Been running CoS for a while, unfortunately had issues portaging Ireena. I struggled to make her likeable or relevant. This is compounded by my party being morally grey so indifferent to being heroes. I have already decided to switch focus to the party and I’ve got lots of ideas to make that work, my current problem is how to resolve Ireena and move on.
the party are currently in Ravenloft (running the dinner party) and giving the party a chance to explore the castle a bit. I had intended on giving the players a chance to save Ireena (see got kidnapped in valaki) but I don’t think the players will want this, so that do i do?
a. They find her dead in the castle, having defied strahd again (feels a bit weak)
b. She’s a vampire and attacks the party (would probably just end up a fight)
c. ?
Ideally I want to make it something memorable and even though the party were not keen on her, make it another reason to hate strahd?
any suggestions, has anyone had similar problems or come up with a cool send off for npcs?
The module tells you how to handle Strahd acquiring Ireena and making her his new vampire bride. He sends forth his army of minions to the world the party came from and begins his attempts at conquering it. Which actually work very well since he can move his army anywhere via the mists. Strahd has "won" the campaign and has no further need for them.
To that end, have the party come across trophies from their home town. Strahd can taunt them with visions of the conquest. People who the party knew may attack them as vampire spawn or werewolves. Maybe Strahd's majordomo decides the adventurers are still a threat and takes them via the teleporter to the Amber Temple claiming he's going to reward them... and then awakes the vampire spawn upon arrival and attacks.
Basically, I would let them believe they're going to fight Strahd for the rest of the campaign. But for the final battle, instead of fighting Strahd (who, again, has accomplished his goals and "won") let the players fight each other with the winner being the new ruler of Barovia. Or jointly rule if they so desire. But when you post "morally gray" I'm thinking they're "we'll do whatever we can get away with".
Ireena is the reincarnated soul of Tatyana ... the wife of Strahd's brother and Strahd's obsession ... Strahd tried to entice her first but she fell in love with his brother Sergei. Every time her soul is reborn in Barovia, Strahd can only resist for so long before seeking her out to seduce, corrupt and eventually turn her into a vampire spawn. When the creature becomes undead, its soul escapes (still trapped on the demiplane of Barovia) and Strahd generally loses interest keeping the vampire spawn with the rest of his "harem".
However, Tatyana/Ireena's soul is the only one with an escape route from Barovia.
The quest has the party escort Ireena from the village of Barovia looking for a place for her to stay safe from Strahd. Unfortunately there isn't one but the priest in Barovia suggests taking her to Krezk. The situation in Vallaki shows that the church there isn't safe.
The hidden reason to take Ireena to Krezk is that her soul can escape from Barovia permanently through the magical pool in the village. (See the Something Blue side bar under Special Events). Since this outcome enrages Strahd and results in some cool demonstrations of his power, it might be a good way to get rid of Ireena. In my run through, Ireena was the foretold companion but I thought this was a better solution since the character itself wasn't very effective. The party picked up Esmerelda instead as an ally. If needed in the final battle, I planned to have the spirit of Tatyana momentarily intervene to distract Strahd for a round here and there as she helped the heroes who had freed her from her imprisonment in Barovia (though when I ran it, it wasn't required to help balance the fight vs Strahd).
TLDR: One good way to remove Ireena is to have her soul escape Barovia through the magical pool in Krezk.
P.S. You can feel free to rewrite the adventure as described in the previous post but in CoS, Strahd has no armies, no ability to send massive forces through the mists to assail anyone's home. He just isn't interested. Strahd wants to escape from the land of Barovia but he is as trapped here as the soul of the lowest peasant. Assuming they have a soul. The only "real" inhabitants are those with reincarnated souls - everyone else is just a figment of Strahd's mind.
"Strahd has been the master of Ravenloft for centuries now. Since becoming a vampire, he has taken several consorts—none as beloved as Tatyana, but each a person of beauty. All of them he turned into vampire spawn. Although he feeds on the hapless souls of Barovia, they provide little nourishment and no comfort. From time to time, strangers from faraway lands are brought to his domain, to play the vampire’s game of cat-and-mouse. Strahd savors these moments, for though these strangers offer him no lands to conquer, they aren’t so easily destroyed and therefore provide a welcome diversion.
Strahd believes that the key to his escaping Barovia lies in finding someone worthy to rule in his stead, but his arrogance are so indomitable that no one is ever good enough in his eyes. He believes in his cold heart that only a von Zarovich as great as he or his father could sway the Dark Powers to release him."
"In life, Strahd lived to conquer. In undeath, he conquers still—not realms, but people, driving good souls to become corrupt and destroying those who won’t yield."
"Strahd needs loyal subjects to feed his ego. Barovians without souls are empty shells created by his consciousness to fill out the local population. "
P.P.S. I'm just curious how many of your party will survive trying to leave the castle?
The entry room to the castle is deadly for low level characters trying to leave the castle. The random encounters inside the castle can also be deadly as can the contents of various rooms depending on the level of the party. However, if the party comes directly to the castle after Bonegrinder then they are likely only level 4 or 5 and stand a good chance of losing characters inside the castle.
