I'm currently DMing a Curse of Strahd campaign and finished up madam Eva's card reading last session. the #4 card for strahd's enemy came us as Arabelle the vestani child and im having alot of trouble coming up with ideas about how to best utilize her as Strahd's enemy. part of the reading involves madam Eva telling the PCs that she is currently in danger and speeds them on their way. I'm fairly certain that my players are going to stop at Old Bonegrinder first so I should have at least one more session before they meet her at the lake and as she will now (potentially) play a bigger part in the fight against Strahd I would like their meeting to be slightly more memorable than the fairly straight foreword "save the girl and bring her home" mission that is described in the book. If anybody has Run CoS before and had Arabelle come up i'd love to hear how it worked in your game.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Lord of the Dead, Judge of the Damned, Master of the Crystal Spire, the Great Guide.
I am running CoS now, and we are well past the Arabelle part. She was not the "Strahd's enemy" from the card reading however. I think there are two things here you want 1. how to make the "save Arabelle" more interesting; and 2. How to use Arabelle as Strahd's enemy
For the encounter to save Arabelle, I added a monster to the lake. I updated an old 3.5 monster called The Caller from the Deeps, which is a type of water elemental that is made up entirely of black water tentacles. I made my updated version accompanied by undead who were victims of the monster, who would help it to find new prey. The PCs saw Bluto out on the lake with the squirming, screaming form of Arabelle and immediately started rowing out in two boats. Just before they got there, Bluto dumped the girl into the lake. One of the PCs dove in after her, while the others took Bluto into custody. They took Arabelle and Bluto back to shore where they tried to turn Bluto over to the authorities as the gate, explaining what happened. The guards decided as punishment that Bluto would be locked out of Vallaki for the night, a veritable death sentence, and they didn't care what happened to Arabelle since she is Vistani. The PCs took her back to the Vistani village where they were hailed as heroes and given a reward. The next day they went to see what became of Bluto. They saw his rowboat out on the lake and went to check on him. They found only his lower torso in the boat, and that's when the "drowned" undead attacked along with the Caller of the Deeps. The drowned undead were trying to pull the PCs into the water to the Caller, while the PCs were madly trying to row back to shore.
I didn't come up with the idea for the lake monster until after they saved Arabelle, but in retrospect I could have combined the two encounters to make the rescue of Arabelle more harrowing. If I were to run it again, I'd have the Caller from the Deeps attracted by Arabelle being thrown in the water. Any PC that dives in after her would need to not only save her, but escape the Caller from the Deeps and the undead minions, and get everyone safely back to shore.
In addition to making the rescue of Arabelle more dramatic, in your case if she is the "enemy of Strahd" then instead of the stated reasons for Bluto kidnapping her (to get fish), you could have him under the command of Strahd himself. Strahd has discovered that the girl is somehow a threat to him (he doesn't know how she is), and sends Bluto to kidnap and murder her by throwing her in the lake. Thus not only does the encounter make more sense, but the PCs will be directly foiling Strahd.
Now the way Arabelle becomes his enemy could be left unknown until it really matters. You don't have to know right now. You could leave it unknown until something else in the story that comes up gives you a good idea. The PCs could say to Arabelle that Madame Eva told them Arabelle was important in some way, but Arabelle herself doesn't know.
Perhaps Arabelle is only Strahd's enemy because in saving her, the Vistani reward the PCs with an item that will help them against Strahd, an item they don't even realize helps the PCs against Strahd, it's just something in their treasure wagon. Thus Strahd fulfills his own prophecy of doom by trying to have Arabelle killed, because if he had left her alone she wouldn't need saving, and if she hadn't been saved, the PCs would not be rewarded by the Vistani with the item.
If that seems more convoluted than you'd like, consider having Arabelle have visions that tell the PCs where they can find one of the more important items they need. Or perhaps, since she is related to Madame Eva, and Madame Eva is Strahd's half-sister, the blood of Arabelle is in some way caustic to Strahd? Or the girl's Vistani powers will allow her to curse Strahd himself in some way that gives the PCs a very small advantage over him in their ultimate battle?
