Van Richten's Lonely Tower | Running Curse of Strahd 5e

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Күн бұрын

Expand Van Richten's Tower with cool stuff! In this guide, we'll transform those empty spaces into something meaningful, and eliminate confusion around the tower's original owner, Khazan!
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As written, the area of Van Richten's Tower is very empty. It's a four-storey tower where half of the floors are bare of anything interesting. We're taking this opportunity to fill out the tower with interesting elements. In addition, Ezmerelda's presence within the tower will be made more apparent, along with clues to her activities within Barovia!

Пікірлер: 152

@bassett_green 3 жыл бұрын

"Strahd never trained a tiger to commit a hate crime" might be the best line in the series so far

@Il_Grande_Mur Жыл бұрын

I totally erased the tiger from the campaign. A sabertooth really stay calm and fed only by a small steak for so many days? A bard of that level need a tiger to get the job done?

@TheBombanater 2 жыл бұрын

So I used Buster in my game and my party has unanimously voted to adopt him and our artificer has vowed to create him a body

@Barquevious_Jackson 2 жыл бұрын

2:32 - "Xathanders name is above the front doors electric boogaloo trap." Because the trap deals electric damage, and involves the wildly movement of your arms (like your dancing a) it really is a Electric Boogaloo.

@jamesward9499 3 жыл бұрын

Moral dilemma was my theme for running CoS. I kept giving the players murky moral choices throughout the adventure so I loved playing Van Richten as a semi-villain. I wanted the characters to ask, "should we team up with Stalin to defeat Hitler?"

@jorrellds6520 3 жыл бұрын

When My Van Richtehn is in disguise I model him after Doctor King Shultz from Django.

@kimguinness5416 3 жыл бұрын

"I just punched my mic, Damn my animated hands."- Lunch Break Heroes. I now have a new discord bio.

@sebastianwillows 3 жыл бұрын

As soon as you mentioned a lich, I kinda just assumed you meant the amber temple one... which totally highlights the problem 😅

@paulcoy9060 2 жыл бұрын

I love the Close Captioning. Exethanter becomes "exit enter". Rahadin becomes "rawhiden". You know, I got arrested for First Degree Rawhiden once in Kansas.

@andyackerman7132 3 жыл бұрын

I personally role play van Richten like old Bruce Wayne from Batman Beyond. Stoic and a bit of a grump. Great video though, one of my groups has this as one of their readings. Very insightful!

@boyrustan5300 2 жыл бұрын

Like many others, after using Buster to lighten things up a bit, one of my players loved him! He convinced the rest of the party to find a way to set him up in the animated armor so he could join the campaign and have a life. Granted, that player is currently a sentient hat and coat directing a soulless body wrapped in bandages.

@LunchBreakHeroes 2 жыл бұрын

Birds of a feather kill vampires together.

@xanderroberson2029 Жыл бұрын

Wow, this was an awesome change and really helped me with my campaign, my artificer/paladin decided he wanted to try to put Buster into the suit of animated armor and i thoughtt that was an amazing idea so now Buster is a permanent part of their party as he trains to be a monk and make the best use out of his newfound body (it also gives him the opportunity to travel with Esmerelda and have him continue to try and court her)

@ddespoth78 3 жыл бұрын

I spit my drink out when "Buster" was the bust's name, too funny! Appreciate your hard work LBH you're making my Curse of Strahd campaign more enjoyable for myself and my players

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Glad I could help!

@williamoconnor9732 2 жыл бұрын

Azalin from I Strahd is also a very good replacement for the Litch. Because he in fact built a tower and then left to become the ruler of a different domain of dread.

@danielvangool1461 Жыл бұрын

Ran this version of the tower this past weekend. The players absolutely LOVED Buster :D they were debating taking him along with them or finding him a body. Unfortunately, since we play only once a month, I trimmed down his "romance" with Ez to be a comedic one sided crush. Who knows, maybe if the players take him with, we can explore that further :) I left out Van Richten's racism because I don't feel comfortable playing that at all, instead going for a brilliant but lonely old monster hunter whose trying to push people out for their own safety. We ended the session with the players finding his journal, so will add an update when we get to it again. Fantastic guide !!

@MassconfusionGaming 3 жыл бұрын

I just played through this part. My party managed to move the cart, and then got 2 party members blasted halfway to hell by curiosly opening the door into it (they lived) Then they touched the door and got zapped, moved away 5 feet (not 10) and eventually got zapped again, once for 13 damage, and another 26. By now they got pissed by the door, climbed the rickety way up, used a immovable rod to secure a rope and let the others use that to climb up. 30 minutes later, the werewolf pack that got drawn by the explotion noise arrived while they where in relative safety in the tower and avoided them at the top. This tower is straight up evil, Buster was a fun touch and really charming to my players and gave them a cutesy quest to gather items for Esmeralda ^^. the whole place was a "blast" to say the least.

