Preparing the Death House (DM CoS Guide)

[@mykediemart]

I think you gave really good advice and not just on running the adventure. The free resources that you pointed out are a great way to try out DnD. Top notch guide IMO.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks. I think I'm getting better at making these.

[@ogleffeboi432]

Narrator: "Use DND porn!" *Spits coffee *

[@RW77777777]

I like considering Rose & Thorn and the Nursemaid as NPCs separate from the house, they were present for years before the House's coalescence and are prisoners within it as much as they are of their own grieving. How this was reflected in the roleplaying scenes for my group was the PCs were introduced to R & T on the street and it's framed that they just left the attic because 'it's been more than a day since their parents went to deal with the monster' this is an illusion the House manifests(a caricature of the real R & T) The party had a cleric with Eyes of the Dead; good thing they're illusions, or tough luck trying to get the party to enter that house at the behest of lying ghosts! The party walks around a house that is in reasonably good order, has fire places going and has the illusionary children warm themselves in the parlor while the PCs explore. I skipped the pointless combats with the armor and broom and just had them make a lot of noise and comic relief. The reality of the house became more apparent when the Nursemaid was introduced as they checked that room and try and negotiate with something that hates the living and are quickly chased up into the attic and they are re-introduced to R & T who have no idea how the party knows their names and ask if they are friends of mommy & daddy... oh and they're obviously ghosts. Death House was a lot of fun and delivered the chills that I wanted. Challenging and very different from trash talking some goblins.

[@HowtoRPG]

Nice work. Thanks for sharing.

[@ademiranda2]

This is not an adventure for murder hobos. The type of player that will enjoy this adventure-and overall campaign will be the player that enjoys exploring, storytelling, and interacting with the environment ( role playing). DM’s that are good character actors will work best for this campaign (i.e., talk in creepy voices, make sound effects as opposed to describing the sounds around the players).

[@HowtoRPG]

Yes.

[@noahbason8486]

Getting ready to run CoS soon and this along with your other videos on the campaign have been awesome! Thank you so much!

[@HowtoRPG]

Glad you like them, Noah. Live stream this week on Curse of Strahd with a few more ideas to help make the adventure your own. Maybe answer some questions.

[@robertmaddox3051]

Thank you for the link to the Player Map for Death House. Just what I needed to start this adventure.

[@HowtoRPG]

Good. Happy gaming.

[@ChromeDragonBastion]

Great video, I like this little adventure it could be made to be much scarier then the rest of the Curse of Strahd because of the House being so very much the classic haunted house scenario. Stretch those halls, have things crawling below rotted wallpaper, or under bedsheets and have nothing there if players check. Good times !

[@HowtoRPG]

Glad you enjoyed it. Yes that is an option.

[@chrism6315]

'Make a dexterity saving throw' '8' 'You feel what you think is the cool wind brush across your neck, but as you rub the spot with your hand feel residue of Web from the spider the size of your hand running down your back'. That's far more effective than 'you take some damage'.

[@RPGImaginings]

When a DM tells me "it only took one session to run" a scenario that takes me three, it really makes me question how much agency their players have in making decisions.

[@HowtoRPG]

Everyone DM's differently, but I understand your point.

[@RPGImaginings]

@@HowtoRPG Right, fun first. Nobody should tell anyone how to have fun. At the same time, DMs should always also ask for player feedback. What is working? What isn't? Many, many, many DMs struggle with letting players drive the choices and one can often tell when a DM isn't taking player feedback. Its all about learning how to balance preparation, and you clearly have an experienced and balanced eye for prep, as evidenced by this video. Subbed!

[@RW77777777]

my group could have taken 1 session but it ended up taking 3, and that was with some help. Puzzles invariably taken up more time than combat. and The Death House has it's share of skeletons in closets

[@HowtoRPG]

@@RPGImaginings Thanks.

[@Anglomixmarathon]

try 8 sessions

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati]

Movie suggestions eh? Haunting of HIll House 1959. and...House 1985 have some very different takes on the subject.

[@HowtoRPG]

Yes, they do.

[@MathKJW]

What did you do when characters broke the windows and throw a rope through it to escape? How did the house keep them from escaping in that case?

[@HowtoRPG]

I did not have the glass break just crack. The players started panicking. I let them break the glass working together. When the rope was feed through the window it started repairing. One player had their character leap through the window without the rope, fell and when unconscious. I milked it a bit more but the rest of the group by the window made it out the window, some walked away others were carried. They burnt the house down out of terror, rage and frustration.

