GM Tactics: Final Fight with Strahd Von Zarovich

So for a while now I have heard from players & GM that the final fight with Strahd was too easy, or how they need to buff Strahd for the final fight to give him a chance.

From what I have experienced from running the Curse of Strahd is that the GMs who run the game are overlooking a LOT of things they really should be taking into account. 

The big mistake is that many of them narrow down Strahd to a guy who is just sitting around his castle waiting to get his ass kicked by the PCs whenever they bother to show up. While a lot of BBEGs go that route, Strahd is far more hands-on and active in this game than the typical villain who gets taken out by some random group of murder-hobos. 

"The adventure ends when either Strahd von Zarovich or the characters are defeated. Your goal is to keep Strahd in play for as long as possible, using all the abilities and resources at his disposal."

A simple wat to think of him is this...

Dracula + Albert Einstein + Sun Tsu = Strahd

So lets go over some of the tactics that GMs should be using when running the Curse of Strahd.

1. Strahd actively spies on the PC's throughout their time in the lands of Barovia.

From the Curse of Strahd Story Overview section in the Introduction.

"Once Strahd becomes aware of the adventurers, he and his spies watch them closely. When the time is right, Strahd invites his "guests" to Castle Ravenloft. He aims to turn them against one another, torment them, and kill them, as he has done with so many other visitors. Some will become undead thralls. Others will never rise again."

So Strahd will know things the PC's have done, powers and abilities, as well as items they have acquired. What this means is that the PC's likely won't have any surprises that Strahd hasn't planned for.

One of the 5th level spells Strahd has in his stat block is Scrying. By the time the players are ready for the final fight Strahd has done his homework. He will KNOW which one has the lowest wisdom score as he is likely been using them as the target of the spell. 

He likely has met them, he may have also obtained hair or other pieces of them to aid in this. (Either by getting them himself or getting minions to obtain and deliver them. 

Aside from Scrying a number of the Vistani also serve as his eyes and ears. A tactic they likely could employ is offering the PCs a safe place to rest and clean up at their camp. They might even be nice enough to offer a shave and/or a haircut. (Let the PCs wonder if they were being gracious or if they were collecting things for Strahd.)

Do the PC's have a place they use as a base of operations? The Bluewater Inn, maybe an abandoned house in the Town of Barovia or the Blood on the Vine tavern? Strahd will likely have spied on that location as well. 

So when it comes to the final fight Strahd should have a good idea of the tactics they employ and have prepared countermeasures. 

The players can however catch Strahd off guard in the final conflict if they leveled up and obtained a new power, feat, spell or class ability they have yet to use. Unfortunately Strahd plans for this possibility. Which is the next thing GM's get wrong.

2. Strahd tests the players routinely to determine how capable they are.

Who do you think motivated the Druids to mess with the Wizard of Wines? 

Such tests serve two purposes. First Strahd can assess how the PCs handle themselves in a fight, and more importantly he can judge how attached the PCs get to a group they helped out.

This is all information that Strahd can use to manipulate or test the PCs if he thinks connections will be something that motivates the players.

"You can fight me, or you can save your precious Martikov family, even now my servants are descending upon the Blue Water Inn and the Wizard of Wines to wipe them out. Soon the only place the name Martikov will appear will be on the family gravestones."

If loyalty and friendship to those they have helped isn't a motivation Strahd will likely have guessed what does motivate them.. Maybe he offers them a deal.

"I have seen you demand payment from the purveyors of wine for your services. I also know that you have been lied to about being unable to leave Barovia unless I am dead. Let me assure you, I have no intentions of being killed by you or anyone else. As a man I was a general and conquer. Within the last year a powerful mage tried to raise an army to storm my castle, and I defeated him. 

I have an alternate proposal.. A man is hunting the Vistani with the intent on wiping them all out. I will not have such a genocide happening in my lands. Especially as visions tell me he seeks to slay one of the the future seers and spiritual guides of those whom I am oathbound to protect. Find this killer and bring him to me for justice and I will not only grant you safe passage out of Barovia to wherever you wish, but I will handsomely reward you from the coffers of my own treasury, armory and library. Such riches you would not be able to acquire in a lifetime of adventuring, and all you need to do is deliver to me one Rudolph Van Richten."

