Character Creation
Who Are You?
Races
- Human (Standard, Variant)
- Dwarves (Duergar, Hill, Mountain)
- Elves (Drow, High, Shadar-Kai, Wood)
- Halfings (Lightfoot, Stout)
- Half-elf (Standard)
- Half-orc (You can replace these racial traits with the "Orc" from Monsters of the Multiverse)
- Dhampir
- Hexblood
- Reborn
- Shifter
Races from the PHB will have their ASI bonuses changed to match the Monsters of the Multiverse versions (I.e. +2, +1 or +1, +1, +1)
All races from the PHB have their base speed increased to 30.
No race has Sunlight Sensitivity.
Use the Monsters of the Multiverse version of all races, if applicable. Customized origin is allowed.
Seeds of Fear
Aside from supernatural sources of dread and monsters who strike terror in their victims, fear is subjective and often quite personal. A battle-hardened warrior and a reclusive scholar might not deal with frightful circumstances in the same way. During character creation, a player can choose up to two Seeds of Fear to represent things their character finds truly frightening. The Seeds of Fear table offers some examples. These can change over time as characters grow, overcome old fears, and discover new uncertainties. Work with players to determine when their Seeds of Fear might change.
A character never has more than three Seeds of Fear; if you gain a new seed and already have three, choose which of your old fears is replaced by the new one.
Seeds of Fear
| d12 | Seed |
|---|---|
| 1 | “I can’t stand dark places.” |
| 2 | “I’m terrified of a particular kind of animal.” |
| 3 | “Deep water will be the death of me.” |
| 4 | “I can’t stand heights.” |
| 5 | “I hate being stuck in tight spaces.” |
| 6 | “Being around crowds unnerves me, for I always feel judged.” |
| 7 | “I hate feeling isolated or being alone.” |
| 8 | “Storms and extreme weather rattle me.” |
| 9 | “Being followed chills my blood.” |
| 10 | “Sudden noises or appearances fray my nerves.” |
| 11 | “I can’t be comfortable around creatures larger than I am.” |
| 12 | “Reflections always seem like they’re looking straight through me.” |
What Were You Doing?
So Curse of Strahd takes place entirely in a small demiplane called Ravenloft, a cursed valley that is only about 50 miles across. But who were you before you were brought to the Strahd's Domain of Dread?
Everyone in the party is originally from the Forgotten Realms, somewhere along the Sword Coast of Faerûn. However this is a much more down-to-earth interpretation of the Forgotten Realms so the only races available are the ones presented in the GMBinder link.
The technology level is roughly the equivalent to our early 16th century, so lots of breastplates, muskets, rapiers, plus fully armored knights with poleaxes or zweihanders.
The primary deities are the ones presented in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, although keep in mind the gods will have no influence or even be known in Ravenloft.
Your character ended up in Ravenloft in one of four ways. Some of you might have known each other before ending up in the Domain of Dread.
Plea for Help
To a party of seasoned adventurers such as yourselves, what you see is but another dull tavern in another dull town in some nameless province. It is but another span of time between the challenges of true adventuring.
Outside the tavern, a fog lies over the town this evening. The damp, cobbled pavement glistens as the lights of street lanterns dance across the slick stones. The fog chills the bones and shivers the soul of anyone outside.
Yet inside these tavern walls the food is hearty, and the ale is warm and frothy. A fire blazes in the hearth, and the tavern is alive with the tumbling voices of country folk.
Suddenly, the tavern door swings open, and a hush falls over the room. Framed by the lamp-lit fog, a form strides through the doorway. His heavy, booted footfalls and the jingle of his coins shatter the silence. His brightly colored clothes are draped in loose folds about him, and his hat hangs askew, hiding his eyes in shadows. Without hesitation, he walks up to your table and stands proudly in a wide stance with folded arms.
In an accented voice he says, “I have been sent to you to deliver this message. If you be creatures of honor, you will come to my Master’s aid at first light. It is not advisable to travel the Svalich Woods at night!” He pulls from his tunic a sealed letter, addressed to all of you in beautiful flowing script. He drops the letter on the table. “Take the west road from here some five hours march down through the Svalich Woods. There you will find my master in Barovia.”
Amid the silent stares of the patronage, the man strides to the bar and says to the wary barkeep, “Fill the glasses, one and all. Their throats are obviously parched.” He drops a purse heavy with gold on the bar. With that, he leaves.
The babble of tavern voices resumes, although somewhat subdued. The letter is lying before you. The seal is in the shape of a crest you don’t recognize.
This is a good hook if you want a personal vendetta against someone in Ravenloft.
Mysterious Visitors
Duchess Morwen of Daggerford is having guests for dinner—and you are invited. No strangers to Daggerford, you have come to the town’s defense on more than one occasion, and you count Lady Morwen as a friend and a benefactor.
A cool autumn breeze blows through the streets as you make your way to the keep. As you dine on hot, spicy soup and tenderly cooked pheasant, you can tell that the duchess seems more out of sorts than usual. Then a pall comes over the occasion as she voices her concern about a band of wayward travelers camped outside the town’s walls. They seemed harmless at first, but Morwen has received reports that they have begun harassing townsfolk and other visitors as they come and go, demanding money and wine, and threatening to put hexes on anyone who doesn’t pay up.
Yesterday, the duchess ordered several guards to scare away the mysterious visitors, but they couldn’t get the job done. When the guards returned, they spoke sympathetically about the visitors. It seemed as if the guards had been magically charmed.
Morwen doesn’t want an armed conflict, but she aims to send a stern message to the visitors and asks you to deliver it on her behalf. “If they don’t leave before dawn,” she says, “I’ll burn their wagons to the ground.”
This is a good hook if you want to have a little more connection to Ravenloft and more of a personal stake in what happens to the people there.
Werewolves in the Mist
“Werewolves in the mist!” You’ve heard these dreaded words spoken again and again by farmers, merchants, and adventurers alike. The hamlets east of Daggerford have fallen prey to a pack of werewolves that spills out of the Misty Forest on nights of the full moon, cloaked in crawling mist that seems to follow them wherever they go. The beasts spread death and mayhem, slaughtering adults and stealing children before retreating back into the woods. Others have tried to combat the werewolf menace, with little success.
This is a good hook if you want a stronger investment in what's going on back home and want stronger connections to Faerûn and good motivation to escape Strahd's clutches.
Creeping Fog
The woods are quiet this night, and the air grows chill. Your fire sputters as a low mist gathers around the edges of your camp, growing closer as the night wears on. By morning, the fog hangs thick in the air, turning the trees around you into gray ghosts. Then you notice these aren’t the same trees that surrounded you the night before.
This is a good hook if you don't care much about what was going on before the start of the campaign, and just want to jump into the Domain of Dread headfirst. You could be someone with mysterious connections to Ravenloft and were pulled back, or perhaps you were looking for a way to Ravenloft and you sure found it.