#curse of strahd homebrew

[dungeonsandblorbos]

whenever we're playing Curse of Strahd and the DM (my husband) decides it's time to introduce a NPC who is either morally dubious or straight up obviously evil but describes and voices them in such a way that they're clearly super charismatic and/or hot:

#curse of strahd #curse of strahd homebrew #curse of strahd memes #strahd von zarovich #the man himself #is of course the worst offender #but unfortunately our party also seems to be a couple of monsterfuckers #because shalden (half-orc paladin) was also very charmed by the adventurer-targeting revenant serial killer known as #leather sole jack #and cerris (human tempest cleric) would have had a very different reaction to #daddy eldritch #telling him to #be a good boy and open wide #if daddy eldritch hadn't've been trying to kill and taxidermy him at the same time #this one has also been in my drafts since march of last year #figure i might as well post a bunch of old CoS meme content though since we might finally be able to start this campaign up again soon!

[hot0sauce]

hoo boy ok i said id do it and i did dooo! now i can rant about him!

i always felt like logistically strahd woulda had other brides in the past, like a past lover that really meant something to him. also my players were asking! so i made up a dead exhusband for strahd, artemy lansten!

he was a krezk native and doctor that went to strahd in the same way lisa tepes went to dracula, wanting information on how to better help people. the two fell in love and he was ultimately strahds second bride after ludmilla. he was killed by outsiders 20 years before the campaign started and my players still feel his impact lol.

they love him very much, and since i run the interactive tome of strahd i decided to put him in berez during the Marina Incident (tm). it was great for my players though because they got to talk with him and see him and strahd being happy for a while. him also being a medicine man helped my druid pc out a lot! hes beloved.

#curse of strahd #curse of strahd npc #curse of strahd homebrew #dnd #dnd homebrew #my cos campaign #hottoart #if anyone else has bonus spouses id love to hear about it!! i love hearing of how people expanded their strahds lore

[thefruitypebblescastleoftorment]

Changes being made to the Abbey of St Markovia as of 4/11/24:

"A perfect being... made from the best and most beautiful that mortal flesh can offer, with an untouched and innocent soul, infused with holy light. Not yet, not quite, but soon... soon they will succeed where I have failed." "It is not your fault. You simply cannot see the righteousness of my work. Fear not, for I will grant you new eyes." - The Abbot, being very normal and chill.

The Abbot:

Like all devas, the Abbot can fight, but combat was never his purpose. In the Upper Planes, he served a god of light and life, and his role was that of a healer. He still considers himself a healer first and foremost. He will fight in defense of himself or his "patients," (and especially Vasilka) but desires peace over violence.

In the unlikely event there is a TPK to the Abbot, or a player is killed and their body left with him, he will "restore" them (in a horrifying manner) and explain he forgives them their transgression and bears them no ill will.

Mechanically, the Abbot's powers of resurrection are equivalent to Raise Dead without material components, as in RAW. Narratively however, the process is more... surgical.

As in cannon, the Abbot willingly trapped himself in Barovia in honor of Saint Markovia's legacy, hoping to ease the suffering of its people but ultimately becoming corrupted by the evil of the land.

Strahd tempted him towards the Dark Powers not by appearing as Vasili, but through anonymous correspondence. (The was in his Strahd the Ghost era.) As in cannon, the Abbot understands that Strahd cannot be permanently killed, (he does not know why, nor how to sever Strahd's connection to Vampyr) and hopes instead to "heal" him.

The Abbott is an extraplaner being and that is creepy:

When you think "cosmic horror" in dnd, you think of aberrations -- creatures so alien to our reality that they appear twisted, even warping reality by their very presence. But all extraplaner beings are from a reality that is alien to our own.

The Abbot is from a place of pure Law, Light and Virtue (probably the slopes of Solania on Mount Celestia, but no need to be that specific.) He does not belong to this plane, and that should be clear after speaking to him for even a few minutes.

He knows the limits of mortal bodies, but does not truly understand them. He's met countless souls that became archons, but far fewer living mortals. He has a basic understanding of mortal psychology, but is constantly baffled by it, always expecting it to be more simple and straightforward than it actually is.

He understands all creatures and actions on a simple scale of "good" and "evil," and sees evil as a disease to be cured. He sees moral failings as corruption and sickness, and the suffering and despair they cause as symptoms to be treated. Physical and spiritual illness are almost one and the same to him. This is obviously not a wise way of looking at the world.

Above all the Abbot considers himself a healer, which is reflected in his language. He speaks of "healing" Strahd's evil, of the rot in this land that must be cut out, of a desire to see Barovia through a period of recovery. This should be creepy, evoke SCP-049 vibes.

