u/TeamTimeSystem

My players are camping outside Old Bonegrinder for the night, with them is Ireena and Gertruda they just rescued from the castle (with insider help)

it make sense to me that gertruda being young and naive like a child, might just work for the coven. i thought playing them refering her as "still ripe" while saying my yongest PC, which no longer have childlike presepective, as "already rotten". having her being a target.

However - my party is 6 players level 5 and the bonegrinder was marked for level 4. Knowing theres a full coven there i entered the data into difficulty calculator and... this does not look good for them. this encounter marked as deadly before calculating in the coven raised difficulties, any dretch.

Im not used to DM to players that levels and im not sure how accurate is the calculation, especially since the book claim its much easier. is it too hard?

my plan is along with the warning from the raven- they going to meet Morgantha on the way to the Festival of the Blazing Sun that happening the same day (see my idea of Party Pastries)- and i hope they dont miss it. especially with gertruda lighting up and really excited to go.

but if they decide to approach... am i risking a TPK if i run it as written? any advice?

How I play Strahd he want her to agree to merry him, he does not wish to charm her to do it, he want her consent. However, he does not care about deception, coercion, or holding her by force to a false consent.

Through deception in disguise he got Ireena to agree to come with him to his home, and then when she realized it was him and she is a prisoner he told her he got Gertruda - a girl from her village. he promised to free Gertruda if she will marry him.

however, two of his wives decided its not the best idea, for their own survival, to have Ireena there. they know as soon as he marry her, she going to be his favorite wife, and soon they will be forgotten and likely dead.

they contact the party before the dinner letting them know they want Ireena out and alive - they are buying time, they know as long as Strahd is trying to get her they are safe. not if he know they helped though.

(the way they contact him was a method i homebrewed for Strahd to contact the party very conveniently whenever a party member cant make it to the session- they just have a discussion with Strahd instead - which allowed me to make a limitation on the time of the conversation cause "oh no Strahd coming back we gotta go")

They come to the dinner party, and i let them dance with each NPC - Strahd, the three wives, Ireena and Gertruda.

for them to get the info, i set a dance! each player got to interact with one person each round and they cant talk to eachother out of character or hear the other conversations.

as i played it i wrote a bunch of lore for each of them to know, as well as the following intel:

1. Anastrasia want them to replace ireena and gertruda but thinks gertruda might need convincing. when the party say no fucking way she says she can help get someone out, Escher agreed to help too. (the party used a lot of time trying to figure "what" is Escher cause one of the players thought they have a secret passage out). she is the motivator behind the opperation.

2. Ludmilla can transform the look of two people. she can transform Ireena to look like someone else, and someone else to ireena, but she will need about 12 seconds of distruction and to know who to turn. she dont really belive in the cause but think it will be worse if strahd know and therefore agree to accomplice.

3. Ireena want to know what happen to izek (he got drunked and his body burnt), and want to get the players to free Gertruda, she wont leave her behind. she agree to listen to the plan only after being reasured Gertruda will be free as well.

4. Volenta dosent know anything, which the other wives didnt have a chance to tell the party. she is supporter of strahd, newly wed to him, and she dont think her place is at risk. she will dump lore but is very dangerous if one player assume shes in on the case.

5. Gertruda want to go home but she dont want to leave the castle forever. strahd didnt tell her yet he send her after the dinner, and the party tried to not dispel her. she is charmed and also belive the world is a fairy tail. she dance bad since she never been to a dance party. "Strahd is a vampire? what is a vampire?"

6. obviously Strahd himself is dancing, being a good host and only mildly teasing the party. in his mind he got ireena willingly, despite the disguise, and its a proof she will love him over time and therefore he have every right to marry her, even if she had a demand before getting married. been stepped on by our barbarian twice during the dance.

as they danced we split into 4 rooms, 2 of them player with player, they got to speak for roughly 6 minutes, while the two other rooms were me roleplaying as changing character each time for 3 minutes each. (i started with 2 but after 6 rounds we decided 3 minutes will be better)
I prepared a list with dance order in advance, making sure the players talk to Anastrasia and Ludmilla on the first round, then spreading the information between each other starting from the second round. there been 18 rounds.

thats the plan they came with.
our paladin switch places with ireena, they then going to be escorted out by anastrasia and eschar.
the plan for distraction was to cause gertruda to cause a scene. as soon as i heard this plan the wives started telling them shes charmed, so they came with much funnier distraction- they are going to release the group's pet grick on the table.
while that going on ludmilla casting on the paladin and ireena, they are switching chairs making sure to sit next to eachother. the artificer gave the paladin a potion that change their appearance just in case (it will not change the armour but it can be used to extend the effect if they switch clothings as they dont know how long it will take to get out)
the party then going to take gertruda. (where? i hope vallaki. going to plant some wolves on the way to barovia village just in case so they dont go there at night. they also going to see the march of the dead the first time while living the castle.)
the palading going to escape the same night or the morning after, Anastrasia will try to seperate ireena and strahd and our paladin need to find eschar.
if anything go wrong, regroup in the vallaki church (nice touch).

this going to unfold the next session. im very excited my dance "puzzle" was a success, the group had a lot of fun roleplaying with eachother and the NPCs.
tommorrow the festival of the blazing sun as well, i hope the party dont miss it.

