Beholder Zombie vs. Party - spoilers

 Let's just say, ouch. So as a sub-dungeon, my own tangential story in CoStrahd, we had this dungeon that lead to an undead area. There was a miniboss fight at the end, and I envisioned a couple of things, but the Beholder-zombie was definitely the main course... as denoted by the foreshadowing symbol on the final door, described as "What looks like a cyclops skull sitting on a bed of snakes or something, hard to make out"... yeah, that's our beholder zombie, heh. 

[[SIDENOTE, I'm reading on BlackCitadel that beholders can fly up 120 ft. ... really? Reading the description it says "floats like a levitate spell" and I know levitate canNOT fly UP. The old arcade games... don't think it ever flew up high, right? If it can fly that high though, that does change things, but too late for this beholder-zombie who wasn't smart enough to do it maybe. https://blackcitadelrpg.com/beholder-5e/

and these also say full beholders make tunnels in ceiling and fly up up up https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/m1ko35/lets_talk_about_beholders/]]

The minibosses were:

• Wight as the brains of the outfit, sort of the boss (buffed up a tiny bit, dark energy bow).
• Skeletal Equiceph, we love the look (sort of using the 5e skeletal minotaur stats, but 10 ft range, and 2d6+4 dmg).
• Skeletal Minotaur,  had the mini, wanted it to feel like variety, 4 different undead champions, let's go. 
• Beholder Zombie is the real treat, I mean threat, here. ;)

And what happened? Well, I didn't read this thread first, but it's got some good stories that would have made me think twice before... something: 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/dungeon-masters-only/53193-beholder-zombie-experiences

Kid gets a peak of what's in there, roll init. The Wight says "we've been expecting you". The barbarian (as the kid has been not challenged enough) feels fine running in way ahead of the rest of the party. Mind you, he just got to level 7 for the party, the barb has the advantage on initiative (so that's where all the barbarian running in ASAP jokes come from) and the fighter, the other tank, is in slow full plate way in the back. Oh boy here we go.

1. Barb - runs in
2. The Wight - shoots his longbow and runs to the side (my kid is great at AoE). Does 3 or 4 HP of dmg to the Barbarian . 
3. Druid's turn - sure enough, he just learned firewall and blam... b/c of my jacked up dungeon being cramped due to big 10ft x 10ft baddies and using the puzzle-pieces from the DnD Boardgames, all my dudes had been in a nearly straight line. Good for the kid for recognizing a weakness. And well, he nailed I think only 2 of them since the Wight was able to run off to the side and the minotaur.skellie was just barely over to the side enough. Rolls nice damage, maybe 37 dmg or something. 
4. Beholder.zombie - Disintegration ray!  How or more like Why did I do this? Well my beholder.z for a moment seemed like he was going to be down to below half hitpoints due to the kid saying he did like 48 dmg (then cauhgt his mistake) so I was in a slight panic that it'd get to do nothing. I reread the "random eye beam" and for a split second thought, maybe I should be rolling a d4, but I don't see that explicitly, so heck, I'll just pick random beams. Gotta be Disintegrate! The barbarian has advantage on dex rolls and a +2 Dex so, he'll make it... needed a 12 on the d20, kid got an 11. O_o I roll (on the main table still, not behind the screen like I often do... this is curse of Strahd and the kid knows it's deadly) well above avg on the huge 10d8, getting a 55 or better. Barbarian down to hardly anything. Shortly after I reread disintegrate and see (remember) it'll turn you to dust if it brings you to 0 HP. Oh boy, that was a close one. 
1. And then I realize the two giant skeletons are right next to the barb. Oh boy oh boy-oh-boy-oh-boy, in the Scooby voice. 
5. Warlock - hits the skeletal horsehead hard, but it's still standing at 5 HP. 
6. Skeletal Equiceph - Was hit by firewall and warlock so down to 5 HP. I was planning on mostly using the minotaur.skellie stats. I look, OMG the dmg. Well this guy has 10 foot reach, so he's gonna be doing less dmg, we'll say 2d6 instead of 2d12. Roll... too much damage. OK phew phew, half damage on the barb (I seriously forgot in that moment). But wait... whose next....
7. Minotaur skeleton - I read his dmg again. Ruh roh, Raggy. Dude hits hard. Roll, hit... I get a 10 + 9 on the two d12 dice... ouch, plus a lot. Barb is down, and kid says "he's dead" b/c he recalls if you go below minus 12 you are dead dead (I think old 3.5e memories, huh? Or maybe level 1 HP rules or something). I'm like wait wait wait, let's double check 5e rules, I think it's different. PHEW, it's different, he's fine, just unconscious. O_o ... this is round 1, and the Barbarian's hitpoints are pretty important in most fights. And the fighter is Mr. AC, but the beholder.zombie doesn't much care about that. Plus the fighter can't hit anybody for a while b/c he's so slow. Druid used his big level 4 spell already. Yikes. Warlock, we're looking at you... but he can't push anything into the firewall very easily... we'll see. 
8. ... OK, we call it a night, too late. And so tonight we will resume... what's-a-gonna-happen? Kid is stoked, "Don't have to hold back at all" he tells me, he's confident. He had just read up on the craziness of conjure things on the Druid at level 7, going to conjure 8 woodland beings or something crazy. We were joking that I think Dryads can themselves conjure up helpers, so you could make a massive silly army if you want. Heh, let's see. 

SEE BOTTOM FOR RESULTS ON 2nd NIGHT

-------

... and so I just used the WotC DNDbeyond battle builder thing

https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounter-builder

 to check the CR of the fight. Well, it is nowhere near the same as the usual calculator from the UK site that is my go to and what I used yesterday. https://kastark.co.uk/rpgs/encounter-calculator-5th/

These WotC guys are saying it's deadly (well, kinda right) and what really caught me off guard is they recommend more than doubling the EXP. When the heck did that become a thing? 3400 XP is the actual Experience added up. Wow, 5e wants you to level FAST, we already blew by level 6. I mean it's like 9000 XP to get to the next level around these levels, sheesh, and they want one fight to give nearly 7000 XP? [[[note to self... oops, I'm probably supposed to be splitting the party EXP into 4 evenly between the party members... oh boy, let me go reread the DMG, it's been too long. Yeah, look further down for red bold for what we are supposed to do]]]

And back at levels 1-5, we had a ton of fights that lasted 6,7, even 10 rounds. Now every fight has been too quick and easy, 2 rounds max pretty much. This boss fight is finally a threat, but it was all due to disintegration. Anyhow, we'll figure out the balance soon enough on our own terms... a tweak here or there by the DM is the right way to do it to make things fun but not constantly deadly. 

Update, the UK site says it's an EASY fight. Hmmm. 

