So, Strahd is Resistant to B, P, and S from non magical sources, and his bite does Necrotic damage that reduces max HP while healing him. I think you may be underestimating him in grapple. Not to mention he can still charm them or have his Children of the night all focus on the grappler. Keep in mind the Strahd has specicically attempted to precharm the party, so it os highly likely that half of them will jump the grappler as soon as they try to start fighting.

Excelente

Currently making a modified Silver Dragonborn [combination of Fizban's with Children of the Dragon homebrew pdf] Beast Barbarian who's been 'possessed' by the spirit of a long dead dragon that reawakens every time he rages. Thanks to the Children of the Dragon homebrew, I'm using what's called a Dreadcaller subrace that grants Powerful Build and effectively a Leonin Roar, on top of base Dragonborn being given a 1d4 Claw and Bite. Prior to seeing this video, I wasn't entirely sure if the build would be fun to play but now, I'm sold to go with it. Thanks for the very in-depth video and sharing your own ideas of how to flavor builds.

Great idea to do recommendations based on subclass concepts instead of a one size fits all list for the class.

Likes the idea.

Would a Bullywug Druid of Spores count as a “Bog Witch”?

Can I get some advice on keeping a good calendar?

I'm glad you mentioned saves, I think Resilient Wisdom is essential to resist magic, surely the biggest problem for fighters. Conditions like Frightened, Paralyzed and Restrained are also ones I would like to avoid - any feats to help resist those in particular?

I liked a build combo of Nature Cleric with Samurai Fighter as a Quarterstaff Polearm master, also makes them more a face if you require a persuading sort.

Something to think about my fellow DM! Ireena has been in survival mode since she's caught strahds eye. Strahd knows she's his beloved tatyana. He's been, just like anything else, having fun with what he thinks is his property. All enemies know not to harm her, in fear of strahd, but harrass her. Also her red hair is a symbol for bad luck in the lands of barovia. So the people have refused to help her. Now... to your point about ireena possibly be a pychic... her and tatyana have shared the same soul. What if you make tatyana a cleric or some other class you think fits... as ireena goes along through campaign, being protected by the Player Characters... she has violent siezers and begins to learn the skills and regain the memories of tatyana... that sun sword would look more appealing later in game. Other reminder... i had madam eva keep pulling cards for what companion that your players should look for help... the cards would start ablaze and reappear in her deck hand... then have her say something like "hmmm. this has never happened before. The one you seek to help you through your travels is up to fate." My players started trying to recruit almost everyone they met to take down strahd. Instead of focusing on one companion. They began to see everyone as important.

WOTC was getting increasingly bad at game design, and I think by now their team consists of the worst game designers they could find on the planet. But the average DM/Player is really bad at running the game, and especially monsters. I mean case in point, you made a mistake in assuming that Strahd follows the same rules for grappling as the PCs, by saying "[He] doesn't have great modifiers for grappling" and showing the +4 Athletics. Per the statblock, he rolls the +9 to hit, and then if he hits, he can grapple them instead of dealing damage. So it's decent, at least. Not making a comment on the general strategy of whether he should or not, just saying. Tho grappling an out-of-position PC that is squishy and relies on not allowing the enemy to get any attacks in lest he get nuked in a round or two seems like a good idea.

I had my fight at the room with Tatyana’s portrait. I felt that it was fitting because of his obsession with Tatyana/Ireena. But my advice is to not play the Krezck pool scene where Ireena is suddenly thrown out of the game. If you as a DM spent a lot of time trying to get her likable for the players, it just feels very out of left field. Either tweak the scene where it feels more like an actual choice your Ireena would make or just don’t do the scene. In my CoS campaign, Ireena was a very independent person and by that point in the game was absolutely done with Strahd and his obsession with her. And saw Sergei’s “Tatyana, my love” bs as him being no better than Strahd for failing to realize that she may be Tatyana’s reincarnation but she was not Tatyana.

