I like this a lot but one thing I do not like is Strahd just kidnapping Ireena since it is a bit out of character for him since he could have had the whole campaign to kidnap her but chose not to because he thinks she is his true love and wants to woo her and have her of her own free will. So I took a page out of Nosferatu. Ireena got deathly sick from a curse during the fight with Baba Lysaga, she has to spend some time at the Vistani encampment to receive treatment where the party left her with the shamans among them to treat the mysterious illness. The party left as they could no longer take her with them, as Strahd appears to her one night through a messenger. Strahd made a deal with Ireena, that she would marry him otherwise he would kill all of the party whom she had grown close to. Ireena is heartbroken by this but already feels so guilty and responsible for the other party members who have already died to keep her safe so she goes with, the bargain is struck, despite everything, the tragic part is one of the party members had started to fall in love with her. This makes the final stretch so much more climactic so much more personal it really makes them hate Strahd more than just a simple he snatched her, instead he broke her. The difference is evident

I like the concept of the pool scene. I plan on having Tatiana personality come out and they speak, he vanishes and the party and Irena are left with a WTF?

Thank you for your effort in doing all this, I've watch all your videos from the the start of this campaign. It has helped me a lot in understanding the context of it all and your added insight on the different options is also helpful. My player are still at the carnival, so hopefully after the next session we'll move into primeer.

Just know! These are still being used in 2025!!! I watch this series before every session to prep and it has been phenomenal!

Just started running COS with DragnaCarta's Reloaded. It's wonderful. Before running the game was a bit daunting. Now it's pretty much written how things are expected to play out and gives you so much more time to focus on the other things...

Take a shot at every ‘ultimately’, ‘fun jazz’, and ‘regard’. You’ll die.

thank you for your siries you've done on curse of strahd. very helpful - got me trough the parts of the book that were a bit too boring for me to read u hev don wells

Something I find cringy in this chapter is the idea that alcohol is an effective coping mechanism for anything (other than maybe boredom). If you've seen anyone who's tried that, you know: they ain't coping. From the DM point of view, I think it's more interesting to see how players react to the trade-off: massive alcohol withdraw would certainly ratchet up the horror but then, again, if I were Strahd, I would want everyone three sheets to the wind. It feels like an odd, retro product placement.

There is "Railroads" and there is COS, a 3 lane highway with multiple pit stops but you still have to travel that road.

I will probably remove the Shadowfell and Poltergeist. I love the idea of a haunted house that isn't even really haunted

My party is high level enough and their bard has Feather Fall... They also have a horse-drawn wagon with two horses.... I think I'll have the Roc grab the two horses, and the wagon comes along for a bit.... Gives some choices for the feather fall... The Roc will still be confused and let it be if the horses safely float to the ground... Could be a fun E.T. Flying wagon moment

Is CoS a campaign for new players and new DM? It sounds complicated :)

a week is much too long. why is the long rest multiplied by 21, but the short rest only by 8? a night short rest and 2 day long rest is more appropriate.

Say the beginning where you were partially invis and you were trying to figure out why. Its likely due to the green screen having too much light and reflecting some green onto you. It could also be a setting for feathering or something of the sort. Good luck on it! Also, I love you work on CoS and WDH, those have helped immensely for my campaigns. 🍻