The Shadows and Thorns curse is a powerful and dangerous curse that has plagued humanity for centuries. It is said to have originated from a dark and ancient magical ritual, passed down through generations of cursed individuals. The curse is characterized by the appearance of eerie shadows and thorns that follow the cursed individual wherever they go. These shadows and thorns are not simply illusions or tricks of the light, but rather physical manifestations of the curse itself. The shadows are cold and foreboding, while the thorns are sharp and painful. Those afflicted by the Shadows and Thorns curse experience a variety of symptoms and effects.
Duke Conall will do whatever is necessary to protect his kingdom from the damage and chaos left in the curse's wake. Even if it means rescuing the bride he never wanted.
At the end of the day, the core of Curse of Strahd is about the relationship that the players develop with Strahd and the land of Barovia, not the relationship that they already have with the land of Barovia or its history, or with other outsiders who might have wandered through the mists. Hadn t watched dawn break the over the cursed, impenetrable forest of thorns that had grown high enough to eclipse the Winter Palace and wide enough to stretch for miles in all directions.
Those afflicted by the Shadows and Thorns curse experience a variety of symptoms and effects. The shadows and thorns drain the cursed individual's energy and bring about a constant feeling of unease and dread. They also have a tendency to cause physical harm, as the thorns can easily pierce the skin and cause bleeding.
I'm revising Curse of Strahd: Reloaded—and I need your help.
Five years ago, I started writing Curse of Strahd: Reloaded—a campaign guide to Curse of Strahd aiming to make the original adventure easier and more satisfying to run. However, as I progressed, I kept coming up with new ideas about how to deepen and link the campaign—ideas that were often not reflected in, or, even worse, actively contradicted the earliest chapters.
On top of that, I've spent the past two years mentoring new DMs through my Patreon, which has really developed my understanding of the fundamentals of DMing and adventure design. That's been a blessing, but it's also been a curse, opening my eyes to a lot of design-based mistakes that I made on the first draft of Reloaded, as well as bigger problems that the entire campaign has a whole.
This past December, I started work on a wholesale overhaul and revision of Curse of Strahd: Reloaded, which I'm affectionately calling "Re-Reloaded" as a draft codename. My goals in doing so are to:
- enhance and supplement existing content to create a more cohesive and engaging experience,
- further develop the adventure's core strengths and themes, focusing the guide on what makes Curse of Strahd great instead of adding lots of additional content,
- organize the entire module into narrative-based arcs, minimizing prep time, and
- gather all Reloaded content into one, user-friendly PDF supplement.
This process, inevitably, lead me to reconsider one of the biggest aspects of Curse of Strahd: the campaign hook.
The original Reloaded uses an original campaign hook called "Secrets of the Tarokka." In this hook, the players are summoned to Barovia by Madam Eva to seek their destinies. Along the way, they develop an antagonistic relationship with Strahd, which eventually leads them to decide to kill him.
This campaign hook had a lot of strengths—it gave the adventure a more classic "dark fantasy" vibe, allowing the players to get more personal victories along the long and arduous road to killing Strahd. More importantly, though, it scratched a lot of DMs' desires to directly tie their players' backstories into the campaign. However, I've come to realize that it has major drawbacks:
- The individual Tarokka readings provided by Secrets of the Tarokka tend to distract the players from the true story of the module, which is killing Strahd in order to save and/or escape Barovia. It's a lot harder to make the players want to leave Barovia (i.e., kill Strahd) if they have unfinished business to do in Barovia (e.g., "find my mentor" or "connect with my ancestors") that Strahd doesn't really care about.
- The narrative structure of Secrets of the Tarokka makes it really difficult for the players to care about killing Strahd at the time they get the Tarokka reading. In practice, the players' decision to seek out the artifacts usually comes down to, "Well, Madam Eva told us to, so I guess the DM wants us to kill Strahd eventually." In order for Curse of Strahd to shine and the Tarokka reading to really feel meaningful, I truly believe that, at the moment the players learn how to kill Strahd, they should already hate and fear him and want to see him dead.
- At the end of the day, the core of Curse of Strahd is about the relationship that the players develop with Strahd and the land of Barovia, not the relationship that they already have with the land of Barovia or its history, or with other outsiders who might have wandered through the mists.
