questions answered. How many puppets can you trash with a single blow? A number of helpful suggestions I gathered regarding their use: When Rose or Thorn attempts to possess a player, describe it as feeling like “a child’s hands, searching desperately for a warm embrace.” Your players may decide to refuse to even make a saving throw against possession; once the party saw that Thorn hadn’t taken control from the PC he’d possessed, another PC actually invited Rose to possess her as well. I've ran this for three groups and didn't allow any of them to rest. I had Rose and Thorn beg to be put to rest, this got them into the basement. When I ran Curse of Strahd, I decided to skip out on Death House (we had run it earlier the same year as part of a one-shot in Barovia) but boy, do I want to run it now! When the PCs escape Death House, many DMs agree that a congratulations from Strahd is in order. Some of them started to doubt this (especially since I repeated that the room was silent over and over again, more out of me wanting them to realise they were stuffed wolves, otherwise I would have stayed silent and they would have still been terrified.). Ex. Death House was directed by B. Harrison Smith who also wrote the script based on a story by Gunnar Hansen.Yes, the Gunnar Hansen who was the original Leatherface in the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.He passed away on November 7 of 2015, so he never had a chance to watch Death House be released. Our party was TPK'd several times during Death House because the DM ran it exactly. The characters should probably have left but the players were interested in seeing it through. I might actually add another section above to discuss it. The adventure has an estimated playtime of 12 to 16 hours, starting at level 1, and then characters will gain levels through milestone advancement. 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