LFP (4-6) - Thursdays - Curse of Strahd
Ruleset: D&D 5E
Campaign Module: Curse of Strahd (CoS)
Communication Platform: Discord
VTT: Fantasy Grounds Unity (FGU) (Only demo version needed for players)
Intended Campaign Length: 20-25 sessions
Session Zero Date: June 2, 2022
Start Date: June 9, 2022
Playtime: Weekly, Thursdays, 8:30pm – 11:30pm CST
DM Bio: Mid-thirties, male, father of two boys, lifelong gamer, D&D player for five years, Dungeon Master for three, and Fantasy Grounds user since March of 2020. Currently running my third campaign with a friend/family group and running three simultaneous games for the D&D Club at the school where I work. Curse of Strahd was my second campaign as a player, my second as a Dungeon Master, and has held a special place in my heart ever since, as is the case for many who DM or play in the world of Ravenloft. I'm very excited to run it again.
As a Dungeon Master, I’ll admit, I’m far from the best. My voices and accents aren’t always consistent, combat may slog occasionally, I sometimes struggle with the inane vagaries of Fantasy Grounds (who doesn’t), and sometimes I’ll completely lose my train of thought at the slightest interruption. I’m only human. That said, what I can promise is that I constantly strive to improve my skills, always put my players first, bust my butt to provide high quality visual aids, maps, art, and music, and will be punctual and prepared for every single game session (unless prior notice is given).
I also like to think that I’m generally a humble, respectful, and honest individual and expect similar attitudes from anyone I play with. To be blunt, since this is my first time running a game with random people on the internet, I do not have the time or patience for disrespectful, immature, pretentious showboats who can’t respect an individual for being who they are. Curse of Strahd is a particularly dark game with content not intended for children or the weak-willed, but that will not excuse disrespect or prejudice. Fantasy Grounds professionals and experienced D&D players are obviously welcome, but all that’s absolutely required are cool people with humility, tolerance, and a willingness to have fun.
Campaign Information:
Traditional vampires, old school tropes. It’s no mystery that there are some antiquated tropes buried in the CoS modules for those who have read it. Stereotypes, damsels in distress, romanticism, etc... Some good, some not so good. All I can promise is that I will strive to preserve the heart of the story while updating some of the more... questionable things.
Start at level three, skip Death House. Death House acts as an unnecessary prologue and is notorious for dragging out over numerous sessions that often ends in a TPK. Just not worth it.
Humans only, Tasha’s attribute options allowed. While likely the most controversial caveat to this campaign setting, it is my honest opinion that this is a gothic horror story that is undermined almost completely by darkvision and that because almost every single NPC is exclusively human (there are a few exceptions), that the narrative is designed around the idea of an all-human party.
Danger around every corner, make a backup character. I am not a DM that ever actively tries to kill my players’ characters, but this campaign is designed to be dangerous. In CoS, PCs are not epic heroes of god-like status, they’re survivors trying to unravel a mystery and escape a land where they are very much not welcome. Death is always on the table.
Campaign as written, until it isn’t. CoS is a fantastic campaign, but it is not perfect and requires tweaking here and there. With a limited timeframe to play in, I won’t take the campaign completely off-book, but everything from story elements to monsters may change. For example, a werewolf in my campaign may not be the same as it is in the Monster Manual.
Rated a hard R, but not NC-17. As stated above, there are some dark, uncomfortable themes in this module, but I will never take it too far and will strive to ensure everyone’s peace of mind. Specifics of how far to take things will be established during Session Zero.
Fantasy Grounds newcomers welcome, D&D noobs are not. Those familiar with FGU generally acknowledge that the program can be difficult to learn for some, especially if you are unfamiliar with VTTs in general. While I’d love for everyone to be FGU pros, I’m happy to help people learn the program during this campaign. However, I will not be welcoming players new to D&D itself. Learning FGU and D&D at the same time is difficult enough, but the CoS campaign itself does not lend itself well to beginners.
DM if interested!