Perhaps Arabelle is only Strahd's enemy because in saving her, the Vistani reward the PCs with an item that will help them against Strahd, an item they don't even realize helps the PCs against Strahd, it's just something in their treasure wagon. Thus Strahd fulfills his own prophecy of doom by trying to have Arabelle killed, because if he had left her alone she wouldn't need saving, and if she hadn't been saved, the PCs would not be rewarded by the Vistani with the item.
I like it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
There's a pattern in Barovia of souls being reincarnated over and over. Arabelle may remember useful and/or dangerous knowledge from many lifetimes...including some dirt the Vistani know about Strahd. Or you could take a sillier approach and make Arabelle the reincarnation of one of Strahd's bitter foes, a consummate warrior stuck in the body of a small child.
One thing that could make Arabelle much more interesting, and make her, instead of just being a Mcguffing, a actually ally in the fight against Strahd is that fact that she has royal blood and is directly related to Strahd, you could also assume that she has powers to match(or maybe have the potential to match) those of Madam Ava. This combined with the fact that Strahd is looking for a worthy successor, but inside he only deems people of his blood worthy, makes Arabelle the strongest contender for Strahds succession! You could have her discover that she has powers mid-way through going to the vistani camp, and realizing she can fight Strahd, if she could only become stronger, and even if the characters cant convince her father, make her run away back to the characters secretly(this may cause some rivalry with the vistani once more, but it makes great role-playing opportunity). A for her to be an actual asset, you can make her level up with the character, every level becoming more like Madam Ava in terms of skills and magic(for example, at start she can opnly use Madam Avas 1st level spells plus cantrips, second level the 2n level spell etc), maybe even roll her stats and all.
One thing that could make Arabelle much more interesting, and make her, instead of just being a Mcguffing, a actually ally in the fight against Strahd is that fact that she has royal blood and is directly related to Strahd, you could also assume that she has powers to match(or maybe have the potential to match) those of Madam Ava. ... A for her to be an actual asset, you can make her level up with the character, every level becoming more like Madam Ava in terms of skills and magic(for example, at start she can opnly use Madam Avas 1st level spells plus cantrips, second level the 2n level spell etc), maybe even roll her stats and all.
That's pretty dubious. Madame Eva's powers come from a pact she made with Mother Night; they're deity-given powers.
One thing that could make Arabelle much more interesting, and make her, instead of just being a Mcguffing, a actually ally in the fight against Strahd is that fact that she has royal blood and is directly related to Strahd, you could also assume that she has powers to match(or maybe have the potential to match) those of Madam Ava. ... A for her to be an actual asset, you can make her level up with the character, every level becoming more like Madam Ava in terms of skills and magic(for example, at start she can opnly use Madam Avas 1st level spells plus cantrips, second level the 2n level spell etc), maybe even roll her stats and all.
That's pretty dubious. Madame Eva's powers come from a pact she made with Mother Night; they're deity-given powers.
So, then change it. We can change anything we want in these adventures.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
I'm not saying you can't change it; I've diverged from some of the events in the book involving Ireena myself.I'm just pointing out that canonically Arabelle isn't like Madam Eva.
Just because she's Strahd's enemy by way of the card reading doesn't mean she has to be as direct a combatant. Sure, some of Strahd's enemies are better suited for a final battle than others, but character's like Arabelle, Clovin, and Piddlewick are not gonna do so good in that department.
The focus on Arabelle from what I can see is thus. Firstly, the emphasis on her giving inspiration to the PC's during the final battle. Strahd has always had a soft spot for the Vistani, so he could very likely not harm the girl despite her antagonizing him. Unlike other choices for Strahd's enemy, she may be one of the few that would be able to walk through the battle untouched by Strahd's minions. Even if Strahd is played as someone who would attack and kill the girl reguardless, whose to say her involvement in Strahd's downfall wouldn't incense some other Visitani against the dreadlord? Having a group of Vistani to help break into Ravenloft could balance things out a bit.