The forum person, InquisitiveCoder, has good info: 

You split the total XP by the number of players (and any NPCs that contributed significantly.) Adjusted XP is only used for determining encounter difficulty. This is mentioned in step 4 of the encounter building rules:

For example, if an encounter includes four monsters worth a total of 500 XP, you would multiply the total XP of the monsters by 2, for an adjusted value of 1,000 XP. This adjusted value is not what the monsters are worth in terms of XP; the adjusted value’s only purpose is to help you accurately assess the encounter’s difficulty.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything has less confusing encounter-building rules that don't rely on XP thresholds and "adjusted XP" values.

----

RESULTS FROM SECOND NIGHT HERE:

Let's see, how'd it go down? 

1. Barbarian lived, nobody attacked him while he was down.
2. Kid summoned 8 fey woodland creatures and yeah, that's good. He put them all over to surround the two skellies and one behold.zomb.
3. Kid put Cloud of Daggers on Behold.zomb, so either he takes 3 Opportunity attacks or he sits in cloud of daggers. INT of 3, so he just sat and attacked. 
4. Behold.zomb rolled a disintegration ray while surrounded by 3 fey "animals", killed one on that turn. 
5. The good guys pretty quickly brought down the two skellies, the minotaur skellie kept rolling bad on this 2nd night. 
6. The Wight saw things were going bad, so he used his [dark] energy bow (Wights hate bright light) to make an energy-ladder , with the energy-arrow-ladder's lower rungs disappearing once he climbed up high. 
1. He laughed off the fighters arrows that lodged in his throat and knee... made a show of it (immune to non-magic weapon dmg). 
2. Lightning bolts were sent his way twice, he managed to dodge at least one even with disadvantage when balancing on an energy ladder rung. 
3. Then he climbed up on the ledge. 
4. Being up there, the Warlock wanted to use his new Pull 10 feet power to pull him off. Yep finally worked after 2 rounds I think.
5. Basically fell/was shot to death. 
6. Said "I'll see you next time", then his eyes faded away. 
7. Later they looked back and body was gone, only the armor and stuff remaining. 
7. The Bonecounter Morningstar-Mace powered up to +2 (at least for a time) after killing a big skellie.
1. My rule is it needed to kill a big undead to go from +1 to +2... but is it permanent? Or does it last one fight, or one day?
8. The kid picked up the [dark] energy bow, and it dramatically changed color from blackish-grey to yellowish. And yes, the energy of it now is golden like the cartoon, yeehaw!
1. He tried out some stuff with the ladder on the wall... it reacted as:
1. Had to concentrate first time to get it right. 
2. Solid, and jump around and it's strong ladder rungs.
3. Hit with axe = it faded away
1. They won't last forever, but there is definite utility. He's thinking immovable rod again(?), his fav... but let's see how it goes. Can be cool creative I think. 

Monsters of D&D

 https://www.enworld.org/threads/monsters-in-the-miniatures-handbook.672774/

has a good writeup.

I like the part about dinosaurs being rare on tabletop b/c too strong for lowbies but no special abilities to deal with high level characters. 

Skeletal Equicephs, love the look. We have two of the rubbery ones, and they are a favorite at our house... so distinct and cool looking.  

"Other monsters were meant to give DMs the minis they needed, as well as game-friendly stats. For example, DMs need ghost minis, so we made the cursed spirit. The miniature was a generic spook, so it’s usable as a ghost, wraith, specter, or any sort of apparition. In a pinch, it could be a beggar. In the randomized retail box of miniatures, the cursed spirit was a common so that DMs could get plenty of them. The simple color scheme was easy to paint in the factory, and that means the minis were cheap to produce in quantity. In terms of stats, it was relatively weak, not a level-drainer like old-school incorporeal undead.

The displacer snake was another utility monster. What DM doesn’t want snake minis? This was a low-level common figure that was cheap to paint. It was also a chance for low-level characters to fight a displacing monster. Also, the snake’s displacement power made it play differently but didn’t make it look any different, so the mini worked for a mundane snake, too.

The protectar was a low-level outsider that looked basically like an angel, another popular type of figure. The catfolk miniature was designed to appeal to all the fans that like cat people. The bright naga had the simplest possible spellcasting ability, useful for the skirmish game and in D&D. Higher-level spellcasting nagas were a real challenge for the DM to run.

In addition to the displacer serpent, a couple other monsters were there for the notable effects that they brought to the game table, especially at low to modest levels. The spark lasher, for example, is a CR 2 monster with a touch attack that dealt electrical damage. It was a pain for the heavily armored fighter but not that bad for the nimble, dodging rogue. Any spellcaster that could grant resistance to electricity also had a moment to shine. The classic rust monster is like the spark lasher in that the leather-armored rogue will fight it where the fighter in plate doesn’t want to. The rust monster, however, goes too far, and the spark lasher dials it back.

The Monster Manual had both basilisks and medusas, each with save-or-die gazes. The nothic (CR 3) introduced a gaze effect that dealt 1d6 damage (Will save negates). It’s often worth risking the damage in order to look at the monster straight and enjoy normal odds to hit it. The idea here is that averting your gaze was a plausible option, not a crap shoot with death. The nothic is an example of Andrew Finch influencing D&D design behind the scenes, but that story deserves its own telling.

Just as low-level D&D monsters have often had too few interesting abilities, the high-level ones have traditionally had too many. Demons, devils, and dragons had abilities like spells, teleportation, invisibility, flying, and massive area-effect attacks. In the MH, the shadow beasts were three bestial outsiders at CRs 7, 8, and 9, and they mostly hit you really hard, as well as paralyzing, grabbing, or stunning enemies.

Some miniatures had a strong visual component. More than most people, perhaps, I like weird-looking monsters. The one-eyed, spider-like mad slasher is a clear rip-off of a walking eyeball from Jonny Quest. The weirdly proportioned nothic with its one massive eyeball reflects the psychedelic art that my older brother introduced me to at a young age.

The horse-headed equiceph was basically back story for a cool skeletal mini. The skirmish game needed a large skeletal soldier, and all the giants and trolls look a lot alike once they’re skeletized. We invented the skeletal equiceph miniature to walk a fine line between weird and familiar. Horse-headed skeletons are rare in fantasy art, but everyone gets animal-headed people and animated skeletons.

[[[note to self-blog, D&D chainmail had a metal mini also, and the 1st backstory is cool. Wikipedia has: 

"The equicephs were one of the Old Races that used to dominate Western Oerik. [...] they were a peaceful people. Rampaging Abyssal armies wiped them out during the Demon War, and no living equiceph has been seen since. Clerics of Nerull, always fond of plundering battlefields, found the remains of a tribe of equicephs. Now the Skeletal Equiceph walks the world again, brought back to unlife by forbidden magic and denied peace even in death."^[2]

]]]

There’s a lot to love in the Miniatures Handbook. My best friend Rob Heinsoo was a co-designer on the project, and some of this material ended up in 4E, where he was the lead designer. It’s often overlooked when people talk about the development history of D&D."

