I am aiming for a 5 session game, 4 hours each. Give or take a session. I have a group of 7 gamers and then me as DM. So I have to adjust some things due to the adventure geared towards 4 people.
1) If the PCs do *everything* before they get to Strad then the final fight will be over very quickly - with them winning. Kinda like if you play through every side quest on a videogame RPG, then the boss is easier. If they do, I'd suggest beefing up the final encounter a little. There are loads of nice people on the boards who'd help you with a different version of Strad's stat block. :D
2) There is no *ending* to the quest as it is presented in the book. You save the day then... er... well... I'd suggest planning out the end before you go into the final part. Perhaps the PCs will want to keep their characters so go with a 'Flash Gordon' style ending, or perhaps with a 'That's of course only the begining of the story'-esque voice over. If they want to end the game their, you'll need to tailor a scene or two based on their reasons for taking on the quest in the first place.
Enjoy!
Peace,
tfad
I'll have to find some variants to Strad somewhere.
So far the players have been challenged without increasing the number or the beefing-up of creatures in any said encounter.
(the guy's supposed to be a tactical genius)
Yeah - he is. You're right. :D Any good advice on how to play him that way? See, the set up in the book doesn't offer Strad much in the way of options.
I mean to say that the final battle is almost always on the PC's terms. Sure he'll be in a different location, but the PCs are armed to the teeth with vampire slaying kit, leveled up the wazoo and have probably cut him off from the dayheart and the nodes that connect him to the land. They've probably killed most of his hired hands too.
Hopefully this isn't too much of a thread hijack and that the OP would find this info. useful as well. :D
Peace,
tfad
He is pretty prepaired. My advice is to try to Dominate either the barbarian or rogue to attack the party first. The character doesn't even know it happened probably, and it lasts awile. If it works, he doesn't do anything until the actual fight, and if it doesn't he can try again. So first he will have either the Barabarian or rogue turn on friends, then try to take down the fighter type through a fatigue/exhaust spell. Clerics can be a problem, because they can negate what he does to people, but are not all that great to Dominate or weaken themselves if they are defensive. Additionally, they are easily immune to most of his attacks with two spells (Deathward and Protection from Evil). So skip the Cleric. A wizard would be his next threat, and like the Cleric can be somewhat immune to him or negate what he does, but they might succumb to physically weak attacks, or say a trusted rogues sneak attack or a barbarians raging wrestling.
If he has a round or two before actual fighting, have him summon aid, and try a few Dominates. If he already has enough mental slaves, or allies, an area weaken spells a good option before he closes. His goal should be to take out all the threats before actually killing, so there is a chance for survival. Additionally, Strahd will not want to waste all his resorces unless he has to, so he will generally through out midlevel spells over his highest, but not so confident that he'd only use his lowest spells, or attack an opponent until they are dea before moving on to another.
His goal is to tag the target and bug out quick, the better to eat up the party's Restoration and healing spells in advance of a full-on confrontation. Then Strahd can observe the PCs' next encounter with one of his pet monsters, to see if the tagged character's showing the effects of a draining (slower, spells weaker, etc), or if they need to be tagged again. Either way, he's either diminished the party's threat directly or made them expend magic to restore the victim, while conserving his own spells.
Note that if he does manage to Dominate a rogue, as per the previous post's suggestion, Strahd shouldn't use such a puppet merely to fight the party, but to sabotage it as well. If the PCs have weapons, magical items, or other equipment that pose a particular threat to him, he can potentially direct a Dominated rogue to "lose", steal, replace with fakes and/or destroy such items.
Granted, your players will hate him for using these particular tactics. But that's what D&D's most legendary arch-villain is for, isn't it? ;)
Hit and run tactics work much better than having him sit around waiting for the big finish....
Awesome suggestions thanks!
I think this is the sort of thing that will leave scars! It's nice to have something beyond 'Just dominate the fighter' as a suggestion for vampire tactics. Indeed - the entire point of a dungeon filled with traps is to protect yourself and have your foes fall foul of them. And there's nothing wrong with making your minions lives just a little easier. After all, they just want to bring you the heads you've asked for.
Thanks Rotipher!
Peace,
tfad
FWIW, the best "I6 story" I ever heard, back when the original module was all there was to Ravenloft, was about a paladin PC who stupidly went into the hall of crypts beneath the castle alone. Strahd pounced on the guy, smacked him around like a punching bag -- bam bam bam! -- until the PC had only one experience level left.
