I never like the whole Van Richten Rictavio thing. I was thinking something more along the line that Van Richten is a broken drunkard that the players must convince to pick up the fight against Strahd once more.
@@NoFunAllowed Rictavio as a character can still exist in the employee of the burgomister to promote cheer. Strahd allows Van Richten live as a plaything that he take pleasure in tormenting. Van Richten does not really associate with the other dinisins of Barovia and not many know his identity.
I like Viktor here. I am making up some quest ideas that he may give a quest that may finish that teleportation circle, but that may be a task as difficult as defeating Strahd, including visiting other domains, like Hazlan for certain magic items.
Honestly Nets and Grapple checks with 12 guards against a party of 4 players. With 3 guards to each player that means 3 attempts to be subdued by a net. If the nets fail there’s plenty of grapples with optional help actions to subdue the party, and chances are one or more of them chose strength to be a dump stat. I think done tactically the guards could overpower the party without making it a military assault that ends with a TPK.
@@NoFunAllowed the way I see it, the guards have a degree of coordination about them, and having seen 3 bouncers at a club pick up and escort a rowdy patron outside, I don’t see why guards wouldn’t do the same…with the added use of nets 🤣
Something the group I was in and the DM did that was fun with the mirror was this We were searching the mansion after the burgomaster and Izek's deaths we found the bedroom and as a joke my character (Dhampire once Aasimar) who was a student at candle keep before coming here decides "Heh you know the other students played this silly game, I think it was bloody marry." Gets a miscevious smile and for fun said Strahds name three times. (A note we faced a encounter with Strahd in the forest not to long ago and kicked his butt so to say the least so there was a lot of arrogance and foolishness) Welp DM goes onto say Strahd pulls me into basically the shadowrealm to taunt me and remind me of my place as a dhampire who had fallen from grace and took like 5d10 necrotic damage. A lesson learned. Kinda 😝Because when i got out in agony screaming bard comes in with detect magic and then identify learning what the mirror did we used it to kill the hags
Okokok. So on the subject of making your players fear for their characters lives, or to just scale up the campaign cause of higher level characters: making Izek a fiend blade lock, having disciples sounds like an excellent idea. Also it makes Strahd an even bigger bad ass if it turns out he Is the "fiend" patron. Give extra powers to Strahd at the end maybe?
@@NoFunAllowed Just did 2 days in Vallaki with my players, one of them is turning into a werewolf, i have him make checks every night and he has been lucky, only nightmares so far, but one of these nights things might go wrong! Also they are on their way to the coffin maker... To add up, Ireena vanished during night!!! Things are heating really quick!
my party, has taken the BM mansion ground floor (they are still in the house) and told the cook he is now the BM they did well on rolls and the guards are at the moment, izek is dead
@@NoFunAllowed Actually i think, its better if you have stronger guard, players are more careful and more diplomatic. But anyways thanks for concept, really helping me with my curse of strahd run :)
