I posted a threat recently, my players charged into the coffin maker store and got attacked by 6 vampires. Somehow through some smart use of spells and jumping out of windows the party survived but the vampires attacked the town. After some fighting around the town the partY scraped through, but the city is on fire, the Inn is trashed and the burgomaster’s mansion is up in flames. The militia is currently on high alert in case Strahd follows up his attacks and also tracking the remaining vampires.
I have a player who’s been struggling to gel with their character and now wants to create a new one. I am planning on having the existing one killed as party motivation (I messed up RP with Ireena and the party don’t really care about her). I don’t want to have the player twiddling their thumbs so I want to have a bit of sadness then throw the new character in the game. Their new character is a tri-kreen and since those aren’t really native to faerun or barovia I intend for them to fall through the ether realm on a crashing spelljammer into barovia.
firstly I would like to ask how this sounds?
second I would like to ask how it could narratively make sense? I.e. why would the mists part to allow a new character into barovia?
second I would like to ask how it could narratively make sense? I.e. why would the mists part to allow a new character into barovia?
Depends a bit on why you assume the original PCs were in Barovia, and who's actually in control.
As written, Strahd lured the PCs into Barovia for... reasons I was never able to make sense of. When I ran CoS I changed that to have it be the mists that did it, and they did it because... they like trolling the darklords.
Either way, most likely the same entity that let the PCs in also lets the new character in.
Their new character is a tri-kreen and since those aren’t really native to faerun or barovia I intend for them to fall through the ether realm on a crashing spelljammer into barovia.
Sounds interesting.
If I were in the adventuring party, would be more interested in locating and recovering the downed spelljammer.
second I would like to ask how it could narratively make sense? I.e. why would the mists part to allow a new character into barovia?
Using the spelljammer approach could be an interesting way to introduce such an usual character to Barovia, especially if you want to play up on the horror trope concepts. The fairly xenophobic Barovians wouldn't likely respond well to a large insectile humanoid emerging from an unsual vessel that fell from the sky. Maybe even reverse the standard horror roles, and the innocent thri-kreen is perceived as some horrible alien invading the land. Could be fun to have a few local inhabitants nearby when the ship crashes into the woods or the side of one of the moutains. As the thri-kreen surveys its surroundings, those local Barovians freak out about the "alien invader.
As to why the Mists would allow the vessel into Barovia...
Torment the villagers (as mentioned above).
Torment the thri-kreen, who happended to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (much like many other adventurers pulled into Barovia).
Torment Strahd, since the spelljammer ship might offer a glimmer of hope that he could use it to escape (but he's forever doomed to be trapped in Barovia).
If I were in the adventuring party, would be more interested in locating and recovering the downed spelljammer.
Which might be a good way to introduce this new character to the main group. The adventuring party might be familiar with spelljammer ships...or they might at least not be confused and fightened by the thri-kreen character and their mysterious vessel. They might hope to retrieve and repair the crashed ship, but it's either too damaged or just incapable of passing through the misty borders of the demiplane.
I like the idea of tormenting strahd, in my game he wants tatyana but also still to escape. I stole a little creative license from the High Rollers play through of CoS where Strahd is aware of his own predicament after so many years. I also like the idea of spelljammer tech taunting strahd. That way he’ll send some undead over to investigate, which is a nice tidy reason for any remaining crew to get killed. It also throws the new character into a bit of jeopardy and perhaps creates a time element even if in game the other characters don’t know what’s going on
this could definitely be caused by the mists, I have already hinted that they adapt to strahds actions to foil his attempts at escape. So strahd is trying to play a game within a game with the party as pawns on both sides, however the mist might decide to throw a spanner in the works by adding a new element
The chaos mists, or just mists are a great tool to snack pcs from other dimensions. Do not question the mists. Sometime the mist are under the Count's control. Sometimes the mist control the Count.
It could be a fun way to introduce some alien horror. You could have it be a nautilus from one of the other planes of dread and use the vampire mind flayer's.
Hadn’t thought about this, I really like this idea. The ship and horror could fall through the mists together, then terrorise the area. Definitely going to steal this.
