4:22 Strahd uses other names and guises ..... PC -- "I can see you are a gentleman, and a noble. What is your name, sir?" Strahd -- "Ah, you may call me .... Steve Von Zarovich." (DM -- Nailed it!!)

For the final fight against Strahd, you should use Bloody Tears from Castlevania, preferably an orchestral version

I’m reading through it for the first time trying to prep for running it. Thank you for the tips.

19:40 from here he talks about ambient music. Just placing the marker for me so i can comeback later to this soundtrack suggestions. Thank you for this video man, found a lot of things here helpful

Music notes: The Tarokka card reading, I used the Firelink Shrine theme from Dark Souls 3.

One of my best results in tying my party into the story better was by changing some things about the story- particularly when and how they meet Ireena and how they get drawn to The Mists. In one of my most successful runs, I changed Ireena's backstory to having been spirited out of Barovia by Vistani after Kolyan Idronovich received a portent of doom about his daughter's fate. She was then dropped as an NPC in another adventure that my party started, working with them as a knight/fighter, becoming a friend and a great member of the group. When the Vistani come to town to visit, they recognize her as a native Barovian, and convince her, and along with her, the party, to come to Barovia to reunite with her real family. Upon entering the cursed lands, the Vistani ditch them, leaving them to the mercy of the oncoming night. Dropping Ireena into the party early made her already close and important to them. This meant that when she was finally attacked by Strahd and became his target, they were completely invested in keeping her safe, and getting her back out of Barovia. If you can make the party care, make them really want to help someone, then having them develop that relationship prior to throwing them into Strahd's domain is a great tactic.

My advice for anyone running curse of strahd - don't stop there. Ravenloft is an amazing setting that goes far beyond Barovia and relatively easy to adapt to 5e. I've been running a ravenloft campaign for the last year or so and the party has not and will not see Barovia. There are so many just as interesting and equally sinister domains and darklords...

my fav music to use for spooky stuff is the Fable OST - Witchwood, as well as Lychfield Cemetery.

Re: the missing gem from the winery, I like the idea of giving it to the abbot but I'm thinking that he used it to power up his flesh golem, and he's very open with the party that he took and used the gem. Then the pcs have the horror of the flesh golem, and also the decision to make to attack the abbot and kill this construct (I play her as very creepy and pitiable) or allow them to keep it. This is my second time running cos - love this module ! My group just got to Vallaki and are hunting down St. Andral's bones. Thanks for the video, really useful tips !

I'm in the middle of running curse of strahd and this was super helpful, thank you so much and keep making videos like this. I enjoyed it a ton!

I’ve already run the original Ravenloft adventure and these are lovely pointers for nearly any horror campaign.

Strahd could always be playing his harpsichord on the balcony of castle Strahd after a certain fight, off in the distance they hear sorrowful beautiful classical sounds. Kinda old school style but more subtle.

For the soundtrack, Sigmund Krahe, awesome youtube channel with all kinds of dark organ and orchestral music that is pitch perfect for ravenloft

Thanks very useful especially the preparaction for the tarokka

"Play this fight to win" - a rare sentence when it comes to DM tips, but on this occasion, in this particular campaign, it's a great advice. I'm yet to run this campaign, been having it on my shelf almost since it was out, but finally I will be DMing it for the first time (had an other homebrewn campaign going on for the past 3 years). I am just preparing for the first session, and these advice come in handy, especially the one about the battle with Strahd. I would have loathed myself for letting this fight become a breeze for the party! The other things you're talking about are also great tips for DMs with less experience, actually they are a treasure for them! :) For me, they are great reminders how to think about as I make my notes for running the game, perfect focus points, congrats for this video!

I freaking love your music selection, You don't know how much I wanted to find a perfect soundtrack to use to evoke a gothic feeling.!!!

As a first time DM, I’ve only been running a homebrew weekly for almost a year. About to shift us into COS. It’s so iconic that I want it to be eerily EPIC. I’m glad to hear both reinforcement of some of what I thought, as well as some new ideas from a veteran DM; this video is sublime!

18:40 another tip is if you are absolutely wiping the floor with the players (which you should be since strahd is an absolute beast if you use his abilities right) let his personality shine, let him make mistakes because of his huge ego, and when the players start making a comeback have him get frustrated and make even more mistakes. Really good way to cement this guys personality and character.

Great guide, thanks! Only addition is make is that it’s best not to have Strahd fight the party head-on. Guerilla tactics within the castle work beautifully. A quick attack and then disappear into the floor, etc.