When idle, the Abbot's eyes drift upwards, towards the heavens. He (inaccurately) believes he is incapable of "bad" emotions, such as pride, greed, unrighteous anger and spite.

He truly believes that if he achieves his goal, Strahd will be "cured" of all that makes him cruel and malevolent, becoming a good and noble ruler. No longer a vampire, but a powerful and virtuous immortal being of a celestial nature.

Vasilka and the Abbot's goals:

As Strahd's obsession with Tatyana is not romantic in my game, making Vasilka a 'bride' for Strahd doesn't have thematic parallels anymore. The Abbot's plan has been changed accordingly.

The Abbot is aware he is corrupted and compromised. He believes that if he had remained pure, he would have the power to "heal" Strahd of his wickedness, but that by the time he saw the vampire face to face, he had already become tainted. Therefore, his goal is to create a "perfect being," one pure and holy enough to succeed where he has failed.

The Abbot does not rob graves, as he considers dead flesh tainted and unusable for his constructed body. Therefore, he is always looking for people willing to "donate" to his cause.

He does not take these "donations" by force, but he is not above taking advantage of desperate circumstances. People who come to him to have someone raised from the dead, or to have some terrible condition cured will find the Abbot more than happy to help... in exchange for a "donation to the church," of course.

Don't worry, though -- you won't have to lose an arm, leg, face or organ! He'll gladly replace anything he takes, fitting you with new parts fashioned from whatever he has lying around.

"Vasilka" as they currently exist is an enormous worm-like collection of body parts stitched together and animated by celestial light -- mindless, and alive only in the most basic sense of the word. It is unclear if they would even be able to leave the room they are kept in, or if they'd be crushed under the weight of their own form. They are a horror, but the Abbot sees nothing but beauty in them.

It is clear that Vasilka will never be finished. A perfect being is an impossible goal. The Abbot has convinced himself that he just needs to keep building, keep improving, and soon his creation will be ready to surpass him... any day now.

He cannot be swayed from this belief by any means, because it is the only thing that gives him hope and allows him to see the suffering he causes as just and right.

Vasilka was Saint Markovia's first name. They are named in honor of her.

Vasilka cannot move, speak or take actions. They have an AC of 14 (natural armor) and 616 HP. Their creature type is Monstrosity, they have immunity to radiant damage and resistance to lightning damage.

Getting help from the Abbot:

The Abbot can raise the dead and cure a number of ailments, but doing so drains him to a degree. And so in exchange for his charity, he expects charity in return.

(Don't tell him that's not what 'charity' means, he'll just get upset.)

The first thing he will ask for is the best and strongest body parts the players have to offer. He promises to give them 'good as new' substitutes. Saying yes to this offer will have consequences.

If the party is unwilling to part with their limbs and organs, the Abbot can send them to tend to some of the more "difficult" patients. Or perhaps there are a few who fled the abbey in a blind panic upon being resurrected that the Abbot is concerned for, and wants them brought back where he can "care for them."

The Abbot has attempted to cure vampirism before. It did not go well. However, he thinks he has learned from his past errors, and would be willing to try again.

Though the Abbot hides his true nature from the people of Krezk (fearing they will not understand and be frightened) he is open about it to his patients, and to anyone from outside Barovia. He knows people from Faerun are more likely to have some concept of extra-planer beings like himself, and expects any good-natured humanoids to see him positively.

The Abbot once had the ability to know the nature of a person's soul simply by looking at them. In his time in Barovia, however, he has become too tainted and corrupted, and now his vision is as muddled as any mortal's.

The Patchfolk:

Don't use the word m***relfolk. "Patchfolk" is a fine alternative. The Abbot refers to them as "patients."

Take out all of the generic "scary insane/comedic insane" behavior for the patchfolk. Some of them will have odd or uncanny behavior due to circumstances (see below,) but for the most part this is about body horror, not "madness."

Emphasize the extreme and fantastic nature of the alterations to the patchfolk's bodies, try to avoid accidental parallels to physical disability.

The patchfolk are not neglected, they are fed and kept clean and kept as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. (The words "under the circumstances" are carrying a lot of weight here.)

They are no longer descended from a family that was trying to remove birth defects. They are a hodgepodge of people who came to the abbot for a cure from some mundane or supernatural illness, people who were raised from the dead at a cost, and a few weirdos who came to the abbot to "improve" themselves.

There are three main "categories" of patchfolk:

Recovered: these are people who the Abbot was able to heal completely of whatever ailment (or death) they were originally plagued with. Aside from a 'stitched together' look and some mismatched body parts, they're largely humanoid and mobile.

