Some additional mods to CoS
I made some changes to CoS, and when I've shared with other DMs, they thought it might be worth sharing.
Major change: I wanted to go beyond merely vampires and werewolves. Instead, this Barvoia is a land of corruption attempting to corrupt the heroes.
- Strahd spies now include nothics, former adventures that sought dark powers and became corrupted in the process. This also gives a mechanical feature to what Strahd learns about the players from spies.
1aThere is an added path that will turn a magic player into a nothic if they seek a dark power. If they learn about this or fall victim, it adds another layer of creepiness to learn the nothics are fallen heroes from before.
Death isn't final. Players are taken to a dark abyss and offered a chance to return if they give up a part of themselves. They come back with their body slightly changed from a list of 100 monsters. If this happens three times, they will come back as a monster for the party to fight. (I haven't changed stats, positive or negative, but I think it is worth considering -- right now, CoS is hard enough without additional negatives. I also warn them while death may not be final, it still has consequences. Currently, social consequences will be the main factor unless they hit 3 times.
Debating giving strahd a nightmare because a nightmare was a Pegasus.
Some of this is being worked out while I dm, but feel.free to ask any questions, and I'll try my best to answer.