My idea for Vasilka kind of combines what we see in Curse of Strahd with what we see in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft-specifically that, if someone with enough skill tries to make a Flesh Golem, they instead make a Reborn. Doctor Viktra Mordenheim is one of these people, and she’s just a human; if the Abbot, a LITERAL DEVA OF THE MORNINGLORD, can’t do it, I can’t see how she would be able to. With that said, I like to make Vasilka a Reborn. She’s fully sentient, but still naive as she’s never been outside of the Abbey. Just like you said, she’s been perfectly trained in etiquette, manners, fine dining, and small talk-she’s practically a noblewoman. I like to also add that, just the day before the party meets her, Vasilka was talking to Esmeralda, and finally learned what a horrible person Strahd is. When the party first sees her, she’s having a total existential crisis, she no longer trusts the Abbot, and she clings onto the first people who promise her that they can get her out of the Abbey. For the sake of simplicity, a Sidekick class, determined by party need, rather than using the Flesh Golem statblock. After all, she’s a Reborn, not a Flesh Golem. Her personality changes a bit depending on which class that is, though. If she’s a Warrior, she feels guilty for liking to spar with some of the Mongrelfolk. She’s always been told to be a lady, but ladies aren’t supposed to fight…right? However, due to her current existential crisis, she’s learning to accept that part of herself. If she’s a Spellcaster, things vary even more upon type: -If she’s a Mage, she’s studied every book in the Abbey’s library, and that’s how she learned her magic. However, she’s always yearned to be able to utilize her brain more, even when she’s always told by the Abbot to be seen and not heard. -If she’s a Healer, she has a strong faith in the Morninglord. She’s heard many tales of the Abbot, but she’s already had her doubts about his methods. You see, she’s actually read the Morninglord holy texts that are in the library, and she’s beginning to realize that what the Abbot does and what the Abbot says are completely in conflict. If the Morninglord preaches kindness and rejection of evil, she wants to truly live up to that. -If she’s a Prodigy, we tie back to her training as a noblewoman. She’s close friends with Clovin, and when the Abbot offhandedly mentioned that some noble ladies like to play music at balls, Vasilka asked Clovin to teach her to play the viol, and she’s actually surpassed him; she’s got a natural talent for the thing, and she doesn’t need to get drunk to play well. In fact, she’s recently learned how to turn this music into magic, leading her to dive even deeper into conversation-we ain’t just talking about small talk now, she’s a generally AMAZING conversationalist. If she’s an Expert, this crisis has been a long time coming, as she’s spent years with a steadily-growing distrust of the Abbot. Vasilka has learned how to sneak around the Abbey without being seen, and is actually less impacted by the discovery of Strahd’s evil than her other iterations-after all, she’s just mad at herself for trusting the Abbot on any matter. She’s a bit more cynical here, but she’s seen kindness in the form of the Mongrelfolk, so she’s not totally untrusting. She likes to play the angel while hiding her secret dangerousness. With all that combined, the Wedding Dress fetch quest actually becomes interesting, as she sweet-talks the Abbot into letting her explore the world with the party as they go get her dress. During this time, the party can learn how horribly sheltered she is-as well as how painfully aware she is of her misshapen upbringing-and she begins to bond with them. Eventually, once they reach the dress, she panics, realizing that she’s staring a marriage to Strahd in the face; she begs the party to just leave the dress and take her with them on their adventures. With all of this in mind, Vasilka can be an EXTREMELY compelling ally, and is actually my favorite character in the book.

Godfrey was my party's fated ally and they've just said their goodbyes to him. It was pretty bittersweet - after defeating Strahd, the party looked outside the castle Ravenloft doors and saw the sun for the first time in weeks. Godfrey walks out, looks up and says he can finally see Vladimir again. He says goodbye and fades away as he walks back towards the gates. Godfrey knew it was finally his time, the party knew but that was okay. He finally could rest with the defeat of Strahd and the beacon re-lit. I played him more like the quiet, wise old warrior that showed his seething hatred for Strahd through battle but I completely agree - he's a very interesting ally for any DM.

Godfrey when he sees Strahd:"LEEROYYY JENKINS!"

