Spider's Dming Tag - Tumblr Posts
To CoS DMs,
What sort of stuff do you make a point of including when changing Strahd's diary?
I've never been fond of 5e's handout, it feels far more like a lore drop than a personal diary, and while using I, Strahd would be nice, I've made too many changes to the lore to use it as is. (not to mention that my players and I are all busy, and won't have the time to read a full novel)
I've outlined the key elements that need to be included, I just need to pad it out a bit.
Thank you for any help (:
My current outline is under the cut (:
cw for canon typical depression and violence
Taking Castle Ravenloft:
Summary of the arrival at the castle, naming it after his mother, in her honor
With the death of their parents, Sergei will be coming to the keep
Introduction to Alek and Rahadin, the two working and training together
Meeting Tatyana:
Introducing our sexy lamp
Passing mention of Sergei giving up his place in the clergy for her
Focus on Tatyana's physical traits, her hair in particular. As much as the lamp thing is a joke, she isn't important to Strahd as a person, only a prize. As Strahd is really the only source of information on Tatyana for the party, she doesn't really get much in terms of development.
Alek has raised concerns once again about the assassin
Tatyana & Sergei, Wedding Prep:
Strahd moping while Sergei and Tatyana have a good time.
Mention of Alek going to the Amber Temple for research purposes, to find something that might help the situation.
Night Before the Wedding:
Strahd is starting to hear whispers
Alek and Rahadin have been patroling the castle, questioning the guards, etc.
Wedding Night Aftermath:
Quiet castle, only him and Rahadin alive.
Some sacrifices had to be made, but Alek is still alive, gifted to Rahadin, so that the two can remain brothers.
Alek died as he does in I, Strahd, but is the first Strahd brings back from the dead. He botches it though, and Alek returns as a Nosferatu, rather than a spawn. Strahd is denying the problem, shrugging off the issue as best as he can. He's good at it.
Meeting Marina:
The only section I've fully written out so far, but still up for revisions.
I returned to Castle Ravenloft late yesterday evening with no issue. Rahadin was right, the girl looks exactly like my dearest Tatyana did, with the same red hair and bright eyes. I do not think I know the entirety of what happened to her in the years since her death in the Mists, but she did not remember who she, or perhaps more importantly, Sergei or I, was.
Now, she goes by Marina, and is the adopted daughter of the burgomaster in Berez, Lazlo Berezovich, who plans to marry her in just a few years. Of course, i cannot have such things happen to Tatyana, no matter what name or face she wears now, and I have already begun to teach her of her old life. She seemed invested, though that might simply be due to the prospect of minor nobility taking romantic interest in her. Still, even with having only spent a night with her, the results seem promising. My brother will not have any influence this time, and at long last, Tatyana will finally be mine.
Rahadin also brought news of the Abbot, the “angel” having taken up residence in the old monastery in Krezk, where I had found Leo Dilisnya. While Tatyana is of the highest priority, I will have to visit Krezk soon, to finally welcome our newest guest. Even if his healing magic has been greatly exaggerated, his presence should provide at least some degree of entertainment for myself, and perhaps some assistance for Barovia’s people.
Death of Marina:
Most recent event in journal, so that it works out when Strahd leaves the diary buried under the monument to Marina. A good segment of unmarked pages are left at the end of the journal.
Cursing the men who killed Marina, description of their bodies after their deaths.
bro... what if strahd was in his years long torpor due to the holy symbol via jander, and some (really bold) doppelgänger was 5e strahd who thought strahd was like. literally dead
my ravenloft players are probably sick of these guys by now but I love them too much. they work with everything
D&D Vampirism & the Results of Regenerative Abilities
A small note:
I’ve posted about both Elder Scrolls and D&D on this blog, and I’m pretty sure I’ve already written some headcanons about TES’s portrayal of vampirism. What’s described here is only for my D&D world building, Barovia/General Ravenloft in particular, where the condition is generally treated much more like a curse than in the Elder Scrolls franchise, where it’s a contracted illness. I won’t promise that I will or won’t write about TES vampirism, as i think it’s fun, it’s not something I find fitting for the Domains of Dread.
This post contains spoilers for the heavily modified version of Curse of Strahd I will be eventually running, and spoilers for the novel I, Strahd. Changes from the RAW 5e module include:
Alek is back! He’s not having a good time.
Escher is Van Richten’s lost son. It’s not that important to this essay, but I do mention their shared eyesight problems in passing.
Shout out to @mx-lamour and their fanfic "What have I done?", for being the reason I finally sat down and wrote this all out.
An Introduction to Vampirism & Wound Recovery in Undeath:
Whether described as a curse or blessing, Vampirism is a magical condition, one that has a number of effects on the patient’s natural recovery/healing process, and by extension, the development of scars throughout one’s unlife. While none of the information here is intended to impact gameplay and balance, it can have an influence over roleplay and certainly does in character design. Flavor is free, and I want it all.
