CoS and ICRPG

horror
curse-of-strahd
#1

Does anyone have any experience of running Curse of Strahd with ICRPG? And in general, how is running a horror-themed campaign with this system? I’m asking because I’m getting ready to run something with this system and I’m kinda a fan of horror-themed topics.

#2

I ran Curse of Strahd just as I was discovering ICRPG and wish I had known about it then. I don’t have much to offer really but you can likely adapt it pretty easily, and the lower HP’s would already be upping the tension. Getting that horror feeling is system neutral IMO, it’s all about description, keeping the players on their toes, and keeping the mysteries hidden as long as possible.

My immediate thought is that 5e Hardcore Mode might be an excellent option for Curse of Strahd if you want to run something like ICRPG but have slightly less conversion work (And it goes without saying that Hank’s Castle of Mirrors adventure is excellent and also deals with similar themes as CoS if you want to check that out).

I have thought about running Castle Ravenloft as a Halloween one shot, so I would love to see what you come up with!

#3

Going the old-school route here is definitely going to be of help: make randomness their enemy. Rolling the dice is bad because failure always make things worse! Planning well and using good arguments is a much better route than grabbing the bones and hoping for the best!

Roll fun friend!

#4

@Lon did a whole series of posts about running horror games here: Lon on Horror Gaming: The First Crucial Element

#5

Yeah i read that…what a gold mine!

#6

Says the person who shares a screen name (if not more) with this amazing trove of goodness: https://www.dieheart.net/index-card-rpg-resources/

#7

I have yet to run the adventure, but I bought this cool paper mini set awhile back, and its high quality and fantastic art. Curse of Strahd: Death House - Paper Minis / Printable Pawns - Dungeon Masters Guild | DriveThruRPG.com

#8

I adapted it for Kids/early teens.

Broke it down into four parts.

  1. Learning the system first encounter outside castle Ravenloft. Target is 12, They are ambushed by archers and must break into Barovia gates then find information in the gate house about Strahd, the Holy Symbol, sun sword, the heart.

  2. First floor. Encounter Strahd. Battel low level vampires instead of roaming monsters target is 12. Find the Chapel which has the holy symbol then fall through the floor to Dungeon.

  3. Dungeon. Batter vampire/zombies and cook. Find Ireena who will join the group and help locate the sun Sword in the dungeon.

  4. Strahd coffin and Strahd. Level 3. Target is 15. Battel Strahd’s Brides 2 times as they will flee when they get low on HP. Find the heart or Strahd. Need to destroy both to win. Strahd target is 15 with a +3 when he ambushes.

That was my take on the Kids version.

#9

That’s a smart breakdown. Most of the written word in the book is wasted anyway. For a longer campaign could totally break each of those chapters in half or more.

#10

5e Hardcore Mode has some really negative reviews tho…

#11

Yeah!. You can definitely make more encounters or make it harder for them to find the Relics. Seth Skorkowski and Professor DM have some great ideas. I like ICRPG for the mechanics and the design of encounters. Usually on all my encounters there is an added element like the sun being blocked or setting. It adds tension where the younger ones understand that vampires come out when the sun goes down.

#12

I once played a long 5e campaign and have little interest in ever playing any more of it. 5EHC sets out to mod the system to provide a very specific type of experience… to help people enjoy D&D without the system getting in its own way so much and tripping over its own feet with excessive “rules-i-ness.”

Even with all that, I felt like it was full of value for this resolute ICRPG GM. For the thought processes and the fantastic shorthand format of those two cool, easily adaptable scenarios. Add in Castle of Mirrors take on Exploration rolls and the pot just gets sweeter.

That said, YMMV. I tend to think of reviews as just a snapshot in time that often say more about the reviewer’s preferences than the product. (Regardless Whether positive or negative reviews.)

ETA: (As in—It’s no surprise that people who enjoy D&D style “rule playing” will be unhappy with removing big chunks of the parts they like.)

#13

I guess it’s not for everyone, but I think it is an absolutely fantastic product. All the negative reviews I have seen miss the mark on what the document is trying to achieve IMO, likely because they are expecting something that adds things on top of the already bloated 5e, where as HCM slashes away lots of things that 5e does not need. I think if you like ICRPG and are familiar with 5e, you would like Hardcore Mode.

At the very least, the monster system for Hardcore mode can completely overwrite the monster system for 5e (which is horrible). But it has a lot of other great ideas like eliminating certain classes and giving the classes different leveling rates for XP.

Anyway, I recommend checking it out since its just a few bucks!

#14

Funny enough I’m making notes to myself right now on running Horror.

When I’ve been successful, what I’ve found is:

  • Combat = catharsis, the heroes are strong and well disposed to defeat monsters, so finally getting to fight the bad guys is a positive beat for the players. I don’t count on the bad guy showing up to be anything less than, “Finally, we get to thrash this guy!”

  • If it bleeds we can kill it. Once you stat a monster up and put it in front of their players, they’ll find surprisingly clever ways to even the odds and take down even very powerful enemies.

  • Tension comes from the unknown, so hint at danger, create a sense of foreboding and suspense, keep the players guessing what will happen next. What got my players nervous was when they didn’t understand what was going on. I had to balance the need to keep them guessing with keeping a coherent session where things make sense.

  • Put less powerful NPCs in harms way (that the players care about). One of my players described his cousin as being in the town earlier in the game to get an easier roll to figure out what was going on. You better believe I put that NPC in harms way to create a sense of danger later on.

All of those things are pretty system neutral, but work well with ICRPG.

In ICRPG what also works well is that generally with the low hit points, any character could drop in any single attack (an attack that rolls 1d6 damage that is a crit and adds 1d12 potentially does more than enough damage to drop a 1 heart player character).

I’ve found that escalating the room target as you get closer and closer to that final confrontation helps build a sense of tension.

I recently ran a horror-ish game, and the break down of the session was:

  • Part 1: Players begin investigating, target is 10.
  • Part 2: Players uncover clues and first fight with the bad guy’s minions, target increased to 12.
  • Part 3: Players found themselves in the thick of it. There’s a second, even stronger wave of minions who attack, target increased to 15. They uncover the full understanding of what is going on, but the only way out now is through the main threat.
  • Part 4: Players face the main threat, target is now an 18 (I was mean). Everyone is low on HP from the previous two fights. Good luck, and when luck fails them, time for them to use those hero coins.