Even if only one of the PC's takes Strahd up on the offer it is a win for him. He reduced the number of enemies he has to face, and either RVR kills the PCs or the PCs deliver RVR to Strahd. 

3. Strahd has MAD Skills & Stats! 

Arcana +15, Perception +12, Religion +10, Stealth +14! Those are just his bonuses, with an Intelligence of 20 Strahd is literally a genius! 

Now from a tactical perspective this means Strahd will completely understand the magical capacities of the PCs. He will be able to estimate any spell casters level and as combat goes on he will be aware of how many spell slots they have used. 

He will send minions out prior and create situations designed to get the mages to bur up spell slots. (Thus making the final encounter with him easier.) 

If you think Strahd can't do this, think again...Strahd is himself a spell caster. 

He might even taunt spell castes with this knowledge. 

"I can see your power is depleted.. Such a shame you chose to waste your most powerful spells fighting my minions. Your only chance of hurting me is that pathetic excuse of a Magic Missile spell which will strike me, but I'll recover from it a moment later.. I'll kill you last.. Flee now and you might be able to make it far enough to get a goodnight's sleep before I catch up with you."

Think of this like a professional poker player counting cards and calculating the odds of winning in his head. His stats and the +15 in Arcana enable him to do this.. 

Another BIG advantage Strahd has is the +12 in Perception. This means rogues and other sneaky maneuvers aren't going to have a great chance of working against him. Remember Strahd has been spying on the party throughout the campaign, so he will know the tactics the party and any rogues are fond of. Strahd may even take offense to rouges who attempt such attacks.

"Coward! Lurking in the shadows. You dare think of me as some easy mark?! Like I am some idiot who drank too much in a tavern and can easily have his coin taken from him! I will ensure your death is the slowest and most painful I can devise."

4. Strahd should be gaslighting the faith based characters. 

Having a +10 in Religion on the surface doesn't seem to be too useful upfront, but keep in mind Strahd is playing the long game. He should be putting any faith based characters into dilemmas that will cause them to question the teachings of their faith. 

Keep in mind that the connection to the Gods in Barovia is not as easily accomplished as it is in other places.

"From Chapter 2: Alterations to Magic - While in Barovia, characters who receive spells from deities or otherworldly patrons continue to do so. In addition, spells that allow contact with beings from other planes function normally - with one proviso; Strahd can sense when someone in his domain is casting such a spell and can choose to make himself the spell's recipient, so that he becomes the one who is contacted."

Effectively Strahd can gaslight Clerics and Paladins and others into taking actions against the teachings and tenants of that players faith. Think of this as him employing the same forms of twisted logic that allow good people who believe they are doing righteous acts of good while actually committing atrocities. (Crusaders are good examples of this.)

Since Strahd can shut down the communication he may trick them into becoming excommunicated and thus having powers and abilities granted through the divine to be taken away.  This means the PC will have to find another deity or benefactor or make amends to their deity, which Strahd can prevent communication to. Thus leaving the PC in a crisis of faith and potentially powerless for a while until a replacement can be found.(The dark powers in the Amber Temple perhaps?) 

Strahd might say something like:

"I sense the power of evil growing in the lands you are in. I fear this evil is growing exponentially and will overcome all in those lands, and find a way to break free to spread its horrors into other realms. You must stop this evil now before it is too late. I shall grant you a boon of silver which you can find at (Insert location here). Another of the faithful hid it there long ago when they walked those same lands you now are in. (But really Strahd left it.) Go and destroy this threat before it is too late, you MUST be thorough as if even one is to escape; its evil nature will cause it to begin again. The weeds must be rooted out in order to prevent this.. Your task will not be easy and you may be tempted to stay your hand, but go with my blessing and know what this task, as hard as it will be, is for the greater good."

Good deities won't likely encourage genocide, even against Werewolves, or the Druids, and especially not against children. Good characters should take issue with this and have to contend with the morality of tis dilemma. If they go looking for further advice perhaps they get nothing, or worse, Strahd takes that call and offers advice.

"I see you are hesitant in this deed. That is good.. The taking of life and those who are unfortunately plagued should not be taken lightly. You were wise to seek me out again.. Tell me of what you witnessed and what has stayed your hand.." 

It really doesn't matter what they say.. Strahd can spin this towards the PC committing the act that goes against the beliefs of the faith as an exception, as a morally regrettable thing, but the right thing to do nonetheless.