Because of a backstory thing with one of my players, I ended up turning Kasimir into a druid/mage, I felt like that made him a bit more interesting

I think it'd be cool to also link Sir Godfrey to the character Alec Gwylim in I, Strahd. Maybe mention him in the Tome of Strahd and really ramp up that desire vengence

Ah, Stella. Though she wasn't my party's fated ally (the cards gave them Ezmerelda), in a weird twist she actually became a PC for a newcomer to our group and to D&D about midway through the game! She started as a Sidekick so the player could get their bearings, and exhibited rogue-like tendencies from her time spent thinking she was a cat. When she joined the party proper after escaping on her own from Wachterhaus, she became a Scout rogue and the party's touchstone for a lot of Barovian history and facts known to the common folk. It's been a ton of fun seeing Stella's character get fleshed out this way, and will make for a cathartic confrontation when the group return to Vallaki and confront Lady Fiona, who has since taken over as burgomaster.

A recommendation I'd like to make to anyone running Curse of Strahd: Recommendation 1: Do EVERYTHING Lunch Break Heroes tells you to. Recommendation 2: I've decided to always give the players the Darklord for the ally. It means, though, that they will be given all of the cards for the ally and can go gather up all of the allies to go defeat Strahd as some sort of army. Whenever they touch a card from the High Deck they will hear the voice of Madam Eva speaking to them, telling them the flavor text from the card. For each card, they will get a different ally (obviously). Enter change three. Recommendation 3: Ismark and Ireena will always be allies. This obviously causes some issues for the Executioner card. Enter change four. Recommendation 4: The Abbot will be the Executioner. The Abbot will only work with them if they can convince him this is the right thing to do. And if you've ever ran the Abbot, you'll know that's not an easy task. Recommendation 5: For the Artifact, you have Rudolph van Richten. For the Beast, you have Zuleika Toranescu. For the Broken One, you have Mordenkainen. For the Donjon, you have Victor Vallakovich. For the Seer, you have Kasimir Velikov. For the Ghost, you have Sir Godfrey Gwilym. For the Executioner, you have the Abbot. For the Horseman, you have Arrigal. For the Innocent, you have Parriwimple. For the Marionette, you have Clovin Belview. For the Mists, you have Ezmerelda d'Avenir. For the Raven, you have Davian Martikov. For the Tempter, you have Vasilka. Trust me when I say that this team can kick butt. It also makes it a lot easier to run with 1 or 2 players. Recommendation 6: If you save Doru, Donavich becomes an ally. If you help Stella Wachter regain her sanity, Stella becomes an ally. If you show kindness to Sir Klutz, he becomes an ally. If the party resurrects Nikolai Wachter, he becomes an ally. If you save Piddlewick II from Strahd and deliver him to Gadof Blinsky, Gadof allows him to help them. Piddlewick II then becomes an ally, and Gadof hangs himself if Piddlewick II dies. If the party saves Arrabelle and kills Luvash without her knowing, she becomes an ally, though likely at the expense of Arrigal as an ally. I hope this helps :)

Always nice to see a vid uploaded, especially for the companions just to help give DM's more ideas with regards to them.

Really finding this series so useful. Thanks so much

i can imagine casting witch bolt on Vasilka and healing her for a d12 every turn like some tf2 medic

the Fated Ally for my party is Vasilka and I'm tying her to Ireena in that I changed the story of, instead of a dead father, it was a mother who was inspired by Mordenkainen the months prior, so she left Ismark in charge and went to Vallaki and Krezk to attempt to rally an army to oppose Strahd for the next time. After failing in Vallaki, she went to Krezk but was attacked by wolves and mortally wounded. She was taken to the Abbot who upon seeing her face thought "she's perfect", so he let her die, removed her face and put it on Vasilka...however my party is still in Vallaki, dealing with Izek and the Baron, so it'll take a while for this plot point. Love the idea about Stella, however, I'mma change it to that Fiona attempted to get Stella into the family business and it drove her mad but Fiona took the opportunity to blame the Vallakovich's

Still waiting for the Mad Mage :D.. He's kinda powerful in our game at the moment, but he's kinda a commander in the empty Argynvostholt atm. While the party runs around gatering info and more allies.