Then Strahd winked sneeringly at him, walked off, and left the now-1st-level paladin to try to make it back out of Castle Ravenloft alive. I gather the poor sap didn't get far.
How cool a villain is that? :D
How cool a villain is that? :D
How stupid a PC was that? :D
Levels can often have this confidence boost that goes with them. Which is why monsters with class levels rocks - is that a goblin, or a Goblin with X levels in Y? You can do a similar thing with Strahd (and other well known villians), replacing levels with different other levels.
E.g.
Hulkin' Hurler class Strahd rips up stone sarcoffagi and throws them at the PCs....
Spellthief class Strahd - the PC's jaws will hit the floor!
Finally - we might've found a use for *all* those new classes WotC keep putting out!
:D
Peace,
tfad
I kept all the encounters and subplots and then rigged up this very gothic storyline using the novel and the players are loving it. Also I owned the 3.0 Ravenloft Stuff, and heroes of horror, so I placed the game directly into the demiplane of dread, which is not really where it's supposed to be, (since it's a reprint before ravenloft the setting existed) but it's great to be able to use all the materials desgined for the setting.
If anyone is interested in my notes for adding more story to the game feel free to pm me.
2) There is no *ending* to the quest as it is presented in the book. You save the day then... er... well... I'd suggest planning out the end before you go into the final part. Perhaps the PCs will want to keep their characters so go with a 'Flash Gordon' style ending, or perhaps with a 'That's of course only the begining of the story'-esque voice over. If they want to end the game their, you'll need to tailor a scene or two based on their reasons for taking on the quest in the first place.
WHY is there no ending?!? On page 193 and 195 it states, "If they defeat Strahd by ultimately destroying him, refer to the conclusion of this adventure." Where is the conclusion?!?!?! This has really annoyed me as it seems like a great adventure without any closure. Could wizards maybe do a web enhancement with a conclusion. what exactly is the deal here.
How does he do it secretly without putting them on alert I guess is what I'm getting at.
How does dominate exactly work? If he does it and they pass their save, do they know they were just trying to be dominated?
How does he do it secretly without putting them on alert I guess is what I'm getting at.
The DM could roll the PC's saves in secret. Another method would be for the DM to have PCs roll saves prior to encountering Strahd (or any other vamp) and secretly record those results for later use. The key to that is having the PCs roll will saves well in advance of meeting Strahd. This would also lend to adding to the creepiness of the game when making the players roll those saves in non combat situations when there's no appreant threat (i.e. resting at the Blood of the Vine). It should instill a sense of paranoia in the players.
WHY is there no ending?!?
Probably an edit issue. WotC seem to do very little proof reading so I guess it was just dropped accidentally. Esp. since other sections reference the ending. It's not too hard to fill in yourself though. Just base your ending on the PCs and 1) Why they are completing the quest and 2) Where they want to go from here.
DarkenDivine - Sysane gives a good suggestion. In any game, but esp. in a Ravenloft game the DM should be doing two things. 1) Rolling some dice every now and then, and 2) Asking the players to make saves/spot/listen checks every now and then. This will add to the tension and suspense. N.B. Don't give too specific descriptions when telling the players what they see/hear from these checks - they'll end up wasting 40 mins. disecting a grandfather clock (or something) that you described just for the flavour!
In relation to your Dominate question; I believe a Spellcraft check is required to learn that the save you just made was vs. a Dominate. Otherwise it's just your hair standing up on the back of your neck and feeling of dread as Strahd (or whoever) stares at you....
Peace,
tfad
Try to come up with a vague cryptic way of describing it so that the players don't just know "ohh...he tried to dominate me" but they should feel something.....and since it is a wil save it should be some kind of mental struggle.........still dominate is one of Strahd's best weapons and should be used often prior to the final fight. (and maybe after)
Maybe "you feel strangely drawn to the count".
If you're going for suspense then I would be careful about using phrases that give away the actual power. E.g. 'strangely drawn to' strongly suggests domination magics of some kind. However if you use tingling feelings, raised hairs etc. etc. the PCs/Players will be a little more unsure.
Dominate or Petrify with that stare?
If anyone present is a big metagamer then such phrases will only encourage them too. 'Ah! So he just tried to dominate me, he only has another two tries per day....' etc. etc. And this is one of the biggest killers of suspense/mood.