Hey, im looking to hear from you, that bought pokopia on or close to release.

How ia it now?

Do you feel like you did everything and you dont have more to do?

Is it feeling repetitive or is it still fun?

How much do you still play it?

Im asking because switch 2 is extreamly expensive, however this game, at least when it came out, looked like a forever game. Like minecraft. Like animal crossing. Like everything i wanted.

However, it also was everywhere, and then suddenly nowhere.

Did all the content creators i seen burned out at the same time, or was it just undiscloused sponspred content?

Mostly what i ask, is do you think it worth getting switch 2 just for pokopia.

I have 2 groups, 6 players and 6 NPCS.

On each "round" of the dance, i want 2 pairs of Npcs to talk to each other, 2 pairs of players, and two pairs that are mixed, player with NPC.

lets say players are 1,2,3,4,5,6, and NPCs are A B C D E F

so a round will be A1, B2, 34, 56, CD, EF

i need all the players to talk to all NPCs with no repeats.

I need players to players pairs and NPC to NPC pairs to repeat minimally (i think minimum is one repeat each).

Is there a patern of "dance" that will allow this? Or an interesting mathematic way to make the pairing?

Im now manually pairing but i found this issue more complicated then anticipated and thought someone else might find it interesting as a math excersize, and too complicated for me to solve.

I seen people refer to brides of strahds but i dont understand where they are in the book. They are not in the intro, not in the begining of chapter 4, not in the appendix (unless i missed something). Are they just in random rooms in the castle? Are they spread across the book?

Its so hard to know whats official content and what fan made.

​

Context: strahd kidnapped ireena and invited the party to dinner, i want one of the brides to resent her and help the party "get rid of her" without taking the blame. But i cant find who they even are and i dont have the time readinf every room in the castle till next session im a slow reader and they dont need to see the entire castle for dinner.

Izek was bitten and drained by strahd. My party found him pretty dead on their own room in the blue water inn where he was brought by ireana and her "friend who known her father" (strahd in disguise) who since took ireena in his carridge.

I stopped the session while they discussing letting their pet Grick eat him or burning his body to make sure he dosent turn.

I very much want him to turn. For burning his body i thought i can have him reserect from his scaly hand. Is this too mean?

Is it reasonable to make the grick refuse to eat the cursed hand?

Im asking for oppinions as i dont want to be too railroady to make their actions feel meaningless. If many of you think it will feel unfair to the players, i will not do that.

(Previously i considered a stake to the heart or throwing his chopped body to a river (/direct sunlight) enough to stop him turning. They brought fire and feeding which i had not considered)

Do you think its too cheep to let him regenerate through his cursed hand?

TL;DR: Izek was bitten and drained by strahd. My party found him pretty dead on their own room in the blue water inn where he was brought by ireana and her "friend who known her father" (strahd in disguise) who since took ireena in his carridge.

I stopped the session while they discussing letting their pet Grick eat him or burning his body to make sure he dosent turn.

I very much want him to turn. For burning his body i thought i can have him reserect from his scaly hand. Is this too mean?

Is it reasonable to make the grick refuse to eat the cursed hand?

Im asking for oppinions as i dont want to be too railroady to make their actions feel meaningless. If many of you think it will feel unfair to the players, i will not do that.

(Previously i considered a stake to the heart or throwing his chopped body to a river (/direct sunlight) enough to stop him turning. They brought fire and feeding which i had not considered)

In some sense i feel burning his body leaving a hand will make his regenaration take more time when someone burry him, but make stake to the heart impossible as there is no heart.

------- story part --------

Strahd demanded the party to set him a date with ireena.

From strahd part he is sort of delusional thinking he can make ireena love him willingly.

From the party side they considered the idea of setting up a date in a safe manner (as safe as they could, through a window in a house he consented not coming in...)

Only issue- the party was very pre occupied in the very tense day they had spread across 4 sessions. Its started with Izek trying to force ireena into a prisoner in his own room, very begrudgenly convinced to follow the party instead by the burgomaster. The party IMMIDIATLY hated his guts, despitr being the very much more tame and reasonable version i came up with.

My izek wasnt just scary, grim, and possessive. He was also, whenever stuff involved with ireena, very distressed and confused, protective to a fault- not wanting to hurt her but clearly very much not knowing how to protect her without hurting her. He didnt think he had to figure it out. He thought she was dead, despite seeing her aging in his dream.

