So, I was looking to buy Curse of Steady as a fun adventure for me and my family, but I was wondering whether or not I should by the basic edition and work with just that, or the revamped edition for a little extra cost and some cool accessories.
Curse of Strahd can be a good campaign for the right group. It is generally a well written and self contained sand box. However, you should know that it contains some "non-politically correct" if not completely objectionable content. Some of the elements may not work that well with present day sensibilities. Most of them aren't central plot elements and could be worked around but you might want to be aware of them.
I posted this in another thread:
---
I found this following disclaimer in another thread, I don't know the original author but it is generally accurate.
"Curse 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."
Examples below.
- hags trade villagers hallucinogenic cookies and take their young children in exchange. The ground up bones of the children are a key ingredient of the cookies.
- Strahd victimizes particular female NPCs who remind him of his lost love, coercing them, feeding on them, then turning them (typical vampire horror but adding the element of Strahd "loving" or being attracted to them makes it a bit different)
- in the death house at the beginning, you encounter the ghosts of two young children whose parents neglected them until they starved to death
- the Abbey at Krezk is full of mentally and physically disabled "mongrelfolk" who are mostly locked up "for their own good". When I ran this, I mostly avoided the plot lines in the Abbey as much as possible since they weren't central to the story. The "Abbot" is a corrupted insane angel who believes that he is doing good by creating an artifical flesh golem bride for Strahd out of the dead bodies of local villagers.
- the werewolf clan steals children from the lands beyond Barovia, brings them back to their caves, and has the children fight to the death with the "winner" being allowed to become a werewolf
- racism. The Vistani group in Barovia are described in such a way that it is difficult not to make comparisons to specific real world groups since the descriptions draw on racist stereotypes.
There are other examples or plot elements that you might need to step around if running this for children or younger folks
So, horror can be played a lot of different ways in D&D, even Strahd, despite the disclaimers given (which I don't disagree, playing it straight as written can be a gloomy/dark/despair ridden game, and pretty darn violent). That said, the DM sits between the text as written and the party so set the tone, and I can see Strahd working tonally anywhere from Skipp and Spector splatter punk to something more campy vampy like late era Hammer Horror to the key of "The Fearless Vampire Killers", maybe even full on Abbott and Costello. But horror/horrific, even "stress terror" are things as a DM I'd want to think through before running it with a younger audience. Bottom line: a parent probably knows what their kids can (or "should") handle. If they've got a subscription to Cemetery Dance or Fangoria, that's one thing, if they're more Friendship is Magic fans, well, you know where to put the dial.
WotC does have Van Richten's Guide which gives solid coaching on things DMs should consider and discuss with players before running a horror game. But I wouldn't say it's essential, the stuff it gets high praise for is pretty well in line with "boundaries discussions" that are supported by a lot of gamers (and have been around, even in codified terms for some time now). That said, you might find more targeted and free guidance through an article provided here on DnD Beyond:
The other thing is Curse of Strahd as written isn't a quick run through a vampire lair, it's a full blooded campaign that will take a while to accomplish (I think levels 1-13). However, a writer who used to work for this site and has had a hand in a few WotC products too wrote up some ways to play Strahd as a one shot (I believe all the links below require Curse of Strahd to actually play):
And lastly, how to take Strahd ... and sorta do what the original Peter Sellers Casino Royale did to James Bond, but to Strahd (make it a sort of romp/farce with a kinda Dr. Who bent to it):
That last one made me laugh out loud while reading it, probably the best thing James Haeck ever wrote for the site.
Lastly, if you want to test the kids' spooky threshold, I had some success gauging that with Book of the Raven, a one shot in Candlekeep Mysteries. It's a smaller, part real/ part faux haunted house setting easily explored and the "what's going on" can be figured out in a night (plus the Order of the Scarlet Sash can be played with gravitas and/or laughs). As written, it's a bit rough, seems like some connective tissue got cut in the editing process; but you can find plenty of guidance on YouTube on how to fix it. Playing the horror elements, there's a lot of opportunities for "bump in the night" type moments, an actual poltergeist which you can use to gauge whether you want to do the finale which is right out of Michael Jackson's Thriller or just have them make some kinda cool (and kinda silly) friends at the end, who won't mention the Shadowcrossing into nightmare land.
Thanks! Do any of you guys have an idea of good age group for Curse of Strahd?
As David42 stated,
"Curse 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.",
so I personally would avoid running this for anyone who isn't an adult.
You can always buy the AD&D edition, typically the #1 rated module in the history of D&D and adapt it to 5E. You will be immeasurably happy with the result. Its a master class in module building.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So, I was looking to buy Curse of Steady as a fun adventure for me and my family, but I was wondering whether or not I should by the basic edition and work with just that, or the revamped edition for a little extra cost and some cool accessories.
Orange Juice!