@thethroneworld 3 жыл бұрын

I kept Van Richten as a terrible person because it makes him an interesting companion character to Strahd. He is now trapped in Barovia exactly as Strahd is because his hatred and thirst for vengeance have darkened his soul. He is vulnerable to accepting a dark gift if it helps him destroy monsters; you can drop some hints about a possible "source of great power" and "a weapon against darkness" on Mt. Ghakis, but also establish a hint of madness (the same doodle over and over, the symbol of a dark power courting Van Richten). I made it so Esmerelda's goal was to redeem Van Richten because she is in love with him. He has strong feelings for her, but also believes that nothing is more important than his mission (in addition to possibly being cursed). Developing their relationship into a sort of doomed romance again mirrors Strahd's and makes both characters more interesting.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

I really like the symmetry that you introduced there with Van Richten/Ez and Strahd/Tatyana!

@erick1255 3 жыл бұрын

Really? I never thought Richten was racist. I just thought Richten's curse/darkness made sense because of his backstory. He is so consumed by his hatred, and loss that all he wants now is revenge against Strahd and all those who would support him.(Vistani)

@danielfloresdevalgaz4576 3 жыл бұрын

@@erick1255 That is definitely how its framed in the book but the problem with that is that the Vistani aren't just a small tribe of people in Barovia. They're a very large culture as depicted in previous editions, and even now in 5e with what's written about them in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Practically every Vistani in the book serves Strahd, sure, but Van Richten doesn't take a problem with the Vistani that serve Strahd, he takes a problem with every Vistani. His description reads "After destroying Baron Metus in turn, van Richten sought revenge against the Vistani and took up a life of hunting evil monsters." Which (A) implies Vistani are equivalent evil monsters, and (B) doesn't differentiate from good vistani from evil Vistani. Fighting the latter is slightly more reasonable because the Vistani have special powers to travel through the domains of dread so someone could do a lot of harm with very little consequence but its still pretty messed up to specifically target one ethnicity/culture of people and train a tiger specifically to recognize their clothes so it can attack them on sight. I mean, it's not like evil people where clothes that state "look at me, I'm evil." Furthermore, Ezmerelda's description states this of Van Richten "But because van Richten could never bring himself to fully trust a Vistana, he kept secrets from her. The two vampire hunters got on each other's nerves, and their arguments became more frequent. At last, Ezmerelda suggested that they part company with some shred of their friendship still intact, and van Richten agreed." Ezmerelda does not serve Strahd. She doesn't serve any evil, and the only time it could be argued she did, she was a minor and it was her family dragging her into their crap. He still harbors an inability to trust her, because she's a Vistana. Not because she's evil, but just because she's a Vistana.

@darksev.6468 Жыл бұрын

@@danielfloresdevalgaz4576 Also it's fucked up because in older editions, his hatred for the Vistani was framed as wrong and flawed, and he eventually grows to regret his actions towards them.

@TriptuneRadio 3 жыл бұрын

Van Richten's tower is my favorite place for the Tome of Strahd. It would make sense Van Richten would have gained Knowledge over his enemy, and the tome represents that perfectly. It makes sense for him to have a fortune of ravenloft, but it wouldn't make sense for rictavio to have such an item

@jordancoller 3 жыл бұрын

This is why I’m a patreon, my campaign is so much more fun now, with less loose ends. The LBH community are lovely!

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad we could help, Jordan!

@maxvandalfsen8273 3 жыл бұрын

My players got Von Richten in their reading from Madam Eva. I played him more like Doc Brown from Back to the Future as a genius who is also very chaotic and a bit of a klutz. I also toned down the racism a whole lot

@IdiotinGlans 3 жыл бұрын

Between Van Richten and Mordekainen there are things in Barovia scarier than death

@lamardavis688 3 жыл бұрын

I know I’m late but I implemented buster and it has got to be my favorite thing currently in the game I’ve been running. The distinction between Rudolph’s harsh and realistic worldview vs busters romantic idealism. I enjoyed him so much I suggested the bard put him in the animated suit of armor, and he did it! Buster is leaving the confines of the tower for adventure and love (ezmerelda)

@boyrustan5300 2 жыл бұрын

Just ran a group through this, and one of my players came up with that on their own; the party loved it!

@calebfasnacht8698 3 жыл бұрын

I can't believe that both I and LBH had the same idea to combine both liches. I'm so happy.