Peace,
tfad
Granted, this is mostly for gaming groups which are more kick-in-the-door than deep-immersion in style. But those are the ones which tend to balk the hardest at playing out their in-character ignorance, IME, so they're the ones you'd probably need to work hardest to keep in the dark about Domination attempts.
One sneaky way [....]
Once again Rotipher you are not only right, but full of awesome (and well expressed) ideas.
:P
Peace and Respect,
tfad
1) If you use his hit and run tactics to make him harder, how do you do that when say the fortune says hes gonna be in so and so room? They can't encounter him before that if the fortune says so unless you alter the campaign?
2) How does the castle exactly work? Theres so many encounters its crazy and a DM can get lost in the maze. How was your experience with PCs going through it? Did they fight a lot and leave to rest then come back?
3) If they have to find those relics in the crypts to do the ritual of fanes how do you do this without them encountering The Count himself and not dying? Do they sneak everywhere or as long as they don't go in the room that was in their fortune then no problem..
So heres another question for people who ran this.
1) If you use his hit and run tactics to make him harder, how do you do that when say the fortune says hes gonna be in so and so room? They can't encounter him before that if the fortune says so unless you alter the campaign?
My players haven't reached the castle yet, but from what I remember the fortune regarding Strahd determines where he makes a stand and won't run from the PCs. Other than that, the other rooms that he's detailed to be in are places that Strahd will flee from if things go bad for him during those encounters.
So heres another question for people who ran this.
1) If you use [....]
2) How does the castle exactly work? [....]
3) If they have to find [....]
A1) Strahd can always be found in room X, based on the prophecy. But that doesn't mean he can't leave there. He can (probably) move faster than most of the PCs so he should be able to get back to room X before them if necessary. This really shouldn't be a problem, think of room X as a place that Strahd will always flee too. Heck, maybe he's out luring the PCs into room X....
2) One of the *great* things about this adventure is that it's not linear. Be prepared for the PCs to go treckin all over the valley and have a lot of fun in doing so. The format for the book makes this process easy. I suppose you should think of it written as one of those 'choose your own adventure' books (Fighting Fantasy! Hurah!). Now turn to encounter Y....
3) Use any 'expeditions' into the castle before the final showdown as tension builders. *That's* when Strahd employs his hit and run attacks etc. etc. Wear them down and scare them silly.
Don't be intimidated by the book! Remember Strahd's goal and to keep the mood, let the players drive the story forward and explore the places they want to; you'll have a blast!
Peace,
tfad
Asa side note, the person attempting to Dominate, or Charm, etc. . ., is aware of if the attempt failed or succeeded, but not always why.
Would it be to brutal to implement following:
Turning Undead within the Castle
All turning checks made to turn undead while in the Castle take a –4 penalty, and turning checks to rebuke undead gain a +4 profane bonus. Additionally, each Charisma check made to turn undead within the castle takes a –3 profane penalty.
Basically its a combined Unhallow/Desecrate.
Thoughts?
If anybody has other suggestions I'm open to them.
If anybody has other suggestions I'm open to them.
Hey!
Beckett makes a good point - you don't want to wreck the cleric's fun! I have two suggestions.
1) Give Strahd a beefy turn resistance score, or even total immunity to turning. It's not too much of a breaker and will ensure he sticks around. If you want to give the PCs a little extra to do, try this. Give Strahd a TR of about 50. Tie this ability to another Fane and have them sever his connection to it, just like the others. If they do so they can halve his TR to around 25. This will stop them from just walking in and bending him over, if they're willing to do the leg work, without ensuring he'll flee the first time the PCs wave a divine focus at him.
2) Your suggestion of the blanket effect will ruin a lot of the Cleric's fun, it's a little too 'us vs. them'. Instead why not add an item or two (even a new NPC) that will give the nasties access to those spell effects. Unhallow/Desecrate is a great combo and the bad guys will know this. How about giving one of the spawn (or your new Barbarian NPC! PCs never expect a Barbarian!) a cursed item with these spell effects. Then you can use them, but the PCs have a chance at a dispell, or perhaps a sunder/pick pockets attempt. They get to employ their skills and your zombies don't immediately turn to dust. Everyone wins.
You could even combine both of those ideas - perhaps Strahd's TR is tied to some artefacts the PCs have to collect from about the castle.
Just a few ideas....
