The Essentials

In order to get everything to run smoothly, there will be a little prep needed on each players side. I'll be posting a few links and downloads for things like a browser plug-in to make the VTT more enjoyable and a lot easier for me to run. They'll also be a bit required reading in a player primer for character creation and any limitations. The reason for this is as I'll be using a companion to the Strahd source book that fleshes out that material along with NPC's, additional items, side quests, rewards etc and it'll help you build characters that suit the adventure whilst still being yourbuild.
Don't worry though, this isn't going to be a case of 'you have to play in this way'. Just getting it all in place for to be able to accommodate in-person and online concurrently. [12:17 AM]Nezza: There is one absolute though. You'll need to build your character in D&D Beyond - https://www.dndbeyond.com/. The character sheet and building function is superb and the plug-ins will let me use all the source material I have to track everything. Once we get closer I'll upgrade my membership so that you can each access all my source material in the campaign and you don't need to pay for it. This is bloody brilliant as everything is cross-linked and means I can build on-the-fly encounters without keeping you guys waiting.
It's also got a lovely app, so runs on phones, tablets etc.
Long and short is, from your perspective 'it just works' so you just show up and play Joining the Campaign
When you have built your character in D&D Beyond. Register for the campaign by pinging  me for the link.
Beyond 20 Plugin - https://beyond20.here-for-more.info/install Preview text says Chrome, but it's for Chrome and Firefox
You are welcome to build how you like, using any source in D&D Beyond.  Homebrew subclasses from sources such as DMGuild will be considered, provided I can replicate it in D&D Beyond
In DDB, please use the defaults in the in Character Preferences page of the character builder unless stated below. Sources Yes to homebrew and Noncore D&D Content. No to all others

Everyone will be starting at Level 1
Advancement Type Milestone
Hitpoint Type Fixed
Encumbrance Type No Encumbrance This is due to a bug where if if you buy an animal or vehicle it gets added to the carry weight instead of being it's own thing!
Character Privacy Public This is to allow the plug-in to function correctly.
Curse of DigiDonkey Specifics
Death: It's a horror setting and you'll face some nasty  stuff.  Permadeath is possible. For players unfortunate enough to need to re-roll, I'll provide a Barovian primer for backgrounds and races.
Whilst the campaign has an obvious 'Big Bad', the mysterious land of Barovia will be a huge part this campaign. For your own enjoyment, I'd really ask you not to read any Strahd related texts or the source book beyond what I distribute as player handouts. If you've played it before, we'll be deviating a lot from the adventure source book so you'll still get a fresh campaign with twists and turns.
Tone Given the setting it's very easy to go totally grimdark and unrelenting misery. I'm aiming for something in the region of 80's horrors like Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween & Aliens crossed with a good investigative thriller. So whilst there is levity and even humor, there is real threat and danger. Remember, even Buffy didn't hesitate to kill off some of the Scooby Gang. The intro to this feels quite in the spirit - https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/the-50-best-slasher-movies-of-all-time/
There will be blood... but whose?