[Ravenloft] Asking For Ideas

[DeadlyUematsu]

Tonight I ran the old classic module Ravenloft for some friends. Although it was supposed to be an one off, they enjoyed it so much that they want to carry over thier characters into an actual campaign. So, for a 9th level party with Castle Ravenloft as thier base and the notoriety of killing Strahd von Zarovich, what kind of adventures and plots can I spring upon them?

[Le Noir Faineant]

I already answered over at WotC and gave you some links. I suggest you either uses Mortepierrre's idea or look there what you can find.

[Ail]

I think you could put them coming from "killing Strahd" on Lemot Sediam Juste's stage and so it was all a fake, a bit of alternate history in the past, proposed by the writer. From there, you can start with a party not as strong and with Strahd still alive.
If they really want to continue with the same characters... hmmm.... could they be paid actors by Juste and simple do some adventures for him? Quite unsatisfactory, I'm afraid, but isn't 9th level a bit too much to start?

Ail

[alhoon]

but isn't 9th level a bit too much to start?

Not necessarily

Think of a mistborn Eminent 15th lvl Vampire that comes into existance with a castle full of servants and enslaved thralls in the dungeons to feed the master. His true purpose? To make the PCs miserable without even himself knowing.
His craving? To capture the PCs, and learn how they defeated Strahd so that he: Can duplicate the feat and perhaps even steal part of Strahd's power and also fortify himself from similar fate.
Add a few mist vulnerabilities or they will be trampled

On topic: Have the mists throw them sometime in the future where Strahd is miracusly alive! And most of all. . . he remembers them all too well.
The Demiplane has expanded much from where they started and many things are different.

Even if they stay away from Barovia, mistborn and fugue creatures (see VRGttM) cross their path and seem to work for Strahd. However this is not the case. It's just a prank on Strahd by the mists and the PCs are the tools and the means.
The point is will they become mere pawns in the machinations of the mists against the oldest Darklord there, or they will do something and avoid playing a large cosmic prank?

[Undead Cabbage]

All good ideas so far. Another one relates to a certain Dread possibility there is in the 3rd Gazateer, mordent section.

At one time, Strahd actually owned two identities: one good, one bad. To make a long story short, they ended up battling. Obviously the bad one survived the battle, but you could have it that your party accidently killed the good one, mistaking it for the bad. The very fate of the realms could be weighing down heavily on the as they feel the guilt of really messing it up.

[Scede]

Have the PCs get sucked into the mists and run House on Gryphon Hill?

[BigBadQDaddy]

...I cant believe you let them take down Strahd...
Granted, he is beatable, when you consider game mechanics and all...
I don't think i would ever let a party take down any darklord, not even Ivan Dilisnya, and I hate that guy...

[Jack of Tears]

>>.I cant believe you let them take down Strahd...
Granted, he is beatable, when you consider game mechanics and all... <<


Well, that was the point of the module he ran then through. The alternative would be not to let them succeed, dispite themselves, which would certainly not have left them in a mood to continue gaming in Ravenloft.

It seems I'm the odd man out here when I suggest you leave things as they are. They killed the single most recognized villian in the known world ... this is bound to create all sorts of adventure opportunities. Who will control the land of Barovia now? Was it simply absorbed by the mists or is there a power struggle to fill that hole? Certainly Lysa will have her eye on the throne, as will the rulers of the nearby domains. A war of conquest is likely to follow, with the characters possibly caught in the middle. Certainly the movers and shakers will all want a piece of the people who killed Strahd ... either as allies or victims. (and even those who think to use them as allies will probably intend to see them dead in the end, people powerful enough to topple VonZarovich cannot be left wandering around ... who knows who they'll kill next?)

If you want something simpler, however, simply have them mist-born to another set module. House on Griphon Hill is decent, though if you have it, or can get your hands on it, I highly recommend Castles Forlorn ... probably the single best RL adventure ever made; though it requires alot of the gm.

Do not, I repeat do not run them through Web of Illusions, long agreed to be the worst adventure ever written for this setting. That was the first and only module I ever set my players through and turned me off of printed works for the decade and a half that followed.

My main concern, however, is that you do not cheat the party by taking away their victory. They defeated Strahd, it is a big deal and the party should feel proud ... the significance of their actions should be fealt, good and bad both ... let them celebrate their success but make it apparent that in Ravenloft (and hell, most anywhere else) even the best intentions sometimes make for greater problems.

If you really want to revive Strahd, however, consider the likely reasons. How was he killed? It has been a long time since I read that adventure, was he exposed to the piece of sun trapped in the bowels of Castle Ravenloft? If he was then the answer is simple ... the Crimson Mist (I believe it's the crimson mist) is believed to be the spirit of a vampire who was destroyed by sunlight but too powerful to truly move on. Basically it is a type of ghost. So make Strahd a Crimson Mist with the ability to constitute himself and appear tangible for a few hours each day. This is what I did in my game. (though I played with Strahd dead for years and only the machinations of an evil cult brought him back in his current state ... the culmination of a long campaign)

[Augustus]

I'd let my PC's kill Ivan Dilisnya... that's all I have to say bout that.

[BigBadQDaddy]

I'd let my PC's kill Ivan Dilisnya... that's all I have to say bout that.

Ya Know, on second thought I think I would let them kill him too, but only on the grounds that they do it by catapulting him into the face of a mountain.