Curse of Strahd happened towards the end of March! The party spent a little more time in Argynvostholt, met an old enemy, and planned their next move.

In these posts, I break down what I did to prep for my monthly Curse of Strahd sessions.

What I prepped:

  • Recap

Here’s this week’s recap!

Today is your eleventh day in Barovia. You have been exploring the mansion called Argynvostholt, once a base for the Order of the Silver Dragon. Now, it is haunted not only by the ghost of its former owner but also the revenants of knights long dead. You have explored much of the mansion at this point. While you took a rest in the mansion’s first floor, a coffin was delivered to the front steps of the mansion. You fought off the bats that came out of it and discovered that Kara’s name was carved into its lid.

Of course, the players vividly remembered the whole coffin event.

The adventure has the DM randomly determine which PC is named or depicted in these strange events—there was one much earlier on where a random PC appears to be hanging from a gallows. Random chance seems to mostly pick the bard, Kara.

  • Vampire spawn NPC event

Strahd von Zarovich has spellcasting abilities and access to the scrying spell, which allows the caster to spy on the target for a short time. The spell’s DC is increased if the caster has, for example, a piece of the target’s hair. Thus one of Strahd’s vampire spawn, Sir Alexander, approached the party to try to obtain such an item.

The party mostly evaded his efforts and keenly noticed him, though he was invisible. They managed to draw him out. But, he got away with a strand of hair from one of the NPC party members.

Though, they didn’t seem to wonder how he got into Argynvostholt…

What I improvised:

  • Ireena Kolyana NPC event

As the party has spent more time with the NPCs accompanying them, they’ve invested a lot of time into getting to know Ireena Kolyana. I’ve been happy to further develop her character; she doesn’t get a lot of attention in Curse of Strahd despite her importance. There’s been a spark between her and Kara, the party’s bard. On Sirya’s (the rogue) encouragement, Ireena pulled Kara aside for a conversation that lead to them officially becoming a couple.

CoS is a heavy campaign. It’s not devoid of light, but the overall atmosphere can get oppressive. Fights are difficult, and the party doesn’t feel like they’re making a lot of progress. But, they’ve enjoyed their interactions with each other and the NPCs, so it felt right to move forward with this storyline to give a bit of light to the session.

What I need to prep for next time:

  • Reaching the Werewolf Den

The party has set their course. They know which route they’re going to take to investigate the rumors about werewolves. I’ll need to prep any encounters along the way. Also, I’ll need to prepare the opportunities they’ll have to discover the den.

  • The Werewolf Den

I’ll need to read over the details of this area. The Sunsword is at the shrine to Mother Night, which is a pretty rough result to get from the cards. I’m really interested to see how the party will handle this challenge!

Our next session is coming up this month! Thanks for reading, all.