Murderhobo’s Ruin the Adventure
Intrepid adventurers and sadistic murderhobos don’t last long in Barovia. Don’t tread from the beaten path unless you have good reason to, and don’t alienate or antagonize NPCs if you can avoid it. Make more friends than enemies. Don’t go searching for treasure, fortune, or fame – because you will probably die a horrible death.
Teamwork is critical
You must rely on each other during this campaign. This means that while your character may be untrustworthy of others in general, this doesn’t mean to sabotage the other characters. Doing things like stealing from another character, running into a room of hostile creatures alone, giving away critical information to an NPC without consulting with the other character is all frowned upon.
Remember that actions have consequences for both you and the NPCS. This could mean you alter the story in a negative way, get someone or even yourself killed. Stick together and work together as a team.
Play smart
Many of the enemies in this adventure cannot be overcome easily in direct combat. Use guile, preparation, subterfuge, diplomacy, and research to achieve your goals. Sometimes it is even ok to run away from a fight and sometimes it is even encouraged
Moral Dilemma’s
There might not be a happy ending for every encounter. You will find yourselves in situations where you have to choose the least bad option, sacrifices will have to be made. That being said, it is possible to “win” just the outcome is not predetermined. Please don’t feel like it’s hopeless.
Character Death
Character death is not only possible, but probable in this campaign. This is an open world. You could very well run into a level 10 wizard when you are just level 3. Please have ideas for a backup character ready. If you do die, I have options for playing a wider array of characters. So ask me if/when that time comes.
Spells in Barovia
Some spells might not work the way you think they would. You are in Barovia after all and things have a way of not going well. Be prepared for things to not work as normal. You may find yourself not being able to cast certain spells at times or even at all.
Interacting with the other players
The characters will not know each other when the story begins. There might be one exception, but keep that in mind as we begin. Spend time engaging with the other characters, even when not discussing plans, tactics, or objectives. Learn about their fears, their perspectives, and their experiences. Build meaningful relationships, not apathetic battle teams.
Story based progression
Try to remove yourself from the “XP and loot” model of progression in traditional campaigns and video games, and instead try to enjoy the narrative progression of winning allies, fulfilling objectives, and advancing the story of the campaign and player characters.
Your backstory
If you put something in your backstory that seems off or is kind of strange, be ready for me to find openings to pull them in. Know when to joke or let me weaponize your backstory to emotionally traumatize you.
Motivated by Good
You are a party of adventurers. As a unit, you need to be motivated to help NPCs without the promise of a reward. Not everyone needs to be lawful good, but there should be enough of you who lean that way in a group.
Be wary of your surroundings
Remember this is a sandbox world. You can wonder into areas that are quite deadly! If a NPC says something about an area being dangerous, be ready. If something looks too deadly or you get into a battle and it’s going poorly, be ready to flee or face the reality of a TPK.