Introduction Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms the barest hint of a smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came—all according to his plan. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner And you are invited. About me I've been playing DnD for about fifteen years, and DMing off-and-on for over a decade. I've run multiple campaigns online, including Curse of Strahd. I got started playing CRPGs (think BG3, but WAY older), and it heavily influenced the way I run games. Everyone should feel like part of the game world. Everyone should have a secondary, personal goal for adventuring beyond the main quest. It's my job to make sure those two things happen. In my experience, once those are taken care of the game basically runs itself. About the Game The session time is Thursdays, 7:00-11:00 PM CET. Two players from my last campaign has already signed up for CoS. The ideal party size (in my mind) is four players, but if we end up with five that's alright. We're going to run every week, with a five or ten minute break in the middle of the session for people to stretch their legs. Fair warning, we might run over by a few minutes if no one objects and there's something interesting happening. Also, we will run without you, if you're not there. If something comes up every few months, that's alright. But, I'd ask that you make 95% of the sessions. The chance someone misses a session is why I'm open to having a fifth player in the party. I'm setting an age limit of 18+. This is not a campaign for children, and I don't intend to temper the horror. That's rather the point. Older isn't a problem. Older is better. You might actually get my references. I run very by-the-book campaigns. If the book says "this is how something works," that's how it works. With very few exceptions, I don't do homebrew. If it's in an official book, you can generally use it. The caveat, here, is that your character has to fit into the premise of the campaign. See the linked form for more information. The game will be played in the VTT Foundry, which loads in your browser (ideally Firefox, optionally Chrome). I'm using the excellent Beneos Battlemaps for CoS, which makes for an immersive experience. We'll do VOIP and out-of-game chat via Discord. You need a stable (ideally excellent - the maps and videos are large) Internet connection, and a computer. That's about it. I would highly recommend taking notes, but that's not under my control. I've prepared the maps, music, and tokens. If you can do a character sheet solo, great. Send it to me. If you need help, I can help. It'll all be prepared for you in Foundry before we start. Other than that, the only things you need are compassion and wit. Some experience in 5e is necessary, but you don't need to be an expert. If you're still transitioning to 5.5e, that's alright. Session Zero will be November 6th, 2025. We'll talk about the themes of the campaign, review the character creation guidelines, then break for a week to finalize character sheets. More importantly, we'll talk backstories. You'll be required to write a ~300 word background, including a personal goal (we'll talk more about this individually, based on your character concept), during the week. Session One will be Novermber 13th, 2025. Best guess, this campaign will take around 30 sessions. If you want to play with us, I have a form for you to fill out: https://forms.gle/fGSij9QteVhP1Mjf7 Please read the entire thing, including the campaign information, before you begin. I'm rather particular about the people with whom I play. I like people who are well-spoken and creative. So, if you want to join the campaign, write a bit. Ideally, when writing you'll demonstrate a strong grasp of the English language. I'll message interested parties via Discord, at which point we'll chat. You need to ensure your Discord account accepts Friend Requests. I cannot contact you, otherwise.