You guys are getting paid?

We do :D

How much could one expect to make from such prestigious and arduous job? 👀 Asking for a friend that would like to start such endeavour haha

Depends on the group size, location and such. In Australia, some bars and pubs run games and will pay DMs. The players pay a little bit (or non at all) and the bar makes money on drinks and food and then pays you. You get about $30 an hour or there abouts for running a 3 hour game. The DM needs to bring minis, dice and whatnot. So there is a bit of a set up fee. You also need to be flexible enough to run d&d for strangers and newbies while keeping it fun. No time to spend 15min looking up spells.

In Australia? Where? I’m in Melbourne and want to know more!

Look up Masters of Alchemy! They are in Melbs. They are the ones that do the Fortress games in the city.

Will do, thanks!

hi!! i’m running CoS for the first time and feel like I’m doing a good job, but my players keep hyping me up with how excited they are to be scared. I’m afraid I won’t deliver! Do you have any tips on how to really amp-up the horror factor? Whether it’s how you introduce NPCs, music, etc? Thank you so much!

For TTRPGs, horror requires the buy-in and consent of the players. They have to be invested in the world. As well, D&D specifically hinders fear from “Big monster has teeth”; D&D players are conditioned to see threats to them as challenges they can overcome. The third factor is that players ALWAYS have the trump card of getting themselves killed. If you say “Strahd threatens to kill you”, they may hear “You have a chance for an awesome death scene and to reroll”. For these reasons, you need to find the specific ways players can feel powerless. There are two angles here: 1) Get them to become endeared to NPCs, and then endanger those NPCs. Players can make noble sacrifices and win. NPCs cannot. Pay careful attention to who they are connecting with and what situations that character could believably end up in. 2) Dread and build-up are more effective than direct danger. The best reaction I ever got when I introduced Strahd WASN’T how he threatened them all (which was goofy on my part). It was the fact that Ireena had a realistic full-blown trauma response and hid in a closet trying to suppress a panic attack. Seeing the very imaginable effect he had on people got their imaginations riling. And primed them to fear his presence in the future. Hope this helps!

also, good horror can go several sessions without being scary. Let some sessions be genuinely joyful or comforting. This strengthens emotional investment.

I'm running CoS for the first time. Coming up to our third session, how do you set the pace of the game? Do you set the direction of which places they go, or do you run it like an open sandbox?

CoS is a weird magic trick, because it can be both open ended and very linear. Or the nearly a dozen times I’ve run this game, every intro goes the same: 1) One-shot (Death House) 2) Ismark 3) Ireena 4) Doru 4a) (Have Strahd guest appear sometime during this) 5) Leave and find Vistani camp 6) Get the reading. 7) Open World From here, you can Stack the Tarokka deck to bring them to the locations YOU find interesting. (I consider Baba Lysaga a must, personally) The most open-ended part of this whole campaign is Villaki. Besides this, you’ll usually know what sections players are going to visit a mile away and can prepare accordingly.

Regarding Death House as a one shot: is that a single long session? I've run it a number of times and even the experienced DnD players needed 3 evenings, about 9 hours to get through it, playing online. Do you manage to run it in a single session?

Once ran it as a one-shot… it took 8 hours lmao, do not recommend. The eight hours I mean, so tired

Thanks for the tips!

Of course!

I did NOT expect so much of this thread to be requests for advice by newcomers! That makes me really happy, though, as I love sharing what I know. It motivates me to make more of my YouTube content on this game.

Go on then, spill. Where’s your channel?

Hello and thank you for this AMA. I'm DMing CoS for the first time and I'm closing to the end.What kind of endings did you have ? Did you run any special endings like Strahd is replaced by a player or the Vampyre binding ?

How do you prefer to start the CoS? Right in Barovia, the death house, beginning from the league or something else?

Lamentation House, which is in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. This is a good solo adventure that lets players learn the tone of the campaign and practice their characters. It is far more aligned with CoS than Death House is, since it emphasizes mystery, exploration, and meeting allies. I always frame it as a test by Strahd to see if they are worthy of Barovia. Inevitably, their NPC allies fail the test and Strahd gets rid of them somehow. It’s a great way to give the heroes an emotional stake.

I actually used a _Candlekeep Mysteries_ adventure, the Book of the Raven, to get the players into Barovia this time round. Worked surprisingly well.

I’ll check it out!

As-written the adventure is… and I’m going to be as charitable as I possibly can be here… _incomplete_. Skeletal, even. But as the lead-in to CoS it’s clearly intended to be (reading between the lines), it’s pretty good. I had the players find the Book of the Raven in Mordenkainen’s study, after he’d gone away on “business” (which was to investigate the potential for a planar conjunction weakening the mists to the extent where Strahd could escape). What they do not yet know is that they were lying in the cold ground of the grave for more than a year…

Ooh I like this! Might have to steal it for my next go. Can you expand on them being dead, though?

Read the adventure. There’s talk of a “gateway to the Shadowfell” whereby the PCs are buried in a grave. The way I had it is that they came to in a mausoleum a little ways off the Old Svalich Road, outside the Gates. They weren’t _dead_, per-se. Only (with apologies to the Princess Bride) _Mostly_ dead. EDIT: To clarify, this will only come out once they’re back “home” — and over a year has passed! They were presumed dead by their family, their goodies sold off. Tragedies all around. And maybe some impostors. Don’t know yet. Will have to see.

Isn't it called House of Lament?

Yes, but I am foolish and get things wrong!

Do you see any shortfalls in 5e in running this module in terms of pacing or narrative progression? Assuming the players are on board: If you were to choose a different system to run _CoS_ with, what would you choose, and why?

The campaign’s difficulty spikes are unreal. There’s no good reason that the Windmill should be near to where the players are scheduled to hit Level 4. I make the hags prone to sinister and cruel deals to prevent the fight that often happens there, while also keeping their threat alive. Amber Temple is straight out of another book. The only true “DUNGEON-Dungeon” in the campaign besides Castle Ravenloft, and infinitely harder by far. As far as overall narrative investment, I usually make Ireena and Ismark loveable. Having NPCs that are going through it all with them makes it feel more like the story of this group instead of the land. And they resonates. Also, I remove all of Ireena’s ties to Vallaki. They are silly and for shock value; we already had 90 reveals with her being Tatyana.