Depends a bit on why you assume the original PCs were in Barovia, and who's actually in control.
As written, Strahd lured the PCs into Barovia for... reasons I was never able to make sense of. When I ran CoS I changed that to have it be the mists that did it, and they did it because... they like trolling the darklords.
Either way, most likely the same entity that let the PCs in also lets the new character in.
Actually it's Madame Eva that lures them to Barovia, to defeat Strahd and beat the curse. Or at least that's how I read it. :)
Actually nobody can enter or leaves Barovia without Strahd's permission. (The Vistani received his permission to come and go freely centuries prior.)
Depending on which plot hook is used, they'll be invited by the Vistani, will follow a trail left by werewolves or just get abducted by the fog waking up in a forest they did not go to sleep in. To bring in new characters you simply use one of the hooks that you didn't use with the original group.
The person you responded to doesn't seem to realize that the book is entitled Curse of Strahd because
it is Strahd himself that is cursed. The Dark Powers are constantly "trolling" him. Strahd lures the adventurers into his realm because he legitimately believes they can give him what he wants - his happily ever after with the reincarnation of the woman he loves.
He has made a plan to achieve that goal and they are a key piece of the plan.
This is the problematic part: it's in no way clear why he thinks the PCs will be useful for achieving his goal.
It can't get any clearer. Why he brought them to his realm is specifically stated in the Epilogue under Straud Prevails.
He believes that one of the characters may be suitable to replace him as ruler of Barovia. So he tests them. He toys with them. He ultimately believes none are worth the honor so he attempts to dispose of them. (Unless, of course, it's a really evil party.)
With his goal achieved, Straud would then go forth with his army of undead, werewolves and killer critters to conquer Faerun. With an army that can appear and disappear through the mists from and to anywhere it would be achievable.
He has made a plan to achieve that goal and they are a key piece of the plan.
This is the problematic part: it's in no way clear why he thinks the PCs will be useful for achieving his goal.
I spoilered all of the following since there are some significant plot details ... the PCs and their predecessors are the only hope Strahd has of achieving his goals. (I realize that this is a necro thread but some of the recent comments are aimed at understanding what CoS is about.
Strahd wants to retire and pass along rulership of Barovia to a worthy successor. However, he doesn't really think he will find anyone worthy. The adventurers who enter the realm are there for him to toy with, alleviate boredom, and generally give him something to do since otherwise he only has his Barovian play things and most of those don't even have souls.
The entire demiplane is essentially part of Strahd's mind. When he became angry with the village of Berez, he simply caused the river to flood the village, because, at some level, he has control over everything in Barovia.
The Vistani are allowed to enter or leave freely due to aid they offered to Strahd before he made a deal with the vestiges. Everyone else only enters or leaves if Strahd wills it. Destroying Strahd at the end of the adventure provides a brief hiatus where access to the world is open. Creatures with souls can leave, those who are only part of Strahd's mind dissipate if they enter the mists. After a period of a few weeks, the mists again block access to the realm, Strahd returns to the land and Barovia returns to its state of darkness and despair. However, by this point, the PCs and possibly the souls of Ireena and her original intended have managed to escape (either through the pool in Krezk or by leaving at the end when the mists come down).
Strahd knows which of the Barovians have souls and which do not. One often has the soul of Tatyana and every time she appears he can't resist her and after she is killed (made a vampire spawn) her soul returns to the demiplane until it is reborn again, constantly tempting Strahd with something he can never have.
The entire plane is a prison and torture for Strahd, that he would like to escape. The PCs provide a faint hope of that and an option to alleviate boredom. If Strahd did not want them there he can trivially kill them at any time near the beginning. It is only close to the end when they become a real challenge that he has a chance to alleviate his boredom. He is also extremely intelligent, has access to the lich at the amber temple and a library with every spell in the PHB. If Strahd (the DM) thinks the characters might be an interesting challenge then he will likely spend some time at the Amber temple improving himself, learning some new spells - this is Strahd's motivation for allowing PCs that might eventually become a threat into the realm - it relieves the boredom and ennui of centuries - and he has never lost. He may also wonder if these weak and incompetent heroes succeed what might become of him, does it represent a way to escape? (of course it doesn't but Strahd doesn't know that yet).