Metal one painted by fan artist, Ben Wermers.

Strahd, let's compare gothic descriptions from 1e, 3.5e, and 5e.

1e has these in general:

The Old Svalich Road

Black pools of water stand like dark mirrors about the muddy roadway. Thick, cold mists spread a pallor over the road. Giant tree trunks stand on both sides of the road, their branches clawing into the mists. In every direction the mists grow thicker and the forest grows more oppressive.

 The Gates of Barovia

Jutting from the impenetrable woods on both sides of the road,
high stone buttresses loom up gray in the fog. Huge iron gates
hang on the stonework. Dew clings with cold tenacity to the rusted bars. Two statues of armed guardians silently flank the gate. Their heads, missing from their shoulders, now lie among the weeds at their feet. They greet you only with silence.

The Svalich Woods

Towering trees, whose tops are lost in heavy gray mist, block out all save a death-gray light. The tree trunks almost touch. The thick, damp undergrowth presses in on you, making it impossible even to see one another at all times. The woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unsounded scream.

 

The Gates of Ravenloft

After passing through the craggy peaks of the Balinoks, the road takes a sudden turn to the east and the startling awesome presence of Ravenloft itself towers before you. The carriage comes to a stop just in front of twin guardhouses of turreted stone, broken from years of use and exposure. Beyond these, a 50-foot-wide precipice gapes between the Balinok cliffs and the walls of Ravenloft, a chasm of dizzying depth that disappears into the fog-shrouded distance far below. The lowered drawbridge of old shorn-up wood beams hangs precariously between you and the arched entrance to the courtyard. The chains of the drawbridge creak in the wind, their rust-eaten iron straining with the weight. From atop the high strong walls, stone gargoyles seem to stare at you from their hollow sockets and grin hideously. A rotting wooden portcullis, green with growth, hangs in the entry tunnel. Beyond this, the main doors of Ravenloft stand open. A rich warm light spills from them into the courtyard. Torches flutter sadly in sconces on both sides of the open doors.

 

3.5e has these in castle:

Weird Happenings (for a Strahd Madness story, but I like anyway)

1	Roll d10 EffectThe sound of a voice screaming comes fromsomewhere in the castle; it sounds exactly like one of the PCs.

2   The area is abruptly swathed in a deeper darkness

effect centered on a random PC; the effect ends
when that PC leaves the area.

3   Every word spoken in the area is echoed in a harsh,

evil whisper.
4   The last PC to enter the room sees a large shadow
dart across the entrance behind him, but no creature
can be detected.
5   An urgent whisper repeats one PC’s name over and
over as long as any PCs remain in the area.
6   A random PC hears the soft giggling of a little girl;
no one else can hear it.
7   A PC’s holy symbol drips blood while any PCs
remain in the area. There is no evident source.
8   One of the PCs has a sudden sense of déjà vu,
believing that he has been in this place before or
perhaps dreamed it—then suddenly “remembers”
dying horribly here. He can’t remember the cause.

9	When the PCs try to leave the area, regardless of theexit they choose, they fi nd themselves leaving the way they came in. If they reenter the area, roll again for a Strahd attack or a new weird happening.

10   As the PCs enter, the area begins filling up with fog.
After 1d6 rounds, this duplicates the effect of a fog
cloud spell. If the PCs remain in the area, they begin

to see phantasms in the fog, as described in the Mists section (page 49).

5e has lots: 

Weird Encounters I'll call 'em:

• CORPSE   Pg. 30, corpse on road, roll a d6, on a 6... get ready:
• The corpse looks like one of the characters (determined randomly) but has been stripped of armor, weapons, and valuables. If moved, its flesh melts away until only the skeleton remains.
• SKELETAL RIDER (can only happen once if destroyed)
• Through the mist comes a skeletal warhorse and rider, both clad in ruined chainmail. The skeletal rider holds up a rusted lantern that sheds no light

• RAVEN SWARMS (creepier than bats IMO, the way it unfolds slowly and they keep watching.) Starts as 1, grows slowly, eventually hundreds. They will help though, you later find out. 
   

5e TRINKETS - I will strikethrough those too modern in history for our campaign
*** For any of the "how would you know", use 

1. See a psychic image when touched, of a scene (don't overuse)
2. Recall dream (don't overuse)
3. You "just know"
4. Identify spell(?)
5. You ask an NPC, and "they just know"... 
6. A weird spirit appears and says what it is (??)
7. A hiding raven "speaks what it is" in it's croaky voice. 
8. The wind blows, and you hear the words about the item

Roll a d-lOO Trinket

01-02 A picture you drew as a child of your imaginary friend
03-04 A lock that opens when blood is dripped in its keyhole
05-06 Clothes stolen from a scarecrow
07-08 A spinning top carved with four faces: happy, sad, wrathful, and dead
09-10 The necklace of a sibling who died on the day you were born

11-12 A wig from someone executed by beheading
13-14 The unopened letter to you from your dying father ***how would you know- his name on it, recognize part of it***
15-16 A pocket watch that runs backward for· an hour every midnight (pocket watches are 1500s)
17-18 A winter coat stolen from a dying soldier
19-20 A bottle of invisibl� ink ·thatcan; only be-read·at sunset

21-22 A wineskin that refills when interred with a dead person for a night

23-24 A set of silverware used by a king for his last meal  (((what king and how would you know?)))

25-26 A spyglass that always shows the world suffering a terrible storm (((Borderline, invented 1608)))

27-28 A cameo with the profile's face scratched away

29-30 A lantern with a black candle that never runs out and
that burns with green flame

31-32 A teacup from a child's tea set, stained with blood (teacups are 1600s)

33-34 A little black book that records your dreams, and
yours alone, when you sleep

35-36 A necklace formed of the interlinked holy symbols of
a dozen deities

37-38 A hangman's noose that feels heavier than it should ***Hanging was a common method of execution in the Middle Ages, but it dates back much further. It appears in Homer's Odyssey, a poem from around 700 BC.In Europe, it was mainly spread by the Angles, Jutes and Saxons during the fifth century via https://discover.hubpages.com/education/gallows-gibbets***

39-40 A birdcage into which small birds fly but once inside
never eat or leave

        41-42 A lepidopterist's box filled dead moths with skulllike patterns on their wings 

        43-44 A jar of pickled ghouls' tongues
        45-46 The wooden hand of a notorious pirate
        47-48 A urn with the ashes of a dead relative
        49-50 A hand mirror backed with a bronze depiction of a medusa

