Next Time , Strahd, maybe illusion of Bigby’s Hand (updated May 11, 2025)

 Was watching reading yt of Bilbron’s BattleMaster ranged focus with Net quick toss guide. Pretty fun looking. Got idea mid teply:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pS_Oxq87ne0&t=911s&pp=ygUWYmlsYnJvbnMgYmF0dGxlIG1hc3Rlcg%3D%3D

 Via other videos, he has said he prefers to put dancing lights way ahead of the party in order to not give away his exact location in a dark dungeon, while illuminating the monsters from afar (in order to get them jump on them). Personally, we have used a pebble with light cast on it held by mage hand for a similar effect. Completely unrelated random thought… I’d love to use a pebble held by magehand with an illusion of Bigby’s Hand on it to fake out someone (like fake out the players when I am DM). 

---NEXT TIME/SO FAR BELOW IS REPEAT for convenience---

SO FAR: Kid is halfway thru castle Ravenloft. On Map 3, started at top (flew in) so kinda doing it backwards. 

NEXT TIME:

• Strahd
• Iron Golems K78 - so they attack for a while then stop, but could start again IF. Ad&d 1e says NO breath weapon. Weirdly, 5e let's them use their breath weapon once(?(. 
• I was thinking, maybe they don't resist ALL magic like in 1e (except lightning), but maybe they should resist most... take half dmg or something... but boring cuz only weapons do dmg so, think about it? Force dmg (magic missile wand) should hit normally. What about round over round dmg, gotta do that, like MoonBeam. 
• I say 
• stick to ROOM in 1e version
• 4 arms needed b/c of stones in hands.
• energy bow can snatch the stones i bet
• how many guys can fly... ... 20 ft high ceiling so....
• would Strahd try to mess with them after fight? 
• +2 weapon or better to hurt
• immune fire(heal), cold, thunder. 
• Elec dmg and slows
• Force full dmg
• Radiant full dmg. 
• Is it really just "don't fight em, wait for door and run"??? SEEMS boring, one answer, boo?!
• Hostages (villages at front door) - where they at now? Strahd gonna go thru walls and suck their blood to heal during fight. 
• What if - the Siabrae was caught by Strahd after rez. Chained up, punished for backstabbing. And somehow the elemental skellies are here too?
• Could he come to rescue if got too crazy??
• Atmosphere- flash of lightning leaves scary image for a split seconds. Maybe.. Strahd’s hideous halfBat face. 
• Update - Strahd appears spying as bat (hurt by sunlight), then fights in man-bat form. 
• UPDATE 5-9-2025. FOG CLOUD - while normal fog cloud doesn’t block sunlight via Jeremy Crawford… I think a partial exception for Strahd makes sense. It could reduce the light dmg from the Sunsword down to maybe 5, 10 or 15 ft radius. That way, still possible to get him, but it won’t be autowin. (Check room size to see how big). Also, Gust of Wind scroll/spell on the elf can work.
• 
  
• Fog cloud or smoke pyrotechnics to stop sunlight???
• maybe the Elf Wiz will have a scroll of Gust of Wind... 
• Maybe takes an extra round or so to find scroll
• but how's he fumble around to find it blind? Lol. Magically can tell it's the right scroll... or super organized, alphabetically stored in a thousand pockets in robes sorta like Raistlin? 
• 3 forms, bat hybrid, wolf hybrid, regular
• Maybe bat is simple but flies (needs big ceiling)
• Wolf is high HP, hp DPS, no magic.
• regular is regular
• in the crypt area, ne? --- but then where's he run when turning to mist???? He'll be stuck. 
• 
  
• Dimitar the miniboss Wight. In crypt huh? 
• With infinite skellies I think, crawling out of specific tombs/ground holes ALL OVER in crypt.
• CR1 Specter, (disadv. in sunlight)
• CR6 reskinned Inviz Stalker stat monster with him.
• IF TOUCH the holy item on the altar, skellies stops. Maybe it has some sort of shimmering spell over it, ... somehow magic covering it up allows infinite skellies. 
• Did non-vampires have to hide the item there? Who could have stolen? The wight? Some werewolves maybe? 
• the holy item on the altar, has energy connecting it to Dimitar, you see it, that's how he's summoning infinite skellies.
• Once kill Dimitar, stops. 
• Also stops if XYZ to the holes in the floor. 
• ***DOES STRAHD APPEAR AFTER BEAT DIMITAR??? He likes to ambush. 
• 1 Ochre jelly + 4 flying animated swords
• See LevelUp's Monstrous Menag.ver.2, page 348, 352, that I bought. 
• CR 3-4 for all of 'em
• (subtract the sunlight issue, maybe reacts if 5 ft away)
• SIGNS of:
• Underground Signs
  1 DC 13 Perception check: pristine floors or walls
  2 A door missing its metal hinges (gray ooze),
  a door missing its lower half (black pudding),
  or a skeleton (gelatinous cube or ochre jelly)
  3 A bit of writhing ooze stuck in a crack
  4 Wet and dripping walls and floors. DC
  14 Investigation or Survival: the area is
  completely free of lichen, fungus, and other
  life that might thrive in this environment
  
• cool treasure
• CR 3–4 black pudding; gelatinous cube in pit trap; 2 gelatinous cubes or ochre jellies; ochre jelly with 1d4 flying swords
  Treasure flint, chalk, marble chess pieces (125 gp), malachite gem (10 gp), +1 dagger enchanted with continual flame
  
• COMBAT  Combat
• Ceiling, or from under door. Crack in wall. 
• The ochre jelly grapples passing creatures with its pseudopods. Given time, it will grab as many creatures as approach within 5 feet of it. SUBTRACT:It flees from sunlight.
• the flying swords fits the Strahd castle already
• the ooze fits it for my mind also, b/c kinda like the Vampire Hunter D bottom area of castle with the billion grotesques/aberrations. 
•