Becoming a vampire is akin to pressing pause on one’s life and body, stopping the aging process, but not reversing it. For example, no more of Strahd’s hair will turn gray, but the streaks that are there will never change back to black. Escher’s eyesight and the myopia inherited from his father are impacted by age, getting worse over time. While being turned provided him with some new dark vision, he will remain nearsighted to the same extent he was upon death. The march of time has stopped, but that doesn’t mean it can be reversed.
Scar tissue is subject to the same forces, and old scars obtained during life will stop fading, remaining just as visible or unapparent as they did upon the body’s death. Unhealed wounds will repair themselves only once regeneration begins, but are subject to the same factors as other wounds obtained post mortem.
General Post Mortem Wounds and Scaring Trends:
While there is some variation in these trends, there are three main degrees to which wounds will leave a lasting impact.
Minor wounds don’t last. These are the results of unsilvered weaponry, mild damage from running water, and necrotic magic. Very little is in the way of the regeneration and healing process, so there are less chances for something to go wrong, such as debris entering the wound, or the injury to scab over, and increase the chances of a scar forming. On the off chance one does form, it usually vanishes within an hour at the latest.
Most magical damage provides the same level of regenerative difficulty as that of sivered weapons and most instances of water damage. Silver and water, both considerable weaknesses of vampires, react poorly with the dark magic of a vampire’s curse, and interfere with it’s influences over the body. Similarly to those described prior, these scars will fade with time, simply taking longer, usually over the course of a couple days, or several weeks at most.
Sunlight will cause the most dramatic injuries, leaving burns over the exposed skin, and healing to form scars that never fade.
Turning Wounds:
Turning wounds are usually bites, the injuries that kill someone as they become undead, and the place of the curse’s transference. Given the nature of the wound, magic doesn’t make the wounds particularly easy to heal, even with the assistance of vampiric regeneration, which is usually what heals them.
Unlike other wounds that result in varying scar types and will reflect the type of damage when applicable, turning wounds usually lave behind contracture scars, where the skin has tightened over the wound in the healing process, giving the impression of skin stretched over the injury. It results in much more obvious scar tissue that can sometimes cause the individual pain, both due to the nature of the scar type, and the magical influences.
While most turning wounds are bite marks, such as those on the necks of Alek and Escher, they can take the form of other injuries, such as the numerous arrow marks across Strahd’s torso and chest.
Different Types of Vampires & Exceptions to the Trends:
The patterns here assume that the subject described is a vampire spawn, a common type of vampire within Ravenloft and Barovia in particular. Consumption of blood will have an impact on healing speed, where greater access to blood will speed up the process, and under feeding can drag out the process for months or longer. However, differences in the nature of one’s curse can manifest as much more dramatic differences in healing ability.
Failed Spawn - Alek Gwilym:
For some reason, the curse didn’t transfer right. In the case of Alek, his blood was already used to reanimate someone, and the Dark Powers forbid Strahd from ever having a good time. Alek just got caught in the crossfire.
Technically they use the Nosferatu stat block but that’s behind the DM screen, not in game.
Turning wounds on failed spawn don’t heal properly, leaving open wounds that won’t bleed, but can be opened up further, and can cause significant pain if not kept clean or become irritated.
The Dark Powers hate you in particular - Strahd von Zarovich:
Aside from turning wounds, any scar will fade with time, including severe sunburns.
Injuries resulting from critical hits will have lasting impacts, such as vision or movement issues, punishment for mistakes in combat.
It needs some work, but this is inspired by the parts of Strahd’s relationship with Barov I’ve been able to flesh out. It needs some work still, but the man taught Strahd mistakes have lasting consequences, either in a material sense, or Barov holding failures over Strahd.
Cleveland Clinic on Scars (:
Fleshing out the Undead of Barovia:
Over the course of his 400+ year long stay in Barovia, Strahd has killed a lot of adventuring parties, and these fallen heroes are cursed to wander the land as the zombies and vampire spawn that terrorize future parties.
Something I've noticed, both as a DM and Player, is that player characters, even when made to fit within a particular setting, have a degree of "main character energy" in their designs that NPCs lack. There is more evidence of a fully developed character, with relationships and life experiences, in comparison to the NPC I had to name on the spot when the players started asking questions.
As I'm working on my next run of Curse of Strahd, I'm looking to add more personality to the fallen heroes, basing them off real player characters, to make them more relatable to my players, and make death seem like a realistic possibility for them.
I'm in the process of sacrificing collecting player characters, who will get to cameo in my campaign! (: The results will be compiled into a spreadsheet for others to reference and use in their games.
CoS characters are ideal, but BG3 characters and PCs from other campaigns are also welcome! There's no limit on how many submissions one can give, I'm looking to get as many characters as possible. (: