Dungeons & Dragons creepiest campaign is also one of the best

If you’ve been thinking about playing Dungeons & Dragons, you’ve probably noticed that there is a lot of material to choose from. There are no fewer than three current starter sets, over half a dozen rock-solid published adventures, and a full marketplace for fan-created content. But one campaign is regularly recommended before all others, especially for beginners. Is named Curse of Strahd, and it could be the most welcoming and adaptable way to the original role-playing game.

Due to its popularity, there are currently three excellent options to buy Curse of Strahd. They run the gamut from old school do-it-yourself storytelling to a luxurious collector’s set with high production values. I will help you find out which one is right for you.

But first, a little backstory to whet your appetite.

Why this vampire?

In the 1970s, when D&D was young, the game was primarily focused on exploration, combat, and loot. Rolling the dice with your friends meant dragging yourself through an underground dungeon, killing strange monsters, and picking up some magical items. Then, in 1983, the Ravenloft the module was published. Written by Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman, it added a rich sense of storytelling to D&D. The secret was a charismatic vampire named Strahd von Zarovich.

Ravenloft it was the first D&D adventure that really felt like a full narrative, and it centered on Strahd, a complex villain with motivations of his own. Rather than simply describing the action from a distance, Strahd allows the Dungeon Master (DM) to personally interact with the material. and with players at the table through both combat and non-combat encounters. Posted in 2016, Curse of Strahd he modernizes those mechanics and expands them from a meager 32 pages to a succulent 256. His version of Strahd is as threatening as the original, and much more fun to play.

Why is Strahd a great villain? Not to reveal too much, but the payoff of his personal bow is definitely worth the time spent playing against it. He’s more than the average bloodsucker in a B-movie. Strahd is a fully realized character with a Shakespearean backstory and enough cunning and cunning to take on any group of adventurers.

Where Curse of Strahd It differs from the original, in my opinion, it is in giving body to its environment. The action takes place in a sinister pocket dimension known as the Barovia Valley, which means you can enter or exit the campaign from anywhere in the D&D multiverse. The valley itself is built much like a modern open world video game. Players can explore the environment at their leisure, examining its many side quests. Meanwhile, the specter of Strahd will haunt them, sometimes literally, serving as a beacon to irrevocably carry them to the main quest line.

There’s even a mini-adventure included with the campaign, designed to quickly level up new characters and get players used to modern D&D mechanics. Just put, Curse of Strahd it is the complete package.

So now that I’ve sold it, let’s talk about three different ways to buy it.

The basics

Curse of Strahd it was first published as a hardcover book, and the most basic version of that book is still in print. You can easily find one in your friendly local game store or online at places like Amazon. Independent booksellers selling D&D will likely have a copy, as will larger retailers like Barnes & Noble.

There are now several digital options for D&D books, and which version you want to get depends largely on the platform you choose. The best option for newcomers will be D&D beyond, which sells the campaign and also gives players access to an online character creator. There are also virtual table tops (VTT) like Roll20 and Fantasy grounds, which offer more options to represent the game’s combat encounters with miniatures and virtual dice. VTTs can tend to slow down the action for newcomers, so be careful to learn the toolkit before assembling your group.

Of course, you will also need the other three books that form the core of D&D: the Player Manual, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual. All three are also available in D&D beyond.

Level up

Curse of Strahd now also sold in a box titled Curse of Strahd: Premium Edition Renewed. First released in October 2020, it has a steep list price of $ 99.99, and given what’s included in the box, it’s hard to recommend it at that price. Fortunately, you can now find it for sale online at places like Amazon for a lot less.

The box itself is pretty smart. It is shaped like a coffin and the set includes a full-color portrait of Strahd so you can leave it resting inside for your players to discover. Another benefit of the Premium Edition is that it includes a more robust version of the campaign’s double-sided map (the same one that comes with the basic hardcover book).

The downside, however, is that the campaign book in this box is a paperback, not a hardcover like the original.

My favorite part of the boxed game is a handy fictional tarot card game called Tarokka cards. The foil-stamped oversized deck will come in handy for an important plot point in the campaign. Of course you can also pick up a set of Tarokka cards, a regular size version, without foil stamping, separately for only $ 10.

What the Premium Edition really lacks, in my opinion, is a proper two-dimensional map of Ravenloft Castle, Strahd’s lair, and the setting for the final showdown of the campaign. There is a 3D isometric version of the floor plan included on one side of the campaign map (which, as you may recall, comes with the original hardcover book and Premium Edition). But it’s up to the DMs to draw that plane in 2D for their players at the table. That requires a pencil and paper, and can tend to significantly slow down the game.

If you’re using a VTT solution, mapping Castle Ravenloft can be a real hassle too. Fortunately, the Roll20 The campaign version comes with 30 pre-rendered battle maps, including a 2D plan of the entire castle.

There’s also a wildly well executed set of 2D Castle Ravenloft maps available from the Dungeon Master’s Guild. For just $ 10, you get everything you need to print that floor plan like several large maps on a commercial printer or on dozens of regular sheets of paper at home. There is even a version of the maps formatted for use with VTT software like Fantasy Grounds.

For my campaign at home, I printed every inch of Castle Ravenloft in black and white, then mounted the tiles on a core of black foam. After a few nights of work with a glue stick and box cutter, I piled up the entirety of Strahd’s lair and stuffed it inside a paper bag.

High level game

For those looking for the most luxurious way to experience Curse of StrahdLook no further than Beadle & Grimm’s. The company makes licensed deluxe editions of many of D & D’s official campaigns, and their vision of the Barovia Valley is extraordinary. Called The Legendary Edition of Curse of Strahd, run $ 399 and it is now in its second edition.

What does The legendary edition So special, aside from the full color prints of all of Ravenloft Castle and many other key battlefields in the game, they are the ephemeral. Not only does it come with extremely well-made paper brochures, including worn letters from Strahd himself, but it also includes plenty of mixed media objects to pass around the table. There are a handful of fake wax stamps with Strahd’s personal stamp; a set of fictional labels to apply to real wine bottles; several coins of the kingdom adorned with the profile of Strahd; and even a set of fictional toy finger puppets.

Admittedly, a price tag of $ 399 may seem outrageous. But after having run the campaign myself for a whole year, I can’t tell you how much time and energy The legendary edition it would have saved me.