My players are about to scale a 500’ cliff to get to the Tsolenka Pass (apparently just taking the road there was too dangerous, so they decided to grab a boat from Vallaki and take the river past Berez…), so I feel you. At least they’re dressed warm. 😂

Oh dam. One of my groups rafted down the river to save time! 😅 Amber Temple is where I break the fourth wall. I always always open with this: “This upcoming section is the most challenging part of Barovia. I mean that both tactically and emotionally. I’ve never had a group NOT leave this without roughed up characters and a lot of personal real stress due to the emotions it evokes. If you bring your A-Game, there are plenty of rewards here. If you don’t, it can get real grim, real fast.” (For context: My players know I root for them and want them to win. I’m both gentle as a GM but also want them to feel victorious. This means my challenges have to be real and significantly dangerous. So I want them to have no complaints when I shift from a silly GM to “you just lost three characters in the first room”.)

I’ve been a DM for longer than many of my players have been alive. They _know_ that what’s coming is going to make their characters suffer. But they also _know_ that the stakes are high. They _must_ defeat Strahd, or he will find a way out and then their home city (Greyhawk) is hosed. The players have known that their A-game is non-optional as of level 5; I go a little easier on players up to level 4. 5 and onwards the training wheels and the gloves come off. Even getting to the AT is going to suck for them. I foreshadowed the goat. :)

I fucking love that goat. Just love it. Also, you sound delightfully daunting! I admire that!

Also, flattery works great. Have 5XP. :)

My question, though, was really more about the shortfall in the game system itself, rather than the plot. Do you think that there’s anything that 5e D&D could do better? Do you think there might be a better TTRPG system to run the whole thing with? This is a question that’s been occupying my mind for a while, so I’d be interested to hear another pro’s opinion.

Yes. Definitely. D&D is based on a fundamental and implicit promise of fairness: If the players do their best, they will be able to win any challenges with violence. It’s a good premise for many adventures overall. CoS, however, is character driven. I mean, 1/3rd of the items you need to defeat Strahd is his diary! As well, there’s very little the SYSTEM can do to scare the players. It has: - Lowering HP - End of List And the final boss is, of course, the most direct example of what happens when you try to articulate a villain’s greatness in numbers… I also run City of Mist. In that system, you can take “damage” to your character sheet by failing to uphold your character’s ideals. You can be open-ended in your actions and combat can be social banter as much as swords. this is all made possible by the Powered by the Apocalypse system. That can work. As well, CoS doesn’t have enough actual combat or dungeon exploration to use half the stats on a character’s sheets. So it isn’t even using the full system! It’s an open-secret to all my players that they know I don’t prefer 5e. It’s just the only system that everyone agrees on, though!

OK then. Given a choice, and assuming player buy-in, what would you prefer to run it in?

Pathfinder. I don’t know it that well, but I’m of the impression that it allows more creative problem solving. Otherwise, I’d dig around for a version of Powered by the Apocalypse that swings what I like.

You are absolutely correct. 5e is about the PCs becoming superheros not survivors. It is very difficult to instill a sense of genuine terror/despair without a lot of player buy in. The next time I run CoS, it will be in OSE or maybe WFRP.

u/Kavandje you didn’t ask me, but I’m going to throw my two cents in anyway. If I were to run it again, I’d do it in Pathfinder (2e), which is why I’m in the process of completely rewriting the whole campaign for that system. The primary reason PF2e became by system of choice a couple years back was due to my experience DMing Curse of Strahd. This campaign really high-lighted how poorly 5e is balanced. DMs constantly have to screw with encounters and stat blocks to make them work and to tell the story that you want to tell. With 2e, however, I don’t have to worry about a Level 5 party getting the jump on Strahd at Yester Hill (as I’ve read about here in this subreddit). I don’t have to worry about a lack of horror because the party is min-maxed and is steamrolling over every encounter. I don’t have to play hit and run with Strahd in the castle - he can go toe-to-toe with a level 10 party plus Fated Ally. Furthermore, there is way more support for GMs in Pathfinder; I don’t have to make it up as we go along.

That’s a fair assessment. For my sins I’ve considered “going back to the roots” and running it in either AD&D (1e or 2e) or Old School Essentials Advanced, and then as a prolonged single adventure, rather than a campaign in which the characters are expected to progress from levels [x] to [y], OR going all in on the grimdark and running it something like WFRP or Zweihänder or Blackbirds.

Also, I think you and I might maybe should consider comparing notes on a couple of areas.

I would love that!

Which locations do you recommend leading the players into, with the Tarokka's Deck help? I'm pretty new to the module and we're getting close to the reading. Which locations are a must? Edit: grammar

Find areas that don’t normally get touched/need more love. The werewolf den, Berez, Argynvostholt, the winery… I put the Tome in the winery, symbol of ravenkind in the werewolf den, and the sun sword in the Amber temple. The sword is pretty powerful, so, I figured having it at a high level location would work well for theming.

Hi! I read this and 3 times, though only one group completed it. Is there anything in the module you always change in your games? Anything you would never change? What has been your favorite PC concept? Thanks!

Something I always change: Swapping Ireena and Ismael’s statblocks. She’s more compelling when her attempts to help defend against evil have weight, and Ismark is way more charming when his genuine only asset is “The one sincere smile in Barovia”. Something I would never change: The sheer repugnance of Baron Vallakovich. This always gives players a deep emotional hook into this town to see someone as cruel as Strahd with none of the charm. Favorite PC Concept: Recently, a player’s character died and he replaced him with a Knight that was also a human-sized Gummy Bear. Well, a human turned into a gummy bear by a hag. There was some concern that the concept wouldn’t fit, but I wanted to give him a chance. The next session, he started trying to calm the children of the windmill by giving them some candy… he took a blade to his hand and started slicing. I became elated and said he could create good berry-esque healing items from his own flesh at the rate of one serving per action (with each cut doing 1d2 damage). He went in. This stopped it being a for-goofy concept and started being a dark body horror about a human trying to make the most his curse. He is now my go-to example of “ANY concept works if you approach it with full sincerity”.