"You are truly the ideal of what the faith stands for. Every great patron and saint has stood on the summit of morality that you not stand upon and contended with this very question. I wish I was able to directly intervene in this, as I would end the situation without unnecessary bloodshed, but the lands you have entered are governed by a great evil that does not permit me to directly interfere. So the deed falls to you.. The question you must answer is do the lives of the many outweigh the life of one innocent? I can see the future of this one. They will try to manage it, try to contain it, to prevent the worst from happening... But it will happen, thus is the nature of power wrought by evil and curses. They can not be used for good. Then the bloodshed and violence will start again and much strife will be inflicted upon the land.. The one you spare will ultimately succumb, it is inevitability of its nature and its fate.  

It is a horror and a cruelty, yet also a kindness to those who will suffer as a result. To set you at ease, know that these are questions even the gods have had to contend with. I shall honor your decision as you are my chosen in this land. Stay your hand and delay the inevitable death and destruction for a time. End the evil and you shall spare those who will never thank you for this deed, as they will never understand the horrors you prevented from befalling them.,, Rest assured that should you stay your hand, or put an end to the horror now, you do so with a clean consciousness in my eyes. The choice is yours and you must live with the decision as hard as that shall be." 

Of course this is all BS that Strahd is pushing the PC towards being excommunicated. Once the deed is done and the PC reaches out to their deity Strahd will likely allow them to commune with them and they will have a significantly different conversation. 

In Strahd's eyes, the only thing better than a demoralized member of the faith, is one who has been abandoned and is now powerless.

Now even if you don't want Strahd to impersonate a deity, he likely will still intercept attempts to communicate with one as he knows often faith based characters seek guidance from the gods in times of confusion and hardship. 

Strahd should attempt to demoralize and antagonize the PCs at every attempt at divine communication. He might say something like:

1. "Your god cannot help you here.. Here I am the only god you need."
2. "I am the Ancient, I am the Land, here all prayers are to me.. The Druids know this... Soon you will as well."
3. "Praying? Hhahahahaha!"
4. "Now I know where you are.."
5.  I know your thoughts and fears... I also know this of the ones you call friends.. Do you know which ones are entertaining the idea of betraying your group? I do.. 

5. Strahd doesn't engage in toe to toe fights unless he knows he has an advantage.

Strahd has a +14 on Stealth which means he  is built for surprise attacks, as should employ hit and run tactics on the players. Especially if they are in Castle Ravenloft.

Keep in mind that he also has the spell Greater Invisibility, which supports hit and run tactics. He can slip into a room, strike characters who are least armored while invisible and then slip out. Even if he isn't using magic the  +14 means he has a very good shot at surprising the PCs by making them chase him, hiding and then again using the hit and run tactic. 

6. Strahd already has buffs on him. AKA the Heart of Sorrow (Area K20)

Unless the PCs have already destroyed the Heart of Sorrow, Strahd has an extra 50 HPs. So Strahd is unlikely to cast additional buffs upon himself. 

PCs who learn about the Heart and head to the chamber will likely encounter a number of minions before they set foot into the tower itself. Keeping in mind that if Strahd knows the Heart has been damaged he sends Vampire Spawn to serve as additional guardians. It is a safe bet that he is actively doing this or already has taken this as a precautionary measure when the PCs arrive at the castle. 

Its is also worth noting that the stairs do not have guard rails, so falling is likely going to take a PC out of the fight. When the tower shakes the PCs need to roll a 10 Dexterity check to prevent from falling. So Vampire Spawn and Animated Halberds are likely to take a shot at knocking the PCs down she shaft. 

7. Strahd's Vampiric abelites and his spell selections compliment each other nicely.  

120ft of darkvision is beyond the radius of most light sources, even the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and the Sunsword. This is enough distance for him to literally see everything in almost every location in Castle Ravenloft. 

On top of this he has a passive perception of 22! So getting the drop on him from the shadows is nearly impossible. This also means he is EXTREMELY likely to notice something out of place in his own home. Sorry guys but an ambush in Castle Ravenloft isn't too likely to succeed. 

But lets look at that spell list and go over some tactics.