@hollyabair 3 жыл бұрын

Yup. Still adore Buster. Great video!!

@12valvelove 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you again for these CoS videos. It has literally saved my running of the campaign so far.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Glad we could help!

@sirfitzner 3 жыл бұрын

I love your input in all of your Strahd videos. The party I DM came to the tower quite early and triggered to blue dragon. Since I didn't want to TPK them, the dragon demanded all of their treasure. After given the majority of their treasure they ran away. When they looked over their shoulder, the dragon, and their gold, was gone.

@andersschmich8600 3 жыл бұрын

"Do good attitude of most adventuring parties", yeah, I don't think that will be a problem with my group. In all seriousness though, thanks so much for another amazing guide.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

You're quite welcome! And by all means, go ahead and ride that murder tiger into battle.

@andersschmich8600 3 жыл бұрын

@@LunchBreakHeroes Thanks! I'm probably going to run him more as a "noble bigot" than a genocidal maniac.

@billp6602 3 жыл бұрын

Oh wow, never been this early. Halfway through running Death House last night. Love this channel, been a great resource while ramping up to run Barovia

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Glad we could help!

@roflcopterprods 3 жыл бұрын

Just getting around to watching this. My players have Esmerelda as their Tarroka companion and happened to get her as a random encounter in Castle Ravenloft before they ever got to the tower. One of my players, the bard of course, is absolutely smitten with Esmerelda and has voiced her intention to romance her. I am absolutely looking forward to throwing Buster out for this PC to encounter. Whatever happens, I am sure, will be hilarious

@blackbird6044 3 жыл бұрын

Was waiting for this! Thank you man

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

No problem!

@Nethar6 3 жыл бұрын

I too thought that Two Liches was too much, however, I solved that by changing the history of the Wizard who build Castle Ravenloft and the tower. In the Advanterue as is he became a Lich and later failed to become a Demi Lich leaving only his Staff in the Crypt for him under Ravenloft. In my game, he tried to become a Liche like the one in the Amber Temple, possibly because of encountering him and or learning about Lichdome from the Lore kept there. However, he never got that far, his ritual failed and his remains and items were entombed under Ravenloft. Such I revmoved the redundant Lich without having to change the relationship between Strahd and the Lich at the Temple.

@joshuaschleich6277 3 жыл бұрын

Literally had that exact thought before seeing your comment.

@theeye8276 3 жыл бұрын

This doesn't sound like a bad idea 🤔 I am tempted to give exanter more screen presence my merging him with Khazan tho

@cillacowz2668 Жыл бұрын

Honestly the idea of using Van Richten as an antagonist may work very well for my campaign, given my players wanna save and help everyone, and maybe even redeem Strahd, I wonder if he may end up becoming antagonistic towards the players

@SoundSherp 3 жыл бұрын

The single dislike on this video is probably Khazan.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

He's just jealous that he got cancelled.

@tristinyaeger9222 Жыл бұрын

I'm here from the future. There are no dislikes so the video must be perfect.

@sebastiancollins01 3 жыл бұрын

In my current run of the game the goal is not to kill Strahd but top save all of the trapped souls in the demiplane. An aged Van Richten who has a simulacrum as well as a clone running around gathering information and running interference. He is the patron of the party and is the one who brought them to Barovia. My Strahd is have the time if his unlife watching Van Richten struggle to undermine his demiplane before he destroys Van Richten. Old Rudolph there has killed Strahd in his youth and realizes the futility of trying to stop Strahd. The tower became the partys base.

@sebastiancollins01 3 жыл бұрын

@Natasel It's something to that effect, yeah. In the end, he wants to steal steal away every soul and then drive the Vistani away, not kill them. Better he thinks for the Vistani to curse Stands name than to steal away those souls from the dead lord. Richten wants to strand Strahd alone with the Dark Powers. He wants little more than Strahd to have nothing left to bargain with but a kingdom of dirt. My Richten doesn't hate the Vistani nor the Mongrel Folk. That hatred has faded with time and mercy. The spirits trapped in the demiplane weigh heavily on his soul. It motivates him, spurring him on to several plunges into the demiplane with parties. Sometimes they succeeds and rescue souls but much, much more often they die and Richten is allowed to escape to try again. My Abbot was not sent by the Heavenly Orders but was an assimar who once walked into Barovia with Richten but was tainted by the plane. It's the same with the Knights of Argonvasthold. Those who remain within the hold are the souls of powerful Paladins and Clerics who died in Richtens crusade but their unfinished business kept them more or less whole. This is why people know his tower as Richtens Tower. He's a tale told in hushed voices, a ray of hope in that place of Dread. Strahd finds amusement in this sick game the two play but he knows Richtens age will soon catch up to him. Before that happens Strahd hopes to corrupt Ricten so that when he dies he might deal with the Dark Powers, possibly even becoming his Heir. I could go on and on. You know how it is.

