Remember that they dont know anything about the illusions outside (so theyre confused when the party accuses them of luring them in), that they know theyre dead, and that they dont want the PCs to abandon them. Careful investigation around the house reveals that Gustav Durst had an affair with the family nursemaid, who bore him a stillborn son named Walter. In my party of murder hobos we do Death House as a level 5 adventure filled with Lycanthropes, Strahd Zombies, and Vampire Spawn. 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! Its almost as difficult and disturbing as the Old Bonegrinder in the same adventure! But the most terrifying part of this theme is that it also applies to the party themselves. Letter 3 is in the Basement master bedroom (where the ghosts are) - in the supplement, Mr Durst hung himself when he found out what his wife became. Few of those presented in this adventure, however, compare to the infamous Death House. This probably explains why he loves story-driven games so much. If your players find out that the kids are illusions then they wont be trying to help and will believe it is a trap (I mean its obviously a trap but still). Even (especially) the most ambitious of travelers have been crushed into dust by the horrors of this land. I added a scrawny mutt hiding under a chair in the conservatory; when approached, the party could hear its whimpering. 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. A simple Animal Handling check (DC 15, with advantage if offering food) allowed the party to persuade the dog to come along. I doubt that most non-murderhobo groups will actually sacrifice someone here. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Quality content, cartography, and adventures for fantasy games. They wont go into the house because of the monster, but they wont go into the fog because theyre scared of getting lost. As adventurers reach the top of the attic, they will find themselves in an aggressive place, they house is trying to kill them (page 220). I almost just left it in but felt like it would have just confused my players. This will ring true for several NPCs and locations as the party progresses into the Curse of Strahd adventure. You might also use less-intimidating artwork for the twins. 5 Tips for Running the Death House One-Shot From Curse of Strahd, make thecombat encounter more interesting, Strahd Must Die Tonight! 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! There is a save to avoid it but its more interesting if they can possess a PC automatically. Your players will likely take Rose and Thorns request at face value, and using these encounters can cause them to realize that theyre in a ghost house too soon. We also replace the shambling mound with a Blood Hulk! The nature of D&D 5e is that it is almost hilariously easier to die at lower levels than it is at higher levels even as tougher enemies appear. If you started at level 1, this is a good point to have everyone level up. They starved to death after their parents locked them in their room. Full Guide to Warlock Pact Boons in D&D 5e, The Legend of the Peasant Railgun in D&D 5e, Attack of Opportunity in D&D 5e Explained, Best Druid Spells By Level: A Top 10 List, I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird! Barovia becomes a tomb for all who end up there. I really liked this idea, but I also didnt want to introduce Strahd so early. Death House is a modern Dungeons & Dragons horror classic. 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. I didnt want to force my players to spend too much time rolling Investigate checks on every corner, so I dropped them a hint in the nursemaids suite. They become caught in the mists and can't travel to the afterlife. Related: The Best Books That EVERY DM NEEDS To Read! Once the PC that had threatened her baby had been dealt with, she flew back to the nursery and resumed rocking the crib. Your players will not leave this location quite the same as when they arrived. The Death House is intended for a party of level 1 characters. 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. It is designed to introduce Curse Of Strahd, exploring its themes on a miniature scale, and is intended for level one players. Based off of Mandy's Mod edits I used them touching the statue as . There are plenty of unsettling characters to socialize with here, including cultists and other mysterious inhabitants, to add to this pressure as well. 32. So today, were going to be taking a look at the Death House. According to the book that works, but you might rule otherwise. Or just go to r/curseofstrahd (unless you are my players). 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. The knights are now consumed by rage and hatred for Strahd and will attack all that enter the manor. Doing so will help make it more believable when the characters take the bait leading into the Death House. I just finished running our group through Death House last night and it was a big success. 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. Did you do anything differently? Well cover some of the changes that I make when Im running this dungeon for my groups later in this article. If you havent played Curse of Strahd and plan to, Id recommend you check out a different article. Honestly, few spooky things should have an explanation. If you like what I do, consider getting involved and backing me. 20. Far from the villages and towns of the valley, there is not much safety around this location. 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. Both DeiGratia and Abuget can be downloaded over at www.dafont.com. They havent opened it yet, but Im hoping that theyll use the letter as an excuse to take an interest in Ismark when they arrive at the tavern. 2023 Wizards. Durst House, or 'Death House' as the name given it, is an old row house in the village of Barovia. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: Ideas For Running A One-Shot. Where the Death House really stands out is its use of theme. In short, yes, the Death House is a great low-level adventure for your group. By default, characters are supposed to enter the house at 1st level, level up to 2 after they find a set of secret stairs, and hit 3rd level when they make it out of the Death House alive. 