I ran this adventure as a Halloween one shot complete with props, candles on table for lighting and halloween decorations around the table and a few other things.

First off this is tough like really tough, 5 level 5's might have an easier time but 4 level 4's with a few better rolls might have been able to get through it. It would have been tough but i still think that they could have done it.

The pace is great, the rooms are well done and there are enough encounters to keep you occupied without being too much. PLayers had a blast, i have a creepy doll that they enjoyed seeing. Similar to the death house i enjoy the fact that you dont need to have a lot in rooms for people to psych themselves out, and you enter and there is.....NOTHING, good storytelling can also help and setting things up.

Overall i really enjoyed this as did my players, they barely escaped with their wits and cant wait to run the next one.

I love the whole idea of the Doomed forgotten realms, it really has made things a little more fun and put a new spin on things.

I am looking forward to running this and any subsequent parts that follow this story line. I love the eastereggs having already played Out of the Abyss.

The other Doomed Forgotten Realms products are not required to enjoy this but it does help.

The first couple of chapters are a wealth of information about life in the underdark, the demon lords, and much more and how it works in this doomed version of the FR.

The adventure is pretty cool there is a lot for you to do places to go, and actually allows you to do things at your own pace and also doesnt force you to do any of the side quests, most of them are optional and dont exactly have a time limit to them.

The creatures are fun and there is a host of new magic items for your party that fit well into wehere you are.

Looking forward to running this and further parts in this current storyline and more in the entire series.

The adventure is great, it really tests parties.

I decided to go the route of making it tough which this module really allowed me to do so with the descrptions of how the areas are. The parties i have running this loved to hate a certain section, but i have to say the underground Highway is my fav section in the book, you can really torment the players and with some great storytelling make them feel every moment that they are there.

Everything seems nicely paced and the players should never feel overpowered or find anything too easy. As others have stated if you wish to really explore the other factions the gazetter is a good pick up or if they wishg to go off the beaten path.

I have 2 groups currently running through this adventure and would certainally run it again, i am enjoying it a lot and my players who also include a first time player are having the best time going through this.

I have read through this and enjoyed it very much. I am also about to run 2 groups through the entire thing but i have to say that this is actually a pretty decent begiiner adventure 1-3 that allows both the dm and players to have a little fun, learn about each other and some things that you can do. All to often players tend to forget some of the things they can do on a turn and this gives the players the knowledge and the ability to put them all into action.

There is so much room for roleplay also and to act a bit silly and remember what it was like being in college. You can do as little or as much as you like you can take as long as you really want to or blast through it quickly if you prefer, its all about what the dm and players get out of it.

Unlike the Death house or goblin ambush (Lost Mine) parts that should take you up to at least level 2 this start the players will not really ever die and you will never have the chance of a tpk (which is possible in either of the others). There is enough to challenge the players and make it tough for them without letting them just breeze through like its a cake walk.

The Academy also allows the players to bond together and give them a reason for being in a party. The players can get to know each other both as players and the characters that they are playing, it develops the bond that seems to be missing too often.

I would highly reccomend running this for new players and maybe even for those who have played just to remind them of things that they may have forgotten over the years.

This is a brutal short adventure that is not for everyone, the tone is very dark paying homage to Hellraiser is the best way i can describe it. Can it be played in one session? probably but will more than likely take 2-3 depending on how the characters play.

There is a disclaimer and a warning at the start of the adventure and really it is up to the dm to judge the table and warn them before hand that the scenes described are not for those who are not a fan of horror. The dm can change up what they like but as an avid horror fan i explained this to my players and they wanted the full monty and were still like wow thats different.

Aside from that the adventure is pretty tough on the players with the fact that there are some brutal traps and with healing and resting not exactly the best option you really have to be on your toes when playing. I wouild also suggest to your players to use the point buy or what ever you decide as a way of assigning stats, my players all decided to roll a standard 4d6kh3 and all rolled pretty bad which made things even tougher....did i mention already that this is pretty brutal? well when you have players who are all below 70 points on rolling then it makes it a bit more intreresting.

The first level is tough but a lot can be avoided with only a maximum of 3 fights with 1 being easily avoided, the other 2 are not exactly too hard and really shouldnt cause too many issues (famous last words) unless again like my party were having a rough time of it but have made it through.

The second level is where the most gore happens and the good thing is that it is a replica of the first level in the way of layout and depending on the party and how they play only really have 1 fight...if they are murder hobos then there will be a lot more which can make for some interesting fights but may also come back to bite them later, remember you dont always need to fight or kill things there are other options.

Overall its a pretty good adventure with some excellent loot that can be found and using madness and lingering wounds can really make the game a lot more interesting and should be used to make give the players the experience that should make them feel a sense of accomplishment when they get out while reminding them that there are things that go bump in the night out there. Suitable for a halloween scare or for players who want something with a little bit darker of a tone.

As a fan of CZRPG and many of the colabs done with him as soon as i saw this i knew i had to get it.

I am currently running 2 Ravenloft campaigns that are more like expanded versions of CoS and having had most players run through CoS already this gives a great little twist to the plot.

This is not justy a lets add ess to the end of Count this is an actual in depth look at how to change the perspective of running Curse of Strahd and Changed the mighty Strahd into a slightly different version of a Vampire. Not only does it address the problems of how CoS can be viewed and not as popular to some but also how to avoid the typical cliche of how female vampires are generally portrayed.

There are several variations on how you can tun The Countess so you are also not just stuck with ok this is a change and how to run her, it gives lots of detail and ideas that you can impliment as you feel fit, Having read the ideas i have also come up with a couple of my own that could be used to change the story of how she came into power.