My hint is to let the players pull the cards at the end of a session so they are random, then Eva can do the card reading next session. This allows you to research the cards and do the reading smoothly.

Long time dark fantasy (2e AD&D Ravenloft Campaign Setting) consumer. I am also prepping to run this module. I appreciate all wisdom you have acquired and share friend.

Midnight Syndicate is a fantastic choice for music in Curse of Strahd or any gothic horror setting really.

Really excellent advice. I especially appreciate the point to expand on the mystery of the missing gem from the winery, as well as the tips on the tarroka reading. I wanted to fix that reading for my first time, so I can create the illusion of Mme Eva knowing the meaning without me having to flip through pages, but as a new DM sometimes I just need to hear from someone more experienced that it's acceptable to rig the game. Subscribed!

I find random encounters to be the perfect time to test some characters and do some character development. For instance a paladin of Bahamut could be tested by his deity. (Though I am still unsure if a deity could influence things or even access Barovia.) And I am currently writing a random encounter for a sorceror with 3 witches, a la Macbeth.

I did the drawing myself beforehand and wrote down the results. I set those five cards aside. Then, during the game, I handed my players the tarokka deck (while keeping the cards I drew hidden) and had them shuffle the high deck and the common deck. Then, I took the "shuffled" cards back and, behind the DM screen, added the cards I drew to the top. Then, I had another player draw the "top five cards", which were the cards I had picked. I then had each player flip a card over in turn and had Madam Eva read the meanings of the cards. Behind the screen, I pretended to flip through my notes as if looking for the meanings of each card. This way, the players still got the theatrics of the cards, but it allowed me to plan my readings and notes ahead of time. I have four PC's; two good, two evil. The two good PC's had just finished Phandelver and I tweaked one of the plot hooks, having the 'mayor' of Phandelin show concern about Vistani travelers camped outside the town. The good PC's got drawn into Barovia this way, responding to a call for help and becoming friends with the Vistani. The evil PC's used the Werewolves In The Mist hook, having taken the job simply for need of coin and good, sturdy, werewolf hide. They get lost in the woods after trailing the werewolves and emerge in Barovia, where they come across Strahd who gives them a ride in his carriage. He treats them well and welcomes them in an affable and friendly way to Barovia before dropping them off to see 'his followers', the Vistani. So now the evil and good PC's know about Strahd and despite having differing opinions about him, they know they can't leave without his death or his say-so.

Thank you for this video and the most helpful tips! I'm planning to run CoS campaign in a few months or so and I'm devouring helpful materials. Your video was really nicely made, informative in a very clear way, I absolutely love it and once again - thank you for splendid work!

Another great soundtrack for the game is Wolfman suite by Danny Elfman, from the movie

I have a Reborn race player that is powered by the 3rd seed and doesn't know it. lol. Can't wait for him to get near one of the others.

Just ordered this off Amazon. I'm relatively new to Dungeons and Dragons but I love the atmosphere of CoS so much!!! People have advised against a newbie running it but I don't care. my players all have told me multiple times they want to run a gothic/horror/vampire adventure and I'm gonna make it work for them! :)

Starting Strahd right now and just did the first card reading for the players. There is a magic trick with a wooden box where you can hold cards on the lid, hidden until you want them to drop. Did it, they never noticed, everybody happy

For anyone who wants a slightly different or more human like strahd, I recommend reading I, Strauhd: Memoirs of a Vampire. It really approaches his past in a interesting way and from the perspective of Strahd himself. I felt it gave more explanation for his actions and allows you to better understand his way of thinking. It might help to make him more interesting for your players when they encounter him other than “he’s a vampire, he’s a count” There’s also a ton more information in there, but it’s best to read for yourself. You can find a pdf of the book online, or you can buy it for like $7 if you want a hard copy

Good advice! I just started and my players are still at Death House. I am going to make the third gem be the force powering the shambling mound and the house itself. They won't know what it is, but it will hopefully help encourage them further to go to the Wizard of Wines.

One of the best videos regarding Strahd out there. Very well presented and interesting

love this. Thank you. Last year I saw Kronos Quartet and Phillip Glass perform the music from Dracula live. It was awesome.

To make Strahd stronger and cooler, I've gave him a powerful sword and an animated shield that orbited around him (It matches the theme of his armor and gives him a cool arcane warrior vibe). To fight at his side I gave him 2 strong minions his animated armor and a Sword Wraith Commander from Mtof. The Sword Wraith was Strahds 2nd in command and bodyguard a undying soldier that fought alongside Strahd since his days as a mortal military conqueror. They were brothers in arms in life and he still serves him in death.