Peace,
tfad
I'm not trying to outright cripple the cleric as I'm more trying to ensure that Strahd doesn't get dusted in the first encounter with the PCs. The cleric has already been huge in other key fights with undead outside of the castle I'm just afraid that Strahd's going to meet a anticlimactic end to early in the adventure.
If anybody has other suggestions I'm open to them.
Well, Strahd is missing 1 feat in his stats, you could give him improved turn resistance (a further +4 to turn resistance, libra mortis) to get him a grand total of +8 turn resistance.
How would he work out as a Hexblade? Or a Cleric?
He'd make an *awesome* Lurk....
:D
tfad
Good luck with the game - let us know how it's going!
tfad
Not as drastic as you could've done, but it sounds good.
Good luck with the game - let us know how it's going!
True, but doing the math it would take a lot for the PCs to turn Strahd at their current level. With the +2 bump to turn resistance I feel a little more comfortable in that the PCs can't pull out some random spell, feat, or whatever else that the adventure didn't take into account. You know how resourceful PCs can be with whipping out obscure power moves.
You know how resourceful PCs can be with whipping out obscure power moves.
LOL - Yeah - it's just like Pro Wrestling!
:D
tfad
Any good suggestions for Restating Strahd?
How would he work out as a Hexblade? Or a Cleric?
He'd make an *awesome* Lurk....
:D
tfad
Actually I sorta envision him as more of an Eldritch Knight than a pure necromancer. After all, vampire's slam attack is quite uber, a more melee orientated build would take better advantage of this.
I'm just brain storming and asking all these questions. So as I re-read the book for the 5th time I'll probably have some more questions to post within a few days so if you guys don't mind helping me out again I would appreciate it.
Everything said so far helped me out A LOT.
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26
I'm not trying to outright cripple the cleric as I'm more trying to ensure that Strahd doesn't get dusted in the first encounter with the PCs. The cleric has already been huge in other key fights with undead outside of the castle I'm just afraid that Strahd's going to meet a anticlimactic end to early in the adventure.
If anybody has other suggestions I'm open to them.
If hes been turning better due to spells, a friendly Dispel or Greater Dispel Magic from Straud should do the trick.
Any good suggestions for Restating Strahd?
How would he work out as a Hexblade? Or a Cleric?
He'd make an *awesome* Lurk....
:D
tfad
In the Original Ravenloft 3.0, Straud was a 16th Level Necromancer, 4th Level fighter, and a total of CR 24. (Yikes!)
The Eldrich Knight idea is cool. A cleric would be interesting, and would certainly surprise a few people, as well as give him access to all those neat Libris Mortis cleric feats.
It doesn't even really make sense. It speaks of "abandoning Barovia and place the sacred warding symbols of holiness and abandon us to our fate." The rest of the book makes no mention of it.
The funny thing I can see happening is if I presented it to my players, they might actually start running silver across the entire border, hoping to place a huge protection from evil spell or something :P
FWIW, the original burgomaster's letter is exactly like it was in I6. Only Strahd's message (and bait to lure in the adventurers he intends to manipulate, i.e. the PCs) has changed.
*lurk*
Otherwise, i'm just gonna have to draw it on my battle map. How bland.
1) I had expected to run the game with only 4 or 5 people, but its turned into 7 of them. I dropped them to level 5 to start, should I beef Strahd up more to make it a challange?
2) I'm thinking about using this adventure to launch into a full fledged Ravenloft game (going on the assumption that when the PCs passed through Barovia's gates, they entered the Demiplane) and running along the old Grand Conjunction campaign path. The big supprise at then end would be Strahd showing up at the end of the Conjunction for a huge climatic fight with the PCs. Does anyone know where I can get more info on the Grand Conjunction? I played it waaay back in like '98, but I didn't run it, and I've forgotten most of the storyline.
Does anyone know where I can get more info on the Grand Conjunction? I played it waaay back in like '98, but I didn't run it, and I've forgotten most of the storyline.
Try the Old Editions downloads on this very website. Most of the six Grand Conjunction modules are available there for free.
