I would love some lore and encounter creation AID!
I'd like to give an interesting, surprising "re-entry" to my Curse of Strahd setting. The base idea. I wish to have the game-night "big boss" be a Red Dragon, thats been defeated/demoralized by Strahd. Perhaps even Vampiric!
The idea is PCs approach the Barovian Tavern - Blood on the Vine and there is a mob forming (by whom!?!!), recruiting to storm the Castle, hunt. Because all know the Castle is "open" to enter, but no one will.
When PCs go, with/without the mob.... they end up after creepy searching. With hints of Strahd... and some of the ccooler-small encounters that might hint to a Large Dragon big-boss! (Any ideas to grab from official book or new creations???)
I am considering using those 4 reds (below) as sisters/brothers that are Ghouled of the big-boss Vampiric Red Dragon... maybe have then option to make a deal to escape the gargoyle-curse (they seem to have on them?) By killing their sire?
I am asking your aid. For backstories ideas to build and hint at.
Maybe a special Tarroka Deck reading from Eva...?
And exciting encounters hinting and leading toward the dragons. And big-boss.
Maybe even have Strahd himself come watch or aid the PC, to torment or tempt them? (Maybe he's hidden as a mob member?!)
The ONLY dragon references I've found in Ravenloft are:
K7. Entry
Overhead, in the vaulted entry foyer, four statues of dragons glare down, their eyes flickering in the torchlight.
If anyone except Strahd enters this area through the doors that adjoin area K8, the dragons come alive, drop to the floor hissing and spitting, and attack.
The dragons don’t attack characters who enter this area from area K1, heading east. The dragons are four red dragon wyrmlings, and they have instructions to allow guests to enter the castle, but not to leave it. If intruders vacate this area, the dragons fly up to their perches and revert to stone. In their stone forms, they are impervious to weapon damage. The dragons never leave the room.
K67. Hall of Bones
the Order of the Silver Dragon
ARGYNVOST
was a silver dragon that liked to assume human forms. Argynvostholt was the dragon’s home.
In human guise, the noble dragon led a group of knights called the Order of the Silver Dragon. They gave shelter to refugees who had come to the valley to escape Strahd’s army. Strahd’s soldiers slew the dragon, destroyed the order, and sacked the mansion.
Vistani and dusk elves avoid the mansion, believing that the dragon’s ghost haunts it.
I would love some lore and encounter creation AID!
I'd like to give an interesting, surprising "re-entry" to my Curse of Strahd setting. The base idea. I wish to have the game-night "big boss" be a Red Dragon, thats been defeated/demoralized by Strahd. Perhaps even Vampiric!
The idea is PCs approach the Barovian Tavern - Blood on the Vine and there is a mob forming (by whom!?!!), recruiting to storm the Castle, hunt. Because all know the Castle is "open" to enter, but no one will.
When PCs go, with/without the mob.... they end up after creepy searching. With hints of Strahd... and some of the ccooler-small encounters that might hint to a Large Dragon big-boss! (Any ideas to grab from official book or new creations???)
I am considering using those 4 reds (below) as sisters/brothers that are Ghouled of the big-boss Vampiric Red Dragon... maybe have then option to make a deal to escape the gargoyle-curse (they seem to have on them?) By killing their sire?
I am asking your aid. For backstories ideas to build and hint at.
Maybe a special Tarroka Deck reading from Eva...?
And exciting encounters hinting and leading toward the dragons. And big-boss.
Maybe even have Strahd himself come watch or aid the PC, to torment or tempt them? (Maybe he's hidden as a mob member?!)
The ONLY dragon references I've found in Ravenloft are:
K7. Entry
Overhead, in the vaulted entry foyer, four statues of dragons glare down, their eyes flickering in the torchlight.
If anyone except Strahd enters this area through the doors that adjoin area K8, the dragons come alive, drop to the floor hissing and spitting, and attack.
The dragons don’t attack characters who enter this area from area K1, heading east. The dragons are four red dragon wyrmlings, and they have instructions to allow guests to enter the castle, but not to leave it. If intruders vacate this area, the dragons fly up to their perches and revert to stone. In their stone forms, they are impervious to weapon damage. The dragons never leave the room.
K67. Hall of Bones
the Order of the Silver Dragon
ARGYNVOST
was a silver dragon that liked to assume human forms. Argynvostholt was the dragon’s home.
In human guise, the noble dragon led a group of knights called the Order of the Silver Dragon. They gave shelter to refugees who had come to the valley to escape Strahd’s army. Strahd’s soldiers slew the dragon, destroyed the order, and sacked the mansion.
Vistani and dusk elves avoid the mansion, believing that the dragon’s ghost haunts it.
An option is a red dragon Dracolich that has possessed the corpse of Argynvost for revenge against Strahd.