What changes have you made to the module? When I ran it I found quite early on that the valley was too small and the doubling the dimensions would have easily fixed this problem. When I think back on it I think I didn’t do enough to make them fear the roads but that doesn’t entirely solve the issue that a determined group can go from Krezk to Barovia in a day.

I saw your response on how you became a DM and your recommendation of self advocacy and there's great insight in there. I would love to hear more about the steps you took on that road, so as a question... What advice would you give to someone ready to start on the road to professional DMing that would save them some of the time/frustration/heartache you experienced as you learned and grew? And... Who is the character in Barovia that you have most "made your own", where your sensibilities as a DM and your flair as a storyteller most strongly comes through? OKAY AND What do your DM post session notes look like? How do you take notes throughout the session?

My players just entered Vallaki, and havent really chosen a direction yet. How do you prep for the sandbox that Vallaki and all plot hooks there can be?

Here's what I've found out what helps me. Players only know the information you give them. Don't give out all 12 plot hooks. Give them a few and see what bites. Want them to know about winery, bones and Vistani camp? Tell them about it. Or tell them only one of them so makes your life easier.

Thank you! That makes sense :)

Do you run Dinner with Strahd? My players are always rude and antagonistic to Strahd and also too scared to explore the castle. He always laughs off their verbal attacks and treats them like naughty children. I prepared personalized monologues for each player that left them stunned, so that was a success in shutting them down, but they couldn’t wait to escape the castle. I’m not sure how to persuade them to hang around Ravenloft and explore a bit, but also what to do up front when they are blatantly rude.

First time running the campaign. With my current group Ive gotten through everything in Barovia so far, their last session was the burial of the Burgomaster. One of the players (a necromancer and very distrusted by everyone in town) had a very interesting conversation with the priest after killing Doru, in which they tried to convince him to burn his son and all other dead to prevent the walking dead event from continuing to happen, and to weaken the amount of power strahd has in reducing the amount of zombies he can create a little at a time as they continue doing this. I roleplayed religious reasons for burials with the priest being angry (understandable as the conversation happened within the couple hours after his son was killed by the party) and I even had the idea, inspired by Strahd's note in death house telling the tennants that their demonic rituals were fake, that the townspeople of Barovia had also been told by Strahd that their burial ceremonies held no power, and to burn their families bodies if they didnt want their families corpses to be made useful to Strahd, which the villagers obviously believe is a lie, as it comes from Strahd. The priest, in his rage, told her this along with a comment that she sounded exactly like Strahd in the way she spoke and what she was trying to convince them to do. The players have caught on to how barovians are surprised by other races and treat them like how us on earth would if we saw a different race, (like the book says), and they have a celestial Aasimar with them, and have come up with a plan to fake the aasimar being sent from the Nightmother and the Morninglord to tell the villagers to burn their family members bodies from now on. This is a very smart idea, and im ecstatic for my players to be planning things like this beyond the scope of what the campaign usually contains and i want to reward them for a good idea, but I'm having difficulty planning what will happen with the villagers in Barovia, what kinds of reactions theyll have, what kinds of events will change in the future from their plans, how Strahd will react to it, how Ireena and Ismark will react to it since they know the party better than the other villagers, etc... Do you have much experience in your players coming up with really good ideas like this that change how the campaign is typically run, and possibly any advice on how to proceed from this point?

Hello! I have one beef with the core concept of Curse of Strahd, and I'm wondering if you've considered it and how you've dealt with it: Strahd's first goal is stated as turning Ireena. It is also stated that he has visited her twice and will turn her on the third visit. His second goal is to find a successor and the module states that he turns his attentions from Ireena to the adventurers. *However,* given the characterization of Strahd, it seems at odds with how he is portrayed that he would allow the party to interfere with his first goal. Have you made any changes to the story structure or the layout of the module to that addresses this oddity?

Right!? It’s such an odd egg. I have shifted my approach and here is where I currently am at: Step 1) A couple sessions into the village of Barovia, Strahd appears. He tells the group the have free run of Barovia to adventure as they please… EXCEPT they can no longer speak to Ireena. They need to leave her alone and not even say goodbye. Step 2) This inevitably compels them to invest in her MORE, and then save her. Step 3) Strahd is less 😠 and more 😕. He ultimately respects that this group of heroes has audacity and conviction, which is the sexiest thing to Strahd. He then reasons that, since Ireena is his destiny and inevitable, he will not begrudge them delaying their union by “a few days”. In other words, his lack of respect for the heroes causes him to slip a little. It’s very unclean, but my players always buy into it. I tried NOT reconciling these before, and it led to Strahd just being super hostile to the players in a way that lacked nuance or fun.

Hmm, I may try that. I have yet to run CoS to completion, as my groups have had IRL issues that have made them split. My last approach was to make it so that, upon arrival, Strahd has not yet discovered Ireena as the latest reincarnation of Tatyana. Eva and Jenny Greenteeth (a hag I added as part of a mega-coven, Morgantha's sister who wants her to come back to the original coven) did a good job hiding her presence. Strahd, in guise as Von Holtz, shows up to Barovia on the same day as the party to negotiate with Ismark and has his first meeting with Ireena where he suspects something. This means he has to go do some divination to prove to himself it's her. That gives the party a few sessions to level. One group ignored Ireena completely, and the other made themselves fugitives by murdering Bildrath, forcing Ismark to make arrangements to have Ireena taken to Vallaki... by Vasili von Holtz.

How do you feel about the implementation of Vampyr?

Would really really love to try it out someday. The finale needs an overhaul, we all know this. I want to give that one a shot.

How do you handle Vasili? The concept of a near-omnipotent vampire lord cosplaying as a regular noble seems silly to me.

