Strahd is smart.

1. Strahd's combat tactics should adapt to the players. He should figure out the party's
weaknesses and target them explicitly. For example, a party with lots of single-target
damage but little AoE capabilities will struggle with large hosts of weak enemies.
2. Strahd has long-since figured out that something is sabotaging his efforts to get Tatyana.
This is why he doesn't just punch the party's teeth in and snatch her the moment they
walk away from Barovia Town. "Grab her and turn her into a vampire" hasn't worked in
700 years, the PCs (as a wildcard not native to Barovia) present an opportunity to try
more creative solutions.
3. Strahd is extremely well-informed. Between his spies, ability to Scry, and ability to
Charm people for information, it should be rare that he is unaware of something.
4. Strahd should not make stupid mistakes. If he ever lays hands on the Villain Ball, I have
done something wrong.

Strahd is a General

1. Strahd's tactical acumen applies to any monsters he is commanding. The party should be
able to tell when Strahd is directly in charge of enemies they are fighting because they
will be drawn into ambushes and kill-boxes, be outflanked regularly, and have to deal
with enemies targeting squishy party members first.
2. Strahd is very familiar with mixed-unit tactics and should use them. Look for tactical
synergy between monsters under his control and exploit it. For example: zombie meat-
shields backed up by skeleton archers and/or using wolves to run down the PCs and
knock them Prone so slower units (like Vampire Spawn or Zombies) can catch up.
3. Strahd is familiar with the effectiveness of Magic as tactical support. The party should
encounter Strahd-commanded monsters that have been magically buffed by spellcasters
who didn't stick around for the actual fight
4. Strahd is familiar with the role of terrain in combat. The party should never have a
terrain-based advantage when fighting Strahd-commanded forces, and Strahd should
bring units well-suited to the environment. For example, if Strahd has the druids throw a
horde of Blights at the party, they should attack on open terrain with no choke-points. In
terrain with significant elevation differences, archers should be positioned on high-
ground

Strahd is a wizard with access to every single spell in the game

If there's a 5th level or lower spell in the books that looks useful to Strahd, he has access to it.

Strahd has absurd Ambush capabilities

1. He has the home-field advantage. He may have nests of monsters hidden all over the
valley (like the Vampire Spawn in the coffin-maker's attic) that he can deploy. He has
also had centuries to familiarize himself with the terrain to pick out good spots for an
ambush. It's entirely possible for him to have minions he hid so long ago that all traces of
 their hiding place are gone (such as burying Zombies somewhere long enough ago that
grass grew over their hidey hole).
2. He, personally, has absurd stealth capabilities between a very high Stealth check and the
ability to go Invisible
3. Beucephalus allows him and his minions to travel via the Ethereal Plane...which is almost
entirely imperceptible and completely intangible to people on the Material Plane and lets
them ignore pesky things like walls. Bear in mind that Beucephalus can only move 3
willing creatures back and forth at a time. (Note: 'Charmed' can quickly become
'Willing.')

Strahd is Bored

With all the advantages Strahd has, if he wanted the party dead...they'd be dead. But, Strahd has
been living in Barovia for centuries and there's nothing native to the valley that actually threatens
him. Adventurers are a rare opportunity for him to find some entertainment. Strahd's
entertainment primarily consists of terrorizing people and corrupting 'good' things. This all
manifests in a few ways...

1. Strahd is not actually bothered when his plans don't work. Instead, he's impressed
because it's something novel. He may congratulate the party on their accomplishment.
2. Strahd's plans are not always about achieving a tangible objective. For example, the Feast
of St. Andrals is not some rare opportunity to get rid of a thorn in his side. If he really
wanted the bones gone, they'd have been gone ages ago. He has lots of minions that are
unaffected by holy ground (like cultists, druids, and werewolves) who could steal them
and dispose of them much more thoroughly than hiding them in some old dude's closet.
Rather, the plan was more about Henrik, Milivoj, and Yeska. Three people who don't
serve Strahd that were manipulated into doing something that put the lives of a large
number of people in danger and almost destroyed the one 'safe place' in the valley. Even
leaving the bones in Henrik's closet was deliberately aimed to taunt him with the fact of
"You could fix this at any time, but you are too cowardly to risk it." And they get to deal
with the knowledge of what they did for the rest of their lives.
3. Cities provide no actual protection from Strahd. None of them are actually capable of
defending themselves against him and his forces. They continue to exist because he wants
them to. After all, it's a lot more convenient when your food-stock takes care of itself and
tends to its own pens. If Strahd decides a city needs to go, it's history. (The half-dozen
Vampire Spawn that Strahd dropped in the coffin-maker's shop could, most likely, take
out the entire guard force by themselves. 24 guards and a pallisade really isn't much in
the way of viable defenses against a Vampire Lord.)
4. Strahd is trying to draw things out. Until the party reaches the 'too dangerous to let live'
stage, he won't actively try to kill PCs. If they just happen to die, then oh well, guess they
weren't going to be interesting anyway.
5. Strahd's campaign against the PCs should be psychological warfare heavy.