Argynvost's ghost does in fact haunt his old mansion but is put to rest once his body is restored. At which point a different spirit could inhabit it. That spirit could have just been trapped in ravenloft, the amber temple or be a recent addition for example in an artifact brought by adventurers. This dragons spirit could be a parent or powerful sibling of the dragon described in strahd's castle.
An advantage of the dracolich is the expectation of being a powerful spell caster may make up for the cramped space the dragon will be in, inside the castle.
Another option is to simply escalate the traps that strahd had already set with a larger stone dragon that turns in to a real dragon. This would involve going more in depth into the mechanism by which he made that trap whether its creating artificial dragons or trapping real ones. So you might want a workshop or magical notes ect...
You could also use that weird ghost dragon from Candlekeep Mysteries as a sort of template. Creating a vampiric dragon is totally possible but would require extensive home brew and balancing. What CR are you aiming for? It kind of sounds like you want the monster to be more easily defeated than Strahd but that’s just a guess. As for backstory ideas, I’d honestly suggest ignoring what’s already present in the adventure and creating some sort of expansion. Barovia as written always seemed impossibly small, driving me to increase distances by somewhere between 10 and 20 times. When villages are a few hours walk away from each other, that’s ridiculous. They could probably see each other from the tops of the gates.
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a SPECIAL
One Night in Castle Ravenloft.
I would love some lore and encounter creation AID!
I'd like to give an interesting, surprising "re-entry" to my Curse of Strahd setting. The base idea. I wish to have the game-night "big boss" be a Red Dragon, thats been defeated/demoralized by Strahd. Perhaps even Vampiric!
The idea is PCs approach the Barovian Tavern - Blood on the Vine and there is a mob forming (by whom!?!!), recruiting to storm the Castle, hunt. Because all know the Castle is "open" to enter, but no one will.
When PCs go, with/without the mob.... they end up after creepy searching. With hints of Strahd... and some of the ccooler-small encounters that might hint to a Large Dragon big-boss! (Any ideas to grab from official book or new creations???)
I am considering using those 4 reds (below) as sisters/brothers that are Ghouled of the big-boss Vampiric Red Dragon... maybe have then option to make a deal to escape the gargoyle-curse (they seem to have on them?) By killing their sire?
I am asking your aid. For backstories ideas to build and hint at.
Maybe a special Tarroka Deck reading from Eva...?
And exciting encounters hinting and leading toward the dragons. And big-boss.
Maybe even have Strahd himself come watch or aid the PC, to torment or tempt them? (Maybe he's hidden as a mob member?!)
The ONLY dragon references I've found in Ravenloft are:
K7. Entry
Overhead, in the vaulted entry foyer, four statues of dragons glare down, their eyes flickering in the torchlight.
If anyone except Strahd enters this area through the doors that adjoin area K8, the dragons come alive, drop to the floor hissing and spitting, and attack.
The dragons don’t attack characters who enter this area from area K1, heading east. The dragons are four red dragon wyrmlings, and they have instructions to allow guests to enter the castle, but not to leave it. If intruders vacate this area, the dragons fly up to their perches and revert to stone. In their stone forms, they are impervious to weapon damage. The dragons never leave the room.
K67. Hall of Bones
the Order of the Silver Dragon
ARGYNVOST
was a silver dragon that liked to assume human forms. Argynvostholt was the dragon’s home.
In human guise, the noble dragon led a group of knights called the Order of the Silver Dragon. They gave shelter to refugees who had come to the valley to escape Strahd’s army. Strahd’s soldiers slew the dragon, destroyed the order, and sacked the mansion.
Vistani and dusk elves avoid the mansion, believing that the dragon’s ghost haunts it.
An option is a red dragon Dracolich that has possessed the corpse of Argynvost for revenge against Strahd.
Argynvost's ghost does in fact haunt his old mansion but is put to rest once his body is restored. At which point a different spirit could inhabit it. That spirit could have just been trapped in ravenloft, the amber temple or be a recent addition for example in an artifact brought by adventurers. This dragons spirit could be a parent or powerful sibling of the dragon described in strahd's castle.
An advantage of the dracolich is the expectation of being a powerful spell caster may make up for the cramped space the dragon will be in, inside the castle.
Another option is to simply escalate the traps that strahd had already set with a larger stone dragon that turns in to a real dragon. This would involve going more in depth into the mechanism by which he made that trap whether its creating artificial dragons or trapping real ones. So you might want a workshop or magical notes ect...
You could also use that weird ghost dragon from Candlekeep Mysteries as a sort of template. Creating a vampiric dragon is totally possible but would require extensive home brew and balancing. What CR are you aiming for? It kind of sounds like you want the monster to be more easily defeated than Strahd but that’s just a guess. As for backstory ideas, I’d honestly suggest ignoring what’s already present in the adventure and creating some sort of expansion. Barovia as written always seemed impossibly small, driving me to increase distances by somewhere between 10 and 20 times. When villages are a few hours walk away from each other, that’s ridiculous. They could probably see each other from the tops of the gates.