@sebastiancollins01 3 жыл бұрын

@Natasel I should mention by the way that this is Richtens last time doing this. There's only 100 souls left in play still (not including the PCs) and they are littered about the the factions - werewolves, vistani, druids, the abbot, the Revenants and the most important two - Irina and Serge, among othersi. A considerable part of the challenge is not only finding these souls but actually escaping with them. Convincing the NPCs to go with the party, dealing with powers to collect them or outright killing the vessels to actually steal the souls are all options. I don't expect the PCs to get them all. Happy endings are nearly impossible to find in Curse of Strahd.

@judojord 3 жыл бұрын

I just ran this part with help from your guide. My players absolutely loved Buster. Keep up the great work.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@MatthewCampbell765 3 жыл бұрын

For what it's worth, I'd argue if you are playing him as antagonistic, trying to combine the mentor with the bigot makes sense. Have him appear to be a mentor figure and act kindly to the player, then have him casually mention his evil intentions towards Vistani and be surprised, even offended, if anyone takes issue towards it.

@WhataDumbName 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I asked about making Van Richtens Tower better a couple months ago so im really glad you covered it. It definitely needed the touch up.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

It definitely did! If you haven't run it yet, lemme know how it goes!

@tassaron Жыл бұрын

I mixed up Khavan and Khazan as the DM trying to run this module 😅 Once I realized, I decided to just delete Khazan and use Exethanter for both roles, just as you suggested

@GreenDM 3 жыл бұрын

Great video! Helped sparked my own ideas for filling out this REALLY bare location. Putting the tomb of Strahd here for a good reason for coming here. But it's the Tomb of Sergei in my game.

@alexvignolo7798 Жыл бұрын

Well done dude. You consistently provide answers where the book falls shorts. I’ve been through several channels that cover CoS and yours is my favorite. Subbed!

@LunchBreakHeroes Жыл бұрын

Happy to help!

@wh3nderson95 3 жыл бұрын

For my campaign, I decided that Van Richton's Tower is the only place where the players could find Winter Protective Clothing for the trek to the Amber Temple. To which Esmeralda brought the party to the tower, and Van Richton was pissed when he was going to the Amber Temple and he arrives as the players are leaving with several layers of Dire Wolf pelts poorly stitched together.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

That's fantastic!

@moonman2423 3 жыл бұрын

This is a great series of videos. I’ve just finished reading through the book for the first time and these videos address almost every question I’ve had going through the book so far. Great work my guy.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@Dantevesalius 3 жыл бұрын

I don't know if this has been addressed, but on the no hate crime thing...strahd performed active genocide on the disk elves

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Oh I never said he had never committed hate crimes. Just that he never trained a tiger to do it for him!

@Dantevesalius 3 жыл бұрын

Hehehe, trained a Rahadin instead. Man, that dude is the creepiest.

@robertmcginty4146 Жыл бұрын

Just came to say that in my second campaign, I introduced Buster and they completed his quest yesterday. The Bard remembered to save one bottle of wine when they did the Winery, and after doing Lady Vallokovich a solid, he asked if he could take a book of poetry from the library and if she happened to have any flowers. I had Van Richten in the tower when they returned. He demanded to know how they moved the armor and to hand it over. An Indimidation solved that. They left with the telescope, sextant, and Armor in tow and are now at the Amber Temple. I was really disappointed in my first campaign that left Exethanter as a huge dead end, the party had no way to restore him. The group found him but just had an awkward conversation. My current group now knows his name and has his personal effects.

@LunchBreakHeroes Жыл бұрын

Keep me posted!

@robertmcginty4146 Жыл бұрын

@@LunchBreakHeroes Finished the Amber Temple tonight. This really paid off nicely. They already guessed his name...( I dropped a hint way back at level 3 when they were still in Lost Mine, it was scribbled on the Wraith's map with sketch of Tsolenka Pass.) He said that name sounds familiar. The Bard produced his sextant and telescope, and it all came flooding back. After they restored his body, he was the perfect host. He left the Wizard to copy spells in the library, and then did the tour, cracked a few jokes, encouraged them to take more dark gifts. They did a total of 5. Thanks again for the ideas!

@pauual Жыл бұрын

You're making my Strahd campaign absolutely epic!!! My players are loving it!

@wesmaass4669 3 жыл бұрын

Love Buster, great idea.

