#kannoth

[offbrandspacecolumbo]

Curse of Strahd Kitbashing pt3

So, previously, I was bouncing what to do with some of the Fey elements I want to bring in to augment the story. I had not one but two Archfey to pick from - Kannoth, a vampiric fey who survived the collapse of his city (with necromancy) and now serves as the court mage of the Unseelie from his city of the dead; and Neifion, a general of the Queen of Air and Darkness who resides on both the Feywild and the Shadowfell, and whose body is a mix of both man and bat, but has been imprisoned within his castle by a permanent artificial sun. I don't think I can do both. Originally, I was planning on Kannoth; after booting the Dark Powers, I'd have no need for the Amber Temple, and I could plop his city in its place. Or at least, a gateway to reach the city, if nothing else. I planned to force a connection between him and the Dusk Elves to perhaps justify the curse he placed on Strahd, and overall I was just interested in this necromancer vampire-fey. However, I've gained a bit of appreciation for the Dark Powers and the Shadowfell. While I'd still like to implement the Feywild, I also want to rock the Domains of Dread and the Dark Powers. And for that, Neifion, the imprisoned bat who's got influence in both, would serve me better. In addition, as he's imprisoned, this both informs his relationship with the rest of the realm (he, *too*, is a prisoner of this massive jail cell), and also conveniently keeps him out of the picture for much of the game so I can focus on Strahd (bonus: one of my players **already has a pact to help bust Neifion out,** so he was always going to play a minor role but now this just fits so well) One of the main reasons I wanted to include the Fey in the first place was because I wanted to play up Strahd's punishment; it already felt like the kind of karmic prank-punishment an insulted Fey might give someone who's slighted or wronged them. But an angle I never considered was that, for all his faults and his evils, Strahd legitimately protects his lands. Or, protected his lands, in older editions - from the Dark Lords of other Domains of Dread, and the Dark Powers. An angle that's been apparently dropped for the 5e version adds a lot more depth to Strahd's character - he's not just the BBEG, he's a lot more complicated than that. Strahd 100% deserves a stake to the heart no matter what. But even as he makes his world miserable, he also actively protects it from guys who'd make it even *worse,* and it'd be a shame to forget that. An interesting point of conflict for the party, or at the very least a neat detail. With Kannoth completely gone, with nothing left representing him on the board, that's just Neifion, the Dark Powers, and... do I need anything else? I'll have to answer the question of how this Neifion and this Strahd got imprisoned, but I'll have to do so later. For now, it's 2:15, and I need sleep. But I think I need to fill a Jailor role. I also think I'd like a copy of an older-edition Ravenloft book, so I could learn more about what I heard.

[offbrandspacecolumbo]

Curse of Strahd Kitbashing, Part 2

guess I should start titling these things maybe Anyways, it's a lovely day to start drafting up a roadmap. Starting off - Death House. We're skipping it. Hooray. At least for an intro mission. As it is, it feels unconnected to the rest of the plot. It's a grueling and unfun slog for low-leveled characters, and acts as a brick for the entire story, just a hurdle that needs to be overcome.

So, Baron Vargas, right? Burgormaster of Vallaki, throws constant festivals in an egotistical attempt to lift Barovia's gloom? There's an untapped resource in the region he's not using: Adventurers. Sure, they may not be the most common things to come in on the Old Svalich Road, and their stories always end in death. But they always leave stories - whether legends, tales, or mere rumors, they leave something to talk about. Some good deed or feat that inspires hope. So, what if the good Baron were to, say, get the idea to make them into a guild? Getting a lot of famous and capable individuals all rounded up in Vallaki is sure to be a net boon for the city and **never backfire**. In either case, a proper Adventuring Guild needs a proper Guildhouse - and wouldn't you know it, but there's a haunted house on the edge of town that's just the perfect size. Bonus points, for my game specifically at least, I can use the catacombs of the Death House to help sow seeds of the new Fey story, perhaps someone was sacrificing to Kannoth (to absolutely no avail) to try and "appease" the Unseelie who placed the curse on the land. (Still unsure if it was just Kannoth by himself, or maybe a group of Fey. Kannoth rules the ruined city of Cendriane, which has since left the Material Plane; perhaps Barovia was near where Cendriane fell? I need to replace the Amber Temple anyways...) Whatever the case, at the very least, I get to enjoy the fear factor when my poor players realize they've stumbled into the Death House. Mwahahaha!

[offbrandspacecolumbo]

Beginning prep for Curse of Strahd in a month (October 1st's a Saturday!), and taking the time to do some creative liberties with the plot. A lot of my players seem to either have ties or the possibility to have ties to the Feywild, so I'm thinking of tying that into the campaign... Did you know that there's not one but two Vampiric Archfey? Kannoth and Neifion. Not exactly a lot of lore on either - which is great, because lorecracks like that are where I thrive!! Already have one player serving Neifion and the game hasn't even begun! The specifics are going to need some work, but broad strokes, I want to leave the base of the story largely unchanged. Strahd destroys his own life, and he brings his punishment on himself and others, while never admitting it. The only thing I'd like to change is, instead of Strahd's curse being a gift from the Dark Powers as part of a pact, it's a "gift" from the Fey in return for some insult or injustice he did them - a sort of karmic punishment. They don't even need to do anything, just keep him alive and let him continue making himself miserable, forever. (Which I get was the original deal, but there's something impersonal about it coming from "Ye Olde Dark Powers," and it just feels more visceral coming from the Fey. Something about pissing off beings of pure emotion and whim so much that they place a centuries- or millennia-long curse on you, and then *stay* pissed at you all that time, is kinda neat to me.) There's an outlier there, though - Baba Lysaga, whose deal with Mother Night allows her to create many of the circumstances that shape Strahd into the vampire he is today. As Mother Night is one of the Dark Powers, I'll need to address that too. I know Baba Yaga is actually considered an Archfey and a member of the Unseelie Court, I wonder if it'd be alright to draw a link between the two. Or if that'd be just tacky. I've got a lot of things I can do stuff with, and a month to work. I'll figure something out.