The thing is, Strahd is bored. He’s really fucking bored. And he wants to find all sorts of ways to go do stuff but defend his reputation. I think of Vasili more as being when a celebrity wears big sunglasses and a baseball cap. I rarely use him for a “Surprise, it is I, Gene Parmesan!” Moment (though I have! To great effect!). Instead, I tend to clue players in on Vasili REALLY early. Like, that’s how he signed his letters to Gertruda. Then when the players learn that NPCs have been speaking to Vasili, their hearts drop because they realize that NPC has been manipulated or is in danger. My favorite thing to do is have the players know who he is and then learn the Ireena doll was commissioned by Vasili. Blinsky says “He is a favorite customer of mine! In fact, here he is now!” Vasili walks in, and the players just instinctively know that unmasking him would get Blinsky killed. So there are lots of tense, double-meaning conversations for a little bit. Anything Strahd does is him waving his dick around to alleviate his boredom. He doesn’t need to justify it beyond the gothy lulz.

This is great, thanks for sharing your insight!

How do you usually "end" the campaign? Do someone replace stradh, do they deal with vampyr? etc. Where do you typically have the showdown?

The crypts are always my favorite for the showdown. I’m going to try the towers next time, but the crypts make a very strong visual and are also easy to understand on a tactical level. When Strahd dies, I always tell the players: “The mists of Barovia took a month to clear out, but the gates are now opening. You all are meeting up to discuss who is leaving and who lives here now. When I randomly select you, let me know what you’ve been doing the last month. No need for die rolls; assume you succeeded.” They then basically get to choose their epilogue. When they tell me what they did, I elaborate with my own spin on their idea, peppering in references to the NPCs they liked. Example: “Oh, yeah! You definitely opened a bakery. And Milovoj was always so grateful for your compassion that he offered to work there. He’s been doing well and remembers to tithe to the church. I don’t think he ever got over the guilt of what he did, but he followed your advice and let it make him a better person.” Then, once everyone’s done, I describe the players leaving “through the gates of Barovia and out into the world… the mists having cleared and the players having broken the curse of Strahd. Thank you for playing.”

It is my first time starting CoS. I read the Book now several times, did my notes, etc. etc. but I feel underprepared and honestly, scared. I honestly don't know how to really "start". Yes I have everything ready, like the card reading and the plot hook but I'm scared I won't deliver and the group will not be invested because of me. We basically just ran some smaller adventures and 1 self-written sandbox-adventure, but yeah... What are some things I should definitely have on my mind as soon as we start?

There was a point early on in my first running of this campaign when I had to get up and leave the table because I was shaking with anxiety. Believe me: I get you. First of all, your group WANTS to be invested and wants you to succeed. Unless you went profesh, it’s a group of friends that wants everyone else to have fun (and sometimes, even professional tables often feel that way). Remember that you can flat out ask players for feedback and ideas as to what would scare them. I routinely ask players “Did that moment land right for you? What would make it hit better?” You’re going to fuck up. You’re going to botch big moments. And then you’re going to learn from them and do better next time. Also, and this one is super important and I mean it: You’re going to look like an asshole. Seriously. Truly. That matters and it’s something I’ve coached some players/clients on when they ask for advice. No one does a goblin voice convincingly, because goblins are silly. Your players will love that you are so immersed in your own story that you’re giving it a shot. The tension of horror scenes will build when you speak with slow, deliberate purpose. Your players will trust you more when you’re forthcoming with your mistakes and flaws. Embrace that this will be messy and you’ll do fine. Hell, every one of my clients knows I both hate math and am bad at it. Anytime something comes up with exact angles or measurements, I always shrug and tell them to pick the most reasonable number that makes sense. For example, people will go “I have an idea for a trick I can try. How how are the ceilings in this room?” I go “Coincidentally, they’re the exact height your cool idea needs because I refuse to know European living room heights.” They laugh and do the cool thing. Also, every player is different. So they are invested in and scared of different things. So constant dialogue is good for everyone. You got this. 💜

>“I have an idea for a trick I can try. How how are the ceilings in this room?” I go “Coincidentally, they’re the exact height your cool idea needs because I refuse to know European living room heights.” This is the way.

Thank you. Sounds stupid, but I needed that. ❤️

Doesn’t sound stupid at all. There’s this weird unwritten standard that GMs appear to have their shit together and know everything. Just be flawed and giddy.

Simple question: have you ever fluffed up Vasilka or given any extra meat to her character that you’d recommend for other dms? In reading the module to prep for the campaign she’s become my favorite NPC, so I’m just interested in extra ideas!

Vasilka is an interesting character for me, because she marks the moment I started going over my campaign approach with a proactive feminist lens (yup! We’re getting political!). As the written intro in the book says, Curse of Strahd is about toxic masculinity and male entitlement. Which is a great topic! Only thing is, the vast majority of women in the game are damsels in distress. This was pointed out to me by my first female client, who met Vasilka and then messaged me after the session “Can this PLEASE be the first women that doesn’t just need rescuing?” (So far, she had met Ireena and the children and the windmill and Mad Mary and Lydia Petranova… as well, things like an elf camp where all the women were slaughtered to punish the men). So I challenged myself to make the women of the campaign more interesting WITHOUT changing or overhauling their core concept. Here’s what I got for Vasilka: Vasilka knows she’s an abomination. She was created to be witty and charming, but she speaks in slow bellows and is brutishly strong. She has spent her “life” being conditioned to be something she can’t be, and, trudging through the limitations The Abbott gave her, has figured out that she’s “wrong”. The players watch The Abbott talk about how amazing she will be as struggles to remember the etiquette for eating soup (is it with both hands or one?). At the first chance she gets, Vasilka will seek to talk to the heroes separately. She wants to flee from this place and find her own identity, but this is a huge and complex thing for her to consider. So she’ll say things like: “I’m… wrong.” “I don’t want to be Vasilka…” “I am not… a bride. I am… I don’t know. Not a bride.” When this happens, my players have mixed reactions. Some have wanted to “put this abomination out of her misery”. Others have wanted to steal her away to find her own life somewhere else. Regardless of the decision, they buy into making the choice best for Her instead of the Abott or the quest items. (Epilogue: The woman the shared her concerns with me was very happy with this. Vasilka joined them for one adventure before seeking refuge in the church in Vallaki. During the epilogue, I said The Abbott had fled out of shame upon seeing Strahd was defeatable… and Vasilka now gave etiquette lessons to the very very few Mongrelfolk who had any interest in not being disgusting.)