What makes the 120 ft of darkvision even better is that Strahd can use Prestidigitation cantrip to snuff out light sources giving him a nice advantage on PCs who can't see in total darkness. While Prestidigitation has a range of 10 ft. this is OK as Strahd can move in, use the cantrip and then attack. Another upside of that cantrip is that it lasts for an hour with no concentration required. So when he knows the PCs have entered Castle Ravenloft, he can cast the cantrip and is good to go. 

While many races won't be impacted by this, humans and any other race that doesn't have darkvision will. 

So Strahd attempts to sneak up using stealth, snuffs out the light on his surprise round, and makes his standards attacks upon the PCs in the dark. Two attacks and/or a bite. Effectively the PCs without darkvision are blind and attacks upon them have advantage. 

Given his attacks are +9 to strike, and with advantage, those attacks are likely going to land! 

This why the Sunsword is so useful in the final battle, it can't be snuffed out this way. 

8. Strahd doesn't waste his Legendary Resistances on mundane attacks. AKA the benefit of a high healing factor. 

It might be tempting to have Strahd shrug off some early spells tossed his way, but he isn't so foolish as to waste his get out of jail free cards on small hits. Instead Strahd will try to figure out what spell the caster was chanting and then he will evade the party to allow time for the spell to elapse. 

Strahd will likely do this multiple times to get the PCs to burn through spell slots.

Oh the Cleric put up Spiritual Guardians, OK time to move out of range and if he can't take shots from a distance, he can take off and come back in a few minutes when the spell has elapsed. He will allow the party to use up those spells against his minions.. After all he can always make more.

This might actually cause the PCs to think they have found a way to best Strahd..

"Hey when I cast that spell at Strahd he fled, we now know that works, we can do it again when he comes back."

What the players may not realize is this is exactly what Strahd WANTS the PCs to do. Keep this in mind:

So Strahd is likely going to play a cat and mouse game with the PCs all over Castle Ravenloft so he can whittle down their power, and regenerate his hit points. So he won't mind taking a couple of losses on saving throws, as he can escape the fight, recover for a couple of rounds or wait for the duration of the spell to end, then he can jump right back into the fight. 

The net result of this is Strahd keeping his Legendary Resistances, regenerating his lost HPs, and the PCs using up spell slots and getting minimal effect. 

Probably the ONLY time Strahd will use up a Legendary Resistance is if he FAILS at a CRUCIAL MOMENT/SAVE that would put him at risk of going down to zero HPs. This doesn't have to be damage, and likely it won't be, more likely it will be something that immobilizes Strahd and makes him a sitting duck. . 

9. Strahd knows he will win if he can keep the contest as a war of attrition. Especially at home where he can use Tag - Team Tactics.

Considering Strahd regenerates 20 HPs at the start of EVERY turn he that he wasn't hit with Radiant Damage, Holy Water and situations he doesn't find himself starting his turn in sunlight or running water, this means he recovers an astounding 200 HPs a minute!

Impressive since he doesn't even have that many HPs to begin with.

So every 48-54 seconds he is back at 100% health. With this in mind he uses Muhammad Ali's Rope-A-Dope tactics while in his castle. Engage for a few rounds and then move off to another point in the castle that forces the PCs to chase him. By the time they catch up to him Strahd likely has fully recovered and is using his stealth skill to hide so he can make another surprise attack. 

Yes this type of tactic also gives the PCs time to drink healing potions and cast spells, but it also means they are going through supplies and resources each round. Again he wants the PCs to use up the spells and supplies they brought with them. 

His goal should be to use this hit and run tactic on the tougher characters, or those who are better equipped than the others. Once this happens a couple of times the PCs are likely going to get wise to what Strahd is up to and may give chase.

This is where the other denizens and residents of Castle Ravenloft come into play. Keeping the pressure on the PCs while Strahd quickly recovers and returns a few rounds later. Think of it as a tag team in pro wrestling. One guy starts to get beat up so he swaps out with his partner who is fresh. 

10. Strahd is a tactical genius: He already has a game plan.

Strahd knows from his time as a field commander at war that if you can divide an enemy's forces, they are far easier to defeat So he will use a Divide & Conquer plan when possible. 

Lets take a look at one of his most powerful lair actions. No not passing through walls, not summoning a specter next to a PC, nor shadow demon creation of the PC's own shadow... I'm talking about this:

Now combine this with the Invisibility or his ability to hide using his +14 Stealth bonus and you have a horrible trap for the PCs. Last one out of a room in the marching order? You may have just won the lottery for being Strahd's next victim. His preferable targets will be any player with low strength, so likely this will include spell casters, and supporting classes like Bards. 