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. The final confrontation in Death House is an odd one. I never thought of that. For Strahd's signature, I used the font DeiGratia for the capital letters (i.e. Or jump from a balcony. Well, not entirely anyway. Maybe as a specter, she now desires vengeance more than anything else and mourns for her son. I'm hosting my second ever session tonight and my party will be heading into the dungeonhave I missed something? Ritual Chambers.- Illusory figments of cultists sing to the players to sacrifice a creature. 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. 3. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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. The town is run by a sinister Burgomaster that is insistent that all is well. Instead, when the party exited, they found a small gift basket in the street in front of Death House. Darklords Shrine.- Another lethal encounter, 5 shadows will wreck the party if they attack at once. Here, the children seize full control over their hosts bodies. Perhaps the eyes of a particular painting or stuffed animal head seem to follow a specific player wherever they go in a given room. We premade characters based on Scooby-Doo for our friends to choose from and we even co-DM'd the game so we could split the party (like they always do in Scooby-Doo). So we just started Death House and while in the Upper Basement my players found the statue of Strahd. 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. This is a good option if youre looking to explore some horror themes with your group and are on a budget. The second encounter is with a broom of animated attack. Press J to jump to the feed. Upon escaping to the outside, the house appears as if nothing ever happened. I kept my players in initiative order even after theyd escaped Lorgoth (he didnt pursue them up out of the basement). According to the source book they are illusions created by the house to lure people inside, it says they vanish if attacked or forced inside. This, combined with the crumbling floors and eerie silence, will certainly creep out your players. 8 Real-Life Skills Youll Develop By Playing D&D, 12 Monsters That Will Instantly Kill Characters, 7 Types of D&D Players You Will Have In Your Group, 9 Powerful Tips to Engage Players in Your D&D Game. Luke is a list writer for TheGamer, based in the UK. In my game, I went one step further and made the kids amusingly clingy, yet vaguely self-aware. 31. But something must be killed, smart players might try to find a rat and kill it. Those letters are supplements that came with u/MandyMod s guide (which is excellent). So what purpose is there behind being a good person then? When the PCs escape Death House, many DMs agree that a congratulations from Strahd is in order. By the end of the Death House, there are three themes that should be firmly established in the players minds. I added some handwriting font, put them on a parchment background, and they all came . When running horror and suspense, this kind of foreshadowing is your best friend. If you do this, have the party level up once theyve escaped. Have them tell the party that the fog goes away when the monster stops roaring. As I was prepping DH, I decided to make player handouts for the three letters that the party would eventually find within the haunted house: 1) Strahd's letter to Mr. Durst, 2) Elisabeth Durst's letter about the 'ceremony', and then 3) Gustav's suicide letter. I decided that the mutt would be Gertrudas old puppy, escaped from Mad Marys home in her grief after Strahd took her daughter. Yes they are still illusions but appear too be real children and wont vanish. Each seemed to depict an adventurer of some type. 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. CoS proper has some deadly encounters, yes, but I think Death House as an introduction sets the wrong tone. Now that we are done with the adventure, I'm posting the handouts in case anyone wants to use them - feel free to utilize them anyway that helps you! If the adventurers refuse to enter the Death House, the mists of Ravenloft will close in on them and force them to do it. They are worried about their parents and baby brother who they swore were right behind them when they ran out of the house. The children that the party encounters on the road (Rose and Thorn) are asking for help dealing with whatever entity is inside the house. Its the Durst Mansion or, if the kids are talking, our home. Nobodys going to eagerly go rushing into something called the Death House. This is better because you never say the monster name, avoiding metagame knowledge. Writing these DM guides is time consuming, my website isfunded through Patreon, It is thanks to people who like my work that I am able to continue mapping and providing RPG original experiences to people all over the world. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Also PCs will find the houses deed and a deed to the mill near Vallaki. You can also have Rose and Thorn possess random party members. 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. 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. Remember that even though the Rose and Thorn that the party first encounters are illusions, theyre born from the houses sentience and could very wellrepresent who the kids were in life. 12. Pretty spoopy. Your players should be able to explore the upper areas of the Death House in the first session. For your reference, these are the areas of the Death House that have interactive elements, lootable gear, or important encounters. Death House Encounters The Themes of the Death House in Curse of Strahd Everything Will Be Corrupted The Innocent Also Suffer Abandon All Hope Making the Death House Better Plot Hook Encounter Difficulty Levels Connections to Curse of Strahd Lore Add Extra Creepiness A Personal Favorite Touch Conclusion What is the Death House? The party will not stand even a slight chance until much, MUCH later in the campaign!). Dungeon master guide and advice with the. Almost parallels Death house. Be very careful with this encounter, narrative description of the monster is really important. It is also included in the Curse of Strahd adventure module on page 211 under Appendix B. When the party opened the door to the nursery, I stole another DMs idea to let them see a woman shrouded in black standing beside the crib, her back to the door. Best friend ritual Chambers.- Illusory figments of cultists sing to the outside the. Explore some horror themes with your group and are on a miniature,... 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