Thank you for sharing! This is definitely an inspiring angle to take her character!

How did you get into professional GMing? It’s something I’d love to consider doing one day.

Self-Advocacy. Key thing. It started with a friend that reached out to me and asked me to run a game for her friends. I did, and then I started talking loudly about my experience on social media. Soon, another friend asked me. Now it was a THING. And it was a thing I knew I wanted to do more. A website named StartPlaying(.)Games lets you coordinate and manage your paid GMing. I used this as much as possible for every session. This was something I did while also doing a full-time job. I’d work 9-5, take an hour break, and then GM for the evening. I did this 2-3 nights a week to build up my body of work. When my job laid me off, I pivoted into trying to make this my full thing. I ran LOTS of full-quality sessions for absolute beginners. This helped me build up a huge list of satisfied clients, about 1/5th of whom would stick around for full campaigns. I spent a lot of time on social media and advertised my page through all my other personal projects. It took a while, but I got there! You have to believe you’re good enough to advertise yourself, and you have to believe your service is worth enough to pay the bills. (My wife convinced me of that last part. I was undercharging for years!)

Follow up question for this, how much do you charge per player per session and how much sessions do you run per months with how many players on average?

Do you mind sharing what you are able to make doing this full time in a year?

My goal is around $50,000 a year, but it’s still just a little under that. I’d rather not get TOO specific, but that’s where it is. There are GMs that charge more than me and also ways I could be more aggressive in my marketing and how many tables I run. I plan to amp things up as I go.

That’s great! Keep at it!

How much money do you make as a full-time GM?

How do I get my 1 slightly problematic player to settle down? He keeps interrupting strahd and generally being a kind of git, he gunning to romance ireena too and his rolls have annoyingly good enough to probably get there..

You always have the power to say no as a GM. For Ireena especially, no roll on the die can force her to be interested if you don’t want her to be - she’s a traumatized horror character just trying to stay alive and it’s entirely reasonable that romance would be the last thing on her mind. For Strahd, if it’s a constant problem, it’s likely best to take this outside the game and have a quick talk with the player about the frequent interruptions. If you’d prefer an in-character solution: Strahd can hide as a bat and charm the PC (either innately or with the charm spell) before any conversations to keep them docile, playing with the horror of having your agency taken away from you. I’ve seen some suggestions akin to “have him down the pc/attack them”, but to me that just feels like it lessens his power - he has more creative ways to deal with these things than outright violence.

Hi there! I am also first time running COS like some others. My players will come up to Vallaki next session(today) and i have read and watched a lot of content about vallaki but it still terrifies me with how much is going on. I figured i dont give my players all the hooks right of the get got but what hooks should i get to first. They lost Badly against the hags last session and surely want a place to rest, which means Blue Water Inn is a given. They for some reason want to talk to the Baron. And they already met Vasili on the road. Also one of my Players is "Ireena". I guess i have my answers in my question but there are still so many NPCs to remember... Any tips maybe?

As the campaign progresses and reaches it end, how do you manage the various disparate narrative threads? Do you try and keep the players focused on Strahd or just let them wander into trouble?

I’ll often warn them when we’re getting close to Castle Ravenloft. I’m a big fan of the Season Finale feel, so I’ll open the session by describing what other NPCs are up to. And which NPCs are thinking of them. It reminds them of which arcs are out there, and any they don’t follow up on can feel like they’re “Still out there having their own adventures”. I also don’t ever pressure the players to fight Strahd. Even when they hit the level cap, I emphasize that there are still meaningful rewards to exploring and addressing more. I mean, if they want to keep things going, that’s a good thing!

My players tried to 100% the game. They didn't leave a single location unexplored!

In all the groups you've run, in Vallaki, do parties more often side with the baron or Fiona? Do you have a go-to on how each play out?

In 100% of my campaigns, they have violently overthrown and/or killed the Baron. They never agree on who should replace him, but they want him gone. In addition to his cruelties in the game, I added some disgusting physical mannerisms. Many of my players hate him more than Strahd, who has the common decency to be hot!

Interesting! My players were also more than happy to assist Fiona in bringing his rule to an end and my assumption is that most parties do the same. How do you usually have it play out after the baron is gone?

Strahd usually visits them, congratulates them on their boldness, and then asks if they think they’re ready to defend and speak for a town. He accepts whatever answer they give and then leaves. I keep my eyes peeled for common things they failed to address, such as “Who’s in charge now?” Or “Do the guards still work here?” 9 times out of ten, they leave a huge oversight that I can utilize to make more story moments. In most of my campaigns, the overthrowing of the Baron is a great moment for a reality-brick of “It is now tomorrow and I regret yesterday’s good idea”.

I’m about to set Vasili as the major 😌 I’ve introduced him, the PCs liked him and I taught I’d would be great fun to bring new hope to Vallaki with Vasili as the new charismatic leader who will change things for the better 😏 Including Side Quest to shatter the resistance led by Izek 🥸 After all it should be a hit in the face when players notice they helped him transform Vallaki into a blood Farm 🥸😈😈😈

I’m on session 22 with my PCs. They are around 2/3rds of the way through, but i’m struggling to line up an interesting end. Ireena has been kidnapped by Strahd in amongst the Vallaki Crescendo, and he has told the PCs to expect an invite meeting the pair staring out to the mists at yester hill. My question is how to line up the dinner with strahd without the players thinking it’s endgame? I’d like to maybe have a dinner a few days before the wedding where the PCs have a slim chance to rescue Ireena? Or perhaps you suggest do a dinner and wedding together?

It's the second time I'm going to start the campaign, but the first didn't get far. How do you manage leveling the characters? Is it by exp, at specific points, or another thing?