For Stella I would allow the players to train her as they travel, enabling her to take sidekick levels Expert is probably best and is really fitting, seems right up her alley to consistently use the help action.

How does this only have 13k views. This is a good run through. I don't plan to copy 100% per say but it is a good place to start planning

Kasimir was the card I drew for the ally and I’m so excited to see what happens with patrina

So excited whenever I see anything from this channel!

Kasimir: The choice if your DM hates you/wants to lean hard on the 1 set forward, 2 steps back themes of some of the quests Vasilka: Can also get her by getting the control amulet from the Abott. Stealing works but I'm a fan of having the Abbot handing it over to the party. If the party gets him the dress and he believes she is ready for Strahd, it would be simple for him to ask the party to bring her to him if he is unaware of the party's motives. Godfrey: Easily the strongest in the final fight, more than even Morty. Also completely shuts down any further attempts at Strahd's ambushes and impersonations (DM's beware) Stella: Great mascot but expensive, hope your DM gives you an easy potion/scroll to fix her. Maybe Rictavio can hook you up?

Loved this video Steve, super helpful as always!! I'm not sure if you have any control over the CCs (I have to watch videos with subtitles to fully process them), but when talking about the Dusk Elves, the CCs read "desk elves" which made my brain go into a wonderland of Dwight Schrute as a Desk Elf and now I need this NPC XD

Thanks for the suggestion , always Great ideas. My party will run into vasilika next week probably. Lets see how it goes, my party is seeking the Abbey to get healed from a mental disease they acquired earlier in the quest thinking is his a lawfully good high level healer. Lol.. they will be surprised when they finally reach the Abbey.

As written in the book Victor actually used Stella as a 'guinea pig' for his teleportation circle that he tries to fix to get out of Borovia. (At least that is how I remember it and have it seen played in an as written stream.) So similar as you recommended, but not censentual from Stella's part. Great video though! Maybe you can share your thoughts on Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft in a future video?

I now have this weird image of the party bringing Vasi with them so that they can have a proper formal dinner with Fiona so as to get on her good side so as to allow them to meet with Stella and take her along as an ally. (Actually, this might be interesting...if Vasilka isn't the party's ally, then the party might get her to go with them on the same basis, but Strahd might be self-aware enough to pretend to be interested in her to sway her over to his side and obey his orders, such as "punch that player character very hard." Whereas if she was the designated ally, Strahd might by default be unable to conceal his revulsion and rejection, allowing her to stay on her new friends' side.)

I have kassimir as my da for my players. I'm having him help them on the good faith that they will help him get to the amber temple. But more interestingly than that i made him deaf due to his ear injury. Which is very unique from an rp perspective and ironically makes him immune to rahadins deathly choir

My idea for Stella is that she got in an argument with Victor because he mostly ignored her except to complain about things and she was fed up with it. Not necessarily that he was intentionally malicious, but that he was just unpleasant to be around and wasn’t actually in love with her. During the argument, she briefly mentioned that he only seems interested with his cats, which is the part Victor latched onto in the argument. He tried to turn her into a cat in retaliation, but since he did this in the heat of the moment without thinking it through or knowing the proper method to cast such a spell, only her mind became catlike. Victor didn’t know how to fix it, and felt so ashamed that he left her with her mom and avoided the family ever since. Another thing I would mention is that Stella can sort of take care of herself with a cat mind. I’ve noticed a lot of people online portray her as pooping and peeing herself because she’s crazy, but real cats are actually pretty clean. I think her cat mind would adjust to using sponge baths to bathe herself similar to how a cat would lick themselves, and she would also be picky about where she would go to the bathroom in order to avoid the smell. Cats get upset if their litter boxes are dirty and don’t like using the bathroom where they sleep. She would not want to take a regular bath, but I don’t think she’d be too filthy unless you count her nightgown from crawling on the floor. If anything, part of her mother’s frustration with caring for her would be because she constantly wants herself and her environment to be clean, so she might take a sponge bath every time she goes to the bathroom. That’s a lot of times throughout the day that the water bucket would need changing and more soap brought in.