@ayoutubewatcher2849 Жыл бұрын

I think the way I'll play Richten is that of a man jaded from years of monster hunting, constantly watching friends and allies die, the horrific fate of his son & wife, and the dark actions he's taken when his emotions or survival instincts have taken over. I'd portray him as someone who at his core is good, but has been through so much crap that his core is covered in bitterness and anger. He's like a diamond covered in mud & blood. I'd probably take his killing of the caravan like an Anakin with the sand people moment. I really like a part of his wiki where it talks about him potentially ending his curse by going to the site of the caravan and Richten & Ezmerelda admitting and apologizing for the actions of each side.

@paulcoy9060 3 жыл бұрын

7:40 Buster's ideal mate should be a Medusa.

@JaeOnasi 3 жыл бұрын

I'm going to name Buster "Bob" in honor of Bob in the Dresden Files. :D

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Friggin’ Bob.

@singularrookhart7501 3 жыл бұрын

Just wanted to say that this is the video that convinced me to become a patron. These videos alternate between insightful, instructive, encouraging and entertaining at a time that I need all of that most. It's funny you should mention Dr. Lechter in reference to VanRichten. I am actually turning to Mads Mikkelsen's portrayal of Lechter as a heavy inspiration for *Strahd*. I won't risk spoiling the show "Hannibal" for any that have not seen it, but suffice to say: there is a lot there to work with. Additionally, building off the suggestion of a Lechter-inspired VanRichten... I could use Anthony Hopkins' portrayal as a template for VanRichten and tie in an homage to Hopkins as VanHelsing in "Bram Stoker's Dracula", as a bonus. And as for Buster, I don't know whether to lean into the idea of him being voiced by Tony Hale or not. "Hey, adventurers..."

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your support! I have yet to watch Mikkelsen's turn as Lechter, but I imagine it's brilliant.

@onurb8552 2 жыл бұрын

This is absolutely brilliant

@dezopenguin9649 3 жыл бұрын

Ezmeralda D'Avenir. Badass. Heroic. Never to be allowed to name things. (At least "Buster" was a genuine laugh and he's honestly kind of adorable, unlike the "Shazam!" joke from I6 that you're excising from the module here. Khazan was up there with St. Finderway. I mean, okay, Strahd's 500 years old so he's entitled to a few dad jokes, but still...) Also, I had genuinely forgotten that the tiger is literally trained to attack Vistani on sight, so I went and reread the bit about it in the module and, good grief! Rictavo's own NPC entry is more ambivalent on the issue, but geez, when the attack cat has its own shredded Blinsky training dummy just so it can use an ethnic clothing style as an attack trigger, we're dealing with straight-up Van Richten Hate Crimes. (...I'm now imagining V.R. meeting the party because Ezmeralda was attacked by the tiger and the party had to help out. Not exactly the family reunion she was hoping for...)

@HowtoRPG 3 жыл бұрын

Always fun to watch and listen to your perspective on the adventure.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@MatthewCampbell765 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm gonna drop the racism angle for a few reasons. One is, well, you point it out. Another is that Vistani are slightly less antagonistic in my version of the setting anyways (they're actually slightly more-trustworthy than the average Barovian...which is admittedly not saying much). My goal is to have him be one of three mentor figures they can ally with, alongside a Witch who wants to bring back the Druidic system, an artificial superintelligence inside a Barrier-Peaks like spacecraft who wants to 'uplift' Barovia. He represents the sort of balance between the Chaotic Witch and the Lawful AI.

@TheBooban 3 жыл бұрын

Why would the wagon just stand there in the open unguarded? Even if it's trapped, Van Richten wouldn't want his stuff to blow up. Why would anyone use a bomb as a trap?

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

What, ADT didn't offer you the "fatal explosion" alarm package?

@iambecomejeff 3 жыл бұрын

Used this tower as a “base of operations” for all of 2 hours before the vengeance Paladin tried to kill Van Richten (I may have hinted he’s the one that killed her father) and he kicked everyone out and armed all his traps

@MatthewCampbell765 3 жыл бұрын

An idea I had, if you do want to have Van be racist but not an antagonist, is have it so he used to be a lot worse until he met Esmeralda. He’s still racist through force of habit, but he’s trying to turn a new leaf. This would manifest itself by him, say, being quick to assume a Vistani is up to no good or punish them more harshly for transgressions. If his bias is pointed out to him, he’ll either try to argue he’s not doing it because of their race or he’ll feel shame and apologize if he can’t easily deny it.