Some of them covered their strange features with bandages and long sleeves and simply returned to Krezk, or went elsewhere. Others remained at the abbey, either afraid to return home or because they wished to stay and help care for the others.

Their stats are as outlined in the Creatures of Horror book, but with the ability scores of either a Commoner, Priest or Gladiator.

Convalescent: Sometimes a patient comes to the abbot with an ailment beyond his abilities. He tries his best, but the results are often... horrifying.

A family struck with an unnatural plague is healed of their ailments, but their altered flesh rejects all his transplants, so he's forced to stitch them all together into one body. An undead creature is raised from the dead, but something goes wrong in the process, and it returns as a giant leech monster whose flesh is constantly rotting and requires frequent grafts, etc.

These people are resigned to the idea that they cannot leave the abbey. Their personalities range from "I have no mouth and I must scream" to "I have a mouth and I am screaming" to "I am capable of conversation and resigned to my gruesome fate, basically I just hope someone brings me a nice book or some chocolates sometimes" to "we are the borg."

Convalescents have a variety of statblocks. Some creatures that can be slightly altered and reskinned as Convalescents include Maw Demons, Sorrowsworn, or Shambling Mounds. Damage resistances can be replaced by resistance to radiant, lightning or both. Languages are replaced with Common, and their creature type is either humanoid, monstrosity, or celestial.

Experiments/pets: These are things the abbot has created from "spare parts" that for one reason or another could not be used. They were either experiments to help the abbot "improve his medicine," or simply made as a way to keep these parts fresh until they can be more of use.

A hand attached to a leg that pulls itself along by its fingers, a cluster of limbs attached at the center, a mindless head kept in a birdcage, etc. They mostly behave like animals that have no need to eat, sleep or mate. They'll amble around aimlessly, respond negatively to painful sensations and positively to pleasant ones.

These have a variety of statblocks. Creatures that can be easily reskinned include Maw Demons, Crawling Claws, and almost any kind of animal or giant animal. None of them have language or an intelligence higher than 4. Damage resistances can be replaced by resistance to radiant, lightning or both. Their creature type is monstrosity or celestial.

#curse of strahd #curse of strahd homebrew #the abbot

[thechekhov]

Can you share more funny moments from your DnD campaign please

I’ll do you one better.

For context: This happened during our Curse of Strahd game, which is now leaning into Homebrew territory because my players refuse to go to Ravenloft. 

Not pictured: The unicorn, immediately after taking falling damage, also got electrocuted into oblivion because one of the players is cursed, courtesy of the Amber Temple. 

Needless to say, I was thrilled concerned about how much I packed into the dungeon crawl to wear them down, only to realize they were fully capable of doing it themselves. 

#chekhov answers #dnd #d&d #dungeons and dragons #curse of strahd #only kinda #because homebrew #DMing #dungeon master #game master #ttrpg #dnd stories #chekhov draws #chekhov draws dnd

[doctorravenloft]

Custom Warlock class for one of the players in my CoS game.

#curse of strahd #homebrew #dnd ideas

[bardicblast]

made a fake theatre poster for him, also some movement concepts, he fights like a ragdoll sometimes

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #dnd character #dnd art #artists on tumblr #dnd rogue #rogue #dnd warforged #warforged #wooden puppet #he is the only pc free of the curse of strahd module lol #he is too pure to survive out there not gonna lie #this is a homebrew world he is in but i still hc he is from the same city as isaac

[lightsandsoundgo]

Photos of the three-story set I designed and built for my D&D Curse of Strahd finale session last weekend! At 1" scale, it's just over 18" tall and about 2 feet wide, and features a grid of ~130 WS2812B LEDs under the floor which I used to indicate various environmental effects over the course of the battle.

Props such as the pews and statues as well as the minis were either purchased or downloaded from shapeways or thingiverse, though I did construct the wooden golem made of pews myself and all but a few minis were hand-painted by myself or my partner.

#d&d #dungeons and dragons #tabletop gaming #curse of strahd #dnd #ttrpg #rpg #dnd maps #set design #cos #dnd 5e #dnd 5e homebrew #ravenloft #dnd strahd #3d model #3d printing

[47crows]

Silas had a bad dream.