51-52 Pallid leather gloves crafted with ivory fingernails
53-54 Dice made from the knuckles of a notorious charlatan (((how would you know... charlatan)))

55-56 A ring of keys for forgotten locks (((how would you know... forgotten?)))
57-58 Nails from the coffin of a murderer (((how would you know --- maybe when you touch it, psychically you see a mental picture)))
59-60 A key to the family crypt (((how would you know)))
61-62 An bouquet of funerary flowers that always looks
and smells fresh

63-64 A switch used to discipline you as a child
65-66 A music box that plays by itself whenever someone
holding it dances

67-68 A walking cane with an iron ferule that strikes sparks
on stone

69-70 A flag from a ship lost at sea (((how would you know)))
71-72 Porcelain doll's head that always seems to be
looking at you  (((porcelain dolls from 1800s)))

73-74 A wolf's head wrought in silver that is also a whistle.
75-76 A small mirror that shows a much older version of
the viewer

77-78 Small, worn book of children's nursery rhymes.
79-80 A mummified raven claw
81-82 A broken pendent of a silver dragon that's always
cold to the touch

83-84 A small locked box that quietly hums a lovely melody
at night but you always forget it in the morning

85-86 An inkwell that makes one a little nauseous when
staring at it

87-88 An old little doll made from a dark, dense·wood and
missing a hand and a foot_ 

89-90 A black executioner's hood

91-92 A pouch made of flesh, with a sinew drawstring

93-94 A tiny spool of black thread that never runs out

95-96 A tiny clockwork figur!(le·of a-dancer _ that's missing a gear and doesn't work' . -

97-98 A black wooden pipe that creates puffs of smoke
that look like skulls

99-00 A vial of perfume, the scent of which only certain Creatures can detect

---

Extras I found outside of D&D, real life stuff in Europe, I think this actual hand is from England:

The Hand of Glory

https://discover.hubpages.com/education/gallows-gibbets

One superstition attached to hangings was that of the "hand of glory." This supposedly magical talisman was prepared using the right hand of a hanged criminal. The hand was thought to attempt to continue the misdeeds of life by helping further crimes.

The hand had to be cut from the body while it was still on the scaffold, then pickled. Accounts differ as to how it was used - in some cases, the fingers were folded around a candle of human fat, while in others they served as the candles themselves.

Lighting the candle or candles activated the powers of the hand - depending on the legend, it might reveal anyone awake in a residence, or prevent sleeping people from being roused. The powers lasted until the flames burnt out or were doused in "blue" (skimmed) milk.  

Strahd, I love this scene, wereravens, biting! & Mist description!

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MEm_VpOd7_8Ev0xyjGwnWgdAVDAYkX_0/view?pli=1

But man that is some good stuff, gotta use!!!

Via DragnaCarta's https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/junjo7/dragnacartas_library_of_curse_of_strahd_resources/

Is that RAW or fan? Answer: it's fan made for the RAW situation. So it doesn't introduce new stuff, it's just a presentation of something that could (should?) happen. 

From 3.5e, awesome option for mists:

The mists that shroud the valley of Barovia are a tool Strahd

uses to discourage visitors—and to prevent his victims from

leaving.

The mists surround Barovia. To characters entering the

region, they appear as nothing more than a light fog that does

not significantly hamper vision. However, they act as a mind

fog spell, imposing a –10 penalty on Wisdom checks and Will

saves for creatures within the fog if they fail a DC 20 Will

save. At Strahd’s command, the mists thicken into a denser

fog that obscures all sight beyond 5 feet and grants conceal-

ment at closer ranges, as a fog cloud spell does. In addition,

Strahd can create supernatural illusory patterns within the

fog—horrific shapes and fearsome monsters—that cause

characters to become panicked if they fail a DC 18 Will save.

Strahd can choose whether these patterns appear between

the characters and the outside world (causing panicked char-

acters to flee back toward Barovia) or on the other side of the

characters (making them flee away from his domain).

--> The first time characters encounter patterns in the mists,

read this text aloud to describe the scene.

The fog grows thicker, and forms into snaky tendrils

that seem to wrap themselves around you. Horrific

forms shape themselves in the mist—gaping mouths

and bony claws attached to monstrous forms that

shift with the smallest movement of the air. The

faintest hint of a ghostly moaning reaches your ears,

sending a cold trickle of fear down your spine.

Strahd/Ravenloft - Q to the Reddit, plus random Strahd type info, difficulty stuff

See these battle desc/difficulty discussions for CoS 5e:

Bonegrinder, https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/1i3b4n7/how_hard_was_bonegrinder_for_your_players/

----- Reddit question stuff below didn't get very far for good answers (partly b/c reddit crashed right after) ---

 https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/1i1aoq0/green_dm_trimming_suggestions_battle_focused/

Want to see responses to his question, make less depressing (careful, lots of dead kid themes... it's a bit too much for me also, gonna void those, like the hags in the windmill probably): 

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/1hxxt2w/help_im_too_good_at_making_barovia_depressing/

Daylight spells in Barovia: https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/1hyf73d/clerics_in_cos/

Are you playing with 2014 or 2024 rules? With 2014 rules, the Daylight spell does not produce actual sunlight. With 2024 rules, it does.

If you're using 2024 rules, I would nerf/house rule that the Daylight spell in Barovia is shrouded by the mists and does not give actual sunlight. This is in line with the spell changes found in the beginning of the module.

I wouldn’t house rule, as so much not that magic works differently in Barovia. And the daylight spell is subject to this twisting of the spell. Also since it’s not the gods but the dark powers that are the focus of a clerics spells in the domain that gives the DM license to invoke fear.

Alternatively you can make daylight less effective instead of nerfing it completely. The vampire spawn might take some damage but they can heal from it and recover easily. Doesn’t suspend their fast healing. Just a thought.

Though after next month hopefully vampires and spawns stats are buffed enough that a little daylight makes it a level battlefield and shut down the encounter.

 It's important to note that the Daylight spell only creates sunlight as per the 2024 edition rules. The 2014 spell Daylight creates "bright light", but this is mechanically different from "sunlight" and does not affect vampires at all. The lowest-level spell in the 2014 rules that can create sunlight is Dawn, at 5th level. If you're playing with the 2014 rules, Daylight might work as an initial deterrent, but they will quickly realize that the light is not sunlight and act accordingly.

If you're playing with the 2024 rules, Dispel Magic is still a spell.

Vampires with pointy wizard hats who also know Counterspell and Hunger of Hadar (which can nullify Daylight and vice versa).

Upcast Darkness with a 4th level slot is also a valid way to foil 2024 Daylight. And simply upcasting Daylight would not beat it, since the dispel effect is not tied to the Daylight spell’s actual level.