Secondly, the idea that she shares Madam Eva's blood (and therefore Strahd's) is super exploitable. I see some saying how Eva's powers come from mother night and that makes Arabelle having similar powers impossible. However, I disagree. Maybe those who are descendants of Eva's post-pact do share in some of that power. After all, who knows what Eva truely bargained for, could've easily slipped a well worded clause in their for inheiritable powers in case she couldn't see to Strahd's defeat herself. She may have made it so Strahd couldn't track his own blood with divination, keeping her identity a secret from him. That may be something Arabelle has, that would allow her in time to even shield the party from his scrying. As the adventure goes, give Arabelle some of those vistani curses and Eva's more utilitarian spells in divination/abjuration. Why not?
I'm currently DMing a Curse of Strahd campaign and finished up madam Eva's card reading last session. the #4 card for strahd's enemy came us as Arabelle the vestani child and im having alot of trouble coming up with ideas about how to best utilize her as Strahd's enemy. part of the reading involves madam Eva telling the PCs that she is currently in danger and speeds them on their way. I'm fairly certain that my players are going to stop at Old Bonegrinder first so I should have at least one more session before they meet her at the lake and as she will now (potentially) play a bigger part in the fight against Strahd I would like their meeting to be slightly more memorable than the fairly straight foreword "save the girl and bring her home" mission that is described in the book. If anybody has Run CoS before and had Arabelle come up i'd love to hear how it worked in your game.
Lord of the Dead, Judge of the Damned, Master of the Crystal Spire, the Great Guide.
I am running CoS now, and we are well past the Arabelle part. She was not the "Strahd's enemy" from the card reading however. I think there are two things here you want 1. how to make the "save Arabelle" more interesting; and 2. How to use Arabelle as Strahd's enemy
For the encounter to save Arabelle, I added a monster to the lake. I updated an old 3.5 monster called The Caller from the Deeps, which is a type of water elemental that is made up entirely of black water tentacles. I made my updated version accompanied by undead who were victims of the monster, who would help it to find new prey. The PCs saw Bluto out on the lake with the squirming, screaming form of Arabelle and immediately started rowing out in two boats. Just before they got there, Bluto dumped the girl into the lake. One of the PCs dove in after her, while the others took Bluto into custody. They took Arabelle and Bluto back to shore where they tried to turn Bluto over to the authorities as the gate, explaining what happened. The guards decided as punishment that Bluto would be locked out of Vallaki for the night, a veritable death sentence, and they didn't care what happened to Arabelle since she is Vistani. The PCs took her back to the Vistani village where they were hailed as heroes and given a reward. The next day they went to see what became of Bluto. They saw his rowboat out on the lake and went to check on him. They found only his lower torso in the boat, and that's when the "drowned" undead attacked along with the Caller of the Deeps. The drowned undead were trying to pull the PCs into the water to the Caller, while the PCs were madly trying to row back to shore.
I didn't come up with the idea for the lake monster until after they saved Arabelle, but in retrospect I could have combined the two encounters to make the rescue of Arabelle more harrowing. If I were to run it again, I'd have the Caller from the Deeps attracted by Arabelle being thrown in the water. Any PC that dives in after her would need to not only save her, but escape the Caller from the Deeps and the undead minions, and get everyone safely back to shore.
In addition to making the rescue of Arabelle more dramatic, in your case if she is the "enemy of Strahd" then instead of the stated reasons for Bluto kidnapping her (to get fish), you could have him under the command of Strahd himself. Strahd has discovered that the girl is somehow a threat to him (he doesn't know how she is), and sends Bluto to kidnap and murder her by throwing her in the lake. Thus not only does the encounter make more sense, but the PCs will be directly foiling Strahd.
Now the way Arabelle becomes his enemy could be left unknown until it really matters. You don't have to know right now. You could leave it unknown until something else in the story that comes up gives you a good idea. The PCs could say to Arabelle that Madame Eva told them Arabelle was important in some way, but Arabelle herself doesn't know.