An even better scenario on this is if the party is fleeing from Strahd. He can cause this to trap the slowest player or whoever goes after him in the initiative order in that room. Best case scenario for Strahd is that his minions are chasing the rest of the party through the castle while one or two PCs get lost or left behind. They might have to survive a couple of rounds before the party can circle back.  

However if another resident in the castle broke up the marching order, they likely will be trying to drive the PCs off to prevent them from returning to rescue their ally. 

So what does Strahd do with the PC trapped in the room with him? 

Short answer is whatever he wants, perhaps he attacks and tries to bite the PC, or tries to kill them outright.. If the PC survives the first round in the room with Strahd and Strahd wins the initiative likely he will use this action. 

This is potentially a GAME ENDER for a PC. Missing this means Strahd will ask them to do something that is seriously going to minimalize their impact or potentially take them out of the fight overall. I recommend the following:

• Strahd asks them to disarm and meet him to have a polite chat in another location. (This should be some place that gets the PC away from his allies. The drawbridge, the crypts, the stables/carriage house, or any other remote locations in the castle where the PCs aren't.)
• This also works on PCs who have items that can harm Strahd. "Put that nasty Sunsword away.. Why don't we discuss this like civilized men over drinks? Please wait for me in my study."

He may even escort them via secret passages to an isolated location in the castle where he will leave them for later. This will effectively bench that PC until Strahd is ready to take care of them at a later time.

Strahd should also be using this ability frequently!

Note the description doesn't indicate the player is immune to the charm effect after they make a save. They simply are not charmed. Unlike other creatures that fail to charm the players the PC becomes immune to that ability, this isn't the case with Strahd. He gets to keep trying over and over again until it sticks.

Strahd can also use this to bite the PC since they are willing per the description. So lets say a PC fails his/her save. Strahd asks them to drop their weapons so they can chat, he then leads them away to another part of the castle where he mentions he has been too long without blood, and the willing PC allows Strahd to bite them. 

No roll to attack as the PC is willing, so they take the 1d6+4 piercing damage, but also 3d6 necrotic damage which lowers the PC's max hit points by that same amount.

The PC can attempt another saving throw, but if they fail that wisdom save Strahd can bite them again. "Thank you.. But I need a bit more.."  Strahd then bites them in a different spot doing the 1d6+4 and the 3d6 necrotic damages. 

Strahd and any other vampiric minion in the area will turn the PC into a chew toy and drain them dry as long as they keep blowing the wisdom saves. 

Tactically Strahd is likely more concerned about splitting up the party than draining them dry. I recommend the following locations to send the PCs once they are charmed and disarmed. 

• The Drawbridge - Strahd can have vampire spawn knock them off, down into the chasm below. Also players have a 5% chance of one of the boards breaking causing them to fall if they fail a DEX check. (DC 10) That fall is 1,000 ft which would be 100d6 damage. Strahd might even ask the PC to do a trust fall exercise. "Let's step off the bridge together, don't worry, hold on to me tight, after a brief drop I'll fly us back up. I need you to do this so you know I don't want anything bad to happen to you and that I can keep you safe." As they fall Strahd turns to mist leaving the PC falling with little to no chance of saving themselves. 
• Another option is to send the PC to area K78 the Brazier Room and have them use it to go to Tsloenka Pass. This isolates the PC miles away from the group and if they manage to get back to civilization they likely will realize they are the last member of the party alive. 
• Another good spot is to have the PC hide behind the portrait of Tatianna, this is where his secret treasury room is. 

11. Getting to Castle Ravenloft is not half the fun.

As mentioned before, Strahd keeps tabs on things in his lands via spies, the spell scry and informants. So unless the PCs have found a way to sneak across Barovia and into the castle, Strahd likely knows they are coming, and the reason for their visit.. 

Unless invited or given a significant reason, the PCs should be seeing attacks upon them becoming more frequent as they approach Castle Ravenloft. This is all designed to slow the PCs down, causing them to use up resources before they even set foot on the drawbridge. 

Another tactic I don't think most DM's have considered is that Strahd may not have the doors to the Castle wide open. What do the PCs do if the drawbridge is up?