Strahd is a Prisoner
For all his power, for all his might...Strahd is a prisoner in the lands of Barovia. With his
permission, anyone can safely leave Barovia--except for him. He is both Lord of Barovia, and
the inmate that can never leave.

• Strahd has an ancient agreement with the Vistani, giving them free passage through his
lands. In exchange, they act as informants for him. (Some Vistani serve him directly, but
this is not the norm.) This is how he gets news from the outside if he is interested.
• Strahd is aware that something more powerful than him is toying with him, and is trying
to find a way to break their grip on him.

Strahd Is The Land

Strahd has an intrinsic tie to Barovia, this has a few effects.

• Weather conditions conspire to favor Strahd. This can mean anything from him getting
Dramatic Cracks of Thunder whenever he wants them, to having a heavy rain or fog
obscuring sight and sound when he wants to be sneaky, to just making people he doesn't
like miserable.
• On a grand scale, Strahd can alter the environment. Historically, he used this power to
destroy the town of Berez by flooding it and permanently turning it into a swamp. This is
part of why you cannot successfully defend a town that Strahd wants to destroy...he can
turn the environment against it. (Flood Vallaki, take Krezk out with an avalanche, etc)
• Strahd technically owns everything in the entire valley; he does not need an invitation to
enter a home. This is a trump card for him, though--and not something he reveals lightly.
Also, he still maintains some noble sensibilities--it's rude to just barge into someone's
home without an invitation.

Creative Tactics

Because of Strahd's capabilities, he has tactical options not available to your average
enemy...particularly when he is acting as a commander.

Fun and Games with Beucephalus

Beucephalus, despite getting only an extremely minor mention in the book, is incredibly
useful...as such, I upgraded him a bit in my game. Strahd put forth the effort to acquire Barding
for the horse, upping its AC to 18. So, given this, lets look at some options...

• Strahd is faster than you: With a mount that flies at 90', Strahd is the fastest moving thing
in the valley apart from the Rok. He can easily beat the party to any location he wants to
beat them to.
• Perfect Infiltration: Beucephalus can transport Strahd and/or several minions via the
Ethereal Plane into otherwise-impossible-to-access locations and drop them off. It is
impossible for them to be seen coming.
• Perfect Ambush: Can move allied creatures into an ambush location, then they all Ready
Actions to attack the moment the are shifted to the Material.
 • Tactical repositioning: Beucephalus can pull allies into the Ethereal, relocate them, then
pop back into the Material with them on the next round. This allows him to move allied
creatures past choke points, barricades, and other obstacles. This can be paired with the
'Perfect Ambush' option to dogpile a vulnerable character.
• It's raining monsters: This takes some prep-work, but Beucephalus can be used to lead a
parade of creatures through the Ethereal to points near the PCs. Beucephalus then goes
from point to point, popping these monsters back to the Material Plane, delivering a
moderate force to a location without any sign of their approach. Easily usable to fill
houses with monsters to all come pouring out to attack the PCs once the time is right. For
a bit of hilarity, make this literal. The monsters all stand above the combat point, and
Beucephalus starts transporting them back to the Material, allowing them to literally rain
down on the PCs.

