Using This Guide - Curse of Strahd: Reloaded

# Official Material Consider *Curse of Strahd: Reloaded* your all-in-one guide to running this campaign. You'll only need to reference the original *Curse of Strahd* module when this guide tells you to do so, though you should feel free to read the original module to familiarize yourself with the bones of the campaign first. > [!warning]+ **A Brand-New Barovia** > *Curse of Strahd: Reloaded* is meant to be a complete substitute to the original *Curse of Strahd*, incorporating the original material only by reference. > > For example, if this guide says: "This area is largely as described in E2. Blood of the Vine Tavern (p. 43)", or "The players pass through E2. Blood of the Vine Tavern (p. 43)", this means that you should use all of the material provided in that section of the original book, **except where it's contradicted or overwritten by material in this guide.** > > If this guide doesn't reference a particular element in the original adventure—such as a random encounter or a piece of lore—**assume it doesn't exist.** > [!warning]+ **2014 Rules** > > This guide has not been updated for the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 rules update. Readers are advised to use the 2024 rules, including the revised Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide, at their own risk. > [!info]+ **Don't Panic** > Unlike most modules, you don't need to read this guide in full before running the adventure. In fact, you don't need to read the original module at all, except when this guide references it. > > Instead, this guide has been written to ensure that every scene is **self-contained**. That means every scene contains all of the information you'll need to run it, and doesn't need to be cross-referenced with any future scenes. > > You'll be able to grant these scenes greater depth and intent, of course, if you read ahead in the guide and original module. **If you're just preparing to start the campaign and have limited time**, though, you only need to read [[Character Creation]], [[Session Zero]], and [[Arc A - Escape From Death House]] before you begin. > > If you have the time, you can—and probably should—also read [[History of Barovia]], [[Lore of Barovia]], and [[Strahd von Zarovich]] before beginning the campaign in earnest, just to provide context. However, you don't need to finish reading those until after the players have completed [[Arc A - Escape From Death House]]. As you read through this guide, make sure you have access to the following resources: * the *Player's Handbook*, * the *Dungeon Master's Guide* * the *Monster Manual*, * *Xanathar's Guide to Everything*, and * *Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft*. When we reference one of these sourcebooks, you'll find the necessary citation in parentheses, formatted like this: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, p. 66. If you lack the required sourcebook, you can make a homebrewed statblock or find a suitable replacement. > [!warning] **Brewer Beware** > The original *Curse of Strahd: Reloaded* was a highly modular guide, containing a number of distinct ideas, concepts, and challenges that could easily be extracted, applied, and recombined alongside a number of additional reworks or homebrew elements. However, this revision aims to take a more cohesive path, weaving together characters, narratives, and themes to forge a more evocative, dramatic, and memorable adventure. > > As such, be cautious when removing, adding to, or changing aspects of this guide, as a seemingly innocuous detail may instead prove to be a load-bearing support. When in doubt, read the **Design Notes** for the relevant section and review the **Adventure Summary** below to confirm the context and purpose of the detail in question. > > This danger is especially present when combining *Reloaded* with additional third-party *Curse of Strahd* guides or supplements, many of which have been designed for campaigns with different tones, narratives, or themes. Remember that each comprehensive guide to *Curse of Strahd*—including this one—has been written as a complete, integrated experience, and that weaving different threads together may instead cause the entire tapestry to fall apart. # Sidebars As you read this guide, you'll encounter several types of collapsible sidebars that present additional information to help you run the guide: > [!info] **Info Sidebars** > An **info** sidebar provides additional information about the rules you'll need to run a particular scene or area. > [!warning] **Warning Sidebars** > A **warning** sidebar calls your attention to important information to help keep you avoid common pitfalls and mistakes. > [!lore] **Lore Sidebars** > A **lore** sidebar provides or reminds you of additional information about the context of a scene, chapter, or arc. > [!abstract] **Narrative Sidebars** > A **narrative** sidebar provides you with additional information about an optional path the players might take through a scene or area. > [!tip] **Profile Sidebars** > A **Profile** sidebar provides additional information about roleplaying and understanding a particular NPC. > [!item] **Item Sidebars** > An **Item** sidebar provides the statistics for a new or modified item.