In the foyer - area K7 - if the characters try to leave. Four Red Dragon Wyrmlings are a deadly encounter for 6 level 5 characters ... so it could be a problem depending on how you choose to run it.
"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."
The fact that the invitation to the castle is a trap becomes pretty obvious in the dining hall (K10).
"The moment the figure disappears, a fierce, bone-chilling wind rises up and roars through the hall, putting out all open flames. The characters hear the screech of ancient hinges and the solid thud of many heavy doors slamming shut, one after another, into the distance. They also hear the portcullis clang shut and the tired groan of the aged drawbridge pulling up. Finally, unless the doors to this room are being held open, they slam shut (but do not lock). If the characters open the doors, they see that all the torches in areas K7, K8, and K9 have gone out."
Anyway, if the party has decided to accept Strahd's offer and visit the castle at a low level .. there is a decent chance one or perhaps all will die and maybe the characters will learn not to trust the vampire. :)
I frequently change adventures to suit my campaign and players so feel free to be creative!
Personally I like the idea that either they save Ireena or they don’t, which in the latter case means she will end up as a vampire. I’d hide this fact from the characters at first. She could reappear with Ismark at Vallaki again for instance, and having turned him too it could be a very interesting fight for the players after having been lured into a location to discuss a task that needs doing etc.
It is always interesting when the characters (and players!) realize that their decisions and actions actually have impact on how the story unfolds.
Thanks for the replies. I forgot the part about tatyana soul escaping when Ireena becomes a vampire. I think i may try tricking the party, I’ll play against their passive skills but try to drop a hint or two. If I straight up ask for a perception check the players will know something is wrong, even if the characters don’t.
yeah, the party has some fun encounters to survive before escaping the castle.
i have tweaked a few bits to fit the party so I’m happy to mix things up
It's hard to make player's care about what happens to Irena if they aren't invested in her. I think her becoming a spawn and being locked away in the catacombs is an appropriate ending if they ignore her even if it is just a fight. While it isn't apocalyptic or ruinous for the players it is bleak and it can have allot of pomp and ceremony to it.
What I would do is
They start to hear that ismark the younger has died wiping out their line and leaving Barovia with out a mayor. He will die trying to defend Irena
Some time later they will hear that Strahd is getting married to Irena. There are mixed opinions on this and there are maybe things like forced celebration in some of the towns or a party
They find Stu at the weeding she is made into a spawn
they find out after a while that no one has seen her in a long time
The players can investigate at any stage. Before the wedding she will be kept in strahd room with a spawn guarding her. After the wedding she goes to the catacombs. Strahd will likely loose interest in Irena once she is a spawn and return to tormenting the civilians . Regardless it doesn't matter because the players cant leave Barovia without killing Strahd. This process could easily take up months of in game time.
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Been running CoS for a while, unfortunately had issues portaging Ireena. I struggled to make her likeable or relevant. This is compounded by my party being morally grey so indifferent to being heroes. I have already decided to switch focus to the party and I’ve got lots of ideas to make that work, my current problem is how to resolve Ireena and move on.
the party are currently in Ravenloft (running the dinner party) and giving the party a chance to explore the castle a bit. I had intended on giving the players a chance to save Ireena (see got kidnapped in valaki) but I don’t think the players will want this, so that do i do?
a. They find her dead in the castle, having defied strahd again (feels a bit weak)
b. She’s a vampire and attacks the party (would probably just end up a fight)
c. ?
Ideally I want to make it something memorable and even though the party were not keen on her, make it another reason to hate strahd?
any suggestions, has anyone had similar problems or come up with a cool send off for npcs?
The module tells you how to handle Strahd acquiring Ireena and making her his new vampire bride. He sends forth his army of minions to the world the party came from and begins his attempts at conquering it. Which actually work very well since he can move his army anywhere via the mists. Strahd has "won" the campaign and has no further need for them.
To that end, have the party come across trophies from their home town. Strahd can taunt them with visions of the conquest. People who the party knew may attack them as vampire spawn or werewolves. Maybe Strahd's majordomo decides the adventurers are still a threat and takes them via the teleporter to the Amber Temple claiming he's going to reward them... and then awakes the vampire spawn upon arrival and attacks.
Basically, I would let them believe they're going to fight Strahd for the rest of the campaign. But for the final battle, instead of fighting Strahd (who, again, has accomplished his goals and "won") let the players fight each other with the winner being the new ruler of Barovia. Or jointly rule if they so desire. But when you post "morally gray" I'm thinking they're "we'll do whatever we can get away with".
Just in case you haven't read it yet ...
Ireena is the reincarnated soul of Tatyana ... the wife of Strahd's brother and Strahd's obsession ... Strahd tried to entice her first but she fell in love with his brother Sergei. Every time her soul is reborn in Barovia, Strahd can only resist for so long before seeking her out to seduce, corrupt and eventually turn her into a vampire spawn. When the creature becomes undead, its soul escapes (still trapped on the demiplane of Barovia) and Strahd generally loses interest keeping the vampire spawn with the rest of his "harem".
However, Tatyana/Ireena's soul is the only one with an escape route from Barovia.