Here is the description of area J Gates of Ravenloft in Chapter 2:

After winding through the forest and craggy mountain peaks, the road takes a sudden turn to the east and the startling, awesome presence of Castle Ravenloft towers before you. The carriage comes to a dead stop before twin turrets of stone, broken form years of exposure. Beyond these guard towers is the precipice of a fifty-foot-wide, fog filled chasm that disappears into unknown depths.

So the drawbridge being raised is an unexpected issue for the PCs to solve. Keeping in mind this is another ploy to get the PCs to waste resources. Even if someone just has to cast flight, it uses up another spell slot leaving the caster with one less.

If they camp outside the castle, trying to get a short or long rest to ensure they are nearly 100% going in, Strahd should have minions attack them every 3-4 hours, and thus ensuring they do NOT get a long rest. 

I recommend messing with the players and once they manage to make it into the courtyard, have the drawbridge lower on its own. This is Strahd sending a message to them that he is a step ahead and giving them a chance to chicken out. 

It's a total head game that is designed to make the players question the plan they came up with. 

12. Castle Ravenloft has quite a number of residents the PCs can't plan on as they are random.

It isn't just the named NPCs that the players have to contend with. Whenever they enter an unoccupied room they have not visited/cleared before, they have a 15% chance of a random encounter. 

The upside is that it is not all bad.. Here is a breakdown:

Good - 10.5%

• 1d4 Barovian Commoners
• Ezmeralda

Bad - 63.15%

• Barovian Witch
• Broom of Animated Attack
• 2d6 Crawling Claws
• Crawling Strahd Zombie
• 1d4 Flying Swords
• Rahadin
• 1d6 Shadows
• Strahd
• 1d6 Swarms of Bats
• 1d4+1 Vampire Spawn
• 1d4+1 Vistani Thugs
• 1d4 Wights

Neither Good nor Bad - 26.31

• Black Cat
• Blinksy Toy
• Giant Spider Cocoon - Could go good or bad if the PCs open it up.
• Trinket
• Unseen Servant

While none of these are likely to be a game ender, they can get in lucky hits and further the plan of slowly wearing down the PCs to make them easy pickings for Strahd later on.

13. The known residents are likely not known by the PCs going in.

Lets face it.. The castle is dangerous.. REALLY dangerous.. Nearly every room has something sinister weather it be a trap, a monster or a random encounter.. Entering Castle Ravenloft via the front door is almost a suicide attempt for un prepared PCs.

Take a look at the main entryway.. Area K7  

Four Dragon Wyrmlings are situated here... But they do nothing unless the PCs attempt to leave. 

If anyone except Strahd enters this area through the doors that adjoin area K8, the dragons come alive, drop to the floor hissing and spitting, and attack. The dragons don't attack characters who enter this area from area K1, heading east. The dragons are four red dragon wyrmlings, and they have instructions to allow guests to enter the castle, but not to leave it. If intruders vacate this area, the dragons fly up to their perches and revert to stone. In their stone forms, they are impervious to weapon damage. The dragons never leave the room.

In Area K8 which is near the main entrance there are eight gargoyles that do not initially attack.  They can simply observe until all the PCs have entered the castle and use their False Appearance ability.

If the players have visited the castle they may have seen these and simply dismissed them as decorations. 

Effectively this serves to prevent the PCs from pulling a "Retreat & Regroup" tactic. It's fine for them to walk into the castle.. But leaving is not permitted. 

I'd give this some flavor text... 

"The Master does not give you permission to leave and insists you remain.."

So even if they make it past the eight gargoyles, they will still have four dragon wyrmlings to deal with on the way out.. This is really bad if Strahd charms a PC and asks them to wait for him at the main door to the castle. Effectively he is feeding that PC to these two rooms that will tear apart a single PC on their own.. 

Unlike the Dragon Wyrumlings in K7 the gargoyles will peruse the PCs. They are likely going to let them move towards the K7 as they know the red dragon wyrmlings will attack once the PCs enter that room as well. So this means they are likely to attack remaining PCs in numbers. 

The 2 Strahd Zombies in area K28 don't react until touched or a PC comes within attack range of them. While this seems like a trap keep in mind that they are described as "slouching" in the thrones. No other description is given. 

While not RAW (Rules As Written) a clever GM could make one of the zombies holding something, or if they lost a PC or a NPC they liked they could have them sitting in one of the thrones in order to encourage the PCs to come closer to inspect the body. 