I don't know if I would sweat it. Second Strahd knows the Cleric has sunlight, he's going to have counters. That can simply be forcing the Cleric to burn spell slots on other things and/or wasting magic on fodder. Strahd himself can tank Daylight with the Heart to make them think it's ineffective, but keep that in reserve and have him Counterspell it every time with a casual and uncaring gesture, "I am the Land. I alone will decide when the Sun lives." Something like that.

Just play it cool. Let them have some power and let them flex and be heroes...but make them also work for it when it counts.

Strahd cast fog cloud or something like that to block it. 

My note, in 3.5e: Vampire Vulnerabilities - As long as the Dayheart remains intact, Strahd suffers no ill effects from sunlight.

Barovia, travel times and more info

Big writeup with info: https://www.elventower.com/traveling-in-barovia-extra-encounters/#:~:text=Trying%20to%20count%20more%20than,5.8%20hours%20(17.4%20miles).

This guy made it bigger too: https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/ugz4wy/traveling_to_valaki_a_question_of_distances/ 

Stack exchange : https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/89376/how-long-should-it-take-to-travel-across-barovia

My take:

So the default hex = 1/4 a mile per the 5e Strahd book just feels too small to be realistic to me, I dunno. 

The argument to make the woods SUPER scary in Barovia, such that you can't long rest at all (and so travel has to be quick, and 1/4 a mile per hex makes it quick, to get from town to town) seems ... a little extreme. I like the idea of the woods being mega scary, but even in 1e Strahd only would attack for 5 rounds with wolves/bats just to toy with your party then leave. You could eventually rest, I mean hell. 

So this fellow's map is apparently about 1/3 the speed of the RAW version of 5e Strahd/Ravenloft/Barovia. I think I'll stick to it, a nice middle ground compared to how big I was about to make it... his takes I think about 3.5 days [UPDATE 28.5 hours for his 1/3 slower map below if I just added them up correctly using Tser pool shortcut... vs. 28.5/8.5 hrs walking a day = 3.35 days without much fighting or interruptions] to get from Barovia town to Krezk town, whereas I was saying practically a week to travel between. 

Red Wizards of Thay, bosses or minibosses, picts and stats links

 Very cool lich pictures (I wonder how distorted it all got since 5e and WotC, probably a lot... need to find the original lore from Greenwood in the 80s and 90s). 

 https://www.reddit.com/r/RedWizardsofThay/comments/10n9dqi/the_leaders_of_the_red_wizards_of_thay_the_zulkirs/

More: https://www.reddit.com/r/Forgotten_Realms/comments/10n9lt5/the_leaders_of_the_red_wizards_of_thay_the_zulkirs/

D&D puzzles in dungeons - spoilers beware

 https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/65wp3c/100_dungeon_puzzles_mysteries_community_made/

• Blood Wall - The party enters a room with a stone wall and a locked door. The wall has a riddle engraved in it; "The key is found within you head, use the key to paint me red, be aware of what you spurn, for what you give shall be returned." The party must use blood and smear it on the wall(where they get it from is up to them), and a duplicate of what the blood came from emerges out of the wall. The party must fight and defeat the duplicate to unlock the door.   
• REWORDING BY ME, archaic words here:  https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/List_of_archaic_English_words_and_their_modern_equivalents
• The key is found within thou most, yet seeketh doth the vampyre host
• Pray not ~bother~ the ancient dead, for the key must paint me red
• Yet beware thou sweetest mortals of what thou spurn;    forsooth - what giveth ye, DOUBLE shall WE return\
• The double is two monsters or two of "you" to fight... (based on the blood) some kind of phantasmal force spirit or something. Would it have spells? All just a dream, if so who awake to witness the others having convulsions and dreams??
• ((OR ... Like makers of fire which may burneth, what you give shall WE returneth\ ))

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/dnd-best-puzzles

• Blood wall 2 - 

The party enters a scanty, dank room covered in ash, broken stones, and large bones. Their torch allows them to see a stone wall aged and desolated by time itself.

This wall has a riddle engraved on it: “The key is found within you, use the key to paint me red, be aware of what you spent, for it might be the very end”.
Now that they have the riddle, your players will begin wracking their brains on ways to figure it out. The solution is simple: The key is blood. Perhaps they must use their blood to paint a key onto the wall, or maybe they should just smear it for it to open, the specifics are up to you!
What’s fun about the Blood on the Wall puzzle:

 It sets the tone very quickly. Once used, your players will feel the danger of what’s to come. Combat is not the only way to drain the party’s resources. With puzzles like this, you can control how wounded the party ends up throughout the adventure.

• The Maddening Chasm - Time is of the essence; the party must cross an impossibly large chasm cloaked in darkness.

A bridge of rusty, metallic plates is the only way to do it in sight, however, it’s loud. And after every noise abyssal chittering can be heard, which messes with the party member’s minds, confusing them, and maybe even convincing them to jump.

To walk across unscathed, they must be as quiet as possible, fly across stealthily, or become creative.

What’s fun about the maddening chasm:

• Sound is an often ignored element that can take your puzzle to the next level and freshly challenge your party.

• Darkness ahead 
• Exploring some ruins, the party comes across a torch-lit hall. Before it, an inscription reads “The light protects us from shadows, but only through darkness can we reach the light at the end of the road”.

  If the party goes down the hall, it never ends, continuing infinitely as they gain levels of exhaustion.

  However, if they put out all sources of light, they will reach the end of the hall in a couple of steps.

  What’s fun about Darkness ahead:

  • It incites players to think outside the box.
  • Unlike most lightning-based puzzles, this one subverts expectations by actually requiring there to be no light to find the exit.

• Paper Seal

  The door to a room is sealed with a small piece of paper (It cannot be broken or burned by magic or torn by weapons). A small crack of light shines in from the ceiling illuminating a dusty disk. Once the disk is cleaned off it will reflect the light find the other disks and reflect the light onto the paper burning it and opening the door.

  Reverse Prism

  Three beams of light shine into the room one green, one red and one blue. There is also a large crystal in the middle of the room and a smaller one above the locked door. At the base of the large crystal is an inscription: "As people have worked together to advance throughout all of time so too must you to see the true light" Reflect all three colors of light into the large crystal and a beam of white light strikes the smaller crystal above the door opening it.

  Combine the two above for a more intricate puzzle. Or just use a regular prism for variance.

  Rise of the Poor A large hall with statues on either side. Each statue seems to be of a Knight however one of the pedestals is empty. But next to this empty pedestal sits a statue of what appears to be a beggar holding out a small bowl. Each statue has on it's pedestal a plaque they read in order.

