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Witness the ENnie award-winning end of Ravenloft in this all-new adventure,
brought to life in over 200 illustrations and maps. Presenting... On
e Night Strahd!One Night Strahd: Queer Vaporwave Gothica

Precise and messy as a vampire bite, One Night Strahd (ONS) delivers the spectacle and catastrophe of gothic horror as a consistent and fast-paced short campaign for D&D 5e. It condenses and remixes the 200+ hour campaign of Curse of Strahd into a replayable adventure weighing in at 525 pages with 150+ illustrations, 12 maps, 16 encounters, 27 new magic items, and 60+ quick-play charts. With careful attention to the design of exploration, combat, and role-playing opportunities, our goal has been to make something for every DM and every table. After three years of extensive testing, we're proud to share this explosive adventure with you.

What's inside?

  • 17 major encounters, including two hidden bosses.

  • An entire set of fast narrative encounters, replacing the classic random encounters while preserving their feel and spirit.

  • Enormous set-piece boss fights, including a wolf the size of a mansion and deadly assassin-cavalry.

  • Puzzles, secrets, and sprawling exploration-based encounters called Hunts.

  • A more accessible approach to designing large encounter spaces, with plenty of well-tested examples.

  • A novel reincarnation mechanic that helps make sure no one gets left out at the table.

  • A powerful new way to use inspiration that can be reused in any setting. 

ONS can be run a few different ways:

  • As a Mini-campaign: Running roughly 16 hours, generally broken into four sessions.

  • As a Event game: Running roughly 12 hours, suitable for a live-stream or holiday extravaganza.

  • Both versions include rules for playing either with one or two full parties of 6th level characters.

  • Optional scoring mechanics are included for those who wish to run this at an event for multiple groups, just like the old days.

16 hours? 

Data from D&D Beyond as well as other sources suggests that most campaigns end after less than seven 3-4 hour sessions. That means most campaigns end around the 25 hour mark, while most “full-length” campaign or adventure books clock in at 50+ hours. This means there’s a definite need for shorter experiences. To be extremely clear, it’s not better or worse to make a shorter campaign, but there weren’t a lot of them out there. So we made one!

Esmerelda

Why this? How big is the book?

ONS is what we wanted to play. It’s easy to run and requires very little prep without compromising on depth or fun. We wanted to make an neo-noir adventure that anyone could run, one that dealt with death, hope, queerness, love, and the horror of regret. This is gothic horror by way of neo-noir with a breakneck narrative, a sprawling castle, and massive set-piece battles. In terms of raw size, ONS is 525 pages and just over 100,000 words with tons of lush illustrations by Evangeline Gallagher accentuating an almost completely unique bestiary along with handouts and flowcharts for all major encounters to assist with legibility and speed of play. The campaign may be shorter but the book is actually larger than Curse of Strahd.

Gertruda & Sesame

Queerness?

It matters to people we care about, including members of The Hedra Group. Practically speaking, we have very few characters to work with, so adding a small love story outside of the doomed romances of the Zaroviches meant adding a queer romance. Additionally, a large portion of proceeds after recoup of development costs will be donated to the Pride Foundation.



Oh, and you fight a wolf the size of a house and a dracolich carrying a vampire's coffin.

The Pallbearer Dragon

Just remember, death is rarely the end in Barovia.


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Reviews (9)
Discussions (37)
Customer avatar
Tom G October 30, 2023 10:23 am UTC
PURCHASER
One thing I am rather unsure about (and didn't find any section detailing the matter) is leveling. If I run the adventure as a three to four session campaign I would expect my players to expect some level ups. Are they at all intended? I am afraid of breaking game balance.
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Customer avatar
Hedra G November 11, 2023 1:39 am UTC
CREATOR
We designed it with the intent that the characters would not be leveling up! As an alternate for leveling, we provide a pretty constant stream of magical items and abilities that equate to the powers folks get from leveling up - if you use this as part of a campaign instead of a one-shot though, consider giving the characters all the levels after you conclude the adventure!
Customer avatar
Marc L July 06, 2023 8:01 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I received the hardcover, and it's a real object of art. Kudos to Evangeline!
I haven't had the time to DM it yet so I'll report back once I did, but for now the only criticism I have would be that some chunks of text seems to be repeated over and over (for example the "third bottle of wine" appears at least thrice). It might be useful for some people, but I personally find that rather irritating.