While these standard minions are trouble, none on that level may pose the threat that this guy poses.

This is Leif Leipseig and is in area K30 - Which they can easily get to by climbing the K21 Staircase

When the PCs go to him he is going to likely rase an alarm alerting the others in the castle to the PCs location, and causing the castle to go into a high alert status. Leif raises this alarm by pulling on a rope and a loud gong is heard throughout. 

1d6 rounds later monsters show up and the PCs have a 25% chance of running into the following:

• 1d6 shadows

• 1d4 vampire spawn

• 1d4 wights

• 1 Wraith and 1d4+1 specters

At this point I should also bring up Helga Ruvak in area K32

 Her normal plan if she is discovered first is to claim to have been kidnapped and forced into service Strahd. If she wins the PC sympathies and is allowed to join she bides her time until an opportunity presents itself where she doesn't have to take on all the PCs.  

Likely she will suggest fleeing down through the main doorway causing the encounter with the Gargoyles and the Red Dragon Wyrmlings.  

If she hears the alarm she will know of the intruders and likely get ready to take action. Recall the game plan here is the divide and conquer.  Getting stuck in a room with Helga is one way to make this tactic work out. She isn't going toe to toe with a group where she is outnumbered. Her play should be to lead the PCs through K25 down the steps to K18 and then down the second set of Steps to K8 where the Gargoyles attack. 

At this time of one of the PCs use the sunsword she will feign fear of the Gargoyles and run back up the steps and wait for PCs to move up to area K19. If one of the PCs flees up that way she will lie to them telling them she knows a place where they can hide. She will then lead the PC through the secret door in K26 to her chamber K32. 

Once there she might feign hysterics that there is "No escaping this neverending nightmare." in an attempt to have the PC lower their guard and comfort her. The she attacks when pulled in close. 

Once she has a player isolated, or if a PCs is KO'ed in the fight against the Gargoyles she will finish them off. 

If the PCs don't take her up on her escape plan she will agree to go along and once a PC is KO'ed she will move in to finish them off. Once she has been revealed as a vampire she will resort to hit and run tactics keeping near the PCs but not engaging with them directly, just stalking them and hoping the castle weakens them or knocks one of them out so she can finish them off.

If an opportunity arises for her to swipe items, weapons or supplies from the party she will take it. Even if it is something minor she will take it.. "Please give me a dagger.. Something to defend myself.. I fear what Rahadin will do if he finds me with you."

Last but not least she isn't going to fight until the bitter end.. She knows the layout of the castle and will flee if she starts to get hurt to allow her regeneration to kick in and then come back again. 

This also brings us to another resident of the castle. Gertruda in area K42

While Gertruda isn't a threat to the PCs being she is just an ordinary kid, a viable tactic for Team Ravenloft is to grab her as a hostage. The goal here is to delay the PCs from moving about the castle while whoever holds Gertruda yells "STAY BACK! I MEAN IT!"  This gives the other residents in the castle the opportunity to rally and converge on that location, while keeping the PCs in one place. 

So this isn't just a chance to RP a hostage situation, and a moral dilemma, but also a tactic actively being deployed to close in and eliminate the PCs.

We should also talk about area K46 which is really a good option for players to sneak into the castle and avoid the main entrances. Flying up and landing on the roof or walls of the parapet is a smart way to avert detection. Especially if the final fight location with Strahd is in the upper floors of the castle.

Walking along the walls however is Strahd's Animated Armor. 

The armor has 60 ft blindsight and does 3d6 lightning damage as a ranged attack with a +4 to hit and it gets advantage on this attack if the enemy is wearing metal armor. With an AC of 21 this is a BEAST of a monster. The armor can just sit back and fry someone from a distance. This is the key, the armor doesn't need to engage in melee at first.. It should want the PC to try to close the gap so it can take free shots at them. 

So let the players close the distance gap, they are only going to find it gets worse close up. The armor gets +6 doing 2d6+3 damage and another 1d6 lightning damage. 

So this is another opportunity to lead the players into a trap by one of the residents. Helga in particular might want them to follow her on to the parapet claiming to know a secret way out to avoid traps. She and the other members of the castle know the armor patrolls the walls, so they can draw them out knowing the armor will be waiting. 