  1. A beggars lot in life seems solid like stone.

  2. But give him what he needs to get through the day and he shall thank you with grace.

  3. Heals his wounds and he shall walk.

  4. Bring him a blade and he will stand enobled.

  5. Now a knight of the order he will rise.

  If a weapon, some food or gold and a potion are placed in the bowl the statue will move onto the emtpy pedestal. And the way will be opened. With each item place a part of the beggar statue should light up to signal they are on the right track.

  I enjoy having one of the statues come to life if they attempt to break any of the statues.   

D&D Rules for Party to Remember / Super Ravenloft info

SUPER GOOD RAVENLOFT:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/junjo7/dragnacartas_library_of_curse_of_strahd_resources/

Semi-long d20play playthrough, less drawn out roleplay I think, watched a little:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3sFiRJEF28GEicpp7uhHG1427z9wOelC

This site is all or mostly made up fan stuff - https://welcome-to-sunny-barovia.fandom.com/wiki/Doru

RAVENLOFT/ STRAHD / Vallaki to exclude and simplify: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/jkd6o7/how_to_prep_vallaki_in_one_hour_or_less/  , like exclude:

• Blinkski's toys  - totally wrong feel/ vibe, wrong era, comedy.  
• Political types in town ... Burgomaster of Vallaki, no thanks. 
• church
• coffin guy

but locations to keep in Vallaki maybe:

• Arasek Stockyard - supplies i guess
• Bluewater Inn
• Town square (just cuz hard to avoid....... has no importance)
• maaayyybe the Gypsy camp nearby... Probably not. 

Vallaki NPCs keeping due to locations mentioned:

• At the Inn, they can meet Urwin, Danika, and your choice of Szoldar and Yevgeni, Rictavio, and/or the Wachter brothers. The Arasek Stockyard holds Gunther and Yelena Arasek, while the PCs can encounter Izek Strazni at the Town Square.

Spies in Vallaki specifically:

• And finally, as the book notes in Chapter 2, Strahd’s spies watch the PCs every morning and every night. Potential spies include disguised Vistani, werewolves in human form, charmed Vallakians, or swarms of bats.   

INSPIRATION for battle and any roll - maybe simplify to just once a day, get to roll w/ advantage (to make a spell have a good chance to hit, etc.). 

LONG REST, SHORT, RECUPE https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Resting#content 

• LONG REST only gives you half your hit-die back?! Wow, OK, really?  
• Recuperating for 3 days... eventually get rid of poison and stuff, see link above. 

TRAVEL Distance for the hexagon maps is 0.25 for Baroiva but might be 6 or 12 or 10 for others.  miles... https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/2ws0s3/a_question_about_hex_map_scale_and_travel_time/

WARLOCK http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/warlock:the-genie 

• + fire dmg with Warlock becuz Efreeti
• Genie's Wrath: Once during each of your turns when you hit with an attack roll, you can deal extra damage to the target equal to your proficiency bonus.
• Hours in ring vessel = 2 x prof. modifier per day (need long rest to reset it). 
• Example: at level 6 his prof.mod is +3, so 6 hours a day till it pushes you out. 

• The vessel's AC equals your spell save DC. Its hit points equal your warlock level plus your proficiency bonus, and it is immune to poison and psychic damage.

  If the vessel is destroyed or you lose it, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement from your patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and the previous vessel is destroyed if it still exists. The vessel vanishes in a flare of elemental power when you die.

• Level 6 = fly x # of proficiency.modifier (so 3 Flies per day at level 6)

• resist fire

• Sanctuary Vessel

  At 10th level, when you enter your Genie's Vessel via the Bottled Respite feature, you can now choose up to five willing creatures that you can see within 30 feet of you, and the chosen creatures are drawn into the vessel with you.

ARMOR

https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/armor

• Barbarian using Breastplate at 15AC, +2 more AC from dex (max). 
• Fighter has +1 magic  Splitmail, so 18 for it, and +1 AC from Subclass fighting style. 
• Total AC is 19 without shield

AOE SPELL GRID THINGIES

Fireball and other big radiuses https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?503846-Using-fireball-on-a-grid 

Sm / Lrg cones, radius etc. -  https://www.enworld.org/threads/area-of-effect-templates.276089/

*** NOTE, you can do a fireball with the smaller amount or the bigger amount, both fair as 10' radius. I'll say the caster picks as needed. Below is the bigger one... and the smaller one is similar but the N-S-E-West edges only hit 2 squares. 

**** Similar to how Cloud of Daggers can be 1 square or 4 squares (but for different measuring reasons I think, since it uses a point in the middle of lines or a point in the middle of a square, eh?).  

     

ENVIRONMENT / Obscured, etc. UPDATE 

https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/The%20Environment#content

• darkvision, they say they see in dark, but all Dark =  lightly obscured for them
• penalty = disadv on wisdom-perception checks that need sight. 

1. lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
2. A heavily obscured area—such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage—blocks vision entirely. A creature effectively suffers from the blinded condition (see Conditions ) when trying to see something in that area.

Strahd, things I forgot to put in from 1e, etc. spoilers

 I will do some of this:

1e had: 

Each night the PCs stay anywhere other than in the castle (Area K), Strahd attacks with his wolves and bats. His attacks are intended more to frighten the PCs than to damage them. Strahd just toys with them. After 5 melee rounds, Strahd and his creatures withdraw.

If the PCs are indoors, every turn Strahd attacks, wolves try to break through a window or a door. A roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6 means that a wolf breaks through. Once a wolf gets in, the remainder of the wolves and bats come in. The wolves and Strahd never attack Ireena Kolyana. After 5 melee rounds, all of the creatures flee into the night, leaving only Strahd's hollow laughter in the distance. (((note, in 5e I don't think Strahd can just go inside without an invite like normal vamps, but I think in 1e, he had a bypass on that via something specific I think)))

1e had:

Ireena will join the fight b/c bitten twice. Has a good arm. Willful. Sweet but troubled woman.  

 

I like this reddit person's Ireena involvement, but maybe wont work as is for me b/c our hidden weapons are already in the family crypt: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/t49no0/a_comprehensive_guide_to_strahds_raw_final_battle/ Quote:

extra note: this worked for me in part because my party had previous opportunities to explore castle Ravenloft and were familiar with its layout by the end of the campaign (at least the lower floors, not so much the upper). 

     I had a general story arc for Ireena that went on throughout the entire game. Instead of posting it here I'll link it to save space. The conclusion of the arc was Ireena feeling defeated, hopeless, and heading to Castle Ravenloft to try to appease Strahd. Meanwhile, my party was at Amber Temple to retrieve the Sun Sword and gain weird powers. They arrived back in Vallaki to find out about what Ireena was doing and headed off to Ravenloft to save the day.