Using Beucephalus is not without risks. If he is destroyed then any creatures presently on the
Ethereal are stranded there. This is another good reason for Strahd to have devil-summoning
spells, as he may get stranded on the Ethereal and need to temporarily summon up another
Nightmare to get himself out. An alternative possibility is to make it that Beucephalus cannot be
properly killed...if killed, Strahd can resummon it in 24 hours. Pulling in a magic item from
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (Infernal Tack) could be used with this--if you want to get rid of
Beucephalus, you need to get the spurs that summon him and bind him to Strahd. Without them,
he can't summon the Nightmare (and if you're evil...maybe now you can).

Confusion Tactics

If Strahd gets to prepare the battlefield, perhaps he sets some things up in advance.

• Illusory Terrain to hide natural or unnatural (like pit traps) perils

• Cast Seeming to disguise creatures as something they aren't. This could be anything from
making monsters look like normal people, to making them look like other sorts of
monster. Ghouls disguised as Zombies, Skeletons disguised as Vampire Spawn (see how
fast the PCs run). Disguising a mob of undead as a mob of bandits may trick the party's
divine casters into not attempting to Turn them...or vice versa, getting the divine caster to
waste an Action trying to Turn humanoids.
• Illusory body doubles. Illusion spells can be used to make a minion look like him, or
himself look like one of his minions. As a 'cheating to get out of defeat free' aside...in the
event that your PCs get off a bunch of lucky crits and 'lay Strahd out,' you could always
retroactively decide that they took out a illusion-cloaked body double, not the real thing.
Or use it for a bait and switch...throw a Vampire Spawn magicked to look like Strahd at
them and let them kill it. While the PCs stand there going 'wtf, that was it?' the real thing
pops up and flattens the party.
• Employ the use of bait--fake and legitimate. Charm, Suggest, or Force random innocents
into positions that will draw the PCs into a trap. Or polymorph a monster into looking
like an innocent for the same purposes.

Playing with Charm

A vampire's charm is very powerful, but has its limits. While you see Strahd as your dear friend
and are incapable of trying to do him harm--it doesn't mean you aren't still friends with the other
PCs. If he's going to Charm you into betraying your friends, he has to make them not your
friends first. However, Strahd does not have to be in humanoid form to use Charm. Charming
people as a bat is perfectly functional.

• Charm the bearer of the Sunsword. Politely ask them to turn it off, as it is hurting him.
Then, unleash some sob-story about how that sword belonged to his dearly beloved
brother and he has been looking for it for ages and oh wouldn't the PC let him return the
sword to his brother's grave. It would give him so much closure to have finally recovered
the last of his brother's most precious belongings. (Note: Nothing said in that statement is
a lie as long as Strahd takes the sword back to his brother's grave before trying to destroy
it.)
• Pre-Charm some PCs before a fight breaks out. Enjoy the chaos as members of the party
are trying to break up the fight rather than trying to kill him.
• Charm a PC then use Sending or Rary's Telepathic Bond to send them secret messages
and instructions.
• Have conversations with Charmed PCs. Plant ideas in their heads that their other 'friends'
don't appreciate them. Or that they don't trust them.
• Remember that Charm works on NPCs, too. He can Charm an otherwise neutral NPC
into trying to break up a fight or fighting on his side so the PCs end up either killing an
innocent person, or being paranoid about whether or not any humanoid they are fighting
against is actually doing it of their own will and always going for non-lethal. Couple this
with Illusions for extra chaos.

Making Strahd seem omniscient (without cheating)

One of the scariest things about Strahd, in my mind, is when the players start to believe he is all-
knowing. When they start to believe that he truly is the land, and that they can't hide their actions
from him. In truth, Strahd is not all-knowing--but he likes people to think he is. While it is fully
possible to just cheat and make Strahd know things, I find it more fun to look at how he can
actually seem omniscient

