If the group were to lose the fight in Dark Audience, the motivation to continue into the 'Irena's Tomb' Encounter would be to hope for a qualified victory in ACT III over a total loss. In single group play with Irena as the Vampire Lord, the encounter flow has the group go from the 'Dark Audience' Encounter first then to the 'Irena's Tomb' Encounter. Just remember, death is rarely the end in Barovia. Oh, and you fight a wolf the size of a house and a dracolich carrying a vampire's coffin. Additionally, a large portion of proceeds after recoup of development costs will be donated to the Pride Foundation. Practically speaking, we have very few characters to work with, so adding a small love story outside of the doomed romances of the Zaroviches meant adding a queer romance. It matters to people we care about, including members of The Hedra Group. The campaign may be shorter but the book is actually larger than Curse of Strahd. In terms of raw size, ONS is 525 pages and just over 100,000 words with tons of lush illustrations by Evangeline Gallagher accentuating an almost completely unique bestiary along with handouts and flowcharts for all major encounters to assist with legibility and speed of play. This is gothic horror by way of neo-noir with a breakneck narrative, a sprawling castle, and massive set-piece battles. We wanted to make an neo-noir adventure that anyone could run, one that dealt with death, hope, queerness, love, and the horror of regret. It’s easy to run and requires very little prep without compromising on depth or fun. To be extremely clear, it’s not better or worse to make a shorter campaign, but there weren’t a lot of them out there. This means there’s a definite need for shorter experiences.
That means most campaigns end around the 25 hour mark, while most “full-length” campaign or adventure books clock in at 50+ hours.
Both versions include rules for playing either with one or two full parties of 6th level characters.As a Event game: Running roughly 12 hours, suitable for a live-stream or holiday extravaganza.As a Mini-campaign: Running roughly 16 hours, generally broken into four sessions.A powerful new way to use inspiration that can be reused in any setting.A novel reincarnation mechanic that helps make sure no one gets left out at the table.A more accessible approach to designing large encounter spaces, with plenty of well-tested examples.Puzzles, secrets, and sprawling exploration-based encounters called Hunts.Enormous set-piece boss fights, including a wolf the size of a mansion and deadly assassin-cavalry.An entire set of fast narrative encounters, replacing the classic random encounters while preserving their feel and spirit.17 major encounters, including two hidden bosses.After three years of extensive testing, we're proud to share this explosive adventure with you. It condenses and remixes the 200+ hour campaign of Curse of Strahd into a replayable adventure weighing in at 525 pages with 150+ illustrations, 12 maps, 16 encounters, 27 new magic items, and 60+ quick-play charts. With careful attention to the design of exploration, combat, and role-playing opportunities, our goal has been to make something for every DM and every table. Precise and messy as a vampire bite, One Night Strahd (ONS) delivers the spectacle and catastrophe of gothic horror as a consistent and fast-paced short campaign for D&D 5e.
Witness the end of Ravenloft in this all-new adventure, brought to life in over 200 illustrations and maps.