So, I've decided to drop Curse of Strahd for a while.
In short, I need accessibility and Curse of Strahd is not dynamic enough. CoS demands that the players be familiar with the story up to the point they're at. Dropping people into the storyline does not go well, especially given how open ended the game tends to be.
With that said, I decided last night that it was about time to dial it back to a more grass roots approach. So it was that last nights game explored a more vanilla side of D&D and a more robust role playing experience.
It felt a lot more natural and frankly it had been a while since I had to come up with a story line on the spot; so far so good, I'd say. Now let's hope I can get to a smart resolution without cocking it up :D
Curse of Strahd is a fantastic campaign that I am disappointed I have to leave behind for a while, but I will return to it in due course <3