Featuring Ruse, cat boy supreme by friend plant

#art #digital art #my ocs #original character #artwork #oc art #concept art #d&d oc #dnd #dnd character #dnd stuff #d&d campaign #monster #dnd silas #curse of strahd #dungeons and dragons #d&d homebrew #d&d tiefling

[theautismcorner]

My my uncle is a big dnd nerd and he has been a DM for a long time and on Easter, only two days ago, I informed him of my plans to run a Curse of Strahd campaign (I have never been a DM before so this is big for me) and he went home and bought the Curse of Strahd book, Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft, and a Tarokka deck for me. I love my uncle. This is so fucking cool

#curse of strahd #CoS #dnd strahd #strahd von zarovich #strahd campaign #cos strahd #ireena kolyana #ezmerelda d'avenir #ravenloft #barovia #tarokka #van richten #dungeonsanddragons #dungeon master #dungeons and dragons #dnd campaign #dnd5e #dnd #dnd homebrew #homebrew

[dandelion-jester]

Would anyone be interested in reading a book based on a DnD campaign? I'm unsure if I'll ever put it out for the public but if I did would anyone actually be interested? It's my project 'Legend of the Rat Bastards' and its based on a heavily home brewed Curse of Strahd campaign I played in. There's more info in my writeblr bio.

Please reblog for better results

#writing #writeblr #writer #fantasy #books #author #dnd #writers on tumblr #wip #legend of the rat bastards #poll #curse of strahd #dungeons & dragons #dungeons and dragons #d&d #d&d 5e #dnd 5e #homebrew #novel #fantasy novel #CoS #strahd von zarovich #dnd strahd #Strahd #gothic horror #gothic literature

[dungeonsandblorbos]

if i had a nickel for every time my PC's almost girlfriend got put into a magical coma and kidnapped by the BBEG for the purposes of some kind of nefarious magic ritual

i'd only have two nickels but it's weird that it's happened twice

#funny enough these two PCs are also both red headed clerics #cerris tempescu #curse of strahd homebrew #jun vyardes #cauldron & kettle questing co. #ttrpg stories #dnd stories #dnd shenanigans #if i had a nickel #original post

[dungeonofthedragon]

Five new horror races: ghast, ghost, carnivorous plant, skeleton, and werewolf. 👻🍂💀🐺

Three subclasses: the Parasite Warlock, the Spore Sorcerer and the College of Phantasms Bard. 🪱🍄🎵

Three new ominous backgrounds. 🌑

Curse tables and dark secrets! 🦇

Get Ravenloft Adventurers: Reanimated here.

#ravenloft adventurers #ravenloft #shadowfell #barovia #curse of strahd #5e homebrew #dungeons and dragons #dnd homebrew #dnd 5e #warlock #sorcerer #bard #warlock subclass #bard subclass #sorcerer subclass #homebrew subclass

[teal-pen]

Photo dump of Isadore! My manead inspired dhamphir bard for curse of strahd! Poor boy is sick of the gray of Barovia and missing his god husband

#dnd #dnd art #curse of strahd #cos #bard #manead #maenad #dhamphir #ravenloft #barovia #dionysian #the bacchae #my art #art #isadore #isador #homebrew bard

[oneshotsfunshots]

Homebrew DnD One-Shot #5

#dnd #dnd homebrew #dnd one shot #dnd oneshot #5e #dnd murder mystery #dnd mystery #cw murder #cw death #dnd vampires #van richten's guide to ravenloft #curse of strahd

[aqours]

you ever think about how RAW (so ignoring the fact anyone that makes her the destined ally usually homebrews her a bit) Arabelle is a human child with 2 HP capable of doing shitfuckall and in pretty much everyone's destined ally tierlists online she's still ranked higher than Clovin usually

#starposts #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #dnd #d&d #curse of strahd #arabelle #like its AMAZING how much clovin is like. actually an active detriment #ofc every destined ally arabelle is usually given divination powers as a homebrew to make her useful #if i actually drew Clovin for my players i'd fucking rewrite him entirely

[animatrobin]

Character Sheet of my OC Balthazar Von Aubrecker from our home game of Ravenloft / Curse of Strahd.

.

Former Crown Prince of Lamordia, and member of the Von Aubrecker Barony. He recently escaped the mists and lived history in Waterdeep for 100 years before returning to the mists to destroy his enemies and save the Ravenloft domains.

.

#ravenloft #ravenloftdnd #ravenloftcampagin #oc #originalcharacter #characterart #characterturnaround #characterdesign #halforc #dnd #dndart #dndoc #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpgart #ttrpgcharacter #lamordia #waterdeep

#dnd art #dnd #dungeons and dragons art #dnd ravenloft #ravenloft #ttrpg homebrew #fantasy art #my art #dnd oc #oc #curse of strahd #ttrpg art #halforc #half orc #lamordia #waterdeep #swords coast