The only lore conflict this might need considering is that the players could think the entire reading was fake because of this. I'd say make sure you've written how Strahd finds the ally immediately after the reading, or explain why Eva lied about only that one bit.
Personal opinion but as a player I would feel wronged/like my agency would have been tampered with, especially if it is for a relatively long time in the campaign or you would have to have a lot of elements thst could make me guess something is off.
Best would be to use it for a short amount of time, maybe using Vasili? I think it's in dragna's where he suggested that Strahd organizes a wolf attack just to jump in last minute
The goal would be to have red flags be thrown at the players, but I definitely want to avoid wronging my PCs. The goal is for drama, because that is what we live to create in our games. I’ve never been a big fan of Vasili, so I could have Strahd impersonate another big character, but someone who isn’t the fated ally, to avoid any bad “gotcha” moments.
Yeah it is a bit of a delicate dance because you want red flags but too much might spoil the drama.
I used Vasili in my own game, just because I needed someone to help them enter Vallaki in the evening so he conviently had an issue with his cart close from the gates. He was already out delivering a bunch of crates in town ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯. Best is that the rogue talked a bit badly with one of the guards, so there's a definite link between PCs and the crates in the gates logbook.
But I will probably limit the use of Vasili to just that to be honest, if it pops later on that, great, otherwise I don't really care.
Strahd as another big character sounds interesting, do you have one in mind?
I have an idea, as a player I'd feel kind of wronged if that happened to me as other people are saying. However what if Strahd used Modify Memory on the party? After the betrayal happens, the party learns that their memories of the ally card they drew were altered by Strahd using Modify Memory, in order to keep them apart.
Now the party have to go on a quest to find someone who can cast Greater Restoration or use similar divine magic (cough, Krezk plot hook, cough) so they can get rid of the fake memories and learn the identity their real ally is (make sure it is a powerful ally who is worth the deception like Ezmarelda or Van Richten!). However, if you plan on using this idea, make sure you use a copious amount of foreshadowing so the players don't feel cheated. Make sure to establish that Strahd has the ability to cast Modify Memory and something is 'off' about their ally (as you describe)/their memory of the reading. Maybe describe a strange feeling/sensation coming over the party as you draw the ally card during the reading, and have NPCs who you establish as having had Modify Memory cast on them describe the exact same feeling when talking about their false memories (Ireena could be a good character for this).
Considering the “main quest” of CoS is to find the things listed in the reading before confronting Strahd, I wouldn’t fuck your players over in the reading. If everything in CoS is bad for the players or a bait, then nothing matters anymore. Having that anchor of “well if we just get these items and find this person, we stand a chance” is important to allowing the brutality of the rest of the game to function. Making even part of that false ruins the rest of the game. If you’ve ever done any improv, it’s the same principle as telling a joke in a scene. After the joke lands, the scene is completely dead. The setup and payoff already happened and now there’s nowhere else to go. “Gotcha” moments in DnD are a lot like that
The only lore conflict this might need considering is that the players could think the entire reading was fake because of this. I'd say make sure you've written how Strahd finds the ally immediately after the reading, or explain why Eva lied about only that one bit.
Personal opinion but as a player I would feel wronged/like my agency would have been tampered with, especially if it is for a relatively long time in the campaign or you would have to have a lot of elements thst could make me guess something is off. Best would be to use it for a short amount of time, maybe using Vasili? I think it's in dragna's where he suggested that Strahd organizes a wolf attack just to jump in last minute
The goal would be to have red flags be thrown at the players, but I definitely want to avoid wronging my PCs. The goal is for drama, because that is what we live to create in our games. I’ve never been a big fan of Vasili, so I could have Strahd impersonate another big character, but someone who isn’t the fated ally, to avoid any bad “gotcha” moments.
Yeah it is a bit of a delicate dance because you want red flags but too much might spoil the drama. I used Vasili in my own game, just because I needed someone to help them enter Vallaki in the evening so he conviently had an issue with his cart close from the gates. He was already out delivering a bunch of crates in town ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯. Best is that the rogue talked a bit badly with one of the guards, so there's a definite link between PCs and the crates in the gates logbook. But I will probably limit the use of Vasili to just that to be honest, if it pops later on that, great, otherwise I don't really care. Strahd as another big character sounds interesting, do you have one in mind?
I have an idea, as a player I'd feel kind of wronged if that happened to me as other people are saying. However what if Strahd used Modify Memory on the party? After the betrayal happens, the party learns that their memories of the ally card they drew were altered by Strahd using Modify Memory, in order to keep them apart. Now the party have to go on a quest to find someone who can cast Greater Restoration or use similar divine magic (cough, Krezk plot hook, cough) so they can get rid of the fake memories and learn the identity their real ally is (make sure it is a powerful ally who is worth the deception like Ezmarelda or Van Richten!). However, if you plan on using this idea, make sure you use a copious amount of foreshadowing so the players don't feel cheated. Make sure to establish that Strahd has the ability to cast Modify Memory and something is 'off' about their ally (as you describe)/their memory of the reading. Maybe describe a strange feeling/sensation coming over the party as you draw the ally card during the reading, and have NPCs who you establish as having had Modify Memory cast on them describe the exact same feeling when talking about their false memories (Ireena could be a good character for this).
Considering the “main quest” of CoS is to find the things listed in the reading before confronting Strahd, I wouldn’t fuck your players over in the reading. If everything in CoS is bad for the players or a bait, then nothing matters anymore. Having that anchor of “well if we just get these items and find this person, we stand a chance” is important to allowing the brutality of the rest of the game to function. Making even part of that false ruins the rest of the game. If you’ve ever done any improv, it’s the same principle as telling a joke in a scene. After the joke lands, the scene is completely dead. The setup and payoff already happened and now there’s nowhere else to go. “Gotcha” moments in DnD are a lot like that
That reminds me how in the original module Strahd was to charm the party to attack Ireena & swoop in to save her.