[@RW77777777]

I'd let the players escape through a window as long as they haven't gotten to stage 2 of the boss fight. Cuz that changes the house. The players shouldn't be railroaded to save some ghost children if they don't want to. Stage 2 is a very damage intensive phase, and make sure you have full mana and plenty of pots. If players look like they're hanging on by a thread on their way out, you can subtly describe the changed surroundings (rotted walls) and that could give the players a clue for a short cut to the exit.

[@Zer0BE]

Could you elaborate a bit more on how you'd handle the "characters who die come back as the same character"? How does it work mechanically?

[@HowtoRPG]

Look for a video on KZbin or my channel called "D&D 5e Character Death Options". That will help.

[@RPGImaginings]

The DM decides that X list of options allows "dead" characters to come back. It's as simple as that. Rulesets are starting places. They are not absolutes.

[@RW77777777]

how would it happen in a horror movie? What did everyone really see... does the death leave the PC's body readily available to their comrades? do they bury the body? Will the dead-PC appear none-the-worse-for-wear behind the party an eye blink after they move on with no memory of the event that killed them but everything else intact?? there's a CoS mechanic that adds insanity after returning from death; if you think players are at risk of becoming undeterred by the risk of death

[@SuperTekTime]

How to D&D death options

[@jackhartford521]

I am about to start running death house in two days, and if any party members die, I’m just going to have them wake up outside of the house. But standing over them and with their face right in their‘s, is a black wolf with yellow eyes. Or there is a raven/crow standing on your chest when you wake up. So the character basically dies, and the first thing that happens after that, is they wake up, lying on the cobblestone Street outside of death House, and they are staring face-to-face with a huge black wolf. This is Count Strahd in disguise. He does not want you to be killed at this time. You are his plaything. He brings you back because you left the playing field too soon,….. Just don’t tell the party any of this, leave them in the dark. As soon as you wake up, the wolf, that is literally inches from your face, slowly backs up away from you into the mist and disappears. Or the raven/crow gives a “cah”(the sound a raven or crow makes) after eyeing you up and down, and flies away into the mist.

[@mejicans2934]

By the way the maps are no longer free and cost 2 dollars. I did look around and found them. Would be more than happy to provide the link.

[@HowtoRPG]

That is a shame. I am not keen on advertising the links if the creator losses money for their efforts.

[@DerickTheHeroV2]

These guides are very helpful. Script writing something like this and getting an understanding of this amount of information is pretty challenging in itself. Thank you for making these, and I hope your channel continues to grow!

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks. Me too.

[@ademiranda2]

It would be awesome if there was this same preparation video but specific to running it over a VTT like Roll20 for example. However, overall this is a very helpful video and I comeback to it to refresh my memory everytime I get ready to run it.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks :)

[@lividarling9510]

How great it is to have the full guide now years down the line. No waiting for me!

[@HowtoRPG]

lol. Well I am glad you are finding it useful.

[@dalerenner5942]

@@HowtoRPG ditto Livi’s comment. Thank you for these guides!

[@HowtoRPG]

@@dalerenner5942 You are very welcome 😀

[@skymorgue5892]

I’m dming for the first time on Halloween in 3 days since our typical dm couldn’t make it and this was so helpful thank you

[@HowtoRPG]

You are welcome. All the best with your game.

[@omnishangout747]

How do I know when I'm ready to run curse of strahd

[@HowtoRPG]

When you have a group of players that are ready for anything, including lots a character death. And nothing the players do scares you at the game table.

[@bobdylanlovr69]

I've been frantically preparing to run the one-shot as a first-time DM and your guides have been super duper helpful! we start in 4 hours, here's hoping everything goes smoothly

[@HowtoRPG]

Great. All the best with your game.

[@riley3344]

Awesome video, really enjoyed and took a lot out of it. You may need to update the section on the maps provided by Mike, as they are now pay to access.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks. I more video's on Death House and Curse of Strahd.

[@merrickmiller1224]

Properly run to the setting and rules for CoS, alot of DMs and players dont understand Death House is supposed to kill players so you can introduce them to the dark powers and dark gifts as they are brought back to "life" by the dark powers.

[@HowtoRPG]

It's still illegal to kill your players, so not recommended. Killing Characters in a game will cause fewer problems for Dungeon Masters. I have made a video on dark gifts. Does CoS follow any rules? ;)

[@peterwindhorst5775]

It could be run as Call of Cthulu - horror tropes a lot.

[@HowtoRPG]

Yes, that would work.

