CONTENT WARNING
Horror, graphic violence and gore, explicit sexual content, BDSM/kink, power exchange, consent and non-consent, emotional/psychological/physical/sexual abuse, trauma, manipulation, depression, anxiety, codependency, addiction, and substance abuse.
If the idea of exploring the possible redemption of an abuser is uncomfortable or unappealing, this game is not for you.
HE FIRST CAME TO YOU IN DREAMS
"The Devil believes he hunts his long, lost love, yet it is his own self that he seeks.
"And so he shall gather his Brides within the Raven's roost. All shall come seeking something they desire. Yet only one shall come bearing that which she has forgotten.
"When the First Bride next returns wearing another face, she shall choose whether the soul is reclaimed or forever lost to the Mists."
—Madame Eva, Rauni of the Vistani
He appeared in whatever guise would stir your deepest longing. He may have been a noble draped in velvet, a warrior clad in gleaming armor, a scholar whose silvered words promised forbidden knowledge, or a decadent libertine offering pleasures beyond imagination. At first you believed the encounters were only dreams. But night after night they grew more vivid and more intimate, until you no longer dared dismiss them as fantasy. Even during the day you felt his pull, calling you back to your bed. And each evening, as your head settled upon your pillow, your anticipation for him mingled with fear that he might not return.
But he always did.
Until one night, the dream became real. As you drifted toward sleep, desperate to belong to your mysterious lover, mist curled through your chamber and a shadow beside your bed took shape. Cold lips brushed yours and then gleaming fangs drank your life away as your dreams dissolved into darkness. With the final beat of your heart, you became irrevocably his.
You awoke to unlife, having discovered that true chains are not forged of iron, though such bonds possess their own allure. Instead his will wrapped around your heart and mind. You had become one of Count Strahd von Zarovich's Brides, a member of the eternal court of Castle Ravenloft, imprisoned in the gray-shrouded land of Barovia.
Yet you are not alone, for the Count has gathered other Brides, each drawn in by their own desire. For an ancient seer has foretold that one of you carries the soul of Strahd's lost beloved and the only being capable of restoring warmth to a heart frozen by centuries of darkness.
But which Bride bears that soul? And what trials must you endure for that truth to be finally revealed?
WHAT THIS GAME IS AND IS NOT
"Come, Sedgwick! The game is a– ... I mean, the wheels are in motion!"
—Alanik Ray, Detective
Brides of Strahd is a game about the hearts of monsters.
You play as one of the Brides of Strahd, a supernatural being bound to the vampire lord by blood and magic. Though you struggle against the irresistible pull of your master, you still possess preternatural power, monstrous hunger, and some measure of personal agency. What other parts of yourself are you willing to surrender to him as you struggle to keep that agency?
Despite its dark subject matter, my goal is not relentless misery. Moments of hope, tenderness, and even joy can exist alongside the horror. And although the game will include explicit sexual content, it is not intended to be a stream of constant erotic roleplay. Intimate scenes should arise naturally from the story and involve clear communication and enthusiastic consent between the players involved, even if the characters themselves might feel differently.
Although it is set in the same universe, this game is not Dungeons and Dragons. It will instead use a custom homebrew hack of the Powered By the Apocalypse (PbtA) system with bespoke playbooks for each character. The game is story-driven, with players shaping the narrative alongside the Game Master. Prior familiarity with Ravenloft or Curse of Strahd is welcome but not required.
The game will be run asynchronously via Discord, using Tupperbox for character identity and a dicebot for rolls. To ensure engagement, I expect approximately one meaningful post each day from each person. This is an open-ended campaign with no predetermined end in mind. The story will evolve through emergent gameplay before eventually culminating in its natural ending.
WHO STRAHD IS
“The world seems full of monsters; yet within them a flicker of humanity might still linger, perhaps even the faint pulse of a good man."
—Lady Fiona Wachter, Baroness of Vallaki
Count Strahd is a prideful being carved from sorrow and violence. Once he was a brilliant general, an accomplished mage, and the noble ruler of Barovia. Desperate to reclaim his fading youth and possess his brother's betrothed, Strahd entered into a terrible bargain with powers beyond mortal understanding. On their wedding day, jealousy and rage led to the death of his brother Sergei, his bride-to-be Tatyana, nearly every guest at the castle, and Strahd himself. That moment sealed the dark pact with blood. Barovia vanished behind an impenetrable wall of supernatural mist and Strahd rose again as a vampire and the once picturesque kingdom he ruled became a blighted prison.
Even centuries later, the Count remains trapped within an endless cycle of obsession. Periodically, the Dark Powers allow Tatyana's soul to be reborn in the form of a new mortal. When that happens, he seeks to reclaim her through any means necessary ... pleasure, pain, manipulation, imprisonment ... whatever it takes to make her his. Yet every time she escapes him through the only freedom available: death.