@charlesthivierge4375 9 ай бұрын

I made Van Richten à Artificer + Cleric, add-up alot of logic and fun to him

@thegingergod3122 3 жыл бұрын

I had my players find a Ring of Mind Shielding that possessed Khazan's soul, and he worked as a guide for them in exchange for helping to resurrect him. Turns out it was actually the soul of a blue dragolich (Gravedigger) who tried to kill them

@paulcoy9060 3 жыл бұрын

"This Sunday! Sunday!! SUNDAY!!! See Gravedigger take on a whole party of Clerics! Special Appearance by the fire-breathing Robosaurus!!"

@TheRepublic4 3 жыл бұрын

Ah happy to hear about this one, keep up the good work.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, will do!

@MegaRolotron 3 жыл бұрын

This is so awesome. Well done!

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you think so!

@MegaRolotron 3 жыл бұрын

Lunch Break Heroes what’s your take on some of the other module elements, such as the dragon, the werewolf encounter, the severed vistana head?

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

There’s no dragon in this chapter, and I was totally fine with the other elements.

@MegaRolotron 3 жыл бұрын

Lunch Break Heroes Ok, cool. There is a young blue dragon that is summoned if you do something, i forget what it was. I typically don’t use it, as it seems out of place.

@davidtucker9498 3 жыл бұрын

Exethander, the Wizard formerly known as Kazan. Don't deadname him.

@MarshmallowMadnesss Жыл бұрын

I assumed the writers hoped DMs would homebrew Khazan into Azalin.

@Reverendshot777 Жыл бұрын

We stumbled upon this tower without realizing it was Van Richten and accidentally killed him and his tiger. So our necromancer reanimated it and the rogue took it for a pet. Was a good time.

@donnielp3 3 жыл бұрын

You had a lot to say about him. Well now he has a lot to say about it. How excited are you about the new guide?

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Stoked! Hopefully it results in a lot of new content.

@parkerbrantley4356 3 жыл бұрын

I make him distrustful of the vistani. I think at least that’s reasonable considering his backstory. In my game he thinks they all work for strahd to one degree or another (minus Esmerelda) and should be avoided at all costs. I also didn’t have his tiger trained to kill or smell out vistani bc that is definitely a hate crime.

@krispalermo8133 3 жыл бұрын

I have the Van Richten Guides printed back in AD&D, and the good doctor never had a tiger.

@rutilusovis 3 жыл бұрын

I absolutely adore Buster. He fits perfectly with my characterizations for Van Richten and Ezmeralda. Van Richten is my players' ally and I made him intentionally unlikable. My van Richten is a rude, racist (though not genocidal), alcoholic who the players HAVE to deal with whether they like it or not. He is a bit of a Sherlock Holmes type. His alcoholism and belief that he is better than the players get them into trouble pretty frequently, but his expertise against monsters is undeniable. His only true redeeming quality is his love of his adoptive daughter "Ezme" who he only abandoned in order to save from his Vistani curse.

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

Love it!

@Hewhowantstoknow 3 ай бұрын

I like the Buster idea but I went with a different take and instead went with Khazan being a Brain in a jar and actually, had a lot of fun with him. His skull is now a mindless Demilich in the Amber Temple and the rest of his body is in his crypt in Ravenloft. Now Khazan is a brain in a jar without a body, because of that he can't speak anymore, he wants to use the Animated Armor as a replacement body but he needs someone to speak the command word, his name, for it. Van Richten figured this out and his ring of Mind Shielding protects him from Khazan's mental intrusion. Since my players figured out Rictavio's identity back in Vallaki due to shenanigans they allied themselves with him and when Fiona Wachter took over Vallaki they retreated to Khazan's tower. When they arrived Van Richten warned them not to use the name written above the doorway while inside. I'm actually having a lot of fun with this crazy old mage "Newcomers, welcome to my humble abode. I hope you're less boring than that old herbalist van Richten" "I asked for immortality and I lost my head" Stealing inspiration from I,Strahd. I put the Tome of Strahd in Khazan's tower. Van Richten having taken it during the failed uprising a few months ago. In my version both Strahd and Khazan were students of Exethanter at Scholomance in prime Barovia/Borca/Borija During the game this is explained in my own heavily modified version of the Interactive Tome of Strahd

@wesmaass4669 3 жыл бұрын

Combining both Lich's great, love buster...

@LunchBreakHeroes 3 жыл бұрын

LONG LIVE BUSTER!

@akinoha4077 Жыл бұрын

I love everything about your Curse of Strahd series! ☺️ The added lore, the fixed encounters, the details - That's all I've ever wanted! 🤗 I will DM this campaign for the first time very soon and have only three players to play this very deadly campaign 😅 all those changes will benefit their level of enjoyment greatly 📔

@lanestonesvlogs 3 ай бұрын

I kept the racism in so when he helped disguised as the puppeteer, he would always scoff because one of my party members is a Half-Orc and the rest are humans

@erickvanpatten673 3 жыл бұрын

Niceee my players are about to reach there!

