$30.00 / week
About the Adventure
Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia.
Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd’s face forms the barest hint of a smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came—all according to his plan.
A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.
Dark Souls Variant
This game utilizes the Dark Souls variant for 5th edition gameplay. Become Hollowed, losing your lifespark upon character death. After death, retrieve your souls in order to advance your character level and empower you to take down powerful foes. But be careful, holding on to your lifespark for too long will attract the attention of hunters.
No prior knowledge necessary.
How to Prepare
Consider what kind of character you would like to play, but hold your ideas with flexibility. Together, the group will finalize character concepts and create characters during the first session.
Ensure that you have a working mic/headset and webcam (optional, but encouraged).
Create an account at dndbeyond.com
Please join the Discord server upon registration.
Materials Provided
The GM will provide you with access to all materials on dndbeyond.
Syrinscape will be available for game immersion.
In addition to the game-specific Discord server, you will be added to the EJ RPG server and become part of a growing community of like-minded people.
Who will like this game?
Fans of the Strahd, Van Helsing, Dracula, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne will enjoy this game; players of TTRPGs, and people who want to live an intense and dramatic story of character’s personal development will enjoy this game.
The campaign emphasizes exploration with combat and roleplay falling second and third (in that order); the group composition will help shape the balance in the direction that the players most prefer. EJ typically runs high-exploration games with ample opportunity to roleplay.
If you like contributing to a live and responsive world and the possibility of failure with real-world consequences, you will like this game.
If you would like to explore themes of centuries-long evil and the consequences of evil, you will like this game.
If you would like to find the light in the darkness and enjoy humor despite sorrow, you will like this game.
Character Creation Guidelines
Consider what kind of character you would like to play, but hold your ideas with flexibility. Together, the group will finalize character concepts and create characters during the first session.
All official 5e content is available for use (core, non-core, and Tal’Dorei).
Homebrew content may be used upon approval. Kobold Press materials are pre-approved.
Barovia is a particular realm within the Dungeons and Dragons multiverse, and you may wish to pay particular attention to Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
Small backstories (or concepts) are encouraged, 3-10 sentences.
Gameplay Themes/Content Warnings
This campaign explores themes of desolation, genocide, slavery, prejudice, unadulterated evil, and (possibly) torture. Violence is common, described with PG-13, and occasionally R-rated description.
I started playing with EJ after signing up for Call of Cthulhu. It was my first time playing that system & I have had an absolute blast. EJ is great to collaborate with at the table, he really has his finger on the pulse for what players what & he delivers that for them. Some of my favorite people to play D&D with are connections I’ve made at EJs tables. I really wanted to play a few mini D&D campaigns so I could try out new character ideas & EJ made it happen. I had an absolute blast playing them & look forward to more of them in the future. If you want a collaborative GM who will make sure you have a great time play with EJ!
Such a blast and it was so insightful to watch a professional GM at work. You hold the story so well in your head that I could actively see you rolling with the clues we decide to follow and help us fill in gaps through NPC dialogue.
As a GM, myself, sometimes I get way too in my head about things having a linear path and it was a master class watching you work and effortlessly weave player decisions with the story.
And as a person who takes timing very seriously, I love how we were all aware that the time was closing in and ending on a good spot to pause for next session.
The fluidity of your scenes and weaving them with players has helped inform my own GMing so much.
I recently had the pleasure of joining a Delta Green one-shot, led by the exceptional EJ Boston. At the beginning, he did a fantastic job introducing both roleplaying and the specific game we were playing. As a newbie to both, this was particularly helpful, and made me feel much more confident starting the game. During the game, he masterfully led us through the narrative style of play, deftly balancing the time spent on different scenes/characters so we could each pursue different aspects of the mystery. It was such a fun game, and we all had a blast! Couldn’t recommend him enough!
Highly recommend call of Cthulhu and EJ as a GM! Fun, fair, witty and overall a great experience.
Played Delta Green for the first time, and EJ made it a breeze to get to the core of the rules and hop right into the narrative. EJ employs a multimedia experience and it helps greatly with setting the mood of the scene.
Join the RPG Club! Why register? Just a few of the many reasons:
You’ll get personalized game recommendations.
You can review game listings and sign up for events.
You can communicate directly with other players and GMs.
No credit card/payment required for registration. Registration and site usage are subject to the sites’ Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