[@bluejoy127]

24:00 The house in the top right is a nice location thematically in that it is a solitary structure obviously apart from the other buildings however I do want to point out that the adventure describes how the houses on either side of the Death House are "abandoned, their windows and doors boarded up." So just make sure you make any necessary adjustments in your descriptions so your players aren't confused by conflicting information. A simple and obvious thing but I know I sometimes have so much going on behind the screen that I will forget something that is right in my face. You can pick whichever house on the map that speaks to you of course however I rather like the idea of the Death House *not* being in anyway remarkable from the outside other than the fact that the homes right next to it are abandoned. This house relies on being unassuming and blending in to its surroundings in order to lure in its victims.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks for sharing.

[@akakeri9802]

I think i understand why one would want to scare the players over scaring the characters ( scared player = scared character) But i dont feel that way because for me at the very least when im a player i try to role play that character (most of the point of this tabletop game) so in one way or another im going to be frightened. Not to mention scaring someone at the table is much for difficult than them role playing some who is scared especially in situations where one must be using a virtual table top or other aspects that detract from the mood.

[@HowtoRPG]

Without face to face interaction, I tend to agree with your point.

[@akakeri9802]

@@HowtoRPG Thank you for the reply.

[@lilwheel-e1902]

Hi can someone link me the pdf for the monster stat blocks? Did some searching and weirdly couldn’t find them. I’m a first time dm and I’m running this for my friends soon. Thanks!

[@HowtoRPG]

They are not available for download free.

[@duolingobird9244]

Joshua Clarke You could find them on other websites. Or get a sketchy monster manual pdf and print out the individual pages

[@trouqe]

Great video on the death house. What list of apps do you use on your phone? Heard you had randomizers and such. Thank you.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks. I have a smart phone playlist of videos that I use.

[@AbsurdNotions]

These CoS videos are really helpful. I really like your style and advice. I hope you do more!

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks. I have escaping the Death House this Friday at 1 pm NZDT. The video's will be ongoing for years.

[@Sethan777]

You can make your own porns? 😁😆😁 Just kidding. Great advice and ideas! 👍👍👍👏

[@CesarIsaacPerez]

Wait a min, is the Death House adventure included in the Curse of Strahd book?

[@HowtoRPG]

Yes.

[@mattdahm4289]

Thank you Fred!

[@HowtoRPG]

You are most welcome Matt :)

[@dalerenner5942]

The dungeon madames have really awesome death house maps!

[@LeLuthier71]

Or some may say Cosm.

[@HowtoRPG]

?

[@Dragonspirit223]

22:08 Hey look! Its a Door Monster!

[@razorchuckles]

Thank you for taking the time to put this video together - but I honestly feel that it takes way too long to get to the points. This 35 minute video could easily be reduced to 10 minutes or less. We don't need two minutes to explain why post-its are a good idea, or the first five minutes to recommend to us that we buy the Monster Manual and other rule books. I do, however, appreciate the links you added and the images you took the time to post.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks. This video was made for beginners and it took time to discuss some of the prep. A 10 minute video on the topic would have achieved very little. I have playlists on the Death House and Curse of Strahd.

[@TheMayaPearce]

I know this video was posted about a year ago, but I'm planning on running this as a Halloween one-shot (knowing me and my players, it'll last much longer than one session, but we'll try our best) and my main goal is to make it super creepy and dark. I referenced a slightly altered version of the campaign that gives more depth to the characters, and I'm utilizing a sound board to add to the ambiance. As a DM, I get super absorbed into the details. Do you have any tips for making things up on the fly while still sticking to the story?

[@HowtoRPG]

Try the links below to a few videos that could help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXzFeayZZbt3fpo kzbin.info/www/bejne/onvVmH-lo96gaas

[@UseToPewProfessionally]

honestly as an experienced DM (running strahd for the first time) I couldn't finish the video as the first ten minutes were "how to run a dnd campaign" and barely anything to do with Death House. You have good information but as far as how to run the actual Death House maybe start a bit sooner. Ive already moved on to another video where the commentator went right into it.

[@Idreallyrathernotthanks]

Good for you?

[@asluckdespairs]

I have to be honest :( I'm more than 10 minute into this video and you havent given any advice for the death house yet. These are basic "How to organize as a DM for any adventure" tips and have not been helpful at all for someone who knows how to DM but wants tips for CoS or death house

[@toomuchritz]

the thing is alot of the people looking into this are brand new to this and need the previous info to do this. stop thinking of yourself this is directed to everyone

[@michaelheinen563]

*skips npc player backgrounds to save time* *talks about the importance of post it notes and jaws for 5 minutes* :p