Curse of Strahd can be a good campaign for the right group. It is generally a well written and self contained sand box. However, you should know that it contains some "non-politically correct" if not completely objectionable content. Some of the elements may not work that well with present day sensibilities. Most of them aren't central plot elements and could be worked around but you might want to be aware of them.
I posted this in another thread:
---
I found this following disclaimer in another thread, I don't know the original author but it is generally accurate.
"Curse 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."
Examples below.
- hags trade villagers hallucinogenic cookies and take their young children in exchange. The ground up bones of the children are a key ingredient of the cookies.
- Strahd victimizes particular female NPCs who remind him of his lost love, coercing them, feeding on them, then turning them (typical vampire horror but adding the element of Strahd "loving" or being attracted to them makes it a bit different)
- in the death house at the beginning, you encounter the ghosts of two young children whose parents neglected them until they starved to death
- the Abbey at Krezk is full of mentally and physically disabled "mongrelfolk" who are mostly locked up "for their own good". When I ran this, I mostly avoided the plot lines in the Abbey as much as possible since they weren't central to the story. The "Abbot" is a corrupted insane angel who believes that he is doing good by creating an artifical flesh golem bride for Strahd out of the dead bodies of local villagers.
- the werewolf clan steals children from the lands beyond Barovia, brings them back to their caves, and has the children fight to the death with the "winner" being allowed to become a werewolf
- racism. The Vistani group in Barovia are described in such a way that it is difficult not to make comparisons to specific real world groups since the descriptions draw on racist stereotypes.
There are other examples or plot elements that you might need to step around if running this for children or younger folks
http://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/dungeon-masters-only/93509-first-time-ever-dm-curse-of-strahd?comment=4
---
Go for the extra cost one if it is not a hardship on your bank account.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
There's also Beadle & Grimm's Legendary Edition of Curse of Strahd, but that's $400. If I had money to burn and was playing in person, that's what I'd go with.
Thanks! Do any of you guys have an idea of good age group for Curse of Strahd?
Orange Juice!
So, horror can be played a lot of different ways in D&D, even Strahd, despite the disclaimers given (which I don't disagree, playing it straight as written can be a gloomy/dark/despair ridden game, and pretty darn violent). That said, the DM sits between the text as written and the party so set the tone, and I can see Strahd working tonally anywhere from Skipp and Spector splatter punk to something more campy vampy like late era Hammer Horror to the key of "The Fearless Vampire Killers", maybe even full on Abbott and Costello. But horror/horrific, even "stress terror" are things as a DM I'd want to think through before running it with a younger audience. Bottom line: a parent probably knows what their kids can (or "should") handle. If they've got a subscription to Cemetery Dance or Fangoria, that's one thing, if they're more Friendship is Magic fans, well, you know where to put the dial.
WotC does have Van Richten's Guide which gives solid coaching on things DMs should consider and discuss with players before running a horror game. But I wouldn't say it's essential, the stuff it gets high praise for is pretty well in line with "boundaries discussions" that are supported by a lot of gamers (and have been around, even in codified terms for some time now). That said, you might find more targeted and free guidance through an article provided here on DnD Beyond:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/948-adapting-d-d-horror-for-kids-of-all-ages
The other thing is Curse of Strahd as written isn't a quick run through a vampire lair, it's a full blooded campaign that will take a while to accomplish (I think levels 1-13). However, a writer who used to work for this site and has had a hand in a few WotC products too wrote up some ways to play Strahd as a one shot (I believe all the links below require Curse of Strahd to actually play):
https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/359-strahd-must-die-tonight-how-to-play-ravenloft-in-a
How to turn Strahd as a one shot into an annual game ritual:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/647-strahd-must-die-again-and-again-and-again
And lastly, how to take Strahd ... and sorta do what the original Peter Sellers Casino Royale did to James Bond, but to Strahd (make it a sort of romp/farce with a kinda Dr. Who bent to it):
https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/895-strahd-must-die-in-space
That last one made me laugh out loud while reading it, probably the best thing James Haeck ever wrote for the site.
Lastly, if you want to test the kids' spooky threshold, I had some success gauging that with Book of the Raven, a one shot in Candlekeep Mysteries. It's a smaller, part real/ part faux haunted house setting easily explored and the "what's going on" can be figured out in a night (plus the Order of the Scarlet Sash can be played with gravitas and/or laughs). As written, it's a bit rough, seems like some connective tissue got cut in the editing process; but you can find plenty of guidance on YouTube on how to fix it. Playing the horror elements, there's a lot of opportunities for "bump in the night" type moments, an actual poltergeist which you can use to gauge whether you want to do the finale which is right out of Michael Jackson's Thriller or just have them make some kinda cool (and kinda silly) friends at the end, who won't mention the Shadowcrossing into nightmare land.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
As David42 stated,
"Curse 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.",
so I personally would avoid running this for anyone who isn't an adult.
You can always buy the AD&D edition, typically the #1 rated module in the history of D&D and adapt it to 5E. You will be immeasurably happy with the result. Its a master class in module building.