Ireena on her end started as confused, grew into somewhat understanding (as she also just learned she was adopted a day ago), and at the end as he opposed her and the party she got more and more uncomfortable and distressed. But she did had one comfort, a friend of her father, she did not recognize on first encounter, happen to randomly meet her and the party. Lord Vasily, from the unspecified village west to the gates, just happen to visit the burgomaster slightly after strahd demanded his date and ireena was kidnapped.

While i did not invent Vasili, i did not see him in the book, and im not sure where the name and token from, i found the picture and the name online trying to look up any token for strahd in disguise and immidiatly loving and adopting it. I do not know if hes official or fanmade and im not running him true to any source. I do, however, run it like strahd being disguised.

And hes doing what strahd will do. He hit on ireena, but he is also charismatic, convincing, reasonable though lying without a pause.

As he meet the party for the first time, he is passing a message "from Lady Fiona Wachter", to the burgomaster, who the party does not like very much, and seem very irritiated by this second inconvinience to his morning.

"Lord Vasili" also make a point to note but ignore the group, stopping to recognize Izek, and asking if ireena was his girlfriend (simultanious "NO" from the very confused siblings) and then asking if she single?... then going very much to his "normal" noble bussiness letting them go.

As i describe the town full of crows, some of them fight ravens on the rooftops in a very dreary day the party continue their main objective, invistigating the saint bones being missing. Theres enough time untill the date anyway, right?

The party very soon after having Izek around is VERY inconvinient. People are staring, are uncomfortable, forced smiles pop up everywhere, and as they approach the churcu to ask more questions they realised father lucian infact do not want to seem worried next to the burgomaster's henchman.

As the party trying to figure out what to do and judt convinced him to leave and he refuses ireena suggest to wait outside the chunch. The party is reluctant but realised its the best way forward. They do not send anyone to stay with her beliving izek is protecting her. Perfect.

(In a later sessiona a party member that was missing see in a vision, that usually send them to strahd, lord vasili handing a letter with the strahd seal, and later cut directly.to the church. That must be important for later, the players realised- considering only the latter. It was taxes btw. Strahd want taxes.)

Strahd cut the conversation short and go to the church directly, informed by his spies on ireena location, alone but izek. He charm Izek, telling him the burgomaster need him for some business in the town square, and stay behind to talk to ireena, talking as if he knew her father. While she does not recognize him, "Lord Vasili" is very charming, and she is very relived izek is gone and have a nice conversation. Unlike other people she recently interacted with, Vasili do not pressure her... strahd have all the time.

While the party (failing their secret preception checks) only realised in retrospect that izek is gone after figured the coffin shop is their next stop, they do not question it too much as they rush to leave before izek come back, avoiding the town square entirely. Vasili knowing ireena and disliking izek is good, they realise, and dont question it farther. He stay behind for his business in the church as they head with ireena to the koffin shop. He does not go in the church, no one invited him in, but none of them look back, or ask later.

They go to the cofin shop, go in, steal the bones with a mix of a nat 20 persuasion and nat 1 insight from the vampire spawn that heard the noise. Now they stand outside deciding what to do with the bones. Long story short they attract guards and izek, which as soon as he hear about vampires cut the confused brother nonsense and go to his duty for the town. They leave two guards behind, guiding the stairs, and ireena in henrik outside. However, this take several minutes. One of the vapires is now on the ceiling downstairs passed the stairs waiting stealthily. This vempire have one goal, if they are going down, henrik going down too, not revealing Vasili to be the one who set the vampires. More importantly, Vasili is nearby to "save" ireena.

If a few vampire spawns die for him to impress ireena, that a sacrifice he is willing to make.

The players used detect good and evil before the fight, they knew there were six vampires. However by round 3 they realised something off. They only seen 4 vampires. (One of them hiding on the ceiling in the same room but they dont know it) they send someone downstairs, that find a very dead vampire with a stake to thr heard placed by vasili, that act distressed, and then ask the player if there more of them and run to "help", still trying to impress ireena and the group. Hes clearly a caster, but no one stop to ask how he mamaged to gate a stake to the heart of a vampire at a single turn. He did say ireena grappled the vampire, but lets be honest, the vampire didnt resist much as a helplessly seen his master destroying him. They just glad someone competant joined the fight.

The players continue to boo izek and cheer vasili, that stay despite his attempt to leave mid fight due to the pcs request but start to miss on purpose every so often. Hes using his weekest spells and no phisical attacks, and not targeted by any of the vampires, staying far away from any aoe location (thank god he was still downstairs when they cast turn undead, he would have probably saved but it will be still sus af as he will be in visible pain to anyone rolling high preception - im rolling "passive" preception for the group).