Perhaps Arabelle is only Strahd's enemy because in saving her, the Vistani reward the PCs with an item that will help them against Strahd, an item they don't even realize helps the PCs against Strahd, it's just something in their treasure wagon. Thus Strahd fulfills his own prophecy of doom by trying to have Arabelle killed, because if he had left her alone she wouldn't need saving, and if she hadn't been saved, the PCs would not be rewarded by the Vistani with the item.
If that seems more convoluted than you'd like, consider having Arabelle have visions that tell the PCs where they can find one of the more important items they need. Or perhaps, since she is related to Madame Eva, and Madame Eva is Strahd's half-sister, the blood of Arabelle is in some way caustic to Strahd? Or the girl's Vistani powers will allow her to curse Strahd himself in some way that gives the PCs a very small advantage over him in their ultimate battle?
If you are interested, you can see The Caller from the Deeps here: http://octobergeek.com/?p=201
And our session journal here: https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5020913/curse-of-strahd-ep-9-down-by-the-lake
And here: https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5033102/curse-of-strahd-ep-10-the-caller-from-the-deeps
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
There's a pattern in Barovia of souls being reincarnated over and over. Arabelle may remember useful and/or dangerous knowledge from many lifetimes...including some dirt the Vistani know about Strahd. Or you could take a sillier approach and make Arabelle the reincarnation of one of Strahd's bitter foes, a consummate warrior stuck in the body of a small child.
One thing that could make Arabelle much more interesting, and make her, instead of just being a Mcguffing, a actually ally in the fight against Strahd is that fact that she has royal blood and is directly related to Strahd, you could also assume that she has powers to match(or maybe have the potential to match) those of Madam Ava. This combined with the fact that Strahd is looking for a worthy successor, but inside he only deems people of his blood worthy, makes Arabelle the strongest contender for Strahds succession! You could have her discover that she has powers mid-way through going to the vistani camp, and realizing she can fight Strahd, if she could only become stronger, and even if the characters cant convince her father, make her run away back to the characters secretly(this may cause some rivalry with the vistani once more, but it makes great role-playing opportunity). A for her to be an actual asset, you can make her level up with the character, every level becoming more like Madam Ava in terms of skills and magic(for example, at start she can opnly use Madam Avas 1st level spells plus cantrips, second level the 2n level spell etc), maybe even roll her stats and all.
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
I'm not saying you can't change it; I've diverged from some of the events in the book involving Ireena myself. I'm just pointing out that canonically Arabelle isn't like Madam Eva.
Just because she's Strahd's enemy by way of the card reading doesn't mean she has to be as direct a combatant. Sure, some of Strahd's enemies are better suited for a final battle than others, but character's like Arabelle, Clovin, and Piddlewick are not gonna do so good in that department.
The focus on Arabelle from what I can see is thus. Firstly, the emphasis on her giving inspiration to the PC's during the final battle. Strahd has always had a soft spot for the Vistani, so he could very likely not harm the girl despite her antagonizing him. Unlike other choices for Strahd's enemy, she may be one of the few that would be able to walk through the battle untouched by Strahd's minions. Even if Strahd is played as someone who would attack and kill the girl reguardless, whose to say her involvement in Strahd's downfall wouldn't incense some other Visitani against the dreadlord? Having a group of Vistani to help break into Ravenloft could balance things out a bit.
Secondly, the idea that she shares Madam Eva's blood (and therefore Strahd's) is super exploitable. I see some saying how Eva's powers come from mother night and that makes Arabelle having similar powers impossible. However, I disagree. Maybe those who are descendants of Eva's post-pact do share in some of that power. After all, who knows what Eva truely bargained for, could've easily slipped a well worded clause in their for inheiritable powers in case she couldn't see to Strahd's defeat herself. She may have made it so Strahd couldn't track his own blood with divination, keeping her identity a secret from him. That may be something Arabelle has, that would allow her in time to even shield the party from his scrying. As the adventure goes, give Arabelle some of those vistani curses and Eva's more utilitarian spells in divination/abjuration. Why not?
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone