I tried to counter this by having Strahd use Charm on the Paladin, who was not immune, in order to get him to 'turn off the sword and give it to me', but the Paladin easily passed the save. So, since he's still conscious he should be able to take actions even though he's at 0 HP, right? Stake to the Heart. Strahd regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn't in running water or sunlight. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. Cloak in Shadows. As for his legendary actions, I don't see why he wouldn't have the movement one. Check modifier +5. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. Simple distractions to lure party members away into a room, or using the Gust of Wind spell to push a character into a room before locking it. Sunlight Hypersensitivity. He can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.

I have been looking for a nice simple Strahd to run for my game (5e Stat blocks are ridiculous IMO and I hate using them) and this scratches that itch. And Strahd's statblock says that "While in mist form, Strahd can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects." The lair actions similarly says that "[A creature in it's lair] can't [take lair actions] while it is incapacitated or otherwise unable to take actions." In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and he can’t pass through water. Initiative count 20 (losing all ties) means that lair actions happen after any creature whose total for the initiative roll was 20, and before any creature whose initiative roll was 19.

While outdoors, Strahd can call 3d6 wolves instead. Count Strahd von Zarovich was a vampire and the dark lord of the valley of Barovia, one of the Domains of Dread located in a remote corner of the Shadowfell.1 1 History 2 Possessions 3 Relationships 4 Appendix 4.1 Background 4.2 Appearances 4.3 External Links 4.4 References In his youth, Strahd was a prince and a conqueror. Charm. I am the Land. what makes you prefer this version over the legendary actions one? Both legendary and lair actions stipulate that they can't be taken while the creature is incapacitated, which would obviously be the case if he were unconscious. So, you give the boss monster some actions, bonus actions, and reactions, and then some "villain actions", which are like legendary actions in that they happen at the end of a player's turn, but are keyed to specific rounds of combat. Can anyone direct me to the appropriate page or online resource?

in his castle) is unparalleled.

Close. The problem I was running into was I was looking at an earlier printing of the Monster Manual in reference to lair actions and legendary actions. That also means he can't Dash on his turn while in mist form which is an issue in and of itself.

Strahd teleports up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space that is in dim light or darkness. While Strahd is in Castle Ravenloft, he can take lair actions as long as he isn't incapacitated. Also the Hellfire orb looks a bitt strong-ish and out of place, i'd go with something different thematically. I would say that the hellfire orb is really powerful for a 9-10th level party.

He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and he is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage he takes from sunlight. Not a fan of the spell list getting axed.

If he takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of his next turn. Otherwise very nice and especially thanks for pointing out that video, ill steal some stuff and be on my way remaking most remarkable characters in CoS! The target isn't under Strahd's control, but it takes Strahd's requests and actions in the most favorable way and lets Strahd bite it. Thanks for posting this! This turns his gentle rolling mist speed of moving 30 feet per round into a Turbo-Nos Ultra-Suped-Up movement speed of 120 feet per round.

I've much appreciated all suggestions beneath my original post, and I am glad to present you the finished version of my action oriented Strahd von Zarovich. an enemy like Strahd that can easily make room to retreat and cast. Strahd has the following flaws: Multiattack (Vampire Form Only).

When he drops to 0 hit points outside his coffin, Strahd transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that he isn’t in running water or sunlight.

If he can’t transform, he is destroyed. : Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by Strahd, incapacitated, or restrained. Strahd targets any number of doors and windows that he can see, causing each one to either open or close as he wishes. So, for example, a combat starts. If the target is a creature, Strahd can grapple it (escape DC: 18) instead of dealing the bludgeoning damage. If Strahd isn't in running water or sunlight, he can use his action to polymorph into a Tiny bat, a Medium wolf, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form. He can float through the floor, cast fireball, and then float back out after only 1 character has an action.

Esp.

Obviously he would follow concentration checks just like everyone else when he took damage but could his animated Beauty-and-the-Beast objects still protect him, or his fog cloud cover him, or even better, could he stay invisible like this?

As far as I know, there's no other reference to shadows with any mechanical repercussions in D&D. Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). If Strahd drops to 0 while in sunlight, he dies on the spot, no mist involved. The charmed target regards Strahd as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The target isn't under Strahd’s control, but it takes Strahd’s requests and actions in the most favourable way and lets Strahd bite it. The target dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0. Making sure bosses have a full action economy doesn't mean you have to streamline out actions that are niche or noncombat.

Greatswords are MASSIVE and mostly used to break the spear frontlines, not that useful for a commander. He can sneak up to the party and charm (and he knows their weaknesses so he will charm the one with the worst Wisdom save). If he is not in his lair… Multiattack. Strahd attempts to charm one of the heroes.

Here's my attempt to design Strahd using this method, I hope it will be useful to some of you! The legendary actions section stipulates "[A legendary creature] can forgo using [it's legendary actions], and it cannot use them if it is incapacitated or otherwise unable to take actions."

While Strahd is in Castle Ravenloft, he can take lair actions as long as he isn’t incapacitated. Legendary Resistance (3/Day).

The idea is to focus on what a monster can do, rather than on its stats, to make a bossfight more interesting.

(he's supposed to be a nightmare to finish off, He's always been supposed to be a nightmare to finish off right back to first edition D&D)i also apply the thought that he can take damage in mist form, the result of this damage is to leave him in mist form on 0 HP unless a single hit does 1 more than his total HP to start with i.e. While in mist form, he can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. My third question is, can he maintain concentration if he hits 0? Range 30 ft., DC 18 Wisdom saving throw (with disadvantage if already bitten) or be charmed.

Vampires with Lairs and Legendary actions. Until initiative count 20 of the next round, Strahd can pass through solid walls, doors, ceilings, and floors as if they weren’t there.

Strahd casts the fog cloud spell.

lf he takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn. My fourth and probably most important question is: how should I deal with him taking damage while escaping misty-ly? My second question is, if he hits 0 and turns into a fart, do the lair actions persist through his mistiness? Greatsword / claw seems a little odd, I'd go with a longsword just because of his army days. If within melee range of a hero, he can make a bite attack even if the target isn’t grappled.

… CoS Lair Action. After spending 1 hour in his coffin with 0 hit points, he regains 1 hit point. Hi all, I could be losing my mind, but I swore Strahd had lair actions in the module book. Damage Immunities. ©2020 Wizards. If Strahd fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. If it hits, the target must make a DC 18 Strength Saving Throw or be grappled.

Archived. I really like your version and love Matt's idea in general. The shadows act on initiative count 20. If the target fails a DC 17 Charisma saving throw, its shadow detaches from it and becomes a {@creature shadow that obeys Strahd's commands, acting on initiative count 20. Shadow Step.

The target's shadow must be visible to Strahd and within 30 feet of him. Greatsword x3 or Greatsword/Claw.

He could also trap everybody in a room while he mists away or summon a shadow or specter to cover his retreat. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until Strahd is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect. I'm assuming he follows the same rules of death saves like every PC would which makes him pretty vulnerable. Bob the Fighter: Dex 20, Dex mod +5, rolls 16 for initiative. Thanks for the help all! Once in his coffin, he reverts to his vampire form. In most respects, it behaves exactly the same way as a normal … For his Lair Action, he tried turning the Shadow Monk's shadow into an enemy, which I thought would be pretty fun, but the Monk passed the save.

Matt Colville's video about "action oriented monsters, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_zl8WWaSyI. Misty Escape. I also think that a big thing about strahd is his intelligence and just getting rid of the whole spell list for him is a mistake because it removes his ability to silently watch over the players or toy with their minds, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the CurseofStrahd community. Strahd can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without having to make an ability check. Charm. Bite. The apparition appears next to a hostile creature that Strahd can see, makes an attack against that creature, and then disappears. Very cool. No Man Can Escape His Shadow. Counterspell. Strahd moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks." This is highly dependent on party size obviously.

One thing I don't like about D&D5 is the lack of a middle ground on a lot of abilities. I think I'm gonna make him invulnerable to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing in his misty escape form too just because I don't understand how one could slash, smash, or bash a bunch of mist, even with a magical weapon. I solved it! So something like an ability that affects 3 people, for instance, with a save. Regeneration. 145 hp of magical damage in 1 shot.he's not subject to death saves because his ground state at 0hp is 0hp and stable with a 2 hour countdown till death.hope that helps you make your players lives troublesome, (they're supposed to remember strahd as a nightmare without end don't let us dms down :) ), All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled.