Curse of Strahd [5e][Online][EST] Rules Light, Story Focused, Asynchronous, Text-Based Campaign

Hi! I’ve become absolutely obsessed with Curse of Strahd and really want to DM it, even though public speaking makes my brain freeze up and have a pretty unreliable schedule. If you’ve always wanted to play CoS and are open to trying something a little unconventional, keep reading!

I want to run Curse of Strahd asynchronously over Discord, text-based, and only loosely following D&D mechanics. The focus will be on roleplay and collaborative storytelling, with mechanics mostly happening behind the scenes and the occasional dice roll where a little chaos will spice things up.

I’m hoping for players who can commit to at least one interaction a day, but we’ll pick up the pace when most of the group and I are online (generally after 6PM EST or on weekends).

The ideal player:

-Loves roleplay over combat and doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight.

-Hasn’t played Curse of Strahd before (or is excellent at avoiding metagaming).

-Is patient, flexible, and willing to experiment with an atypical format.

-Has a schedule that somewhat overlaps with mine, so we can keep the game moving when I’m free. I work M-F 7a-5p with 1 random week day off and historically 4-9 days of call/month

Important note: The story might occasionally move on without everyone actively participating, but all players will level up together using milestones, so no one will fall behind!

If this sounds like the campaign for you, please comment with a short response to the prompt below in third person about the character you plan to play. I look forward to seeing what you come up with and meeting you in the mists!

Your character dreams of standing in a dark, endless void. A figure emerges from the shadows, their voice smooth and knowing, offering your character their heart's deepest desire. The figure seems to know exactly what they want—more than even they might admit to themselves.

Describe the dream. What does the figure offer? How does your character react? Do they bargain, resist, embrace the offer—or something else entirely? Tell me as much as you can about how your character looks, feels, thinks, and why!

EDIT: Please also give your characters basic info! Class, race, background info

EDIT 2: I'm going to leave this post up for 24 hours to gather responses, and then I'll select 5 players to start with. However, feel free to keep submitting characters in the comments—I'll continue adding people as the game progresses, especially if someone drops out or if the pace slows down. I look forward to seeing your characters!

EDIT 3: (Sorry) So I'll DM those first 5 players around noon EST 1/18 and hopefully will have the server set up by then. It's a semi-busy weekend for me but I'll be able to keep a steady pace just not as dedicated as I will be on normal weekends

UPDATE: I’ve picked my initial guinea pigs! It was a tough decision, but I’m thrilled to announce our starting cast for this adventure. After much deliberation, I’m excited to introduce the characters who’ll be the first braving the dark world of Barovia: Todd Bumblebill, the Eccentric Zealot; Arkus, the Vengeful Commander; Maven, the Betrayed Priestess; Mei, the Determined Wizard; Aurika of Marvec, the Wasting Harmonist; Dram, the Outcast Rogue; and... The Gingerbread Man?!

Players, check your DMs for invites! This crew is sure to bring some wild stories and unforgettable moments. I can’t wait to see how they all fit into the twisted world of Curse of Strahd!

And don’t worry—if we need to recruit more souls along the way, I’ll be coming back to any characters posted here. So if you find this post later, feel free to add your character at any time. We may need more adventurers as the story unfolds!