Everything according to plan. The party completly trust Vasili, despite him suspiciously appearing 3 times, they dislike izek. And now ireena is being pretty scared, tired and hungry.

But the group just "happened" to hear from vasili about fiona's book club, which, very conviently happen today, slightly before dinner.

anyone remember the date Strahd was promissed? Yes, one player, but they figure they can deal with it after the book club. Ireena will be safe enough with the inn, and Vasili agreed to go with her and keep her company. Izek have business needing to get rid of the vampires without townfolks realising (outside the gates), but assure the group he will join ireena just after, to everyone dismay.

While the party is busy with the book club, now 4 weeks into this very busy one day in vallaki, they stay for dinner at fionnas house when she, unknowingly to her very redundently, imply heavily that if they also dislike the burgomaster (they do), they should get rid of izek.

My players discuss it out of character, talking about how tempting it is, but mostly agree they dont really belive stuff will be better under fiona.

It dosent matter. Strahd eat with ireena, poison izek, he and ireena take feeling ill izek to ireenas room, where he "take care" of her sick brother by consentially sucking the poison out (charming ireena for the first time, as he feel he successfuly made her trust him and fall for him, and hes ready to claim his prize). He ask her to wait outside as he drain izek, leave a letter for the party, inviting them to dinner with him and ireena on izek chest under his cloak. He then leave the inn with now charmed ireena in his disguised carridge.

The party finally remember the date and rush to the inn to hear from the bartender they left izek in the room as he was feeling unwell and left.  They first incline is to check the church but someone suggest to ask izek if he know where they went (and also to tell him they are not paying for his stay), where they discovered lifeless izek, and looted his body to discover the letter.

They realised Vasili was a vampire, and sure enough, Kepers of the feather later informed them the carridge was infact strahds carridge in disguize.

If you skipped to the story feel free to also answer the question above. Is turning izek too mean? Am i already past the point of worrying its too mean?

I don't like that RAW it implied Izek want Ireena for incesti reasons, despite them not knowing it. he still gonna kidnap her, but i changed how it plays out.

Im not gonna make Izek kidnap ireena in broad daylight. He gonna see ireena, make a noticable double take, and then keep dealing with the party glancing at her confused for a bit.
And then, the next morning, the party gonna wake up and ireena is gonna be gone. If they will ask and the people at the inn will tell them she left for the church to talk to father lucian again (as my party arrived in the evening and he was busy and distressed, asking the party to NOT have ireena stay there at night because of the bones going missing and her being a target)

My party then gonna learn she never been to the church.

Strahd asked the party to set him on a date with ireena, he gonna kidnap (game mechanic i have in the campaign) one of them to say he seen they arrived to vallaki and check if they can make this date happen.
Obviously i expect the player to interupt strahd and be like "fuck off we know you kidnapped her" to which strahd gonna react super angry and distressed "YOU LOST HER?! You are useless!" And send them back.

This does 2 things.

1. The party will know that despite strahd seeming to know where they are at all times, he dosent seem to know EVERYTHING.
2. CLEARLY strahd didnt kidnapped her. So its gotta be the guy that stared at her.

So now do they prioritize ireena or the bones? Maybe split the party?

And strahd gonna race them. If they gonna go look her they gonna find her in his room where izek gonna look confused and tell her he was dreaming on her and seen her aging in his dream and he's not gonna lose her again.

While the party discover her a person they dont know (strahd in disguise) gonna show up (he ask the maid if he can come in to discuss a new festival idea with the burgomaster)
He gonna show up, act horrified at the dols, kick izek ass, and "save her" while charming her and inviting her on a date.

In this point i expect the party to be completly confused while every single person is obsessed with ireena until the definetly not strahd person invite her to come with him after the date, she say yes, and... they step outside to strahd carridge. At this point ireena is charmed and completly inloved with the person that saved her and lack or critical thinking skills. The party however seen the carridge before and would need to act quickly and maybe realise ireena is charmed if they didnt pick on it by now.

If he kidnap her, he also gonna invite them for dinner

We got officially diagnosed now no fake claimer have power over us.

So Madam Eva Suppose to be Strahd's Half Sister, he dosent know about it. no one know about it. how does it affect the story? and how does it help her motivation?

as i see it Barovia is the land the Vistani come and go for. It's the most homeland they have. I see very good reason for a Vistana to look over that land separated from the outer world so miserable and dark, then go out and see how happy and hopeful the people are out there, and then come back and go "you know what? i wish i could do something about it".

As for a sister Strahd don't know about - i don't know why she would care. there are no familiar bonds, they did not grow together. i don't see her wanting him to be free, nor a reason for her to want him dead.

Did I miss something that make her background somehow relevant? is it showing up somewhere later that make it make more sense?