Ravenloft has always been one of my favorite settings for adventures in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. Especially in my own campaigns I tried to sprinkle in bits and pieces wherever I could, a haunted house here or a wandering Vistana there, I always liked to lay out those potential hooks for future campaigns.
There are a lot of ways to get to Barovia and the home of Strahd von Zarovich, this is part of what makes the adventure so fun and appealing to adventurers. Getting in is quite an accomplishment on it's own and the multitude of ways to complete the adventure are a big draw to this campaign. Throw in the unique challenges with crazy magical items and you have a memorable voyage into Ravenloft lore.
The Curse of Strahd was originally released in 2016, following the "Out of the Abyss" adventure and a few other epic battle modules, this was a bit of a jump but it worked very well in the budding fifth edition library. Designed to be the start of the adventure and take groups from levels 1 through 10, there is so much rich storytelling here that you could easily spend the lifetime of the adventures in Barovia.
For all good storytelling, anything you can role play to your group similar to your story can really help that. The Tarokka reading is a big part of this adventure and is usually a really fun session, mostly the getting there and the realization of what is coming next. The deck of cards has been produced in several iterations, and while not needed (you can use dice to roll the reading) I highly recommend them. They're not too expensive and usually available at game shops.
COFFIN COMPONENTS
Curse of Strahd, one of the most popular Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game products of all time, split into three parts: a 224-page perfect-bound adventure for characters of levels 1–10, a 20-page Creatures of Horror booklet of new monsters that appear in the adventure, and an 8-page Tarokka Deck booklet.
A cover sheet with Strahd von Zarovich’s image on one side and Strahd’s monster stat block on the other.
A sturdy, four-panel Dungeon Master’s screen designed for use with the adventure.
A double-sided poster map showing the domain of Barovia on one side and Castle Ravenloft on the other.
54 foil-stamped Tarokka cards, which help determine the heroes’ path through the adventure.
A tuck box to hold the Tarokka deck.
12 postcards (3 copies each of 4 different cards), which you can use to invite friends to your game.