• Use Detect Thoughts to have Strahd finish people's sentences for them. Or have him ask
them questions, then he vocalizes the answer to that question if they don't respond.
• Pair Charm with Modify Memory to interview characters (PCs and NPCs) without their
knowledge. Strahd Charms them, asks them questions for less than 10 minutes, then
wipes the event from their memory. He could gain some extremely personal information
about PCs this way.
• Spies. Spies everywhere. They don't even have to be malicious or even all that active--
they don't need to follow the players around or act suspicious. They might just be some
rando Barovian that got an unpleasant visit and offered something (even if that something
was "I won't feed you to my wolves") in exchange for reporting anything they happen to
learn about Outsiders. Most Barovians are flatly terrified of Strahd--it wouldn't be hard at
all for him to press some into service for little things like that.
 • When scrying, choose your targets cleverly. If the PCs are hanging out with someone
who serves Strahd, target that person (as they'll auto-fail voluntarily). If your party travels
with animals (like horses), target them instead of a PC. It's a lot easier to get hair from the
party's horse while it's in a stable than it is to get hair from a PC. Still, try to get a lock of
hair (or other sheddable body-part, like scales) from each PC. If the PCs all go down in a
fight...perhaps rather than making it a TPK, they all wake up with missing bits of hair.
• Spies on the Ethereal Plane. Strahd has Beucephalus pop a minion onto the Ethereal
Plane and has them follow the party around for a while. Perhaps he always has a spy
camping them from the Ethereal, and they just rotate out to go back and report to him.
• Moles. The book tends to call out that humanoids allied to Strahd are pretty open about
their allegiance. This is dumb. Sure, maybe some of them are all rah-rah-Strahd-forever!
But some are certainly aware that they can better serve their master if their allegiance is
secret. Have individuals who are servants of Strahd be friendly--have them lie about their
allegiance (or tell an 'exact words' falsehood where the words they say are technically
true, but intended to mislead). Do stuff that aids the PCs but doesn't hamper Strahd
(much). Then they can happily report to Strahd all the information that the PCs freely
give them, because they trust them now. In my game, I did this with the Vistani near
Vallaki. The PCs like them and quite trust Luvash (finding him to be a very entertaining
character because he's this massive thug-looking guy who is obviously wrapped around
his daughter's finger) to the point of letting him sneak them into Vallaki and watch their
horse while they are in there. Naturally, Luvash has acquired some horse-hair for his
master's scrying spells at this point.

Effects of this

• If the party comes up with some sort of pass-phrase or sign to prove it's really them,
check to see if they are being observed when they decide on it. If so, Strahd now knows
the 'trick' they came up with to confirm their identity.
• Strahd is not surprised by plans or tricks that the players come up with. If they sit around
working out a strategy for fighting him, he knows what their plan is. In fact, he may
develop plans specifically to counter them.
• If a planned deception was discussed out loud by the PCs, Strahd knows about it. The
only way to have a real chance at deceiving him is to do it off-the-cuff, or at least never
discuss it out loud.

There are countermeasures to this, but your players will have to figure them out...if they realize
what's happening in the first place.

Stages of Interest

In my game, I gauge Strahd's current interest in the party in 5 levels. The more attention Strahd
is paying to you, the more dangerous your life becomes.

Stage 1: Aware
The party has only recently arrived in Barovia and hasn't done anything of note yet. Strahd is
aware that they exist because he is aware of anyone who enters his domain, but isn't paying
much attention to them. Basically, they need to prove they aren't just going to bite it the first time
a couple zombies jump them before he's going to bother paying attention. At this point...

• Strahd continues business as normal. If the party encounters him at this point, it's
coincidental--he was somewhere doing something, and they just happened to be there at
the same time. The Feast of St. Andrals is an example of such a potential encounter.
• Vistani and other allies of Strahd will report to him anything they learn about the PCs,
but Strahd is making no special effort to investigate them.
• If they encounter creatures Strahd controls, he is not commanding them.

Stage 2: Interested

The party has performed some unexpected or impressive feat (thwarting a plan, killing a
powerful creature, acquiring a relic, etc.) and Strahd has deemed them worth his attention. At
this point, he is primarily gathering information.

• Spies start trying to steal a personal effect or bit of hair from the PCs to boost the efficacy
of Strahd's Scrying spell. Randomly call for Wisdom saves from the party to represent his
attempts to scry on them (definitely don't tell them why they are saving).
• If a PC is isolated at some point, Strahd may attempt to interview them. He approaches
them in bat form and tries to Charm them. If successful, he takes humanoid form and has
a chat. He wants to know more about them and their companions, and asks questions to
that effect. He keeps the interview short, then tries to use Modify Memory to wipe the
conversation from the PC's head. In play, simply call for Wisdom Saves from the isolated
player and don't tell anyone anything if they fail both (perhaps tell the player outside of
the game if you want to let them RP out their (forgotten) discussion with Strahd. Strahd
can use the same trick on NPCs that the party is friendly with.
• Strahd will observe the party in combat while invisible/ethereal/as a bat/etc. He may
throw a mixed or buffed unit at them and command it, just to see how they fare.
• This is when Strahd sends them the invitation to dinner. I recommend having a look at
elven tower's guide on Dinner with Strahd, as it is much better than what's in the book.
• If you plan to plant a Strahd-serving mole in the party, now's the time.

