Four level 2's VS Doru
Greetings Ravenloft family, this is a long ol' post! I've been lurking on this sub for a while now, however this was too good to not be shared with you lovely folk. For context, 3 of the 4 players are D&D newcomers, and though I've played for many a year I'm relatively new to DMing! I'm very lucky to have these friends as players since everyone is focused on the group fun, and they're enthusiastic + attentive. Love 'em to bits.
I ran an alternate version of Death House outside of town without Rose + Thorn due to lines and veils, replacing them with a woman who's husband had been kidnapped by the Dursts (she was long dead, this was an echo of her). They caught on that something was up and continued down the road. I didn't want to 'mist' them in, so I (rather mistakenly) let them continue into the village at, well, level 1.
They met with Ismark in the tavern, stayed the night, and ventured to the Burgomaster's mansion. After a chat with Ireena, they agreed to help bury her late pops and so ensued the funeral. I had Strahd quietly and 'respectfully' attend. They levelled up to 2 here. Strahd left after the funeral and the party went into the church only for the party ranger to hear a certain someone screaming from the basement. Father Donny them context and they all rolled a history check to see if they knew anything about Doru's affliction. One character rolled well, so I gave them some information about vampires (sunlight sensitivity, running water, wooden stake, and invitation needed).
They decided that they would go down there and put him out of his misery. The woodcarving Cleric snapped some pews and made some stakes, and the group decided they would try to get Doru's consent for Ceremony so that they could at least give him a moment of peace before the end. I made sure to give them multiple hints that this fight would be very dangerous!! FThey came up with a plan, and entered the undercroft...
After failing to reason with him, combat ensues with the Cleric throwing a net. Doru fails, but breaks out on his turn and goes straight for the Cleric, dealing 10 points of damage. The Sorcerer throws their one holy water flask; she misses. The Cleric attempts but fails to convince Doru to calm down and so they run back, taking an opportunity attack and dropping to, quite literally, 1hp. The Rogue is up, tossing manacles to the Ranger and then, by the luck of The Dice, successfully grapples Doru. The Ranger is now up, and he succeeds on locking them around Doru's wrists. Keep in mind, Doru is not restrained as the 2024 manacles need to be attached to a chain that is fixed in place to restrain. The Sorcerer throws a magic missile. 8 force damage. The Cleric makes an attack but misses, which then Doru attempts to break free, but fails. The Rogue stabs Doru with her stake which does 2 damage and she disengages. The Ranger pulls out chains (he has weakened lycanthropy from MandyMod's secrets, so with his starting good he bought manacles and a chain to, well, hinder himself on a full moon!). He successfully attaches the chain to Doru's manacles and fixes it to one of the pillars.
At this point, I'm thinking about how Doru could attack and potentially break the wooden pillar to get free. The Sorcerer throws a firebolt, dealing 4 damage. The Cleric is now up, and they Turn Undead. Doru abysmally fails his save and is now restrained, frightened, and incapacitated. He cannot run since he is restrained, and he cannot use an action or bonus action.
They spent 2 rounds trying to convince him to let the Cleric cast ceremony, and though I let them roll for it, they failed their intimidation / persuasion checks.
The Ranger stuck a stake into an incapacitated Doru's heart, instantly killing and destroying our poor famished Doru. That's where we ended the session.
I'm in awe. We were all so ecstatic post-session, and I gave them a huge round of applause and their much deserved level up to level 3!! Zero dice were fudged in this fight and I made no adjustments to Doru to make it easier. They earned their moment, and I'm insanely proud of them.
P.S: A big ol' thank you to everyone in this community for making this a fun and respectful place ~ the shenanigans that follow are certain to be inspired by the sheer amount of knowledge and resource here.