Re-Reloaded removes this hook entirely. Instead, it creates a new hook in which the players are lured into Death House outside of Barovia, which then acts as a portal through the mists—upon escaping, the players find themselves in Strahd's domain. Soon after, they learn from Madam Eva that Strahd has turned his attentions to them, placing them into grave danger, and are invited to Tser Pool to have their fortunes read. This gives the players a clear reason to want to kill Strahd (escape Barovia) and a clear reason to seek out the Tarokka reading (learn how to kill Strahd).
With that said. while discussing this change with beta-readers, though, I've learned that it tends to upset more than a few people. Lots of DMs really like Secrets of the Tarokka because it gives their players an instant emotional entry point into the module, giving them personal investment and making them feel like their backstories matter.
I totally get that! To that end, in trying to adapt the new hook to these DMs' expectations, I've outlined two new aspects of the hook.
- First, each player has an internal character flaw or goal (such as "redeem myself" or "escape the shadow of my family"), which primes them to organically connect with NPCs facing similar situations in the module and so develop their own internal arcs.
- Second, each player has something important they're trying to get to at the time that they're spirited away (such as "visit my ailing father before he dies"). The idea, then, is that the players are all already invested in the idea of "escaping Barovia" at the time that they get trapped.
But I'm not entirely satisfied with that, and I suspect that other people might not be, either.
So I want to ask you:
- How important is it that player backstories play a role in the campaign's hook?
- How important is it that player backstories play a role in the overall adventure?
- If you answered "fairly" or "very" important to either of those two questions, why is it important, and what role do you feel that those backstories should play in the "ideal" Curse of Strahd campaign?
- How do you feel about the two ways in which the new Reloaded tries to involve player backstories? Do you find them satisfying, or disappointing?
Thanks in advance! Sincerely appreciate anyone who takes the time to respond.
(PS: I haven't finished revising Re-Reloaded yet, but if you'd like a sneak peek, comment below and I'll DM you the link!)
Many cursed individuals report experiencing vivid nightmares and a general sense of darkness and despair. While the origins and cause of the Shadows and Thorns curse are still largely unknown, there have been some documented cases throughout history. It is believed that the curse can be passed down through bloodlines, affecting multiple generations of a family. There have also been cases where individuals have been cursed as a result of a specific event or encounter with dark magic. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for the Shadows and Thorns curse. Many cursed individuals have sought out various remedies and magical rituals in an attempt to break the curse, but all have been unsuccessful. The shadows and thorns persist, bringing misery and suffering to those who bear the curse. In conclusion, the Shadows and Thorns curse is a terrifying and powerful curse that has plagued humanity for centuries. Its physical manifestations of shadows and thorns cause harm and unease to those afflicted. While its origins and cause remain a mystery, it is a curse that brings darkness and despair to those unfortunate enough to bear its burden..
Reviews for "Hexing Your Enemies: Harnessing the Power of the Shadows and Thorns Curse"
1. Rachel - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Shadows and thorns curse documentation". The book lacked clear and concise instructions, and the information provided was often confusing and contradictory. It seemed like the author assumed the reader already had extensive knowledge on the subject, which made it difficult for a beginner like me to understand and follow along. Additionally, the writing style was dry and unengaging, making it a chore to try and learn from this book. Overall, I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly guide on curses.
2. John - 1 star - This book was a complete waste of my time and money. The supposed "curse documentation" was nothing more than a jumbled mess of random and unrelated information. There was no clear structure or organization, making it impossible to navigate through the pages and find the specific curse details I was looking for. Moreover, there were no practical examples or case studies provided, so it felt more like reading a theoretical textbook rather than a practical guide. Save yourself the frustration and look for a different resource if you're interested in curse documentation.
3. Mary - 2 stars - As someone who has been practicing curse documentation for years, I found this book to be extremely disappointing. The information provided was mostly basic and common knowledge, lacking any valuable insights or advanced techniques. Moreover, the writing style felt dull and unengaging, making it difficult to stay focused while reading. I would not recommend this book to experienced practitioners, as there are far better resources available that provide more in-depth knowledge and practical advice.