Hello Everyone, I've posted a few times here but now I bring you a new take in Strahds story. Credit where credit is due, this idea was initially sparked into my mind by u/CountLivin in his post "Expanding Curse of Strahd". This little take should add a spin to the game in case your party wants to play through it again, although it is not fully functional yet so please send me any changes you'd make.

• We start with the beginning: Strahds story, it is the same up to the point where he meets Tatyana (Who is the architects' daughter in this case per the many edits done to the backstory) while the castle is under construction. Tatyana is not just some pretty gal from a small town, and it is not her looks that capture Strahds desire; Tatyana is an artist and a fantastic one at that! She has painted the beautiful vistas around her small town of Barovia and sold the pieces for hundreds of golds. She was brought by her father to the castle to decorate the walls of Ravenloft with her breath-taking art. Strahd quickly realizes that the woman puts a little of herself in every painting, it is not just a hobby or a profession, he sees in her paintings what he felt while leading armies.
• This adds a change to the Castle and their relationship: Some of the most important areas of the castle are decorated with magical paintings that do not age and allow one to teleport to these locations by touching them in the right place; Strahd and Tatyana bonded over the year or so she lived in the castle but just as in other takes She does not see him as anything other than an uncle even though she is closer to his age here, or well, the lord of the land. After Sergei arrives they start to date but everyone can tell that despite his nobility Tatyana actually leads the relationship, being more active than the man that recently lost his mother.
• Strahds deal with the dark powers goes as written but after his attack on Sergei and the wedding attendees he actually loses track of Tatyanna, he founds her after some more killing up in her room. She stands before an open window as a storm grows, curtains and painting supplies being thrashed about, her wedding dress is not only stained with blood but with fresh paint as she has struck a large painting of a younger Strahd with paint, she utters the name of your chosen dark power (Plot twist!) and curses Strahd with the promise that he "shall never have which he most desires and that his world would rot like his soul has" After this, she throws herself off the window before he can reach her.
• What this does is add some agency to Tatyana and adds a second active force besides Vampyr to the seclusion of Barovia. From there the story continues with Strahd and his brides, except he is also cursed to see what Barovia once was as he walks the halls of his castle, seeing the hundreds of works that Tatyana left behind him. He does nurture an artistic streak in Barovians eventually, hoping that future incarnations of Tatyana are able to recreate some of her work; FURTHERMORE, he is unable to destroy her last work: Her painting of him, although soiled by her most of it is intact and constantly reminds Strahd of who he was to her.
• Now, to the present time. Strahd not only uses his usual methods to lure food adventurers to Barovia as he can also use paintings to do so, but he also does this by either sending Barovians pieces of art (Taken or bought through Vasili) into other worlds or have Vistana under his rule deliver them to nobles as gifts. These paintings will eventually become passageways allowing the mists and other horrors to go through eventually causing adventurers to come to check it out and get spirited into Barovia.
• You may be thinking "Well what good is Barovia in a painting" Perspective my dear reader: A character with the rare Painters supply proficiency and item can use them a surface to paint on to affect the world around them to an extent. The usual Demiplane rules stand (No sun, no ways out) But a character could change the exterior of a building, end a fire by creating rain, or create (Mundane, non-alive, non-magical) items. As an example, Strahd sits atop a hill seeing the characters advance over the Luna river, he understands the power of perspective, and he strikes the bridge before they arrive destroying it on the world. The PCs in turn can create their own bridge or face the challenge of crossing the treacherous waters.
• Now to the rot, part of Tatyanas' curse. The Rot is both an ailment and Strahds ticking bomb: It is a fleshy growth that advances from the edges of the mist, the vampire has confirmed that it advances as long as he is awake so he hibernates a lot, he believes that if the rot ever reaches Ravenloft it will be the end of him. The rot afflicts all living tissue (Trees, grass, animals, etc) with a disease that will kill them and allow it to expand.
• The Rot is only transferred by touch, a creature that touches a Rot bed or is touched by a creature in the third stage must succeed a DC14 Constitution save or be afflicted by it. A creature in the first stage loses a number of hit points equal to one hit die of their class- their con modifier at the end of each long rest unless they are treated with lesser restoration, this stage lasts until their hit point maximum is reduced to half or until 1d4 3 days have passed since the initial infection. During the second stage, the afflicted individual will begin to feel lethargic and numb of mind, having their speed reduced by 10 ft won't be so worrisome as at the end of each long rest their wisdom will be reduced by 1d4-1until it reaches 3 or 1d4 days have passed since stage two started, only a greater restoration spell can remove the affliction now. Stage three is the last, every day after the start of stage three an infected individual must succeed on a DC10 Wisdom save or be forced to find the darkest, dankest place it can to lay down; After finding this place the subject will lose 1 hit point every hour until they die at which point The Rot will use the flesh and bone to expand on a 20 area around the spot. A creature that makes the save will resist this urge but spend their day wandering, potentially infecting others as the rot emerges from their body.
• The good thing about The Rot is that it is highly flammable, any creature in stage two or three is considered to be vulnerable to fire, a bed of rot will fully burn by one minute for every ten-foot area. A creature can prevent the spread of rot in the body if they burn the entry point of the infection within one minute.
• The Rot is Tatyana's will and it will expand until Strahd is given eternal rest, or the whole of Barovia is painted anew, free of the infection.
• Only Tatyanas reincarnation can re-paint Barovia, Ireena in this case (Or a PC!) By reaching the top of Ravenloft and spending 1d10 10 days painting the landscape once again with any changes they see fit ( removing the party from Ravenloft? Crating a temporary gate?) Although they will need very rare ingredients related to those involved with the curse (Strahd ¿Blood?, Tatyana ¿Hair?, Sergeis ¿Essence?, Vampyrs ¿Ichor? Go wild)
• Last the two other additions that bring this closer to a dark souls experience but are not needed: Bonefire and Estus

• A Bonefire is a marking created as an anchor by the scholars of the Amber temple, made to hold the vestiges, each one is a pile of the vestiges avatar pierced through and set aflame by a paladins blade. These markers have a few unexpected secondary effects: A creature that takes a short rest within 20ft of one does not expend any hit-dice they roll to regain health. A creature that focuses on the everlasting fire of the Bonefire during a short rest can switch their spells as if they had a long rest, A creature that takes a long rest nearby a Bonefire is cured of any diseases or ailments as if targeted by the "Lay on hands trait", A creature that takes a long rest nearby a Bonefire heals an additional point of exhaustion if they have any. These markers are rare and few in Barovia: One rests under the mansion in the town of Barovia, one is hidden underneath Vallaki, another was settled within the Abbey of Krezk, yet another is hidden in a cave within the mountain beneath Ravenloft and another in the Amber temple itself (Add any you want)

• Lastly, the Estus flask, which is very very optional. This item I an uncommon magic item with a singular attunement, meaning it cannot be transferred or one person attunes to several at once. "This jade flask contains swirling golden energy, it is your very essence" This item has a number of uses equal to the creatures level 1, a creature can use an action to imbue from the flask and roll a hit-point die con to regain hit-points. The flask regains 1 use at the end of every long rest or all of sunk into the flame of a Bonefire.

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There it is! I will expand it as questions come, it became very late very quickly so expect edits tomorrow when I realize all the mistakes I made.