So, I just ran 6 level 5 players into Vallaki and they got introduced to Izek....then promptly killed him and escaped the city. Two are Nightmare Haunted from the Hags, and 4 are meat pie addicted. I thought for sure they wouldn't murder-hobo as they're not even remotely prepared....Boy, was I wrong.

Ryton, Claire, Syftri, Madriel, Ludvine, Cearbhall, stop reading. This is about you, you delinquents.

The party -really- hates Vallaki. A lot of Police State and Ba Sing Se references (Which I intended, so victory for tone!), but they really wanted to burn the place to the ground from their first interaction. One player, the Paladin, got arrested for 'Malicious use of Magic' and 'Reduction of Happiness from a Citizen of Vallaki' after he failed a 'Command' spell on Ser Martikov at the Blue Water Inn literally less than an hour into the city after filling out entry paperwork. Surprisingly, the party watched him surrender to the Reformers and he was put in a public cell overnight awaiting sentencing. This was a big point of character progression, as typically he fights anything, anywhere, at any time. So we applauded it and he got some inspiration.

The next morning, the party leaves Father Lucian at the Church after a lore dump and heads to check in on the Paladin in the town square. Some conversation follows, then Izek and half a dozen guards and reformers march up. Izek offers him a plot quest (Wizard of Wines) or two days in the stocks 'returning the citizens happiness' via tickle torture for 15 minutes every hour for two days via a tickle tool called 'the Merrymaker'. Don't ask. The party found this absolutely hilarious and dark. Good times.

Here's where things went pear shaped. The Paladin essentially refused to make the choice at all, and executed a player planned combo ability they'd been working on outside the game. The Paladin cast Darkness on an amulet held by the Tortle Barbarian....who then used Disguise Self to imitate Strahd and passed an impressive performance check. Both passed their rolls for spell failure near the Reformers. The Tortle then bit the head off a commoner just outside the darkness, pretending to be Strahd doing a vampire 'yoink' into the black while the party ratcheted up the panic meter by shouting 'Strahd is here!". He imitated a blood crazed Vampire very well, but Izek saw through it and called him out on it which is the only reason the guards stayed to fight.

Long story short (Too late), even through a buffed up CR 7 Izek, 9 Reformers (Guard stat block with spell failure auras) who caused many magical spell failures, and 6 guards (Standard stat blocks) they beat Izek to death and escaped the town as reinforcements arrived. They're bleeding badly, but they made it. To be fair, the Paladin double critical smite (Smote? Smited? Smitten?) Izek for 70 damage in the last combat round, so it shouldn't have ended like it did but it felt really good. One more round and Izek crew would have downed the Barbarian, and possibly the Paladin so it was a closer fight than I may be giving it credit for.

The kicker is that Ireena and Ismark are currently guests of Lady Wachter and are still in the city. None of the three critical items are in Vallaki (Argynvostholt, Yester Hill, and Castle Ravenloft), but their fated ally is Stella Wachter, but the group -thinks- it's Ireena so they may still try to go back...? Unsure.

The game ended with the overcast morning sky split with a direct and clear view to castle Ravenloft. A cloud of bats are erupting from the top tower, and every living thing for miles goes still. He is coming.

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This is a lot of words and I'm sorry. My questions for any/all of you are this:

What would Strahds reaction be to an adventurer using his face and image like this? I have ideas, and they're all....very dark.

How would you resolve the city's power struggle now? It seems like an easy situation to capitalize on for Lady Wachter, so I'm leaning the way of a Wachter victory.

How does one prevent murder-hobo'ing in the future? I thought I had it covered and could arrest/knock everyone out with the sheer number of guards/reformers, but maaaan that Tortle barbarian got some HP on her. I underestimated them, and will be powering up future encounters.

How does one run a survival oriented game in 5ed, if it comes to the party being barred from civilization in Barovia? Strahd could find it entertaining, and quite easy, to force them survive in Barovia without any human contact. If Vallaki isn't available as a haven, they haven't met or identified Van Richten or Ezmerelda or any other allies.... I want Strahd to be able to tighten the screws and make the land itself a threat, starving them, not allowing rests, becoming more and more hazardous, etc. I've just never ran a game like that in over 20 years of DM'ing, so I'm asking for help.