----
In terms of the OP, it is trivial to introduce a new PC in Barovia, you can use a Spelljammer if you like for the cool factor, but the mists that surround Barovia can connect to any world. Barovia itself didn't come from the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk, at least in 5e, it is from some other distant world. Your Thri-Kreen could find themselves in an unusual fog and pass into Barovia that way. Or their spelljammer could be captured by an unusual mist and then find that none of its capabilities work in Barovia because the only things that work there are the ones Strahd has previously decided will work.
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Hi everyone
I posted a threat recently, my players charged into the coffin maker store and got attacked by 6 vampires. Somehow through some smart use of spells and jumping out of windows the party survived but the vampires attacked the town. After some fighting around the town the partY scraped through, but the city is on fire, the Inn is trashed and the burgomaster’s mansion is up in flames. The militia is currently on high alert in case Strahd follows up his attacks and also tracking the remaining vampires.
I have a player who’s been struggling to gel with their character and now wants to create a new one. I am planning on having the existing one killed as party motivation (I messed up RP with Ireena and the party don’t really care about her). I don’t want to have the player twiddling their thumbs so I want to have a bit of sadness then throw the new character in the game. Their new character is a tri-kreen and since those aren’t really native to faerun or barovia I intend for them to fall through the ether realm on a crashing spelljammer into barovia.
firstly I would like to ask how this sounds?
second I would like to ask how it could narratively make sense? I.e. why would the mists part to allow a new character into barovia?
Depends a bit on why you assume the original PCs were in Barovia, and who's actually in control.
As written, Strahd lured the PCs into Barovia for... reasons I was never able to make sense of. When I ran CoS I changed that to have it be the mists that did it, and they did it because... they like trolling the darklords.
Either way, most likely the same entity that let the PCs in also lets the new character in.
Sounds interesting.
If I were in the adventuring party, would be more interested in locating and recovering the downed spelljammer.
Using the spelljammer approach could be an interesting way to introduce such an usual character to Barovia, especially if you want to play up on the horror trope concepts. The fairly xenophobic Barovians wouldn't likely respond well to a large insectile humanoid emerging from an unsual vessel that fell from the sky. Maybe even reverse the standard horror roles, and the innocent thri-kreen is perceived as some horrible alien invading the land. Could be fun to have a few local inhabitants nearby when the ship crashes into the woods or the side of one of the moutains. As the thri-kreen surveys its surroundings, those local Barovians freak out about the "alien invader.
As to why the Mists would allow the vessel into Barovia...
Which might be a good way to introduce this new character to the main group. The adventuring party might be familiar with spelljammer ships...or they might at least not be confused and fightened by the thri-kreen character and their mysterious vessel. They might hope to retrieve and repair the crashed ship, but it's either too damaged or just incapable of passing through the misty borders of the demiplane.
Thanks everyone for the help and advice.
I like the idea of tormenting strahd, in my game he wants tatyana but also still to escape. I stole a little creative license from the High Rollers play through of CoS where Strahd is aware of his own predicament after so many years. I also like the idea of spelljammer tech taunting strahd. That way he’ll send some undead over to investigate, which is a nice tidy reason for any remaining crew to get killed. It also throws the new character into a bit of jeopardy and perhaps creates a time element even if in game the other characters don’t know what’s going on
this could definitely be caused by the mists, I have already hinted that they adapt to strahds actions to foil his attempts at escape. So strahd is trying to play a game within a game with the party as pawns on both sides, however the mist might decide to throw a spanner in the works by adding a new element
The chaos mists, or just mists are a great tool to snack pcs from other dimensions. Do not question the mists. Sometime the mist are under the Count's control. Sometimes the mist control the Count.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
It could be a fun way to introduce some alien horror. You could have it be a nautilus from one of the other planes of dread and use the vampire mind flayer's.
Hadn’t thought about this, I really like this idea. The ship and horror could fall through the mists together, then terrorise the area. Definitely going to steal this.
