Curse of Strahd Revamped Game Review (Dungeons and Dragons Tabletop Game)
Let's talk about what you'll see in the box when you buy it, and then let's take a look at what the game is about, and my experiences with completely two different groups.
- Dungeon Master Screen
- Tarokka Deck Cards
- Tarokka Deck Reading Instuctions Booklet
- Curse of Strahd Module
- Strahd Poster
- On the other side, Strahd's monster stat block.
- Barovia Map
- Castle Ravenloft Reference Map (Isometric, so you can not use it on the game table)
- Postcards
- Barovia Monsters / Creatures Booklet
With thunder, storm, ancient walls rising to a castle tower, and a Tarokka Deck telling dark and gloomy futures, the Curse of Strahd slowly but surely drags the PCs out from their homelands into the dark and terrifying land of Barovia. Barovia is cursed and isolated from the remainder of the world, entombed in the persistent mists and never-ending schemes of its ruthless vampiric master, Strahd. If the PCs are to survive Castle Ravenloft, defeat Strahd, and escape this territory of neverending gothic horror, they must travel throughout Barovia, gaining power and acquiring exceptional magical items. The Curse of Strahd campaign adventure begins with 1st-level characters and wraps up at 10th level.
Curse of Strahd was my first adventure, and for the first time in my life, I did the Dungeon Master job using this exact adventure. It was a lot of fun for me, but I have to admit that I did it online, using Roll20 and playing with friends over discord. I can definitely tell you that even though I finished the game twice, both times online, these two different groups had very different adventures.
Even though the location is the same, even though the NPCs are the same because the characters are different and because different fates are determined by the Tarokka Cards, you will go on a different adventure every time you play. If someone came to me right now and said, "I'm going to be a dungeon master", I would accept without thinking for a minute.
When you set off on this adventure, you try to discover what's going on around you. A lot of people say that this is not suitable for new dungeon masters and new players, but I disagree.
If you find the perseverance and read the whole module from start to finish once, like a storybook, not like a DM, you will learn a lot.
You can also check out the "I Strahd" books, but you can do it as a hobby. Because after looking at the module you will inevitably come across Reddit and a lot of advice will be provided there.
You will modify the game according to your own wishes. No game is the same as another game. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of Dungeons and Dragons. As I told you, I have been DM twice in this game and both times I played two very different games.
The aim of the game is to find out what's going on in Barovia and try to get out of there somehow. If you're playing with a group that doesn't want to do that, it won't take you long to realize how manipulative and powerful Strahd is. If you think dark gothic and vampire stories are going to be boring, you are very wrong because this story is not just a module with zombies and undead creatures. You can also encounter other creatures here, and it is really fun to discover how deep their stories are.
Even if you have some money, you won't have the opportunity to buy many magical items in this game. Because if the whole world belongs to Strahd, where can you find and buy magical items? The answer is to explore!
The game seems to be designed to prevent players from staying in one place for too long and to push them to explore. As a DM, of course, we love the days when players chat until dawn. But that shouldn't always be the case. So in a world that is always in danger, it's important to keep moving and have momentum.
At the end of the game, there are a lot of possibilities that can change depending on what your players do. In some places you have to be careful with total party kill (TPK), you have to give notice in advance, but you have to do it in-game. Some DMs will openly say that this is not the place for you, but that's not my style. I think it is much more enjoyable and immersive to communicate in-game that it is dangerous there.
If you have the Curse of Strahd book, I don't think you need it Revamped. But if you don't have this book, I recommend you pay a few dollars more and buy Revamped instead of buying the regular one.
The letters and handouts are very nice. The Dungeon Master screen will allow you to add air to your game. The more players psychologically feel themselves there and dive into the game, the more efficient they will get and the more enjoyable your roleplay experience will be.
Curse of Strahd in a nutshell, in my opinion,
- The most beautiful published official DND adventure currently available to play.
- A great start for new DMs and new players.
- There's a lot of freedom to customize and add and subtract, and it's not hard to fit it into the story.
- It offers players a standard and at the same time unusual vampire story.
- It raises the survival instinct by offering places to do desperation and resource management.
- It teaches your players that they need to be a strong team because they need each other.
- NPCs all have unusual and sympathizable traits, giving a real-world feel.
I recommend you all play this game.
Without spoilers, my groups ended up like this:
- My group playing Hack and Slash managed to defeat Strahd in 7 months, but it took incredible sacrifices and mistakes.
- My roleplay-oriented group became TPK after 8 months. If you are thinking of playing and researching the game, which I highly recommend, watch out for Baba Lysaga.
Thank you for reading!