The quest has the party escort Ireena from the village of Barovia looking for a place for her to stay safe from Strahd. Unfortunately there isn't one but the priest in Barovia suggests taking her to Krezk. The situation in Vallaki shows that the church there isn't safe.
The hidden reason to take Ireena to Krezk is that her soul can escape from Barovia permanently through the magical pool in the village. (See the Something Blue side bar under Special Events). Since this outcome enrages Strahd and results in some cool demonstrations of his power, it might be a good way to get rid of Ireena. In my run through, Ireena was the foretold companion but I thought this was a better solution since the character itself wasn't very effective. The party picked up Esmerelda instead as an ally. If needed in the final battle, I planned to have the spirit of Tatyana momentarily intervene to distract Strahd for a round here and there as she helped the heroes who had freed her from her imprisonment in Barovia (though when I ran it, it wasn't required to help balance the fight vs Strahd).
TLDR: One good way to remove Ireena is to have her soul escape Barovia through the magical pool in Krezk.
P.S. You can feel free to rewrite the adventure as described in the previous post but in CoS, Strahd has no armies, no ability to send massive forces through the mists to assail anyone's home. He just isn't interested. Strahd wants to escape from the land of Barovia but he is as trapped here as the soul of the lowest peasant. Assuming they have a soul. The only "real" inhabitants are those with reincarnated souls - everyone else is just a figment of Strahd's mind.
"Strahd has been the master of Ravenloft for centuries now. Since becoming a vampire, he has taken several consorts—none as beloved as Tatyana, but each a person of beauty. All of them he turned into vampire spawn. Although he feeds on the hapless souls of Barovia, they provide little nourishment and no comfort. From time to time, strangers from faraway lands are brought to his domain, to play the vampire’s game of cat-and-mouse. Strahd savors these moments, for though these strangers offer him no lands to conquer, they aren’t so easily destroyed and therefore provide a welcome diversion.
Strahd believes that the key to his escaping Barovia lies in finding someone worthy to rule in his stead, but his arrogance are so indomitable that no one is ever good enough in his eyes. He believes in his cold heart that only a von Zarovich as great as he or his father could sway the Dark Powers to release him."
"In life, Strahd lived to conquer. In undeath, he conquers still—not realms, but people, driving good souls to become corrupt and destroying those who won’t yield."
"Strahd needs loyal subjects to feed his ego. Barovians without souls are empty shells created by his consciousness to fill out the local population. "
P.P.S. I'm just curious how many of your party will survive trying to leave the castle?
The entry room to the castle is deadly for low level characters trying to leave the castle. The random encounters inside the castle can also be deadly as can the contents of various rooms depending on the level of the party. However, if the party comes directly to the castle after Bonegrinder then they are likely only level 4 or 5 and stand a good chance of losing characters inside the castle.
In the foyer - area K7 - if the characters try to leave. Four Red Dragon Wyrmlings are a deadly encounter for 6 level 5 characters ... so it could be a problem depending on how you choose to run it.
"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."
The fact that the invitation to the castle is a trap becomes pretty obvious in the dining hall (K10).
"The moment the figure disappears, a fierce, bone-chilling wind rises up and roars through the hall, putting out all open flames. The characters hear the screech of ancient hinges and the solid thud of many heavy doors slamming shut, one after another, into the distance. They also hear the portcullis clang shut and the tired groan of the aged drawbridge pulling up. Finally, unless the doors to this room are being held open, they slam shut (but do not lock). If the characters open the doors, they see that all the torches in areas K7, K8, and K9 have gone out."
Anyway, if the party has decided to accept Strahd's offer and visit the castle at a low level .. there is a decent chance one or perhaps all will die and maybe the characters will learn not to trust the vampire. :)
I frequently change adventures to suit my campaign and players so feel free to be creative!
Personally I like the idea that either they save Ireena or they don’t, which in the latter case means she will end up as a vampire. I’d hide this fact from the characters at first. She could reappear with Ismark at Vallaki again for instance, and having turned him too it could be a very interesting fight for the players after having been lured into a location to discuss a task that needs doing etc.
It is always interesting when the characters (and players!) realize that their decisions and actions actually have impact on how the story unfolds.
Thanks for the replies. I forgot the part about tatyana soul escaping when Ireena becomes a vampire. I think i may try tricking the party, I’ll play against their passive skills but try to drop a hint or two. If I straight up ask for a perception check the players will know something is wrong, even if the characters don’t.
yeah, the party has some fun encounters to survive before escaping the castle.
i have tweaked a few bits to fit the party so I’m happy to mix things up
It's hard to make player's care about what happens to Irena if they aren't invested in her. I think her becoming a spawn and being locked away in the catacombs is an appropriate ending if they ignore her even if it is just a fight. While it isn't apocalyptic or ruinous for the players it is bleak and it can have allot of pomp and ceremony to it.
What I would do is
The players can investigate at any stage. Before the wedding she will be kept in strahd room with a spawn guarding her. After the wedding she goes to the catacombs. Strahd will likely loose interest in Irena once she is a spawn and return to tormenting the civilians . Regardless it doesn't matter because the players cant leave Barovia without killing Strahd. This process could easily take up months of in game time.