This is the best preparing to run the module video I have yet to see for Curse of Strahd! Thank you very much for your time and effort!

Would LOVE to see a KZfaq playlist of the music you used. I've used some moody music in my adventure, and now I use the CoS official soundscapes, but without music I think it's missing something. My adventurers are in Vallaki currently, and at the end of our last session, they came back to the inn to find Ireena gone. Can't wait for our next session!

I just stumbled onto this video & this channel. excellent find. Subscribed. Thanks for the great video!

Awesome man. Specially the ost tips. Thanks!

6:40 I am planning to have the Champagne du la Stomp gem as Vasilka the flesh golem bride of Strahd’s heart. The party must make a choice to tear out her heart and give it back to the Martikovs or have a powerful ally against evil

Great video, one of the best I've seen on running CoS. Definitely going to use those random encounter tips and Strahd buffs in my game. Thanks so much!!

I need advice on this campaign. So... Initially, I was going to go with Strahd greeting the party early like DungeonSmith stated, establishing his presence quickly as he toys with the party members and evaluates their capabilities. But... there is one problem. The party, led by a cleric of Selune, was quick to catch on to Ireena being predated upon by Strahd, and have agreed with travel with her adopted brother Ismerk after receiving advice from Father Donavich to take her to Kerkz for safety. The party has been fairly gungho about doing this. They have made it through the Death House, traveled without running into any major encounters, and are in Vallaki. They are becoming more familiar with the situation there. So... The party has Ireena with them. And Strahd's tome. They got lucky (Or very unlucky depending on how you view it) and actually drew the card for the tome at Madame Eva's tent. They also drew the card stating that no ally will go with them to Castle Ravenloft to fight Strahd. The festival is coming up, and I believe the party has already figured out the conspiracy to... Disrupt the celebrations afterwards. Once they fix that problem, I think Strahd, in addition to everything that is going to happen, may take a much more active role realistically. I considered him showing up to dominate the party, whether they frustrate his plans or not while in the middle of the Vallaki... Sparing them only because Ireena begs for him to do so, offering herself knowing that is what Strahd really wants. Her. Which changes the direction of the campaign some. There is also the complication of the burgomaster's thug minion Izek, and at any point that he sees Ireena, that will complicate things for both the party AND Strahd. I was wondering what people thought of this. Party is level 4 right now. Any advice or direction would be appreciated.

Prepping Ravenloft for my first time right now. Great help, thank you.

Thank you, I am about to run the curse of Strahd in a few days and this was very helpful

Thanks so much for taking the time to help us other DMs. A++ :)

Excellent tips! Thank you.

This is perfect.

Great advice! Watched quite a few YT videos on strahd after reading cover to cover 5e's Curse Of Strahd and will say this is good advice for running the things the book doesn't tell you. I'm sure you know many people just run this game... awkwardly haha!! I can't wait to run this for my players and hopefully one day I can throw in my own 2 silver pieces as well.

Running Strahd this Saturday 😬🤞 thank you for the tips, ideas, and music!!!

Excellent Top Tips. I appreciate your work and explanations.

Great video! This has helped me a lot with planning out my campaign!

Running this next week for the first time and your tips are gonna defo help me

Thanks for this video. Really helped with my prep as DM, lots of great pointers.

Thank you! Getting ready to run this for the first time, and I want to make sure I do it right

My best tip: change the name of the village of Barrovia to Barrow. Its a nod at 30 days of night, but mostly its to avoid confusion about the village name being the same as the entire regions.

Your advice for soundtrack elements was very helpful! I agree...a good soundtrack really sets the mood like little else :)

it says in the module that the gem is in yesterhill in Wintersplinter the tree blight that the druids are trying to ritualistically summon to attack the Wizard of the Wines (pg 200)

I'm running Curse of Strahd right now and having a blast with it

I've had a scenario where Strahd finds out very early on that the party has the tome, but instead of just forcing them to hand it over or killing them, he decides that a) This is a great chance to spread the truth of his story (ie that he is the victim), and he has confidence that his ciphers regarding the more sensitive information could never be broken (they can, with RvR's help), b) He can use this is a chance to turn the party against one another, making secret deals with each of them (or just one) to return the book to him in return for a "reward"

I DM an online game with my buddies using Maptools.. I built a map with the entire Tarokka deck, with the back of the card covering every card. I had an Info note next to each card to it's meaning.. I let the players pick any card they wanted, and I selected it with it still covered over to the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 formation. I then removed the back of each card and had the info on hand for what it meant.. Took me about 4 hours to build, but the players loved it.