Stage 3: Active Interference

Strahd has gathered enough information, and now it's time to have fun. This is the stage that
Strahd will be in for most of the adventure. He is seeking to corrupt the PCs, manipulate them
into helping him bypass whatever it is that is keeping him from Ireena, break their spirits, or
whatever else he deems suitable for a given PC. This will be broken up into two parts...

Changes to life for the party

 • Enemies should behave more intelligently and mixed units should start becoming more
common. However, more intelligent creatures may intentionally leave downed creatures
alive (deal non-lethal KO damage), because Strahd isn't done with them yet
• Strahd himself may pick fights with them, just to kick them around a bit. Always have
multiple escape plans in mind.
• Strahd's pyschological warfare goals are primarily focused on sowing distrust and
paranoia among the PCs. If a particular PC seems susceptible to betraying their friends,
he focuses on isolating that character. Additionally, if he can get them to do something
'evil' then points to him.

Example ideas for ways Strahd may interact

• Strahd gives the party a quest. The quest is to do something that is objectively good (such
as saving children from Old Bonegrinder/Werewolves or restoring the winery). He
doesn't really care if they succeed or not, he just wants to see what they'll do. Do they
refuse the quest because of its source? Are they second-guessing themselves the whole
way? Do they do the opposite of what he asked them to do?
• Strahd continues information gathering. If he catches a PC or allied NPC alone, he does
the same he did during Stage 2, but may also bite them as well. That way, they go back to
the party with a bite mark on their neck and no knowledge of how it got there. Which a
paranoid party may take as a sign of untrustworthiness or outright collusion.
• Charm a party member or allied NPC, then use Sending or a pre-established Rary's
Telepathic Bond to get them to do suspicious things or things harmful to the party. As
Strahd does not need to be in humanoid form to Charm targets, he can establish the
Charm as a bat.
• Use Seeming to 'replace' someone (or multiple someones). For example, sneak into the
Blue Water Inn and temporarily incapacitate the Martikovs and some or all of the
patrons. Replace them with cultists (for anyone the party needs to talk to) and undead, all
masked into looking 'normal' with Seeming. When the party realizes something is off,
attack. Seeming doesn't drop just because combat started, so this will cause all manner of
chaos. For extra fun, have a few genuinely uninvolved innocents mixed in there, just to
see if the freaked out PCs end up killing innocent bystanders.
• Use Seeming on the party--make them look like monsters or Vampire Spawn. Enjoy the
fact that they are stuck out in the wilderness for the night, or getting attacked by allies. Or
even other PCs.
• Alternately, Strahd can use Disguise Self or Alter Self to personally replace an individual
for the purpose of talking with the PCs--he may even replace a PC for a short while. For
example, if he catches a PC alone he can incapacitate them and hand them off to a
minion. He takes their form and returns to the party, and continues along with them for a
short while. In a short while, they happen upon a coffin lying in the road...just as they
arrive, the actual PC wakes up inside the coffin. Strahd lets the "who is the real one!?"
drama play out for a moment, then drops the disguise, thanks the party for their company,
and departs.
• Strahd sends a PC a bag of money with a note, thanking them for some obscure 'service.'
• Strahd may start making subtle overtures towards a PC he thinks he can corrupt
• Adopt a disguised 'role' that he plays, and be friendly with the NPCs.
 • Try to get the PCs to dislike/distrust the actual decent people in the valley and make
friends with Strahd's servants. (In my game so far, the PCs are very buddy-buddy with
the Vistani that live outside Vallaki). In the case of the Vistani, make up some BS about
how Strahd has a non-aggression pact with them as part of their 'we can come and go
freely from Barovia.' Make them think that their Vistani 'allies' are the only folk in the
valley that are 'safe' from Strahd. NOTE: Strahd's servants are smart enough to keep their
true allegiance a secret.