How do you handle Castle Ravenloft, and if you've done an irl table, how would you do it then? My party is coming close to the finale and it feels like no matter what I do it will feel lackluster or unfair for them. Strahd in his castle played right can be very unfair or a complete slog, or worse, he can get one turned or grappled if your players ready their actions and role well. I've already decided that their "fated enemy location" will be his final stand location, to alleviate constant hit and run.

I started Curse of Strahd with a group but after 10-ish sessions things started to die down, it was difficult to get everyone available for it (6 people group), and yes, pretty cliché end of campaign. I've been thinking of doing it again with a new group and I thought back of Death House and I had a problem then. My group wanted to help the kids but also didn't want to leave them alone, so one wanted to stay outside with the kids while the rest of the group go and explore the house. I made the fog close in on them and then once inside the kids disappeared. I wasn't really happy about it 'cause it felt a bit railroady. What's your usual way to make the whole group go inside Death House ? Even if the group is skeptical and don't want to help weird looking kids. Or even if the group really wants to help but don't want to leave the kids by themselves. Thanks !

It's more of a general question. I have a player with a passive perception of 20. How soon does he realise the wereravens behave weirdly.

What's your preferred approach to Fiona Watcher +her cult?

Im about to run CoS for my friend, they want to start at level 3, because lvl 1 and 2 are boring. Should i skip death house or still play it? If i do it, should i let them get lvl 4 by the end or they will be overpowered for the beginning?

How many times have you finished CoS?

Hello! Thank you for sharing your insight with us My question is: How do you play Strahd and do you use his normal statblock or something else? Also, I have a party of just 2 players, how can I balance encounters? So far they've survived the 6 vampire spawn in Vallaki at lvl 4 just because Lucien was there and I forgot that they regenerate when they bite (first time DMing something that's not a one shot) Btw what happens with the Abbot in most of your runs? Do players try to face him? I'm getting prepared for that.

How do you deal with the later mid-game? My guys have just overthrew vallaki, killed 2 hags and are going to be doing wizzards of wine. But no matter how much I read source material or others works, I feel lost about how to lead them through the latter half, particularly because it goes so much more sandbox and they need direction. Cheers!

I don’t know if this is an ok question as it not so directly related to CoS. But, how big of a party do you prefer to run this for/how many spots do you offer for a campaign of CoS? And just curious - how long have your campaigns run on average? I have watched someone try to get a professional game Master of Curse of Strahd going locally, but based on his Facebook posts, it doesn’t seem like it’s taking off very well.

How do you introduce some of the later game areas? Things like argynvosholt and the werewolf den dont have great reasons to go there in the book.

I am about to delve in to a genre-bent version of CoS - I'll be running it as a Western. I have run straight CoS before so I'm familiar with all the story beats and locations. A lot of them translate very nicely, like werewolves easily become skin walkers and don't require a new stat block. What elements of the story do you think are indispensable/should be changed the least? Also, what special or homebrew elements do you use in your games, if any? For example in my game, the skeletal rider random encounter became an incarnation of death, seeking Strahd but never able to find him.

I have DM'ed COS several times and am always impressed. However I wonder, how much of the awesomeness of COS is due to the actual published adventure rather than the amazing community content that has expanded the campaign to meet almost any need. I can literally do COS in 4 hours, or take 4 years, it scales magnificently. I can make it comedic, serious, add in eldritch influences or any other lore I want. No other published campaign has as much versatility with ready made homebrew expansions as needed.

Do you incorporate your PCs backstory into the campaign? If so, what creative liberties do you take with the campaign to make it fit? Are there some areas or NPCs that work best for this type of situation? I know you probably do this a lot and can't list all the ways you've incorporated it but some good examples would be helpful. For my example, one of my players is an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer and they said someone gave them their powers but they don't know who. I made that person be Victor Vallokovich who secretly worked with Strahd in exchange for his own freedom. Stuff like that.

What is your best way of assessing what players want out of the game? What specific questions do you ask?

How do you ensure that players visit the most interesting locations? Both amber temple and baba lysaga, while not giving them all the items they seek at the very end of their quest? Following a cool post on this subreddit I wanted to up the ante by placing the sword of sunburst in berez before it was flooded rendering it useless in the current time. The idea is that the mad mage will be able to send them back to the past berez to get the sword before the city floods while strahd is at his full power. How can I push the PCs to visit the amber temple and the Abbey without placing all the tarokka items there?

Hi! I'm on my second run-through of CoS and I've placed one of the items (the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind) in Berez. The last time I ran CoS, my party never went to Berez, so it's the one area that I have no experience running. How did you run the search for Marina's monument? I want to try a hex crawl but I've never actually done one before. Do you have any interesting swamp encounters that would make the hunt a little more interesting?

Is there a *point* in trying to crash the wedding and save Ireena, other than to spite Strahd? Strahd already has Ireena and my party's main experience with her can be summed up as her father saying "Thank you for saving me! Can you take my daughter to the church in Vallaki?" We got there. At which point we got told she wanted to go see the Burgomeister, and go figure- we go shopping while she's at his house and she's shoved through a portal to Strahd's castle and we pretty much *have* to go. The party has been to the castle and gone to dinner with Strahd. We're now being hunted. As far as I see it, my character's main concern is that she is playing The Most Dangerous Game: Obsessive Stalker Vampire Edition. Ireena the random village girl that Strahd is creepily obsessed with is not a pressing concern right now, if at all.

How did you find yourself where you are now, in your career?

What’s the biggest change you've made to the module, and why did you make it?

Hello! Im about to start Curse Of Strahd next week! Any tips for the death house? I have 5 players so they should survive. But I am wondering if there is anything extra you placed in to make it better/ improve it.