Would love to read the adventure you wrote on the third gem 😊

I love how you share these tips. And I find myself using some of these in my first session yesterday. I love it^_^

thanks for the music tips specifically!

On the subject of music i would recommend Ravencrest ambient music from World of Warcraft! Try searching for Waycrest Manor OST - it suits so well, because it has been deeply inspired by gothic horror of Ravenloft

I gave the third gem to Arrigal and his brother Luvash. I never said where they found it but I gave it as a reward for finding Luvash's daughter. It never came up how they got it which was sad but it kind of showed they had no idea what they had. Their next stop was Wizard of Wines so they got a pay off for a seemingly useless item. It also led into the little arc there and an encounter with Strahd though he did nothing in the fight other then be menacing and show they weren't ready for him. I should have spiced up the random encounters more but it was my first time running it.

I love this, and I love this channel, but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I don't even play D&D, but for some reason I find it fascinating and mesmerising. Maybe I'm a weirdo, or maybe I just really want to get into it and I don't know it yet. But anyway, love you and the whole community.

Cryo Chamber ( I think that is what they are called) has some very creepy and heavy feel to them. The Witcher 3 OST also seems to fit VERY well with Ravenloft

I had pass the parcel quest for the third gem. A thief stole it, traded it to the hags for dream bread, who traded it to the burgomaster for a fat kid, who traded it to the vistani to break a curse who then traded it to the warewolves to track down a traitor and finally got traded to "some mad mage" that used it to pay a theif to steal from the winery again... The theif had it the whole time. We found him at the hags again. Fight ensued.

Good video! And the extra encounters are excellent! Really useful

I remember his secret plans for that amulet and such...2nd edition rocked.

Really good tips vid - thank you

My group just started playing D&D this past summer and we're almost done with Phandelver. I'm actually excited about running Curse of Strahd but I also found a free homebrew horror adventure called Army of the damned that takes place in Innistrad (from MTG). I figured if I took my players thru that first, it might make going thru CoS a little more interesting story wise.

I ran an abbreviated Curse of Strahd campaign as part of a re-write of the Pathfinder Reign of Winter Adventure Path - the group is searching for one of the keys to Baba Yaga's prison (in the form of a matryoshka doll) and her betrayer daughter has scattered the keys to her enemies across the worlds she uses her Hut to travel to. In this world I had her play the role of 'Mother Night' who sealed the realm off at Strahd's behest after Ireena killed herself rather than be his - he wanted her spirit trapped there and himself made immortal so that he could find her in every lifetime she lived. Baba Yaga agreed and Strahd helped her overthrow the Morninglord, in part by killing the Silver Dragon who led the Knighthood (the dragon is now an undead creature who sends the spirit of slain knights every night to assault their remaining brothers until he has collected them all). Anyway, I have a whole series of events that will lead the group on a not-so-merry chase to find Van Richten, save the Knighthood and eventually face and defeat Strahd in order to earn the key they need. I put together a fantastic 'foretelling' that they experience early on which lays out the path for them, though they have to figure it out: Seek you the Hidden, the Lost, the Found, the Last, the Next, the Soul unbound. Seek you the House of Foreign Blood, it’s Master lost, but gone? Hunter now seeks a younger brood, that Knight be claimed by Pawn. Seek you the House of Chaos Moon, by tracks of twos and fours; alone, He wept, then lost Himself amidst those misty moors Seek you the House of Darkened Wood where Daughter of Night resides; Howling wolves and darker things dare not where she abides. Seek you the House of Empty Smiles, where love is naught but a dance, its tune no more than memory held; If released, perhaps a chance. Seek you the House of Orphaned Brothers, counted once as starlit sky; Yet night claims all and none remain, Save the One to help them die. Seek you the House of Ancient Blood To see the night undone; Still the Heart, release the Soul, and gain what shall be One. Seek you the Hidden, the Lost, the Found, the Last, the Next, the Soul unbound.

Fantastic advice! Thank you!