Escher in K49 is another interesting character.. The book says if attacked he hurls himself out a window and goes running to Strahd if the PCs attack.

Another planned tactic here. Escher will allow the PCs to chase him through the castle, going the long way and trying to get them to activate traps as they go. He will use the dash action to ensure the PCs have to follow with the dash and don’t have a chance to check for traps. (They have passive perception but at a negative.)

Even if the PCs don’t chase Escher there is a 50% chance a vampire spawn outside the castle notices the open window and investigates. Either way the PCs are going to have to contend with another encounter that will slowly wear them down.

Depending on how much noise the PCs make, this could alert the witches in area K56.

Speaking of whom.. They should be alert to the PCs presence in the castle. The PCs shouldn’t be able to get a drop on them. Aside from being alerted to noise from below, and a potential random encounter with a familiar, the three witches have three familiars located in K54. This is understandable, but they are leaving the secret door unguarded.

I’d assume the witches would move one familiar to K55 to keep an eye on the trap door so nobody is able to sneak in the back door.

That being said, the seven witches should be able to assess the PCs' state before fighting them. If they look beat up they will use the invisibility tactic in the book. And if the PCs don’t get killed by the book or cauldron, they can cast sleep to try to render one unconscious.

For PCs who are healthy, attacking them is kind of a bad idea, especially when they have Ray of Sickness and Ray of Frost available. Also the invisibility wears off when they attack or cast a spell. So if the seven witches want to stay hidden that works, but if they need to fight and either kill or capture the PCs, then it is not a good tactic.

A better one would be to hold an action once they are alerted by the familiar to the presence of the PCs and then blast them with Ray of Sickness or Ray of Frost when they enter the room.

K57 is also another place where the PCs could have a random encounter.. Knocking a PC off the tower will do either 8d6 (If they fall to the roof below, or 19d6 if they hit the courtyard.)

K58 also requires players to make a DC 10 Save or fall 60 ft to a roof (6d6 damage) So another viable tactic is to have a witch to flee up the steps at K48 while still invisible and wait in ambush in area K20. If another witch comes up she knows the intruders have been dealt with. If not then she has the chance to get the drop on the PCs.

Moving on to K62 - Cyrus will set off traps if the PCs don’t just outright kill him. But that he is encountered here and has a key that opens up a chest in one of the towers might be enough to convince a PC if his life is threatened..

“Spare me.. Please.. Look.. I give you this key… It opens a chest.. It’s hidden in one of the wine casks in the cellar. Please let me go…”

Of course this is a trick.. Cyrus will be sending them on a wild goose chase hoping they get hurt by either the black pudding or yellow mold in the wine cellar.

The main hell hole here is the Crypts. K84 is nothing short of a killing ground for the residents of Castle Ravenloft. Now if the party is foolish enough to follow a resident, or even worse give chase to a resident fleeing to the crypts they are doomed.

Now if Strahd can’t manage to get the divide and conquer tactic to work, he simply lures them down here and on his turns passes through a wall and opens a crypt from the inside releasing whatever monster was inside. Other household members would be opening the crypts from the outside.

Here is whom they can release:

• A ghost that possesses a characters and then goes and commits suicide.

• Evil spirit that animates gargoyles

• 15 wights that an individual player can be teleported to. Oh and if you kill one of the wights in its crypt, it animates 2d6 skeletons

• 1 of Strahd’s wives who is a vampire spawn

• a banshee that when unleashed can move up to 80 ft via the dash action and pass through solid objects.. Good luck escaping that thing!

• Brown mold

• six ghouls

• three hellhounds and a wraith

• Last but not lest a Nightmare

One capable foe just needs to go about opening up these crypts and unleashing this horde of monsters upon a party.

If that wasn’t enough there are 2 Poison traps, more poison via wolf spiders, a fire trap, a spike trap in some of the other crypts. In fact if the party is chasing Strahd he may lure them into crypts he knows have poison traps in order to weaken them. (Disadvantage on attack and skill checks.)

Bottom line is that Strahd isn’t going to take on the party all by himself. He is going to use everything and everyone in his castle to ensure he wins.

Like the Story Overview Section states at the beginning of the book:

The adventure ends when either Strahd von Zarovich or the characters are defeated. Your goal is to keep Strahd in play for as long as possible, using all the abilities and resources at his disposal.