So get this:
I am running EtCR in the actual Ravenloft. My party finally reaches Castle Ravenloft. They get to the entry hall, fight out the battle, don't take too much damage, and go to the dining room with Straud. They talk for a bit, against the wishes of some PCs (one in particular's family was destroyed by Vampires). During this time, I dominate the Barbarian. Also, to demonstrate his power over Ireena (who accompanied them), he orders her to stand at his side, and since she was dominated earlier, she does. After much talk, the Ranger sees only one way to solve this. He promptly aims at Straud, and fires his pistol (hes a Black Powder Avenger). Only he doesn't shoot at Straud... he makes a called shot for Ireena's head! He puts her down in one shot. Right as he does that, Straud dominates him, leaves the room, calls in his Dread Guards, telepathically orders the Dominated PCs to kill the others, and locks them in the confined quarters of the Dining Room. The first round the wizard casts obscuring mist, which makes the battle last about two hours (as noone can see each other, everyone has relatively high ACs as it is, and few people have good melee attacks). The barbarian gets Hold Person from the Cleric and gets sneak attacked by the rogue till hes dead, and the Ranger (who is also a werewolf) misses horribly until finally they cast Protection from Evil on him to sedate the dominate effect for a bit. The golems seemed to last forever, as noone was hitting them and mostly everyone just kept running to the other side of the room. It was chaos. When the battle was finally over, everyone had about half health, the Wizard/Ranger/Arcane Archer had used a total of 78 arrows, and they were all disheartened by the Ranger's brash decision to kill Ireena. His reasoning: He not only made Straud mad, but he saved her from a vampiric fate (he was the one who had his family killed by Vampires).
They were so distraught, they decided to abandon the mission entirely. Two rooms in. Wow.
Just thought i'd share.
Act of Ultimate Darkness, anyone?
2) There are a number of reasons Straud didn't kill the party. One, as DM, I didn't feel like ending my game at 9th level. Two, Straud didn't want to expose his 'weakness' for Ireena in front of the party, but it is doubtful they will be able to leave Barovia. I also thought it was much more satisfying to watch them scream out of Castle Ravenloft than stain the floor with them.
1) I am actually running the module in Ravenloft, so yes, it was an act of Ultimate Darkness. Muhahahaha....
2) There are a number of reasons Straud didn't kill the party. One, as DM, I didn't feel like ending my game at 9th level. Two, Straud didn't want to expose his 'weakness' for Ireena in front of the party, but it is doubtful they will be able to leave Barovia. I also thought it was much more satisfying to watch them scream out of Castle Ravenloft than stain the floor with them.
Strahd, not Straud. Otherwise, sounds like a good game. Can't believe that Ranger shot Ireena. ;)
Thus, it does not bring in any setting rules or other concerns from 2nd-edition Ravenloft as a campaign setting.
So technically speaking the Barovia you see in EtCR is not in Ravenloft at all.
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is an update to the 1st-edition "vanilla" AD&D module.
Thus, it does not bring in any setting rules or other concerns from 2nd-edition Ravenloft as a campaign setting.
So technically speaking the Barovia you see in EtCR is not in Ravenloft at all.
Yup, just as I thought.
I've decided to up his turn resistance to by +2 (for a total of +6) and having it tied to the 3 wilderness fanes. Once the PCs have conducted all three fane rituals Strahd's turn resistance will return to +4.
I'm not using the fanes, I'm tying some extra Turn Resistance directly into the Dayheart.
Vampires tied to the the Dayheart not only get the sunlight immunity, but also an additional +6 TR (with normal TR for a total +10).
The best thing about this is that it not only affects Strahd, but also vampires like Kavan the Grim and Sasha, who I think are cool enough adversaries that just turning them would be a bit cheap.
The reason I say this is come on, look at the cover of "expedition to castle ravenloft. Who is that? Strahd? Really, wearing a red sash, no ruby pendant, and the face of a mummy? or better yet the elven version of him on pg#7 hmm pointy ears, elf-like face and dressed like a pirate? Sorry to be negative just think you will have more fun using the real Count Strahd
...the elven version of him (Strahd) on pg#7 hmm pointy ears, elf-like face and dressed like a pirate?
I think that's actually supposed to be Strahd in 'feral' form (one of the ways in which he appears to the PCs, when he becomes a more primal and melee orientated foe). For one, he has his fangs exposed, and for another his nails are much longer than normal.
And who the heck would use the real Strahd?! Seriously, hes CR 23 or something. This is a 6-10 adventure!!!! Keep in mind, this adventure took place way before Strahd was that powerful.
Anyway, I would love to see the original adventure.
Dude, it's Sword & Sorcery.
Sorry I am used to calling it Sword Sorcery, im sure everyone gets the idea.
And who the heck would use the real Strahd?! Seriously, hes CR 23 or something. This is a 6-10 adventure!!!!
