Also a general update of sorts

I’ve been DMing Curse of Strahd since August 2018. My players JUST finished the whole campaign Friday night. They hugged  Strahd. I’ve never as a DM witnessed several grown ass men - all veteran players - decide to use friendship and compassion on a villain and bizarrely succeed. And I’m so proud of them. 

There was still a battle with an aspect of a Lovecraftian outer god though, which is homebrew - though I’m seeing some DMs do similar. 

They obviously didn’t just hug him and it was all better. The whole time players had been talking about various ways in which they’d kill him. So for that not to happen was like...did you just reverse uno card the DM into a wholesome ending?  It’s a long story and one I’d like to tell in small parts, as the build up to why and how this worked is important. I know some DMs might not like this choice and that’s fair, but I prefer the world to respond to the culmination of players choices, rather than “Well he is evil anyway so nothing you do matters.” I am careful to do justice to Strahd as a villain, but with the players working so hard to rp so well, roll well, show up to every session online during the pandemic. Bro. Just let them solve this with compassion. We need more of that in the world. So, CoS stories to come! DROW STUFF TOO. Yes I know. I have been severely lacking in my drow content quota and I will repent for these sins. I’ve just been in a very different headspace lately. And then 2020 came in flexing how much of a fucknugget it could be. But I think my mana has replenished. Here’s a sneak peek WIP of hugged Strahd.

Bathane; tiefling warlock/rogue. Another one of my players’ characters in Curse of Strahd. He considers himself the most tief of lings. 

Canon Curse of Strahd NPCs he’s charmed/seduced so far:

Stanimir - old Vistani man who lures them to Barovia in the first place

Alenka, Mirabel and Sorvia - Owners of the Blood of The Vine Tavern in Barovia village.

Vilnius the madman in the Amber Temple...

A Nothic monster....in the Amber Temple

Baba Lysaga...yes. Bathane rolled nat 20 and brought her a basket of strawberries and wine from Vallaki.

An npc vampire, Levon, that my players found sleeping inside a kitchen pot as a bat, in Curse of Strahd. He was stuck…and didn’t know vampires were meant to sleep in coffins. He’s very new to vampirism. They didn’t trust him and questioned him so much he got distressed and half transformed into a bat: one leg bat, one leg human, and stumbled out the door. 

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