Summary

• Balance random encounters with exploration to keep players engaged.
• Guide players subtly toward Strahd to avoid aimless wandering.
• Emphasize treasure and rewards in Castle Ravenloft to keep the dungeon from being too punishing.

Castle Ravenloft is one of the most iconic, if not the most complex, dungeons available in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons. It's the perfect climax for a campaign set in Barovi✅a, or if you're running the Curse of Strahd module. However, though this dungeon is rewardinℱg, it can prove incredibly tricky to run as a Dungeon Master.

You can always go the traditional route and simply draw out the entire map, asking your players toಌ reveal one room at a time via a fog of waꦛr mechanic. Or, you can go theater of the mind. Either way, here are some tips and tricks to prepare to run Castle Ravenloft.

10 ꧑ Balan꧒ce Random Encounters With Exploration

As All Things Should Be

When preparing to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:run a dungeon crawl inside Castle Ravenloft, you'll want to make sure you balance random encounters with quieter moments where players can explore rooms at will. There⛄ is a random encounter table and rules for using it inside the Curse of Strahd module. However, if you find you're rolling more random encounters than are worth it, you might want to consider putting it aside.

Castle Ravenloft is enormous, and part of the fun is letting players explore at their own pace. But, if you're constantly throwin🌠g random encounters at them, they might start to rush to find Strahd as they won't want to run out of spells a⭕nd HP before finding him. Conversely, if players are dawdling, it might be worth it to throw more random encounters at them.

9 Try To Guide Players Toward S🍸trahd 🍬

Avoid Aimless Wandering

As mentioned, Castle Ravenloft is huge. This space is so vast that it canꦿ be very e๊asy for players to get lost inside it. Depending on their Tarokka Deck reading, you'll want to try to find ways to subtly guide players toward Strahd so that the dungeon crawl doesn't run on too long.

One great way to subtly guide players is to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:use a DMPC in the form of their traveling companion. For example, if Ireena is t𒉰heir companion, she might be able to use her memories to help guide players to the right room, thus expediting the crawl a bit.

8 Pay Attention To Treasure 🌱

Rewards Are Important Too

Castle Ravenloft is fulꦍl of random encounters, traps, and other horrors for players to contend with. However, you'll also want to make sure you're emphasizing rewards for players as well. Otherwise, it's very easy for this dungeon to become too punishing.

You'll want to use treasure where you can to incentivize exploration. The more players explore, the more prepared they may be for their final encounter with Strahd. Depending on their reading, there may also be key items inside the dungeon that they ne🦂ed to find to survive.

7 Be Careful With Game-Enders 🐻💜

Are You Sure?

Castle Ravenloft h🧸as several areas with potentially game-ending traps. While these items can be used for narrative utility in some cases, depending on the vibe of your session, they may prove extremely anticlimactic.

For example, the Brazier Room, which is found in the catacombs, can teleport players to other part﷽s of Barovia. If players come to Ravenloft early, this can prove incredibly helpful. But if this is the climactic game where players are trying to defeat Strahd, sending them all the way back to the Abbey of Saint Markovia can prove extremely anticlimactic. Be carefulﷺ when players interact with traps like this, and be clear about consequences when you can.

6 ♋ 🎶 Use NPCs Sparingly

Avoid Randomness

Parts of the random encounter table in Castle Ravenloft have NPCs that aren't necessarily trying to harm the party. This can prove just as much of a blessing on the random encounter side of things for players as much as a curse. This is because, depending on where they are in the adventure, these NPCs may fe🅰el stuck out of place.

For example, Ezm♕erelda D'Avenir is a really interesting and compelling NPC. But if players haven't already met her, she can prove to be a bit aimless by throwing her into Castle Ravenloft. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but depending on your party's alignment, go♛als, and place in the adventure, you might want to consider avoiding using too many NPCs in the random encounter table to keep the story moving.

5 Atmosphere Is Important ♓ 🔯

Location, Location, Location

When running a dungeon crawl in Dungeons & Dragons, it can be easy to fall into the trap of being repetitive a🐠nd stale. Don't forget to describe rooms and atmosphere in great detail when players enter them, rather than just falling into the pattern of explaining what the room is and having players make mindless Investigation checks.

Part of the fun of Curse of Strahd is creating a successful horror atmosphere. Use music, acute visual descriptꦯion, and other sounds to help make the atmosphere feel spooky and grounded. This will help keep the crawl feeling more engaging throughout.

4 ༒ Use Passive Perc🔴eption

Keep Things Moving

Another trap of dungeon crawls is repeated Perception or Investigation checks. Whenever it feels right, feel free to use players' Passive Perceptions rather than asking for Perception or Investigation checks every time they enter a new room. This helps keep the crawl movi💮ng at a nice pace.

However, you do want to be careful with relying on Passive Perception too much. If there's a particularly deadly trap, you might want to call out Perception or Investigation checks directly. Otherwise, players👍 might feel like you're forcing them into traps that they can't ever detect because their Passive Perception is too low.

3 🐼 Avoid Repeats

Nobody Wants To Backtrack

Depending on where their climactic showdown with Strahd takes place, players may have to end up backtrဣacking through a huge portion of✃ the dungeon to find his crypt. While this can prove incredibly exciting, it does mean you'll want to help keep your players from backtracking before they fight Strahd.

Try to limit their exploration to a handful of levels if possible. For example, clueing your players into Strahd's relative location in terms of floors might help so that, when they do have t💞o backtrack to the crypts, this is the first time they're doಞing it rather than the second.

2 🌃 Context Matters ജ

Devil's In The Details

Hopefully, by the time the party has reached Castle Ravenloft, they have a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:good idea of Strahd's backstory and his relationship to both the castle and Barovia itself. Because the dungeon is so sprawling, using this backstory 🧜and context can help players keep the location in their heads, especially if you're using theater of the mind.

For example, if players come to the chapel, you can give them🙈 clues th✅at indicate that this is the same chapel where Sergei and Tatyanna were almost married. Providing this context helps the location stick out in players' minds and makes their trek through the dungeon more emotionally and narratively impactful.

1 Be Clear About The Heart Of Sorrow ☂

Help Your Players Help Themselves

This last tip is rather specific, but incredibly impor✨tant. If players have done battle with Strahd before they arrive at the castle, they'll likely remember that he has a red, arcane barrier around him at all times. While they can try to break through this barrier normally, destroying the Heart of Sorrow in Castle Ravenloft is extremely helpful for balancing their final battle with Strahd.

If players find the Heart of Sorrow, try to indicate to them that this is connected to Strahd's barrier. Otherwise, they might assume that destroying it is merely a trap. R🐬emember, rewaཧrding players for exploration and interacting with the castle is just as important as trapping them or punishing them.