Actually it's Madame Eva that lures them to Barovia, to defeat Strahd and beat the curse. Or at least that's how I read it. :)
Actually nobody can enter or leaves Barovia without Strahd's permission. (The Vistani received his permission to come and go freely centuries prior.)
Depending on which plot hook is used, they'll be invited by the Vistani, will follow a trail left by werewolves or just get abducted by the fog waking up in a forest they did not go to sleep in. To bring in new characters you simply use one of the hooks that you didn't use with the original group.
The person you responded to doesn't seem to realize that the book is entitled Curse of Strahd because
it is Strahd himself that is cursed. The Dark Powers are constantly "trolling" him. Strahd lures the adventurers into his realm because he legitimately believes they can give him what he wants - his happily ever after with the reincarnation of the woman he loves.
He has made a plan to achieve that goal and they are a key piece of the plan.
This is the problematic part: it's in no way clear why he thinks the PCs will be useful for achieving his goal.
It can't get any clearer. Why he brought them to his realm is specifically stated in the Epilogue under Straud Prevails.
He believes that one of the characters may be suitable to replace him as ruler of Barovia. So he tests them. He toys with them. He ultimately believes none are worth the honor so he attempts to dispose of them. (Unless, of course, it's a really evil party.)
With his goal achieved, Straud would then go forth with his army of undead, werewolves and killer critters to conquer Faerun. With an army that can appear and disappear through the mists from and to anywhere it would be achievable.
I spoilered all of the following since there are some significant plot details ... the PCs and their predecessors are the only hope Strahd has of achieving his goals. (I realize that this is a necro thread but some of the recent comments are aimed at understanding what CoS is about.
Strahd wants to retire and pass along rulership of Barovia to a worthy successor. However, he doesn't really think he will find anyone worthy. The adventurers who enter the realm are there for him to toy with, alleviate boredom, and generally give him something to do since otherwise he only has his Barovian play things and most of those don't even have souls.
The entire demiplane is essentially part of Strahd's mind. When he became angry with the village of Berez, he simply caused the river to flood the village, because, at some level, he has control over everything in Barovia.
The Vistani are allowed to enter or leave freely due to aid they offered to Strahd before he made a deal with the vestiges. Everyone else only enters or leaves if Strahd wills it. Destroying Strahd at the end of the adventure provides a brief hiatus where access to the world is open. Creatures with souls can leave, those who are only part of Strahd's mind dissipate if they enter the mists. After a period of a few weeks, the mists again block access to the realm, Strahd returns to the land and Barovia returns to its state of darkness and despair. However, by this point, the PCs and possibly the souls of Ireena and her original intended have managed to escape (either through the pool in Krezk or by leaving at the end when the mists come down).
Strahd knows which of the Barovians have souls and which do not. One often has the soul of Tatyana and every time she appears he can't resist her and after she is killed (made a vampire spawn) her soul returns to the demiplane until it is reborn again, constantly tempting Strahd with something he can never have.
The entire plane is a prison and torture for Strahd, that he would like to escape. The PCs provide a faint hope of that and an option to alleviate boredom. If Strahd did not want them there he can trivially kill them at any time near the beginning. It is only close to the end when they become a real challenge that he has a chance to alleviate his boredom. He is also extremely intelligent, has access to the lich at the amber temple and a library with every spell in the PHB. If Strahd (the DM) thinks the characters might be an interesting challenge then he will likely spend some time at the Amber temple improving himself, learning some new spells - this is Strahd's motivation for allowing PCs that might eventually become a threat into the realm - it relieves the boredom and ennui of centuries - and he has never lost. He may also wonder if these weak and incompetent heroes succeed what might become of him, does it represent a way to escape? (of course it doesn't but Strahd doesn't know that yet).
----
In terms of the OP, it is trivial to introduce a new PC in Barovia, you can use a Spelljammer if you like for the cool factor, but the mists that surround Barovia can connect to any world. Barovia itself didn't come from the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk, at least in 5e, it is from some other distant world. Your Thri-Kreen could find themselves in an unusual fog and pass into Barovia that way. Or their spelljammer could be captured by an unusual mist and then find that none of its capabilities work in Barovia because the only things that work there are the ones Strahd has previously decided will work.