![]() When the party goes to escape, the house itself will be attacking them. ![]() The Dungeon Level’s final encounter is with a Shambling Mound. A big boss fight is coming up and you want the party to expend some resources, but still have some fight in them for the boss encounter! Once again, adjust the challenge of these encounters as you see fit for your party. In the Dungeon Level, the party will encounter a Grick and several undead. Give the party a chance to rest and level up (if they started at level 1) before they work their way to the Dungeon Level. Honestly, even if the party is level 3, this can be a very tough fight! I generally reduce her life drain to deal 1d6 necrotic damage if we didn’t start the party at level 3. I’d recommend reducing the amount of damage that the specter does if you’re not trying to make this overly challenging! She can potentially one-shot any member of the party each turn with her Life Drain ability.īecause she’s reducing their maximum HP to zero, they won’t be making death saves. ![]() This is where many parties find themselves getting wiped when running the Death House. This fight should prove to be much easier than the Animated Armor.įinally, the specter of the Nursemaid can be encountered on the third floor. The second encounter is with a broom of animated attack. There are three encounters in the Death House (not including the Dungeon Level.) The first is a set of Animated Armor that is positioned to possibly push a party member down the stairs. Seems safe, right? Death House Encounters Now that everyone is level 2, they can proceed downwards into the Durst Mansion’s dungeon level. If you started at level 1, this is a good point to have everyone level up. Once they’ve explored the first, second, and third floors (plus the attic if they find how to get there!), it’s a good stopping point for your first session. Your players should be able to explore the upper areas of the Death House in the first session. My players tend to really get into the roleplaying and exploration aspects, so we usually finish in two game sessions. If you have fewer players, it’s easy enough to remove some of the enemies or lower how much HP each enemy has.ĭepending on your group, the Death House can be completed in one or two 4-hour game sessions. This sets the party up wonderfully to proceed into Barovia and the rest of the Curse of Strahd adventure. The Death House is meant for a group of four level 1 characters.īy the end of the dungeon, the characters will be level 3. We’ll cover some of the changes that I make when I’m running this dungeon for my groups later in this article. However, there is enough information provided to add your own spins to the Death House. As written, it’s a fun and challenging (almost too challenging!) introduction to the bleak and despair-filled land of Barovia. I’m a big fan of running it in my Curse of Strahd games. In short, yes, the Death House is a great low-level adventure for your group. People either absolutely love it or hate it! In any discussion about this dungeon, most people tend to fall pretty firmly into one of two camps. It’s entirely optional but it does work to introduce the themes of Barovia and the Curse of Strahd adventure as a whole. The infamous Death House serves as a type of introductory mystery/dungeon to the Curse of Strahd adventure module. The Themes of the Death House in Curse of Strahd.Recommended: I Had an AI Make a D&D Character (and it got really weird!) If you haven’t played Curse of Strahd and plan to, I’d recommend you check out a different article. The Death House has become something of a “modern classic” for 5e players. What is it? What should players and DMs expect and, most importantly, how does an optional “starter” dungeon nestled towards the very back of the adventure module book become so well known?īe brave, dear reader, as you enter the haunted Durst Mansion.īut be warned: few who enter are fated to leave… So today, we’re going to be taking a look at the Death House. Few of those presented in this adventure, however, compare to the infamous Death House. Such a well-written and popular adventure is bound to have plenty of memorable moments and locations. ![]() However, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t put the gothic horror adventure, Curse of Strahd, at the top of their list.īut this isn’t an article about Curse of Strahd. There’s no shortage of fantastic adventure modules available for D&D 5e.
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