Loving this series thanks

Can't wait to see what you make next after Strands stuff is done :)

Later, you could do a video with some extra allies, where you suggest some options the book does not give to open up our minds a bit more I am loving all this COS videos. You are great at what you do!

Amazing videos! thanks a lot. I'm sure my players are watching some of your videos so I will not share too much of my ideas :D

Love these videos, I never even considered some of these characters Are you going to do a 4th one?

Kasimir is our Ally and we have a Warlock, eldritch Knight, and a wizard already. With 6 PCs, adding another spellcaster is making combat either too easy or too lengthy.

I'm planning on adding a completely new ally to my game: Firan Zal'Honan. I think that should be very interesting since he has personal beef with Strahd, being Azalin and all, and will also be interesting to see how two of my players will interact with him, since they're from Darkon. Any tips for adding such a character into the game?

Personally, I kind of find the Flesh Golems as written in the MM to be uninteresting due to the lack of real roleplaying potential. I would at least change the no talking rule to allow Vasillka to at least be able to communicate. Maybe killing the Abbot has an unexpected result of giving Vasillka the ability to talk and even think for herself. She's still programmed to seek Strahd out but morally righteous players might be able to shape her into realizing the terrible things the Count has been doing and instill in her a sense of duty to bring about his destruction.

Just in time

Vistilka I would play her as a sort of damaged AI smart as a person (roughly) but one nat 1s freezes like she is blue screening for 1d4+1 turns before turning back on waking up on the floor and on 5 or lowers in combat would result in a wasted turn,I say this because I think it would give her a neat mechanic as well as a opportunity for more character to grow I'm thinking as to why she is a broken AI is that flesh golems are supuse to be given simple magic instructions and do this well,but he programed a person with it and is proen to proplems this way

Couldn't you have the Abbot cast Greater Restoration to cure Stella? Also, consider making the Abbot a Radiant Idol (Eberron) to beef him up a bit and give a little extra dark flavor 😈

I love the video. But I was confused. What would become of Visilka when she actually meets Strahd?

Replace Godfrey with Sergei, and get rid of the pool scene in Krezyk.

Correction Elves can trance, but they don't have to elves can dream if they wish many elves who worship gods of dreams choose too.

Te amo alv :v Gracias LBH! Mi pobre inglés no limita tratar de aprender

Vasilka isn't Frankenstein, the Abbot is Frankenstein, she's Frankenstein's Monster. Frankenstein was the doctor.

shit i needed a video on mordekainen here :D but watched the first two anyways

I would personally run Stella as a little less naïve. Tbh, it doesn't look like her mother Fiona is such a nice person, to put it lightly. Sure, Fiona might care for Stella in her own way, but i have the feeling she would be a very domineering mother that cares more for what Stella is supposed to live up to, what her daughter can do for her political position. In the meantime she grows up alongside a pair of spoiled, brattish twins that probably aren't very nice to her either (or ignore her at best). I wouldn't consider hers such a safe home environment; insulated yes but not in an entirely positive way. I'll have Stella be kind at heart but rather more guarded and cunning than she might seem. Channeling some good-hearted Margeary Tyrell, perhaps? It would set her off more against some other female characters like Ireena (who in my game I expect to run a bit more on the melancholy if determined side), and Ezmeralda who is just a straight-up combat badass. :D Stella is aware enough, perhaps not of the harsh realities of Barovian wilderness or of the lives of the common folk, but certainly would be wary of her mother's manipulations and aristocratic powergames. She does have a strong spirit and tries to cheer others up though. I think I might also make her a bit of a bard: she has read more than a few novels, and has been taught ettiquette, some political savvy and even to perform a bit of music as noble ladies often could. This might be a nice alternative for parties that are lacking a bit in the bardic/charisma department, and give her some more unique features than just the 'sweet innocent damsel that has been rescued'. But to each his own! I think it depends on the needs of your game and your preferred flavour. :)

is it just me or do each of these companions seem like they are trying to be one of the classes? she seems like a rogue, paddawick is like a bard, the Vasilka is a barbarian, ect. Is there an artificer companion?

Really finding this series so useful. Thanks so much