Perhaps the party learned a minor skill in solving a puzzle, something small that doesn’t really have a spot on the character sheet.

But the authors have also been careful to call out in the text of the adventure when DMs should make note of something that might otherwise seem trivial. It contains a half-page worksheet for the very necessary pre-game “ session zero” that you’ll need to have before you kick things off. It’s essentially a worksheet that will help DMs keep track of their party’s accomplishments throughout the game. So what does that look like in practice? First off, it requires a bit more awareness on the part of the DM, because the things that the party accomplishes early in the campaign can pay huge dividends later on - including things like skipping some puzzles and encounters entirely.įor that reason, this book includes a Story Tracker. “They can fight their way through the adventure as well, but the odds won’t always be in their favor.” “One of the many novelties of this adventure is that the characters can accomplish their goals without resorting to violence - but only if they’re clever,” write the authors. This time around, the designers at Wizards of the Coast set out to do things differently, and they call it out for new players in the campaign’s opening pages. But without killing Strahd von Zarovich there’s simply no way that you’re leaving that valley ever again. Try the Dream Pastries, they’re delicious. You can stay in Barovia forever, if that’s your thing. But I’ve played plenty of tabletop role-playing games - including D&D campaigns - that require you to kill the big baddy before the story will move forward. Yes, every role-playing campaign has a pacifist option if your game master allows for it.

I can already feel several angry Dungeon Masters (DMs) pounding on their keyboards at home.

Finishing the campaign without resorting to violence is possible, but it might actually be the toughest way to go about things. That doesn’t mean that it’s designed for children, or that it’s necessarily easy in any way.

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, the newest campaign for Dungeons & Dragons, was designed from the ground up with the option for a pacifist playthrough.

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