Also, I'd love to have an updated version of the character creation process updated with the latest publications. It forbids DMG subclasses, but what about more recent books like Tasha's? Should I assume only the PHB subclasses and races should be used?

Apart from that, the story as far as I've read it is very nice, and sounds like a lot of fun!
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G August 19, 2023 7:05 pm UTC
CREATOR
DMG is only disallowed due to the Control Undead feature found on Oathbreaker/Blackguard. Everything else is allowed, though we do recommend modified AL rules.
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Customer avatar
Hedra G August 19, 2023 7:05 pm UTC
CREATOR
DMG is only disallowed due to the Control Undead feature found on Oathbreaker/Blackguard. Everything else is allowed, though we do recommend modified AL rules.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc L September 12, 2023 5:52 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks! :)
Customer avatar
Meghan B July 05, 2023 2:54 am UTC
PURCHASER
Looking forward to running this in the Fall! On the Locations page for Ancient Road, it looks like "Road Rage" a separate encounter, but I cannot find it anywhere else in the book. Can anyone explain, please?
Reply
Customer avatar
Kavka P September 25, 2023 4:31 pm UTC
PURCHASER
"Road Rage" is the name of the encounter. It's in the same page, right under the instruction "Run skill checks."
Customer avatar
Ray C June 07, 2023 9:48 am UTC
PURCHASER
I started a multi-post in-depth review of the product on RPGNet: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/lets-read-dms-guild-ravenloft-sourcebooks.902991/page-6#post-24751842

It's not so much a condensed version of "Curse of Strahd" as it is its own take on the "Defeat Strahd" style of modules, ranging from I6 to Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. It's a neat and unique adventure with replay value that can stand on its own two feet.
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G June 16, 2023 8:14 pm UTC
CREATOR
This is a really thorough look through the book! You had some fair criticisms, but it sounds like you enjoyed it. We appreciate you taking the time to check it out!
Customer avatar
Ольга ? January 30, 2023 11:10 pm UTC
Do Strahd's statistics miss "Misty Step" or was it intentional? It's the only defference between his and Irena's spells.
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G June 16, 2023 8:55 pm UTC
CREATOR
This was intentional - that kind of mobility makes Strahd's fight a lot harder, so we took it out of his block for a more straightforward fight.
Customer avatar
Irvine L December 08, 2022 6:03 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hello,
Congrats on the Ennie Award!
I was wondering if there's a rebate towards the POD for folks who have purchased the PDF copies.
My husband and I have both gotten separate copies of the product. We can provide the order ID numbers if needed.
Thanks and cheers
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G April 13, 2023 3:30 am UTC
CREATOR
Unfortunately, the POD is actually priced as low as the DM's Guild will allow us to sell it - it is at the wholesale price, essentially.
Customer avatar
Craig W November 04, 2022 10:58 am UTC
PURCHASER
I received my copy, but it was damaged due to the adhesive on the packaging and the binding is coming loose. I have called the number on the packing slip numerous times and left voicemail with zero response. Can someone assist in getting some kind of reconciliation here?
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G November 12, 2022 4:36 am UTC
CREATOR
Your best reconciliation option is to contact DM's Guild support by email.
Reply
Customer avatar
Shane M December 10, 2022 6:04 pm UTC
I had a problem with a Print on Demand last year, and it was handled swiftly and satisfyingly.
Customer avatar
Hedra G October 11, 2022 7:56 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hey folks, print copies are now available. We're taking no margin on these - afraid this is as cheap as we can make the hardcover while still maintaining enough print quality to be happy with how it handles Evangeline's art.
Customer avatar
Maggie S September 24, 2022 5:10 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I love this book a lot -- the art, the philosophy, the design are all wonderful. I have questions about the Tarot related section.

1) The artwork on the tarot cards that are pictured is stunning. Is there a way to get that art as a separate download? (I apologize if it is already present in one of the extra files, but I don't think I saw it anywhere.)

And 2) Can anyone explain to me the actual tarot reading? I have re-read that section several times, and although I love the flavor of it, I don't know what the DM is physically supposed to do. Are cards being drawn at random from a physical deck and laid out on the table? Do the players draw or does the DM just lay them out? Are they pre-determined by the DM or is it truly random? Or is this all just description that the players hear read out?