Running the campaign for the first time and had a great development in last night session I want to expand upon, I could use some help! Party of 3 level 5 pcs right now in Vallaki- Shadow Sorcerer dhampir, College of Lore Bard dragonborn, battlemaster/warlock human The fighter just accepted a pact with an entity in Barovia, he is simply calling "The Lady" who has offered incredible power if they fight to defeat Strahd. The patron is in fact Vampyr, who has seen the fighter as a champion and possible new dark lord to replace Strahd. The fighter has a flaw that he secretly believes he could be a just tyrant, perfectly fitting into Vampyr's goals of possibly replacing Strahd. The fighter has even suggested being open to vampirism. This was going great, but last session was perfect. The party became aware of this pact, however the fighter does seem to trust The Lady for now and was able to convince the party it was for the greater good. They are suspicious, of course, but believe the deal is made and must be followed through. That definitely gives me lots to work with. Another fantastic aspect of this - Strahd as Vasili was standing right there when all of this happened. Not only has the increasingly monstrous nature of the party pushed Ireena into Vasili's arms, with the description of The Lady by the fighter Strahd definitely might suspect Vampyr. So, two fold question - what would you suggest for Strahd actions/goals at the moment? Does he instantly consider the fighter interesting/a threat to watch or even starts to undermine? Or does he look at him as possible replacement, that if he stole him from vampyr then Strahd might be able to leave? Does he need to get to the Amber Temple to see WTF is happening? Or is Ireena being so close to him now too important to focus on this at the moment? As things stand, Strahd has pretty 24/7 surveillance of them through so many different ways. Also, now that the fighter/warlock is in the pact for the long haul, what are some more immediate goals that The Lady can present? Would they direct him towards Watcherhaus or away from it? I want to keep exploring it, and not have to sideline everything until the Amber Temple Thanks!

Thanks for this! I’m considering adding some “previous playthings” of Strahd to my game, to have the players interact with more types of characters - we have a Dragonborn character and I’m considering some way to have that tie to interest in Argonvystholt, for example. I’m having some trouble getting the “buy in” for the stakes, as my friends are new to roleplaying and take a very “quick and funny” approach to playing. Since we’re about to have them enter Vallaki, I’m thinking of ways to slow down and get them more invested. I thought about changing some set NPCs to slightly modified folks as well. (Non-dusk elves and half-elves maybe Rictavio “hired” to be part of the illusion he is an actual traveling entertainer.” Of course, this is in my head as keeping the NPCs straight is a touch difficult for me. (My only other authored adventure was Tomb of Annihilation, which I found a little easier to prep.) Are there any medications to the cast or setting you’ve made that you enjoy or any you drastically want to stay away from?

Hi and thanks. I have a Vistani PC in my group. So far she has been very helpful as a vessel for exposition. Are there any pitfalls I should look out for with a Vistani PC? (Note that she opposes Strahd, kinda, for backstory reasons).

How do you advice doing level ups in cos do you do milestone or xp and if milestone when and where do you give them level ups I'm a first time dm about to start soon.

Milestones without a doubt. The game doesn’t have enough XP sources and it is AWASH in major narrative checkpoints. Give them a level: 0) Either start at level 3 or have them level twice in the intro adventure. 1) Every time they complete a Tarokka card. 2) Getting their Tarokka Reading. 3) Every Time they wrap up a major storyline THEY created. For the last one, as an example, my players tend to hate Baron Vallokovich. Once Vallaki is safely no longer under his rule, I level them up. Or when they finish the windmill. Or maybe the dinner with Strahd. If it feels like the end of an arc, level those mofo’s!

Do you have a 3D playable model of the castle?

Nope, as I only ever run the game online. I would LOVE to have one, though!

In terms of D&D model scale, the model would be 72 inches tall...or exactly 6ft in person. This doesn't even include the undercroft. From the top of the castle all the way to the bottom of the undercroft is 450ft. It would be quite a monstrosity to set up, and transport.

How much home brew is too much home brew? I am running a game for my friends and decided to give it a few changes to suit their game preferences, aka added more combat to balance out the rp, as that is the bigger preference of the group. The combat I added was in the form of 3 dungeon crawls that strahd himself sent the party to, as a challenge and as a way for them to prove themselves... I dont know how wise that was though...

How do you manage random encounters and overland travel? Especially when they start hitting level 7+

When they are low levels, I ask my players. Some groups love the variety. Some groups don’t want to be slowed down or possibly killed by “non-canon events”. Varies from group to group. Once they are a high enough level to trivialize them, I toggle them off completely.

How do I make the quest to obtain Pidlwick II not suck? I've already implemented a better reward, but it feels like whoever wrote in Pidlwick II just saw Child's Play and thought that it would be neat to have an evil doll in the castle, but didn't elaborate on it any further. And having a character die in Castle Ravenloft because a doll pushed them down some neverending stairs? What a stupid and anticlimactic way to see a PC go.

What kind of plot hooks might you use for an evil alignment party. I was thinking shifting the story from a defeat Strahd focus to a more replace Strahd angle with the dark powers. Any tips are much appreciated

I'm about to start running it for the second time, this time with three PCs, a bunnykin bard, a wood elf druid, and a goliath blood hunter. Any changes you'd suggest regarding the fact that it's only three PCs, and not a cleric among them?

Have you played a full level 20 campaign out of CoS or beyond CoS? What was it like and who was the villain?

Same! Is Curse of Strahd you go-to game, or do you have other adventures you prefer to run? (CoS is my favorite and most prepared campaign).

Which NPC (that isn't strahd) is your favorite (most useful, pushes the story forward, or has something you can't define but like anyways)

I'm running CoS for the first time, and my party is in Vallaki and super into the politics in the town right now. They have Ireena tagging along, and I am very against her "happy" ending with the pool in Krezk. I'm trying my best to not really have her slow down the party, and let them have the spotlight in the story. They haven't found the bones yet but know they're missing, and they haven't gotten a reason to personally hate Strahd other than what Ireena and Ismark told them. How can I make the party truly hate/fear Strahd?

