Curse of Strahd: Resources and Bonus Content

A little less than a year ago, I had my first ever Dungeons and Dragons experience playing Horde of the Dragon Queen.  We didn’t get very far.  We then switched over to Shadowrun, which we enjoyed but never really gelled with; we just couldn’t seem to get together to play.  So now we’re back on DnD and I’m trying my hand at the dungeon master role as we navigate Curse of Strahd.

I set every bar of performance in my life at the same level: I just try not to suck. Pretty low, I admit, but hey – I very rarely end up disappointed!  But with DMing, my poor performance could put quite the wet blanket on all of the PCs, and I didn’t want to be responsible for giving any one (or all!) of them a reason not to show up when it was time to play.

I want to do well by my PCs, so I threw myself into the behind-the-screen work of a DM with gusto.  I read the book, I organized my own DM notebook, I fabricated several props, but maybe most importantly:  I scoured the internet looking for tips, tricks, and any other content that would up the game of my storytelling and the game’s overall experience.

Below, I’m sharing with you some of the cool things I unearthed in my search.  A couple are free, a couple cost a few bucks, but I’ve tried them all and have been pleased with the results.

Curse of Strahd Supplemental Content

1. Death House is free to play in its entirety.

Maybe you’re just looking for a one-off mini dungeon experience with a whole lot of atmosphere and
gothic horror flair.  This is it!  The Death House is an appendix in the back of the Strahd manual and is meant to quickly level your PCs up to 3rd level in preparation for all that awaits them in Barovia, but you can play it as a standalone experience if you wish.

It will kinda break the rules of Barovia if you treat it as a one-off as it is on a demiplane and is virtually inescapable unless you’re a Vistani or kill the dread vampire Strahd, but what your PCs don’t know won’t hurt them.  Maybe you have the mists of Barovia port them in and out ominously and could use the same mechanic to whisk them back unexpectedly later.  Or maybe your PCs will love the Death House experience so much that they’ll want to explore Barovia further and you end up guiding them through the whole adventure anyway.

2. Regardless of whether you’re running Death House in isolation or as part of the full Strahd adventure, this post from Sly Flourish is full of solid advice, tips, and even some handouts!

Mike Shea provides all sorts of advice covering the adventure hook, atmosphere, and mechanics.  He even tosses out some interesting ideas surrounding NPC development and leverage; adding a little more resolution to the housemaid’s story and keeping the pitiable Rose and Thorn in play even after the book basically says they’re no longer available as plot devices.

Plus, as a bonus that I definitely took advantage of, he’s got all of the letters and journal entries included at the back of the Strahd book available in a ready-to-print format so you can hand them out when appropriate to your party.

3. A new background, Haunted One, is also free.

A background befitting the environment and atmosphere of Strahd:

You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You’ve tried to bury it and flee from it, to no avail. This thing that haunts you can’t be slain with
a sword or banished with a spell. It might come to you as a shadow on the wall, a bloodcurdling nightmare, a memory that refuses to die, or a demonic whisper in the dark. The burden has taken its toll, isolating you from others and making you question your sanity. You must find a way to overcome it before it destroys you.