I would start as Artificer to get the prof. in CON. Going to at least 3rd lvl. will get you a choice of 4 subclasses (my fav is Alchemist! Yeah, I said it!) and even though you're a half-caster you round up instead of down so as a 3rd lvl. caster you count as a 2nd lvl. caster... then multiclass into a wizard of choice and take it to 6th level to get the first two subclass features and a number of spellslots. (You'll be the equivalent of an 8th lvl. caster at your overall lvl. of 9th.) Then go back into Artificer for 4 more lvls. to get Flash of Genius, now your overall lvl. is 16, and since you don't have enough lvls. left to get the 14th lvl. wizard feature you might as well continue the last four lvls. in Artificer for a multiclass split of 11th lvl. Artificer/9th lvl. Wizard. 11 lvls. in Artificer gains you the 10th lvl. Magic Adept feature, attune to 4 magic items and craft common and uncommon magic items and the 11th lvl. feature Spell-Storing Item, store a spell and use it a number of times = 2xINT bonus. PS: You end up with a mix of 5 really good features compared to the wizards 4 and the artificers 4.

Saved the party's ass last night as a 4th level divination wizard. I rolled a 5 and 17. We were fighting a group of wizards and one of our party cast hold person on the most powerful member, as the DM's setting up to roll I declare 'he rolls a 5' bang, the BBEG is held. The paladin then proceeds to curb stomp him. At a critical juncture that 5 saved everyone, as the DM later told us he was about to fireball us all, (we were clumped together)

Way to go On tabletop Bob, Lutes! I really like your Dusk elf character! I'm kicking around just this idea.

Portent+Owlin Race+Keranos Champion= All-Seeing Owl Mage

Im surprised that strahd only gets 3 legendary actions. The whole world is his playground! He doesn't care unless someone isn't a part of his scemes and fun games he has created! Depending on your player skills. I'd modify any monster to fit their needs of excitement. But strahd and the boss battles of the land should make your players feel like the gravity around them from their POWER LEVEL BEING OVER 9000 so daunting!

I'm here in search of advice and ideas since I'm trying to prepare to run curse of strahd for my first campaign ever.. I have a really small party so I'm hoping for the best

Barb 11 rogue 9

I'm a relative new DM, I plan for players to recruit a few different allies through the campaign but Sir Godfrey is their destined ally. Don't ask me how we ended up with them recruiting Doru as an ally. They were hellbend on communicating with him, so they went out hunting to bring him a deer and then they allowed him to feed on one of them, with the threat of beheading if he killed the feeder, and they made a deal with him to keep him fed if he helped them in fights. I'll allow him to stick around for a while but at some point Strahd will order him to turn on them.

i would not rule that alchemist fire would not be applicable and I don't think crawford would either. The wording does not say when you make a ranged attack it says an "Attack with a RANGED weapon" you can apply sneak attack. Bows and the like have the "Ranged Weapon" Subtype as a classification. Alchemist fire does not. Plus it makes little sense why the contents of a vial of acid become more lethal regardless of where you hit them on the body its still acid or fire. Piercing weapons however can penetrate deeper into the body depending on where they hit is landed. "improvised weapon" is its own subtype attributed to an object you use as a weapon, by weapon does not get the "ranged" or "thrown" property suddenly just because i choose to throw it.

What can I do while using a concentration spell? Can I move or use a cantrip? Cheers !

Crazy Question: What if you multi-class with the Mercy Monk?

I am personally about to start a campaign with a good amount of people so I am playing XP so that if people can’t play that week they can sit out and we can keep going on without having to worry about numbers and it gives everybody a chance to play. I have decided to keep people that can’t play involved one week they miss to send me what their character was doing that week and they will be reward xp even though they missed the sesh. As far as separated levels I will have it so that the possibility of having a lvl 2 and 7 character is a possibility. It’s the most realistic. But I will strive to make sure my combats are in-depth enough that the lower lvl character has opportunities to shine. One of the dms in this video said a front line character couldn’t shine being a lower lvl with higher lvl characters. Why not? Maybe the lvl 7 wizard and ranger are taking down the demon lord while the paladin is protecting the special cargo and their flank. Maybe the lvl 7 barb and sorcerer are fighting off the bandit leader as the lvl 1 rogue is sneaking away with the goods. I think in the most kind way possible if you don’t think that will work it’s either one of two things. 1 you don’t want to put in the work which is absolutely fine. I get it. Or 2. You don’t have an imagination and your boring combat is ran like “we fight bad guy we win yay!!! “