@PeglegSmitty 3 жыл бұрын

Anyone have any advice on the puzzle to unlock the door to the tower? Unfortunately, me and my players use Roll20 without video, so having someone stand up and dance for admittance doesn't really work for us.

@kneerap87 3 жыл бұрын

Look up Mandymod's write up on Van richten's tower. She has some alternate puzzles for online players

@PeglegSmitty 3 жыл бұрын

@@kneerap87 Appreciate the suggestion. I've been using a lot of Mandymod's content, but was just wondering if anyone else had another puzzle they used or were planning on using.

@ahmedwali1631 Жыл бұрын

i don't think you know it but Khazan and the lightnings are a reference to Shazam and the word of power been his name is to match the reference

@Princeps414 4 ай бұрын

I think the reason Van Richten's tower is so empty is because it's more of a hub or safe haven for the players. Maybe I'm wrong, just a thought though

@davidlewis5312 2 жыл бұрын

a more malignant VR can be a great tool if the Dark Powers need to kill Ireena to keep her from Strahd... but once again this features him more as anatagonist to the party than help. Though I do like the idea of a good VR (dropping the racism) still being grating, perhaps referring to the party as his assistants from time to time. Making it clear that in his mind, he's the hero, not the players. Could make it interesting when Strahd Obi-Wan's his ass later in the castle.

@Il_Grande_Mur Жыл бұрын

Am i wrong or the tower has a part of the wall crumbled so anyone can enter from there, instaead of hacking the magic trap at the door?

@LunchBreakHeroes Жыл бұрын

Totally correct. Third floor if I recall

@ReYzEr29 3 жыл бұрын

Just.in.time.

@titanemp 3 жыл бұрын

I'm surprised you didn't name the armor. Ravina

@plagueofjoe 3 жыл бұрын

...I like Van Richten

@collinlowder968 3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad someone else brought up Van Richten's racism issue. It's one thing to feel distrustful of Vistani after what happened with his son but when you add in how he sent zombies made by Azalin (of all people) to wipe out an entire camp and trained his tiger to hunt Vistani, it makes him look evil rather than vengeful. I had him dialed down in my campaign to still be heart-broken about the loss of his son but begs the party to steer clear of the Vistani because they are agents of Strahd. I nearly considered a quest idea to having the party help him finally have closure of his tragic past but he wasn't the Strahd's Enemy card (that was Sir Godfrey) so I just kept him as an ally for research or recon purposes.

@johnisaacfelipe6357 3 жыл бұрын

He's completely embroiled in his vengence against strahd and thus considers anyone who aligns with strahd as evil as the vampire.

@pallenda 2 жыл бұрын

I like creative ideas, and the module have many interesting settings. Personally it's difficult for me to buy into really creative stuff like Buster. I start to focus too much on realism. Like how would a bust with no hands read book spread about in a room? How would they turn the pages, and bring the books into reading distance. It's my biggest problem DMing, next to running NPCs. I overthink stuff. Like the control word for the horse on the wagon and the armor. There is no mentioning in the module on how the players might figure it out. Sorry to be a bit moody. I really do love your channel, I think I am just tired of WoTC modules being all flavour and not adding very specific examples of how to handle certain situations.

@solahaze8948 3 жыл бұрын

8:51 you mean... as a "constellation"?

@LazerWulf 3 жыл бұрын

Your Van Richten sounds a bit like Jason Statham

@noyados 3 жыл бұрын

Van Rickten was a hunter that killed monsters in the original versions of Ravenloft. I have no idea where this weird racist stuff comes from. He was the Van Helsing of Ravenloft. Sounds like the current edition is a massive disappointment. Plus he shouldn't even be living in Barovia. His home was in Mordent if I remember correctly.

@johnsawyer6267 3 жыл бұрын

I love your videos but I disagree Van Richten is worse than strahd. Strahd did that thing to the dusk elves for example and is constantly toying with the people of his land for centuries, no?

@stephenclements6158 3 жыл бұрын

Agreed, he's not as bad as Strahd. Sure, Van Richten wants to murder the Vistani, but he has a deeply personal reason for it (they sold his son as food to a vampire), so it's not some wild-eyed, unfounded racism like the Nazis have. The Vistani by and large justify his beef with them, too, even in this book. Is he trying to take it too far? Yes. The fight between Van Richten and the Vistani is like watching shoot outs in mobster movies: neither side is "good", we're just here to watch the drama unfold. It is fitting to have even the "hero" mentor in Ravenloft have darkness in his heart.