I'm hoping that the scene is meant to be a real physical reading, with cards laid on the table causing randomness in the playthrough, but I can't figure out the mechanic of how that...See more
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Customer avatar
Cody W December 12, 2022 5:06 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Maggie, I agree regarding the Tarot reading. The book is very not clear about how exactly to run it. I think it assumes some pre knowledge of Tarot.
Customer avatar
Michael H September 23, 2022 2:06 pm UTC
Do you plan on releasing a print version of this book? I'd love to check it out, but I have difficulty reading huge pdfs. Hard on my old eyes, you see. Thanks!
Customer avatar
Aaron L September 04, 2022 1:35 am UTC
PURCHASER
Now that you've hit platinum, can we expect a print on demand version soon?
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G September 26, 2022 3:45 pm UTC
CREATOR
working on it.
Reply
Customer avatar
Aaron L November 06, 2022 4:01 am UTC
PURCHASER
They definitely don't joke around about how slow the printing is. Ordered on the 23rd of October and it hasn't been printed yet. Looking forward to it
Customer avatar
Schuler K June 17, 2022 1:07 am UTC
PURCHASER
How much radiant damage should I encourage my players to create in their characters on a scale from "don't metagame" to "you've been recruited as a vampire slayer, so you're good at slaying vampires" with 'saying nothing about it' in the middle?

Very excited to run this
Reply
Customer avatar
Fanny T June 18, 2022 3:43 am UTC
PURCHASER
The gear packs given by omu in the beginning of act 1, and the campaign's special items have a lot of options for radiant/magical damage so they probably won't end up with 0 options even if you don't recommend it explicitly.
Reply
Customer avatar
Schuler K June 18, 2022 4:23 am UTC
PURCHASER
Good point, thank you!
Customer avatar
Bryan S June 15, 2022 3:13 am UTC
PURCHASER
Preppying this and trying to figure out what is going with ESMERELDA. How can she be alive later in the campaign when the encounter in the crypt only can end in her death?
Reply
Customer avatar
Hedra G September 26, 2022 3:43 pm UTC
CREATOR
It's possible to save her if you can go 3-4 rounds with strahd. Check his combat flow - he always leaves, but focuses on trying to murder her.
Customer avatar
Hannah S May 29, 2022 7:16 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I've made a map for the Crypts for some added exploration. It even comes with hidden paths and walls. You can find it and some small helpful assets in the google drive link.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M5CCRev81CtYMfeYODy7BqldK4f_ufqX?usp=sharing
Customer avatar
Fanny T May 29, 2022 5:33 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I'm only about 1/4 through the campaign as of 2022/05/29 but I thought I'd share my ONS master post anyway. It includes stuff for DMs like character combat sheets, items that are in the campaign formatted in the ONS aesthetic, links for STL printable items and characters etc. I'll update regularly as I go along. ✌️
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1m3W4gUYoT-RNxTKJ2WTmpcYrWTqNF-ne?usp=sharing
Customer avatar
Fanny T May 28, 2022 7:05 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi! We're at game 3 of our campaign and so far everyone loves it. I was wondering... Do you use Burr's stats for Bur as well? I'm not familiar with simulacrums and the stats I found online for an arcanaloth seem lower than Burr's stats and the spell list is really different, so I'm not sure what to use if both show up in combat? Thanks!
Reply
Customer avatar
Hannah S May 28, 2022 9:29 pm UTC
PURCHASER
You can find the Arcanaloth statblock in the Monster Manual on page 313. I used the Arcanaloth stats and it worked out well in synergy with Burr. I believe Burr is supposed to be the bigger and badder of the two, acting as an enforcer. I too was surprised at how different the spell lists were though. Do Note Bur's expanded spell list on page 158.

Off-topic but Burr's statblock does seem to be much tougher than the Arcanaloth's stablock, but Burr is CR 9 and the Arcanaloth is a CR 12.
Reply
Customer avatar
Fanny T May 29, 2022 1:48 am UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks so much! Good to know in worked out well when you played it.
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File Last Updated:
July 23, 2022
This title was added to our catalog on November 11, 2021.