Phase 1: Chapel

The party arrived in the chapel ready to crash the wedding between Strahd and Ireena. Just about every notable NPC was there, along with some extra vampire spawn. Strahd ordered the party destroyed and everybody scrambled - initiative rolled for every entity in the room and each of them given their own priorities (listed at the bottom due to length, roll the initiative in advance to speed up the game). When Strahd is reduced to less than 50 HP I'd have him turn into a bat and fall back down the hall to recover and regenerate. (I know i can just have him phase but my group hadn't seen him transform and I think his forms are cool).

Phase 2: Entry Hall

Strahd would be on the ceiling (using his spider climb ability). He would say, "Ireena, I am disappointed that it has come to this. You know everyone will die, and you know it will be all your fault. If you are determined to throw your own life away as well, know that I will collect you again in the next one." Strahd and the 8 gargoyles attack the group. When Strahd is weakened enough like before, I'd have him head south, turn into a wolf, and head downstairs.

At this point Van Richten (who was with the group) would remark that this is ridiculous and Strahd can do this all day. Ireena mentions that he can move freely through the castle walls and he's virtually indestructible. However, he may be unwilling to allow the group into his family's crypts.

Phase 3: Flooded Dungeon

(I turned the whirlpool teleporter traps off because they're a pacing-killer)

In the main chamber with the platform and thrones, the zombies would emerge from the sludge. Strahd would remark, "You seem capable of handling the wretched shadows I throw at you. But can you handle your own?" and I'd have a Shadow Demon appear nearby for each of my players. He can already command Shadows but they're so weak, and in the finale with the Sun Sword they can definitely dispatch Shadow Demons. When Strahd is reduced enough he'll turn to mist and retreat behind the curtain.

Phase 4: Crypts

Strahd announces from somewhere hidden, "I didn't think you deserved one of these tombs. You've proven me wrong! This will be your final resting place!" I filled the crypt areas with ghouls, ghasts, and wights. Strahd can use his phasing to use hit-and-run tactics against the party, or more of his spellcasting.

The group can make their way to Sergei's tomb (if the players don't think of it themselves, RVR can come up with the idea). Desecrating Sergei's body (just attacking it will suffice) sends Strahd into a rage, foolishly allowing himself to be destroyed. When reduced to 0 HP he of course turns into mist and floats toward his own coffin where he can be truly destroyed. (his parents' tomb or his own would work too, but Sergei's is the closest to the route to the crypts)

---

Summary / Opinion / Debrief

Overall I think the finale was a success. The enemies themselves aren't super high CR, but dealing with all of them in a row turns the final fight into an ordeal that spans a good chunk of the castle. Things get mixed up enough at each phase of the fight to keep things interesting, and Strahd allowing himself to be destroyed is believable.

One problem I ran into was that my party would gun down Strahd in an encounter and force him to fall back, and then they then just kind of have to plunk away at the remaining foes. The gargoyles were especially bad for this. I'm not sure how I'd fix it, maybe fudge health and stuff and have them more easily dispatched? It's something to consider.   

extra note: this worked for me in part because my party had previous opportunities to explore castle Ravenloft and were familiar with its layout by the end of the campaign (at least the lower floors, not so much the upper). 

Strahd 5e needs Tactics to Win + MY DESC his spells + sample battle in reddit thread

TACTICS, SAMPLE BATTLE: Strahd 5e version isn't always powerful against super experienced players. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/t49no0/a_comprehensive_guide_to_strahds_raw_final_battle/

• Seems it's ALL about the Sunsword in 5e, since he doesn't have the 3.5e sunlight protection thingie. And grappling him/preventing escape. 
• He talks about high level spells that capture/incapacitate Strahd are the way to beat him.
• CR goes from CR5 to CR20 in 5e depending on things. 
• He's a cheesy, annoying hit and run monster if you play him perfectly on purpose, so DM needs to think hard about how to balance it instead of making it a 2 day fight. 
• Phase through walls and hit with the Ray of Frost, that does 2d8 (9th level caster) plus slows them by 10ft. 
• Fireball is fair, he says. -> I'll change the description so it's more vampirey and less wizardy. 
• Sleep spell against hurt PCs (or polymorphed tiny things) is good, bring them to the dungeon.
• No death saving throws, so playing nice
• Polymorph PCs to frog. Transport to dungeon.
• I just have issues with "polymorph to frog" from a vamp... feels wrong still. 
• Legendary Actions
• Note that this list assumes that Strahd will always save at least one legendary action use after for the turn immediately preceding his own in order to move out of sunlight before the start of his turn and ensure his continued regeneration.
•    Can’t Use Charm. Strahd freely uses his Charm ability when able, but the DM has made clear to the players that they are able to protect themselves by closing their eyes or refusing to look at him, which the players frequently do. Use this option if you want to allow Strahd to fight at full strength while within sunlight (i.e., by inflicting the blinded condition against PCs who refuse to look at him) and increase his survivability against damaging attacks and vision-based spells (e.g., hold monster). If you use this option, increase Strahd’s CR by 1.   
• Mirror Image by Strahd ... v. powerful, party needs lots of DISPEL MAGIC to deal with it. 
• Fog Cloud by Strahd, allows him to protect himself from sunlight. 
• area becomes heavily obscured, same as blinded
• A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.
• "Vengeful" poster's word. If a PC taunts Strahd specifically regarding Sergei, King Barov, Queen Ravenovia, or Tatyana, Strahd prioritizes that PC’s injury or death above other competing targets. Use this option if you would like to highlight Strahd’s status as a flawed, fallible villain. If you use this option and expect your players to make strategic use of such tactics, decrease Strahd’s CR by 1.
•    

5e Average Encounter via reddit still

Let’s assume that Strahd uses the Minor Phasing strategy, setting his default CR to 9. Let’s also assume that his preferred actions include unarmed strike, fireball, sleep, and polymorph (frog); that his preferred legendary actions include unarmed strike and move; that he cannot use charm (+1 CR); that he primarily uses his phasing lair action; that he prefers to isolate characters through imprisonment; that he prepares between consecutive combats by casting fog cloud; and that his responses to provocation are vengeful (-1 CR).

In this scenario, Strahd fights like a hit-and-run guerilla, slowly wearing the party’s resources down until he is either successfully grappled or somehow incapacitated.

In this encounter, Strahd’s effective CR is 9, meaning that a party of 9th-level PCs attuned to the Sunsword and Holy Symbol will likely face a challenging, resource-intensive final encounter. By contrast, a party of 10th-level PCs will face a slightly easier encounter, expending fewer resources and facing lower risk.   