Again just my opinion, but in the original the PC couldnt beat Strahd anyways, he was too tuff. I would award exp for fleeing with their lives, no one beats Strahd. Rob him . . . ok, kill his minions . . . ok, befoul his castle . . . ok, but slay him? Sorry he rules the domain, he falls to no one.
Again just my opinion, but in the original the PC couldnt beat Strahd anyways, he was too tuff. I would award exp for fleeing with their lives, no one beats Strahd. Rob him . . . ok, kill his minions . . . ok, befoul his castle . . . ok, but slay him? Sorry he rules the domain, he falls to no one.
And that is exactly why they made the module the way it is. They are trying to make money here ya know, and the kids that play D&D today don't like retreating, or finding out the boss is 13 CR's over their heads. And once again... hes not a darklord in the module... yet.
Hit and run tactics work much better than having him sit around waiting for the big finish. Any PC who straggles behind or scouts ahead, who gets incapacitated temporarily by a trap or one of the guard-monsters' attacks, or who places his or her self into a vulnerable position (e.g. climbing a wall) can and should get jumped and nailed for a couple of negative levels. Strahd can do this personally, or can send one of his vampiric minions to do so, if he's not yet sure he can get away clean after the surprise-round. Characters with lousy Fort saves are his primary targets, of course, as are those who succumb to any Con-damaging poisons or effects from the castle's defenses;)
I just finished my first session running this module, and I just have to say that this was the best advice I ever read. I set it up so that the PCs were being followed through the woods on their way to Barovia by a pack of worgs, led by Kavan the Grim.
Eventually, the worgs came out and attacked, while Kavan stood back and watched. The party took on the worgs pretty handily, but then Kavan used his dominate ability on the barbarian in the party, and through their telepathic bond, ordered the barbarian to run off into the woods where Strahd was waiting for him.
The party cast locate object on the barbarian's sword and followed him into the forest. Then suddenly, the sword just winked out. Searching for tracks, they eventually found the barbarian's trail and continued to search for him in the forest, only to discover another set of tracks (Strahd's) that met up with the barbarian's.
Unfortunately, the tracks stopped there. For a while, the PCs seearched around, looking for where the trail picked up, but to no avail. The barbarian and the other individual were gone.
This totally creeped out my players and set the tone for the rest of the game. Strahd would send spies out to hit the PCs hard when they least expected it, or he would slap them with a couple of spells himself, and then retreat to let his minions take care of the rest. At one point, one of the PCs said to the party, "Okay, we gotta find some place safe to rest," then paused and said, "Which is pretty much nowhere."
Ultimately, the players really enjoyed the game. They all said that it was very challenging, and extremely creepy. While the one PC was captured (don't worry... he'll be back :evillaugh), and another PC ultimately died, the players all said that if that hadn't happened, the game wouldn't have been nearly as terrifying.
The only thing that I would say is that if you're going to run the module this way, make sure that you have at least four pregenerated characters on hand, and/or that the players have at least one backup character. That way, players are not out for half the game creating new characters.
I just finished my first session running this module, and I just have to say that this was the best advice I ever read.
Hey, those tactics certainly creeped out and demolished my PC's party, back in the days of the original I6! Good to hear that what'd worked so well, way back when, is still a surefire way to spook players. ;)
Is the original Castle Ravenloft adventure still available? I saw that House on Griphon Hill is in the old downloads section of the WotC site, but not the original adventure. Curious...
Anyway, I would love to see the original adventure.
I6:Ravenloft is available at paizo or drivethru as a pdf for $5. Real copies are not much more expensive on ebay.
It is also featured in the A Look Back at Ravenloft article, which gives Strahd's stats.
Count Strahd Von Zarovich (The First Vampyre)
NUMBER APPEARING: 1
Boy, I hope that only 1 of the Count Strahd Von Zarovich monster appears!
On Strahd's statistics, and on the universal Vampire abilities reference in chapter 1, it says that a vampire's slam attack drains 2 negative levels.
But on Rafail and Sacha's statistics, and in the Monster Manual, it says a vampire can only drain 1 level.
So, which is it?
Any ideas?
One other thing. Monsters with Improved Grapple, when they hit with a specific natural weapon, can automatically attempt to start a grapple. They usually follow up with a grapple-type attack (such as swallow whole or rake).
If a vampire with Improved Grapple hits with a slam attack (a natural weapon) would they be allowed to try to start a grapple, leading to a blood drain?
Or is that just too evil? :D