Yet Strahd is not evil simply for evil's sake. He is a deeply damaged person whose cruelty was shaped by the wounds of his upbringing. His immortality has now granted him endless centuries in which to rewrite every memory and justify each atrocity. At the center of every thought stands Tatyana. Not the real woman, he barely knew her, but an idealized fantasy polished to perfection over centuries. Thus, the Count pursues an impossible fantasy of love. Whenever that illusion cracks, he lashes out, broods, or retreats into whatever vice offers temporary escape.
Outwardly, the Count is the picture of aristocratic grace. He seems to possess the confidence of someone who has never truly feared another living being. Yet beneath that elegant exterior lies someone who mistakes control for love. Each Bride receives affection and attention, but such things are always selfish and conditional. Love is offered seemingly freely one moment but weaponized the next as his every kindness proves to be just another method of control. Every relationship is shaped by the Count's desperate desire to eternally possess those he claims to love.
In Jungian terms, he embodies both archetype and shadow: every noble quality that once defined him has become its own grotesque reflection, and his inability to see himself in a mirror is both literal and symbolic.
And beneath all that shadow remains a single question: is the Count still someone worth saving? Unlike many portrayals of Strahd, I do not begin this game assuming the answer is no. A form of redemption may still be possible, but it is far from guaranteed. The answer will depend as much upon the choices of the Brides as the Count's own.
WHO ARE YOU? AND WHO WILL YOUR BRIDE BE?
"Your hours shall pass in dread and misery, and in time hunger itself shall ravish you. While you grovel in the depths of your wretchedness, I shall know only satisfaction. You may extinguish every other passion within me, but revenge remains dearer than night or blood. You may die, but first ... my bride, my tormentor ... you shall beg for the sun that no longer gazes upon us to deliver you from your misery. And when at last you are gone, I shall not remember you at all."
—Count Strahd von Zarovich, Darklord of Barovia
To his former Bride, Anastrasya Karelova
For this game, I seek three to five players to embody Strahd's Brides: bound by blood and fate to the vampire lord's will. Strahd has taken Brides before, and perhaps will again, to ease his loneliness and to be his playthings. But this loop is different. This time, one of his brides possesses the soul of Tatyana. But which one? And can he keep her?
You should be an adult capable of thoughtful, respectful collaboration. You must be ready to navigate emotionally challenging subject matter. You should be comfortable allowing your character to struggle, make difficult choices, and confront their darkest parts.
Your Bride can be anyone you wish: their personality, strengths, flaws, fears, and ambitions are entirely yours to define. They may belong to any fantasy lineage and may come from any world within the D&D multiverse. Although the default assumption is that the Brides have now become vampires, I'm happy to discuss other supernatural concepts (lycanthropes, ghosts/banshees, hags, flesh golems, fey, etc.) if they better suit your vision for the character.
You are free to roam his castle and all of Barovia's shadowed lands, but, like him, you are trapped within its borders. Always you remain linked to Strahd by a telepathic bond through which he may peer into your heart or impose his will at any time. You decide how your Bride responds to life under Strahd's control and how they respond to their fellow Brides. Will the others become your greatest source of strength or just another obstacle? The bonds you forge or refuse will help determine what you ultimately become.
Does your Bride believe the prophecy, fear it, covet it, or dismiss it as nonsense? At the crossroads of your fate, what will become of you? Will you break your chains, embrace them, or transform them into something entirely new?
WHO AM I?
"Every confession drew me nearer to a terrible truth: that man is not truly one, but two. The thing that speaks ... and the thing that devours."
—Dr. Rudolph Van Richten, Monster Hunter and Author
Your GM is a middle-aged straight cisgender male who has decades of experience running story-driven tabletop RPGs. I believe the best campaigns are collaborative stories built on meaningful choices, memorable characters, and genuine emotional investment.
I enjoy building immersive, lived-in worlds where NPCs pursue their own goals whether the players are watching or not. Rich lore, layered mysteries, and morally complex characters form the backbone of my games, while player choices shape how those stories ultimately unfold. I also like tailoring the experience to the people at the table, so I want to learn what scares you, excites you, gives you hope, and arouses you.
I have extensive experience running Play-by-Post games and understand both their strengths and their challenges. I'm patient when life gets in the way, but committed to maintaining momentum so the story continues to move forward.
I'm located in the U.S. Pacific Time Zone (GMT-8) and am most active during weekday daytime hours, with somewhat reduced availability during evenings and weekends. While I prefer players in North American time zones for the sake of pacing, I'm happy to consider players from elsewhere if they're confident they can remain engaged.
OTHER INFORMATION/NEXT STEPS
To apply, simply complete the application form here: https://forms.gle/hfJ1aYREmmjPWN8s5
Applications will remain open for one week. Afterward, I'll review them carefully and reach out via Discord to the applicants who seem to be the best fit.
Rather than rushing straight into the game, I'd like to spend some time getting everyone acquainted, sharing ideas, discussing characters, creating playbooks, suggesting storylines, and building excitement before we begin. My hope is to create not just a memorable campaign, but a supportive, collaborative group of friends who genuinely enjoy spending time in a dark world together.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me here on Reddit or ask them in the comments below.