u/BruceIsLoose

Hey all!

Brainstorming some ways to switch up how Ireena/Tatyana plays out going into my third run through of CoS. I hate the unrequited love aspect & don't think the payoff (either at the Shrine or the wedding) is rewarding let alone enjoyable. Reloaded/MandyMod help soften my hate though.

I do like the Strahd's overall goal of searching for a worthy successor as his way to escape Barovia & having it be his primary motivation is reasonable & fun to play.

I am trying to plan out the narrative that he thinks Ireena, well Tatyana, is this person. Main things I am trying to unpack:

• Why would Strahd think Ireena/Tatyana is the worthy successor?
  • Maybe rewrite Tatyana from "a young Barovian woman of fine lineage and remarkable beauty" & more toward her being the daughter of the original ruler of the valley of Barovia he deposed?
• Ideally would want Ireena to willfully come rule beside him
  • Could still have some aspect of the "we could rule as lovers" but when she eventually spurns him, he has no qualms and they could "rule together in name only, it makes no difference" to him
  • As he continues to hound her (even when friendzoned) & try to win her over ("think of how you could change this place for the better if you come take your crown...") but probably fails to he eventually starts doing the things he does as written such as taking out those close to her yada yada to get her to come just to make the suffering stop
  • All else fails, he goes for turning her
  • Instead of a wedding it would be a coronation
• How does Sergei, if at all, fall into this?
• Would there be something at the Pool in Krezk to integrate into this?
  • Maybe if they get Ireena to the Pool, she gets the full memories of Tatyana & remembers Strahd butchering everyone

This approach removes the shitty love angle, keeps a lot of the other underlying narrative stuff (such as Abbot's Bride), makes for a stronger "Strahd testing Ireena & the party" to see if they're worthy, gives the party a stronger connection to Ireena, etc.

Of course, there are some things I am missing I bet, so any pointers are appreciated.

Howdy all!

My LBS has three bikes I am torn between:

Trek 5000: $780, used
Giant OCRA1: $850 used
Giant Contend: $850 new

My use case is going to be longer rides (minimum 20 miles but would love to rip some 40-50) on either pure asphalt trails or crushed limestone/asphalt that are in my area. Wouldn't be doing any type of off-trail.

It feels like a coin toss between all three. I believe the Trek & OCRA1 are carbon frames but they're older bikes compared to the aluminum Contend. The used bikes all have relatively low milage (~1,000).

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Edit: The thing I am really struggling with is the decision point between Older Bike but Carbon vs. Newer Bike but Aluminum. My lack of knowledge of the fine details (which ultimately might just be splitting hairs) such as drivetrains and other mechanical differences is causing analysis paralysis.

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Edit: Current Votes:

OCR (2)
Trek (1)
Contend (1)

Howdy all!

My LBS has three bikes I am torn between:

Trek 5000: $780, used
Giant OCRA1: $850 used
Giant Contend: $850 new

My use case are going to be longer rides (minimum 20 miles but would love to rip some 40-50) on either pure asphalt trails or crushed limestone/asphalt that are in my area.

It feels like a coin toss between all three. I believe the Trek & OCRA1 are carbon frames but they're older bikes compared to the aluminum Contend. The used bikes all have relatively low milage (~1,000)