Stage 4: Break Them

Strahd is ready to start breaking his toys now. Continue anything he was doing in Stage 3, but
turn it up to 11.

• If Strahd has found a PC he can isolate from the rest, his goal with them is to make it so
that this person dislikes their 'allies' enough that, while charmed, he can command them
to turn on their friends. Perhaps even get them to do it voluntarily.
• Capitalize on any seeds of distrust and paranoia planted in Stage 3. Make note of what
worked and what didn't, and double down on the points that worked.
• Strahd begins using creative combat tactics (see below) on a regular basis, and many foes
will be under his command. He may even directly lead strike teams to harm the party.

Additional example ideas for how Strahd may interact

• Dominate someone the party likes and force them to attack the party
• Make offers to the party (such as 'Bring me Ireena and I'll let you leave.'). If possible,
manipulate/lie about the results of agreement or disagreement.
• Allow them to find a suit of armor...either the presently-inert Animated Armor in the
Tower of Khazan, or Strahd's Animated Armor. The armor has been throughly worked
over with Nystul's Magic Aura to hide its true nature. Let them enjoy the armor...then, in
the final battle, activate the armor.
• Spread rumors to lead PCs to cursed items (such as the Staff of Frost in the Amber
Temple) that may corrupt them
• Manipulate someone (non-evil) into setting the Assassin bound to the magic mirror on
one of the PCs. Charm them while in disguise and lie to them about what the mirror does
(tell them it will summon a spectral warrior to go to the PCs' aid if they speak the rhyme
and say a PC's name.)
• If the Revenants at Argynvostholt are still around, see to it that they find out the PCs are
aiming to kill Strahd.
• Use Dream to harass a PC, hiding the fact that Strahd is sending the dream. If targeting a
Cleric or Paladin, make it seem like a Dream from their deity, informing them that Strahd
cannot be killed, they can only seek to redeem him. Or that Strahd must live on and
suffer, rather than being killed. Alternately, give them a Dream about Madame Eva
sending them an 'extra prophecy' to aid them along their way. In short, give them dreams
that give them disruptive/false information.
 • If the PCs have experience with Strahd replacing people, use Suggestion to get an NPC
the PCs know well to behave in a way that is out of character for them...see if the PCs'
paranoia fires off and makes them harm/kill a friend.
• Use Seeming to make innocents look like monsters, try to get the PCs to attack them.
Drop the spell after about half of them are dead.
• If the party has acquired any of the Relics, use trickery and other people to try to take it
from them.
• Spread copious amounts of misinformation throughout the valley. Rumors that the
sunsword is cursed to gradually overtake the mind of its wielder, that overuse of the Holy
Symbol of Ravenkind will turn you into a Raven, that one of the PCs or someone they
know was seen conversing with a vampire spawn in the middle of the night (when the
rest of the party was in bed), rumors of powerful useful things in the mountains to the
North, rumors of a cult in Krezk, and so on. Just make up a bunch of bull-crap and spread
it around. The best part with this is that no Insight check can prove these false...because
the PCs are hearing this information second or third-hand, likely from someone who
believes it to be true...Insight or even Zone of Truth doesn't help you against someone
who is simply wrong.

Stage 5: Obliterate

The party is too dangerous to be left alive or has enraged Strahd. He wants them dead. The
gloves are off. However, Strahd is still a highly intelligent and successful general. He's not going
to just hurl himself at them in a wild fury and immediately fight to the death. No, he's going to
wear them down and deplete their resources--so that when he goes for the kill, it's easy. This is
how you force the final confrontation...the PCs' best move is to go on the offensive as soon as
possible--the longer they wait around while Strahd is doing this, the harder their life is going to
become.