@maxmusterspace6037 2 жыл бұрын

I never saw RVR as racist per say. He is rather on a revenge trip. Not better - but different angle.

@weinstocksart6155 Жыл бұрын

I'll be playing Van Richten as written. it's up to my players to decided if he is someone they want to deal with. I'm not shying from any of the themes in a horror game. i mean it's horror. The real world can be ugly as it is. People actually expect a horror setting to be clean? Without these real world themes? Could be interesting as half my group are people of color and he is their fated ally im also part Jewish and this doesn't bother me. I feel like avoiding topics like this isn't helpful. But to each his own. im sure many feel different.

@Nexsusthepro 3 жыл бұрын

I thought it was pronounced vHaHn not Van

@adampender2482 3 жыл бұрын

You have to remember that the Vistani were part of the reason of his sons death

@krispalermo8133 3 жыл бұрын

Good .. God .. ! What is with " 5e " ruining AD&D2e, Van Richten character ?!

@nadezhdaposlednaya6526 Жыл бұрын

You know, you have another archmage (not a lich, but still) sitting in the valley of Barovia in times castle Ravenloft has been constructed? The one everyone skips and not interested in for the way how boring she is told about. I'm talking about Patrina Velikovna. The refugee elf-girl, who has to live with Vistana with her brother Kasimir (probably older brother, as he has decided to become Velikovs for him and his sister). The girl who has somehow managed to become an archmage without leaving a trace in the history of Barovia … other than to be willing to become a Strahd bride and be stoned to death for this. In my campaign i’ve changed the story of Patrina to be mighty elf mage, who have tried to save elves by transporting them into another dimension from king Barov armies and after failing to do so (bad timing) using the secret of Amber Temple to actually lure the Barov heir (Strahd) into making a deal with dark god, potentially dooming him for all the eternity for what humans have done to dusk elves. She wouldn't do so if she knew the dark powers will claim not only Strahd but all the Barovian elves as well, and she herself will be killed by her own brother and doomed to suffer as a banshee for centuries (or more). Using her as written you should probably change her statistics for mage, as we (and players) have no evidence for her to be an archmage.

@szrene99 2 жыл бұрын

I didnt care much for Van Richten from the get go, so I'm fine with him being an unhelpful racist jerk. Anything uswful that he might do can be done by Esmarelda

@misterdad490 6 ай бұрын

Vistani / Romani aren't a race.....

@john-lenin 3 жыл бұрын

Way too Disney.

@adampender2482 3 жыл бұрын

Making Van Richten an antagonist is WotC spitting on 2e. Richten is NOT a bad guy in Ravenloft quite the opposite really. The creator of Van Richten wrote some of the best accessories for Ravenloft. I would not rank CoS very highly. Typical 5e crap.

@j.worthy1256 3 жыл бұрын

It's really sad this is the lowest comment. OSR

@Crogon 2 жыл бұрын

Wow dude, KZfaq apparently deleted my comment 5 seconds after I posted it because I mentioned that I am part G y p s y. I'll try to rehash it.. Van Richten wasn't painted as being an all out racist in the past, and I honestly didn't take CoS to mean that he was. I mean he's partially racist against the Vistani because they kidnapped his son and sold him in to slavery.. but from former versions about Van Richten we know that he is an intellectual. After he found his son, he went out and studied the Vistani and even lived with them and traveled with them for a while. People like that don't train a genocidal tiger to murder an entire race. Since the tiger was trained with Ezmerelda as its friend, and we're told that it will obey Van Richtens commands (and assumedly Ezmereldas as well), I took it to mean that the tiger was intended as an offensive weapon for when Rudolph storms Strahds castle. Also.. the man is HALF-Elf! He can't afford to be TOO too racist. ;) Also also, shockingly, there is a pile of stereotypical racist content in CoS!! At least one of the authors of CoS is at least partially racist. I think that's the major problem, giving Rudolph a racist flavor that just doesn't taste right. WotC decided to use a giant eraser to fix the issues in CoS, but they created more holes than they fixed. Plus, it really irritated me that they are trying to erase the Vistani people. SO... I put my money where my mouth is and produced my own set of 'FIXED Errata'! You can find it here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Jb5-3quRhAyUXETZ3Zq4kng6EiEHSzKJ-YmBYgImcQw/edit#gid=695419742 ...I think that that's everything I said in my original comment before KZfaq deleted it. If anything above comes across as a bit disjointed, that's why. Sorry about that. :/

@roguedeath98 3 жыл бұрын

I just started running CoS about 2 weeks ago, third session is tomorrow, but wanted to thank you for producing this content, super helpful and already adopting a lot of these changes