{"product_id":"curse-of-strahd-d-d-roleplaying-session","title":"Curse of Strahd - D\u0026D Roleplaying Session","description":"\u003ch1 class=\"text-24-scalable xs:text-20-scalable\"\u003eSo You Want to Play Curse of Strahd: A Player's Primer on Enjoying the Game\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCurse of Strahd is an exciting, tense, fast-paced adventure. It is a vivid exploration of classic gothic horror tropes and monsters, from werewolves to vampires, ghosts, and more. It is a true sandbox, providing players with the freedom to make their own choices and build the kind of adventure they enjoy. It is an unabashedly character-driven campaign, giving your player character an incredible chance to shine and make their mark on the story your group tells.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, Curse of Strahd is also a brutal, stressful, and alienating experience. Your character will be trapped in a bleak, gothic land quite different from the world they know. The adventure contains several encounters and areas that will likely be far beyond your capabilities when you first encounter them. It does not provide routine or readily-available loot or magical items.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a player who’s not expecting it, Curse of Strahd can suck. Really suck. Let me put it this way: if you want the freedom to engage in combat and exploration without worrying about the potential risks, this is very possibly not the campaign for you. Likewise, if you are potentially triggered by gruesome depictions of horror or psychologically disturbing relationships, or if you prefer a D\u0026amp;D campaign that features only victories or setbacks (rather than the potential for outright defeat), you might want to try a different module.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow, if you’re still around, stick with me - because there \u003cem\u003eare\u003c\/em\u003e reasons to play this (excellent, engaging, incredibly memorable) campaign.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou \u003cem\u003eshould\u003c\/em\u003e play Curse of Strahd if you:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003elove gothic horror tropes and themes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewant to engage with a character-driven story that pushes you to develop relationships with multiple vivid NPCs and factions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eprefer roleplay, investigation, and relationship-building to combat or dungeon-delving\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eenjoy setting your own goals and pursuing means of achieving them\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eenjoy facing an active, powerful, and personally antagonizing villain\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewant to participate in a tense, adrenaline-fueled experience that will create memories to last a lifetime\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf, after reading this far, you think Curse of Strahd may be the campaign for you, awesome! You’re in for a fantastic time. With that said, here are a few protips to succeeding in the course of this campaign:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntrepid adventurers and sadistic murderhobos don’t last long in Barovia. Don’t tread from the beaten path unless you have good reason to, and don’t alienate or antagonize NPCs if you can avoid it. Make more friends than enemies. Don’t go searching for treasure, fortune, or fame - because you \u003cem\u003ewill\u003c\/em\u003e probably die a horrible death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRemember that you are not your character, and invest real time in developing their thoughts, personality, and motivation. Externalize failure, and use setbacks or defeat as an opportunity to explore your character’s perspective and personal growth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay smart. Many of the enemies in this adventure cannot be overcome easily in direct combat. Use guile, preparation, subterfuge, diplomacy, and research to achieve your goals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpend time engaging with the other characters, even when not discussing plans, tactics, or objectives. Learn about their fears, their perspectives, and their experiences. Build meaningful relationships, not apathetic battle teams.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOutside goals are hard (if not impossible) to achieve in Barovia. It's worth working with your DM to create a character driven to Barovia for some purpose that can only be fulfilled within its borders. Make sure to speak with your DM about how to shape your backstory into something that can be relevant in the world of Barovia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTry to remove yourself from the “XP and loot” model of progression in traditional campaigns and video games, and instead try to enjoy the narrative progression of winning allies, fulfilling objectives, and advancing the story of the campaign and player characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon't try to play an apathetic or evil player character \u003cem\u003eunless you are 100% sure that you can pull it off while being a supportive team player and engaging the story like a normal PC\u003c\/em\u003e. Seriously. You'll make this adventure a lot more difficult and unenjoyable for your DM, and you'll be cheating yourself out of a fun experience. You don't need to play a knight in shining armor, but you definitely shouldn't play a villain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCurse of Strahd, as-written, is full of disturbing and graphic content. If you are potentially triggered by elements of child abuse, murder, stalking, gaslighting, racism, torture, mind control, cannibalism, situations paralleling sexual assault, child death, references to stillbirth\/miscarriage, abuse of those with disabilities or mental illness, animal cruelty, body horror, child abandonment, portrayals of alcoholism or drug abuse, potential incest, implied necrophilia, or suicide, speak with your DM about potentially working around or entirely avoiding these elements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOh - and don’t Google \u003cem\u003eanything\u003c\/em\u003e related to the campaign.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Web, after all, is dark, and full of spoilers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHave fun!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCredit: \u003cspan class=\"flex gap-xs items-center pr-xs truncate\"\u003e\u003cspan slot=\"authorName\" class=\"flex\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDragnaCarta\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e from Reddit for the description.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dice Goblin NZ","offers":[{"title":"240","offer_id":42160603562087,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0638\/6253\/8343\/files\/cos-cover-4k.jpg?v=1769463599","url":"https:\/\/www.dicegoblin.nz\/products\/curse-of-strahd-d-d-roleplaying-session","provider":"Dice Goblin NZ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}