• Strahd is done playing. If he thinks a PC can be corrupted, he makes his move. If not,
they die.
• Strahd knows how dangerous the PCs have become and begins using attrition-style
warfare to wear them down. Attacks against the PCs are always conducted with a goal in
mind: Kill that character, acquire that item, destroy that location, etc. Strahd can always
make more undead, he can always turn new Vampire Spawn. If he sacrifices a half-dozen
Spawn and a large number of zombies to get his hands on the Sunsword or kill a single
PC, that counts as a win in his book.
• Strahd begins destroying the PCs' network of allies. If possible, he kills these NPCs in
front of the PCs (Wall of Force/Drain them dry, for example). Once the PCs realize what
is going on and start avoiding their allies, they start getting reports that their friends are
all being killed. NPCs with a shakier relationship with the PCs may turn on them to try to
protect themselves.
• If Strahd has a mole among them, now is the time to strike.
• Strahd seeks to compromise or destroy their base of operations. He wants them isolated
and exhausted.
• Strahd is more careful in combat, especially if the party has Sunlight-producing relics. He
may avoid the front lines, using his forces instead of taking the field directly.
 • Strahd's targeting of their allies and safe places is aimed at demoralizing them as well as
destroying assets. Killed allies should be killed horribly and/or turned into
Vampires/Undead to be used against the PCs. If the resulting undead is capable of
speech, then they should be forced to curse and scream at the PCs, blaming them for what
was done to them.
• If the PCs have made 'friends' with any of Strahd's servants, now is the time for a
precision-strike betrayal. Attack them in their sleep, poison their food, whatever hurts the
most.

The Final Battle

So, here we are. The party has gathered their artifacts, rallied themselves, and marched on Castle
Ravenloft. So, how do we make this a Battle worthy of Legends? Strahd is...not actually that
durable. In the face of the Sunsword, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, St. Markovia's Thighbone,
and the Icon of Ravenloft...if Strahd tries to fight them straight up, he's going to go down like a
chump. So, here we go...

Disclaimer: if you completely follow my advice here, you're probably headed for a TPK. Pick
the pieces you like and implement them (or go whole hog and TPK em, up to you)

Prepare for them

Strahd knows they are coming. Of course he knows. So, let's get ready for them.

• Swap out his spell list. The spells listed in his statblock are what I consider his day-to-day
overlording loadout. If he's going to war, he should switch out for more appropriate
spells. Consider where your party is set to have their Final Battle with Strahd, and pick
whatever spells off the Wizard spell list are the most advantageous. (For example, Gust
of Wind is kind of useless in the crypts...but if he's fighting them on top of the castle,
punting the party off the side is awesome).
• If the party includes a Paladin or other caster with a Detect Evil/Divine Sense capability,
prepare and Cast Nystul's Magic Aura on himself. Change his apparent creature type to
humanoid to confound their spell.
• Wear the party down. If the party shows up to battle Strahd and is at full strength, he
didn't do his job right. You have an army. Use it.
• Gear up. If you want drama, let Strahd summon it onto himself as a Bonus Action...but if
Strahd's Armor is still around, he puts it on. This gives him an even higher AC, immunity
to lightning damage, and a lightning-based ranged attack. And a lightning-damage
dealing sword, if he wants to use that instead of his claws. (For fun...have him hold off on
doing this for a bit...where he just plays with the PCs like a big cat. Then he goes "I
suppose that's enough playing around. Time to die." :Snaps his fingers and armor
materializes around him:)
• As DM, study the area he will be fighting them in. What's around it, above it, below it?
Where can Strahd go to buy himself a few rounds to recover? Look at the Battle section
below and figure out how Strahd plans to tackle this.
The Battle

Go time. Note that some of these recommendations may contradict the number of spell slots he
has (such as suggesting using Seeming but also suggesting using Wall of Force, despite the fact
that he only has the one 5th level spell slot). This is to give options to you.