It doesnt just stop there though it also looks at the relationships with the other inhabitants of the castle gives you ideas on how to change them but again its not just ok to make it work do this...its more like you caould have this be the reason or something else or even another thing be a reason...this leaves alot up to the dm to pick and choose from or weave together to get an intresting story that can make a player who has played Cos before look at it from a different way.

The main story of CoS isnt changed too much with this but it also gives you options on how you can change the intrests and what drives the countess by giving you again a few options on how to work the story.

The addition of a witches coven adds yet another dimension and something that can make the game feel different once more.

You can pick and choose what you like to use let it give yyou ideas on how to change things up slightly withoput havint to re do absolutely everyone and everything.

Finally it gives inspiration from other famous women in power both From History and from Fiction so that you can maybe try your hand at creating a bbeg that is for once a female and not your run of the mill bad guy that can give your players a surprise.

All in all a great read and a great addition for anyone wanting to play CoS even if you keep things as the book there is enough in there to help you add something to your game.

Another great encounter bundle, that is well thought out and well presented. Sorting the encounters by chapter lets you pick and choose which ones you want to use. A great variety of encounters to help you out and give your players something extra to do as the original story does tend to be lacking in places.

A variety of social exploration and combat as per usual plus a variety of maps to help you out not only for the encounters but to bolster the limited maps that the adventure has.

A must have for anyone wanting to run an avernus campaign or any campaign set in the baldurs gate area/setting.

I finally have gotten around to getting this pack and only have a few more to buy.

Why do i get them?

Well the pre written adventures leave a lot for the dm to manage and the encounters are not only well placed but help out in so many ways, not just your typical fetch quests or go kill this there are various things to do and various outcomes so you are given choices on what to do.

Amazing encounters, amazing maps another one hit out of the park.

Another great addition to thje collection, Encounters spanning the entire book and some great maps as always. A great mix of combat, social exploration as i always find with the encounter bundles.

This book has a lot of what you need to run some one shots or add to your ravenloft campaign.

Adventures vary from level 1-12 and a few that you can scale depending on what level your party is. Many of the major realms are hit including a very scaled fun one that you can incorperate into CoS.

Maps are amazing to go with the adventures, the variety of writers used is also good as you get different styles of writing.

All the extra monsters have their strat blocks per adventure, many of the magic items are pretty cool

Oh and SHARKNADO

nuff said

Im Editing this review and the rating for one major reason the Errors

There are a load of them i have them all listed i have contacted one of the authors (Grimm Press) who released this and also on Fantasy Grounds but had everything fixed yet this has been left to die with errors in a lot of the stat blkocks and no update resolving the issue. I have been patient i have also contacted them via a couple of means i have posted in the discussions and had no response. If it gets fixed i will gladly replace my original rating as in all honesty its pretty good and i like it i am just bummed that no update or even response has been forthcoming.

WOW....just Wow.... thats all i can say about this.

I have had players ask about coming from the realms and how could we put that into the game. Well this does it for you, you can use Barovia as a start but always transplant and change to come from another realm.

Not only does this give you the chance to have grown up in barovia but also gives you an idea of how your class and subclass can be incorperated into your character. Not all the sub classes are mentioned but about 95% from the Main, PHB/Xan/Tahsa/VRG are in here giving a very dark ravenloft spin to them.

Do you want to delve furtherinto your background their are tables that you can pick from or randomly roll to give your background more susbtance which can never hurt.

What races may you come across in barovia and hooks to help your character build relashionships with some of the main players and/or places.

There is so much in here that really can help you flesh out and expand on any ravenloft or CoS adventure.

On thing that i have sadly found to be lackluster with CoS and Van Richtens was the amount of diseases and curses that can be gotten afflicted upon someone.

There are many things out there and i have come across several diseases in products.

This product helps immensly and you can then use it in your game, oh the zombie uses its slam attack well instead of slamming you it bites you, how about walking through the forrest and an outlander goes forraging and you eat some plants oops now you are sick....the possibilites are endless and the cures are rather run and the players will have to seek out how...another way to make a side quest and expand your game.

The curses take a bit more work but can be fun and have some great ways that they can manifest and be used

Another Great product from the Author.

10 encounters 2 events to help give the castle that bit more of a fun feel to it.

Many of the encounters are designed for higher level (6-7+) as you really dont want to be going to the castle at low level but if you do there are some exploration and social ones that can be ran at any level.

As per usual there is a great mix of social, exploration and combat, well written scenarios and a bunch of new monsters to help spice up the feel of castle Ravenloft and make it a bit more fun however your party decides to go there.

This is what Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft Needed.

The book had only 8 dark gifts this product gives you 20....if that isnt enough of a reason then lets look further.

Not only do the 20 dark gifts give you a full on description of what the gift is they are far more balanced. They give you a gift to do something and well this is the dark powers they also have a down side too. Nothing is overwhelmingly powerful and nothing is far too detrimental either. The gifts options work all the time, no oh if you roll a nat 1 on a check then the side effect happens and only once per short or long rest....this is ravenloft where bad things happen every time, the dark lords who made their bargins have things happen all the time not just from time to time.

Finally there are written plot lines for when the player gets offered the gift, short scenarios laid out where the player can accept or reject and then the outcome too. No more trying to figure out how do you go about offering the gift its all their for you.

With 20 plus the original 9 and if you really want to go all in with CoS dark gifts you will have a plethora of bonuses to give your players with countless oportunities for them to have fun with.

Can i rate this 6 stars? if i could i would.

An excellent bundle that combines a bunch of the titles at a great price. You own one or two no worries that price gets taken off so you dont pay twice for it.

Overall a worthwhile bundle with some great encounters events andf other things to help flesh out any ravenloft campaign and aslso stuff you can add to CoS