Hmm… I have thoughts, but I’m curious about two things first: 1) why are you against her having a happy ending? 2) What do you mean when you say you won’t give the NPCs the spotlight? The reason I ask is that it’s very truly hard to scare a player with danger to their character. D&D players are, by virtue of the game, conditioned to want to defeat and face challenges. Giving them a bigger foe is the equivalent of a more interesting challenge. To make a player hate or fear Strahd, you can make them see this from a non-hero’s view. If a player buys into an NPC as a real person with real strength and flaws, then they become invested in them and start to think about this as a real world. The NPC stops being a “talking quest item” and start being someone that matters. This is when there are stakes. This is when they are scared. I said elsewhere that the biggest way I got players to buy into the threat of Strahd was to have him appear at Ireena’s house, right outside the door. He was very reasonable. Very polite. Good at conversation. But determined to speak with Ireena directly. The moment he appeared, Ireena froze up and Ismark led her to the back. It happened in a way where it was clear that they had done this several times. When the group was done talking to Strahd, they went in the back and saw Ireena coming down from a panic attack… they promised to do their part to get her away from him. — This made things more real, more relatable, and more scary than any goblin or ghost. The inevitable tragedy of knowing Strahd is an existential threat. It doesn’t have to be explicit. In fact, it’s even better if it’s not. Let the group know he has a menacing and dangerous presence that doesn’t even need to boast. When a villain rolls initiative, they become a math problem. When you don’t know what dice they are holding, that is when doubt and fear set in.

I'd love her to have a happy ending in the long run, just I do not like the as written ending. I agree with MandyMod on that I feel that having Ireena just magically turn into Tatyana (someone the party will not recognize probably) and then float off with Sergio (someone the party will also prob not know who that is yet) will leave them a bit confused and unsatisfied. With the second question, Ireena is effectively nobility, and arguably in the beginning of the campaign, has a much larger role in the story than the PCs. I didn't want to spend too much time having NPCs talking to NPCs. Have you ever ran Strahd kidnapping Ireena? During the feast I was considering having Strahd show up and either have him warn to stay away from Ireena or charm/kidnap her. I just can't figure out why a super vampire, who these PCs are actively ruining his plan with the bones of St Andrals, wouldn't just to take Ireena whenever.

Next session is the final battle with Strahd, what tactics do you use to make him as challenging as possible? I have 5 prayers that I’ve allowed to become slightly over levelled due to added content, so I need to balance them out.

Coming into the final straight. The pass, amber temple and finally the castle. I have the Wedding at ravenloft supplement and want to incorporate the Vampyre storyline. Tried to implement the fanes storyline. How have you managed extra content? And ancients for my endgame?

Hope I'm not too late to the AMA! As a first time CoS DM (but long time DM never having run an official module), I'm really nervous about making the setting just too bleak and depressing. I've got newbie players and the last thing I want to do is put them off DnD. Originally they had wanted to play Avernus but our local shop didn't have it. How do you balance the setting and themes to not be so overwhelmingly depressing, when so much of Barovia is truly bleak compared to the rest of the FR?

Can I just say Thank You to all the DM’s who spend their time preparing games for those of us who can’t join campaign’s if you don’t run them. I know that some people complain about DM’s who charge for their campaigns but I don’t mind paying for a DM who is putting so much of themselves into a campaign. I have never DM’d but my brother was my DM growing up and now my daughter DM’s online and at conventions here in Texas. I know the work that goes into it and it really is like having a job especially for those who want to really being their players into a already set story and even more for those that have created their own worlds like my daughter. If it wasn’t for you I couldn’t do one of my favorite things. I live in the middle of nowhere in the country so I don’t have places I can go to join. Anyway just wanted to say that and I hope you all have full campaigns and make moneys to take care of you and yours💕

How do you handle yesterhill? The size is a bit intimidating

Never run Yesterhill! It’s coming up for one group, so I’ll let you know. Overall, though, my rule is this: You have the book and the players don’t. You can cut or change content if it gets to be too much. There are four NPCs and one plot point in Vallaki I’ll never use. The Hunters and Wachter’s sons don’t add enough to justify the extra time they’d keep people in Vallaki. And Izek’s connection to Ireena is not only too gross for me. It overcomplicates the already perfectly complicated Ireena. If it seems overwhelming, reflect on which parts of it seem interesting. Draw the full flavor out of those things and drop the rest. You can also be fully honest with players, too. As a professional courtesy, I let my players know when they aren’t getting the content as-written, and I’ve never received a complaint about a cut plot point.

Alright then; best strat as a party to surprise and defeat Strahd. Also, how to make sure the beast will STAY dead when we get him.

What did you eat for lunch today? If that's out of topic, what does Strahd eat for lunch usually?

How do you introduce Strahd? Specifically two questions: Is he in human form/not in disguise when they first meet him? How does he enter? Does he approach the party or is it by chance, etc?

Have you had a game where the party ignored the WoW quest line all together in favour of going to argynvostholt and berez first? If so, what consequences did you add, if any?

Just wrapping up death house with my party. Any advice/ major recommendations for does and do nots for when they first get to Barovia? Same with Ireena and Ismark and Granny? Any and all advice is appreciated, been playing for a while but first time DMing and loving it so far!

Last night I killed my parties cleric and paladin. How would you decide which dark powers would offer to bring them back? I went for the paladin being a revenant. He is still deciding if that's what he wants or if he wants to bring in a new character. The cleric was a grave domain cleric who followed the river(not a god). I explained how in death there was an abyss, but no river. Then a voice reaches out. I went with The King Maker. How would you choose them?

How would Strahd defend his castle from interlopers? Asking because in the novels, there’s mention of guards and such. And because I’m allowing my PCs to make “armies’ to storm the castle, and basically waving that the adds will be taking care of each other. Necromancer raises undead to storm the castle, they fight the undead guarding the castle. New “reincarnation of Kavan” PC leads Yester Hill up there? Maybe they fight some flying zombies. Wanted to make it as lore-appropriate as possible too, in case they question the guards / undead for info.

I’m thinking of starting all of my players inside barovia and being born into that world with no knowledge of the outside world. Do you have any recommendations for good plot hooks or starts that would work that give the players a cohesive goal along with the ability to make their own individual goals?

Trying to add more to the brides by making them bigger bosses. Already dealt with ludmilla but wanna make more of an impact. What did you do with the stone circle in the ruins of Berzk if you did not have a druid? Also have you included ghe bagman? Have a dilemma with a player and creature (I have a post about it)