DESCRIPTION FIXER, MINE  (if not liking him seeming to be a wizard):

• Fireball by him = He says "Hell's Fire!" and black or pure red fire erupts in an area equal to fireball, but it ain't fireball. 
• Polymorph Other = ... not sure I want to use this at all, but the capture to dungeon thing seems OK. Hmm... how would we describe it???
• Sleep = yeah, it'd be magical, but I still see it as a vampire thing, related to his charm. 
• Fog Cloud = OK... the mist and cloud thing is all related in my mind. 
• Inviz = Yeah, it works I think. 
• Mirror Image = OK, THIS is a problem... too wizardy. How would I describe it, I dunno. 
• Gaseous Form => Vapor Form (2e calls it Vapor form... sounds more old school, so better)... 2e says amorphous, which I get. You aren't the shape of yourself anymore. 
• 
  

Lair and Legendary Actions explained https://blackcitadelrpg.com/legendary-lair-action-5e/ and https://www.dungeonsolvers.com/legendary-actions-and-lair-actions/

Legendary Actions Rules – Page 11 of the Monster Manual - regains them at end of monster's turn. Only one legendary at a time. Can use like 3 weak ones during one round, but can't repeat 2 in a row, right? 

Each legendary action can cost between 1-3 legendary actions per use. 

• A single boss creature has only 1 action per round while each player has at least 1 per turn. One way of solving this problem is to give your boss some minions during the fight to even the odds. Another way is to give your boss some legendary actions and lair actions.
• Legendary actions used OUTSIDE a creature's turn. Legendary actions always take place directly after a player’s turn in combat, and a creature can only act once between players’ turns.
• This limitation prevents legendary creatures from taking advantage of temporary poor positioning by using all their legendary actions at the worst moment. 
• If a creature can’t take normal actions, for example when it is incapacitated, it can’t take legendary actions. It also can’t use legendary actions until after its first turn in combat if it is surprised. 
• Lair actions always take place on an initiative count of 20. That means the effect occurs before any players who rolled a 19 for initiative, and after any players who rolled a 20 or higher with bonuses (miniboss is losing initiative ties on 20). 
• Creatures can’t use the same lair action twice in a row, as the DM you’ll have to mix it up rather than simply picking the best option for a given situation. 
• 
  

3.5e negative levels explained (vs Strahd  3.5e they are temp neg levels for the most part)

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?664040-3-5-Energy-Drain-Negative-Level-Level-Drain-Resource

To avoid permanent loss of levels.... "The mechanic itself gives you 24 hours to come up with something boosting your Fort save, such as spells or temporary Con increases during the time of the roll. " 

Energy Drain =/= Negative Levels =/= Permanent Level Loss.

• Energy Drain (Su) is a monster special ability. It has its own callout for creatures immune to it. Being a (Su) ability, Spell Resistance does not apply to it. When you're hit with a melee attack from a monster with Energy Drain, you receive one or more negative levels, a debuff hitting several character stats. There's no saving throw against the negative levels going on. Finally, Energy Drain gives the monster that hit you with it 5 temporary hitpoints per negative level imposed - these come from the ability, not the negative levels.
  
  
• Negative levels are a temporary debuff. They impose penalties, not damage. 1 negative level = -1 penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, ability checks, and effective level where it matters (e.g. Smite Evil, Caster Level); -5 penalty to hitpoints; and lose your highest level spell. Sooner or later, as set by the ability or spell that imposes them, negative levels go away. But if they last 24 hours, they force you to save (Fort) against each negative level. Fail a save, you permanently drop a character level (or hit dice) for that negative level. Lastly, if you've got as many negative levels as you have hit dice, you die, no save, and usually come back as a wight 1d4 rounds later. Though they're said to be negative levels, nothing explicitly makes them a negative energy effect, though in most cases your DM will likely rule they are.
  
  
• Level loss is permanent level loss. Doesn't have to happen due to negative levels, good old Raise Dead does this to you Under level loss, you lose a hit dice, or a character level (RAI being the one most recently acquired.) And your XP total is reset to halfway between your new low level and the one you came from. This has implications for Thought Bottle ab/use, as we'll see later.  

FUnny about negative levels 3.5e is: flat-out immune (Constructs) or antifragile opposition (Undead, who are healed by negative energy effects).

The Eye & Hand of Vecna - Lotsa good lore

 I'm not a sucker for lore, but this one has got me interested. 

https://dumpstatadventures.com/blog/deep-dive-history-of-vecna

via

https://dumpstatadventures.com/a-players-perspective/a-players-guide-to-artifacts-ii

Quick summary from them:

Eye and Hand of Vecna

Wondrous Item, Artifact

Seldom is the name of Vecna spoken except in a hushed voice. Vecna was, in his time, one of the mightiest of all wizards. Through dark magic and conquest, he forged a terrible empire. For all his power, Vecna couldn't escape his own mortality. He began to fear death and take steps to prevent his end from ever coming about.

Orcus, the demon prince of undeath, taught Vecna a ritual that would allow him to live on as a lich. Beyond death, he became the greatest of all liches. Even though his body gradually withered and decayed, Vecna continued to expand his evil dominion. So formidable and hideous was his temper that his subjects feared to speak his name. He was the Whispered One, the Master of the Spider Throne, the Undying King, and the Lord of the Rotted Tower.

Some say that Vecna's lieutenant Kas coveted the Spider Throne for himself, or that the sword his lord made for him seduced him into rebellion. Whatever the reason, Kas brought the Undying King's rule to an end in a terrible battle that left Vecna's tower a heap of ash. Of Vecna, all that remained were one hand and one eye, grisly artifacts that still seek to work the Whispered One's will in the world.

 

 Check this out:

The eye looks like a bloodshot organ torn free from the socket. To attune to the eye, you must gouge out your eye and pop in Vecna's. Simple, right? The eye will attach itself to the eye socket, appearing as a golden cat's eye. The eye stays in place until you die, which will happen immediately if you remove it from your head. 

Properties of the Eye. It's not surprising your alignment changes to neutral evil. 

Other crazy stuff, some negatives unless you find and attach BOTH the Hand and the Eye. If you only have the eye, for instance, 5% chance of death each time you cast a spell from the eye. So you really want BOTH.

And check it out... regarding someone trying to destroy the items incorrectly:

You may try other methods, and they may appear successful. You'd be wrong, though. The artifacts reappear in some random place in the multiverse, waiting for the next person to cut off a hand or remove an eye and embrace the evil within them.

D&D - fun combat encounters (terrain, etc.)

 

Fun Combat Encounters

The following features can add more fun and suspense to a combat encounter:

• Terrain features that pose inherent risks to both the characters and their enemies, such as a frayed rope bridge and pools of green slime
• Terrain features that provide a change of elevation, such as pits, stacks of empty crates, ledges, and balconies
• Features that either inspire or force characters and their enemies to move around, such as chandeliers, kegs of gunpowder or oil, and whirling blade traps
• Enemies in hard-to-reach locations or defensive positions, so that characters who normally attack at range are forced to move around the battlefield
• Different types of monsters working together