29:54 I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU JUST STUCK A CUP OVER HIM 💀 CRYING WHERE'S A CREDIT CARD TO SLIDE UNDERNEATH

turn up your mic gain.

Thank you for the video! So very helpful!!!

We have Arrigal and i loooove him. He is like bro for my character

I know this video is a year old, but I would like to correct a mistake you made in your reading of the rules for Sneak Attack. The prerequisite for applying Sneak Attack damage to an attack is not that it is a ranged weapon attack, but that it is an attack made with a ranged weapon. Alchemist's fire, Acid, etc. are not ranged weapons, they are improvised weapons which you used to make a ranged weapon attack. This is an important distinction which prevents them from being able to be used with Sneak Attack. That said, it wouldn't really break the game to let your players use them together anyways, considering how horrible the Rogue class is. It needs all the help it can get.

“He’s a very opinionated guy” That’s a fun way to say “he’s a racist old man” I love van Richten as a character, racism and all, not all main characters need to be squeaky clean

You made DMing Curse of Strahd so much easier and better, thank you

Your CoS videos secured an amazing game for my players. I took all your advice, watched your videos over and over, and those guys Loved it! THANK YOU 🙏🏼 so much

I’m playing a Goliath Path of the Totem Barbarian cursed by Oyaminartok (RotFM)… he’s insanely powerful, should be illegal 😅

4:44 Rary’s Telepahic Bond as a suggestion is awesome! The visuals that come to mind are great, I wonder if that gives advantage during fights 🤔

Death cleric is the ultimate gish. It can cast and melee with great effect

I’ve struggled to DM a one-shot adventures for years, this is great advice 🤌🏻🤌🏻

For me, I’d use runes for my Spell Scrolls

I will admit that I am a *little* confused on what Blindness/Deafness means in the list. I'm assuming it means immunity to the conditions but honestly I don't know. is it inflicting those conditions instead? Letting you cast the spell? I'm not sure.

Wolverine is 5’ 3”

I’m about to use this for my campaign 2 character. I’m going dex but with a focus of charisma. Any recommendations on what I should do. I was also thinking of multi classes into bard at later levels

On the Castle Ravenloft note, the group I played with ended up going there before being ready to face Strahd(not by much, mind you, it was a few sessions before the last session) because most of the items we needed were in Castle Ravenloft and I think that was a good way to do it. Also one player got kidnapped even earlier on so our fated ally went to rescue him and we sort of ended up leaving our fated ally in the castle until that aforementioned burglary of the Strahd's home.

A combo I will be using is starting out as a order of scribes wizard than dip into knowledge domain cleric if you build it right you end up having expertise in all knowledge skills

Im about to start playing my Yuan Ti lv4 thief rogue, lv 2 shepherd druid character with the mobile feat Shes gonna be bonus action dashing all over the place, and casting longstrider It got insane She can run up walls like a ninja, running up walls much much faster than other characters can move on the ground Which works really well in our campaign because we are doing lots of heists adventures Our party has an alchemist jug, so I'm going to beg our artificer for vials of acid Another party member found a ring of jumping, and I'm going to try and find some good magical loot to trade her with If our GM will allow this character to have boots of speed, it truely gets disgusting how fast she can move

for tip 2: does strahd can really charm more than 1 person at a time ? Because it says "a" humanoid

I'm playing my first dnd game and I'm a level 4 Rouge Theif! This helped me a lot! Thank you! :)

SO many homebrew stuff added. Still can’t figure out what to add or remove since there so many complaints on things