Sitting across from you, she draws an ancient worn deck of cards from her colored robes and begins placing them face up on the small table inside the carriage. Raspy laughter rattles the glyphed coins of Madame Eva's veil. Reaching back with an arm too long for his body, he gently pushes you back into the carriage and locks the door. Ahead the carriage master turns his cowled face towards you, his eyes shrouded under his tattered leather tricorn hat. Peering out one window, you watch rocks fall one thousand feet to the river below. The ornate black carriage roars along the narrow winding road leading to Castle Ravenloft. When following the traditional model, read or summarize the following as the characters begin the adventure: Intro: The Carriage Ride to Ravenloft and the Drawing With this bond every character has a built-in motivation to group together, go to Ravenloft and destroy the devil of the castle once for all. To keep this game simple, every character has the following bond:īy blood or by deed you and your companions are sworn to aid and protect the hunted from the devil of Barovia. This makes the stakes of the adventure stronger since all of the characters are there to save the soul of one of their own. For example, one of the characters could play Ireena as a paladin or any other class. In this scenario we might let one of the characters play the hunted NPC.
Kolyan Indirovich the burgomeister of BaroviaĪs an example, the seer might be Baba Yaga seeking to recover the soul of her daughter, Ireena, from Strahd who, in turn, wants to keep the soul away from the hag queen. Izek Strazni the fiendish killer of Vallaki. Ismark Kolyanovich the son of the burgomeister. Ireena Kolyana the daughter of the burgomeister. Exethanter the lich of the Amber Temple. Baba Lysaga / Baba Yaga the hag queen of Barovia. Use the results to change up the story of Ravenloft while still following the same adventure model: Roll three times on the following list once for the Hunted, once for the Seer, and once for the Devil. Changing the Hunted, the Seer, and the Devilįor a fun change of pace, change up the three main characters of the adventure: the hunted (typically Ireena), the seer (typically Madame Eva), and the devil (typically Strahd). This item can also shatter the crystalline heart that grants Strahd 50 extra hit points if we choose. This is likely the only item the characters need to truly defeat Strahd. When defeated, the characters can burn the Tome of Strahd to destroy Strahd permanently instead of seeking out his coffin. We're also going to add a trait to the Tome of Strahd to streamline this single-session run of Ravenloft. Instead, replace it with a large bowl of holy water able to restore the vitality of the party once, giving them the equivalent of a short or long rest depending on how hard a time the characters are having. That means the Icon of Ravenloft does not sit on the altar in room K15. I've replaced the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind with the Icon of Ravenloft because the Icon's abilities better fit the theme of this game and a paralyzed Strahd isn't much fun. To help them kill Strahd, the characters must seek out three powerful artifacts hidden within the castle including the Sun Sword, the Icon of Ravenloft, and the Tome of Strahd. The characters must hunt down the devil of Barovia to save Ireena Kolyana from becoming his dark bride. To simplify this adventure, strip down the goals of Ravenloft to one single goal: Kill Strahd. This article offers suggestions for stripping Curse of Strahd down to a single-session five-hour adventure. Though intended for a long campaign, we can strip Curse of Strahd down to a single five-hour game for 7th level characters perfect for a Halloween one-shot game. With the release of Curse of Strahd, Ravenloft has been fully updated to the 5th edition D&D. Ravenloft is the best open-ended randomly determined adventure produced for Dungeons & Dragons and it's perfect for a Halloween one-shot game. Five years before its publication, Tracy and Laura Hickman ran the classic D&D module every Halloween. Published in 1983, the classic D&D adventure I6 Ravenloft, ranked the second greatest adventure of all time. Note: This article has been updated since its original version published in November 2012. New to Sly Flourish? Start Here! Running Ravenloft / Curse of Strahd in a Single Session
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