Great video! Thanks a lot! Will be checking the encounters

This is amazing i Subbed 🤘🤘 im sooo pumped to run this

Tips for beating Strahd: Get to level 11, take Sunbeam, take 2 levels of Fighter. If you are a Sorcerer or have Metamagic Adept, you can use Quickened Spell to cast it, your action to fire a second beam, and your Action Surge to fire a 3rd beam. All while holding an orb of pure sunlight that guarantees extra damage. This is a classic vampire melting combo (Undead have disadvantage on the saves), and with Strahd will either burn his Legendary Resistances or destroy him pretty soundly if you've already eaten through them. However, be careful pulling this stunt, as it's also a good way to guarantee a Strahd that survives the assault solo targets you until you're dead. If you have access to spells like Wall of Force or Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, they might be worth pulling out on yourself as soon as you're forced to drop the spell or get near death. Stall for time and your party will eventually draw aggro. Furthermore, expect to only get away with this combo once. Any DM worth their weight in salt would give Strahd a way to at least somewhat lessen the impact of the spell, so you should save it (Along any other major advantages against him that he doesn't know about) until you absolutely need it, ideally the final fight wherein your party plans to defeat Strahd for good.

also think of using tangerine dream for backdrop music its generally planetarium Rubycon is good for horror

Thank you! This is my first time running CoS and I've been trying to think of more things to do because some of my party min max hard and I've been afraid that Strahd would just be a blow over

great advice, I feel better about DMing for the first time now, wish me luck :P

great stuff, many thanks for the tips!

thank you soo much this was causing me so much stress

For my players i had each of them somehow attacked by members of strahd's faction either directly or indirectly such as kidnapping someone close to them or turning others to vampires and so on. Then when they escaped via hte mists the party members got caught in it and found eachother in a vistai caravan.

Hi and thanks for another great video. Will you be writing up the third gem side-adventure för DMs Guild?

What if say the 3rd gem was used for the heart of sorrows

Rip for madame Eva- I made the tarokka reading a cloud reading! With a free group if people like the Vistani, clouds make more sense and you don't have to worry about cards

Thank you so much for this video. I just got the book and this will be my first time DMing a game °u° im open to all the help and advice I can get lol

Concerning the Tarokka Deck -- unless the players have memorized all the cards themselves, they should not know what each card stands for. When they shuffle the cards, take them and place them on the table in full view. When you later pick cards, you can ignore what they are written as, and choose to give the cards a new explanation. The Characters don't know the difference, they shouldn't be able to say the 4 of Swords represents anything other than what the illustration shows. You're the DM, make it up. Or maybe you feel more comfortable reading from your notes. Either way, remember to pair up the old cards with their new definitions, in case somebody asks about it later. I know in the Tarot deck that how the illustration is presented (upside down or inverted) makes a difference in the fortune telling, maybe you want to incorporate that aspect. just a thought.

Awesome video. Only criticism is be mindful of your lip smacking. I had to go back and relisten to parts because it was all I could focus on. Not an attack, just a suggestion. Again, nice video!

Philip Glass! Great choice. I also suggest picking through the Only Lover's Left Alive OST. Perfect fit! Edit: No One: Here's my CoS playlist. kzfaq.info/sun/PL19tDugpJRL-kl3EvgsWUgzNTN-tbeFNQ

You could always throw in alittle of the personality of "the great evil one" from timebandits and have some dark humor and interesting diolage for strahd von zoravich. Have him play the shitty neighbor and have him be the quest giver under dire duress you must invade stitcher enclave and bust it up.

I want to play as a player in your next curse of strahd game! Let me know when u might run one!

Great advice! Thanks!

Great video sir, earned my subscription!

Any suggestions about where to find books without paying crazy prices? Edit the fact that a month later i have not received a single response speaks volumes about the sudden commercialism of what was once a relatively inexpensive hobby.

Here is a playlist I've made for Ravenloft: kzfaq.info/sun/PLDFpsj3ULMb3ZrEM8O1NBd-FTNTxQxdMI This is by no means complete, but you can have a look at it and give feedback.

Thanks for all the Cool tips! But a question for the Card Reading: What is the best way to Guide your players to the artifacts? The book gives the vague descriptions, but i don't see how they would find them as they are in well and strange hidden places?

Would you recommend doing the card reading before the beginning the adventure infront of the party so they have some guidance?

Hello i was wondering where the link for the playlist is. I enjoyed all the recommendations but i want to pad out my playlist to just have more than 30 minutes worth of music. You got a sub and thanks in advance.

Thanks for the tips! it will be useful. would you have a list of the music mentioned in your video?