• Action Economy disparity sucks. Crowd Control is Strahd's friend. Polymorph, Hypnotic
Pattern, Wall of Force, and anything else that takes PCs out of the fight tilts things in his
favor. The fewer attacks being leveled at him per round, the better.
• Kite your enemies. Strahd can walk through walls to put stout stone between himself and
sunlight-producing artifacts, and can lure the PCs to chase him...either into other
enemies, or into traps. Strahd knows where all his traps are, of course...so why wouldn't
he lead the PCs into them? Remember, Strahd has Spider Climb and can go through
floors and ceilings. Doing this also gives him time out of sunlight in order to regenerate
HP.
• Abuse Seeming to devour party resources. Strahd can make an arbitrarily large number of
minions look like him before the PCs show up. Have decoy Strahds all over the
place...use them as sacrificial pawns to lure the party to bad places. For extra evil...when
the party finds Strahd at the appointed location, they are likely to open big. Unload on
him with everything they've got to try to Alpha him down. So, have the 'Strahd' they find
be a Vampire Spawn under Seeming. They nuke 'Strahd' and blow all their best
tricks...likely reducing the spawn to dust. The party stands there for a second going
"Um...is that it?" Then Strahd's laughter starts echoing through the room and he either
suckerpunches someone from behind, or several more 'Strahds' show up (maybe one of
them is even the real thing!)
• Charm people. Pre-emptively, if possible. Convincing the Fighter or Paladin to hand over
the Sunsword, or pitch it off the side of the castle is a great way to get rid of a serious
hazard to your health.
• Target Priority. In my experience, it's sort of common for DMs to 'play along' and have
the monsters fight the martial characters for the most part. Strahd's not an idiot,
though...what's the point of playing around with the walking ball of armor when the
squishy wizard is blowing him up, or the healer is undoing his efforts to murder you. Pick
your targets based on who it would hurt the party the most to lose.
• Isolate Sunlight wielders. These are the most directly dangerous foes, as they produce an
aura that hurts you, blocks your regen, AND prevents you from going Mist-form if you
are defeated. Polymorph them, enclose them in a cubic Wall of Stone, lock them in rooms
by themselves, use minions to knock them into traps
• Separate the party. Strahd can close and lock doors as a lair action. If his lair action
comes up and the party is divided between rooms with a door in between them...slam the
door shut and lock it, then suckerpunch whichever half of the party is the most vulnerable
(or painful to lose).
• Exploit your speed. If Strahd is going full-out, he can cover 150' in a round. (Move,
Dash, LA-movex3). Nobody can catch him when he wants to outpace you.
• Exploit your absurd stealth check. Given that Strahd can pass through walls and outrun
everyone, breaking line of sight is easy. Strahd should be striking from Stealth on a
regular basis. The party should not 'catch' Strahd, he should loop around and suckerpunch
 them while they are chasing him. Of note: Strahd can use Lair Actions without breaking
stealth. Go sneaky, then use the Specter and Shadow Lair Actions to reduce HP and Str
values across the party. Prioritize with the Shadows, of course...aim for the Str-dependent
characters.
• If you can go outside onto the rooftops or ramparts, enjoy the fact that the weather is on
Strahd's side. For a climactic encounter like this, there should be a full-blown
thunderstorm on. The rain should limit visibility and make perilous footing (like the
rooftops) even more dangerous. Strahd's spider climb lets him basically ignore the
perilous footing.
• Ration your Legendary Resistances. Turn Undead is not a big deal. Accept the turning,
activate the 'walk through walls' lair action, then leave the party feeling foolish while
Strahd runs off to go regenerate all his hitpoints, and a party member is down a Channel
Divinity. You can always flee to regen health as well, so unless it would put him
dangerously close to death, don't worry about failing saves vs. damage. No, the big
threats are the ones that prevent Strahd from moving. As long as Strahd can move, he can
put a solid object between himself and the PCs and can regenerate health. (Tactically,
your best option to beat Strahd like this is to pop Wall of Force to make a box trapping
him and you in one place.)
• Bring in allies. If there are still enemies in the castle, call them in or lead the party to
them. Certainly Rahadin would spring to his master's aid if he knew Strahd was under
attack.
• Try to lead the party away from your crypt. If Strahd is killed and isn't in sunlight when
he dies, he turns to mist and flows back to his coffin. Once he gets there, you have 1 hour
to finish him off or he regains consciousness, then rapidly regenerates all his hitpoints
(regeneration feature starts working again). And you're back to square one.

Ultimately, the final battle with Strahd should range all over the castle. The more the party has
explored and cleared the castle before fighting Strahd, the less likely they are to die horribly.
Strahd won't have many allies left to lead them to and the party should have figured out where
the traps are. You could even have it that allies of the party who have survived up to this point
get involved in little ways. As an off-the-cuff example...suppose Strahd convinced someone to
pitch the Sunsword off the side of the castle. At a dramatically appropriate moment, one of the
Keepers of the Feather (in Raven form) drops the sword in a PC's hands.